Playroom storage

*Making Mini Chalk Boards*
I wanted to make a cute storage option my daughters play room, but did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on baskets from pottery barn.  So instead I created my own option.  I ordered baskets from Kohl's when they were 1/2 off and I could use an additional 30% off coupon and free shipping.  I got all 12 wicker baskets for around $130.  Then wanted to create cute little labels for them, so I made mini chalk board labels.

Supplies:
Chalk board paint
Foam Paint brush
Craft wood
6 count of wood slats about 6-7 inches long (I found them at Hobby Lobby for around $3)
Wired twine
Saw
Drill
Sand paper

1.  Cut the slats in half using a band saw or miter saw.  They are pretty thin so they cut easy.

2.  Using a small drill bit, drill 2 holes at the top of the square.  I did mine about 1/2 inch from each side edge and 1/4 inch from the top.

3.  Sand the blocks smooth.

4. Paint the entire front of the block with the chalk board paint.  Allow to dry and apply a 2nd coat.

5. One dry put the wire twine through the back of one hole.  Pull it though and then wrap it on top of itself, twisting it back up.  You may need to poke the holes back out a little from the dried paint.

6.  Place the twine through where you want it located on your basket.  Then repeat step 5.   Pushing it though back and wrapping it up.  Then cut the twine once you have it in your desired location.

The finished product...although we haven't quite filled it up yet : )

Fall Letter Blocks

*Fall Letter Blocks*

Supplies:

2x4 wood

Saw

Sander

Mod Podge

Scrap book paper

Paper cutter or scissors

Cricut to cut your letters or stencils or stickers

Small glue pen
Foam brush

Ribbons, jewel, anything you want to decorate your blocks with

Here are the 2 sets we made for fall!

First cut your long piece of wood to the size blocks you want.  We used a miter saw, but others will work.   Then sand the wood down.  I sanded the corners down to give them a rounded appearance.  You can use a hand sander, but to the make the project easier I used a belt sander.

Sanded and cut blocks

You can leave the blocks plain or paint them.  We left the Give Thanks blocks plain and the spooky blocks we painted black.

Once the paint has dried cut your background decorative paper to fit the front of the blocks, then mod podge it on by painting the mod podge onto the block and smoothing the paper square on top of it.

Next cut out your paper letters from a cricut or other source.  

Use a small glue pen on the back of the letter and stick it to the block.

Then mod podge over the entire letter and scrapbook paper square, smoothing out all the bumps. Allow to dry completely, it will dry clear.

Lastly, add whatever embellishments you want to make it cute and finished!

Pumpkin Tree

*Creating a Pumpkin Tree*

Supplies you will need:

Fake Pumpkins 3 different sizes, 1 black 2 orange (We found ours at Michales)

Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint orange and black

Wood letters to spell BOO

Drill or small saw

Nail gun

Glue, I like "Goop"

*Optional, pretty pot to sit the pumpkins in and ribbon for the top

Cut a bottom circle out of the top 2 pumpkins...no need to cut it out of the 1st one.  You may use a small hand saw, although the circle won't be pretty or a circular cutter attached to your drill...which my husband just happened to have.

Next, take everything outside and spray paint the pumpkins and letters.  The orange pumpkins should be sprayed orange, the black pumpkin sprayed black.  The "B" and large "O" should be sprayed black and the small "o" should be sprayed orange.  The thicker the paint, the more sparkly they are.

Once the paint had dried, we put the letters onto the pumpkins.  Because of the shape of the pumpkins and letters we had to use a nail gun to attach the letters to the pumpkins.  Then we used the glue "Goop" to glue each layer of pumpkin together and held it for a little while to make sure it stuck.  To finish off the project, you can add a pretty bow then place it in any pot you like : )  

Fall Craft Day

My sister and I have been inspired by Pinterest lately and spent the entire day creating fall decorations...  After a 2 hour shopping trip to Hobby Lobby and then to Michaels we were ready to go!

Us hard at work late into the night!

Here are our finished projects, they turned out Awesome, even with a few bumps along the way!

Tutorials to follow!

Getting Started

Hi everyone.  I am so excited to be starting this little blog.  You can ask my family,  I've been talking about it forever!  I really just want to be able to share my excitement for all things handmade with everyone and inspire people to be crafty!  We even had quite the family brainstorming session at the cottage over a game of Yahtzee.  I love my mom dearly, but she got off on quite the wild tangents and thought of names such as "Shimmery Stars" and "Brewing up the Brews".  It wasn't until the fall craft weekend that my sister and I came up with the name Handmade Happiness.  I think it is perfect, because nothing makes me happier than creating crafts, cooking, and doing special things for my friends and family.