DIY Harry Potter Crib Mobile

It took me awhile to decide what kind of Mobile I wanted in our Nursery. I’d seen lots of cute stuff, but nothing that seemed quite right for us. My nursery color scheme is Pink, Grey, and Gold and I didn’t really wanna stray too much from that, and I tend to find a lot of nursery stuff really, really childish. Yes, I know, the nursery is for a child, however, I just can’t handle too much of it. So I decided to go with something both my Husband and I would love and something that I could make myself. So, Harry Potter it is!

There will be several sets of instructions here to kind of break it down into smaller, more manageable DIY sections.

PART ONE: Make your Broomsticks!

So, I ended up making several of these, and only ended up using one in my actual mobile. I’ll probably end up using the other broomsticks for something else in the nursery later. Here’s what you need for your Broomsticks: Several small dowels, Raffia (I got mine in the floral section of Hobby Lobby), a glue gun and glue sticks, a box cutter, and twine.

Start by scoring your dowels to make them smaller. I scored them all the way around with my box cutter and once I’d scored them, I just broke them in half with my hands. Then I cleaned up the rough edges with the box cutter so it wasn’t going to give anyone a splinter. After the dowels are cut you want to color/paint (whatever tickles your fancy) them. I used markers on a few, crayons on some, and colored pencils on some. I wasn’t sure what I wanted them to look like so I tried all three.

Next take a large section of Raffia in your hand and begin wrapping it around your fingers so that you’re holding it with both the bottom and the top appearing to be rounded. Using just a dot of hot glue to keep it in place, begin to wrap the twine around the raffia more towards the bottom to create the look of the straw section of a broomstick. Use another dot of the glue to secure the end of the twine in place.

Once the twine is wrapped around the raffia, you’ll have a smaller loop on one end, and a larger loop on the other. You want to cut those so the “loops” of Raffia are gone and it’s just the strands. I then cut them to keep them all even. Find the center of the bottom of your raffia so you know where to insert your dowel. Putting a bit of hot glue on the end of your dowel, place it into the end of the raffia and hold it until it hardens. Viola! You’ve got your Broomsticks done!

 

PART 2: Creating your Winged Keys!

Here’s what you need for your winged keys: Skeleton Keys (Either vintage or reproductions. I purchased reproduced keys that were simply made to look old off ebay. I just wasn’t willing to spend the money on actual vintage keys. These keys were only $3.00!), Wing patterns, Transparent bead illusion cord (or good old fashion fishing line), Hot glue, and Transparent Vellum Paper.

Start by finding what kind of wings you want your keys to have. I used everything from Dragonfly to Butterfly to Angel wings! I wanted each of them to have their own bit of personality. I will happily send you a PDF or Word Document of my wings if you’d like to use mine. Print your wings in various and assorted sizes onto some printable vellum paper. Vellum paper is a bit pricey (I got mine at Staples and it was $16.00) I typically don’t spend that much, however, I knew this was going to be the best way to keep the wings transparent while still being durable. So I broke down and spent the cash.

Once your wings are printed, you’ll need to cut them out. It’s easiest if you leave a section of the vellum in the center to attach the key onto. But some wings have to be cut separately, in that case, I glued the wings together. Once you’ve cut your wings you’ll want to use your hot glue to attach your wings to your keys.

For the ring that you’ll attach these keys to, I bought a cross-stitching ring and used the center ring! I spray painted it gold so reflect the color in the keys (and my nursery accent color).

PART THREE: Assemble your mobile!

Once you’ve got your keys made, your broomsticks made, and your ring painted, it’s time to assemble your mobile! Use your clear fishing line to attach your keys and broomsticks to the ring. Any design is a good design so get creative! Then attach either ribbon or twine to four areas of the top and join them together at a loop knot to make a hanger for your mobile. And there you have it! A Harry Potter Flying Key Mobile!

 

 

 

So much to do, so little time!

So, it’s been 6 days since my last DIY post, which is crazy because I’ve been working on projects like mad! However, I haven’t actually finished any of them! But I didn’t want you guys to feel like I’d abandoned you! I promise I’m working on stuff and it’ll probably all get finished at approximately the same time, meaning, there will most likely be a FLOOD of posts all very close together! I’d love to show you what I’ve been working on, but I’m weird about showing half finished projects. So I figured I’d touch base and let you know that I am indeed working on some really cool stuff that you guys are gonna go bananas over!

HOWEVER, I figured I’d show you my January/February wreath so that you’d at least get to see SOMETHING I’d worked on. Even though I didn’t take pictures along the way for a true step-by-step guide.

Everything on this wreath I already had at my house, so I didn’t have to buy ANYTHING! I used the form from my Christmas wreath, wrapped half in a pink lace “baby ribbon” and the other half in a white rosette ribbon. The hearts are backed in cardboard to keep them solid and they have stick pins in them that I put between the cardboard and the paper so they would stick into the foam wreath without showing on the front of the heart. The arrow at the top was the same concept; cardboard covered in paper that I colored for the pink gradient. I sadly forgot to put the stick pins in before I added the paper so it’s on top, and kind of caused a wrinkle in it paper. All around, a super simple wreath that I think turned out pretty well!

That’s all I have for y’all for today, but I’ve got a lot of really awesome stuff coming for you!!!

Deer Antler DIY –With a little help from my brother…

So, I recently saw this picture on Pinterest:

(Click here to see the original website it was published on and here to see the etsy shop where you can purchase it, TheShabbyShak. Her stuff is really awesome!)

Awesome right? I’m working on our nursery for our soon to come daughter (Less than 12 weeks to baby! Crazy, right?) I’ve decided to go with a grey and pink nursery with hints of Gold and when I saw this I KNEW I wanted something like this in Violet’s nursery. HOWEVER, this one was a little over my price range. At $40.00, I knew I just couldn’t swing spending that amount and feel okay about it. But I was completely in love with the concept of these antlers.

I started brainstorming on how I could get something like this, but on my “Thrifty, only wanna spend a dime” kind of budget. I knew I didn’t have any antlers, and I wasn’t even sure how to go about beginning to make this. So, when all else fails? CALL YOUR BROTHER! I texted him a picture of this beauty and said “Umm…can you make something like this?” and of course he said yes. (I swear y’all, my brother could construct nearly anything.)

So, my brother, Stan, worked on this beauty and mailed it to me!

I already had gold spray paint from another project so I took the antlers to my basement and sprayed those puppies down.

And here we go! I just put some jewelry on it so y’all could see what it looks like, but I definitely want to hang headbands and bows and stuff on it like they did in the original photo. So, this cost me a total of $0.00 because my brother had all his supplies already, he did pay to ship the antlers to me from South Carolina, but since I already had the spray paint, the only money spent was on shipping! Not too bad, huh?

 

Once I actually have this set up in the nursery (and once the nursery looks good, right now, it’s all a big huge mess! But it’s getting there!) I’ll take new pictures. And those won’t be cell phone pictures I promise! Sometime soon there should be a nursery post coming! Trust me, it’s nearly all thrifted or upcycled!

 

Thrift Haul-January 13th

SO, today I had some time to run out to a few thrift stores and see what goodness I could find, and let me tell you, the thrifting odds were ever in my favor! I was hoping to find some things to help me organize my craft room (my weekend organization project) which I did, but I found SO MUCH MORE!

I went to a thrift store that I hadn’t been to before and y’all, all their baby clothes were .59¢. FIFTY-NINE CENTS. I won’t bore you with pictures, but I got 1 shirt, 2 onesies, 3 pairs of pants, and 4 cardigans for about $6.00. Yeah, you read that right. SIX DOLLARS for TEN items for my daughter.  Seriously, that’s awesome. But, I also got these two vintage pictures for 59¢ a piece and I’m in LOVE with them.

I also picked up this vintage suitcase for $2.00 that I’m going to use in my craft room to store all my wrapping paper, gift bags, and tissue paper.

So, after I left “New Life Thrift Store” I headed over to “Blessingdales Thrift Shop” and was able to find some awesome deals on clothes! Since I’m pregnant, finding comfortable clothes that accommodate my growing belly is harder than it seems. Maternity clothes at thrift stores are usually really ugly, and buying them new is really expensive. And I’m just not paying $45.00 for a pair of jeans I’m only gonna wear for another 3 months! It’s just not worth it for me. So, at the second store I went to, I was amped to find clothes that were cute, affordable, and comfortable. Not to mention! I found leggings that look exactly like Cords. (Like, I thought they were cords until I picked them up!) The sweater was .99¢, Maternity shirt and Vest were $1.50, Leggings were $2.00. Total-About $6.00

I also picked up this little vintage case for .75¢! I’m going to use this for my craft room organization as well.

My “Splurge” of the day was this blue plaid double breasted Old Navy Peacoat that was $6.00. I typically don’t spend that much on any one item but this one fit really well and since I just moved to a MUCH colder climate, warm coats are a necessity, and a necessity that I don’t want to spend $50+ on.

So, there you have it! My Thrift Haul of the day! I’m super proud of my new finds!

My .99¢ Goodwill Chair Makeover

So, I’ve been a little MIA with the whole pregnancy, moving across the country, and the fact that there is NO GOODWILL where I live now!!!! So, I’ve been frequenting the smaller thrift stores in my area, but their hours are shorter, they don’t have as much product, and furniture is definitely at a minimum. There are some great little stores, but chairs and tables seem to be a very real struggle. Which is exactly what I needed! Before we moved, we donated our dining room table and chairs to our local goodwill because they weren’t in great condition and they just didn’t seem worth moving. I figured I’d just get new stuff here at Goodwill. But y’all. Seriously. Tables and chairs are REALLY hard to find here unless you’re willing to shell out some serious cash. Of which I am not…like, ever.

Anyways, a few weeks ago my husband and I drove 45 minutes to go to a larger town because we wanted to got to Barnes & Noble (because, no, we don’t have that either. I know. It’s very sad.) While we were there we popped over to Goodwill because it was just up the road. As I was in the front looking at picture frames, my husband had disappeared to the back. He comes up and tells me “Honey, come look at these chairs they have!) I walk to the back to see these chairs. They weren’t anything special. I’d call them typical “church chairs.” The kind they pull out at church when they need extras.

Not perfect, but, wait until you hear how much. Take a guess. 99¢!!!! Yep. Not even a buck each! So we grabbed those babies up and I figured that I could recover them.

(Yes, that’s my husband with our prize chairs.) The chairs needed some serious love, they were torn, and the metal was a little rusted in places. So we went to the local hobby lobby and grabbed some fabric at TWO DOLLARS a YARD! (Clearance Shelf!) And then I bought some grey spray paint (which I had a 40% off coupon for! Brought the chairs home and used my drill to remove the screws so I could take the cushions off the chairs.

Once the cushions were removed from the chairs, I took the frames outside and spray painted them. The paint was nearly the same color as they were originally, so it only took one layer of spray paint. After that, I had to pull that ugly maroon vinyl off of those cushions. This part was not the easiest thing I’ve ever done. I don’t know how people usually do this (I’m a total rookie) but I used a screwdriver to kind of work the staples out of the wood and then I used needle-nose pliers to pull the staples out. Some of the cushions were really easy, but one had rusted which led to serious issues. Staples breaking in half, sticking in the wood, and my growing frustration. Eventually, I got them all out!

I cut my fabric so I had about 3 inches on all 4 sides of the seat. I laid the cushion down, then put the seat over the cushion so that the soft side is completely covered in fabric. Pull the fabric tight on one of the “straight” sides and staple it down using a heavy duty stapler. (I was using a Stanley T-50.) I am so mad t myself, but I totally forgot to take pictures while I was doing this, but I know there are tutorials online!

The chair backs were more difficult to cover because they were smaller on the top than the bottom and I had to work to keep the fabric from wrinkling. For the back cushion I took the fabric and folded it over the top so that the top was completely smooth. The biggest goal is to keep the staples where they wont be seen, so for the back cushion, that was on the sides and the bottom, but not on the front, back, or top.

I reattached the cushions to the chairs, using the screws that were with the chairs when I got them.

And here we go! Here are my Goodwill chairs! Here’s the breakdown of what I spent:

Chairs: .99¢ each (x3)= $3.00, Fabric: $2.00 a yard (2 yards)=$4.00, Spray paint: 1 can (40% off coupon)=$4.00. TOTAL: $11.00!!!