5 Minute DIY Mason Jar Make-up Brush Holder

I love my makeup brush holder.  It even made the cut to move into the new house. The sweet little patterned jelly jars are some leftovers from my mason jar chandelier and I believe at one point I got them to make homemade jelly. I still haven't made homemade jelly or jam or preserves. Someday.

I choose an antique white spray paint that I already had, oh my am I cheap.  I sprayed the inside and top first and let it dry.  Then I turned it upside down and did 2 good coats.  After that was dry I did a little touch up spray on the rim just to be safe.  That's it.  Took maybe 5 minutes of actual work, my kind of DIY! I ordered some mirror effect spray paint and I can't wait to use it...I just have to finish the whole moving thing. 

Fun Peacock Inspired Wreath

Making wreaths is strangely fulfilling.  I don't know why, but decorating my front door gives me such satisfaction.  I was hunting down Christmas mark down deals at Hobby Lobby and got everything (except the ribbon which was 50% off) for this wreath in the Christmas Clearance at 80% off!!  I think I maybe spent 5 bucks! Thank goodness for some non-traditional peacock sprigs, green blue and gold!  I think I'm going to try and incorporate that gold letter J in every wreath this year!  Challenge accepted self!

Football Wreath

It's Friday and in Oklahoma a Fall Friday night means one thing, Football.  Tonight is the big Game against Union and while there is no way I'm venturing out anywhere near where the game is (no way I'm messing with that traffic) here is my team spirit, wreath style.  Ellie is a cheerleader this year (ugh, I am really trying to embrace it) so we are going to lots of little football games.  So I decided to make a fun tiger football wreath with some stuff I already had on hand.

By now you may have figured out that I'm cheap thrifty.  I've been using the same twig wreath from Hobby Lobby since last year and I've re-spray painted the letter to match at least 3 times.  Why not right?  So this $6 wreath, that I got with a coupon too, has served me really well.

Let's Make It!

I took leftover golden yellow tulle from a game day tutu I made for Regan and wrapped it around the wreath.  I made a bow from tulle and wide black satin ribbon.  Next I cut 6 inch (approximately) strips of yellow and black ric-rac and tied the pieces on.  I attached a stuffed beanie baby tiger I had (from high school) with ribbon.  I picked up a stuffed football from the dollar store and hot glued a pipe cleaner to the back to attach it to the wreath.  I spray painted my trusty letter J gold and hung it in the middle of the wreath with a gold ribbon. Took me about 10 minutes from start to finish!  Happy Friday everyone!

Rain Boot Planters

These are my favorite garden accessory other than a Tinkerbell stepping stone that Regan made.  I wish I could say I had a flourishing, lush garden, but it's been 110+ here and my garden looks dead and pathetic.  I'm one of those people that listens to the voluntary water restrictions that the city issued and as a result my lawn and garden look like Fall came early and there are dead leaves everywhere! Nonetheless I still have these cute little planters.  Regan outgrew her Barbie rain boots and since they weren't quite the color for Jack and pretty faded from her leaving them outside they were my pick.  It was nice to be able to re-purpose them as well since no one could wear them anymore.

Here's how I made them over.  I took the inserts out of the boots and drilled holes in the bottoms so that the water could drain out.  Then I spray painted them pink.  Not any special kind of spray paint just general outdoor/indoor.  It took about 3 good coats of the pink and then I did one coat of clear.  Then I filled them up with dirt and some flowers after letting them dry for 24 hours.  They looked really cute with live flowers (and of course I didn't get a picture of that!) but that that ship has sailed!  They have been out for a good four months and held up beautifully through some thunderstorms and blistering heat.  I've seen some cute Pinterest posts with rain boots but my experience with Regan's fading from leaving them outside made me weary of leaving them untouched and I am so glad I painted them, it really made all the difference!

Happy Gardening!

After their first coat of pink.

Here they are after enduring the end of Spring and the long hot Summer!

Green Home {the clothesline}

I'm going to start posting the ways we have a Green Home.  I mean this is Julie B Green and I bet you have been wondering what the green part is.  Green not only for the planet but for your wallet as well.  Let's face it these have been economically challenging times for quite a few people. This year I will be saving my family over $720 on our electric bill.  We are on an average monthly plan that is calculated by our total energy use over a 12 month period.  They re-calculate ours every December.  In 2011 our electric bill was $200/month, eeeek!  For 2012 it is only $140.  How did I do this?  Simple, I started to use a clothesline.

At this point you are either intrigued or you think I'm completely nuts.  If you think I'm nuts, well maybe I am, but I'm $720 nuts.  We don't have a traditional clothesline hung on metal poles from the ground and we don't have one of those square turning ones either.  Ours is hung along the top of the posts of our back patio and connected to the house.  I don't line dry everything all the time and I don't have crunchy clothes either, ick!  I also don't spend hours more on laundry.  I timed myself, it takes me 5 minutes to take a load off the line and hang a new one up.  That's it, just 5 minutes.

How did we do it?  Well honestly my husband did it after I asked him nicely.  Look at the pictures and then show your phone to the guy at Lowe's :) and ask your husband nicely to put one up for you.  It only cost us around $25.  If he rolls his eyes or looks at you like you're crazy just tell him I saved $720.  Money talks!  You could also figure out what works best for you.  Do you have two trees, or a tree and a fence, or a fence and something else?  Not everyone has a covered patio but you could create one with just about any space.  Ours is really sturdy and has a lot of tension which I think is key.  I also like that it is shaded most of the time being around the patio, although the sun is great at removing stains so I have one side that is really sunny.  If it starts to rain I'm not out taking clothes off the line in the rain.  I think it took him about 30 minutes to get it up.  He's pretty awesome.

I don't have crunchy stiff clothes for a couple of reasons.  First, I don't let them get all the way dry outside.  I bring them in when they are still a little damp and pop them in the dryer for about 10 minutes.  10 minutes versus an hour + per load is the money saver folks.  Second, I make my own fabric softener which contains vinegar.  There's some science behind it and vinegar is a natural fabric softener.  I'll show you how to make your own later.  It's cheap and it works.  Third, I use wool dryer balls.  I make my own, but you can buy them online.  Etsy would be a good place to look.  I'll show you how to make your own on another post.  That's it.  Just three things.  If I goof and leave stuff out too long I wet two wash clothes and throw them in with the load in the dryer.  They provide enough moisture to take out any crunchiness and wrinkles.

Now for the corny part to all this.  I really like hanging my clothes up.  Not just for the money and environment, but because on those days when things seem never ending I can spend 5 minutes outside in the fresh air.  When Jack was really little I would take him out with me and put him in his bouncy seat or his wrap and it forced me outside and made the insanity of having a newborn and kid number four more bearable in the early days of sleeplessness. There is also something very 1950's house wife about it and to be honest I kind of like that part.  It connects you to the earth and mother earth and nature in a spiritual/hippy way that I can really appreciate too.  I really appreciate that $720, more than the hippy part!

He drilled this hook into the rock/ house.

This contraption was so that he could get the tension correct/adjusted.

He also installed support hooks on the perimeter beams so that the line would have extra support.
While I'm waiting for another "I peed in my bed Mommy" load of laundry to go on the line it's drying cute art work.

Another look at the mechanism that holds it into the wall, and my cute lights.  

How to take a Photo Frame from Drab to Fab in 5 minutes!

This 5 minute DIY has taken me a ridiculous amount of time to finish.  Jack will be 2 in June and I'm just now finishing his 1 year old birthday photo frame.   I will say that I didn't get the Sheriff badge with his name on it until September of last year when we last went to Silver Dollar City, although I'm pretty sure you could find them online or in a craft or novelty store.  So the tutorial.

Take any cheap frame and put your special photo in it.
Hot glue something cute and relevant.
Really that's all it takes.

I got the frame at Wal-Mart (last year before I made that New Year's Resolution to not shop there) for about $2.  The cowboy boot was $.69 from Hobby Lobby and I used it here at his birthday party on the high chair.  The Sheriff badge was $4.99 at Silver Dollar City.  I'm not going to lie I'm having some Wal-Mart withdrawals.

Drab to Fab in 5 minutes!

Just not as cute.  Well Jack is :)

Snow White Birthday Party, Regan turns 3!

I love this little girl.  When asked how old she is her reply is "28."  Which fits her personality.  She had flip flopped on what party theme she wanted but this was the main request so that's what we did.  I love celebrating with my family and friends.  Regan gave quite a birthday girl performance smiling and posing for the camera, what can I say she takes after her mother.

I made the cutest little apple cupcakes.  While they were a bit more time consuming than say frosting a cake, they were totally worth it and easy too.  I found the idea on Pinterest and a cute little blog Design Dazzle.  Seriously the best ideas.  The day before her party was Dr. Seuss's Birthday and a local bakery happened to be giving away free cupcakes to kids that told them what their favorite Seuss book was.  So I picked up some cake doughnuts to make the apple cupcakes with and birthday breakfast, making it easier on myself for the next day.

Apple Cupcake How To:

You will need:  Red cupcake liners, cake mix, red frosting, red sugar, regular tootsie rolls, green fruit tootsie rolls and doughnuts (you need 1/2 doughnut per cupcake).  You will also need a cutting board, scissors and a toothpick.

Bake your cupcakes and once cool slice the top off.  Attempt to not eat all of the cupcake tops.  While they are baking you can cut your doughnuts in half, like how you would cut a bagel, mix your red frosting.  When cooled and cut dab a bit of frosting on the cupcake to hold the doughnut half.  Frost the doughnut and then cover with red sugar.  Once they are all frosted and sugared its time to make your stems and leaves.  For the stems take a pair of scissors and cut a piece of the tootsie roll off, lengthwise.  You can bend it, twist it, roll it to get a stem look.  For the leaves you will want to roll out the tootsie roll and then cut out a leaf shape.  Use a toothpick to make patterns on the leaf.


The Decor:

I decorated our wreath with tulle and a spray painted "R" tied on with red satin ribbon.  I made a bunting from scrap vintage red and blue fabric and vintage yellow bias tape, I love being able to use up fabric scraps and upcycle something.  I hung red, blue and yellow balloons from the ceiling using push pins and clear string.  We decorated the table with a plastic blue tablecloth and red ribbon.  I also did the birthday chair with the excess tablecloth and larger ribbon (I just hot glued that ribbon on to make it stay up!)  I got some dirt and sticks from outside and hot glued some little birds on the "branches."  That along with her Snow White doll and a stuffed deer we already had were the table decoration.

Snow White couldn't walk around in just anything so I made her a yellow tutu and embellished it with a red satin bow.  I dyed one of her shirts blue and sewed some tulle onto the arms, another way to upcycle and use something we already had.  I also make her a red head band to complete the look.  I used the same ribbon for her tutu and head band on the table, chair and wreath.  The tutu was so easy to make, it was my second one ever!  I'll be giving a tutorial later this week!

It wasn't the fanciest or poshest party but it was perfect for our family and for my sweet and feisty Regan.

The back view, I love this tutu!

The Apple Cupcakes!

The decor.

The wreath.

Such a happy girl!

The Upcycled Jean Pillows and a Pocket Pillow Tutorial

So yesterday I showed you my Upcycled Jean Quilt.  I had some extra soft material from the center cut of the blanket that I used for the pillow covers and I embellished with scraps leftover from the jeans and some vintage buttons.  If you are a real quilter please don't take offense to me using the term quilt and to my non-traditional methods.  My Grams was a real quilter and I sometimes wonder if she would just be happy that I'm sewing or if she is rolling over in her grave at my really non-traditional ways of doing things!

These are pocket backs, meaning the back is made to create a pocket for a pre-form pillow to go in.  I did measure these :).  First you need to decide what size pillow you want or have.  These require 3 pieces of material.  Alright we're going to do some math here, prepare your brain if necessary.

Say you want to make a a cover for a 12x12 inch pillow form.  For the front piece you will need to cut a square that is 13x13.  So for any front piece you need to add 1 inch to each side.  Now for the two back pieces.  Divide the longest side in half and add 3 inches (12/2)+3=9  So each side piece will be 13x9.

Here is another example using a rectangle.  You are making a cover for a pillow that is 16x12.  The front piece needs to be 17x13.  The back pieces need to be 11x13.  Got it?  Shoot me an email if you have any questions, math and sewing can be tricky.

Now if you want to add any embellishments you need to do it before you sew the front and back of the cover pieces together.  Trust me its really difficult if you don't.  I made jean "flowers"  by cutting out different size circles and stacking them together.  I sewed them down and then added brown vintage buttons.   For the striped pillow I took strips of denim and sewed them down.  Once washed they did they fray thing.

Once your embellishments are on its time to sew it up.  I got lucky and used the edges of the blanket for the back pieces so that I didn't have to hem them.  If I was making one from scratch I would hem the two back pieces along one of the longer sides, just a half inch hem will do.  If you don't have a serger (I don't) use a zigzag stitch.  Place your right sides together of the front piece and one back piece, pin and sew.  Make sure you back stitch when starting and stopping so you won't get any loose threads later on. Then place the second back piece on, making sure that it goes over the other back piece creating the pocket, pin and sew.  Trim your edges if necessary and clip the corners (careful don't clip your stitch) and turn your pillow cover out.  All done!

No perfect straight lines for me, I love the zigzag effect here.

The Upcycled Jean Quilt

I wanted something that was soft, warm, durable, washable and most important kid friendly.  Extra perks are green (this one was free and saved these jeans from the landfill or the goodwill) and stylish or cool.  I realize that style is personal so if this isn't yours I'm okay with that.  I saved a lot of jeans.  It helps if you drop a few pounds and can use your fat jeans, that means the quilt will double as a good reminder to get your heiney off the couch later.  I also had a big blanket that was still really soft on one side but not so soft on the other.  Sorry I did not take pictures during the process.  Forgive me?  I'll try and be extra clear on directions.

First cut out all your jeans, I used 5 adult pairs and 5 kid pairs.  I left the hems on mine (they will come in to play later) and tried to make them as straight as possible.  Once have all of the big pieces in one pile and the scraps in another decide how big and what shape you want to make.  Mine is a rectangle.  I wanted for us to be able to sit on the couch together and have it cover the length of the couch plus some and be wide enough to snuggle up in, but still go over our toes.  The only thing I used to measure with was my couch.  Because I'm a rogue sewer.

I laid all of my pieces out so that the hems were facing out making the border.  Next I trimmed and pinned.  You can do the next part one of two ways.  You can sew the pieces together with the edges facing out or right side up, which will give a really cool fraying effect that will get softer with each wash or you can sew them where they face down and will be on the inside of the blanket which will be smoother.  The choice is up to you, I wanted the fray!  Once you have sewn all of the pieces together now is the time to add any embellishments that you want.  I added a few pockets for fun.

Now for the backing with that other blanket.  I put the jean quilt top on the floor.  You could have made yours the same size as the blanket to begin with but I didn't.  I was out of jeans!  I made sure that the edges were lined up with the edges of the jean quilt.  I then cut out the middle and re-sewed the blanket up the middle.  This way the finished edges were all on the outside.  With wrong sides together I pinned the blanket bottom and jean quilt top together and sewed along the edges.  Because the edges were already finished it gave it a double layered look and it was a lot less work than a normal blanket or quilt.  Note:  It really helps to do this part during nap time, otherwise people will be driving you crazy helping you.

The verdict?  This is my families favorite blanket.  It is so big that we can all use it and it is so so so warm!  I've been working hard at saving all of my newly too big jeans as well.  It helps to have kids that are growing like weeds as well.  I want to make a more traditional quilt with jean blocks, but that one will probably take much longer to put together.  This one took about 3 hours total cutting, piecing and sewing.  Of course that 3 hours was divided up over about 2 days.

It spans the entire length of the couch- no complaining about not having enough!

Every time I wash it they fray gets better and softer.

Had to add some pockets!

The super soft side.

Here is a closer look at the edge.  

It also gets softer with every wash and its really warm!

I'll show you what I did with my scraps tomorrow.  A jean quilt needs some jean pillows right?

Easy Fabric Scrap Bunting

I love buntings and wanted to make one just because.  So I pulled a bunch of fabric scraps and cut them into strips, varying in width and length.  I sewed them onto some vintage seam binding making sure to leave enough on each end to use as a tie.  I decided to add some letters to it and put it in the mudroom as a welcome banner.  I think it would probably be cuter with fabric letters, but I love the versatility that the reusable vinyl letters have.  If I want to change the greeting I can!

Come on in!

How to turn a Cloth Napkin into a Throw Pillow

I love finding sweet little vintage things and turning them into something I get to see everyday.  I spied this little cloth napkin and while I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it when I got it, I couldn't pass it up.  It was only a dollar so I wasn't breaking the bank either.

I didn't want to lose any of the details along the edges, so I just folded it in half right sides up and stitched along the sides.  When it came to the flower details on the front I carefully and slowly stitched around them.  I left a little hole for stuffing and once stuffed I hand sewed the rest.  Total time was maybe 15 minutes.  It always takes longer to stuff than it does to sew!

I love how it turned out.

See the stitches above the leafs?  I couldn't sew through them.  

January 2012 Ten on Ten

I fully intended on posting my Ten on Ten on the tenth, but instead we took the older kids to a skating party and by the time we got home and got everyone in bed there was no way I was plopping down at the computer!  By the way, you should totally go couple skate with your husband, its fun and makes you feel like you're 15 again.

7am Best thing to wake up to.

8am Crock Pot Baked Potatoes, dinner prepped and they were really good

9am-I put Tangled on, he loves Maximus and I think he's crushing on Rapunzel

10am- Made some new play dough

11am- Still play doughing and I made a Pascal

12pm- A good book before nap. Gosh I love those Classic Golden Books

1pm- My partner in dish crime.  Love looking at this while I do dishes.

2pm- Coffee time?

3pm-Awake and making music.  They love this Kitty Piano

4pm- Fresh baked bread for dinner, oh gosh its yummy!

Check out other Ten on Ten posts at A Bit of Sunshine.  And if you didn't do it this month get on board in February.  My goal is to do it every month this year!

Room with a View

If you are like me you spend more time in the kitchen than you'd probably like.  My kitchen window, above my sink, has a view of our fence.  Not exactly what I would like it to be.  So when I change out my wreath I change out my window display to give myself a room with a view.  It makes such a difference to do this little thing just for me.  It also makes doing dishes and shining my sink not such a chore.

The fence, what a view!  Now I only see the things that make me happy!

Epsom salt, red bird and branches.  In the other jar I have coffee beans and a candle.  When the candle melts into the coffee beans it looks really neat.  Also a place to put my jewelry.

Epsom salt on pine cones to look like snow.  Epsom salt in a jar with a candle.  

Same wreath from Christmas, minus the ornaments.

I added Epsom salt snow to the pine cones and the ribbon has snow flakes on it.   Simplicity!

Decorating my house is like pampering myself.  I love a few touches of vintage and making it feel like the season inside, even if sometimes I could go outside in a t-shirt.

DIY: Make Your Own Christmas Stockings

In keeping green (both environmentally and monetarily, I mean this is JulieBGreen right?) I made my families Christmas Stockings from a set of old curtains I had made for our last house.  They were a chocolate brown corduroy and since I had made them especially for that house they were just taking up closet space.  I used McCall's pattern M4990.  You certainly don't have to have a pattern though, if you have old stockings use them as a pattern!  I picked this pattern up a few years ago for really cheap and it is one of my favorites.  I made different stockings for the kids and bigger ones for Dale and I.  It pays to be an adult!  For embellishments I used old and broken jewelry and ribbon.  The kids love their stockings and I love that they were basically free.  I also love the contrast of the sparkly jewelry and the durability of the corduroy, making it gender friendly.  Either that or boys just really don't care what is on their stocking, just what's in it!

For the kids stockings I made the pattern which has an overlap, which can be tricky if you aren't a "sewer" but for the adults I used the top of the fabric that had already been sewn down for a curtain rod, thus eliminating that step.  The adult ones were so easy.  I made both adult ones (the ones with ribbon) in less than an hour, including cut time.  Don't forget to add the loop to hang it with.  I almost forgot on the adult ones and caught myself just in time!  If you are embellishing with ribbon make sure that you put the ribbon on before you sew the two sides together.

I haven't decided what to do on the top of the stocking holders yet, maybe little frames with everyone's picture in them?  I want something cool and hip and totally awesome.  That probably won't happen until next year, or after Christmas when all the stuff goes on sale ;).

How to make a new stocking using an old one:


Get a large piece of paper, any will do and place your old stocking on top.  Trace around the old stocking making sure to leave about 1/2 inch for seam allowance.  Next cut a strip of fabric for your loop, 8 inches by 2 inches, or however long you want yours to be.  Sew it closed making sure to tuck the raw edges inside.  Sew on any embellishments to your stocking now.  Place the wrong sides together and pin the end of each end of the loop onto the inside of each side of the stocking.  Sew each loop side on and then pin the stocking together with wrong sides facing out.  Make sure that the top is even when you start to sew or your stocking will look wonky.  Stitch along the edge and make sure that the top on the other side is even as well.   Trim along your seam.  Turn out and admire your work.

I hate the lighting in my living room.  It is absolutely horrible for getting a natural light shot of anything and I just don't have the time to fiddle in Picnik to get them the way I want them.  Oh well.  I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and if you're celebrating Hanukkah, Happy Hanukkah!  I'll see you all next week after the crazy dies down.