Pretty Little Dividers

Closet dividers: not 100% necessary but too adorable to pass up. Especially when they end up being so cheap to make. 

There are several ways to make your own closet dividers and many tutorials out there. My only problem was that I have this contraption in the nursery closet: 

The whole hanging contraption is attached to the wall in numerous spots. There may be a way to remove the hanging rod, but I wasn't brave enough to attempt it. Therefore, DIY closet dividers like these or these were out of the question because there would be no way to place them around the rod. I wanted to make closet dividers like these but I couldn't find any ready-made dividers that were affordable and I didn't feel like ordering them online. So I took a quick trip to Joann's for inspiration and found these bad boys for $1 a pop:

Since these hearts were hung with twine it would be easy to just loop them around the curtain rod, avoiding any unnecessary damage/work. Once I got them home, it was a matter of removing the twine from each heart so that I could paint and Mod Podge them. 

I painted the sides of the wooden hearts with the green paint I had leftover from the DIY nursery wall letters. I chose to cover both sides of the wooden hearts with scrapbook paper. If you don't have enough scrapbook paper or would prefer to only cover one side, at this point you would paint one side of the wooden hearts as well. 

Once the paint dried, I traced each heart on the back of the scrapbook paper. 

If you are using any wooden shapes, make sure you trace each shape separately on the scrapbook paper. When I was ready to glue the scrapbook paper to the wooden letters, I realized all the wooden hearts were different sizes. It was no big deal, all I had to do was trim the paper pieces down as I glued them, but knowing this beforehand would have saved me even more time. I used Mod Podge to glue the pieces of scrapbook paper to both sides of the wooden hearts. I was able to use the leftover scrapbook paper from the nursery wall letters project and save even more money. 

Once the sides were dry, I placed the # stickers on each wooden heart for the necessary size (0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-18, 18 & up). At one point I ran out of the necessary numbers so I had to cut some stickers and do some rearranging. So if you run out of numbers, don't get discouraged and immediately go out and buy more - try to cut and rearrange them first. Then I put two coats of Mod Podge on both sides to make sure the scrapbook paper and stickers would not peel off. One coat probably would have sufficed but for some reason...2 coats always makes me feel better when it comes to Mod Podge (it's weird, I know). 

Easy Peasy and Oh So Cute! Once everything dried, I looped the twine back through the wooden hearts and hung the hearts in the closet. 

Total cost of the project? Just the $7 + tax I spent on the wooden hearts and the # stickers - heck ya! 

I've Bin Crazy

Nesting has officially taken over. As if I wasn't a neat freak already, now I need to organize and reorganize everything in the house. This week I attacked the linen closet. A small feat, yes, but it has momentarily appeased my inner clean freak. 

This is what it looked like pre-organization session. It's looked like this since we've moved in - I've completely ignored the poor thing.

After a trip to Target for clearance/sale bins and a trip to Joann for some medium sized tags, things looked much better. I took a few minutes to separate the linens into their appropriate bins and then labeled the tags and attached them with some leftover twine from this project. 

Now the husband doesn't have to wonder where everything goes and I don't have to spend the night giving him the stink eye. He says I've gone "bin crazy". Personally, nothing makes me happier than everything in its rightful place in a bin. I'd put everything in a bin if I could. And when Baby Z is old enough, she'll be able to read and learn where everything goes (yes, my child will be as neurotic as I am). I'm still pondering what I'll do with those robes in the upper left corner. They're so bulky and we never use them, maybe I'll be able to part with them eventually. 

The bins are the most expensive part of this project, but if you can snatch some on clearance or even find some at your local thrift store - even better. It's a quick organizational redo that everyone can feel good about. The best part is the reusable tags. They can be flipped over in case the contents of the bins ever change or completely replaced if need be (since I chose not to write anything on the actual bins). So when we no longer need "baby linens", I can change the contents and the labels. There's also still plenty of room at the bottom of the closet for additional bins (tee hee) or maybe a mini vac. 

I'm on to obsess about the next organizational project :)  

Persistence

Every day I tell him to get out of our bedroom. 

Every day he finds a new way in. 

He's even figured out how to pry certain doors open. 

When I tell him to get out, he gets ugly.

And threatens to eat his appendages. 

Then he digs his head in the blankets as though that makes him invisible. 

Telling him to get out breaks my heart every time. Just look at that face.

And...then...he tries to ignore me and go back to the same spot. 

I've been putzing around

In Illustrator.

That is, the free trial. I haven't bitten the bullet yet and purchased it. I am by no means a pro in Illustrator, but I've dabbled in it for work. Luckily, there are some awesome tutorials out there on the interwebs to help.

I made these invites for my sister's baby shower:

And these Thank You Cards to send after my baby shower. I thought it would be fun to do something personal and bring in the Ugly Doll theme of the nursery:

And these for Baby Z's bathroom:

 

I designed them to go with the owl bathroom accessories I got from Target:

I think they'll look nice in some crisp white frames collaged together. We'll see how it turns out once we get some time to paint the bathroom.

For anyone interested, here's where you can find the tutorials I used:

How To Create An Elegant Patterned Vector Owl In Illustrator

 Tug And Twirl Text In Illustrator

It's the little things...

I love Baby Z's crib. The only complaint I have is about the screws holding it together. While I certainly didn't expect them to be white like the crib finish, the way they sink into the crib just makes them completely noticeable. See?

But we knew this was coming. We took a long time to pick out a crib. The crib we ended up selecting had rave reviews about its sturdiness, looks, and safety. The only negative thing people pointed out was the screws. It's not terrible, but we can certainly do something about it. We removed the screws 2 at a time (to avoid having the crib fall apart on us) and we spraypainted the big screws baby blue. The baby blue screws will match the handles on the dresser we're redoing. We left the smaller screws in the crib and painted them white with a small paintbrush.

Much better:

I love how big of a difference some little changes can make :)

Onion Pie

Tasty, flaky, savory onion pie. 

Before you ask: yes, it gives you gas. But...it's tasty and oh so worth it. The smell of the butter and onions slowly cooking is deliciously intoxicating. It brings back memories of being in my grandmother's kitchen (the smell of the pie, not the gas). 

I've made onion pies before but I've always flown by the seat of my pants. This time around, I decided to find some recipes online and do some experimenting. I used this Vidalia Onion Pie recipe and tweaked it a little based on the ingredients I already had at home. 

Onion Pie

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

cold water

Filling:

1 egg yolk and 1 teaspoon water for egg wash

1/2 cup unsalted butter

9 medium yellow onions

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I really like cheese)

Prepare the crust. Combine all the dry ingredients in your pastry blender and mix well. 

Add the butter into the dry mixture and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. 

Slowly add water, drop by drop. Continue to do this until the dough sticks together without being sticky or crumbly. 

Place the dough in plastic wrap in the shape of a disk and place it in the fridge for at least an hour.

Butter a 10 inch pie pan. Roll out the dough and place it in the pie pan. Brush the egg wash on the pie crust and place the pie pan in the refrigerator until the filling is prepared. 

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. 

Begin preparing the filling. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat (I used a wok to have more room). 

Chop up the onions. 

Add the onions to the butter and saute them until they are translucent. Do not brown the onions. 

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, the buttermilk, and the flour. 

Add this mixture to the onions. Season with salt and pepper and pour this mixture into the pie crust. Top with the shredded Swiss cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for 20 more minutes (or until center is set). 

Thanks to the cheese, the top of the pie becomes delectably crusty. The inside is smooth, creamy, and savory. Serve up a slice with some salad and you're in business! 

DIY Embroidery Hoop Art

This is the last project I completed for Baby Z's nursery mural, to go along with the Button Art and the Wall Letters. Hopefully what I've been picturing in my head will piece together nicely on the wall above her crib. My goal was to find a cheap way to create a fun and colorful mural to add some color to the baby blue walls - I think I've been pretty successful (fingers crossed until we put all the pieces together). 

I've seen the embroidery hoop and fabric project on several sites like this one and this one, and decided to give it a go. Since the button art and wall letters would add different patterns and colors, I chose to just use the brown tree fabric we used on the rocking chair. To bring in the Ugly Doll theme we have throughout the nursery, I also added some Ugly Doll silhouettes. 

To make this project you'll need:

- Embroidery hoop

- Spray paint 

- Fabric 

- Scissors

- Iron 

- Stencil or a print out (depending on how you will draw the silhouette)

- Paint marker, pen, or pencil 

- Paint (I use the Americana brand)

- Paintbrush

- Mod Podge

Start by spray painting the embroidery hoop in the color of your choice. Let it dry overnight. 

Cut a piece of fabric to fit into the embroidery hoop. 

Iron the piece of fabric. 

Since I didn't know where to find an Ugly Doll stencil, I used a print out of a character that I cut out. You can use a stencil, a print out, or freehand the silhouette - totally up to you. 

Place the cut out on the fabric so that you can trace it. I used a white paint marker to trace the cut out since I was working with dark fabric. You can use a pen or pencil if you are working with light fabric, just make sure that you can cover it up with the paint. If you are afraid of your stencil or cut out moving around on you, use some double sided tape to keep it in place.

You can barely see it in this photo, but this is what my outline ended up looking like: 

Using your paintbrush and paint, start filling in the outline. Make sure you place something under your fabric (like wax paper or newspaper) in case the paint leaks through the fabric. 

You'll need to paint several layers on the fabric, depending on what pattern you need to cover up and what paint you use. I had some tricky red apples that just wouldn't be covered up. Here is what it looked like after one coat:

And two coats:

And three coats:

I'm not sure how many coats I put on mine - I stopped counting after 5. Just make sure you let each coat dry before applying a new one. Once the paint is dry, I'd recommend putting a heavy book on top of the painted silhouette overnight, so the fabric does not get bumpy. 

Place the fabric in the embroidery hoop and stretch it to fit. Make sure the fabric is nice and taut. 

Cut the excess fabric off so it doesn't show past the embroidery hoop.

Put a coat of Mod Podge over the entire fabric.

Once it is dry, add a second layer of Mod Podge on the fabric. Let that dry and add a layer of Mod Podge on the hoop as well. I also flipped the hoop over and applied a layer of Mod Podge on the back of the fabric, so the fabric would be nice and sturdy. 

Once it dries, you're all done! Repeat the steps as many times as you want, for as many hoops as you want. 

I'll post an update soon once we decide on the mural layout and put them up on the wall in the nursery. Stay tuned!