{make do monday...on Friday?}

This has by far been one of the easiest, yet my favorite, project I have done in awhile! And I have been craftin it up! Let me tell you! Nesting is in full force over in these parts! You may remember my thrift haul post yesterday, where I showed you the rose picture I bought. This is what I did with it!

First I want to mention that this is not  completely original idea. It was inspired by this little lady. So, to get started you will need:

1. an old painting you dont mind messing around with

2. acrylic craft paint on the color of your choosing

3. paint for your frame if you want to paint it

4. brushes

5. your template...I found mine here but you can always make your own

First I printed out my template and before cutting it out I reenforced it with clear contact paper. Then cut out the deer and lightly attach it to your painting. I used a double sided tape but make sure to check that what you use won't wreck your painting! Because the deer antlers are pretty thin, I had to paint carefully as to not get paint under the template.

When you paint be sure to move from the inside of the template out with your strokes. If you paint toward the template the ends will lift and you won't get a crisp line.
I also painted the brown frame it was in, white for a nice bright contrast. Let your masterpiece dry, and carefully peel off your template. Mine wasn't totally dry when I did this part and it was fine. So if you are like me and totally impatient, go for it!

So, that's really all there is to it! It is one of those projects where everyone sees it and thinks your brilliant until you explain how easy it is :) enjoy! Have a great weekend guys!

{make do monday: peter pan collar onesie}

 {This weekend I went to a super cute baby shower for my friend Amber. We decorated onesies with iron on fabric and it was so much fun! They turned out so cute! I have a lot of very creative friends. Personally I got a little carried away and made 3 different little outfits! My favorite was a little owl that I scrapped together and then cut out letters and wrote HOOT on the butt! It was pretty sweet. Anyway I kept a few scraps to play with at home and made these little onesies for my Hannah girl! My friend Chelsea inspired this idea when she made them at the shower.}

{cute, right?}

 {All you need is fabric in the print of your choice. Chelsea had ironed on a fuse-able fabric onto the back. Then just sketch the design you want on the paper backing and cut out.}

 {When sketching my design i laid my fabric on the onesie and traced the shape I wanted right around the collar to ensure it would be the right size.Then peel the paper backing and iron onto your onesie.}

 {I used some of the extra to cut out little hearts to stick on there too.}

{Overall I think they turned out pretty stinkin cute :) My little girl is going to have quite the wardrobe by the time she makes her appearance!}

{make do monday: diy sugar shaker}

{diy sugar shaker}

{The other day at the thrift store I found this cute little Osterizer mini-blend container and lid. I got a fun idea and decided to turn it into a cinnamon and sugar shaker for making cinnamon toast! I love it! It turned out so cute, so I thought I'd share! I had a lot of help from my Daddio! He did all the hard work :) My Dad is an architect and he is very precise when he does projects! First he laid out a template in AutoCad and printed it out. Since most of use don't have or know how to use AutoCad, you could also use a sharpie to mark where you want to make your holes.}

 {I'm not sure what size drill bit we ended up using but one that's fairly small but you also what to make sure it won't be to big and you end up with a flood of sugar...not that that's so bad :)}

 {Again, my Dad has a great set up for these kinds of projects, so we used his drill press for this project, but a normal drill would work just fine as well.}

{If you used a template, layer it on top of your lid and drill on the spots indicated, or on the sharpie dots you made. I chose to make my holes to the side so as not to drill right though the cute little chef fairy girl!}

 {After you drill your holes you end up with some rugged edges that are pretty sharp and would probably end up collecting a lot of sugar crusties.}

 {Use a dremel tool with a flat grinding stone or abrasive wheel to file down the rough edges and smooth everything out.}

{My lid had a wax-y ring around the inside that collect a lot of the metal shards and dust, so if yours has that you will want to scrub it out really well to get rid of as much of that as possible.}

 {Look how cute! :) My Dad is a genius! When I was little my Dad used to make cinnamon toast for me and there is a real science to it! Let me tell you! Check back Wednesday and I'll share the top secret family recipe!}

Hope your Monday was great! I spent my morning in jury duty...eckk...hopefully I won't have to end up serving! oh please oh please!

.:ali::.

{make do monday: the b word...budgeting}

{When it comes to budgeting, I think most of us fall into two main categories. Those who relish each penny saved and those just plain feel deprived and miserable when penny pinching. I think there are also those who like to swing between the two depending on the day. That would be me :) For the most part lately, I have been very spending conscious and loving it! Hubs and I recently looked over our spending and quite honestly were appalled at the amount of money had been wasted through out the month. As we get closer to baby coming and me staying at home, we are really cinching up the purse strings, partly so we can save as much as possible, and so we can get some new furniture and prepare for our little one, but also to start learning how to live on a verrry tight budget. The motivation of staying at home with my child and not having to work really helps me to become creative and find ways to use what we already have, or upcycle as much as possible. I'm actually pretty proud of how well we have been doing this month! I started tracking our spending in a ledger and hubs put a new cute little cash system keeper thingy in my Easter basket! It has been great! We are doing a cash system for groceries and it has been working so well! I went to the produce stand for this weeks produce and had $18 left of my budget for the 2 week pay period and wouldn't you know it...everything I picked out to buy rang up at $17.99!! Heck yeah!}

{Sadly, budgeting does mean there will be less of this in my life...(see the beautiful latte above :) Not none, just less! But that's ok. i feel like I am already becoming a mother and sacrificing the things I feel are unnecessary or wasteful. And I'm totally ok with that! It feels good to be wise with our money and to be good stewards. It allows us to trust that the Lord will provide for our needs even when we can't see how He will do it! So on this note I want to say that I hope to be sharing more in the near future about our budgeting journey and share little tips and secrets I learn along the way! I recently came across the Tightwad Gazette series of 3 books and they are amazing! This lady is hardcore! I don't think I'll be quite as committed as she is, but it is totally inspiring and full of some really creative ideas! One of my first little ventures has been to save all our containers from yogurt and such. We needed tupperware but I didn't want to spend the moo-lah. It's the little things like that, that really help in the long run! I also have grand plans to redo our apartment on a very tight budget and so far have done a few projects with stuff I had tucked away in my craft closet!

{Here is a peek of one of those projects! So with that said I want to introduce a new feature I am excited about! I haven't lived in an apartment in quite some time and am in the process of turning this weird windowless place into our home. So to document this transformation and share some ideas with my fellow apartment dwellers, I will be writing "Apart{ment} of my heart" every Thursday. I'm pretty excited about this and I'm excited to see how our little home turns out! I am in the process of documenting before pictures to share through out the transformation. So stay tuned friends!}

{I hope all you Mamas out there had a great Mothers Day! I know I did!}

.::ali::.

{guest post: diy raw sugar cubes}

{Come visit me over at Justine's blog today! We are making diy raw organic sugar cubes!}

{make do monday: vanilla extract}

{homemade vanilla extract}

 {This is actually pretty ridiculously easy. Directions are barely required. All you really need is vanilla beans (I used 3-4) vodka, and a bottle to mix in. I used a pop top bottle from Ikea.}

 {Simply make a small slice down the middle of the vanilla beans length wise to open them up. Don't cut all the way through. Place the beans in the bottle and fill with vodka to cover your beans.}

{Your concoction needs to sit for at least 2 weeks before you notice a significant difference. Every few days give it a good little shake to mix things up. You'll not the extract getting darker the longer it sits. Store your homemade vanilla extract in a cool dark place. It should last a long long time. As you use your extract you can top it off with vodka as you run low and use the same beans for awhile. if you notice it isn't as strong anymore just add a new vanilla bean or two. It's really that easy and it smells soooo good! Enjoy!}

.::ali::.

{make do monday (on tuesday): d.i.y. custom planner}

{Hey guys! So I know custom planners are all over the place right now but I am addicted to lists, calendars, and all that jazz. I felt the need for a new planner already! And it's only March! I found inspiration at both of the above links, so check those out! It's a good jumping off point.}

 {I used my label maker, some card stock I had, my letter and number stamps, and other odds and ends to customize my planner just how I wanted it. Dig through your craft supplies and see what you have! You might be surprised what you find to use! I'll bet you can do this project without buying anything new! I did...with the exception of purchasing a $10 calendar layout on etsy, but it was worth it! It came with 3 options so I can use it again if I decide to change it up.}

{I made tabs for monthly calendars, weekly to do's, blog ideas and notes, nesting (chores, home to do's, and projects), and a week calendar to schedule posts. It was fun to customize the sections to exactly what I needed.}

{I wanted to bind the pages into a book but got lazy and didn't have all the right materials for bookbinding, so I just used a small binder that I already had. I used the half page template for this project and printed ALOT of weekly calendar pages, so that there would be separate sets of calendars for 3 different sections, weekly activities, nest and blog schedule. It really helps to keep everything separate!}

{I am still toying with the idea of covering my binder with wood grain contact paper but I don't know how well it will stick. We'll see...Let me know what you think and if you try this! Has anyone else out there made there own agenda this year?}

.::ali::.

{make do monday: d.i.y. birthday banner}

{d.i.y. birthday banner}

{On Saturday we had a surprise birthday party for hubs, since he turned the big 3-0! At the last minute I decided I wanted to make a little "Happy Birthday" banner, but I didn't want to spend anymore money. I ended up taking some cute card stock I had and cutting it into quarters. Next I used my never fail wood grain contact paper and cut out letters for each square. I decided that all lower case letters looked cutest and let them be a little imperfect.}

{I stuck each letter to a different paper and taped them to twine to hang. i would have liked to glue them, but I had a lack of time and I couldn't find my hot glue gun. :( Scotch tape worked just fine though. It was super simple but it turned out looking super awesome :)}

{This isn't the best picture because it was a little dark in the room. I'll try to edit in a better picture when I get one :) Enjoy and happy partying}

.::ali::.

{make do monday [on tuesday]: hot toddy

 {hot toddy}

{I know for a fact I am not the only one out there with a persistent and cantankerous cold! Now I am not one to drink really any alcohol (and quick disclaimer..I apologize if this offends anyone!) but this cold has driven me to drink! No not really, I just have read that the hot toddy is a sort of miracle cold cure and I am willing to try it! Don't worry, it is very little alcohol. I looked up multiple recipes but opted to just brew to taste :)}

{You can start with just hot water or a lightly brewed tea. I used our favorite vanilla chamomile tea. Then I just dropped in a little honey, some lemonade (I didn't have a lemon, but it tasted good, kinda sweetened it up!), and a little bit of whiskey. I used just a little of everything and just kept altering it til i liked it! If you are the recipe type, check these out...here, here, and here. Hopefully you have some success with this!}

.::love ali::.

{make do monday: carved cork stamps}

 {I have fun plans for Valentines day cards this year and in order to do that I wanted to make a heart stamp! If you have old wine corks laying around you can easily carve your own little stamps! I swear it is so quick and easy...and cheap!! Hooray!}

 

 {First draw your design on the cork with a sharpie.}

{Then start carving! I start by making a slit about 1/4 in down on the cork, all the way around. Don't cut all the way through. Next using the tip of your carving tool to carve around your design and dig out the excess cork.}

{Then stamp away friends! Your design will look a bit imperfect simple because your cork won't be perfectly flat, but it's fun because it gives it more charm! Have fun guys!}

.::love ali::.

{make do monday: infused sugars}

{infused sugars}

{I love to flavor my coffee, tea, candied, nuts, oatmeal...well you get the idea...lots of things with different flavor infused sugars! They are so easy to make and are great to give as gifts too! Today I made vanilla sugar, cinnamon vanilla sugar, and lavender vanilla sugar!}

{It's really simple. When using vanilla beans, I make a slit down the middle, not all the way through, just deep enough to open up the bean. Then scrap out the insides and put into your jar with plain sugar. I used Organic cane sugar. I buy it in bulk for cheap at Costco. Vanilla beans are also much cheaper at Costco. They can be pretty pricey most places, so look for them in bulk at big box stores.}

{Then just add whatever flavors you want to include in your creation. I used cinnamon sticks, dried lavender flowers, and vanilla beans. Shake up your jar to distribute evenly. Then let it sit for at least 2 weeks to notice a difference in taste. Shake periodically to mix, maybe every other day or so. Sometimes the moister from the vanilla beans can make you sugar stick together and get clumpy. Especially with finer white sugar.}

{Then just get creative and use in whatever you think might taste good! Recently I used my vanilla sugar to make ice cream at home! Yum! Your sugar will last a long time. Just leave the vanilla beans in as you use the sugar and it will continue to give it a stronger flavor.}

enjoy!

.::love ali::.