Bathroom Mirror Frame

What you'll need:

-Moulding to cover the outer edges of your mirror (mine was about 10')

-liquid nails

-wood putty

-nail gun

-compressor

-miter saw

-sand paper

-stain

-level

Remove the plastic pieces holding your mirror and replace them with washers one by one.  You can use the same screws.  

Measure and trim your Moulding with the Miter saw at 45 degree angles.  Sand and smooth off each corner with the sand paper.  Stain your wood as dark as you please and let it dry.

  Apply liquid nails to the back of each piece of wood.  Using a level; stick the pieces of wood onto your mirror one by one.  Using your compressor and nail gun shoot a nail in each end of each board to hold it up while the liquid nails dry.  Don't put too many nails. 

 Putty up the nail holes and the corners.  Sand the putty down and touch up with stain where needed.  And you're done.

How to make leather covered Cushions for a Breakfast Nook

What you'll need:

-heavy duty black thread

-5 yards of black leather material ( I got mine from Joanns)

-2 26" black sports zippers

-2 $20 foam pad cushions from Home Depot (each about 3'x6' in size)

-Industrial Strength sticky back Velcro

Start by measuring off the top of the nook.  Mine is 103"x19".  Divide in two the 103" and you get 51.5".  The cushions are 3" thick.  So each cushion is 51.5"x19"x3".

Cut each foam piece down to the 51.5"x19".

Measure and cut out two pieces measuring:

-51.5"x19"

-19"x3"

-51.5"x3"

(you'll need to do this twice-so you'll end up with 4 of each)

Take two of your pieces measuring 51.5"x3" and your two zippers and lay them next to one another to line them up.  Cut down the middle of each piece to where the zipper stops.

Sew the zipper to this slit.  Do this for each zipper.  

Now you'll need to sew a small piece of material to cover up the space at the top of the zipper in the picture above.  

Cut a piece of material measuring 3"x3" and sew a 1/4" hem at the top.  Fold the sides over and sew a 3/4" hem.  Fold the bottom up and sew a 1" hem.  Attach this piece by sewing around the outer edges.  Refer to the picture below.

Now sew the 4 outer edge pieces of the cushion cover to one another.  

Next, sew the top of the cushion cover to these 4 pieces you've just sewn together.  Now unzip the zipper all the way(Don't forget to do this or you'r going to have to unpick a bunch)!  Sew the bottom piece on and turn the cushion cover inside out.  Push the corners out as much as possible.  

Insert a cushion into each cover.  This may take some time since they should fit snuggly.  Zip up your zipper and you're done with your cushions.

Pull out your Industrial Strength Velcro and cut off 4 pieces measuring 6" long.  Attach 2 to each side of the top of the Breakfast Nook.  Pull off the sticky cover and lay the cushions on top of the Velcro.  Now sit on the cushions so they adhere well.

And you're finished!

Click here to see the directions on how to make the Breakfast Nook.

Two-Tone Banister Update

Not such a huge fan of oak so I covered my old Banister with two colors of paint.  I started sanding this baby down thinking I was going to stain it like my cabinets, but it was taking way to long!  I saw an ad in the mail that inspired me to paint it with these two different colors.  These colors go great in my home.  They match my kitchen cabinets, kitchen table, bar stools, and chairs perfectly.  I have the two-tone chairs and bar-stools so I love the look this adds to the kitchen.

You'll need:

-1 quart dark (really dark) brown interior paint

-1 quart black interior paint

-paint brush

-fairly small paint brush

-Mineral Spirits

-Kilz oil based primer

-paint tape

-1 quart Polyurethane finish

Start by taping off your banister. Apply 2-3 coats of the Kilz oil based primer.  When you're done with the primer you'll need to pull out the Mineral Spirits and soak your brush in it to clean it out.

With a smaller brush, paint a couple of coats of the black paint onto the top and bottom edges of the Spindles in your Banister.  Now, apply 2 coats to the middle of the Spindles so they are completely covered.

Apply 3 coats of your dark brown paint to the rest of the Banister.  When dry, cover everything with your Polyurethane finish.  It's a good idea to apply about 5-6 coats on the spots you'll touch quite often.

I love the way this turned out!!!

Cinderella Toddler Swim Suit Cover Up

This pattern is fairly similar to the Snow White Toddler Swim Suit Cover Up.  

You'll need:

-1 white towel

-1 light blue towel

-2 snaps & snap attachment tool

-matching thread

-1/4" stretch band

-scissors

-sewing machine

Cut from your two towels pieces similar to these in the picture below

I followed a 3T dress' measurements.

Sew a 1/4" hem on the ends of the white sleeves (there should be 2).  And sew the top and bottom edges together (where I have added black lines in the picture below).

Cut a strip down the back side piece about 6" long.  Sew on an edge of the towel to each side.  Also, sew the top shoulders and sides under the arm pit together (while inside out).

 Attach your snaps to these white pieces with your snap tool.

Pin and sew on both sleeves.  On the ends of each sleeve, sew on a stretchy band to create a gathered and poofy sleeve look.

Fold in half each white piece separately.  On each side of the half, pin and sew 3 darts.  Make sure to trim the excess underneath off so you won't sew such a thick piece to your bottom skirt with the ruffles.  Measure each piece to make sure their tips touch one another and don't over lap when attached to the blue bottom piece of the cover up.

Now pin and sew on both white pieces to the blue bottom of the cover up.  As you sew these pieces on, don't forget to fold over about 6 pieces on the front and the back so you'll create a ruffled look.  This is why the bottom blue piece is so wide by almost double.

Turn inside out and pin and sew the bottom piece to the top piece making sure your ruffles are in place.

And you're finished.

Trick or Treat Sign

What you'll need:

-different kinds of Halloween themed scrapbook paper

-cut out letters

-Mod Podge

-paint brush

-different colors of tole paint

Paint your blocks.  While they dry, cut out your scrapbook paper to fit the blocks.  When dry, attach the paper to the blocks with Mod Podge.  Once the paper is on, attach the letters to the paper.  The entire front of each block should be covered with Mod Podge.  

And you're done.

Princess Party Ideas

Patriotic Wreath

I made the outer edge last summer to go with a gone surfing sign. So if you want to do that part you'll need more by the yard burlap, crafting wire, and a metal wreath (used for burlap wreaths).  

What you'll need:

-by the yard burlap

-crafting wire

-letters

-your choice tole paint colors

-glitter in the same colors as your tole paint

-paint brushes: one 1" wide and another 1/4" wide

-Jute string

-cardboard

-razor knife

-hairspray

-Philips head screw driver

Cut 6 pieces of burlap about 6" wide and 25" long.

Using your 1" brush paint chevron stripes onto your burlap.  Now, with your 1/4" brush paint smaller chevron stripes on both sides of the 1" stripe.  I painted 2 strips of burlap the same color.

The tole paint dries so fast on the burlap so you don't have time to throw some glitter on there.  Instead, using your hairspray, spray the chevron stripes up close and heavy.  Now sprinkle your glitter on the chevron stripes; staying only on the painted color as good as you can.  Hint: Do one piece of burlap at a time when spraying with hairspray so it doesn't dry out on you.

Paint your letters with the tole paint colors you chose.  Sprinkle the matching color of glitter generously on top of the still wet paint.

Pull out your card board and draw a circle just smaller than the existing metal wreath.

Poke two holes for every spot you'll pull your burlap down to secure it to the card board.  Cut pieces of Jute about 7" long to have enough room to pull the burlap through and tighten to tie in a double knot on the bottom.  

Randomly start poking holes and attaching your burlap to the card board.  Try to leave enough room between each attachment so your burlap and poof up.

This is what mine looked like when I attached all my burlap.  

And here's an idea of what the back looked like.

Now poke two holes close to one another at the edge (wherever you want the top to be) so you can attach it to the door hook.

Once again, poke some more holes...4 to be exact.  Along the top.  These are to feed the crafting wire through to attach the letters to the wreath.  

Cut 3 pieces of wire measuring 15" and 1 piece 20" long.  Attach the letters to the crafting wire.  Using a dowel or your finger, wrap the wire around it to create a spiral look.