Master Bathroom Update: Sneak peak at finished tile

It's so difficult to take pictures of Jeff's work because when he finishes one step, he immediately moves on to the next, which means covering up what he's done.  I was able to snap a few quick pictures of the tiled shower before Jeff covered it in plastic to texture and paint the bathroom walls.  The tiling was quite the challenge with such small tile and lots of cuts, but I think it turned out great, and hopefully, Jeff feels it was worth all his hard work.

DIY mother's day gift from your baby/toddler

I posted this finger painted pillow last year, but wanted to share again as you prepare for mother's day.  If you have a sewing machine, you can pull this one off pretty easily.  I know my moms love handmade gifts over anything store bought, and this is one your baby or toddler can help you with. 

Last years post:



I wanted to show you the gift I made for my mother and mother in law for mother's day.  I wanted to do something that involved Wesley and this idea just came to me a few nights before the big day.  I think it turned out great {I'm actually pretty proud of myself}. It was relatively simple and I think it makes a great handmade gift for grandparents at any occasion.

A few notes about the supplies:

For my fabric, I used an old white sheet.

It is almost necessary to have a helper (other than your artist)  

I just taped regular computer paper to our dining room table. If I were to do it again, I might use glossy photo paper because when I transferred the paint to the fabric, some of the paper came with it. It eventually came off but to avoid that issue another type of paper would work better.  Or if you had some plexi-glass or other type of material hanging around, that would probably work to.

 

I don't have a good picture of this step (I was washin the baby), but this is really the key for getting the look I got on my fabric.  I don't think you can really mess this step up, but don't try to finger paint directly on the fabric.  I mean, I guess you could, but I don't recommend it.  I think you get a cooler, more abstract result by transferring the image. 

Here is a good pillow tutorial for you: Click Me.  I am no expert sewer.

And tada! You are done. It was a total hit with the grandmas.  I actually wish I had made a few more for myself.

My take on Word Art

I completed this "art piece" a while back and never posted it.  I was inspired by all the word art out there on Pinterest and came up with this:

I used Jeff's favorite Scripture, Psalm 139, a piece of plywood, my circut for cutting the letters out, contact paper, and paint. I basically made my own letter stickers by cutting out contact paper.  Then I just stuck the letters on my plywood and painted over it.  I began by spray painting it white and then added additional colors to create a soft water colorish effect.  I then pulled the stickers off and waala! Totally easy (but timely) project that anyone can do. 

Master Bathroom part 2: demolition

Enjoy these blurry phone pictures of the demolition of the pre-existing master bedroom closet. 

Daddy's Little Helper

Wesley's favorite thing these days is working with daddy.  He loves helping daddy out and is quite proficient in labeling tools.  Hammer, screwdriver, pliers, saw, wrench...he knows them all.  He's making daddy proud.

Wesley's cute shirt is from H&M.  Please ignore the bare feet on in the construction zone.

BTW, Jeff finished the plumbing on Monday!  Update coming soon.

Building a Master Bathroom part 1

So Jeff has been busy building a master bathroom!  Our tiny house has one small bathroom that just isn't cutting it.  We had been wanting to add a second bathroom since we moved in, but could quite figure out where to place it.  Then Jeff had the brilliant idea of replacing the walk-in master closet with a bathroom.  It sounds crazy at first, but the closet was huge and not built very well.  We had constant mold issues because the framing was built directly on the ground.  The closet addition also covered up the only window in Wesley's room, so that was an issue as well.  So the new bathroom will be a little smaller than the previous closet so that Wesley can have a window, and it will be built the right way (at least we hope).

Jeff is planning to do everything on his own including the plumbing and electrical (with the help of a few friends that can fit under the house). He is currently in the plumbing stage after demolition, foundation building, and framing.  Once the plumbing is complete, it will really start to take shape.

Here is what it looks like right now.

 

This is what it looked like outside before the demolition took place:

The whole area behind this wall was our master closet.  What are doing for a closet now?  Welp, Jeff already took care of that.  I'll post about our new closet soon.    

And here ia a digital mock up of the general layout for the bathroom.  It will be tight, but I think it fits with the size of our house. And a small bathroom is better than no bathroom, right?

Baby Shower Banner

My cousin contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I could make her a fabric banner/bunting for her friend's baby shower.  She also wanted me to put the baby's name on the banner.  This is what I ended up with. 

I started by picking out four different fabrics in coordinating colors.  She requested pink for the baby girl! 

Then I found a template HERE so that my flags would be the perfect size.  I grabbed my rotary cutter, mat, and fabric and got to work cutting flags.

After I cut out my flags, I pinned two together back to back so that the bunting would be double sided.  Then I sewed around the sides using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. 

Then I trimmed each flag with pinking shears to add a cute detail and strength.

Then I pinned the flags to double-fold bias tape approximately 2-3 inches apart and then sewed the flags to the bias tape.

To add the name, I first found a font online that I liked.  I used Marcelle Script. Then I printed her name on card stock and cut out the letters. 

Then I traced the letters onto a small piece of fabric that I ironed onto a Heat n Bond iron-on adhesive.  

Once all letters were traced, I cut them out, peeled off the paper and ironed on to the flags. 

Cheap and Easy DIY Dinosaur Costume

 

Wesley had a cute hand-me-down dino costume for Halloween so I wasn't planning on being super mom and DIYing his costume this year.  And I wasn't planning on dressing up either, until Halloween approached and I got in the Spirit.  Luckily for me, I was able to DIY the cheapest and easiest dino costume for Jeff and I.  It cost me $4 for both of our costumes and I was able to complete them both in about an hour.  Want to know how???  Here are the directions.

 

You Need:

A Sweatshirt

4-6 squares of felt

Scissors (I used pinking shears)

Pins

Sewing machine or needle and thread

Hot glue gun and glue

 

 

Start by folding your felt in half and cutting spikes (triangles) using the folded edge as the bottom of your triangle.  So when you unfold your triangle, you have a diamond shape.

 

 

Then pin your diamonds in place (where you want your spikes).  FYI- if i did this again, I think I would have put the spikes right next to eachother. 

 

 

Next, cut out your tail and pin it to the bottom edge of your sweatshirt.  Mine is a little off, but what dinosaur has a perfect tail, right?

 

 

Then cut out an oval or circle for the front of your sweatshirt. If you are using a zip-up like mine, cut your circle in half and pin it to your sweatshirt.

 

 

Then sew a staight line up the middle of the back of your sweatshirt, catching the center of your spikes.  If you plan to remove the spikes later, set your stitch to the longest length and start and stop sewing at each spike so you have less holes.

 

Sew on your tail and tummy as well.

 

Then using hotglue (or you can sew), glue the spikes halves together and watch them stand up.

 

 

And you are all set!  Seriously,the cheapest, easiest, and fastest homemade costume I have ever attempted.

 

 

Here's Jeff sporting his sweatshirt with our little dino.

 

 

And our little dino family.