it's easy being green...

...or so it seems lately.
I LOVE holidays and St. Patrick's Day is no exception, but I only had one thing for the holiday I realized when I went to pull it out. (yes, a gold leafed plate with coins and shamrocks...that's it).

I didn't really decorate for St. Patty's Day because Easter comes so quickly after Valentine's I usually just jump it...but probably not anymore thanks to some fun things I've made.
As usual...some crafts come from my (sometimes) brilliant self, and others are inspired by U. So here's what I've got so far. It was been so fun!
I love banners. They are so cute. This one was done with my cricut using the "Blackletter", "Circus", and "Lovely Floral" Cartridges. I tied it with strips of poly satin. It is so much cheaper than ribbon and it looks great!

I am so in love with these scallop garlands. This pattern was designed by my friend and is from her cute blog here. The two changes I made were that I did not space my scallops an inch apart. I like the way they look right next to each other. I also just made my own bias tape instead of buying some. That way I was able to choose the width and length I wanted. I loved this project because it was so easy and I just used material I already had...so it didn't cost a penny!



The link for the pattern is here

Once I saw this I knew I had to do it. So I got out what I had laying around that I thought would make do...and NO I did not have a canvas laying around. I used a piece of MDF left over from my garage shelving, I doubled up some white material I had and then I stapled it on the wood.
I then used the one stamp set I own and craft paint for the letters. I was VERY happy with how it turned out. In fact I am pleased to say that I like mine more! :)

This was also just inspired by my "i{heart]u" burlap sign I did for Valentine's Day. I figured I could do one for St. Patrick's day too and I love it. I used the "Zooballoo" and "Paper Dolls Dress Up" Cartridge to cut out freezer paper. I used the inverse and then ironed it on the burlap and used more of a "dry brush" technique for the aged look. I love it, but still need to add the next layer. Will post update when that happens.

This "kiss me" is just made from chip board letters I picked up at Hobby Lobby (love that place!). I painted them the color of the glitter I was using, then mod-podged the front and covered the letters with glitter. I then just hot glued it on to a board I painted black and had a groove run through the middle to help hold up the letters. I stole a little shamrock from my amazing gold plate :) as a little accent and I love what the darker green does for it! This was a very fast and cheap project that I think looks great.

And lastly my "insect" shamrock art. I loved the one I did for Valentine's Day, so I thought I'd give it a try for patty's day too. I am not in love with the print I did the shamrocks on, but my choices were limited. If I find something I LOVE later I might take the time to change it, if not, I like it enough to keep it.


Still on the list are:
1. Attempt to mod-podge a candle using st. patty napkins
2. A table runner with mini scallops on ends to match my garlands
3. A frames shamrock tree
4. "Keep Calm and Pinch on" and "Kiss Me I'm Irish" printables
5. Irish Cookie pops with tags
6. Paper Globes
7. Green Menu for the big day
(oohh, 7 more things to make. Lucky number!) :)
Here's hoping I get to all this fun stuff...and the house work too...but if I don't get to the house work.....! :)

boy's bathroom

I redecorated my boy's bathroom about a year and a half ago. It was just navy and red with lighthouses...not very original, and no personal touch, so I was happy with the change. The best part about it was that all it cost was a few hand towels in different colors and a few frames.
The whole idea came from something I saw on a blog here. I water color with my kids a lot and this activity seemed perfect. I loved the idea of using their art to decorate with. All I had to do was cut out the shapes I wanted and the paste them on to a white piece of paper and then write on them. I picked up some frames to unite them all, and there you go!
The little felt creatures were so fun to make. I just cut them out from felt scraps I had. They were perfect to cover up the little lighthouse hooks I had.
This bathroom still makes me happy to this day....and that's what I call good design! :)
Hope you like it too!