Romantic Quote Cards

The Blogging A to Z challenge has been a tough one for me to keep up with! I have so many great posts but the weather is so awesome I've been forgetting to finish prepping and posting them! Make sure you check out my original intro post for all the other posts I've done so far, I will be trying to catch up as I have some really lovely things for y'all...but for now, lets get to the letter "Q".

In February I came up with these adorable quote cards. I gave a few to Hubby the week of Valentine's and the rest I am saving up to stick in various places in his suitcase when he will be gone for nearly two weeks in June. 

These quote cards are simple, quick to make, and can be customized for anyone or any holiday!

Mine are based on lurve because I intend to give them to my beloved, but you could easily make some for lunch boxes, or with inspirational quotes for a RAK, or even some to put in your kid(s) backpack for them to find throughout the day (I did this once and my kiddo has it hanging on her wall, melt my heart.)

So, this is what I used to make mine:

• Pencil
• Two types of card stock in coordinating colours
• Stencil from HEMA
• If you are really lucky and have one, you could use a Cricut to cut nice tags, I wish I could have brought mine when we moved to Europe, I used it all the time and have thought of numerous times when I wish I had it. If anyone from Cricut Europe out there wants to send me one, I'm game haha
• Paste or Glue dots
• Gel pen, I used metallic
• Your favorite quotes

1. Trace the stencil onto your paper, make as many as you would like ot cut out.
2. Cut those.
3. Measure and cut squares to mount on to the decorative tag you just cut out. I didn't measure mine exactly, but just made markings and after cutting that one, drew lines to mark out where to cut. (See photo, hard to explain)
4. Mount the square tag on the decorative tag using paste or glue dots.
5. Write your favorite quotes on each of the cards!

The quotes I used on them were as simple as I love you or I love you always to Every love story is beautiful, but ours is my favorite. I just googled and came up with some good ones. My favorite ones though are the song lyrics I used from our first dance song, KC & Jojo's All My Life.

My hubby really enjoys finding things like this in his lunch or backpack. Sometimes on a business trip I will stash one in his pants pocket, jacket pocket, or shirt pocket so each day he finds something different, which is what I am going to do when he leaves to the U.S. for two and a half weeks next month. Can be a nice little pick me up when you are in and out of stressful meetings. 

What is your favorite quote?

Do you do any thing special for you significant other when they travel?

Jeans Recycling Project: Tic-tac-toe

For months now I have been hoarding jeans as I mentioned in my earring hanger I posted a few days ago....well, one little project wasn't going to use up all the jeans I had so I decided to try and make another project. I was slightly dismayed when I discovered I was able to make this and the earring holder (and mess up once on the earring holder) from one pair of jeans...I did wind up using a second pair of jeans to make the game board as I wanted contrasting colours...plus hubby's leg is bigger than mine so it made for a more spacious game board! haha

So...here goes..here is what you'll need:

• textile glue
• scissors for cutting the jeans
• 1-2 pairs of jeans
• packing peanuts or stuffing
• Washi tape
• Twine or ribbon

1. First, you will take a piece of the jeans and cut it so it is in a rectangle. I then folded it "hamburger" style and cut it in half, now I have two pieces, on one side of each piece it is sealed with the original seam. 
2. Using the textile glue, glue two of the open sides together, leaving one side open. 
3. Repeat steps one and two until you have 10 game pieces.
4. Once the sides are dry begin stuffing with packing peanuts or stuffing. Once it seems full add some glue to the final seam and glue shut.
   
5. Using some of the scrap pieces put X on five of the pieces and O on the other five. Let dry.
6. Using the full leg of jeans that is left cut off a nice large rectangular section (see photos for ideas). On one seam, cut it down the middle so you can now open the leg and have one large rectangular piece.
7. Using washi tape create the "pound" board in the middle making 9 nice size squares.
   
8. To finish off the board trim with washi tape. Add accents as you wish to make it a little stylish.
   
9. To create a storage bag cut off more of the leg. Turn it inside out, with textile glue make a seam by glue the "right sides" together. Let dry. Turn right side out.
   
10. At the top, fold over by about a quarter to half and in and snip just a tiny cut, repeat all the way around the top of the bag you are creating and lace with twine or ribbon. Put your board and game pieces inside and now you have a cute little travel game.
11. 

This is such a cute little game and has brought us lots of fun on these nice days when we walk or bike to the park and can layout having a little picnic. 

What do you do with your old jeans when they are too worn to wear anymore?

Make sure you check out the other projects I've posted during this A to Z Challenge...and check out the other bloggers too at Blogging A to Z!

E is for...Earring Holder

So this earring holder is a cute and quick little DIY....

It came about because {as you all know} we are trying to not accumulate "stuff". When we moved to Europe almost a year ago we paired down our household belongings to 4 boxes I mailed to my mother, 6 large suitcases and three carry-ons. So far, we are doing pretty darn good!

Well, since moving here and biking everywhere my husband and I have a few pairs of jeans that have..uh...well, become crotchless. Obviously unable to wear these anymore I decided to recycle them. So, they sat in my craft area for weeks. and weeks. and a few more weeks. Finally I said let me do something with these or they are getting tossed.

After himming and hawing and searching Pinterest for ideas I noticed my kiddo's earrings are everywhere! Like seriously-everywhere!

So, I decided a quick and easy little earring holder was needed and this is what I came up with:

Supplies:

• Old jeans or whatever fabric you want to use
• Medium embroidery hoop {I used a wooden one}
• Pencil or pen for tracing the hoop
• Hook for hanging
• Optional: Washi tape 

1. Turning your jeans inside out and using a washable marker, a pencil, pen or chalk trace the embroidery hoop. You will use this only as a guide as you will want to make your fabric circle 2-3 centimeters larger. My hoops came with three varying sizes so I used the larger hoop to trace. 
   
   
   
2. Cut your circle out and place it between the hoops and tighten the hoop to desired taught-ness.
   
   3. As you can see there is quite a bit of material hanging over so I just trimmed that down a bit. 
   
   4. I then trimmed the side with some washi tape to give it a more finished look. 
   
   5. Add the earrings and hang it up!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   This is a super fast and fun craft that uses things you may already have around the house!
   
   
   
   
   

DIY: Give Thanks Bunting

Today I promise is the last time I will talk about our super amazing Thanksgiving Dinner. I swear, after this I won't mention it again {I hope}.

Don't forget to check out the Pumpkin Bouquet Tutorial!

See that super cute Give Thanks bunting in front of my super awesome pumpkin flower arrangement? I am going to tell you how I made it today. It is ridiculously easy. Seriously.

Materials

• Washi tape
• Two wooden skewers
• Twine cut to your preferred length (mine was about the length of my forearm)
• Black Sharpie/Marker
• Two mini pumpkins

Procedure.

1. Measure out ten pieces of Washi Tape roughly the same length (if you want a word or phrase other than "Give Thanks" make sure you correctly measure out the number of pieces of tape and space them accoringly. 
   
2. Lay out the twine. Start laying the pieces of Washi Tape under the twine, leaving space after four flags and then taping each piece down on to itself, like this:
3. Then, folding each piece in half snip so you get the flags on each side.
   
4. Once all ten pieces are on and cut, write one letter on each flag. 
5. Tie or tape the twine to the skewers.
6. Stick the end of the skewers into the stems of the mini pumpkins. 

This is such a quick and easy project and added so much to the tablescape. The mat the whole centerpiece is sitting on is just a piece of wallpaper I found at an end of the roll sale. I actually bought quite a bit and you will see the projects I am doing with it very soon!

DIY: Bouquet in a Pumpkin

I knew for our Thanksgiving Celebration I wanted an original center piece. It is hard to find something very fall like still here in Amsterdam since most everything has crossed over to Christmas already with Sinterklaas having made his way through town and that feast coming up at the end of this week.

I found a number of ideas on pinterest so I had to narrow it down. I love this one in particular. So off I went to recreate.

I hunted down a flower stand I knew had pumpkins at one point and they still had two left! I was very excited. I then found the vase I wanted to use inside (I just recycled a two liter bottle). I placed the two liter bottle on top of the pumpkin and traced around it making a cutting line on the top of the pumpkin around the stem. Then, I went to work with a serrated knife and cut the top and scooped out all the seeds and other "guts". You can toss the top as you won't need it. Save the seeds though you can bake those. This is what I was left with:

Once the pumpkin was clean I put the two liter bottle in and traced around where I wanted to cut it off. I slightly tilted the marker upwards so the top would stick out just a tiny bit. I was worried it would tip over if it were too exact and I wanted it to be really stable. This is what it looks like:

Cut the top of the bottle off (be careful so you don't cut yourself the plastic can be sharp). Fill with water.

Fit into the top of the pumpkin.

...and push down so it is secure.

When picking the flowers I knew I wanted mums since it was November and they are big and fluffy, and I wanted roses that felt fall. I was ecstatic when I found the peach and red tipped roses.

I then measured the length I wanted the stems to be. I wanted the flowers to just poke over the top of the pumpkin.

I put all the roses in first, then put the four mums all around to fill in any gaps and really give the bouquet that full feeling.

I think it turned out quite beautifully. This is the first flower arrangement I've ever done so I was extremely excited. For the full centerpiece I added a sheet of wrapping paper I found at an end of the roll sale for two euro and made a "Give Thanks" bunting which I will share on Thursday!

If you want more ideas for next year make sure to follow my Thanksgiving Pinterest board!
Follow Kate's board Thanksgiving on Pinterest.

How to make Granite Cleaner Wipes

I clean-a lot! LOL As you can tell from my Tuesday posts the last few weeks:

• Living Room & Dining Room
• Entry, Laundry Room, and Porch
• Bedrooms
• Routine
• Power Hour

Now, for a good majority of these I use just basic cleaning tools like my microfiber cloths. However, when I have to wipe down the counters in my kitchen and bathroom each day I need something with a little disinfecting power.

Now, I've mentioned this before so y'all know I don't use harsh chemical cleaners. They stink, make me cough, and dry out my skin. So, all these factors meant I needed to find a way to make a homemade cleaner that was safe for my granite. Enter: Google & Pinterest!

I found One Thing By Jillee and her great granite cleaner recipe. I decided to take this and turn it into wipes!

Supplies:

Process

1. I make three different containers of wipes. One for each bathroom and one for the kitchen. Put rags in each container.
2. In each container measure out 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol.
3. Add 3-5 drops of Dr. Bronner's (or your choice of dish washing liquid in each container)
4. 5-15 drops of essential oil depending on how strong you like your scent/what scent you are using.
5. Add about 1/4-half cup of water to just sort of fill the container.

Essential Oil Variations

• Lavender-lemon: 5 drops lavender, 5 drops lemon
• Peppermint 5 drops peppermint
• Lavender: 15 drops lavender
• Lemon: 12 drops lemon
• Sweet orange: 15 drops orange
• Citrus: 6 drops lemon, 8 drops orange
• Natural: 7 drops tea tree
• Orange Lavender: 5 drops orange, 5 drops lavender

That is about the extent of the essential oil scents I use ;) I am hoping to expand my collection soon and come up with more fun ones. The lavender-lemon is my fave!

Do you use homemade cleaning products? What is your favorite recipe?

Lamp Makeover

I LOVE a good makeover! Knowing this, a few months back my teenager decided she wanted her room made over...in a Moroccan theme. So bright, colorful and lots of DIY projects! I pinned everything I thought would be perfect to accent her room: 

Follow Kate Norris's board Cammi's Room Redo on Pinterest.

As you can see, as time went on she decided she wanted a "cheer" themed room. Not bad because cheerleaders a colorful, just like a Moroccan theme so it has all worked out!

I am all about up-cycling so we tried to use what we had on hand along with our extensive craft collection to make all of her decorations.

First up was this lamp...

Supplies:

• A lamp (mine is a full lamp, I just couldn't get a nice picture with the top of it in there)
• Some Aleen's jewel-it (I found this worked best, it is most like cement)
• A bag full of multi-colored jewels

Process:

1. Make a circle of glue around the base, just a small circle because it dries fairly quickly and you don't want to waste it.
2. Lay down some jewels, like this
   
3. Continue until you have the base covered!

Finished product:

You may be asking, "why didn't she do the top of the lamp?" Well boys and girls, I didn't do the top because that lamp gets really, really warm. I was afraid if I did the top it would get warm, heat the glue and all the gems would fall off! That would be embarrassing right?! 

So, there we have it a cute and simple project! It only took a wee bit over an hour to complete. This was done back in September, it is now March and she still talks about how cute it is! 

Do you upcycle?? What is your favorite upcycled project you've completed?

DIY Beach Ornament

Good Afternoon! 

Today I have a great little craft project. I am talking ornaments today. I know, ornaments?! What the heck?! Well, these are actually ornaments that you could display all year long. They make a great keepsake and the supplies can be gathered while you are on vacation!

This is what you will be making:

Supplies:

• Sand (can be gathered when on vacation)
• Glitter (optional)
• Small Shells (can be gathered when on vacation)
• Small picture
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Small funnel
• Glass ornament bulb
• Hanger for your ornament

Process:

First, choose the picture you want in your ornament. Have it printed, then shrink it-a lot! I shrunk mine by 50% on to regular printer paper. I wound up being 2" by 2". Seems small, but those bulbs are tiny.

I chose this picture of my daughter with my niece and my nephew on the beach at my parent's beach house in Florida. It's so wonderful the way they were standing holding hands with the oldest in the middle. The picture just makes me smile and lets me remember the fun times we had that summer. Not only does this photo hold great memories, but it is simple. There isn't a ton to look at. The children are the focus and it clearly shows where we are.

Next, take the bulb and remove the top. 

Then, putting the small funnel in the top pour in the desired amount of sand. One very, very, very important thing to remember here is sand is very heavy. So this will add quite a bit of weight to the ornaments, so add it sparingly. I then added a tiny bit of glitter to give the sand some color. Once you have that in there place your finger over the top of the ornament and shake a bit to mix it up.

Now, this part coming up was the most difficult for me, personally.

Take the picture and trim it to desired size. Then, roll it up and put it in the ornament. If you are a perfectionist this is where I apologize to you. Using the tweezers manipulate the photo so it is in the position you would like. At some point you will have to accept that the photo looks good enough positioned a certain way, remember it looks better than you think it does most likely. Once you have it to that point of this looks awesome, using the tweezers gently push the picture into the sand to stabilize it.

Toss in a few tiny shells for some ornamentation.

On the front or back write the year using a sharpie. I sent the final product to a couple of friends (who all live in different places and I sent the messages separately so as not to "taint" the answers) and they unanimously agreed the year actually looked best written across the front...you can see it below.

 You can also add a tag at the top marking the place along with a nice ribbon to hang it from!

This makes a great keepsake for a beach vacation or to give as a gift at-don't kill me for saying it-Christmas!