Vinyl Happy Coupon Code!

Last night the store hit 900 sales! Woo Hoo, and thanks, everybody! 

This has been a hard landmark to hit. I've been getting more and more uncomfortably pregnant and busy preparing for Baby since 800 sales, so every item that has been ordered and made was done with specific effort and thought. 

To celebrate I created a new coupon for you- 9% off!  

Use code NINEOFF in our store for your discount!

Maybe this pillow case set...? 

Or this new Paradise onesie...?

Or this men's tie...?

Oh, isn't shopping fun?

:)

DIY Bath Bombs + Personalized Beauty Bowl!

The Personalized Beauty Bowl with Bath Bombs

Hello, there!

I recently had a fantastic baby shower thrown by these three wonderful women:

{Brittany, Hayley, me, Ashley}

The shower was impeccable, as I knew it would be, because all three are stylish, fun women. So I had a really fun time thinking of the perfect hostess gifts to make and give them! This craft doesn't use vinyl, but I had to blog about it, anyway, because I'm just so gosh-darn proud of how they turned out!

After some serious thought I decided to go with homemade bath bombs. I've been looking for an excuse to make my own version of these overpriced luxury items, and found a really fantastic and easy tutorial for them from the amazing Martha Stewart! 

Martha Stewart's Bath Bomb Tute

(But the packaging was all my idea. I can't even give credit to Pinterest :) 

For the Bath Bombs:

I chose the MS tutorial over the tons of others available because hers used ingredients that I had on hand, and  she has a video tutorial that was so easy to follow! I won't describe each ingredient and step because she does it so well :) 

I have to say, though, that I always sift together powdery materials- whether I'm baking or crafting. Sifting materials you'd have to mix anyway makes a big difference!

I picked out a floral scent for under $1 at Wal Mart for this craft. A couple drops of cheap fragrance goes a looooooooooong way, let me tell you! 

Adding the liquid is the part I was most worried about. I bought a sprayer to make sure I did it right... 

I sprayed all around until I saw the mixture fiz up...

Then mixed it all together, adding more sprays as I needed to...

Until the mixture clumped between my fingers.

 I was worried about this step because I'd read on other tutorials that you have to be very careful about the amount of liquid you add, how, and when, but I found that you don't have to be so conservative. Spraying around a little at a time allowed me to wait for the perfect clumping consistency, but, ultimately, I think if it was a little too damp that would have been fine, too. Some of the liquid evaporates while the mixture sits around, anyway, so I even had to add more liquid even after I'd mixed it to the perfect consistency!

I found my citric acid in the bulk section of a Whole Foods organic store, which turned out to be a happy inconvenience because it was next to bulk jars of dried lavender and rose buds. I spent $.30 on a baggie of rose buds to add some class to my soaps! This extra step made the bombs look and smell so professional!

I put some rose petals in the bottom of the muffin cups then spooned the mixture on top. It took a lot of mixture to fill the cups, so don't be afraid of over-filling! 

Pat it down as firmly as you can. This is what makes the bombs stay together and in the shape you want. 

I let them sit for about an hour then they easily came out of the tin onto a piece of parchment paper to finish drying overnight. The MS recipe made about 28 mini muffin cups worth of bombs- perfect for my three gifts!

For the Personalized Beauty Bowl:

I started off with white Corning bowls and a pack of colored sharpies. 

All I had to do was write a personalized message to each of my friends using a different color around the outside of the bowl! If I trusted my drawing skills more I would have designed the inside of the bowl, too. 

This bowl will {hopefully} be used as a jewelry catch-all or some other bathroom beauty use and stand as a creative reminder of how much I care about each person! 

A great hostess gift, right? I even got to keep a few bath bombs for myself, and they are wonderful I-tell-you-what!

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

Two friends recently threw me a baby shower and I racked my brain for weeks for a good idea of something meaningful, useful, and homemade I could give them for a hostess thank you gift. The two friends are very different with different lifestyles, so I couldn't decide on anything they would both like!

Enter my amazing sister. She suggested making them both this super easy, inexpensive, amazing body scrub. It was so easy for me to put together, looked great as a thank you gift, and is the sort of thing every young mother- regardless of lifestyle- would enjoy. Thanks, Brett! This is now my go-to gift! 

Materials:

1. Brown Sugar
2. 1 Lemon
3. Honey
4. Olive Oil 
5. Jar with tight lid
6. Vinyl decal

The brown sugar is a natural exfoliator, the oil and honey hydrate skin, and the lemon keeps it all smelling wonderful and fresh :) 

Mixing the ingredients together is really just a matter of sense, not measurement. Add some oil, a tbs. or so of honey, and juice from the lemon to a cup or two of brown sugar. Just add more brown sugar or more oil until the consistency is thick and fragrant- not soupy. 

Prepare a vinyl decal as a label for a professional look. 

This part was pretty frustrating for me. I love the size of the jars I used, but the sides were rounded so there wasn't a good, large space for the label. I settled on adding the label to the lid, instead, but even then it had to be smaller than I was comfortable with. 

I love the design I created, but it was a major hassle weeding the tiny font! My husband heard a lot of clean expletives that night :)

Add the label and body scrub to the jars... 

And oila! A super easy, beautiful hostess gift!

I could have added an instruction tag to the jar, but didn't want to. If you chose to, add that the scrub can be used in the shower as an all-body scrub or as a special treat by the bathroom or kitchen sink. Leave on for a few minutes then wash off with warm water. The ingredients will all wash off easily and won't clog the drain! 

Ultrasound Picture Frame

My youngest and newly married Sister-In-Law, Betsy, just announced she is expecting a baby! We are so excited for her, and I took about a week to collect my thoughts on essential pregnancy items she might enjoy. I put a little goody box together for her and was sure to include something special to use to display the first picture of their precious baby: 

Materials:

1. Small picture frame (I got this perfectly-sized one from the Dollar Store. Woo hoo!)
2. Vinyl quote
3. Ultrasound Picture

Weed vinyl quote: 

Add to picture frame... 

Clear transfer tape makes places SO. MUCH. EASIER!

Add ultrasound picture...

(These are actually my ultrasound pictures. I just couldn't resist seeing what it would look like!)

Doesn't every new mom and dad need a reminder like this one before their sweet baby comes? 

I hope they like it! 

Now if only I could get that time machine working so I could make one for myself 9 months ago... 

Dr. Seuss Quote on Wooden Wall Hanging

Have I mentioned I am almost 9 months pregnant with a perfect little boy? Well, I am! I am so excited for this child and have had a lot of fun thinking about the perfect nursery these last few months. Things are slowly getting put together as I finalize how I decorate, and this was one of those projects I've thought about for months and finally took the plunge on!

This turned out to be a pretty time-consuming, intense project because I had to figure out to make my mental image materialize (Sorry, I couldn't find any tutorials on this sort of thing! Guess I'm an original!), then had some equipment failure. Oh well, the end result was well worth any pain and now the tutorial I've made should keep things simple for anyone else interested in this project!

step 1: BUY MATERIALS

1.  4 wooden slabs (I used 1"x4"x8' and asked Lowe's to rip them in half for me)
2. Wood stain 
3. Brackets (found in the masonry section. Buy at least 4 of these flat pieces of metal) 
4. Picture hanging kit
5. Duct Tape (optional)
6. Craft paint
7. Paint brush

step 2: SAND EDGES

step 3: STAIN

I wanted a darker look, so I picked out a dark stain and chose to let it sit instead of wiping off the excess. I am just in love with the color! It was perfect! 

step 4: ADD BRACES

I know my way around an electric screwdriver, so I expected this step to be pretty simple. Unfortunately, my screwdriver ran of juice half way through so I ended up screwing in most screws by hand! I now have blisters on two fingers, my thumb, and palm of my right hand :( 

I first laid all the planks out to arrange them the way I wanted: 

 Then placed the braces and got to work!

step 5: MAKE A STENCIL

The reason this project took so long for me to get to work on was because I couldn't decide on the quote I wanted to use. I looked up quotes about children, boys, imagination, childhood, etc. and decided on something from Dr. Seuss. My husband really loves Dr. Seuss, and I like that his books/ quotes are meaningful but playful at the same time. 

I eventually chose "You're off to great places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!" from Oh, The Places You'll Go. I love that it is motivational, yet fun! 

Luckily I could use my vinyl machine and a giant roll of junk vinyl to make my stencil. 

Attaching the stencil to the wood was a little difficult because it was such a giant piece of vinyl. I ended up cutting around almost every word to push out wrinkles (wrinkles would make the paint fill in unwanted spaces.)

step 6: PAINT

I wanted the natural look of white on top of wood. I used a foam brush to paint two light layers of the quote. It turned out to be just enough to be easily read, but with a natural whitewash look to it. 

step 7: ADD SOME BLING!

Don't laugh, but the "theme" of this nursery is Whimsical Woods. I want to have a lot of natural elements and animal, plant, and tree images but include some fun. Think fairies in the manly woods :) 

I'm trying to accomplish that by adding some silver and sparkly elements, like glitter on this quote board!

I added a small bottle of silver glitter to half a bottle of cheap craft glue (don't waste your Mod Podge on this!) and painted that on top of the letter stencil. I really encourage you to do this step- it is the PERFECT touch for a children's quote! Or it would be incredibly romantic somewhere else, too!

The paint and glitter glue dry really quickly, so I couldn't wait to pull the stencil off and see the results! 

step 8: ATTACH FRAMING ELEMENTS

This is so easy to do! Depending on the size/ weight of your wall hanging you should consider doubling-up on the wire like I did. That makes it more sturdy. 

I decided to put a could layers of duct tape over the braces and screws on the back to make sure they don't scratch the wall. 

step 9: MEASURE AND HANG

I took tons of measurements before realizing that all I needed to do was get the length of the wall and add my hanging to the half-way mark. Geez. Pregnancy brain? 

Again, depending on the size and weight, you should consider using a drywall anchor to hang your board from. Maybe even two :)

step 10: HANG AND ADMIRE!

I can't stop walking into the nursery just to see this wall hanging. It is exactly what I wanted and looks even better than I imagined!

This little guy agrees:

I really hope you try this project and love it as much as I do!