Memories Shadow Box Anniversary Gift

My husband and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary at the beginning of this month.  It's hard to believe that 10 years have gone by so quickly!  Since we just had our third baby a couple of months ago, we are going on our anniversary trip next year.  But I still wanted to give my husband something to commemorate the last 10 years together.  A friend of mine shared the idea of using a shadow box to write down memories or moments we've had together.  I found some really cute and simple white shadow boxes at Target with some little wood hearts included that were perfect.  The whole project only took me about an hour total, but the end result was exactly what I hoped for.

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Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow and Pink Polka Dot Bikini Baby Onesie

With summer right around the corner, I know my kids are going to be spending a lot of time in their swimsuits.  My baby, on the other hand, is only a couple of months old and won't be needing a swimsuit for another few months at least.  But that hasn't stopped me from putting her in a cute little baby bikini!  The best part about it is that she is still protected from the sun and she looks adorable.  This no-sew baby bikini onesie is super simple to make and would be a fun gift for those little summer babies.

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DIY Dollar Store Jeweled Vases

I've mentioned before that the dollar store is one of my favorite places to find craft supplies.  If you haven't taken the time to browse the craft aisle, definitely do it the next time you're there.  You might be surprised!  When I walked in last week, I didn't have anything specific in mind in terms of what I wanted to do for this month's Inspire My Creativity challenge.  After throwing a few items into my cart, an idea formed and that is how I came up with this month's craft: jeweled vases.  (And I'm not kidding when I say this is probably one of the the quickest and easiest crafts I've ever made!)

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Easy Blooming Envelope and Card

One of the many craft supplies I hoard stock up on is scrapbook paper.  I have stacks of it and yet I can never seem to have enough.  I know I can't be the only one with this problem, so I'm trying to be more creative with the ways that I use it.  A goal that I have for myself this year is to send more cards to people: thank you cards, just because cards, thinking of you cards, etc.  But buying that many cards can get expensive, so I've decided that I am going to try and make my cards.  I'll still have some store bought ones on hand but I figure if I have so much cute paper, I might as well use it.  So I used my Silhouette cutting machine and creating a super fun and simple template for some mini cards and envelopes.

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The Best of the Best Crafts of 2017

 

I love going back through my posts at the end of the year and seeing which ones you loved the best.  But I thought it would be fun to see the top craft posts of 2017 from a bunch of other awesome craft bloggers!  Seriously, you do not want to miss out on these great posts.  Get inspired by over 30 of the best of the best craft projects of 2017!

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5-Minute DIY Magnetic Glitter Clips

This post originally appeared on Design Dazzle on December 6, 2017 written by me as part of the 2017 Christmas Wonderful series.  I have received permission to repost it to Sunshine & Munchkins in its entirety.

Every year since my husband and I got married, we’ve been sending out Christmas cards to family and friends.  It’s such a fun time of year and I love going out to my mailbox and seeing a Christmas card.  We display them in our home all month (and sometimes into January) and I figure that many of you do the same, so I’m sharing these sweet and simple DIY magnetic glitter clips with you today!

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DIY Box Frame Sign

Two days ago, I messaged my husband a picture and asked him how hard he thought it would be to make the frame pictured.  "Not hard," he told me.  "Good," I said.  "Can we make 5 of them tonight?"  And that's what's led to me spending pockets of time working on said frames over the last two days in between getting the kids to school, running errands, cleaning up the house and every other thing on my to-do list for the week.  But I absolutely love how they turned out!  Box frames are simple, classic and versatile.  Their clean lines make them perfect for framing both pictures, quotes and images.  They are modern and traditional.  Combine all this together and it's easy to see why they've become so popular in recent years.  With a little help from my husband, I was able to make five of them for less than $1 per frame!  As Christmas approaches, I'm always on the lookout for simple DIY gifts I can give family and friends and these box frame signs definitely fit the bill!

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How To Make A Thankful Tree

On November 1st, the Halloween decorations come down and in their place pop up fall and Thanksgiving decor.  One of my family's favorite decorations is a thankful tree that takes up a good portion of the wall in our family room.  It's giant.  I have to use a stool to reach the highest branches.  It takes a little bit of time to put together.  But we are going on our third year doing it and every year I love it even more.  My kids get excited when I tell them the thankful tree is going up and it warms my heart to see them so happy to share the things they are thankful for each day.  It's become one of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions and today I want to share with you how to make your own.

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DIY Owlette and Cat Boy Masks (PJ Masks)

"Bedtiiimme...is the right tiiimmme...to fight criiimme!"  If your kids are PJ Masks watchers like mine, you've probably heard this song more times than you can count.  And maybe your kids want to dress up like the characters from the show, complete with masks.  And maybe you don't want to spend $12 on a mask.  I try to keep things pretty simple when it comes to Halloween costumes for my kids and I like to DIY them when possible.  If you have a little time, a desire to save some money and the DIY spirit like I do, then you've come to the right place!

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$3 Back To School Wreath

One week.  That's how long I have left until my oldest child starts kindergarten.  I'm feeling conflicted between trying to to happy for her and not to think about it, but it's hard NOT to think about it when I'm being reminded by her every. single. day. because she's so excited.  I was one of those kids who actually really loved school (including college) so I'm glad to see her feeling positive about this new part of her life.  And with all the school supplies on sale, I decided to grab a few things and turn them into something fun: a $3 back to school wreath.

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Make Your Own Cards Using Paper Scraps

Summer is coming to an end but that doesn't mean that you have to put away those bright colors yet!  I love wearing neon pink, yellow, coral and blue all spring and summer long and it makes me a little sad when I have to pack my clothes away for the fall.  (Neon doesn't go well with pale winter skin...)  Even if wearing bright colors isn't your thing, you can still make up some of these fun cards to have on hand when you just want to write a quick note to a friend or to include with a gift.

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30 Minute Shoulder Tie Dress

Happy Fri-yay!  I've been looking forward to this weekend all week because we've got some fun family activities planned, including a local rodeo.  The rodeo is actually what inspired today's post: a simple girls dress that ties at the shoulders.  This dress took me about an hour but I think I could have done it in about 30 minutes if I hadn't had my little "helpers" with me. *wink*

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15 Minute Patriotic Wreath

My husband always groans when I come home with supplies to make a new wreath, but I love how easily they can update a room or brighten our front door.  With Memorial Day just a couple of weeks ago and the 4th of July coming up soon, I decided to pick up a few simple supplies from JoAnn's to make a patriotic wreath that I can use in my decor.  One of my favorite wreath forms to use are grapevine wreaths because the wreath itself is part of the decor and you don't have to do a lot to add a little extra something to it to make it your own.  The best part is that it only took 15 minutes to put together from start to finish!

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DIY Laundry Room Sign

The summer after my husband and I got married, we drove out to Buffalo, NY, where he sold security systems.  Towards the end of the summer, his office got moved to Philadelphia, PA.  Thankfully, there were many wives who were out with their husbands so we became good friends and did some sightseeing here and there.  While in Philadelphia, we decided to drive out to a little amish town and do some exploring.  In one of the little shops we visited, I found a laundry room sign.  This sign has been with us for almost 9 years and when I first bought it, I thought it was the cutest thing, but as I've grown into my own personal style of decorating, I found that it just wasn't working anymore.  So I decided to do a little DIY laundry room sign makeover and share this easy tutorial with you!

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DIY Disney Shirt: Dinglehopper Hair, Don't Care

One of my favorite parts of going to any Disney park is wearing Disney themed clothing.  It makes me feel like I am part of Disney in some small way and it's just a lot of fun.  When I was planning my trip to Orlando and I found out that a friend of mine and her family were going to be able to come down at the same time as us, the wheels in my brain started spinning.  I knew I wanted to make some kind of a t-shirt for the two of us so we could match.  (Yes, we're those people.)  I started browsing ideas online of cute Disney quotes, made a list and sent it over to her to see what she thought.  We both picked the same two as our favorites and so I got started planning the designs.

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Rainbow String Art Tutorial

When it comes to crafting, I like to try everything.  I have an entire craft room full of all sorts of supplies for everything from vinyl, embroidery, scrapbooking, acrylic paints, a million brads, felt, adhesives...phew!  And that's not even close to everything.  Something I've been wanting to try my hand at is string art.  I've seen it all over and there are so many shops that sell it.  My friend Sarah over at Making Joy and Pretty Things recently did a cute string art heart for her daughter's nursery.  I commented on her post and told her I'd been wanting to try it out myself and she suggested I do one for St. Patrick's Day.  So I did.  *wink*

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Using Natural Light In Your Photography (Plus a Giveaway!)

In today's world, cameras are only an arm length away (or less!).  Like many people, I keep my phone nearby during the day in order to check my texts or emails, but more than anything, I want a camera close by to capture pictures or videos of my kids.  But how many times have I taken a picture thinking it's going to turn out so great, only to be disappointed because of a lighting issue?  Let me tell you, the answer is a lot.  And it's frustrating!  But the good news is, using light to your advantage is a skill you can learn, especially with the help of a good teacher.

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Valentine's Heart Hair Tutorial

When I posted a few months back about time saving hairstyles for girls, a couple of people commented that they would have liked to see me include a video tutorial or do some hair tutorials in the future.  If you saw my teaser on Monday, I mentioned that I wanted to try and do more videos this year and that I would be posting one later this week.  Well, that day is here my friends!  Today you will get to see my very first video tutorial EVER.  It literally took me all week to put together because I had to learn an entirely new software, as well as just trying not to be overly critical at my beginner (read: nonexistent) skills at filming and video editing.  But I put a lot of heart (pun intended) into this and I hope you love it!

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DIY Hanging Necklace Holder

When my husband and I first moved into our house almost 6 years ago, we had our first shared closet since we'd been married 3 years before.  Up until that point, we'd always lived in apartments and all of them had small closets.  Or maybe they just seemed small to me considering all of my clothes fit into one closet with no room leftover for my husband...  My poor hubby always had to use the closet in the second bedroom for his clothes in each of the places we lived.  So when we moved into our home, we had a bigger closet, which was great.  But there wasn't any room for me to put my jewelry.  I don't like keeping it out on my dresser and prefer to have it out of reach of little hands.  So what to do?

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DIY Elf Door

I'm always trying to think of new traditions for my family to incorporate during the holidays.  Right now, we just have a handful of Christmas traditions but I've been wanting to add another one.  In August I got an email from Jane.com with a cute little elf door.  What at fun idea! I thought to myself as I clicked on the link.  As cute as it was, I didn't want to pay $24 for the door plus the other accessories (fence, lights, etc) and then pay for shipping.  I knew I could do it for cheaper myself and starting looking around online.

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