DIY Camping Accessories – Made From a Shower Curtain!

I can’t quite believe that I’m sending my first baby off to overnight camp. It’s only been a few nights, and I do feel a little ache when I think of him being gone, but I know he is having an amazing time, full of new experiences, skills, and friends. It is also a special week to give some extra TLC to our younger ones and for them to spend more time together.

We’re not big into camping (at least not yet!), so a lot of the things on the packing list for camp had to be purchased, and after spending so much money on just one week, I was looking to see if there were at least a few things I could improvise or make.

I ended up making a stuff sack for a sleeping bag we already had, as well as a pouch to hold his meal kit – plate, cup, and utensils. The stuff sack was easy and turned out very well. I think the design of the meal kit has room for improvement, but I’ll note what I did, so I can improve on it next time… can you imagine that some day we might send all three away to camp?! It will be the most expensive staycation ever for mom and dad, but it would be a milestone. I LOVE my kids, but I have to say that I’ve been craving some alone time with hubby, too, as that is terribly scarce these days. Anyway, I digress…

I’m really happy with the material choice for this project. I bought a 100% polyester shower curtain from a discount store for $5.99. The material was perfect for this purpose, some of the edges were already finished, the grommets at the top were perfect for making a drawstring bag, and I still have about half the fabric left. $3 for both both the stuff sack and the meal kit!

Drawstring Stuff Sack for Sleeping Bag

I used:

  • 1oo% polyester shower curtain
  • nylon cord with toggle. The toggle is optional, but I’m a pack rat and happened to have a drawstring with toggle leftover from something else.

I cut two pieces from the shower curtain:

  • The bag is a large 28″x45″ rectangle, with the long side cut from the top of the shower curtain, so the grommets are used (shown below, folded in half).
  • The strap is a small 12″x22″ rectangle.
Stuff sack for sleeping bag cut from an inexpensive shower curtain

Stuff sack for sleeping bag cut from an inexpensive shower curtain

First, finish the strap by folding it in half length-wise and sewing along the open side and end. I used a straight stitch and also finished the edge with a zig-zag stitch, as this polyester frays very easily. You can see how I finished the strap below.

Sew the strap with a straight stitch and a zig-zag stitch to finish the edges.

Sew the strap with a straight stitch and a zig-zag stitch to finish the edges.

Next turn the strap right side out. What I didn’t do here but would recommend is top-stitching all around the outside of the strap, about 1/4″ from the edge to make it lie flatter. When the strap is finished, pin it onto the bag as shown below, leaving about three inches at the top of bottom, and putting some slack in the strap. I sewed it down with multiple rows of stitching to make it secure.

Securely sew the strap to the bag, leaving some slack

Securely sew the strap to the bag, leaving some slack

Not shown, I then stitched around the side and bottom of the sack, again using a straight stitch and finishing with a zig-zag. To give the sack a more three-dimensional form, I folded the bottom corners so that the side seam lay against the bottom seam and stitched a triangle on the inside bottom of each bottom corner, as shown below.

Sew a triangle at the bottom corners to give the bag a more three-dimensional shape.

Sew a triangle at the bottom corners to give the bag a more three-dimensional shape.

Finally, I wove the the cord through the grommets and secured it with the toggle. That wasn’t so hard!

DIY sleeping bag stuff sack from an inexpensive shower curtain by Jewels at Home

Finished DIY sleeping bag stuff sack from an inexpensive shower curtain.

Pouch to Hold Meal Kit

This pouch was made to hold a 10″ plate, a cup, and utensils. It turned out a bit big, so you could definitely shrink the size of the main bag by at least an inch in both dimensions.

I used:

  • 1oo% polyester shower curtain
  • Velcro, about 5.5″ total length

I cut two pieces from the shower curtain:

  • The main pouch is a large 16″x32″ rectangle (not shown, because you know what a rectangle looks like!)
  • The cutlery is a small 6″x11.5″ rectangle, with the corners cut on one of the short ends (shown below).
Cutlery pouch for meal kit

Cutlery pouch for meal kit

To finish the cutlery pouch,

  • Finish one short end of cutlery pouch buy folding down twice and stitching a hem
  • Sew 1.5″ strip of Velcro to the inside of the finished end of cutlery pouch on the inside
  • Clip corners to reduce bulk, if you didn’t do this already

To finish the bag,

  • Hem all sides of the rectangle for the main bag by folding over the edges twice and sewing them down to make a hem.
  • Sew 1.5″ strip of Velcro to bag at center about 2″ from top on right side, to match up with the cutlery pouch (first picture below)
  • Sew the cutlery pouch to the front of the bag by folding under the edges on three sides (second picture below)
  • Sew two 2″ strips of Velcro to the top of the bag opening, as shown in the third picture (outside of front and inside of flap)
  • With right sides facing, sew bag together at sides, with a 2″ flap at top (fourth picture below)
Sew velcro to the main bag, and lay down the cutlery pouch, matching up the velcro.

Sew velcro to the main bag, and lay down the cutlery pouch, matching up the velcro.

With the velcro matched up, sew the cutlery pouch to the main bag.

With the velcro matched up, sew the cutlery pouch to the main bag.

Sew strips of velcro to the main bag on the inside of the flap and the outside of the front, as shown.

Sew strips of velcro to the main bag on the inside of the flap and the outside of the front, as shown.

Pouch for holding camping plate, cup, and utensils, made from an inexpensive shower curtain by Jewels at Home.

Pouch for holding camping plate, cup, and utensils, made from an inexpensive shower curtain.

Ready to pack by big kiddo off to camp with these accessories made from a shower curtain for about $3!

Sleeping bag stuffsack and camping meal kit made from an inexpensive shower curtain! by Jewels at Home

Sleeping bag stuffsack and camping meal kit made from an inexpensive shower curtain!

Please let me know if you are trying these projects and want clarification on anything.  I really winged it as I went along, and I’ve been struggling to figure out how to explain what I did in a logical way, but I figured I should just spit it out and post this… Kiddo will be home in just a couple of days!  Yay!

“Jewels”

DIY “Tie” T-shirt Tutorial

We’re not formal people… this is how my son showed up to Kindergarten graduation:

Tie T-shirt

Kindergarten graduation. The tie T-shirt is about as dressed up as this kid will get.

I love these tie “Fat Tie” T-shirts that I bought on Zulily. The boys have worn them for a wedding, too, and they seem to strike the right note of respect and whimsy. After getting lots of comments on them, I decided to make some for our boys and to give as gifts.

"Fat Tie" shirt

Another cute “Fat Tie” shirt.

This is not the only tutorial around for this project, but each of us approaches it a little differently, so here’s what I did:

I started with plain long-sleeved T-shirts from Lands’ End. Lands’ End is really hard to beat when you are looking for good quality basics. Their sales are great, and I got these shirts for about $5-$10 each.  I prewashed the shirts and the fabric for the ties.

Plain long-sleeved T-shirts from Lands' End.

Plain long-sleeved T-shirts from Lands’ End.

I made a template with a piece of scrap paper, using a bit of trial and error to get the shape I wanted.

Paper template for "tie"

Paper template for “tie”

To make the tie,

  • I cut a piece of Heat’n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive a bit larger than the template and traced the tie pattern onto it
  • I cut a piece of fabric a bit larger than the Heat ‘n Bond.
  • After folding down a finished edge for the top of the tie, I ironed the Heat ‘n Bond onto the back side of the fabric.
  • After it cooled, I cut out the tie.
Preparing a fabric "tie" for ironing onto a T-shirt

Preparing a fabric “tie” for ironing onto a T-shirt

I ironed the “tie” onto the shirt, lining up the top to the collar of the shirt and using a tape measure to make sure it was centered.

Center the "tie" on the shirt

Center the “tie” on the shirt

I’ve seen people describe iron-on projects where they don’t sew down the edges, but it never seems to work for me (the fabric peels off), so I sewed a straight stitch about 1/8″-1/4″ from the edge of the tie.

Sew a straight stitch around the edge of the tie.

Sew a straight stitch around the edge of the tie.

And here are the finished shirts!  Next time, I think I will try some with a false “knot” at the top, like these shirts by Erin at Lemon Tree Creations.  I’d also like to try experimenting with a bow tie!

DIY Iron-on "tie" T-shirts by Jewels at Home

DIY Iron-on “tie” T-shirts

I’ve also made onesies with these appliqued ties, because even babies need to get dressed up sometimes!

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So many ways to have fun with this idea!

“Jewels”

“Eco-chic” – The Evolution of Pants

When you think of decorating and crafts blogs, you usually think of cute DIY projects like painting and reupholstering Queen Anne chairs or adding fabric borders to towels. But sometimes, even the most ardent DIYer has to do something more mundane, like fix the bottom of a sagging drawer or, in this case, patch boys’ pants.

Although I occasionally question whether it’s worth the time and energy, I like to patch my boys’ pants with torn knees, rather than donate or trash them. If you have little boys – and we have three – you will know that those knees can wear through while the rest of the pants are still in perfect condition. And with three brothers, I know that each pair could get a lot of use, if I just patch up those knees.

This is a job I always save up until I have a pile, so it’s rather impressive-looking when done. One time, I took a picture of a pile of patched pants and posted it on Facebook. One of my friends commented that the result was “eco-chic,” and it inspired me to keep going. I started out using plain iron-on patches, but there are many with great patterns, too, like these camouflage patches or these bandana-patterned patches. I’m also planning on making some myself with fun heavy-duty fabrics and some iron-on adhesive like Heat’n Bond Ultra Hold.

Patch your kids' pants with fun fabrics for an eco-friendly fashion statement.  By Jewels at Home.

Patch your kids’ pants with fun fabrics for an eco-friendly fashion statement.

How to patch pants

This is not at all complicated to do, but it does take a little patience. Although the instructions say that you can just iron on the patches, ours did not hold up that way, so I sew around the border.

Cut the patch about an inch larger than your hole.

Iron it over the hole according to the instructions.

Here’s the sewing part – gather the bottom of the pant leg until you reach the patch. Slip the patched area under the sewing machine foot. Sew a zig-zag stitch with short stitch length around the edge of the patch.

It takes some practice, but I’ve got the hang of it now. I have trouble with anything smaller than 3T or with skinny pants, as it’s too hard to gather up the leg and sew just the patch without catching other parts of the fabric.

 

How to patch kids' pants.  From Jewels at Home.

To sew around the patch, start by gathering up the pant leg.

 

How to patch kids' pants.  From Jewels at Home.

After gathering up the pant leg, pull the gathers to one side, so the patched area is exposed, without any other parts of the pants under it, and slip it under the foot of your sewing machine.

 

From pants to shorts

The final step in the evolution of our boys’ pants happens when the knees are ripped all the way across or there are just too many patches on a knee. Then, I just cut the pants across at the knee, fold up a hem, and sew them to make shorts!

Turn worn-out pants into short for an eco-friendly solution for kids.  By Jewels at Home.

Turn worn-out pants into short for an eco-friendly solution for kids.

Got Girls?

As usual when it comes to clothing, it seems like the options for girls are even greater and better. Think heart-shaped patches, stars, ruffles, and more. Here’s an example from SFEnvironment, where there are many more great ideas for kids and adults.

patched pants

Fun patched pants from SF Environment.

A funny aside – I noticed that it is almost always the left knee that gets worn out before the right on my boys’ pants. I think it has to do with being right-side dominant and dragging your left knee when you get up from the ground, but it is still rather remarkable!

Patch your kids' pants in fun fabrics for a "green" fashion statement.  By Jewels at Home.

Making a “green” fashion statement.

Hope to get back to something more glamorous soon!

“Jewels”

 

 

Helping Kids Write Great Cards

A brief and belated post from Father’s Day.  I wanted to share the cards the kids and I made for hubby.  This is not an original idea for cards, but I really enjoyed trying it with the boys and look forward to using it for other holidays and birthdays.

We took each letter in “Father’s Day” and wrote an adjective or short phrase about hubby that started with that letter.  I think this project was good for helping the kids expand their writing skills. It was an easy template for them to create something more personalized and creative than a standard “Happy Father’s Day.”

Here’s the example I made:

Father's Day card idea for kids by Jewels at Home

Father’s Day card idea for kids

As you can see, our six year-old started with this concept – he wanted to write “awesome” for the “a” in “dad,” spelled it phonetically as “osum,” and then got sidetracked into other adjectives that started with unrelated letters. The result was very sweet.

Father's Day card by kids at Jewels at Home

Father’s Day card by our six year-old. He did all the spelling himself – “fantastic” came out a little more clearly than “awesome.”

Our eight year-old came up with some cute phrases as well as impressive vocabulary words.

Fun way to help kids write great cards at Jewels at Home

Our eight year-old came up with some sweet and creative words and phrases to describe his dad.

And last but not least, baby J’s contribution:

Baby J's card for dad

Baby J’s card for dad

Some other ways I would love to use this idea would be

  • Using the letters of a friend’s name for a birthday card
  • Finding words and phrases to summarize our year in a holiday card based on the letters of “holiday,” “happy new year,” “joy,” “love,”… the options are endless!
Love,
“Jewels”

Taggie Blanket and Animal Loveys

“Pei-pei,” our second child’s blankie, has been referred to as our third child. That was in the days before we had a third child, and it was appropriate, as he went everywhere with us and is immortalized in countless family photos from all over the continent and the globe! These days, pei-pei stays at home, but he still occasionally will pose for a picture, like this one:

Blankie is a member of our family!

Blankie is a member of our family!

Baby brother has a blankie, too.

Baby brother has a blankie, too.

After seeing how much the boys love their blankies, I wanted to make some of my own. I had this minky blanket fabric that matches our baby’s pei-pei, so I thought I would make some extra blankies for him and for gifts… more on how that turned out, later!

In the past, I had made some little stuffed animals with ribbon “taggies,” since it seems like that is usually little kids’ favorite part of any blanket or animal. Here are a couple of the dinosaurs I made with taggie spines, before they got stuffed.

DIY dinosaur lovey with taggies on spine by Jewels at Home

Dinosaur lovey with taggies on spine, before she gets stuffed.

Dinosaur taggie lovey by Jewels at Home

Finished dinosaur taggie lovey

 

Our baby’s lovey has a white bear head in the center, but I decided to add some taggies around the edge of the new blankets instead (foreshadowing: this was a mistake!). There are two ways to add the taggies:

  • For a complex shape like the dinosaurs, put the two sides of the fabric with right sides together and pin the taggies in place facing inward. Then sew around the perimeter, leaving a small gap to turn it. Finally, flip the whole thing , stuff it, and close the seam.
  • For a simple shape like a blanket, you can put the wrong sides together and fold under the raw edges, as shown below. Pin on the taggies, and sew around the edge to close the seams and secure the taggies.
DIY lovey blanket with taggies by Jewels at Home

Turn the raw edges of the fabric under and pin the taggies in place before sewing.

DIY lovey blanket with taggies by Jewels at Home

Finished DIY lovey blanket with taggies

I think these taggie blankets will make great gifts. And mnie will have to be gifts, because, as I hinted above, the new blankies did not go over with our toddler. As I mentioned, his blanket is made of the same material, but it does not have the taggies and has a white teddy bear head in the center. When I showed him one of the new taggie blankets, expecting him to grab it excitedly, he instead stared with a look of horror and shook his head, backing away. I can just read his mind: “Oh my goodness! Mommy decapitated my pei-pei and added these horrible garish tags to it! This is an abomination! Help!”

Well, hopefully, some lucky baby will start off with these taggie blankets and learn to love them for what they are.

“Jewels”

 

Buggy Birthday to You! Bug-themed Kids’ Party

It’s so rewarding to throw a kids’ birthday party. Children are so naturally exuberant about their special day already, and you can take your theme completely over-the-top, if you have the inclination, time, and energy!

Throwing a sixth birthday party for our middle guy earlier this year was especially fun, as I had been out of party mode for a while with the baby, and the birthday boy had finally emerged from his terrible 2-3-4s and was busy charming us again, so it felt great to celebrate him. He loves nature – it’s amazing how he will notice the smallest flower or animal and stop to point it out to us – so I wanted to do something with that theme. And I decided to do it at home, which is easier for preparing a lot of decorations and activities, as well as when there is a younger sibling’s naps to work around.

A bug-themed birthday was perfect for our little nature-lover.

A bug-themed birthday was perfect for our little nature-lover.

Activities
I did some searches on the internet and found Insect Discovery Lab with great reviews! They have also done presentations at our kids’ school, so I knew they would be well-received. There are other traveling bug shows, and even reptiles, but the latter was a bit much for my squeamish side. Even with Insect Discovery Lab, I had to wonder (but it turned out fine!)

Insect Discovery Lab put on a fun show for the kids!

Insect Discovery Lab put on a fun show for the kids! I watched from a safe distance!

In planning activities, I had in mind that I wanted to make the birthday boy a quilt. Long-ish story, but we ended up unexpectedly buying a class quilt for our oldest at the school fundraising auction a couple of years ago. It was definitely not premeditated, more like second-degree over-spending. In any case, having just bought a fixer-upper of a house, I had to tell our birthday boy that we would not be buying his class quilt this year (unless some form of auction manslaughter were to happen), but I promised him I would make him a quilt instead. I cut blank quilt squares for his friends to draw on using fabric markers, and I’ll be joining them into a quilt, hopefully some time before his next birthday!

Each party guest can decorate a quilt block - by Jewels at Home

Blank quilt squares for the kids to decorate with fabric markers.

The other activities were found at Oriental Trading: we had were insect tattoos – some of the older kids helped out with this – and suncatchers. I set up the tattoos and wet towels, and some of the older kids helped the younger ones get tattoos. The suncatchers were popular but a bit messy. I later read a tip to use markers, which would have been neater, though probably not as colorful. Next time, I would put them on individual paper plates for people to paint and transport home, because the paint does take several hours to dry.

Temporary tattoo station

Temporary insect tattoos. I provided some damp towels, and the older kids helped out.

Suncatchers from Oriental Trading Company

Suncatchers from Oriental Trading Company

Suncatchers from Oriental Trading Company



Food
As I mentioned, for someone who works in a biology-related field, I’m pretty squeamish, and a lot of the ideas out there for bug-themed birthdays are a bit gross (think plastic bugs in food). So, I set out to find ideas that were more abstract and focused on the “cuter” insects like ladybugs, while not being too cute for a six-year old boy.

Some of the best ideas I found were those around Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It’s a bit young for the six-year olds, but it worked. These apple and cheese caterpillars were inspired by Cute Food for Kids, where there are many more great ideas. I dipped the apples in orange juice to keep them from browning during the party.

Hungry caterpillar apple and cheese snacks by Jewels at Home.

Hungry caterpillar apple and cheese snacks.

The cake was inspired by a beautiful one posted at Week of Menus. I loved the look and taste of the whipped cream and fresh fruit, and it seems healthier than a standard frosted cake, even if it is still, you know, cake. I used the same idea to make a baby shower cake with a ducky for my friend.

Whipped cream and fresh fruit for a bug-themed birthday cake by Jewels at Home.

Whipped cream and fresh fruit for a bug-themed birthday cake by Jewels at Home.

We also served farfalle “butterfly pasta” with cheese and hot dog-spaghetti bugs.

Favors

For the treat bags, I used these cotton drawstring backpacks, also from Oriental Trading Company. I’ve done this several times, and I think the quality has gone downhill a bit in the past few years, but they still make nice reusable bags. My kids often pack their “going out” toys and activities in here, if they need to be occupied at a restaurant or accompanying one of us to work for a few hours.

I used puffy fabric paint to personalize the bags and added iron-on appliques to fit with the theme. These iron-ons were adorable, but I actually did have some problems with them falling off with some wear from the kids. In the past, I used appliques made with fusible backing on plain fabric, which I outlined in puffy paint, and they held up better.

Drawstring backpacks decorated as treat bags by Jewels at Home.

Drawstring backpacks personalized as treat bags.


Iron-on insect appliques

Iron-on insect appliques

For the party favors, I lucked out and found some inexpensive bug-themed books and pencils. I also made little snack bags filled with cookies and dried fruit and pinned with a clothespin, to make the look like butterflies. I first saw the idea on this board on Pinterest.

Inexpensive finds for party favors

Inexpensive finds for party favors


Butterfly snack bags for party favors by Jewels at Home

Butterfly snack bags for party favors.

It turned out to be a very fun birthday party!  There are so many great ideas out there, and I didn’t have time to do them all, but I collected some more options on a Pinterest board that you can check out, if you are looking for ideas to do your own bug birthday party!

“Jewels”

Kindergarten Graduation Party!

School is out! I feel sad about this, but there were points this year where I began to resent the winter holidays and the end of the school year. Somehow, the things that I normally love – like preparing gifts and planning parties – just became too much of a good thing. There were too many late nights and deadlines. But, we survived, and we did have some fun along the way, too, of course! I’m thinking about how to make the next rounds less hectic, and I have to say that traveling right after school ends may not be the best idea. No point in adding packing suitcases to the already long to-do list!

One of the big events of this month was planning a Kindergarten graduation party with my friend Ari. Our children just completed their K year, and we wanted to celebrate this big achievement with them. We started with some ideas from this article Ari found over at Yum Sugar: Fun Party Ideas for Your Little Graduates. Plenty of inspiration there, though we didn’t want quite that much sugar!

We held a small park playdate for our kids and their closest buddies after the half day of school.

20120615-231017.jpg

Yummy Treats

Since, it was after lunch, we didn’t need a lot of food, but we knew the kids would need some fuel after all that running around.

We had fruit in ice cream cones, an idea I had spotted on Pinterest:

fruit in waffle cones

Serve fruit in waffle cones for a healthier snack. You could add chocolate or nuts to the cones for a treat! We served the fruit on the side, and let each person scoop their own, so the cones wouldn’t get soggy.

Cupcakes were the sweet indulgence.  I made the cupcake toppers using coffee stir sticks and paper.   You can download the PDF I created in Powerpoint here: Kindergarden graduation cupcake toppers. It’s actually in color, but I didn’t have easy access to a color printer, so I printed them in black and white and added color in the background papers.

Cupcakes with Kindergarten graduation toppers by Jewels at Home

Cupcakes with Kindergarten graduation toppers.

Download printable: Kindergarden graduation cupcake toppers

Decor and Favors:

These bubbles were Ari’s idea, and it was brilliant and adorable!  We made the hats out of construction paper and yarn, and it looks like the little faces are wearing graduation caps!  A lot of the parents were taking pictures of the bubbles, since we certainly had no hope of getting the kids to line up for a picture.

Bubbles decorated for Kindergarden graduation at Jewels at Home

Bubbles decorated for Kindergarden graduation.

The party favors had a school theme, with these bookmarks that Ari created to give along with some pencils and notebooks.

Bookmark graduation gift at Jewels at Home

Bookmark graduation gift.

Kindergarden graduation favors at Jewels at Home

Kindergarden graduation favors

Looking back on the chaos of the week, I’m really happy we did this for the kids.  Once the planning and work was done, it was a fun way to unwind at the end of the school year.

Welcome to summer!

“Jewels”

Inspirations from Daily Life – June 2012

I’ll keep updating this post through June and plan to start a new post each month with some of the photos I’ve taken of inspiring projects and scenes I’ve encountered in daily life.

Coffee can napkin holder

This would be great for a picnic buffet. The Cafe du Monde can is especially cool, but you could print vintage labels for a similar feel. Could also cover cans in coordinating labels for utensils, and your casual summer party is complete!
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Low water landscape
We only have a small patio at home, but here’s how to add a ton of beauty and charm with little maintenance. It’s a dry creek with grasses and a pergola above.

20120603-064710.jpg

More ideas to come!

“Jewels”<

DIY Wall Initials – This time, for the Girls

Remember these wall initials I made for my kids? I put one up in the nursery already, using 3M Command Picture Hanging Strips.  Besides hanging them on a wall, you could make these letters part of an artful arrangement on a shelf or stick them to the door.  I made mine as big as a 12×12 inch sheet of scrapbook paper would allow, but I would love to make a really large one some time with wrapping paper or fabric.

DIY paper-wrapped wall initials by Jewels at Home0120531-181246.jpg

DIY paper-wrapped wall initials by Jewels at Home

These oversize letters were also the May Giveaway, and Jenny won them for her two girls. While I was working on Jenny’s letters, I made two more for my twin nieces, who are turning one next month! It’s often easier to do several of any project at once, while you have the motivation and all the supplies out. You definitely learn a lot as you repeat projects, too. Don’t you wish you could always start with the second one, after all the mistakes have been made?

I already posted the instructions for making these letters, so I’ll jump straight to the final result!

DIY paper-wrapped wall initial decor by Jewels at Home

DIY paper-wrapped wall initials

Fun with DIY initials by Jewels at Home

With this combination of letters, I just couldn’t resist!!

DIY cardboard wall initial decor by Jewels at Home

Close-up of this pretty paper on the “C”

DIY cardboard wall initial decor by Jewels at Home

Close-up of some more beautiful paper on the “m.”

As you can see, I used lower case letters this time and a different font: American Typewriter Bold.

american typewriter font

And I’ll add one tip if you have to wrap around a small opening. I cut the tabs in a zig-zag pattern, so that they don’t get too short.

Cutting tabs to wrap letters in paper by Jewels at Home

Cutting tabs to wrap letters in paper

Beside the fact that I nearly glued all my fingers to each other in the process, it was so fun for me to make something for little girls, since we have a house full of (wonderful!) boys. I’m also really glad to give Jenny’s girls a piece of home that they can take as they move overseas and just as thrilled to have something unique to celebrate the big one year birthday with my nieces!

Looking forward to another fun giveaway starting next month!

“Jewels”

Inspirations from Daily Life – May 2012

I’ll keep updating this post through May and hopefully start a new post each month with some of the photos I’ve taken of inspiring projects and scenes I’ve encountered in daily life.

With all the great decorating blogs and Pintetest, there is certainly no shortage of ideas for design and projects on the Internet. Still, it’s a treat to walk around and find beautiful inspirations in our regular routine.

Kids’ Furniture

These fabulous chairs are in our kids’ school library. They have pages from old children’s books torn, aged, and decoupaged. You could get very creative with these. My friend and I were talking about making a set for the school auction with drawings from the students and their names decoupaged. You could do the same thing for a special teacher who is having a baby, as a shower gift from the class.

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Baby Shower Cake

This was actually the practice run for my friend’s baby shower later this summer. On a marble chocolate and yellow cake, I spread whipped cream and created a duckie picture out of strawberries, blueberries, and pineapple. It tastes fresher and lighter than a traditional cake with sugary frosting, and you can’t beat the cute factor! I’m collecting more cute ideas for the main event!

Duckie cake for baby shower by Jewels at Home

Brick ceiling with exposed beams
This beautiful ceiling has a homey timeless feel. Seen at Portobella restaurant in Carmel, CA. We have beams at our house that have been painted white like the ceiling. I don’t think stripping them is in the budget, but we’re thinking of painting them a dark color for contrast.

Brick-lined ceiling with exposed beams

Brick-lined ceiling with exposed beams

Rustic outdoor canopy/strong>

This alluring outdoor seating area is in the Anthropologie store. I love the intimate and idyllic feeling of a canopy over the table.

Rustic outdoor gazebo with canopy

Rustic outdoor gazebo with canopy at Anthropologie store.

More ideas to come!

“Jewels”