Shirt for her Birthday... And The Sale!

Hey guys!!  We celebrated my daughter's birthday today.  When I saw the fabric interfacing out from Silhouette I thought this would be the perfect time to try this stuff out!  I wanted to make her a shirt to wear to her birthday party.   I am a sucker for fabric.  I walked into JoAnn's to get only fabric for the shirt and walked out with enough to make a matching skirt... Ahhh.  Addicting.

Let me show you how cool this stuff is. Here is her shirt...

All you have to do is iron your transfer material onto your fabric.  This takes just a few seconds.

You stick your fabric on your cutting mat and run it through the machine.  The settings come on the instructions.  Super easy!

Once you are done you start pulling away the excess fabric.

And your design peels right off!  Whoop!

Your last step is to iron it on.  I used the sewable transfer with my design since it would be on clothing.  I wanted it to look a bit messy and rough as it washes so I added a fun zigzag stitch around the whole design to seal the deal.  The other option is clean cut which does not require any sewing but you do have to hand stitch it if you are wanting to machine wash it.  I think it would be great for pillows and home decor projects!! I have a few in my head at the moment :-)

I finished it up and got a few more pictures of her before the fam came over.

And the skirt :-)

Fun, Fun. Hope you like it!!

For those of you that are still here... Here is the sale! :-)

For those of you that still need a Silhouette machine...

This month's promo is great!

Just use the code SHANTY at checkout to receive...

Silhouette SD Machine

Sewable Fabric Interfacing

Clean Cut Fabric Interfacing

White Flocked Heat Transfer (I LOVE this stuff)

All for $229!!

For those of you that have the Silhouette and want to try out this great interfacing you can use the code SHANTY to receive 25% off all interfacing!

This promo starts the 21st and is good only through the 27th!!

Hope you get to take advantage of that and let me know if you have any questions!!

~Whitney

Crates for the Storage Bed

Hey guys!  I am loving this spring weather we've been blessed with in Texas this week!  Perfect building weather:)  I finished the storage bins for the full sized storage bed I build last week. 

I designed my own plans for these.  My goal was to achieve the most amount of storage space with the least out of pocket!

I started with two 8ft. sheets of 1/4" plywood.  I had the guys at Home Depot rip each sheet at 10.5" x 8'.  I also purchased two 1 x 10's.  (You can have them cut the rest of the measurements but I just used my miter at home).

Here are my measurements:

1/4" plywood:

12 - 10.5 "x 10.5" (sides of crates)

12 - 10.5 "x 28" (bottoms, back and front of side storage crates)

6 - 10.5 x 24 (bottoms, back and side of the end of the bed storage crates)

1 x 10's:

4 @ 29.5" (face of side storage crates)

2 @ 25.5" (face of end of the bed storage crates)

These are the 1 x 10 faces.

I used Gorilla Glue Wood Glue for every joining piece

and followed up with my Ryobi battery-powered nailer.

I used 1/4" plywood to make the entire crate to maximize the storage space. 

Here is where the 1x 10's come in.  For aesthetic reasons I did not want to use the plywood for the face of the crates so I used a ton of Gorilla Glue Wood Glue to attache the 1 x 10 to the front of the crate.  No nailing needed!

I left it to dry....

Crate 1 down:)

After building 5 more crates it was time to stain!  I stained the storage bed with Minwax Dark Walnut and I wanted a contrast for the crates.  I went with my gut and purchased Minwax Special Walnut and applied one coat to the face of each crate.

I followed up with one coat of Minwax Polycrylic in Clear Gloss.

Now for the handles!

I purchased this rope at Wal-Mart for $4.97 and it was more than enough!

 I found this big ol' drill bit in my hubby's tool box and it was the perfect size for the rope!

Next I measured where I needed to drill for the handles.  On the 4 side crates I marked at 19 3/4" and 9 3/4".  On the short end crates I marked at 16 3/4" and 8 3/4".  I placed the marks 6.5" from the bottom of the crates.

I drilled each hole...

and then cut 6 pieces of rope at 28".

I pushed one end through the front of the crate and tied a knot at the end

and I followed up with the other side.

To keep the crates from scratching the storage bed...

I purchased these felt pads at Wal-Mart for $4.97.

These are easy, just pull off of the sheets and stick to the bottom of the crates.

I put four on each crate.

Now the reveal!

I purchased the bedding at Wal-Mart, on clearance, for $10 marked down from $39!  The throw pillow was $1 down from $10! 

I am going to build a headboard for this next and I have changed my mind on the one I am going to build.  I fell in love with the Reclaimed Wood Headboard on Ana's site!

I think it will finish this look of nicely!  In case you were wondering, my 7-year-old is in LOVE with his new bed!  He has asked to take a bath and go to bed early every day for the last week!  The new will wear off but it's nice for now;) 

Hope you all have a great Spring Break with your families!

~Ashley

DIY Full Storage Bed

So, it's spring cleaning time in our household right now!  I have a love/hate relationship with spring cleaning.  I love getting organized and redecorating but I loathe that you have to create endless messes in the house before the final product!

One project I am starting this spring is my 7-year-olds room.  His room has always been pretty hodge-podge because he likes to express himself with crayons and stickers on his furniture.  I have been bribing him the last year that if he could start taking care of what he has then we would redecorate his room.  So, here we are!  We are starting with a big boy bed which is quite an exciting change from his twin/twin, hand-me-down bunk:)

I'm sure you all remember the Twin Storage Bed that Whit shared with you all!  I have always loved the storage beds that I see in certain "high-end" magazines so this was the bed that I went with.  I  

followed the plans for the Full Storage Bed that from Ana's site! 

No more quick trips to Home Depot;)  I love my little shopping buddy and she looks so excited to be shopping with me;)

After building the pieces to the bed I stained it with Minwax Dark Walnut.  It took two coats and it was super easy! 

I let it dry and followed up with a coat of Minwax Polycrylic Clear Gloss.  This was just the look I wanted with the clear gloss!

So far so good!  I absolutely love it now that it is put together.  Anyone can do this and I suggest it because it is so rewarding (and addicting)!  Not to mention that it only cost me $120 compared to $700!

Advice/Pointers:

~ If you mess up, nothing is unfixable!  Wood putty works wonders and I used a TON;)

~ Use Gorilla Glue Wood Glue!  This is what actually joins the pieces together.  The screws/nails are just to hold in place while the glue dries.  This bed is so sturdy that I can jump on it!

~ Make sure you wipe all the glue drips off, especially if you are going to stain the wood.  If you do not, the stain will not penetrate leaving lighter spots (yes, I learned the hard way but fortunately it is not obvious).

 ~ Check all of your boards to make sure they are straight!  If you get home with bowed boards it will make construction a nightmare!  This is very simple.  Just pick one end up to eye level and look all the way down the board to make sure it is pretty level.  Flip over to check all of the sides.

~ You can have Home Depot cut your boards for you.  I cut my own with my miter saw but I have had them cut boards for me before.  (Make sure you bring a tape measure with you so you do not leave with mistakes).

So that's it for now!  I am going to add the Farmhouse Headboard to his bed next.  I love the look of it and I think it will complement the storage bed nicely:)  I am also working on the storage crates for the cubbies.  I am constructing them without plans so I will share the tutorial on those as soon as they are done!

Don't forget to scroll down to our "I Made it Without My Hubby" party to check-out all of the great entries!  It's not too late to enter;)

~Ashley

Whitney's Nursery!

Hey guys!!

We have had lots of questions about our nurseries.  Ash revealed hers a few weeks ago.  I have been waiting until I feel like it's totally "finished" but knowing my personality that reveal may not happen until she is 2 years old.  So... Here we go :-)

This is E's bed.  We found it pretty cheap at Baby Depot.  I think it was right at $200 and it converts to a toddler bed so I was happy.

This is the armoire that was black and in the living room in it's previous life.  A little paint goes a long way!

I know Ash received a less than friendly comment about the TV in her nursery.  Well, guess what??  Behind those doors hides a TV in my nursery too!  Do our babies watch these? Obviously not.  But, we do enjoy sitting in the rockers with the babies and watching TV.  You know what else??  I bottle feed!  I guess with the TV and bottle feeding combined I might just be in the running for "worst mom of the year".  Seriously people. :-))

Here is the entire wall with my magnetic photo board!

And a little nightstand I revamped.  That is the lamp I showed you guys HERE!

Window shot.

That amazing trunk is one of my next projects.  I think it will go red... What you think??

Chest of drawers...

Painted it yellow and added those great $2 Hobby Lobby knobs!

I LOVE our bedding!  I was ready to whip out the sewing machine and make my own until Ashley sent me a picture of the bedding she chose.  I told her I would be copying and I did just that!

I love the prints of the fabrics!

Bedskirt...

Bumper...

And my rocker (that I happily watch TV in:)...

This rocker started green and I slipcovered it with a thick, soft brown corduroy. 

I can show you a tutorial on that later.  Not too hard but oh so time consuming.

And my curtains!  I made these using a drop cloth and attaching some fabric and ribbon to the bottom.  

And one more shot...

That's about it!

I'm sure you noticed some blank wall space.  It's all in my head but getting it done will happen soon enough.  I'll keep you posted on it!

Don't forget about tonight's party!

See you then!

~Whitney