Make it Yours {31}

Wednesday! 

All right ladies, it’s time to link up those projects!

Easy Peasy Rules:
Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog.
Put my button or link somewhere on your blog.  I’m not picky, but if I can’t find a link back here, I can’t feature you!
Visit the the person who linked up before you, check out their project, and leave a nice comment.   Thanks for playing nice.

<center><a href="http://www.mybackyardeden.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

Ironing Board Dilemma – Solved!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my Ironing Board Quandary. I was looking for a way to finish it off that would go well in our Guest/Game/Craft room.   Well, I figured it out and it looks great!  Thanks to everyone who left a helpful comment or gave me advice as to what to do with this oak wall mounted ironing board.    What did I decide to do you ask?  Mod Podge! 

Remember the before?  Plain unfinished oak.

Here’s a peek at the after.

I started by painting the frame with my favorite black, Behr’s Black Suede.  Then, I put a coat of Minwax Wipe On Poly on the whole thing. 


I printed out some gorgeous vintage maps from The Graphics Fairy.   Karen of The Graphics Fairy offers beautiful, free vintage clip art images.  Go check her out!  I arranged them on the center of the door panel and Mod Podged them on.

These were pretty large images, so I used a brayer to roll out all of the air bubbles.  When it was dry, I put a coat of Mod Podge over the whole thing.

It looks amazing hung next to our large National Geographic Map. 



You really can’t tell that it’s an ironing board when you look at it.

But, I swear it really is!

Who says ironing is an ugly job?

I’m participating in the Mod Podge Challenge over at
 
and I’ll be linking up to the following great blogs:  The Girl Creative, Between Naps on the Porch and Today’s Creative Blog.

Don’t forget to link up your giveaways and enter to win at my new feature, Sunday Sweepstakes!

Sunday Sweepstakes Linkup

It’s Sunday again!  Time for more great giveaways!  Thanks to all who linked up a giveaway last week.  I appreciate you helping me make this feature a success!   These linkies will be open all week and I’ll be back with a new giveaway linkup next Sunday.

Do you have a giveaway going on?  Please add it to one of the categories below!

Link Love

You all have been busy lately!  Here are just a few of my favorites from the projects linked up this week at Make it Yours Day.  I just love browsing through your projects every week.  Now that my kids are back in school, I’m looking forward to having more time to try some of these great ideas!

Rachel at Holy Craft made these fun fabric covers for composition books.  Perfect for back to school!  This one is so pretty and sophisticated that it would make a great journal!

I just love this version of Subway Art.  Lori at Paisley Passions made this runner version for her son, an avid runner.  I think I need to make a similar one for my kids using soccer terms!

Brambleberry Cottage transformed this 100-year old window into an amazing one of a kind mirror.   Just lovely!

I LOVE this starburst mirror made with bamboo skewers and wood rulers.  Go check out Made by Stephie to see how she did it.
  Danielle at Amber Lane Living made this amazing Pottery Barn knockoff for her patio!  Cool and creative!

And finally, White Butterscotch Cookies from Beat Until Fluffy!  Don’t they look heavenly?  I’m going to the store first thing in the morning to get the ingredients to make these delicious beauties!

Thanks to all who linked up this week!  If you were featured, feel free to grab a button:

<center><a href="http://www.mybackyardeden.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/zmyxxg.jpg" /></a></center>
Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

What I Wore

Today, I’m playing along with Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy and all of her brave friends who share what they’ve been wearing all week.   I’ve been feeling kind of frumpy lately.   My foot’s been acting up so I haven’t been able to run and I just feel kind of old and worn out. 

Some of the gals that link up over at Lindsey’s place are so flippin’ cute!  The outfits and accessories they pull together are really inspired.  I’m hoping that by being accountable, I just might spiff myself up a little bit and pull myself out of this frumpy slump.    So here goes…..

1.  Running Errands and Volunteering at School Registration
Baggy Capri's (Union Bay from Kohl’s)
Pink T-shirt (Target)  
Vest I swiped borrowed from my 11 year old (Old Navy)
Comfy Keen sandals :)

2.  Soccer Team Potluck BBQ Party
White Shorts (Levi’s from Kohl’s)
Braided Cloth Belt (Came with shorts)
T-Shirt I Embellished with Yo-Yo’s
Black Sandals (Clark’s)

3.  Last Minute Before-School-Starts Shopping
Grey T-Shirt (Old Navy)
Coral Cardigan (Super Clearance Rack at Target!!!)
Khaki Skort (Lee from Mervyn’s)
Brown Sandals (Rockport)

4.  First Day of School & a Few Hours at the Office
Grey T-Shirt (Gap)
Grey Slouchy Cardigan (Target – picked out by my 11 year old fashionista)
Denim Skirt (Talbot’s)
Black Sandals (Franco Sarto)

Well, that was easier than I thought!  I am definitely going to have to think a bit harder about what I wear.  And that’s not a bad thing!

Make it Yours {30}

Before we begin, here are a couple of projects from last week that really caught my eye.
Julia from Blissfully Content made these lovely soap dispensers from old canning jars.  I’m definitely going to make one of these.  I just love the pale green of these old canning jars!
Emily at MLE’s ABC’s stenciled an outdoor rug.  What a great idea! 
I just can’t pass up a cute baby tushie!  Tell me this is not adorable!  Courtney at Between U & Me  shared her daughter’s first birthday party.

If you were featured this week, help yourself to a button: 

<center><a href="http://www.mybackyardeden.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i50.tinypic.com/zmyxxg.jpg" /></a></center>
All right ladies, it’s time to link up!

Easy Peasy Rules:
Link to your specific post, not the main page of your blog.
Put my button or link somewhere on your blog.  I’m not picky, but if I can’t find a link back here, I can’t feature you!
Visit the the person who linked up before you, check out their project, and leave a nice comment.   Thanks for playing nice.

<center><a href="http://www.mybackyardeden.com/"><img border="0" alt="Make it Yours @ My Backyard Eden" src="http://i46.tinypic.com/28jck5l.jpg" /></a></center>

PB Knockoff Pillows – Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

Note:  This is a repost of a project I did last November.   I was pretty new to blogging back then, so I don’t think many of you have seen this.   It may seem a bit early to start working on those Christmas decorations, but this freezer paper stencil technique works with any kind of graphic design you like!   The osnaburg fabric I used is so cheap you could make pillow covers for every occasion.  With a cutting machine like a Silhouette or Cricut (that I still don’t have, BTW!)  this project would be a snap!

I just finished up these sweet holiday pillow covers. If they look familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen these in the latest Pottery Barn Catalog:

Pottery Barn Image

I thought they were cute, but not cute enough to fork over $29 each plus tax and shipping. Since I made covers for pillows I already own, these only cost me about $5.00 total, or the cost of two yards of Wal-Mart osnaburg fabric. When the holiday season has passed, I’ll just remove the covers and pack them away with my decorations for next year.

These pillows were already on my to do list for the holidays when I wandered over to Creative Little Daisy. Autum has put together a great pillow cover tutorial. If you’re not a seamstress, this is definitely a page to bookmark. Go ahead and check it out, I’ll wait.

Pottery Barn’s pillows were embroidered. Since I don’t have a sewing machine that does embroidery, I decided I’d try to stencil them using freezer paper. Here’s how to stencil:

First, find a font you like and print out a design for your project.

Then, find some freezer paper. It is NOT the same thing as waxed paper. It has a matte side and a shiny side. When ironed shiny side down, the paper will stick to the fabric. When you’re done with your stencil, it can be easily peeled off.

With the shiny side down, place a piece of freezer paper over your design and trace. The freezer paper is easy to see through.

Then, using an exacto knife or a small pair of scissors, cut out your design, being careful to save any of the small interior pieces of the letters.

I stenciled onto a smaller piece of fabric, and then attached it to my pillow cover using a decorative stitch. I cut a piece of fabric approximately 1” larger all around than my desired patch size. Place your new stencil shiny side down on your fabric and press, being careful to adhere all of the edges. Don’t forget to iron on the interior pieces of the letters.

These “Spouncer” brushes work great for applying your favorite craft paint. I bought mine at Wal-Mart.

I used two coats of red paint, and then allowed it to dry for a couple of hours before peeling the freezer paper off.

I turned under the edges 1/2” on each side and pressed. Then I placed the stenciled piece on my pillow cover front and attached it using a decorative machine stitch.

Stitch the front and back of the cover together and you’re done! Don’t forget to check out Autum’s tutorial if you need help making the pillow enclosure.

I’m participating in the Pottery Barn Challenge at

and linking up to the following super cool blogs:  Making the World Cuter, Blue Cricket Design and Someday Crafts. 

Don’t forget to link up your giveaways and enter to win at my new feature, Sunday Sweepstakes!  

Making Dinner Easier

Now that school is back in session, I’m looking for ways to make dinner time smoother.  My kids both play competitive soccer so they’re often at practices on week nights.  If I don’t plan ahead,  I’m sunk when it comes to dinner time.  One of the things that I do to make dinners go together easier is precook ground beef.

I bought a huge 6 pound package of ground beef at Costco.   Then I cooked it up.
  
Only, I seriously need a larger skillet, because my stove looks like this.

After cooking thoroughly, I drain off the fat, let it cool and divide it into one pound containers to freeze. 

I love having these frozen, precooked packets on hand.  It makes it a snap to throw together chili, spaghetti sauce, tacos or stuffed peppers. 

Do you do anything special to help manage weeknight dinners?

Love giveaways?  Link up your giveaway or enter other great giveaways at my new weekly feature:  Sunday Sweepstakes Linkup!

Linking up to the following great blogs:  Beauty and Bedlam, We Are That Family and  

Sunday Sweepstakes Linkup

There were 29 giveaways linked up last Sunday!  I’m happy with the turnout for the kickoff week and I know things will only get better!  Thanks to all of you who linked up a giveaway!   These linkies will be open all week and I’ll be back with a new giveaway linkup next Sunday.


 
Do you have a giveaway going on?  Please add it to one of the categories below!

Cool Photo Book Deal

I just signed up for a free photo book from Picaboo.  With Picaboo, you can design your own personalized photo book using their free software, and then Picaboo prints and sends your book directly to you.   Once you submit your email, you’ll receive a coupon code for a free Large Classic, Classic Leather, or Classic Custom book.  Great deal!   

Here’s the link to get a promo code for your free book.   You do have to pay for shipping and be a first time customer.  


Act fast on this one.  The coupon code expires 8/31/10. 

Love giveaways?  Link up your giveaway or enter other great giveaways at my new weekly feature:  Sunday Sweepstakes Linkup! 

Pass Me that Ball of Plarn

Wondering what to do with all those plastic shopping bags?  Make Plarn!  Making plastic bag yarn is a great way to recycle those plastic bags.   Making plarn is super easy:  just cut your bags into strips, connect them and wind the whole thing up into a ball.

Here’s a link to an About.com tutorial on how to make plarn.   I’m making plarn that’s separated into a couple of different colors, just because I’m like that.  Once your plarn is made, you can knit it or crochet it into whatever you like.  I’m giving a tote bag a try.  My kids and husband think I’ve fallen off the deep end, but I’m actually having fun with this.   Try googling “plarn pattern” to find lots of great ideas.

Have you created anything lately from recycled materials?
Love giveaways?  Link up your giveaway or enter other great giveaways at my new weekly feature:  Sunday Sweepstakes Linkup!

Go visit more great projects at some of my favorite blogs:  Tidy Mom , Shabby Nest , Tatertots and Jello ,  Funky Junk Interiors and  I Heart Naptime .