Make Archives • Page 12 of 20 • diy mama

by Shelly on February 4, 2016 3 Comments

Valentines Day Heart Garland

As I’ve said before, I’m a sucker for Valentine’s Day. I gave Valentine’s to my nieces before February because I was too excited. This year we’re having someone watch Sophie so we can have a proper Valentine’s date. I’m positive this has never happened before and I’m as giddy as a school girl. I also get excited to show my love through treats and decorations. I was feeling festive this afternoon so Sophie helped me make this 5 minute Valentines Day Heart Garland.

Valentines Day Heart Garland

Materials:

Watercolor paint
Watercolor paper (not necessary but the hearts lay flat with the thickness of this paper)
Paint brush
Cup of water
String
Tape (for taping the heart to the string)
Heart punch or scissors

I let her paint a bit on her own and helped her draw the hearts, X’s and O’s. I usually hang her crafts down low on the fridge but this garland got prime real estate above her bed. We’ll definitely be pulling this little guy out each year.

We’d also attempted some watercolor resist art the other day which didn’t work out so well but I wanted to share how we turned it into a thoughtful gift. I’d drawn white hearts with a colored pencil and Soph helped me paint over the paper. Although the hearts barely showed up, I still think these make the perfect Valentine’s cards to mail out to our family.

I’m tickled pink with how simple and fast this craft was to create with my toddler. How do you share your love on Valentine’s Day?

by Shelly on January 7, 2016 11 Comments

Home Office Inspiration

When we first moved into our Indy home in August, we’d originally thought my home office and craft space would be in the front room as you walk into the house. We had anticipated me staying at home with Sophie and needing to have her near while I worked. I’d envisioned a space that was light and airy with all of my craft supplies hidden behind white storage. I dreamed of having a mini desk for Sophie with easy access to her craft supplies. I would craft, photograph and write in that room while she would happily do arts & crafts beside me. I was so young and naive.

We’ve since decided that Sophie needs more than just me to learn, socialize and thrive. She’s attending a Montessori school a block away giving both of us the time we need to thrive. I thought it selfish to take up that large room on the main floor and decided I’d enjoy a more confined space for my mess. Taking the extra upstairs bedroom was exactly what I needed to feel like I belonged. I had my own space with my own stuff that I could decorate however I wanted. Although I make the majority of the design choices in our home, I know that painting pink on the wall would be shut down by my husband in any other room of the house. Which brings me to where I’m at today.

I wish I would have shared the design, building and decorating stages of our previous house but realize it’s not too late for me to share our progress on this house. I’ve got an entire office + craft room Pinterest board dedicated to designing my work space. I noticed that I was torn between having a ton of bright, happy, busy colors or simply white. When looking at the board as a whole I realized I was most drawn to the crisp feel the well organized white rooms possessed.

Home Office Inspiration

Swoon, right?? Here was my space when we bought this home:

Yes, I had the white walls but it was a dingy white that had teeth and claw marks everywhere indicating they kept their dogs locked in here while they were away. It smelled like dog and was incredibly dark, despite the white walls.

Here are a couple sneak peeks of what my home office space currently looks like:

White walls, check. White desk and chair, check. Pegboard, check. My work space is slowly evolving into the images I see in my head when I imagine my perfect studio. I’ll be back with the reveal once I’ve finished (and likely another to show my organization of making one room work as an office and craft studio).

What’s your work space style? Do you have a space that’s completely dedicated to you? A corner of the room with a DIY desk, your own room or even your own off site studio? Do you like having tons of inspiration up on the walls and your supplies at easy reach or do you focus better with a clean slate? I’m a bit of both as you’ll see in my office reveal.

workspace inspiration sources: photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4

by Shelly on December 16, 2015 6 Comments

Design Brings Joy

People ask me where my craftiness comes from all the time. It’s my second most asked question after the age of my daughter, Sophie. I am not only lucky to have creative parents but am surrounded by inspirational friends and family. It’s astounding how creative actually. I specifically wanted to introduce you to my cousins Ian and Edana today because they’ve started a design company called Mustardstrip LLC as they’re entering their 30s. Not only are they an inspiration for new entrepreneurs but their requirement for design bringing joy is sensational. I’ll let Edana share their passion.

Mustardstripe was surprisingly not a planned venture and stemmed from me (Edana) seeking a creative outlet outside of my 9-to-5 Fashion Design job. I didn’t really know where to start, and to be honest, I got really lucky by finding some really great graphic design gigs online that served as a temporary outlet for me to explore and test my talents and design something other than clothes.

The extra cash flow was also nice because I had gotten engaged in the meantime and we all know weddings aren’t cheap.

From there, my gigs took a back seat and I used the wedding planning process as my creative source. I found myself creating and designing every detail of our big day and sharing sneak peeks on social media. Fast forward a few short weeks, I had multiple friends and family approaching me to create custom pieces for their personal events, organizations and businesses. Consequently, I knew I was onto something and decided to make Mustardstripe official with the help of my fiancee, now husband, Ian. He was the business and marketing brain child who not only encouraged me to seek my passions in a professional manor, but he also helped me figure out the financial and business aspects behind it. From there, Mustardstripe LLC was born and has quickly become more than just a business to me… it’s evolved into a passion.

I love building and supporting brands and personal projects that encapsulate the human experience via

art and design. It is extremely fulfilling to create something that connects people through self-expression, visual identity and custom designs. Plus, my job is never the same from day-to-day or client-to-client, which is pretty sensational.

Looking back, I think this business was always meant to transpire, whether it was planned or unplanned. When my dad passed away a few years ago, I couldn’t bear the thought of choosing between the painfully ugly memorial cards that the funeral home was offering. The designer in me wasn’t about to damper his memory and spirit with a tacky dove flying out of some clouds. Instead, I opted to design custom memorial cards and thank you’s that reflected him, his personality and our family. Not only did it do that, but it welcomed a lot of smiles and funny stories into the otherwise dreary room. To this day, I still have people reference those cards and tell me I should make a business out of them and I’d say I am on the right track. Making people and their businesses feel fulfilled and bright is the whole reason I am doing what I am doing.

Now do you see why I’m creative? I have great inspiration all around me! If you want your branding, wedding or memorial cards to be something special to you and your family, send a message to Edana and Ian. They’re good people. You won’t regret it.

by Shelly on November 13, 2015 3 Comments

Thanksgiving Kid Crafts

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! That means lots of delicious comfort food, football, playing in the leaves and lots of kids running underfoot. If you live in the Midwest, you’re never sure what the weather will be like on Thanksgiving day. It could be 75 degrees and sunny or snowing here in Indiana. Having crafts that can be made inside or outside is a must, so I’ve rounded up a few of my favorites for this year.

Thanksgiving Kid Crafts

Photo Sources (from top left)

Toilet Paper Roll Pilgrims by Misty
Pilgrim Hat Crayon Cups by Kristyn
Gathered Leaves Wall by Bar
Handprint Turkey Crown by Jen
Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispies Treat Turkey Pops by Beth

Let me know what your plans are for Thanksgiving! How will you keep the kids from running through the kitchen?

by Shelly on November 9, 2015 10 Comments

Inside Out Memory Orb Cake

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #InsideOutMovieNight #CollectiveBias
Inside Out was a roller coaster of emotions but I loved every second of it. To get our #DisneySide on, we saw Inside Out the day before our vacation to Disney World. Sophie can’t sit through movies at the theater yet, so I was anxiously awaiting it’s release on BluRay + DVD at Target. I wanted her to see this movie now as she’s learning about emotions and how to talk about them, but it will definitely be watched several times throughout her life. Inside Out is a timeless story.

I had to get the movie (and a little Joy figurine for Sophie) the day it came out and was so excited to have a special movie night as a family on Friday. We’ve recently started ‘no tv until the weekend’ and it’s only going to get harder with the cold rainy weather, making last Friday’s movie night that much more special! I also really wanted to have a family movie night because…

We’d finally get to say ‘OK!’ to her when she repeats ‘show?’ for the 10000th time.
I wanted to see what I missed from the first viewing in theaters (you know how you always pick up on more detail the second time?)
I’d seen this polka dot cake on Pinterest, that I hadn’t seen until after Sophie’s birthday, and desperately wanted an excuse to make it. My family was not disappointed.

Movie snacks were a must but I wanted to have an assortment that would make everyone in the family happy. I picked up some trail mix, sweet and salty popcorn, tortilla chia rolled chips and apple juice to go along with the Inside Out Memeory Orb cake. Not surprisingly, Sophie just wanted more cake. Speaking of cake, here’s how you can make it at home:

Inside Out Memory Orb Cake

Ingredients Needed:

2 boxes of white cake mix
Vegetable oil (amount depends on which cake mix you get)
Egg whites (amount depends on which cake mix you get)
Vanilla pudding mix
Cookie spray and flour
Food coloring gel
2 tubs of white frosting
Cake pop mold
3 6″ round pans
Round cereal (or other Memory Orb candies)
Jelly Beans

Mix cake as directed by the box. I made one box as directed but added the vanilla pudding mix for added moisture in the cake pops since they will be baked twice. I waited until the cake pops were baked and cooled before I mixed the second box to insure it would be fresh.

Divide the cake batter into 6 bowls. Using 1/4 tsp of red (Anger), yellow (Joy), green (Disgust), blue (Sadness) and purple (Fear) coloring gel, mix the cake batter well. You will have cake batter left over after filling your cake ball mold. I poured them into cake liners and took them over to a neighbor as a ‘thanks for being cool’ treat. Be sure to follow your cake pop mold’s instructions on greasing. I recommend filling but not overfilling (like I did) the cake pop molds. The less overflow you have, the less you’ll have to trim off once they’re baked. Remember, you want round orbs for your cake.

Joy helped me make sure all the memory orbs were safe before I put them into the oven. After greasing and flouring, I filled each 6″ pan with a small amount of white cake batter and placed the cake pop orbs evenly on top. I filled each of the three pans equally with the cake batter before placing them on a cookie sheet in the oven.

This next part was my favorite part of making this Inside Out Memory Orb cake. I used a knife to level out each cake, revealing the brightly colored orbs. As you may have seen on Twitter, despite using cooking spray and flour on each pan, one still broke in half. Thankfully once it was covered by icing in the end so no one could tell.

I first did a quick crumb coat of icing on the cake and let it sit in the fridge to harden. I followed it up with a thick layer of icing, topping it with memory orbs (Trix cereal) and Joy added an extra layer of her memories along the bottom to make sure we were all super happy to eat this cake.

I have to admit to you, I was extremely nervous to cut the first piece. I knew the orbs were beautiful inside but was worried that they would all be one color (with my luck). Thankfully I got each wonderful emotion in the very first slice.

I would definitely say we each added a yellow orb to our memories after this fun Inside Out Movie Night. Be sure to head out to Target (because I’m pretty sure I don’t have to twist your arm) and pick up a copy of Inside Out on BluRay + DVD. My favorite is always the deleted scenes and bonus features and the extra 20 minutes in Inside Out did not disappoint. For added Inside Out fun, check out Kim’s Inside Out Emotions Game that you can cut out and play along with the movie. Sophie wasn’t quite ready for the dice rolling part but she really liked recognizing and replicating the emotions she made.

You might also like my Movie Night Snack Necklace:

Valentines Day Heart Garland

Valentines Day Heart Garland

Home Office Inspiration

Home Office Inspiration

Design Brings Joy

Thanksgiving Kid Crafts

Thanksgiving Kid Crafts

Inside Out Memory Orb Cake

Inside Out Memory Orb Cake

Life Planner

Preschool Montessori Bedroom

7 Tips to Make your Road Trip to Disney Magical