Occasionally Crafty

Monday, March 26

No Birthday Party? Try this Birthday Tradition

Today is my son's birthday.  My middle child is smart, athletic, funny, a peace-maker, and such a loving person.  He always wants to do what's right and make others around him happy.  I can't believe this little baby is 11 years old!



Back when my kids were old enough to start having real birthday parties with their friends, I got overwhelmed pretty quickly.  My daughter's birthday is in 2 weeks, and Easter is usually right around one or the other's birthday.  That's a lot of celebrating in a short amount of time.

So, I made a new tradition.  We don't do birthday parties every year.  We take turns!  I have two boys and one daughter, so one year is "Boys Party" year and the other is the "Girl Party" year.

When it's not his or her turn for a party, the birthday child gets to pick a friend to take out for birthday dinner, and they get to choose the restaurant!  Then we bring the friend back to our house for cake and ice cream.

My kids all love doing this!  They love having a friend with them to celebrate their special day, and I love not having to plan a party!

Here's the invitation we dropped off to his friend this year, printed on 5x7 photo paper (although ours had more personal information). 


You could just invite the friend with a phone call or in person, but kids love getting invitations, and when it's a friend you may not know as well, it helps the invitation sound more legit to the parents.  Or, am I the only one that gets "invitations" like "my friend said I could come with them to Six Flags" when you KNOW they haven't asked their parents?



We're off to enjoy the birthday festivities!  Do you throw your kids parties?  Every year?  Every other year?  I'd love to hear what other parents do!


Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund this blog so I can keep bringing you fun new craft projects to try at home!
Never miss a post! Subscribe here to get all my projects delivered right to your inbox!

Thursday, March 1

Spring Chalkboard Subway ARt

Bring spring inside with this colorful Spring Subway Art Chalkboard!

Bring spring inside with this colorful Spring Subway Art Chalkboard!

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted.  To be honest, when it's cold and snowy/rainy/foggy, I have very little motivation to do anything except sit on the couch in a warm blanket, reading a book.  Of course, I have to participate in real life, but in my down time, I haven't been able to muster up the motivation to create.

Well, now that March is just about here, I figured it's time to get creating again.  One of the things on my to-do list is to replace one of my favorite decorations.  I made this Spring Subway Art Plaque a few years ago and love to display it each spring.  Unfortunately, it got destroyed in our move!

Spring Vinyl Sign


So, I decided to make a new project with the same design, but with a totally different spin.

Bring spring inside with this colorful Spring Subway Art Chalkboard!


I used this cute scrolly chalkboard from Hobby Lobby, and adhesive vinyl from Expressions Vinyl.  Oracal 651 is the best to use on this project, as the chalkboard has kind of a slick surface, but honestly I used scraps, so some colors are 631 and some are 651.  Use those scraps!

First, I imported a photo of the plaque to Silhouette Studio so I could make sure my design would fit the way I wanted.  I changed the page sized to match the actual dimensions of the plaque.  Then I imported the shape (you can find it here) and filled the words with the colors I wanted to use when I actually cut the vinyl.


Then I just cut by color.  Since this image isn't really layered, I can push the same colors close together to cut and just place each piece by hand, eyeballing it as I go.  If it was a true layered image, I'd keep each color in it's correct spot as I cut, then layer it all together.


Here are some progress photos as I transferred each line to the plaque.




And here's the finished project!

Bring spring inside with this colorful Spring Subway Art Chalkboard!


I can either hot glue a ribbon to the back to use as a hanger, or display this using a plate stand.  I'm thinking I have a perfect spot for this on my built-in shelves!

Are you ready for spring yet?  Someone please send me some sunshine!


Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund this blog so I can keep bringing you fun new craft projects to try at home!
Never miss a post! Subscribe here to get all my projects delivered right to your inbox!

Monday, January 22

Serendipity Movie Quote Printable: Valentine's Day Decor

It's Monday, and about the only good thing is that this is the day of the Monday Movie Challenge Hop!


On the last (or fourth) Monday of each month, a group of bloggers participate in a #MovieMondayChallenge, hosted by C'mon Get Crafty! We decide on a topic, genre, or specific movie to use for inspiration and everyone gets free reign to create something wonderful!

This month's challenge was. . . . "Romance! Everyone was allowed to choose their own favorite romantic film for this challenge.


I'm not really a Nicholas Sparks type of girl, but I do enjoy a good Rom-Com now and then.  One of my favorites that I'll watch whenever it's on TV is Serendipity, starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack.  They have a chance encounter at a store that leaves them wondering "what if" even though they are both in relationships with others.  When all seems to conspire to keep them apart, lots of little "serendipity" events (or happy accidents) eventually help them realize they are right for each other, and bring them together at last.

This is movie is so cute and so utterly ridiculous at the same time.  It just makes me happy.

If you haven't seen the movie, the main characters have a date at one of the iconic New York city treat shops, Serendipity 3.  They share an amazing-looking frozen hot chocolate.

There are about a million frozen hot chocolate recipes on the Internet, so rather than making my own version, I thought I'd incorporate the sweet treat in a printable you can display as part of your Valentine's Day decor.

Thursday, January 18

Box Top Classroom Box

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #EarnWithBoxTops #CollectiveBias


Working from home gives me the opportunity to do something else I love--volunteer in my sons' school!  I help with math, reading, art projects, and anything else teachers need.

One of the big jobs our volunteers have is trimming and counting Box Tops for Education.  It is a repetitive, thankless job, but it is SO WORTH IT to earn that money for your school!  The school gets 10 cents for every Box Top that is clipped and sent in.  There are hundreds of products that offer Box Tops.

Last year, our school earned $2479 from Box Tops alone!  It makes all the cutting and trimming worth it!

My son's 2nd grade teacher has a plastic baggie outside her room where students or volunteers can place their Box Tops.  It does the job, but it's easy to overlook.  Since I'm in there all the time, I decided to take the packaging from one of the products offering Box Tops to make a Box Top Collection Box!

While shopping at Walmart, I decided to take advantage of the January Box Tops Offer.  If you buy 5 participating products and scan your receipt with the Box Tops Bonus App, you earn $5 for your school (or the equivalent of 50 Box Tops!)  This offer is available through 1/31/18.

You can download this Box Tops Bonus app on Itunes or Google Play for your device.  I love it because you can use the app to earn even more money for your school by simply purchasing items offering Box Tops, scanning your receipt, and watching those earnings pile up!  Plus, you can earn bonus Box Tops in combination with your in-store purchase and any other coupon, discount or store program or promotion.

I used my craft cutter to make this Box Top Collection Box. 


To get the bonus money, I purchased the following:
  • Honey Nut Cheerios™
  • Mott's Medleys® Fruit Snacks
  • Nature Valley™ Oats N Honey Granola Bars
  • Annie's™ Cheddar Bunnies
  • Pillsbury™ Toaster Strudel™

I love that I can purchase items I usually buy for my kids and still get rewarded for them.  I don't have go out of my way to buy something nobody is going to eat.





To make this Box Top Classroom Box, I needed the following supplies:
  • Product box
  • White butcher paper
  • Adhesive
  • Adhesive vinyl and cutting machine

First, I removed the Box Tops panel from the Honey Nut Cheerios.  Then I covered the remaining sides in white paper.  

I cut out the design in vinyl, using pink, white, navy blue, silver, and yellow vinyl.  

Layer one- navy blue outline.
Layer two- pink box
Layer three- white words and pencil pieces
Layer four- Silver circle
Layer five- yellow pencil
Layer six- navy blue words



Once I had my design layered together, I transferred it all to the front of my box using transfer tape.
It turned out amazing!  I'm not going to lie- it was a bit of work, but now my son's teacher has something eye-catching so everyone will remember to turn in their Box Tops as they come into the classroom!


Turn a cereal box into a Box Top Classroom Collection Box with this Vinyl Box Top Logo!


Do you collect Box Tops?  What's your favorite product to buy that earns Box Tops for your school?

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund this blog so I can keep bringing you fun new craft projects to try at home!
Never miss a post! Subscribe here to get all my projects delivered right to your inbox!

Friday, January 12

Farmhouse Bathroom Sign + Free Cut File!

This farmhouse-style wooden sign is perfect for your bathroom!

This farmhouse-style wooden sign is perfect for your bathroom and easy to make!


Earlier this week I showed you our basement bathroom makeover.  While I still have some decorating to do, I did get this farmhouse-style bathroom sign finished and wanted to share it with you.  

Unfortunately, I made this sign while I wasn't blogging last year, so I don't have any process pictures.  So I'll do my best to explain how I made it.  It's really pretty easy.

Tuesday, January 9

Basement Bathroom Makeover

Take a bathroom from blah to beautiful on a budget!

Take a bathroom from blah to beautiful on a budget!


In case you are new here or just forgot, we moved from Phoenix to Iowa about a year and a half ago.  We love our home, but it was definitely all "real estate beige" when we moved in.  I've been slowly working on adding some character to each area of our new home.

Today I'm going to show you our most recent makeover-- our basement bathroom!  This bathroom is primarily used by my daughter, but it is also available for guests when they are in town or just for friends on playdates and such.  So I wanted to take things up a notch from this basic bathroom:

Bathroom Before Blah

All we needed was a little paint, new flooring, and a new vanity top to make this bathroom look brand new!

Take a bathroom from blah to beautiful on a budget!

Because I'm on a budget, making major changes to the bathroom was out of the picture.  Tip- paint is fairly inexpensive and completely changes a room!  Plus, it's easy to change down the road if you need to.

I painted the walls my new favorite color: Sherwin Williams Sea Salt.

I used General Finishes Milk Paint in Driftwood to update the vanity.  Then we also installed a new, more modern vanity top.
Milk Paint Gray Bathroom Vanity

Milk Paint Gray Bathroom Vanity

We picked out some 12x24 adhesive laminate flooring.  It's literally just trim to size, peel, and stick.  Having an updated floor makes a huge difference in how this room looks!

Floor makeover with self-adhesive vinyl tile

We also replaced the builder's grade mirror with something a little more stylish.  I found this one at HomeGoods for about $20.  Not a bad deal!

New Mirror for Basement Bathroom Makeover

I use white towels for my guests since they are easy to bleach and keep clean.   And see that cute sign in the mirror?  I've got a tutorial coming up for it later this week.

Farmhouse Bathroom Wash Brush Floss Flush Sign Wooden SIgn


Still waiting to find the perfect artwork to hang here over the toilet.  Any suggestions?  I'm looking for something modern farmhouse style....

Take a bathroom from blah to beautiful on a budget!



Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund this blog so I can keep bringing you fun new craft projects to try at home!
Never miss a post! Subscribe here to get all my projects delivered right to your inbox!

Friday, December 15

Relief Society Gift Idea: Prince of Peace Vinyl Tile

Give a sweet and simple handmade Christmas gift to anyone on your list this year!

Simple Vinyl Christmas Gift Relief Society Gift Idea LDS

Since I moved to Iowa, I've been lucky to be very involved with my church.  I've been a Cub Scout Leader, a Primary (children's Sunday School) teacher, and now I'm serving in the Relief Society Presidency (that's our women's organization).  That's a lot of changing around in just over a year!

One thing you may not know about the LDS church is that our members meet together based on where you live.  We have defined boundaries, and everyone who lives in those boundaries is part of the same congregation, or ward.

This year our Christmas dinner party was extra special because our ward boundaries are being changed this week.  So, this was our last get-together, because even though no one is moving, we won't all be meeting together on Sundays and for activities anymore.  It's sad, a little hard, but also a little exciting to meet new people and build a new ward family.  Anyone out there been through this in your ward?  Any words of advice?

Our theme for this dinner was "Prince of Peace".  Several years ago, I made a sweet gift for each of the ladies in my ward in Phoenix, and this is definitely one of my most popular posts!

The Best Gift of All Vinyl Tile Christmas Gift Idea