FEATURED... ONE YEAR LATER

Remember this....

Who would have ever thought that a simple, no cost project that I did a year ago, would have such staying power.

A great website called AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com is Featuring it for the upcoming Holiday, this year. Please be sure to go check it out, along with all the other Great Ideas!!

GROWTH CHART

I don't mean to offend anyone when I ask this question, but seriously, why are most all the Growth Charts that are out there for sale, so babyish / cheesy / too colorful / tacky - whatever? You know what I mean, right?

I have been looking for one since my first son was born almost four years ago, but everything I'd seen made me want to puke. So early last summer (before I started my serious craft blog surfing obsession), I started to formulate this idea in my head. I went to a craft store and bought some wood numbers and some 1/8" balsa wood. I knew I wanted a board with numbers running up the middle and little tick marks every 2" using the balsa wood. But I had NO idea how I wanted to decorate the board, only that it couldn't be "babyish / cheese / too colorful or tacky".

Then a few months back, while visiting a Linky Party (sorry, I don't remember which one), I saw this sign someone had made for their potting shed... all it said was "grow" - so simple, so telling. I thought I had bookmarked that project, but I didn't, so I'm sorry that I can't link you to the original inspiration for this...

My Growth Chart.

One of our friends had given me the 1X10 pine board last summer when the plan was first starting to percolate. Even though this past holiday weekend should have been spent replenishing my stock for the Farmer's Market or preparing for my family's big visit next weekend (I have 16 people coming), but no, I whipped up this bad boy.

I painted the board using leftover white interior trim paint. Then using my Cricut, I printed out the letters on Freezer Paper. I know Freezer Paper is great for making stencils, but I used the actual letter shape to trace around. I painted the letters using orange craft paint. I taped off the 1/4" wide line up the middle, and used leftover grey paint from my husband's office to paint it, the numbers and the little tick marks, which are 2" long. I then made a little template to help me equally space the tick marks, and glued them down, along with the numbers, using E600 glue.

This morning, when I took the above pictures, I wasn't sure how I was going to hang it, but then I had an idea based on something I had seen once over at Tatertots & Jello.

I knew I didn't have any wire that would be strong enough, but I did have plenty of wire hangers from my husband's dry cleaning. So I took one apart, and straightened it out before I bent it at the center.

I then drilled two tiny holes in the board and threaded the wire through. Then I just bent the wire into an interesting shape.

I chose to hang the Growth Chart in my husband's office, not because it matches the decor, but because my boys don't go in there that often, so less chance for the numbers and tick marks to get "accidentally" knocked off.

I plan to record my oldest son's growth on the left and my youngest son's growth on the right.

I REALLY LOVE how it turned out!!! Definitely (at least in my eyes) not "babyish / cheesy / too colorful or tacky". What do you think?

I'm linking up at these Linky Parties, so be sure to go there to check out all the other fabulous ideas...

A Glimpse Inside

Tatertots & Jello

Under the Table & Dreaming

Flamingo Toes

C.R.A.F.T.

Embellishing Life

PAPER FLOWER BOUQUET

What do you think of my Beautiful Shades of White Paper Flower Bouquet?

The idea kind of all came about when I found the Gorgeous Green Glass Vase at the thrift store. Then, I saw the Q-Tips Flowers at Homemade Ginger. I thought they kind of looked like Dandelions, which is the floral mascot of my Blog and Etsy shop.

She was inspired by "Display" flowers she had seen at Anthropologie, and pretty much copied them exactly. My "Dandelions" are different, in that I didn't colorized them.

Then, a few months ago, the "Kissing Balls" were all over Blogland. I knew right away, when I first saw them, that I wanted to make some, but didn't know for what purpose. When my bouquet started to "formulate" in my head, I knew these Pomanders from Whipperberry would be perfect.

I went on the total cheap for these flowers, in that I used heavy weight computer paper, and used my Cricut to cut all the flowers rather than using a punch.

I now had two great flowers to work with, so my first thoughts were that my entire bouquet would be made up of just them... but then, I saw these Amazing Daisies over at Thrive.

She made hers using dried up baby wipes and burlap for the center. I used paper towels and rolled felt that I had cut with pinking shears.

Even though I really liked the basically monochromatic white scheme, I wanted to add a little more color to the overall arrangement. A few weeks ago, I had seen this darling Pinwheel garland at Peppermint Plum, and knew Pinwheels would be the perfect little touch of whimsy that my bouquet needed.

Using some left over scrapbook paper in green and white polka dots and little white pom-poms for the centers, I made three small Pinwheels.

Now, be sure to check back next weekend to see why exactly I created this bouquet...

and why my blogging posts have been so few and far between as of late.

I'm linking up here... be sure to go visit these linky parties to see a bunch of really awesome projects.

C.R.A.F.T.

A Glimpse Inside

Tatertots & Jello

This project was Featured here...

SHOE UPDATE...

I decided to add a little somethin-somethin to my spray painted shoes...

little white vinyl polka dots.

Can't wait to wear them while on our Easter weekend Getaway!!

I'm linking up here... be sure to go there to check out all the other awesome ideas.

Tatertots & Jello

Designer Garden

Under the Table and Dreaming

This Updated Project was Featured Here...

EASTER WREATH

Well, I raided my fabric scraps again, and made this Rag Wreath for Easter.

Just like my St. Pat's wreath, I used a wire hanger, only this time I shaped it into a square...

and cut the fabric to 1" x 7" strips.

I thought it looked more interesting hanging on the diagonal.

Happy Easter!!!

I'm linking up here... be sure to go there to see all the other awesome projects.

Tatertots & Jello

a href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/search/label/Link%20Parties" target="_blank">

This project was Featured here...

NEW SHOES... ALA SPRAY PAINT

What do you think of my new shoes?

Aren't they really pretty in the sunlight?

A couple of different times, while cruising through BlogLand, I've seen where ladies have spray painted their shoes. And I thought... "ooooooh, I want to do that too." And so I did.

I got a pair of $10 white flats at Walmart, and a can of Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze (Gloss) spray paint. I cut off the little ties that were there, and added the bias tape bows.

Don't they look like something Snow White would have worn? Or better yet... Little Bow Peep?

I'm linking up here... be sure to go there and check out all the other awesome ideas.

Tatertots & Jello

This project was FEATURED here...

A BUNNY'S PEDESTAL

And what exactly is a "Bunny's Pedestal", you ask? Well I'll show...

but first let me introduce you to the bunnies.

Are these not the cutest little bunny rabbits you've ever seen?

I found them at Joann's, and thought they were just too adorable to pass up.

I knew I wanted to make them part of my Easter decor, but because of their miniature stature, they would need something to help them have more presence.

I had recently made a custom purse for a customer from my Etsy shop, and used this beautiful quatrefoil patterned fabric. So that was my jumping off point. I rifled through my other craft supplies and came up with these components...

fabric, chipboard, 1" wood beads, and some pom-pom trim I pulled off an old gift bag.

The first thing I did, was to glue the wood beads together.

Then I cut out six circles from the chip board.

I cut the two largest circles the same size - they would become the top of the pedestal. The other four were progressively smaller - they would become the base of the pedestal. I made the initial cut with my Fiskars cutting tool, but due to the thickness of the chipboard, I had to finish the cuts with a pair of scissors. ( I could have done this much easier with my Cricut, but I have yet to purchase a deep-cutting blade).

Because I didn't have a clean edge from the scissors' cut, I sanded down the edges a little.

Then I glued the four smaller circles together to create a little dimension to the pedestal's base.

Then I glued the wood bead stack to the base.

After gluing the two larger circles together, I glued them to the top of the stack.

I traced around the top circles onto the fabric, and cut it out.

Now, all the steps above were done about a week ago. Then, my poor little unfinished pedestal, had to sit around and wait for the weather to get warmer, so the next step could be completed.

Finally, yesterday, the temperature got above 65, and my little pedestal got a couple coats of white spray paint.

Then today, I completed the final steps. First I got out the Mod Podge...

and glued the fabric to the top...

then applied a coat of Mod Podge on top of the fabric to act as a sealant.

Once that dried, it was time to add the pom-pom trim.

Using fabric glue, I ran a bead of glue around the thin

edge of the chipboard and attached the trim.

Tah-Dah... A Bunny's Pedestal!

Don't they look cute and happy up on their little perch?

I can't wait to put together my Easter decor and set them in a Place of Honor.

I think after the holiday, this will also make a perfect little Cupcake Stand.

I'm linking up here... be sure to there and visit and see all the other awesome ideas.

Tatertots & Jello

This Project was Featured here...