20 Projects in 20 Weeks

Yesterday marked the 20 week milestone in my pregnancy with baby number two. I started to realize just how many things I still want to get done before I get close to that 40 week mark… and so, I’ve started the 20 projects in 20 weeks board on Pinterest. Check it out here.

I think this week I’m going to focus on organizing my photos so I can finally put together a family yearbook, starting the year that Emily was born, 2010. Hopefully by the end of the week I’ll be able to check something off my list.

The list, in no particular order:

1. Make a family yearbook
2. Make roman shades for Emily’s room
3. Make a kite bow organizer
4. Make a bean bag pouf
5. Make yarn letters
6. Hang artwork in Emily’s new room
7. Deep clean the carpets
8. Make a few baby-to-go bags
9. Paint and glaze old dresser
10. Finish the quilt for Emily’s new room
11. Make a leah tunic for Emily
12. Dye easter eggs with Emily using koolaid
13. Organize recipes/menu planner
14. Make a paper lantern hot air balloon for the nursery
15. Organize Emily’s closet
16. Make laundry soap
17. Make a burlap banner
18. Make homemade sidewalk chalk
19. Make a gallery art wall
20. Make birthday invitations for Emily’s birthday

My Favorites | DIY Gift Bags

There hasn’t been a ton of crafting or baking being done around the house lately… I blame it on the holiday season – filled with parties, dishes to pass, last minute gifts and carrying on with the day-to-day things. I have a whole list of things I want to get done before Christmas, one being these awesome DIY gift bags from Hello Sandwich. I’m loving the simple look of these, and with all the leftover paper I have, I think I could crank a few out without spending a dime!

DIY | Play Table

Finally I have this set finished and in its proper home. It only took me, oh 2 months, no biggie. I found out, while refinishing these pieces, that they came from Crate & Barrel originally, even though I ended up acquiring them at the Salvation Army. My $16 find proved to be a strudy, well-made set, so I was super happy about that.

Nothing fancy for the re-finishing process, just lightly sanded with my electric sander to roughen up the original finish, then primed and painted with a standard interior latex paint. Awhile back I had one of my pottery barn frames (the light ivory) color matched at lowes, so I just used some of that paint to cover the legs of the table and the chairs. Then after it was dry I painted on one thin coat of poly in satin finish, so it at least has a chance against all the wear and tear its about to endure. The top was painted with at least 3-4 thin coats of chalkboard paint.

The table has a hole in the middle, and came with a canvas insert and lid, probably to put crayons and other art supplies in there. However, it was a little chintzy, so I’m planning on replacing it with a stainless bowl or something similar.

Now the table and chairs lives in the playroom downstairs, which has been quite a hit with Emmy. She loves to draw with chalk on the table top, and sit up at the table like a big girl.

Here’s the after:

DIY | Chalkboard Platter

I’ll be the first to admit that I became a little obsessed with DIYing projects for Emmy’s first birthday, I was just way too into it and wanted everything to be perfect and lovely. I knew I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on the whole thing, so that’s where all the DIY projects came into play. Luckily my level headed husband helped me tone it down a bit, and my to-do list was magically a little more manageable.

I already shared the vintage sheet quilt bunting I made, but aside from that I also created a chalkboard platter to use as a sign near the food table. I picked up a plain antique white platter at the salvation army, complete with crazing and chipping. It was $1.00 I believe. Then all I did was apply 3-4 thin coats of chalkboard paint to the smooth part of the platter, doing my best to freehand it and not get any paint up along the decorative sides. It’s not perfect, but again, I love that imperfect handmade look, so I went with it. After all the chalkboard paint dried, I seasoned the chalkboard by rubbing it down with the side of a stick of white chalk to prevent ghosting. If you don’t do this, there’s a good chance the first drawing you apply to the chalkboard will appear as a ghost image forever. Read more about that here.

Sewing | Vintage sheet bunting

The vintage sheet trend has taken over etsy, pinterest and the blog world lately… I of course had to try my hand at it as well, and scoured my local thrift stores for some unique vintage sheets. I found more than I needed, but bought them all because they were so inexpensive. With them, I ended up cutting squares for a quilt and bunch of pennant shapes for this vintage sheet bunting.

The cutting took the longest, then pairing them up and sewing up the longest sides (right sides facing out). I didn’t worry about getting a nice seam, I wanted them to be a little rustic and homemade looking. You’ll notice a little fray on some of the pennants, in the photo above… I love every little bit of it. After I sewed all of the pairs together, I sandwiched them in between a long piece of cream double fold bias tape and sewed a straight line down the middle. Simple as that. It probably took me around 2 hours to complete the whole thing, and I ended up with about 6 yards total of bunting.

I used it to decorate the goody table at Em’s first birthday, and now I’m going to hang it up in her bedroom. If you’re interested in any leftover sheets, let me know—I’m thinking about putting them up for sale on etsy.

Mini Project | Pretty Chip Clips

I hate the plastic chip clips. They’re ugly and always seem to break. Plus, I’m not going to spend money on something like that when I could easily make it. That’s pretty much my outlook on life, my husband hates it. haha.

For this mini project, I’m using plain old clothes pins, paper scraps and modge podge. It’s simple, cut strips to fit the clothes pins, adhere with a dab of modge podge and a paintbrush (on both surfaces), dry and enjoy! Because I love all things map-related, I used some scraps from a piece of map gift wrap. I love that different sections of the clothes pins emphasize the light and dark parts of the map.

This project shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes, depending on how many you’re making, perfect for during nap time. And don’t they just look adorable sitting in a glass jar on the counter… don’t mind me, I’m just a pretty little clothes pin.

If you’re really desperate, check out this short video on how to seal a bag of chips without a clip.