Toy Box Makeover

I redid my kids' toy box from Golden Girls chic to DIY cheap. Not sure that sounds all that appealing but it looks a whole lot better. I bought the giant wicker box about 5 years ago on Craigslist for $20 when we were just learning what it meant to have a baby with five million toys. I didn't really like it then but we were young, semi-broke, and it fit in the backseat of my Accord. Sold.

Then, a few weeks ago we were having some people over and it dawned on me how much I really didn't like it. On top of that, the wicker was falling off and leaving little pieces of straw everywhere that kept getting stuck in our socks. Time to intervene.

So, I drug it out to the garage and the kids and I went at it. We pulled off a lot of the wicker with our hands and switched to needle-nose pliers when we got to a nail. Red rain boots optional.

There were a ton of these babies to pull out. I worked my way around and pulled out as many as I could and then, it happened. 

I was yanking out a particularly large, rusty nail that used to be holding the handle on, and the pliers slipped. Ouuuuchhhh! I sliced my wrist quite badly. I probably should have been using a hammer to get that nail out. I had to stop, Google "tetanus", and then realized I should head to the doctor for a quick shot since I could not remember the last time I had one and the symptoms of tetanus seemed quite unpleasant. On top of that, because of the location of my laceration, they took a picture of it. Yes, the nurse got a camera, and took a photo of my arm. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's going in my file for "psychiatric reasons". Good times. I tried to explain my DIY lifestyle. I'm not sure the believed me. Moving on!

After I was all bandaged up, we got back to work. Turns out, landscaping clippers work really well to cut wicker. :) A few cuts later, it pealed right off.

And then it looked like this. (I took the hinges off too) Wait, what? Zoom in.

Blehhh. Hang on a sec while I puke a little. Wow. Holy dust. Did you know how much dust wicker can hold???  I had no idea. Also notice the line of bent nails I had to pull out. I was more careful this time. Not to worry. I also vacuumed. A lot.

And put on one of these. Please excuse the crazy person eyes.

After the dust had cleared... ;) ... I cut two thin pieces of MDF. They were 1/4" thick. There's two leaning against the table saw there.

I glued one to the bottom of the box and one to the top.  The wood it was made of was quite thin so I wanted to reinforce it. Plus, the kids get in and on the toy box often. It needed some strength. This is the bottom.

Have one child apply said MDF while other child holds scrap piece on his head. That part is optional but it's how we roll.

See?! My weights do get some use sometimes!

I also put a few nails in around the edges using my RYOBI AirStrike. Love this thing. Battery powered, no chords, super convenient.

After the glue dried, I added casters to the bottom. I bought these about a year ago at a garage sale for $1!  Had no idea what I was going to use them for at the time but for $1, how could I not get them? I just drilled some holes and attached each caster with nuts and bolts from the hardware store.

After that all the nail holes got patched.

And I sanded and primed the whole thing.

After a couple coats of white paint, I added a little pattern to the top with a gold Sharpie.

I did the long horizontal lines with pencil first.

And this is what you get when your photography assistant is 4 years old. Best shot out of the 6 he took. Just paste the crazy eyes from the mask picture on this one and you'll almost have my whole face. :) Once the Sharpie part was done, I did a quick thin coat of Polycrylic on the top to protect it.

And done. After a smidge of toy purging, we even got the lid to close!

It looks so much better now and way more my style.

Now, the rest of this room just needs some paint!

And I left the inside the scratched up mess it was since I know it would just end up back that way anyway. Hope you like it and are inspired to work with what you've got to make something you love.

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No Sew Tie Dye Applique Shirts

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of I Love To Create, Tulip, and Social Spark. All opinions are 100% my own.

Who's getting a little tired of winter and is ready for spring? While I can't send sunshine your way, I can show you a little craft that might help wipe away some of the winter blues and put you in the spring spirit. (counts right?) This weekend the kids and I made some shirts with the help of Tulip Neon paints, fabric markers, and dye found exclusively at Michaels. I know what you're thinking.... "ummmm, I don't have a Michaels close and I'm not driving in this crazy weather for craft supplies." I've gotcha covered! Just hit up iLoveToCreate.com.  During the month of February you can get free shipping on neon Tulip products when you use coupon code #NeonFEB at checkout on iLoveToCreate.com. Yes, free shipping! So sit at home in your warm fuzzy pjs and let the spring-tasticly neon supplies come to you. Love that.

Let's get started

Supplies:

• White cotton fabric (could be scraps)
• T-shirt
• Tulip One-Step Mini Tie-Dye Kit
• Tulip Fabric Markers
• Tulip Dimensional Fabric Paint
• Iron-on adhesive

Step 1

Dye your fabric scraps. 

This part was so fun! I actually used pieces of old Ikea curtains that were in my scraps (yay for free!). We just followed the directions on the One-Step Mini-Dye Kit. Basically balled up the fabric in different ways and secured with the provided rubber bands. Then, filled our bottles with water and went to town. I covered the table with plastic wrap for easy clean up and so we could easily wrap up the shirts to set once we were done.

 

Step 2

Wash, dry, iron.

After the dye was set (several hours), I rinsed out most of the dye in the sink and then threw the pieces in the washer, then dryer. After that, they got ironed flat and I backed each one with iron-on adhesive.

(photo credit: my six year old. Which also explains the up-the-nostrils angle)

Step 3

Embellish your tie dyed fabric with Tulip Fabric Markers.

This is the part where you could really personalize. I just let the kids go wild and draw or write whatever they wanted. The iron-on adhesive on the backs helps hold the fabric nice and flat.

Step 4

Cut out shapes.

After the marker-fest was over, we looked at the masterpieces and decided what portions would look great on their shirts. Austin wanted "a GIANT moon!!" on his shirt, so we traced a plate. Then cut it out, peeled off the iron-on adhesive backing, and ironed it in place.

"I love my moon!"

Kaley did lots of "girls rock" and "love" sayings. We cut out a select few for 2 different shirts. Yep, that says "I love girls". Obviously she still finds boys gross. ;)

Step 5

Embellish with Tulip Neon Fabric Paint.

Besides the fact that the paint will help hold your applique on, it looks cool too! I made "stitches" around our love heart.

And that's it! Really cool weekend craft with the kids and tons of possibilities. This is the first time I've ever tie dyed anything. Had no idea it was that easy. I hope you'll try it. Follow along with ilovetocreate.com for more ideas.

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Did you notice the elbow patches too?! I love them!

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How to Make a Personalized Baby Blanket

Did you know making a personalized appliqué blanket is really quite easy? Can you hear the ooohs and ahhhs at the shower? :) I whipped one up the other day for my soon-to-be niece, Juliana. A couple years ago I made a similar blanket for her big brother Blake (check it out here). This time I made things even simpler, and used pre-made receiving blankets rather than hemming a blanket from raw fabric. Easy peasy. This technique can also be used on almost anything you want to add something personalized to... doesn't just have to be blankets. Matching windbreakers for you and the hubs perhaps? :)

Here's an example picture of some things you could use to make some personalized baby awesomeness. Receiving blankets and burp cloths on the left, fabric scraps from my stash on the right.

Supplies:

• Blanket
• Contrasting fabric (Could even be scraps - I used fabric leftover from the grommet top curtains I made, Michael Miller Moroccan Lattice Pink Fabric from OnlineFabricStore.net) 
• Heat N Bond (pictured below)
• Iron
• Sewing Machine

Step1:

Print out whatever name (or shape) you will be adding to the blanket. Print it out the exact size you want it to be when it's sewn on the blanket. I'd also suggest using a very simple bold font. Doesn't matter how many letters fit on a page, you'll be cutting them apart in a sec.

Step 2:
Iron a sheet of Heat N Bond to the back side of your fabric (not your blanket). You just need enough to fit all of the letters you just printed out. Follow the directions on the package of Heat N Bond for this. It's pretty easy.

Step 3:

Cut out the letters fairly close to the edges (doesn't have to be perfect) and make sure they fit on the fabric/Heat N Bond combo piece you just ironed.

Now, flip the letters over. If you can see through your paper to your printed letters, you're good to go. If you can't, you're going to need to cut the letters out precisely. I could see though just fine.

Step 4.

Tape your letters down and cut them out. Remember, your letters should be facing down so you see the backs. The front will the the fabric.

Step 5

After all of the letters are cut out, peel off the white backing from the Heat N Bond. Then arrange the letters how you'd like them on your blanket.

Step 6

Iron those suckers in place. The directions say to hold the iron on for about 20 seconds. Now, you could be done at this point since Ultra Hold Heat N Bond is technically "no sew". However, I know how often baby blankets get washed. They might hold up great, but there's only so much baby puke and Tide anything can tolerate. I'd keep going and add a stitch. Plus, it looks fancy.

Step 7

Add a decorative stitch around each letter. Letters with holes in them (like this A) are a bit tricky. Just make sure you sew the center edges too.

I chose a blanket stitch.

And that's it, you're done. You could probably have one of these done in an hour.

I'm kinda sad I never made anything personalized for my kids. haha At 6 and 4, you think they'd still like a name blankie from mom? Might have to whip a couple up. :)

Here's a few other's I did using the same technique. Click on the pics. :)

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