the clever chic: March 2010

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

How to make a Keepsake Box

These Keepsake Boxes are easy and fun. Your child will love them. When I was a kid I had a box that I would keep under my bed and fill with all sorts of "special" things. Valentines, Birthday Cards, the special handkerchief that used to be my grandpa's, sea shells and rocks I'd collected, etc. I decided I wanted my kids to also have a special box that they could put their special things in, but why not dress it up a little?

What you will need:

a box with a lid for each child - I found these 3 nesting boxes at my local craft supply store for 40% off
Mod Podge
paint brush
scissors
pencil
cute scrapbook paper to match each child's personality
embellishments

Trace each surface of the box and the lid onto the paper. Then cut out and make sure the paper fits on each surface.

Then start Mod Podging. First Mod Podge the blank surface, then stick the paper to the box and Mod Podge over the paper. Do this on all surfaces of the box and the lid and allow to dry. After dry, apply one more coat of Mod Podge over the paper. This will make it more durable and give it a really nice sheen. Allow second coat to dry.

Now it's time to add a name or a letter to each box (see below). Mod Podge a section of where you want the name to go, then stick the name to it and Mod Podge over the top of the name or letter. Let dry.

Last, but not least, EMBELLISHMENTS! You can find these pre-adheisived flower and jewels at any scrapbook supply store.

Give to your kids to fill with treasures and to put under their bed! :)

Monday, March 29, 2010

This and That

Cool stuff I found at the D.I. Look forward to our "Meek to Sheek" posts!! Notice the adorable dessert dishes I found for only $0.50 each. Can't beat that! These pretties will basically stay the same besides a good scrub. I've always wanted cute dessert dishes for fun memories of eating ice cream and such. I love how they're all different too. Also stay tuned for white plate wall art and nifty jewelry holders.

Other stuff I'm working on: fabric velcro flowers and coffee filter garland. Tutorial coming soon.

My kids LOVE projects! What kid doesn't? Here are some fun and easy egg carton caterpillars.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Beadboard Shelf

When I build furniture I stick with the motto, "Go big or go home!" I don't know why. For some reason I think that if I'm building something I might as well build it big. This isn't always the best policy, of course. I started building a shelf the other day with some scrap wood that I had leftover from other projects. Ummm. . .it was massive. I had it stuck in my head that this shelf would serve as a faux mantel since I don't have one in my home. But seriously, it was way too big! So I reassessed and cut everything down to a much more mangeable size. Yeah, sometimes smaller is better.

I painted two coats of antique white and then used a Ralph Lauren Tobacco Glaze to make the details POP!

Without glaze:

With glaze:

And then, of course, a top coat of poly. I got the Fleur De Lis hooks at the Hob Lob (love that store).

A little Easter-scape

(the pictures make my wall and shelf look the same color but they really are different)

Yay! I have a "mantel" of sorts! Love it!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

I am in LOVE

This GREEN piano painted by DESIGN MOM is amazing! I so want to paint my piano now! Why am I such a chicken? Do I really dare paint my piano? It's an oak color which I don't love and I do really like painted wood furniture! I'm pretty sure the hubs won't like it, he's one of those, "Why would you paint nice wood" kinda guys! Yay or Nay people, please weigh in on the piano painting situation.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Eggimals!

Make some cute Easter Egg Animals for your kids!

Supplies needed:

plastic eggs

yarn

glue

felt

fine tipped marker

Glue your egg shut and then start glueing yarn around the middle working toward one end.

Continue wrapping and glueing until the egg is covered

Cut felt pieces to make heads and ears (I didn't use a pattern, just winged it!)

Draw faces on and then glue ears to head and head to body

And the finished product:

Cute little eggimals for your kids to play with

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

New, Refreshing Coffee Table Decor

Before:

I don't mind the basket on top, but I've had it forever and was ready for a change. I am so embarrassed by the fake ivy! I hate fake ivy, but was always too lazy to change it! Thank goodness I finally did!

After:

So much better!!!!! Don't ya think?? And I used the deco balls I made. Check out the tutorial HERE!

BASKETS are so much better than FAKE IVY! They look cute AND serve a purpose!

I love my new Springy coffee table decor!! That's a plate charger and a place mat. I've never use place mats for what they're meant to be used for!

Monday, March 22, 2010

So Many Projects, So Little Time!

I have about a dozen half-finished projects laying around. I really need to just hunker down and finish them! I have the tendency to see a cute craft or idea and immediately want to try it out. Problem is, I get distracted easily (not too difficult when there are five littles running around here like wild things, along with all the other duties of being a mom like cleaning, cooking, washing, etc.) So here is just a bit of what I'm working on, s l o w l y, and hopefully posting about someday soon!

Armoire Makeover

Spool Dolls

Ruffle Scarf

Building a shelf

Sewing Curtains and Pillows

Apothecary/candlestick thingys!

File Folder Games for the kiddos

And a few more! But you get the picture! What are you working on?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Crafting with Leftovers

Balls, Balls, Balls! I love DECO BALLS! The possibilities are ENDLESS with these puppies!

I had a few leftovers from my Easter Tree Ornaments and Wire Hanger Easter Tree and wanted to put them to good use.

This is what you'll need. All I had to buy were the styrofoam balls.

1. Tie a double knot at then end of the yarn and poke a pin through it. Now wrap, baby wrap!

2. This is what it will look like. Couldn't I have just used a ball of yarn to get the same effect? Oh Well! :) Tie another double knot when you're done and poke another pin through the knot. You can hide the head of the pin by covering it with the yarn.

3. Do the same thing with the green yarn.

4. A moss of a mess! Just use your glue gun!

AND Voila!!!

Use to adorn a rabbit.

They make a great candlestick topper - my personal favorite.

OR stagger on a bookcase!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Taking Care of Business

I thought I would discuss a few items of business concerning The Clever Chic. Our site is pretty new and we are looking forward to seeing it g r o w. There are a few things we would like to see happen here. First and foremost, we want this to be a place of inspiration for all sorts of ideas. We like crafting, so there will probably be a lot of that. But that's not all we like! We want to share our own ideas as well as others. We would also like to start featuring fellow bloggers with creative ideas. So if you have an idea and want to be featured, let us know! We love parties as well and hope to start up a linky party of some sorts soon. Also, if you are inspired by a project here at The Clever Chic, send us some pics and we will post them under our Created By You tab so that others can see and share as well. Like I said, our site hasn't been up for long, but we are already so thrilled with the postive comments and love from all of you! That's what this is all about! THANK YOU!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Seeing
GREEN

Green is totally my color. I don't mean the color that looks good on me. I mean the color that I'm drawn to the most. I guess you could say it's my favorite color. I love green. Every shade of it. I like to call it my trigger color. You know, like a trigger food... something that once you eat it, you can't stop. Green is so my trigger color. My couches are green, my bedroom is green, my nursery is part green, a lot of my decor is green. I try to force myself to use different colors so my house isn't just a big box of green. I painted part of my kitchen red... I wish it was green. I am planning on painting my dinning table white... I really wish I would paint it green. Planning on painting my entry table. Should I paint it green? I wonder if I did paint everything green? Would I still love it so much? And then there is another color... a color I'm afraid of. A color that I really like, but don't dare use. Or don't know how to use. Blue. I love blue. I have a lot of blue shirts. I love when other people use blue in their decorating, it makes me happy. What I want to know is, "What's your trigger color?"

On another note. Happy St. Patrick's Day! I didn't get around to making what I wanted (I need to build my stock up so I'll have what I need when I want to make something), but I will leave you with some cute St. Paddy's day ideas from other creative people...