Painted Easter Bunny Jars

If you're a regular reader of my blog, then you probably already know that I'm a huge fan of baby food jars.  What's not to love about them?  They're cute and petite, durable, and free if you have a baby, or a friend with a baby!  I thought I'd put the rest of my baby food jars to good use to create a cute Easter craft- painted Easter bunny jars!

These jars can be used as decor items, to fill with treats and give away to friends and family, or even as little favors or treats for everyone on the Easter table.  However you decide to use them, these cute little bunnies are very easy to make, and look great!

I put my big box of paint to use again that Krylon sent me (see yesterday's $2 candy dish post for another great use for their spray paint), but this time I used their Dual Paint + Primer in Modern White Gloss, which was perfect for the job because it is a paint and primer in one can that gives a great thick coverage, which means less coats for you to paint!

Supplies:

• Baby food jars (I used varying sizes of jars)
• White spray paint
• Pink and black multi-surface paint
• Small paintbrush
• Small piece of white felt
• Scissors (fabric scissors work best to cut the felt)
• Glue gun

Spray the outside each of the jars that you're using with white spray paint.  Make sure to spray multiple layers of thin, even coats for the best coverage and to avoid drips.  I sprayed these right side up on some newspaper with the lids left on, since I didn't want any paint going inside the jars (paint + food = big no no).  Let dry between coats, and then let the jars dry thoroughly before the next step.

Using a small paintbrush and some black multi-surface black craft paint, paint two tiny eyes, a little triangle nose, and a small line going straight down for the nose.  To add a little more color and character, once the black paint was dry I painted on two small pink circles for rosy cheeks.

While the cheeks are drying, cut out two ears for each bunny jar from the white felt.  I had planned on cutting two pink pieces to go inside the white ears, but realized two late that all of my pink felt had been used.  Use a glue gun to carefully glue a thick line of glue on the top center of the jar, and stick the ears right down in the glue and let cool.  This worked perfectly to create those cute little bunny ears!

And there you have it, adorable little bunny jars to decorate with or give away, that you made out of something that probably would have been thrown away!  Give yourself a pat on the back ;)

For more baby food jar fun, check out these popular projects that I've also made with baby food jars!

Rainbow Cakes in a Jar, perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or any time of the year.  You can even make these in custom colors for a birthday party or holiday!

Monsters University Mini Cakes, baked inside baby food jars.

Baby Food Jar Planter- You can make this great decor piece from a scrap piece of wood and baby food jars and use it as planters, vases, or candleholders!

Baby Food Jar Party Favors, customizable for any party.

xo, Laura

Disney's Monsters University "Eye-Spy" Bag

I am super excited to share with you my latest project!!  Have you seen an I-Spy bag before?  I created my own version of an I-Spy bag using Mike Wazowski from the new Disney movie, Monsters University, as my "bag," and his eye as the clear vinyl hole to search through... an "eye-spy" bag!

Mike Wazowski's body was the perfect shape for the bag!  I love how you can look right through his eye to search through the poly pellets to find the Monsters University characters inside the bag.  My kids are already addicted, and I'm thinking this bag is going to be a hot commodity during church when I pull it out to keep the kids busy and quiet ;)

If you're unsure about what an I-Spy bag is, it's basically it's usually a square bag made from two pieces of fabric, with a clear piece square of vinyl cut out of the middle.  It is usually filled with rice or poly pellets and a bunch of small objects (like a penny, a safety pin, a jack, etc.).  The goal is for the child playing with the bag to move the bag around and find all of the objects inside.

Would you like to know how I made it?  Would you like to try making one of your own?  It's really pretty simple!

Supplies:

• Light green fleece (how much you use depends on how big your bag will be- my bag is huge, and I used less than 1/3 yard!)
• Black felt (small amount- you could use scraps, or buy 1/8 yard)
• White felt (small amount- you could use scraps, or buy 1/8 yard)
• Blue felt (small amount- you could use scraps, or buy 1/8 yard)
• Cream or ivory felt (small amount- you could use scraps, or buy 1/8 yard)
• Clear vinyl (I bought at Jo-Ann- need only a small amount for the clear eye)
• Green thread (that matches the green fleece)
• Fabric scissors
• Sewing machine
• Glue gun
• Poly pellets (I bought mine from Jo-Ann for about $3.50 with my 50% off coupon) or rice
• Funnel
• Small Monsters University toys or other small objects (I FINALLY found sets of tiny Monsters toys that were exclusive to Wal-Mart- they came in a 4 pack, and were $5 per pack- I bought all 3 varieties of packs)

Instructions:

1.  Decide how big you would like your Mike to be, and draw him out onto paper.  Cut out the paper, and use as your template to trace and cut your Mike out of the green fleece.  Be sure to cut two identical bodies, one for the front, and one for the back.

2.  Use a round object to trace a large circle onto the top middle of the green body- this will be Mike's large eye.  Cut out the circle.  Use a smaller round object to trace and cut out a blue circle for the blue part of his eye, and use an even smaller circular object to trace and cut out a black circle for Mike's pupil.  Hot glue the black pupil onto the middle of the blue eye, and set aside.

3.  Cut out a black smile from the black felt.  Trace the smile onto white felt and cut out.  You will use this smile to cut out an upper and a lower set of teeth.  I just looked at pictures of Mike Wazowski online and used that as a guide as to how to cut his teeth.  Once the teeth are cut, hot glue them onto the black smile, and set aside.

4.  Draw and cut out two arms and two legs.  I just "eyeballed" it (sorry, couldn't resist!) and cut through two pieces of fleece at the same time very carefully so that I wouldn't have to cut twice and so they would be identical.  You can also draw and cut out paper arms and legs, pin it to the fleece, and use that as a template to make his arms and legs.  You can choose what position you want his legs and arms to be in.  I bent his legs slightly, and bent his arms as well.  

5.  Place a small amount of glue at the top of his arms, and glue them onto the back of the front piece of his body. Place a small amount of glue onto the top of his legs, and glue them onto the back of the front piece of his body where you would like his legs.  Cut out long, small fingernails and toenails from the cream-colored felt, and glue them onto the fingers and hands.  Cut out small horns from the ivory felt, and glue them onto the back of the front piece of his body.  

6.  Cut out a circle of vinyl that is slightly bigger than the eye hole in Mike's body.  Pin the piece of vinyl right under the eye hole, and sew the vinyl onto the fleece to make the clear eye.  Use fabric glue or any other liquid glue to glue the eyeball onto the middle of the clear vinyl.  Do NOT use the glue gun for this part, or it will melt the vinyl.  Hot glue Mike's mouth onto his face.

At this point I glued Mike's hands to his legs, but you could do his legs any way that you like.  It would be really cool to sandwich wire in between two fleece arms and legs to make them bend!  I thought of this after he was finished, of course ;)

7.  Time to sew the body up!  The cool thing about fleece is that it won't fray, so I just put the two body pieces and sewed straight around the edge- no turning inside out!  Sew ALMOST around the whole body, but leave a small open hole so that you can add the poly pellets (or rice) and the toys (or objects) to his body.  Make sure to reverse on your machine at the beginning and end of sewing up the body, so that it is nice and secure (but still, be sure to leave a small hole).  

7.  Place the toys or objects into the bag.  Using a funnel, add enough poly pellets (or rice) to the bag so that it looks full, but is loose enough so that there is enough space for all of the objects to move around freely- you don't want it TOO packed.  Pin the small hole up, and sew the bag closed, again, being sure to reverse stitch at the beginning and end- we don't want any spills :)

Ta-da!!  You now have your very own Mike Wazowski eye-spy bag!  Now hurry and play with it before the kids come take it :)  

Can you find all 12 of the characters?

And just for reference, here's how big I made my Mike I-Spy bag... told you he was huge! This is my almost 5 year old holding him up!  You could make this any size you wanted, too.

Oh, and later this week I'll be announcing an amazing and talented new contributor to my blog- I can't wait to share her with you!  Her talent literally blows me away!

And lastly, I have 3 awesome giveaways coming up in the next few weeks that I am thrilled about!

If you liked this idea, I'd love for you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura 

Linking Up Here: Skip to My Lou, Craft-O-Maniac, Sugar Bee Crafts, A-Zebra Celebrations

La La Love You Valentine Pillow

I have the cutest little pillow tutorial to share with you today!  I dreamed up this pillow after hearing a song that I love by the Pixies, called "La La Love You."  I thought those words would be so cute on a little accent pillow for Valentine's Day, so I got to work and came up with this...

And I la la love it!  Would you love one for your couch?  Or even your daughter's bed?  Here's how to do it!

Supplies:

• 2 Pieces of felt cut into an 18"x11" rectangle (I used bright pink)
• Small piece of white felt (for the words)
• Sewing machine
• Glue gun or fabric glue
• Batting (to stuff the pillow)
• Pins
• Free printable template found HERE

Directions:

1.  Using your sewing machine, sew along each edge of the two cut pieces of felt, using a 1/4" seam allowance, and leaving small hole a few inches wide.  Make sure to finish off both ends.  Make a small diagonal cut on each corner, making sure not to cut the stitching.

2.  Flip pillow cover inside out, and push the corners out with the eraser end of a pencil.  Stuff pillow with batting, and hand sew the pillow closed.

3.   Print the free template found HERE, and cut out the letters with scissors.  Pin the letters onto a piece of white felt, and cut trim around the printed pattern.  Remove the pins, so that you are left with the white felt words "la la <3 you."

4.   Use fabric glue or a glue gun to glue the white letters centered onto your pillow.  I used a glue gun because I couldn't find my fabric glue, and it worked fine, as long as I didn't use too much hot glue.

Isn't it cute?  It's the perfect little touch of pink to add to your Valentine's decor.  I hope you try your hand at making one!  You'll la la love it!  Sorry, couldn't resist...

 Happy crafting!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

XO, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Whipperberry, Tatertots & Jello, Lil' Luna

Valentine's Day Felt Heart Pillows

With Valentine's Day approaching, and my new sewing machine just waiting to be used, I decided to make some throw pillows for my couch. I created two red felt pillows, each with a white heart in the middle.  Simple, but bold and graphic, and oh so cute!  And you can easily make one (or two) too!

The cool thing about these pillow covers are that they are removable, so you can switch out covers without having to buy new inserts every time you want to switch it up.  And you don't even have to mess with sewing a zipper!

Oh, and did I mention these are very inexpensive?  BOTH pillows cost  me under $5 to make!! Let's get started!

Supplies:

• Red felt (or any other color you want)
• White felt (a medium-sized piece for the heart)
• Sewing machine 
• Pillow insert (any size)
• Pins

Directions:

1.  Cut out a piece of red felt the same size as your pillow insert.  My insert was 18" x 18", so my red felt piece was also 18"x18".

2.  Cut out a heart from the white felt in any size that you like for your pillow.  I drew mine on paper first, then cut it out, and used it as a pattern to make my felt heart.

3.  Pin the heart onto the center of the red felt, and sew all the way  around the edge.  I used the pinstitch on my machine, but you can use any stitch that you like.

4.  Now cut out two pices of red felt that are the same height as your pillow, but about 2/3 the width.  These two pieces should overlap each other by a few inches, and will be the back of the pillow cover.  

5.  Place these two pieces over the heart side of the square piece, and line up all of the outside edges (right sides of the felt together).  Pin all of the layers together, and sew around all four sides using a 1/4" seam allowance.

6.  Now make a small diagonal cut on each edge of the pillow, making sure that you don't cut any of the stitching.  Turn the pillow right side out, and use your scissors or pencil to push out the corners.

7.  Now place your pillow insert into your cover.

This cute pillow makes a big impact on a couch or chair, and yet is so easy and cheap to make.  And if I can make this with my limited sewing skills, then you can too ;)  Now the hard part is deciding where to put it (or them, I just couldn't stop with one).  They look great on the couch, leather chair, or even on your kids' bed.... my kids are already begging!

Enjoy!!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

XO, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Tatertots & Jello, Whipperberry, The Shabby Nest, Today's Creative Blog, The 36th Avenue

DIY Felt Advent Calendar

I have always wanted a nice advent calendar for our family, but I just haven't found any that I fell in love with.  Until now.  I am head over heels for this one that I just finished.  It is big and has a pocket for each day in December through Christmas. The pockets are big enough for treats for all four of my kids, plus one of these easy DIY Wood Advent Activity Coins for each day.  I also included a free printable to make these wood coins, so be sure to check them out!  I included a pictures of these at the end of the post.

Here are some close-ups of the individual pockets that I'll be filling up with Christmas activities for us to do as a family, as well as some little treats...

I hand stitched around each of the 25 felt pockets. 

I paid to get the "Merry Christmas" embroidered on the top, and "Russells" embroidered on the bottom.  Worth every penny!  I love the way it turned out.

Would you like to know how to make one for yourself?  

Supplies:

* 1 yard of premium red felt (72" wide- I bought mine at Joanns)

* Green felt (I bought a yard but had a bunch left over... better safe than sorry!)

* Small pieces of other colors of felt (for the Christmas objects on the pockets)

* White 1" felt numbers (enough for all the numbers 1-25)

* Embroidery floss (whatever colors you choose- I used white, red, brown, and green)

* Glue gun and glue sticks

* Some white trim (optional)

* Sewing scissors

* Pinking shears (optional)

* Any embellishments you want to use (optional- I used 3 red crystals, sequins, white felt pre-cut snowflakes, and a little bit of pink ribbon)

* Dowel

* Flat black spray paint (optional- for the dowel)

* Saw, sander or sandpaper, and drill (for the dowel)

* Red ribbon

1.  Fold the red felt in half so that instead of 72" long it is now 36" long and 36" wide.  Put the folded edge on the top, and trim along the other three sides (not the folded edge) so that all of the edges and nice and straight and even.  Sew along the left side, bottom, and right side of the banner, leaving a border around the edges.  Sew along the top of the banner, but leave a big enough loop at the top so that you can put your dowel through to hold the banner.

2.  Cut  25 green pieces of felt that are cut into rectangles measuring 4" x 4 1/2 ." I cut mine with pinking shears, but you could use regular sewing scissors instead if you don't own pinking shears.

Place the squares where you would like them on your banner (making sure that the folded part of your banner is at the top, where the dowel will go), making 5 pockets in each row, with 5 total rows.  You can either hand stitch or use your glue gun to sew or glue around each pocket.

3.  Now for the fun part!  Cut out simple Christmas shapes from the felt.  I just free cut out whatever Christmas objects came to mind, but you could also google, print, cut, and trace outlines if you don't trust your cutting skills ;)  Glue on your felt adhesive numbers onto each pocket, starting with #1 and ending with #25.

Looks good, but needs a little bling!

Now at this point this is what my advent calendar looked like (minus the embroidered letters).  Cute, but it still needed a little something.  So my hubby and I headed to Joanns and bought these little lovelies to spice it up a little...

We bought some little red Swarovski crystals by EK Success that were so sparkly and pretty (for the berries), sequins, some sparkly buttons (for the snowflake centers, pretty white trim for the border, and embroidery floss.  Glue on any embellishments you choose to use.  Glue the trim around the edges, covering up your sewing machine stitches.

You'll need these guys to drill, sand, and cut a hole in your dowel.

4.  Measure how long you would like your dowel to be, and have your hubby cut and sand it, and then drill a hole in each end of it for you.  Of course you could do this yourself.  But why?  ;) My guy even asked for my camera so he could take pictures of the supplies that he used to do this step... so cute.  Spray paint the dowel with flat black spray paint.  I did a couple of coats.

5.  I paid to get the "Merry Christmas" and "Russell" embroidered on my advent calendar, to give it a more finished look, but this is totally optional.  It cost me $25 to do this, which was totally worth it to me, since I will be using this year after year and plan on having it forever.  This part is up to you!

Finished product hanging in my house

6.  Put the dowel through the pocket in the top, put your red ribbon in the holes in the dowel, tie knots, and hang your masterpiece!  Mine is hanging on hooks on the bottom of our PB pub mirror in the entryway.  

I really hope you try making this advent calendar this year!  My kids are so excited to use it, and I love that it is 100% homemade by me.  Yes, it takes a little bit of time to make, but it will be in the family forever, and it will give remind me to do a Christmas activity with the kids every day.

And don't forget to make these easy Wood Advent Calendar Activity Coins to go in your advent calendar, one activity for each day.   These are a lot more fun for your kids than pulling out a wrinkled, folded up piece of paper, don't you think? ;)

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

Happy crafting!

XO, Laura

Thanksgiving Mayflower Ship Kids' Table Decoration (Pottery Barn Kids Inspired)

As I was browsing through the Pottery Barn Kids catalog a few weeks ago, I fell in love with some little felt ships they were selling for Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately they were all sold out, so I had to get creative and make my own!

These Mayflower ships would be so cute placed at the kids' table during the Thanksgiving meal, or on each child's plate, filled with crayons or treats to keep the kids busy until dinner is ready.

To make these ships, you will need:

Dark brown felt and white or cream felt

Orange embroidery floss

Needle

Wood dowel

Small wood spool (or other accessory to keep dowel standing straight up) 

1.  Cut out a simple ship shape from the brown felt twice (you will need two).

2.  Cut out a long oval from the brown felt that is the same length as the base of your ship.

3.  Using your needle and embroidery floss, blanket stitch around the edges and the base of the the ship.  If you don't know how to sew a blanket stitch (like I didn't), then this YouTube blanket stitch tutorial should help.  No, I didn't make it, but it sure helped me :)  As you stitch around the base, make sure that the bottom oval piece will lay flat when you are finished, and that you are stitching each side of the oval to the base of each side of the ship.

The finished base.

Glue the spool to the bottom of the ship to help the dowel stand straight.

4.  Next take your wood spool (or any other method you will be using to keep your dowel standing straight), and glue it into the inside of your ship, right in the middle.  I used my trusty glue gun.

5.  Cut a rectangle out of your white or cream felt, and cut a small slit in the top and another slit in the bottom.  Stick your dowel through the slits for the sail of the ship.

The finished product!

The sail would look so cute with brown stitching around the edges, or with the name of your child embroidered or printed on it.  I kept it simple this year, but for next year I will be stitching and embroidering names to add a little more detail.  You could even help your child make one of those little handprint turkeys to decorate the sail.  Be creative!

Add crayons or small treats to keep the kids busy.

I added some crayons to this ship to keep the kids busy.  You could even make a few sails out of paper for the kids to decorate, and then replace the felt sails with the paper!  You could even put some small wrapped treats or nuts in their shells for the kiddos to snack on while waiting for the Thanksgiving dinner to be served.  The possibilities are endless!

I hope you enjoyed these little Thanksgiving Mayflower Ship Table Decorations.  They would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving table, don't you think?

For more DIY Thanksgiving ideas, check out my Metallic Golden Acorns, an Easy DIY Fall Thanksgiving Wreath, my Boy's Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat, and my Easy DIY Fall Headband (for boys or girls).

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

XO, Laura