because wipes should be pretty too!

today i finally worked on a project i've been wanting to do for quite awhile now! i was really itching to do something to this plain ol' little disposable-travel-wipes case, which was so plain it was almost sad! i figure if it's something you're going to use every day, it might as well be pretty. i don't know, i guess there's something about that wide expanse of plain whiteness that makes me want to break out some paper and glue....

diaper wipes travel case tutorial

you will need:

• plain plastic travel wipes case


• scissors


• patterned cardstock (just a scrap!)


• a paintbrush


• pen or pencil


• decorative scrapbooking rub-ons


• something to scrape/rub your rub-ons with (although they usually come with a popsicle stick for that)


• modge podge or some kind of decoupage glue (i like to use matte perfect paper adhesive because it makes such a nice, pretty, non-sticky finish)

step one:
open the little circular wipe-dispensing part and trace around as much of it as you can. you may need to use the edge of the table to make it lay flat. mine had a slightly raised edge that if i pressed it down on the paper, it left a slight indented ring that i could use to complete the outline of the circle.

step 2:
cut out the oval and trim the edges a little at a time until it fits perfectly into the little opening. glue it into the spot with a light layer of glue/adhesive, being careful not to glue any part of the opening closed!

step 3:
cut out and arrange the rub-on shapes or letters without removing the backing yet. move them around and get the placement perfectly where you want it. you can even cut some of the designs apart & mix & match them. try it out a few different ways & make sure you like it.

step 4:
when you decide on the design you like best, remove the backings and scrape/rub carefully to get the design to transfer. know that it might take a lot of rubbing! what ended up working the best for me was to use the back of a slanted pen cap. very gently peeling back the paper the design is on as you go (careful not to rip/break the design though!) can also help.

step 5:
when it's all done and looks how you want it to, use the paintbrush to paint a light layer of the modge podge or adhesive over your design and over the paper circle in the middle, again, being careful not to glue closed any openings that make the case functional! after the first coat dries, you might want to add additional coats until the edges of the rub-ons feel smooth.

and done!

tuck it in your bag and get ready to hear "where did you get that?" every time you whip out your wipes on the go!

all in all, i spent about $7.50 on this project, here is the breakdown:
-$3.50 for the wipes case full of wipes (huggies- you can keep refilling it)
-$1.99 for each of the 2 sets of rub-ons (if you can get away with only using one set the cost here would be even less! i think a monogram would be super cute too)
-already had the glue, scissors, paintbrush, paper scrap, and adhesive.

because an octopus wouldn't do.

ever since having kenna, i've thought that if we have a boy next, i'd like to do his nursery in calm blue sailboats with a nice little accent of whale. because what maritime adventure is complete without a bit of whale sighting?

insert "whale of a... (good idea, fun time, etc.)" joke here.

but nautical things seem to be all the rage right now, and believe it or not {and here's something that seems really strange to say} a quick etsy search revealed that there are LOTS of cute whale things out there! it seems that whales are no longer relegated to men's embroidered shorts while on vacation on cape cod, but have entered the realm of super cute, especially for baby! hmm, maybe i am thinking whale with a touch of sailboat after all...

1. notecard by moonmum

2. onesie by veryKIKI

3. carved name stamp by cupcaketree

4. appliqued pillow by seamsewswell

5. cross stitch kit by andwabisabi

6. wood puzzle by usnavyretiredvet

7. diaper cake by tushiesnterrycloth

8. chalkboard by suddenly,it's real!

and maybe since i got the "k" necklace to wear for kenna, i might get a little whale to wear for a little boy! love love love it. and that little whale piggy bank on top of the diaper cake? :::swoon:::

silver necklace by silversparrowdesigns

a tad obsessed.

so you already know i'm a tad obsessed with cupcakes.

i finally settled on a theme {of sorts} for kenna's first birthday party! admittedly, i still have about 5 months to plan for it, but hey... i like to be prepared. and i loooooove cupcakes {and imagine she will to!} it all started with my default colors, pink and brown. i discovered a gorgeous patchwork happy birthday banner thanks to meringue designs on etsy, with an equally gorgeous pink tablescape that had me at the pink juice boxes:

{photo: deep thoughts by cynthia}

and then my love of cupcakes took over. my hope is for the party to look something like these:

{photo: goody blog}

and just for fun, some normal-sized ones and itty-bitty ones like these!

{photo: chotda}

{photo: martha stewart}

{photos: kumquat cupcakery}

{photo: jules cupcakes}

{photo: bakerella}

and maybe some party favors if i get super ambitious:

i'm so excited to put all these ideas into practice! hurry, up birthday!

epic fail.

even the most experienced, admired, successful crafters sometimes have "duds" or "fails"... projects that seemed like great ideas at the time or that veered a little too far off pattern or that were born of no pattern whatsoever to unfortunate results. i've of course had several over the years! i looked through some older posts looking for pictures of them, but it seems that i've either avoided or destroyed all the photographic evidence! however you want to label them, they can be frustrating... seemingly a waste of always precious time and materials.

but, when you put them all together from multiple crafters in one place on one website...

pure. hilarity.

they simply call it: craft fail.

i literally laughed so hard i cried.

things that go bump in the night.

my search continues for a cool and affordable diy headboard. i've seen lots of padded, upholstered headboards of all shapes and sizes, but none of them that really did it for me until i stumbled across this one:

salvaged window wallpaper frames.

{photo is thanks to craftynest.com!}

simple, laidback, and could be made to perfectly match your bed linens while also adding in a touch of contrasting color without being 'too much.' actually, this exact one would be pretty perfect in our room. i'm at least fairly sure that i could find a similar windowpane at our local flea market, since it's similar to the one i bought and made into a backdrop of sorts for my craft show displays.

i guess you could also use pretty scrapbooking papers, and could leave the original glass in the windows if you wanted {although i banged it all out with a hammer for this one, and it was oh-so therapeutic}.

the other idea i really loved was also a refurbished/repurposed idea... an old mantelpiece converted over a bed thanks to apartment therapy. i like the idea of having an instant mantel to put art or photos or hang little tiny stockings at christmas.

{photo thanks to aparmenttherapy.com!}

i also love the pillows on that bed. new throw pillows for our couch are so high on my to-make list right now it's not even funny!

another super-simple idea i really like is to just hang a piece of pre-made white picket fencing above it. this idea came from better homes and gardens, which has a great article on diy headboards. {also a super cute idea for a little girl's room, maybe above a daybed?}

{photo thanks to bhg.com!}

this idea also comes from a good friend of mine's beautiful house, where she has two pieces of white fence on either side of her fireplace, which looks awesome. this is me and my sister in law at her house for the baby shower she threw me. love love love it with the tan wall color and built-in bookshelves below!

i can't wait to try one of these ideas, i think it will make our bedroom feel so much more finished.

black & white wall.

i'm the kind of person who will get an idea in my head and not be able to stop with this idea until i have exhausted every possible route i can think of or afford in attempting to create it. one such idea was a wall of black and white photos in black frames arranged together. i've seriously wanted to do this since high school, and it somehow kept getting put on the "someday" list {which is ridiculous seeing as how i've been taking/loving black and white pictures for probably 90% of my life}. so... when we moved the last time, and were in the process of hanging all types of things on the walls, i finally finished it.

the black and white wall in its first incarnation:

it is a fun mix of pictures... from our wedding, trips, our dog, one of a sculpture, and one of my husband hanging upside down off a mountain {rock climbing}. my favorite part is that they are not all truly black and white, but all appear to be. the dog is a black dog against a white carpet, the sculpture is white marble against a neutral, almost-white wall... i think it adds some depth and a little something interesting.

i immediately knew which wall should become the black and white wall in the new townhouse. black and white wall in its second incarnation:
we even added some pictures of our 6 month old little girl and planned for how to expand it if we wanted to add more frames over time. i didn't doubt how happy i was with the wall.

enter a better homes and gardens diy magazine. these things get me in trouble every time! {as featured from a great decor8 feature!}

and i couldn't help it, i fell for those wonderfully summery bright yellow picture frames. immediately, i was picturing my formerly bland and boring black frames spray-painted into a wall of bright,happy, yellowy goodness... especially since the wall the frames hang on is in the kitchen/dining area. i tend to be hesitant with bright statement-making color, but love it in theory. somehow we always end up compromising on something husband and i both like, which usually means lots of neutrals + blue, which gets boring.

then, as she tends to do, i saw a martha idea that just cemented the idea even further. it was a wall of frames for cut-paper silhouettes from her craft encyclopedia:

LOVE THIS. loooooove this. not in red, but in a bright, golden, sunny yellow. love love love. my only hesitation is that i've tried spray-painting picture frames before with tragic results. ironically, i was taking some old handmedown frames and trying to paint them black for use in the original black and white wall. turns out, when you spray paint something in your garage with the door open on a windy day, it is possible for a huge gust of wind to blow the large piece of cardboard you're spraying the frames on upside down right on top of a pile of leaf bits, which will of course stick to the wet paint on them and make a huge mess. and there's just no coming back from that.

step two is finding just the right shade of yellow... would it be wierd to take a kleenex box in to home depot for paint matching? i think i have one that would be perfect. ok confession: i know i have it and i know it would be perfect because i originally bought not for tissues but because it was the perfect shade of golden yellow when i had a fleeting thought of painting one wall of our dining room in the old house yellow.

step three. talking the husband into yet another crazy but-i-could-just-paint-them craft idea. maybe the fact that his favorite color is yellow will win me brownie points?

i am not martha.

i’ve always loved the undeniable amazing-ness of martha stewart. the sheer phenomena of creating an empire out of showing people how to sew ribbon onto a towel astounds me in a why-didn’t-i-think-of-that way. so when i saw a lovely big stack of books at barnes and noble entitled: martha stewart's encyclopedia of crafts: an a-to-z guide with detailed instructions and endless inspiration,i was immediately intruigued, imagining an all-inclusive tome of the many, many projects I’ve admired and intended to replicate for myself from her magazine and tv show.

dear, sweet husband purchased the book for me in a streak of extra-sweetness that i'm sure was in no way a bribe for his own book in his hand that he intended to buy. after a long, leisurely browse, i have to admit i was a bit disappointed and not endlessly inspired! there were only a few projects that really enticed me {etched glass + paper punched flowers} and even those amounted to little more than following some instructions that come on the jar of etching cream, etc. several of the good ideas {soap making!} were simply reprints from ms living magazines that i had already cut out and saved anyway. also, i just have to say i’m not that into paper marbling {which she seems
obsessed with} or tiny pompom animals that are adorable but essentially useless.

enter the equally huge but unfortunately titled: the big-ass book of crafts by mark montano.

on the surface, this is all wrong in so many ways. could some inferior book actually seem better than the ever-referenced martha? a book that includes some {admittedly very creepy/tacky} projects such as a guilded baby doll head? a craft book written by a boy {is even that allowed?}. but alas, i have to admit that after a quick browse, this book did seem to have a greater average of projects that i would be more likely to assimilate into my own life, home, and crafting style. making your own paper japanese lantern from two wire baskets and papier mache-ing some tissue paper over them? much more my speed. maybe i am simply not perfectionistic {yeah, i made it up} enough to follow martha exclusively anymore. although I do still love her line of craft products at michael’s… never underestimate the power of simplistic, coordinating packaging that combines neatly into a notebook. hello, target audience- population me.

on the up{down?}side, I have even more projects on my do-this-sometime-indefinitely-soon list thanks to both books.

and, heaven help us, she went and wrote a cupcake book too.

{thank you amazon, for the borrowing of these pictures!}