Twin Girls' DIY Nursery

Hi there! Had some babies a little bit ago... 4 months ago. I started working on their nursery before they were born, but am just now finishing.  Probably because I had to make almost every decoration and/or collect used items. Oh and because twin newborns sort of take up a lot of time. Who knew?!

It started with finding these cute fabrics at SAS which were inspiration for a woodland creatures plus florals theme and took off from there. I am NOT a decorator and wish I could just pay someone to come decorate my whole house, but I had fun putting it all together and a pretty happy with how it turned out.

Pillow covers made with fabric remnants, glider from Craigslist 

Cute quilt EmmaLee made, hand-me-down crib, blanket crocheted by my aunt

This saying popped into my head when I was thinking about twins and I had to use it! I watercolored these little signs, mounted them on floral fabric and threw them in cheap Ikea frames. Blessing dresses crocheted by my mom.

Branch from our yard on Ikea hooks + a paper flower garland I made

Big paper flowers are by Bethany and I, Ikea spice racks as book shelves

Prints and frames from Ikea, fabric plushy trees and pompom flowers I made, wood log round from JoAnn's painted in chalkboard paint

Best Kept Candle Secret

As a pet owner (AKA crazy cat lady) I am a little paranoid that my house smells like my pets, specifically their litter box. EWW!  My husband and I are a little obsessive about keeping the house smelling good, but we really can't justify spending $25 on a candle.  

Not my photo- stole it off google images.

I try to avoid shopping at the black hole that is WalMart- but I do get my candles there.  They are cheap (under $6 for a huge 20 oz. jar) and smell just as strong and great as Yankee or Gold Canyon.  My favorites are Mainstay's brand Mulled Spices (perfect for Christmas time) and Pumpkin Spice.  Most recently BH&G True Fall Splendor (that name! lol).

Where do you find cheap, good smelling candles?

*This post is in NO way sponsored.  I don't even like WalMart- just their candles and people watching.

Entertainment Deals

 Once upon a time I was searching here:

 for a date/gift for the husband. Everyone knows about Groupon (on the small chance someone reading this doesn't, just follow the link and enjoy browsing, by location, deals on everything) but I found a Groupon for something not many have heard of. It was for this:

 fillaseat.com. Here is a brief explanation as well as a pro-con list (currently available in the above cities):
1. pay $80 for a year membership for 2 OR $150 for a year membership for 4 (groupon had the memberships for 50% off here in Dallas!!!)
2. claim free tickets on your city's fillaseat website
3. enjoy awesome entertainment whenever you choose for 365 days

PROS:

- after the one-time membership fee, EVERY ticket is 100% free!!!
- you get to pick and choose what tickets you want (in Dallas over the last 2 months there have been comedy shows (tons!), bull fighting, a monster truck show, hockey games, the ballet, magic shows, plays, a Cuban symphony, some others)
- the primary account holder (or spouse) can take whomever they want to whichever shows they want
- it gets you out of the house and around the city (great for us since we are new to DFW)
- broadens your interests (wouldn't have guessed it, but I actually like hockey!)
- you can sign up at any time and get a year's worth of filling seats!
- combine with a groupon food deal for an excellent but budget-friendly date-night

CONS:
- many shows/games are "b-list" (not popular/familiar) ...hence the company's name
- available shows/games are updated on the website randomly, and tickets can go very fast, so you have to check it often
- there have been a couple weeks where there were only 2 or 3 shows available that didn't interest us (so date-night isn't guaranteed)
- if you don't go to a show you claim tickets for, you may forfeit your entire membership
- you don't get to see what's available in your city (or what's been available in the past) until you buy a membership

**the websites have tons of info/rules; I highly recommend reading them to see if it's a good fit for you**

For us, our $80 has already been "reimbursed" from 1. the tickets we've claimed and 2. having a reason to explore the cool area we live in... and there are still 10 more months to go!

Family Tree Wall- Three Generations

I've had this project in mind for a long time, and finally got around to finishing!  I framed wedding pictures of Ray and I, our parents, and our grandparents. For some I didn't have an actual wedding pic, so I just used  couple pictures close to the time they were married.   I got the frames and letter "H" at Hobby Lobby, Michael's, and Home Goods.  They were all on sale, and they averaged about $6 each. I was going for a variety of colors and textures with the frames, but an overall cohesive look.  

The pictures were all printed in a sepia tone to pull them together. 

 Here is a before and after of the stairway.  I painted the hideous white railing, painted the wall a light yellow, and added the pictures.  I arranged them to follow the line of the stair rail, with my side of the family on one side of the "H", and Ray's side on the other. 

 I love that my kids can see their ancestors every time they go up and down the stairs!  

"Family faces are magic mirrors.  Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present, and future."  ~Gail Lumet Buckley

Painted DIY Roman Shades: On a Budget

SOOOO, this is what happens when you rent a house full of mini-blinds AND share that house with a curious cat: 

Obviously, it got a little uncomfortable to live fully exposed to the neighbors so I needed a quick fix.  Beautiful, sturdy, wooden blinds would be my preferred solution but too costly for a rental. Instead, I found 1 pack of THESE curtains at Ikea (discounted at $14.99 which equals about $2.30/yard), 5 yards of muslin ($0.90/yard) at Dallas's CHEAPEST fabric store, and THIS awesome tutorial on pinterest. With the cost of the fabric glue, my end product: 5 Roman shade window treatments for about $5 each.

I got a bit ambitious on the first shade and decided to paint THIS print on it. I like to call the finished look "free-hand weathered" basically because I didn't know what I was doing. So if any of y'all have tips on how to paint fabric, feel free to share! Here is what I did:

 1. Print off desired shape and trace with a pencil or chalk the same color of the paint. (I used a pen the color of the fabric but it shows through the paint... bad idea)

 2. Lay fabric flat on cardboard since the paint will bleed through.

 3. Dilute the fabric paint just slightly with water (the more water you add, the more it will bleed) and paint over stenciled outline.

4. Let dry for a couple hours and then follow steps in Roman shades tutorial linked above.

Now, even when I forget to raise the blinds, Horatio can weasel his was under the fabric without ruining the fixture.

(randomly foggy day in Dallas)

Shopping Tip

Just thought I'd share this fun little shopping tip I saw on a friend's blog since I can totally picture all of us doing this.  She says:

JCP's Christmas Buttons. Here's what you do: Go to every JCP cash register possible and ask for Christmas buttons. It's basically as awesome as trick-or-treating because at each register they give you 2 to a handful of adorable Christmas pins with a code on the back where you go online to enter for a chance win gift cards and other prizes. You can enter 2 per person a day and it's kind of fun and addicting because we've already won $70 dollars in gift cards in just two days!

I will say that I tried this and found that people here in California are far more stingy--no handfuls for me. But so far I've got $15 so it's worth a shot (plus now I have a bunch of cute pins that I don't know what to do with)! Also try to go at a time that's not very busy, because it's pretty awkward to stand in a line of people making actual purchases just to ask for some free buttons. Let me know how it goes!

Easiest Skirt EVER

One time I found this awkward-fitting, stretchy dress at a thrift store.

Then I chopped off the top 4 inches and had a new skirt.

Then I remembered that tight, horizontal stripes are not for the pear-shaped (hence the long sweater). But for those of you narrow-hipped ladies who probably have not yet given birth, go for it! 

P.s. If you don't happen to have a stretchy dress lying around, you could easily make this by tracing a pencil skirt you already have onto 2 layers of stretchy fabric and sewing up the sides. 

Rescued Skirt and Necklace

Before you throw something away that appears unusable, think outside the box, and you may be able to prolong the life of whatever you were going to get rid of. 

 Example #1 is a dress with a high waist that had gotten too short for my daughter (rather, she had gotten too tall).  She loved it and was sad to think of giving it away, so she became resourceful and cut off the top of the dress above the elastic waist, folded the raw edge under, and with no sewing, it became a skirt that is plenty long for her!  I'm proud of her for the genius idea and grateful that she's saving me money by wearing it longer!

 Example #2 is a necklace who's beads were chipping and peeling and therefore looking very shoddy.  I was ready to toss it when I had an idea: paint over the chipped areas with matching nail polish!  It's good as new now, and I don't have to run out and buy another red necklace.

Homemade Halloween Roundup

This family doesn't mess around when it comes to Halloween costumes. It may have something to do with the fact that throughout our childhood and adolescence you could catch one or all of us in costume on any given day (dance recitals, plays, homemade music videos, or just because going to high school is much more fun dressed as a mermaid..Bethany). Whatever the reason, we take it pretty seriously and would never go out and buy any old costume. They must be made from scratch or scrounged up at the last minute from things around the house.

So,without further ado, I present some Smith Family Halloween costumes from the last few years... (I apologize for bad photo quality)

Couples:

Freddie Mercury and David Bowie- curated and created by Bethany

Bo Peep and Woody from "Toy Story"- made by my sister-in-law

Pee Wee Herman and Jambi the Genie- Created and assembled by Erica

A gold digger- put together by Kami

Nerd alert! Pieces from "Settlers of Catan"- made by EmmaLee

A surgeon and his patient- intestines designed and sewed by Bethany

Nintendo Peach and Mario- made by my sister-in-law

Bob Ross and his "happy little trees" masterpiece- made and put together by EmmaLee

Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon (please tell me other children loved anime as much as we did)- made by yours truly

Edwina and H.I. from "Raising Arizona- put together by EmmaLee

Where's Waldo?  Assembled by Richard and Erica

Kids:

Cindy Loo Who (book version) with Christmas ornament candy bucket- made by EmmaLee

Buddy the Elf from "Elf"- made by Amy

Cheeseburger- made by EmmaLee

Pizza- made by EmmaLee

Cruella Deville- Made by EmmaLee

Link from "Zelda"- made by Lari (our mom)

Family:

"Star Wars" characters- made by Amy

Ghost Busters and the Stay Puft Marshmallow - made by Amy

Hopefully this will inspire some brilliant homemade costumes! If you want to know more about how any of these costumes were made or have a great homemade costume you'd like to share, let us know at CraftyPantsBlog@gmail.com.