DIY Matching Game

Last week I shared a picture of the matching game I made Madeleine on Instagram, and I got a lot of feedback and interest in how I made it! I thought I would share it here, as well.

One of my 2016 goals was to learn to sew. I have a sewing machine and my mom has offered many times to teach me how to sew, but I have always told her I didn't want to learn until I had kids. So last year was the year! I really wanted to make Madeleine a matching game that would last, rather than the card matching games you can buy at the store. I also wanted a really pretty game that could be a keepsake and could be passed down to her kids, etc.

This is the majority of the pieces - there are 40 in total (20 pairs). It was so much fun picking out the different fabrics! This is a project that requires a lot of cutting, as there are several different pieces for each finished square piece. My mom helped me with a lot of the sewing part, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. There are definitely some uneven lines and crooked seams (because of me, not my mom), but I love it. I think it's so pretty, and I'm excited for Madeleine to learn how to find matches on her own.

If you'd like to make your own game, here are the instructions. They were easy to follow, and I did pretty much what they said except for choosing a variety of my own fabric bundles. 

DIY Painted File Cabinet

Last summer my big home project was redoing the craft room + office, which I wanted to be full of bright and fun colors. We still needed it to be a functioning office, which meant we still needed a file cabinet. I had in my mind that I wanted a yellow file cabinet, and I had my eye on this particular one (which I still love!). However, I couldn't justify spending $300 on a file cabinet, and Caleb definitely was not on board with that. Instead we decided to try to paint the black file cabinet we already had. It looked very similar to this one: 

To start, we removed the drawer pulls. Then I scuffed the entire file cabinet with Scotch Brite scouring pads, to roughen up the surface and help the spray paint to stick. This took quite a while, as there was a lot of surface area to cover. Once we felt like the cabinet had been roughened up enough, we wiped down all of the black dust the scouring had created. We made sure the file cabinet was super clean and dry before starting to paint. Caleb is the spray painter in our house (I always have so many drips!), so he then primed the file cabinet with spray paint primer. After a coat or two of that, he took to spray painting it with the yellow spray paint. It took several coats to cover up the black, but it was worth it! I'm so happy with the way it turned out, and for about $20 we now have a yellow file cabinet.

If you're looking for a colorful file cabinet, I would suggest trying to spray paint an old one first! It really was an easy DIY project, and you can find cheap file cabinets on Craigslist if you don't already have one. Let me know if you try it out!

(black file cabinet photo via)

DIY Birthday Cards

When I have the time, I really enjoy making cards to mail to people. I am not the craftiest, so my cards tend to be pretty simple. With just a few basic craft supplies, you can make some bright and cheerful birthday cards. I made these cards to send to our nieces and nephews (nine currently, with three on the way!) throughout the year. It's easier for me to know I have a good supply of birthday cards on hand, so that when the time comes I'm not stuck sending a card out late!

What you'll need:

What you'll do:

Using fun patterned or brightly colored paper, cut out shapes for the ice cream cone, balloon, party hat, and popsicle layers.

Glue the shapes to the front of the cards. Add baker's twine to the ballon for string and colorful poms to make the ice cream and the party hat topper. Cut through both sides of the card for the popsicle, making sure that there's still enough of an edge to keep the card intact. Glue a craft stick to the back of the popsicle card.

And there you have it! Very simple, colorful birthday cards that even kids can make!

DIY Vanilla Salt

If you're looking for a little something to bring your baked goods up a notch, try making your own vanilla salt! It's super easy to make: just scrape the vanilla seeds out of a vanilla bean pod and mix it together with flaky sea salt. You can use it in place of sea salt in recipes, and it adds a nice touch of vanilla flavor on top of the sweet + salty combo. This past weekend I made break + bake cookies (just keepin' it real... not everything can be made from scratch), and I sprinkled a little vanilla salt on top of the dough before I put them in the oven. Added a nice little touch of fancy to those Nestlé cookies :) Here are a few more recipes that would be delicious with vanilla salt:

Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars

Salted Caramel Chocolate Shortbread Bars

Salted Caramel Mocha

Salty Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Vanilla Bean Caramel Sauce

source: vanilla salt recipe from joy the baker

Gold Leaf DIYs

Lately I've found that I've been drawn to all things gold leaf. In particular I'm a fan of all of the fun gold leaf DIYs I've seen floating around on Pinterest and various blogs. Have you attempted any projects with gold leaf? Here are a few of my favorites:

DIY Gold Leaf iPhone Cases

DIY Gold Leaf Succulent Pots

DIY Gold Leaf Paper Mache Bowls

DIY Gold Leaf Monogram Art

DIY Gold Leaf Notebook

5 Things I'm Adding to My DIY List

1. Confetti Plates.  I've had my eye on these 

plates for years - now I can make my own!

2. Shoulder Patch Cardigan.  I'm going to be

on the lookout for some thrifted cardigans!

3. Sunburst Mirror.  Finally a sunburst mirror I really

love!  It's going in the guest bedroom.

4. Heart Tote.  I can always use another bag:)

5. Pumpkin Vase.  Fall decor that isn't too "fallish".

What DIYs have inspired you lately?

DIY Sequin Tote

When I saw the idea for a DIY sequin tote on Anna's blog, I knew I had to make it!  I used sequin trim and a canvas tote from Hobby Lobby, and I attached my sequin trim in horizontal stripes with hem tape (above tote).  Then I saw this tote and wanted to make own version.  Using more of the same supplies, I ran the sequin trim around the handles and down the length of the tote on both sides (below tote).  Such a quick and easy DIY, and I always need another bag!

DIY Ornaments

Do you make your own ornaments?  I haven't made an ornament since probably elementary school!  But there are so many DIY ornaments that are really pretty!  How easy is it to grab a glass ball ornament and fill it with something?! Here are some fun DIY ornaments I've rounded up:

Origami box ornament from Creature Comforts

Sequin-filled ornament from You Are My Fave

German star ornament from Martha Stewart

Clay bird ornament from Jessica Jane Handmade

Confetti-filled ornament from West Elm that would be an easy DIY

Glitter leaf ornament from A Field Journal

Tissue paper glass ball ornament from Fresh Home Ideas

DIY Doily Crafts

I used to think doilies were so lame and old fashioned, but they're totally not!  There are so many creative uses for doilies, and I love how they look!  Since we've moved I haven't scouted out any thrift stores.  Today I'm planning on going to several, and doilies are definitely on my list.  I want to make that table runner! 

candle holder

table runner

notecard

mason jar luminary

cupcake wrappers

luminarias

pumpkin decorating

envelope

bowl

DIY Glitter Crafts

Remember when I was loving all things confetti?  Doing my confetti manicure and wrapping my presents in confetti? OK so I've moved on from that and now I'm kind of on a glitter kick.  Glitter just makes everything so messy sparkly! These are some of my favorite DIY glitter crafts right now.  You can find the full tutorials by clicking on each link. 

DIY Glitter Votives from hey look

DIY Glitter Pumpkin Candle Holder from twig and thistle

DIY Glitter Tape from pugly pixel

DIY Glitter Candles from Martha Stewart

DIY Glitter Pumps from a pair & a spare

DIY Glitter Magnets from pugly pixel

DIY Glitter Bangles from i go by katie

DIY Chan Luu Wrap Bracelet

A while back I posted about a wrap bracelet I made very similar to the Chan Luu wrap bracelets.

my wrap bracelet

I had some requests for a tutorial, but since I am terrible with giving instructions for crafts, I found some tutorials elsewhere on the web that were good.  So, if you want your own Chan Luu bracelet without the price tag, here are some links to get you started!  I chose several tutorials because they vary in length and detail of instruction, so hopefully at least one of these suits your style of learning.

Simple instructions and close-up pictures of how your bracelet should look each step:  here

photo via craftaytaylor

A YouTube video with clear instructions and a close-up of how to thread the beads:  here

A video with a close-up of threading the beads with written instructions:  here

photo via sewpetitegal

A video with very detailed instructions, but not as close-up on how to thread the beads:  here

photo via makebraceletsblog

I actually think checking out each of these would be the most beneficial, because they are all a little different and choose to use different beads and string.  Let me know if you make one and how it turns out!  Happy Bracelet Making!