Office Chair Mat

You know those office chairmats that you can buy for what seems like a lot of money and about 4 months later they are cracking all over and there are holes in them so they are really not that useful anymore? I have a solution. Brian's dad made something similiar with parquet flooring and I thought what a great idea. I got a piece of 1/2" plywood and cut it down to size. Well the size I thought would work and it doesn't so now I have to change it. Just a few cuts thats all. Then at Home Depot they had clearance vinyl tiles. I just tore the paper off and attached them to the plywood and voila a chair mat that won't crack. What a concept!

Deliciousness

For Valentines Day I had two different things going on that I needed dessert for. So I made a red velvet cake and donuts. Not just any donuts. I decided to make filling for the donuts. Three fillings later I was mostly out of my mind. Lemon, raspberry, and bavarian creme. Well, mostly bavarian creme. I thought I only needed one box of vanilla pudding but I needed 2 so I added a box of lemon. So really it was lemony bavarian creme. We still ate them. In fact, while I was making the glazed donuts everyone ate the filled donuts so I don't even know what they tasted like. All that hard work with no reward. What a shame. And even worse I don't have a picture of the finished donuts. Anyway, neither dessert was too hard to make. I decided though, that I think I like to make fancy cakes. Not the ones with fondant frosting cause that is just gross. Fancy cakes that look pretty and taste even better. SO if you have any great fancy cake stories or cooking stories let me know. I am always up for something delicious.

Cute Photo Holders

I made some cute photo holders. Super easy to make. I used elmer's glue cause I didn't have anything else. I tried to pull all of my scrapbooking stuff to do this with and surprisingly I didn't have much. So I created. You could change this however you wanted to. Personalize your family's name, recipe, whatever it could really work. Use whatever colors you like. I cut the paper at about 2 inches by 3 3/8 ish. Found some ribbon out of my pile, tied it around the clippy parts and knotted it. Made a little flower and added a few other details that I had around the the house. Makes great little friend gifts, neighbor girl gifts, you name it, it makes it. Enjoy!

Doorknob Valentines Pockets

So I had an idea. When I was growing up my family made Valentines packets and hung them up to exchange valentines. Well, my kids are little, so I decided to make my own. I got some fabric about 6 inches wide added a pocket to hang on their doorknob. It took me about 10 minutes to do and I think it is great. My kids are kind of indifferent but they are 1 and 3. Tomorrow it might be another story.

A few more things...

Here are some more little things. I love to sew. Some people scrapbook, I sew. I love it. For Christmas, I found this fabric at the thrift store a couple of years ago actually, but I decided to make a circle skirt for my daughter. Relatively easy. I had just enough left over that I made my son a vest with my own pattern and they were so adorable. I will upload a picture of the vest later.

A cute tiered ruffle dress.

Family Sign. Wooden letters with scrapbook paper on them. I have paper for these sorts of projects. Paint the letters and trace the letter onto paper. Cut out and mod podge the paper onto wood. Add layers if you want and then add some embellishments. I get compliments on these a lot.

A close up of said Family letters.

Quilt. I make quilts for my kids beds. I do the sew and flip style. Then add some shams and pillows and bedskirt in coordinating fabric..

Here is a few projects with lots more to come.

Variety of things I have crafted in my house...

Here are some things that I have made:

Dried leaves on mulberry paper makes for a pretty wall hanging.

Double Crocheted rosette added to a alligator clip with a rhinestone center. I actually add this to the center of other bows to add a little extra something.

Bumper Pads. I have a girl and a boy. I am too particular to just have one set of bumper pads so I made two. A girly flower and plaid, and a boyish polka dot and sail boats.

A flower arrangement. Okay, I will be the first to admit I am a cheapskate. I got these little hangers from Joann's on clearance for a quarter. The paint was chipping off and they were ugly. I spray painted them white, it took a couple of coats. Off to the dollar store I went and picked out some spanish moss and a couple of flowers and voila cute wall hangings. I get comments on them every time someone sees them.

Headboard

This is a headboard my husband and I made together. I had wanted a headboard for years and the ones I liked were just expensive. One day, I thought, "why don't I just make one?" Well, I told my husband about it and at first he said no. Lots of work. Then I told him I was going to make it myself and then he said I will help you.

It was actually very easy.

First, measure the width of your bed and then add about 2-3 inches depending if you want it to overlap your bed a little. Get a piece of plywood from Home Depot or Lowe's. You can actually have them cut it down to size in most cases. Get your favorite fabric and batting and go to town. I used faux suede. I came across it and Joann's when it was $3 a yard. Hard to pass up. I stapled my batting on so it wrapped around the back just slightly and then stretched the suede over that and stapled again on the back. Then I added the wood to make it a finished look. You wouldn't have to add the wood if you didn't want to. When choosing your fabric make sure you get upholstery fabric so it will be extra heavy. If you have stripes or plaid you will also want to be careful when you staple to make sure the lines are straight.

Enjoy!

Makin It Domestic

Hi, My name is Brooke Crandall and after reading all of the craft blogs and what not, I decided to have my own. It will be all about crafts, cooking or lack of, decorating, and whatever else my little heart desires. I cannot guarantee how often I will post but will certainly make the best of it. So here is to becoming more domestic.