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Project : 8 of : 23

I saw this next project on Pinterest and knew it was a "must make" DIY project for Christmas. It only took my about 20 minutes and less than $10 thanks to a couple Black Friday deals last week.

So without further adieu, Project : 8 of : 23 

For this project I used a small 8" x 8" shadow box, a piece of scrapbook paper and a scrap from another project, jingle bells and a decal I made.

First I opened the back of the shadow box and added the jingle bells.  

Next I glued the scrap paper to the 8" x 8" piece...

  

Then I just trimmed the overlapping piece of the scrap.

 Put the paper in the back of the shadow box and closed it back up...

 

...added the decal and VIOLA!

 

Project : 7 of : 23

I have been working on this project for some time now... I had to do it little by little when I had time. The sad thing is, in total, it only took about 30 minutes of my time from start to finish.  With my son growing SO quickly, I had to hurry up and get this one done!

So without further adieu, Project : 7 of : 23

I started with a raw piece of lumber from Home Depot and painted it white. (I took a photo of the wood before I painted it but accidentally deleted it AFTER I painted... can't go back and start over on this one.)

I brushed 2 coats of white paint with a white paint brush.  I wanted to the wood to look kind of aged, but not distressed.

I have NO idea why this photo keeps posting sideways... so just tilt your head while looking at it.

Next I designed the ruler markers on the computer and cut them as a decal.

I used a tape measure next to the wood as I applied the decal just to make sure I was staying on track, even though I designed the decal with exact measurements.  

 

...and viola!!! A giant ruler in my hallway.  I anchored a wall between the kiddos rooms.

As soon as I stepped back from it after putting it up on the wall, my 2 year old ran over and stood in front of it with her back against it.  How she knew what it was for was beyond me... and when my son woke up this morning and saw it, his first instinct was to measure himself too.   Gotta love it!

Project : 6 of : 23

Okay so at this point, I am now longer posting projects in order.  I have made a couple others that I just didn't finish taking photos of yet but do not want to stop the momentum of actually posting the projects so here is one I just completed AND took a couple photos of...

This one is my first of several winter holiday projects... 

So without further adieu, Project : 6 of : 23

I took our wreath from last winter and took all of the stuff off of it.  It had pine cones, berries and other festive winter goodies.

Before (after removing all the stuff from it)

I started by spray painting the wreath white to give me a clean, pop of color to go on my now bright green door.

Then I just hot glued a bunch of random Christmas ornaments, bells, ribbon and picks I got from Michael's Black Friday sale and topped it off with a "JOY" sign I bought after Christmas last year from another craft store.

I don't know about you... but I like it!  

I can't believe one of the ladies who works at Michael's told me, "maybe you'd be better off buying one pre-made."

I had to do a Pinconciliation...

Love Pin Make

Project : 5 of : 23

Another day, another project. Today I wrapped up yet another project  for my project of projects, Project :: 23

*giggle* I was trying to see how many times I could say project in one sentence... 4 is my current record! 

This is one I wanted to do for a little while now and finally was able to finish it with my husband's help... who hid the drill from me so I had no choice BUT to have his help. #love

My projects will all fall under one of 4 categories: (1) Decor (2) Organize / Clean (3) Recipe (4) Random.  This one covers both decor and organize. 

So without further adieu, Project : 5 of : 23

 

Empty aluminum cans

 

 ...spray painted black

 

Enter Hubby with the drill: 

 

 Add some twine and a hook (or 3) on the wall... and hang them!

I added 3 hooks and hung them in a row between my windows.

 

Viola... the final project!

 

 

Project : 4 of : 23

I am really knocking out projects with my project of projects, Project :: 23

Who would have thought that me posting this idea on my blog would keep me so motivated.  Maybe I should start posting all my to-do list type stuff on here.

Today I knocked out Project 4... although I have been working on it for several days here and there.  I am planning on turning a wall in one of my hallways into a mini museum with my children's artwork. My son is now 13 and I have a large storage container filled with his toddler - kindergarten artwork.  My 2 year daughter is also a little artist.

One thing I thought about adding to the museum wall was some information about them. I decided to make a "stat plaque" for each of them...

 

So without further adieu, Project : 4 of : 23

Project : 3 of : 23

I'm on a roll with my project of projects, Project :: 23

Yesterday I knocked out Project 3... although I was 3 days late since I had it planned to have my project up hanging by November 1st.  

For November, being the month of "giving thanks" I wanted to incorporate it in multiple places around my home... started with the front door.

 

So without further adieu, Project : 3 of : 23

For this project I used my spring wreath and made a few tweeks.  

BEFORE: 

 (The faded area on the top is from the wreath hook)

AFTER:

 

I took off the red & blue silky flowers and replaced with with an orange flower and a red flower, that I painted brown.  I took a wooden plaque I had and painted it brown. Then topped it off with a "Give Thanks" vinyl decal I designed.

Simple yet effective!

Project : 2 of : 23

I am steadily working on my project of projects, Project :: 23

This morning I completely Project 2 and it was super easy and even cheaper than easy! I saw this great project on the Choose to Thrive blog back in may and new I wanted to make my own this Autumn.  

So without further adieu, Project : 2 of : 23

The project only cost me a couple of dollars... and that was for the vinyl lettering I made. My neighbor was ever so kind to supply me with the brown bottles and the straw looking stuff was picked from a bush outside. I was going to use wheat but wanted to try this first... being that it was FREE. 

The niche it is sitting in is such a shallow shelf that I usually have trouble finding things to fit it.  I think this is just right for the season.

Time Flys When You're... Playing Angry Birds

Tonight was Trunk or Treat at Macedonia Baptist Church aka The Donia. Members of the church "dress" up their trunks and we invite the community to come an trick or treat with us. 

My 13 year old son and I "dressed" up my trunk with a live action Angry Birds game.  It was a hoot and it seemed the kids were all having fun.  

Project : 1 of : 23

Last week I decided that I am going to spend this year (from my birthday October 23rd, yesterday - to October 23rd 2012) with a goal... to complete at least 23 DIY projects. I have dubbed this challenge,  

Project :: 23

So without further adieu, Project : 1 of : 23

I picked up this metal sign last year just after Halloween. It was about 75% off along with the rest of the Halloween clearance at Joanns.  I painted over the seasonal sign with black craft paint and then added the verse (vinyl decal I made).  I bought the 2 frames and painted them black too.  Then printed the photos off on the computer.

The ribbons came from my stash. I glued the black with white trim ribbon to the olive green ribbon to give it a little more character. I made the two little bows and glued them to the frames. After I added the ribbon bow to the top, I let me 13 year old son decide where it should be hung on the wall. He picked a space near the hallway where his room and his sister's room it.

Project : 1 of : 23 - COMPLETE!

You've Been Boo'D

So tonight my son and I had some fun boo'ing a couple neighbors.  I found a few printables for Boo'ing online but decided to design my own... to add my personal touch!  It was supposed to a fun, anonymous type thing, but both neighbors new I was the culprit. It was still fun... and we are looking forward to doing a few more.

After attempting to boo one of the neighbors, my son ran back into the house full of giggles. He said he was getting ready to leave the boo bag at the door and when he looked up, he saw their door was open (they have a glass door before the front door). He ran in here yelling, "abort mission! I've been compromised!!" 

One of best part of boo'ing the neighbors for me was having to call my husband on the way home from work and asking him to pick up mini marshmallows. He asked what I needed them for and I told him... ghost  poop. When he got home, he handed me the bag and said, "here's your ghost poop."

It was fun... I would recommend this fun Halloween activity for everyone with little ones... even a 13 year old like mine.

If you would like this printables collection, please email me: ten23designs@gmail.com

Project :: 23

It was brought to my attention today that my birthday is only 5 days away. I am not sure if this year went by fast or slow and not even sure exactly what all I accomplished this year since I never kept track of anything... guess time just wanders off when not being kept up with. 

This year (speaking from birthday to birthday, not the traditional calendar year) I am going to keep better track of MY time and how I spend it... starting with Project :: 23

Project :: 23 is more of a "tada I'm done" list than a normal "to do" list.  I want to accomplish 23 projects within MY year from my "I'd really like to try to make this one day" list. 

So why 23? While I wish I could say because I am turning 23 years old... or even be able to say I look 23 years old, I was actually born on the 23rd (of October) and it happens to be my favorite number.  AND 23 projects in 365 days is a lot more realistic than the age I am turning... not to mention, if I continue this each year, adding 1 additional project a year COULD take the excitement out of this challenge... project!

Although my birthday is 5 days away I started my pre-birthday week by knocking an item off of my list...  I saw a cute countdown frame on Pinterest a while ago and knew it was made for me to make... I love a good countdown!  This is my take on it.  I made mine so I can use a dry-erase marker to switch out celebrations and the countdown circle is done with a chalkboard decal I made.

 

Me Vs Pinja Vu

As mentioned before, pinning is very addictive. I know believe even more than before it is an actual addiction because I now find myself repinning my own pins and pins I had previously pinned over 24 hours prior to the previous pinning.  To top it off, I now spend an equal amount of time going back to my pin boards to check if I had already pinned something or if it is just a case of pinja vu.

Me Vs The Front Door {Halloween Edition}

Waiting for October 1st felt like it was taking FOREVER! I was just itching to start my Halloween Decorating.  I started to pull my pumpkins and Halloween decor out weeks ago. My husband came home from work one day about 2 weeks ago and said... "Umm... you do know it's September, right?"

One of the Halloween decorating projects that I had on the top of my list was FRANKENDOOR.  I created a decal set to favor Frankenstein to work with my bright spring green door.

 

I think "he" is just too cute! What do you think?

The GATOR Princess

My 2 year old woke up on this beautiful Gator game Saturday and said, "Mommy, I'm a princess!" So what better to wear today then her mommy made Gator princess tutu.

I made her tutu specially for Gator game days... a Gator princess should always have a tutu ready to wear.  I made the shirt using an iron-on kit from PartyKatJenn on Etsy and added ribbon to tie up the sleeves.  I made her bow with coordinating ribbon from my stash.

 Being a princess is hard work... 

Are You Pinning?

So I have been in Pinterest for a very SHORT period of time and I already have 30 boards and 352 pins... maybe even a few more by the time I finish this post... (I multi-task).

I think it is so great to not only be able to use one site to find fabulous things but also use the site like a personal directory for my own things.  Whenever I am working and get a mental block or just need to take my mind off of something... I pin. When I am too tired to work or clean up, but not quite ready for bed... I pin. If I had a pinning app on my phone... I'd pin more.

I wonder... Do I pin, therefor I am? Or I am, therefor I pin? Hmmm... I wonder if I could find a pin with the answer?

Do you pin? What type of boards do you have?

A Bzz Worthy Campaign

I have spent the last few weeks looking at reviews and stats of e-readers for myself and my son... who is a HUGE reader. I had been leaning towards the Kindle and was hoping to try one out before I made the purchase. Sadly, none of my friends own one yet although most of my friends are also HUGE readers.  

Then this afternoon I saw this: 

Could it be? Did BzzAgent hear my silent prayers to try this wonderful electronic device? Was my letter to Santa intercepted by BzzAgent to make my e-reading dreams come true?

One of the best things about being a BzzAgent is getting to try out new products and share my opinions with friends, family and my Twitterverse and Facebook World(those whom I am connected with on Twitter / Facebook) who follow me.  

Sometimes I even receive coupons and discount codes to share with my circle... I bet my friends and family are going to want to try this one out too!

Me Vs The DIY Repurposed Laundry Soap Box

My favorite crafts are the ones I can create with things from around the house.  Being able to complete an entire project without a trip to the craft or hardware store has such a rewarding feeling... although I love visiting both the craft store and the hardware store.

I have a lot of different types of glue for my crafting, scrapping and other sticky things and wanted to keep them all together in something portable.  

I usually do not use powdered laundry but it was on SALE so I was all over it!  

The best thing was, it came in a box... a box that deserved more in life than to just hold soap... like hold bottles of glue!

I picked a few pieces or scrapbook paper and cut them to size.  For each side of the box, I just measured and cut. It was pretty simple.

 

 

With a little help from my friend, Mod Podge... okay, one of best friends... Viola!  A covered box that can sit on my studio counter without being an eyesore... at least not to me. I like it!

{Happy Birthday} Mya's 2nd Birthday, featuring Olivia

Mya loves Olivia so it wasn't too difficult to select a theme for her 2nd birthday party.

I made this personalized sign-in board book using a blank board book purchased on Etsy and used my vinyl decals to create the text. I used a print out of Olivia and Mod-Podged it to the cover. 

Each page of the book has a part of the story of her special birthday.  I left plenty of room for all her guests to sign and write a message and used decals to block off area where I will insert photos and seal them on the pages.

I used vinyl decal polka dots to coordinate everything.

My friend Marni, owner of Creative Custom Card Boxes created this cardbox for me for my Ten23 Designs grand opening and I switched out the colors for Mya's party. These boxes are very sturdy and will last a good long time.

I designed these personalized water bottle labels and printed them on waterproof bottle labels.  I knew it would be warm out so water is very important... especially at the park. 

I made these smaller labels for the bubbles.

I had a hard figuring out the cake.  We went with a sheet cake and I added an Olivia figure which she was able to keep and can play with when she gets a little older.  I also made 2 dozen strawberry cupcakes which were eaten up so fast!

I just love this card my friend / neighbor made for her.  She is very talented.  This is going in Mya's scrapbook for sure!

Let her eat cake!!!