Crafts and Good Deals

Project 1:

A while ago Wes said that maybe I should refinish our couch pillows.

What? Wes inviting me to be crafty! Okay!

So here are our yucky pillows before.





I couldn't find any material I liked for a while. Finally out of desperation and a coupon sale I bought fabric I probably wouldn't have otherwise.

It should be pretty easy to make pillows. I mean really they're just squares, right?

Wrong!

The big issue was the old pillow stuffing. It was made of chopped up foam and padding.

What a Mess!

And on top of that my material was too thin and so my first pillow was bumpy so I had to take out the stuffing and make a liner.

Anyways, here's how they turned out.





They're not perfect but they'll do. I like how bold they are. Having them really live'ins up the place. :)


Project 2:

In our old apartment I had three totes, one was a cooking utensil tote, one was markers and craft tote for the kids and one was an adult tote (for permanent markers, sharp scissors, etc...).

Anyways, they weren't the most fancy way to keep things organized and I personally hated (don't tell the kids I said that word) having to rotate which tote was on top of the pile of totes and pop a lid every time I wanted something.

So on my first trip to the DI (Deseret Industries) here in Bountiful I found this cool looking basket thing ($4.00).



As a side note, we also went to payless shoes that day because Novalee needed some church shoes. They are always (it seems like"always") doing that buy one pair of shoes and get the second half off. Well hers were $14.99 and mine were regularly $22.99 but already on sale for $10.00 so I got them for $5.00!

Seems random I know but you'll see why I did this little brag about shoe shopping later.

So after a little sanding and painting my basket turned into something useful.

And since it was a basket it didn't really have a divider in the middle of it but who would have guessed Novalee's church shoes box lid (that's a mouthful) fit perfectly in the box.

So...with a little paint and hot glue it became the divider. Granted, probably not the sturdiest divider but hey, it was free and it gets the job done.

Total Cost: $4.00

Project 3

Look at this cool nook in my kids room. I always wanted something like this when I was a little girl. I'm not sure my kids are that into it. But either way, we live our dreams through our kids sometimes, right?

I wanted the kids to be able to play up there without ruining the paint. I also thought it would be cool if it was soft to lay on.

So I decided I was going to buy foam padding at Joann's and cover it in fabric.

Well the Joann's here happens to be right next to the DI. I couldn't help but go to the DI first. And as it turns out I found two foam camping pads for $5.00. I thought that was a find since Wes bought some just a year or so ago for $20.00 each (granted they were foamier, is that a word?)

Anyways, when I brought them home, one fit the window almost perfectly.

After scoring the pads for so cheap I kind of wanted to challenge myself and see how cheap I could make the entire thing.

At best buying fabric to cover the pad from Joann's would cost me @ $3.00/yd, $18.00.

So then inspiration struck and I decided to head back over to the DI to see if I could find anything there to use, such as a blanket or tablecloth.

I totally got lucky and found a bundle of unused fabric for $3.00.

So I used the green-rough feeling material to make a lining, I learned from the pillows that it would be bumpy otherwise.

Then I covered it in this fabric.


Doesn't he make a cute middle eastern girl? Jared just said he's a ninja in the picture. :) Okay ninja.

Here's how it turned out.

Total Cost: $4.00

Project 4:

Wes always feels bad when Meala goes into her kennel at night without a pad.

This next project was for Wes, not really for Meala, who I think is a dog and could probably sleep anywhere and be comfortable and none the wiser.

So those $5.00 camping pads, were two pads rolled together. So I just cut two identical pieces from the left over pad, to fit Meala's dog kennel.

Then I hot glued them together.



Can you see the wear from moving my table received? Poor thing.

Then I sewed a slipcover for it. I've never done anything like this before but it came together surprisingly well and was super easy.

Meala likes it.



She is kind of a pretty dog.

Total cost: $3.25.

Project 5:

I feel like I know all too well what moving does to your furniture and things.

Well this has been moved many, many times.

So I repainted it and covered it in a clear protective coat.

How it looks now.

I should probably update the photo in the frame since that is Jared holding Novalee.

Total Cost: $3.28

Project 6:

My kids like to do crafts too.

So to help us get in the spirit of Thanksgiving the kids worked hard.

And made us these for our home.



And just for fun, some of the kids.

This is what I get to look forward to in the mornings. I really love it. :)

The kids driving their cars.


Cute Sadie


Novalee's growing up so fast!


Oh, yes.

We have a thumb sucker.

We tried to discourage it but she is determined. :)