Jenny Garland

Boutique Bath Wrap Tutorial

Hi there crafty friends (and mom). With summer approaching, I was thinking about our neighborhood pool. I end up carrying so much with me. You know... toys, buckets, shovels, towels, snacks, etc. I was trying to figure out how I can cut down on what I carry, especially since I'll be traveling with two lovely ladies this year.

I have seen cute bath wraps in boutiques. Um, my girlfriend and I saw a plain WHITE one at JC Penney's for $42 last week! Do people really pay that? I digress.

Basically, I decided I should make one for Kate. Not only does she look so super cute in it, it's one less thing I have to carry now! Woo hoo.

Well, one wrap turned into two (a girl has to have options, right?) and I made a tutorial for sizes 12 months - 8 years if you want to make one too! Download the pdf from my left sidebar. I'd love, love, love to see what you come up with if you make one, so send me a link to your blog post!

Happy sewing!

Thrift Store Finds! :)

Yippee! I just love thrift store finds. The other day I dropped off a bunch of stuff at the Goodwill and thought I might as well go inside. So, the girls and I scored these three pieces that will become DIY projects and part of my mission to frugally decorate my home :)

Up first is this awesome thing. I'm going to call it a planter but I have no idea if that's what it's really called. If anyone knows, please clue me in! Anyway, it's the perfect height to go beside my newly refinished cabinet. I'm going to give it a new life with some paint and then place an ivy in it. I think the drapey-ness (mmmhmm, I just made up that word) of the ivy will look great plus it's pretty much the only plant I can keep alive. Grand total for this baby..... $7! Boo-yah!

Second is this great mirror. Love the size. Love the shape. Love the detail up top. Not so much in love with the color but I can change that! I'm going to hang this in Sara Paige's bedroom. It cost me $15. I was a little hesitant to pay that much at first but it's really well made.

Finally, is this sweet do-job. Someone teach me the names of these things, really! I'm going to clean it well, spray paint it white, and put my cotton balls in it. It will look great on this metal tray I have on my bathroom counter. $4.

These should be quick, easy, and inexpensive projects to give some rooms a bit more character. Stay tuned for my after pics :)

Speaking of great finds, I'm going to Canton next Saturday and can hardly contain my excitement! I'm so hoping to find a reasonably priced table for my entryway and maybe some funky, antique frames.

Your napmats, my pattern!

Remember my napmat? Ya'll have been sooo sweet to email me and leave comments about how much you and your little ones have enjoyed it. Here are a few pictures from some moms who have made their own. If you make one and want your picture included, blog it and send me the link :)

If you would like to download the pattern, there is a link on my left sidebar.

*Please remember, these are for personal use only and not to be sold for profit. Thanks :)

A Happy, Springish Wreath for the Front Porch

What do you get when you start with these:

Then scuff and prime 'em:

Before painting them with your 2 year old?

So glad you asked. You get this inexpensive, jolly wreath:
 

Seriously, those are the same Easter eggs I spent $1 for three bags at Hob Lob. And the 21 inch grapevine wreath was $4.

That is Kate's pal Purple Lovey at the doorstep. She insisted he partake in the photo session.

If you want to make your own springy wreath, there's a fab tutorial here. Thanks for the great tutorial, Lindsay :)

How to Refinish Furniture

Hi there! Due to an astronomically high volume of requests for a video tutorial (under 5), I present to you ... my simple, no fuss, no muss way to refinish furniture. This is likely not the "professional" way to do things, but it's cheap, it works, and it looks great!

This is my first attempt at a video tutorial. Um, I completely forgot to do an intro. Sorry about that.

Below the video, you will find a summary in case you need to refer to it or find my voice severely annoying :)

Materials:
- furniture
- medium and fine grit sandpaper
- tack cloth
- paper towel
- Zinsser's shellac primer
- satin spray paint or semi-gloss paint

Step One: Sand

Step Two: Clean furniture with tack cloth

Step Three: Prime

Step Four: Paint

Easy, peasy folks. Give it a whirl!

Before and after:

  

PS... Be sure to visit Edie for more painting inspiration!

A quilt for my sweet friend

She's young. Just 33. Beautiful, healthy and fit. With a sweet husband and two precious preschool-aged children who think she hung the moon. Happy and hopeful.

And then her world crashed. Fast and hard.

Seven weeks ago, the day after Sara Paige's birth, my dear friend was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. No family history.

In less than two months, she's endured three chemo treatments and its hateful symptoms. In the next few months, she will have more chemo, a double mastectomy and possibly radiation. 

It still surprises me how quickly life can be rocked to its core..

I wish I could take an eraser and make it all go away. I want to squeeze her tightly and not let go until this nightmare is over and she's in remission. But I can't. It might become a little intrusive, you know? :) All I can do is walk beside her.

And when I'm not there, I hope she'll wrap herself up in this quilt and feel a sense of comfort knowing how much her family and friends love her.

 

I wanted this quilt to feel fresh and cheery. Like I said before, this is a great beginner's project if you want to try your hand at quilting!

Thanks to the 2009 Coin Quilt piece-along !

Mini Makeover Numero Uno

Here is the before:

What a drabby corner, huh?

This is a well made hand-me-down piece of furniture but it was definitely outdated. Super shiny veneer and bright cherry wood, anyone?

After a little elbow grease, new hardware, and some sprucing up....

Voila!!!

Better, no? I bought the hardware, frame and lamp (all 50% off at HobLob). Everything else I moved around from other areas of our house.

Someday I'll get to painting walls, but I'm still not sure which color I want. Anyone else notice how hard it is to choose the perfect hue?

Refinishing the wood was much easier than I anticipated. If you're interested, leave a comment and I'll make a quick how-to video.

Thanks for looking!

Oh, no... my husband is going to kill me

Once I get an idea in my head, I can't make it go away. I try sometimes but it's useless. Up until now I've been able to keep my craft hobby relatively confined. Did you catch the "up UNTIL now" part? I have been bitten, super duper, double dog bitten by the home decorating bug.

Have you seen this blog? Or this one? How about this one? Oh, shoot. I'm in such trouble. I love all things DIY and like the challenge of creating for less. Plus, there's just no way in you know where I'm going to pay full price for something I can make or renovate.

Okay, back to the title of this post. My poor husband. He would be perfectly content with leaving well enough alone and doesn't necessarily see the need to gussy things up. Yeah, I see things differently. Did I mention I have a plan for decorating the entire downstairs? Mmm hmm, already laid out on a spreadsheet and everything. I'm sick. But a deliriously giddy, budget-conscious kind of sick.

I'm hoping, praying, and begging that as long as I keep things very cheap frugal, Brad will neither have a heart attack nor divorce me. I'll be sure to let you know the outcome.

Anyway, be sure to stay tuned... I can't wait to show you all the before and after pictures as I spruce up our home! As soon as we get back from New Mexico tomorrow, I am hitting up Lowes. Uh, I mean the grocery store??? Well, after I take my car to be cleaned on the interior. Darn ants.

Fun in the Mountains

We're on vacation this week visiting Brad's parents in Angel Fire, NM.

Here's a taste what we've been up to so far:

A rough start...

Once I got to the airport and unloaded the girls, I noticed ANTS. Lots of ants all over Sara Paige's car seat. I freaked out. I hadn't see them when I loaded her up at home. But it was 5:45am and dark. Thankfully and miraculously, she didn't get one bite. I got a bunch as I frantically disassembled the carrier and shook it out like a maniac in the airport parking lot.

Ants? In a car? Never heard of it. Ugh. I can't wait to see how many ants are there when we come back next week. Lovely. I'm sure the security tape of me jumping around and flinging car seats in the air is quite amusing though.

Thankfully, things picked up right away. The girls and I had a successful plane ride to Albuquerque where Brad picked us up:

We drove to Angel Fire and arrived at my in-laws' gorgeous house:

Sara Paige and Poppy having been having lots of quality snuggle time:

Kate and Mimi have been busy baking cookies:

We've been having lots of fun in the snow:

Brad and I went snowmobiling:

I fared far better! He flew off his snowmobile after hitting a big bump. (Ahem... that's what you get when you try to be all fast and tricky). Anyway, the snowmobile kept going until... it smashed into a tree:

Whoops!! Both participants are fine though :)

Tomorrow Brad and I are sneaking away for a hot date (casino and lunch, anyone?)!

Flour and a Baking Dish = Toddler Fun

Here's another quick and easy toddler craft:

1. Get some flour and a baking dish:

2. Pour flour in the dish. Have some tools handy to explore the flour (spatula, toothpick, cookie cutter, etc...). Make handprints and draw pictures.

 

Kate had fun and we played for quite a while. Next time I will remember to put a mat down :)