DIY wax paper capiz shell chandelier

I pulled a little "While you were out" action on Craig the other day to surprise him for his birthday. It will be 10 years this year that we've been married, and we have always just had an "it will do the job" kind of bedroom. No personalities, or fun details that made us love the room, and that had to change! I've been on pintrist a little, and looking around for ideas. I Saw this idea on http://www.designsponge.com/ and knew I HAD to try it! And I've got to tell ya...I LOVE the way it turned out!

I had a bunch of projects for my made over bedroom, so I'm going to show you one at a time how to do them (for the ones I took pictures of during the process), and at the end of the week I'll show you the before and after shots of my room:)

I'm excited:)

The First project was to get a Capiz Shell Chandelier, but have you priced these babies out? Anywhere from $250- $3,000! Um, ya...that's about $245 out of my price range...for the cheapest one. But don't you fret my frugal friends, My "Capiz chandelier" Cost me under $5. You heard me...UNDER $5!

So, Here is what you need:

1 roll of wax paper

1 roll of contact paper

1 3/4" Circle punch

lamp shade

sewing machine

and a little patience

I didn't have a lamp shade on hand, so I went to DI and found one that was the right diameter for the right price (.75). I cut off the fabric so we were left with the metal skeleton of a lamp shade. My sister couldn't find a lamp shade that was the right size for her light, so she got a hanging metal planter, and that worked to.

Now (sorry, I don't have a picture of this) you are going to layer your wax paper and contact paper like so: Bottom contact paper, 3 sheets of wax paper, 1 sheet contact paper, 3 sheets wax paper, 1 sheet contact paper on top. After you have your layers, you will iron the paper, and I had my iron set on high. This will make the 3 sheets of wax paper stick together, creating the capiz shell illusion. Save the wax paper, and discard the contact paper.

Side note, I tried breaking up a brown crayon, and melting it between the layers of wax paper, and it looked really cool. In the end, I preferred all white for this one, but if you want color, it might be fun to play around with:)

Now, you will use your 1 3/4" circle punch and cut out LOTS of circles. You can decide how long you want your Chandelier to be, but for my room, I did 12 circles per strip. I organized the circles with muffin tins, so they would all be the same length.

Next, you just feed the wax paper circles into your sewing machine (Chain linking). I linked 12 circles together, then let a little thread out, then linked the next 12, over and over.

Now, you decide how many levels you want your chandelier to have, I wanted 3, so I added a level with a wire.

Now you get to drape your circle chains over the lamp levels, leaving 6 circles on either side of the wire...make sense?   My chandelier is the same diameter as my light fixture, so I was able to slide my chandelier wire under the fixture to hold it up. If your Chandelier is bigger then your light, you can purchase hook screws for  a few cents from most any hardware store.

If you make your own Capiz Shell Chandelier send me a picture:) I would LOVE to see how yours comes out.

Favorite Fridays

We made the yummyest treat the other day, with extras to share (at least that's what I told myself) ;). They were Fast, easy, inexpensive, and oh so good.

We call them "S'mores on a stick"

You will need:

Popsicle sticks

milk chocolate chips

crushed graham crackers

Big Marshmallows

Wax paper

 First of all, You melt the chocolate morsels. To do this you can use a double broiler if your Fancy, or if you bake ghetto style like me place 1 Cup of water in a sauce pan on the stove, with a pie tin on top:) bring the water to a simmer, and dump your chocolate in the pie tin. Stir. when it's smooth you will poke a Popsicle stick in a marshmallow, and dip the mallow in the chocolaty goodness.

 Second, roll the mallow in the crushed Graham crackers

last, place them on wax paper to set. After they were set I wrapped them in cellophane and tied a ribbon around the stick to make a fun little gift.

This weekend you should get yourself a red box, soft snugly blanket, and make some of these goodies to indulge on. Happy Weekend:)

Date night

 Date night is my favorite night of the week...fo show

 It's always so great to get Craig all to myself to....talk?!?

 He is really good at paying attention to where he is driving when I'm in the car with him!

I get a chance to shower, fix my hair, and do my make up;)

And we get to drive a different new car every week for our date (hence the plastic covering the floor), just a nice little bonus;) Sometimes we just go on drives for our date...is that weird? I love the chance to catch up without little interruptions.

These pictures were all taken with my phone, and it wasn't taking very clear pictures, so I had a friend take a look at it....the lens was dirty. hahaha

I want to plan some exciting, inexpensive dates for this year, do you have any fun ideas?

happy new year

I welcomed the new year by taking Layla to a movie, just the girls. She has been needing some special Mama time, and this was just the thing. She is the funniest little girl ever! You should talk to her sometime, and you'll know what I mean:)

 Right before I took this picture she asked me if we could get some "movie theatre candy" because it looked better then the kind in my purse. I denied her request, and for a moment I wasn't her favorite mommy in the whole entire world.

I am SOOO excited for this new year!

Seriously.

I don't know what it is, but I just feel like it's going to be a great one. I am going to focus on a word this year, because that is more my pace right now then making a big list, and breaking it down into categories like I usually do. This one word fits in all the areas of my life, and I feel like it is really what I need to focus on. Are you ready to hear what my word of the year is?

RENEW!

It came to me as I was getting the "Franchise renewal" documents ready, and emailed out to all  my franchise holders. As I typed the words renew, and renewal, and renewed over and over in each of their letters, something clicked.

I am going to renew my commitment to be a patient and Loving Mother and Wife, always ready with a hug, and push of encouragement.

I am ready to renew my conviction to to lead a great company, and help my business associates reach their goals and dreams.

I am going to fill my callings at Church with a renewed joy, and love for those I serve.

Now I am renewing friendships that I have neglected the past couple years.

I am renewing the promises I have made to the Lord, and feel ready to do his will.

Last but not least, I am renewing my Costco & Gym memberships;)

In 2012, I am renewed!

Yipppeee for me:)

Also, I did a little "while you were out" to Craig, and redecorated our Bedroom to surprise him for his birthday, It turned out sooooo cute! Can't wait to show you.

Friday Favorite

 One of my favorite things is getting "hand me downs" from my friends and sisters. Some of my favorite "go to" pieces are the ones that have been passed around a time or two. A while back I went through my Mothers things with my brothers and sisters, and I got a couple of her "hand me downs". In the weeks since that day a new favorite has emerged.

Moms old Cowgirl hat!

I remember the way she used to rock that hat, and how beautiful I thought she was in it.



Now, I feel like a small part of her style and grace is passed to me through her lovely hat.

Super Duper Easy Dress Tutorial:)

I got a bug, it is that time of year you know? Not that kind of bug that makes me sick, but the kind that makes me want to be super crafty, and make cute things for all the people I love. I almost always get the "crafty bug" around Christmas, probably because I'm thinking "give, give, give". I don't have tons of moola , but I don't want that to stop the giving fun:)  So, I turn to hand made gift goodies.

I saw a tutorial on http://elleapparel.blogspot.com/ and it inspired me to make this little number. After I made my dress I had enough leftover fabric to make a matching dress for layla, so I couldn't resist:)

 (pictures of the finished product at the bottom of the post)

For my dress you will need:

any old shirt

yard of fabric

2 inch wide elastic

First of all, you will want to try your shirt on, and decide where you want the waistline to be, then leave an extra 1/2 inch for the seam. Mark the shirt, and cut it to be the right length.

next you will cut out the skirt fabric. I wanted to have the skirt gathered at the waist line, so I cut out 2 rectangular pieces of fabric. However, it would also be super cute to cut out an A-line for a little flare. If you are doing the A-line, you will probably want the top to be the same width as your shirt.

Next Step: Sew the two rectangles together on the sides. You will lay your rectangles together facing each other, so you can see the inner side of the fabric. Just do a straight stitch down each side, and you'll end up with a big tube. Flip the tube right side out.

 Next step: Measure your waist, and cut the elastic to the same length as your waist. Sew it together to make a loop.

Next step: Lay the elastic over the top of the skirt. If you are doing it A line style, then just sew it straight on. If you do it like me, you will need to scrunch the skirt fabric as you go to make it gathered. Tip: do the front side first, so if you cant scrunch as much towards the end you won't have a funny looking front;)

Next step: Pin the shirt in place at the top of the elastic.

Next step: Sew the shirt to the elastic.

 Last step: Hem the bottom of the skirt. You can get creative with this part, and make it skinny, fat, zig zag, straight, whatever you like.

This is the dress I whipped up for Layla, and it was a complete experiment, so I don't have pictures of the process:( sorry. After this picture I added another dart on the front neckline so it wouldn't be so wide. The next time I wear the one I made for me I'll try to remember to take a picture of myself standing up so you can see it better.



I guess they turned out pretty good, because nobody at church asked if I made our dresses....Success!

More hand made fun to come:)

Favorite Fridays

Sometimes we all have "bad mommy days"! Those days when you worry about your kids. You might wonder if you are patient enough, or too patient. If you have taught them the things they will need to be successful in this world, but not given them too much information. You might worry if you are feeding them the best food, making them feel loved, keeping the house clean, laundry done, and

bla bla bla.

The best cure I've found when I have a "bad mommy day" is to just sit down with the kids, and create something together. We all have busy hands, but our minds are free. This is the best time for us to share deeper thoughts with each other, and reconnect on a deeper level. This week we made a "Thanksgiving centerpiece". It was a fun little project, but it ended up taking up our entire table, hahaha.

 1. Have your kids gather 10 sticks from the backyard.

 2. Let them paint the sticks any color. (each of ours are a different color)

 3. let the kids help you cut out circles, and glue the circles onto a plate.

 4. Paint the letters for "GIVE THANKS" on your circles. We decided to cut some of the letters out instead of painting them:)

5. Tape the painted sticks to the back of the plates. Find 10 containers, and stick your signs in them.

There you go!

You will get a cute craft for your table, quality time with your kids, and that "good Mommy" feeling again;)