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How to DIY a Perfect Piggy Bank Handmade Gift

I love gifts that are personalized. Something that’s totally one-of-a-kind, shows that some thought was put into it, that I can see is made with lots of love. So as a crafty momma, I love to give those kinds of gifts too. Not only do I save money versus buying a boring gift from a big box store, but I can be sure it’s something they’ll love – that they definitely don’t already have! And a perfect gift idea that I’m really into lately is creating your own DIY Ceramic Piggy Bank.

How to DIY a perfect piggy bankWhen you think of these fun ceramic piggy banks, you probably think of a baby gift, right? Or even a bank for an older kid – but still, it seems like something geared more towards little ones. And – it does make an absolutely perfect pick for a kids gift. We had one at Abby’s baby shower, for people to leave notes in, with advice for me as a new mom. We used it again at her first birthday, for those guests who wanted to leave her a little birthday spending money – and it was a big hit! These are adorable when personalized with baby’s birth date and name, or with fun designs for a bigger birthday boy or girl. But – there are SO many other fun ways to personalize these with some simple steps!

How to decorate a ceramic piggy bank - chalkboard paintI am totally going to be doing one of these for the holidays! How fun is this? It’s a ceramic piggy bank covered in chalkboard paint! Include a piece of chalk to delight kids who can doodle over and over – or send it as a fun & totally unique accent piece for the home that any adult is going to love too. I got this idea from a UK site, blackboard piggy money box, but it would be so easy to recreate using a seriously great, {and amazingly high quality!} piggy bank from A Child to Cherish. Like I said, I’ve had some experience purchasing this type of bank, and I can tell you – this is the best you’ll find. Triple glazed, bigger than most that you’ll find, and incredibly sturdy. If you’re going to spend the time to create something amazing, you want to use a bank that’s built to last.

Rhinestone blinged out ceramic piggy bankNow, if you’ve ever read my About Me page, you know that I LOVE anything sparkly. So when I saw this uh-MAY-zing rhinestone covered piggy bank, I was totally excited. This one is from Barneys, and retails for $126 bucks, which is crazy-expensive for a piggy bank, even when it is as fabulous as this one. Instead, why not stock up on some metallic spray paint, small rhinestones from the craft store, and a spray sealer to finish it off? Yes, it’d be a little bit time-consuming, but the money saved and the end result will be oh-so-worth-it! These would make such fun gifts for my girlfriends this Christmas!

Ceramic Piggy Bank decoration ideasMore inspiration – What about making a “Girls Night Out” piggy bank for yourself, to save up funds for some good times? This one is available for sale somewhere else – but why not just buy the fab one from Child to Cherish, and do the decorating yourself, at HALF the price?? Or make this super cute Honeymoon Fund piggy bank as an engagement gift – or to decorate the gift table at a wedding? All you need is a paint pen, someone with nice handwriting, and a little rhinestone to decorate the rings. Easy peasy! Or make a fun ballerina piggy bank that’s sure to please any girly-girl in your life – young, or old. A quick little homemade tutu, a glued on tiara, and a little bit of pink paint schmeared on to make rosy cheeks – and voila! You’ve got an awesome handmade gift. Love it, right?

Buy the best ceramic piggy bankAs you can see – these are a lot bigger and bolder than the smaller size piggy banks that you traditionally find. That makes them more unique, more fun, and a lot easier to work with too. If you want to get started creating your own DIY Piggy Banks too, here are a few tips:

  • If you’ll be painting the entire bank, start by using a fine grit sandpaper to rough it up just a tad, then wipe all of the dust away cleanly. This gives the paint a better surface to adhere to. The Child to Cherish Big Ear Piggy Bank comes in classic white, pink, or blue – giving you a lot of ready-made options to work with. But if you have a creative idea in mind that calls for another color, this step will make your acrylic paint cover and hold much better.
  • When you’re ready to paint a name or design, lightly pencil it on first. That way you can ensure that you have the space needed, and will minimize mistakes. Once you’re happy with the placement, you can go over it lightly with a paintbrush, or paint pen.
  • Use an adhesive like Gorilla Glue if you want to add extra accessories like rhinestones, sequins, or fabric. You could use a spray adhesive to add a dusting of glitter too.
  • Once you’ve completed your work of art – be sure to let it dry fully, then spray with a coat of acrylic sealant spray, to make it all more durable. Once that layer is fully dry – it’s ready for gifting!

If you want some fun DIY packaging ideas for your gift, visit my Homemade Gifts Rock board on Pinterest for inspiration. And if you’ve created your own decorated Piggy Bank like this too, please come on over to my Facebook page and share a pic or a link! I love to see the amazing stuff you ladies put together.

Child to Cherish Unique Children's Keepsake GiftsYou can see get one of these great Ceramic Piggy Banks to personalize by ordering at Amazon.com – Child to Cherish Big Ear Piggy Bank, or shop for them on Child to Cherish online. You’ll also find some amazing pre-decorated personalized piggy banks, if you’re not the crafty type. {Although I definitely suggest giving it a try – it’s so simple to get really great results.} Whil there, check out the other amazing gifts available on their site too. Or – for more fun project and product inspiration, visit them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even Instagram

{Disclosure: “This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own.}

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Bathroom Inspiration & DIY Ideas

A few months back, I told you guys about our plan to do a “Not-So-Extreme” makeover on our Master Bedroom space... It’s a huge room, but we were trying to divide it into a main bedroom, a playroom and sleeping area for Abby, and an office area for both me and Mike. Wow, that’s a lot of different uses for just one room, right? Well, as we got started on things, my brother found a new house – when he moved out last month, it freed up two more bedrooms in the house, meaning a lot more space for us to spread out! So we’ve modified our plans…. And now my home DIY project list is about twice as long, lol. One bedroom is kind of partitioned in two, so that one became Abby’s playroom in the front, and an office in the back. The second free bedroom is going to be a guest room, for when my dad or Mike’s daughters come to visit. All of those rooms are going to need a lot of work – but for now, I’m focusing on making our Master Bedroom and Bath into a really luxurious, calm, relaxing area. {Because with my crazy-busy life, I need at least a small piece of calm…} As I plan the Master Bath redo, I thought I’d share some fun ideas that I’ve come across, to inspire you too….

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How to DIY Kids Fashions – Even if you’re not the crafty type

“You know your children are growing up when they stop asking you where they came from and refuse to tell you where they’re going.” – P. J. O’Rourke… Kids grow. And they grow quick. Which means that every time I go to get Abby dressed in the morning, I swear to you that she’s outgrow her clothes overnight. So I’ve found a super smart – and super stylish! – solution to this challenge – Buti-Bag makes it simple to DIY your kiddos outgrown clothes into new fashions that they can wear again. It’s an affordable solution that’s simple and so cute. Keep reading to see how it works, and how it can solve more than one type of kids clothing challenge.

How to DIY Kids Fashions with Buti-Bag

How to DIY Kids Fashions – Even if you’re not the crafty type

You might remember the Buti-Bag brand from another smart solution that I shared with you guys a couple of months ago. The Bunvelope is a totally modern diaper and wipes holder, that easily transitions to life after baby as a cosmetics bag for you. One of my fave pieces of baby gear. She’s got other super smart products too – All totally chic, designed by a real mom who understands what we really need in our gear, and all made right here in the US. Today, I’ll show you more about the Belle Bottoms, a totally genius idea. These super cute iron-on designs can be used in so many ways –

  • When you did your back to school review of the kids clothes, I’m sure that a ton of you mommas learned that while your kiddo’s pants still fit on the waist, they’ve grown a ton since last fall, and most of them are now too short. You hate to throw out pants that are in good shape, right? Adding Belle Bottoms is a great way to add some extra length!
  • How about the pants that still fit, but are frayed and worn around the bottoms? Yep, this is a great way to cover up that mess.
  • Maybe you’ve got the opposite problem, like I do – Abby {my 2 year old} is a chunker. She needs a 4 or 5T pair of jeans to fit around her booty {she got that from me, poor girl…} – but then they are WAY too long. So, I can just cut off all of that excess fabric, and finish them again with the Belle Bottoms. Problem solved.
  • These are also a way to just up the fun factor of any kids wardrobe. If you’ve got girls who are bored with yesterdays styles, let them pick out a couple prints of Belle Bottoms to jazz up what they’ve got. Saves a ton versus buying new clothes!
  • And… These can fit a ton of different sizes of pants – Including yours. They can be added to most straight leg style denim, and would be really fun on a pair of capris. They’re available in a ton of different prints, and either flat style or ruffled. Love ’em.

So – Ready to see how these work? You can find the full instructions on the Buti-Bag site – Instructions for flat iron-on Belle Bottoms. And I’ll walk you through a quick tutorial on how to add them to any pair of pants, easy peasy.

how to diy kids pants

Enhance Your Pants – DIY Kids Pants Tutorial

When I first got my Belle Bottoms, I admit – I was a little nervous to put them on. You do have to carefully read the instructions, and follow them well, since once you iron these cuties on – they are permanent. But, after reading through the whole instructions twice, to make sure I had it all down – It was super simple to apply ’em. Pinky promise.

  1. Gather your supplies all together in one spot – Belle Bottoms, kids pants to makeover, scissors, a pencil, and an iron. Then, either use a seam ripper to open up the seam on the bottom of each pant leg {great if you need to maximize the length} or just cut off that bulky bottom hem.
  2. Three edges of each piece of fabric have adhesive strips – you pull off the piece on the short end. Then you take the flat Belle Bottom piece of fabric, and fold it around the pant leg where you want it to go. {Mark this with a pencil.} Use the iron to tack down that seam. Once it’s cooled, you’ll have a little circle of fabric, the same size as the bottom opening of the pants.
  3. Flip that circle cuff of fabric inside out, and cut off the excess length that you don’t need. Then remove the adhesive strip that’s around the top – the section that will stick to your pant leg. Flip your Belle Bottom right-side out again.
  4. Now, slide your little round fabric cuff back onto the pant leg, so the unfinished pant edge is inside. Line it up with your pencil mark. Now iron that adhesive section to your pants. Once you’ve done this, you’re halfway!
  5. Now, flip the whole pair of pants inside out, and remove that last piece of adhesive tape.
  6. Fold the Belle Bottom fabric up over the edge of the pant seam – making them the length you prefer. Use your hot iron to tack that seam down too. And, you can go ahead and give the whole pair of pants a quick iron if you’d like, to smooth out any wrinkles you might have caused during the process.
  7. Smile – You’re done! Look at that – old pants get a new life, you save money in your clothing budget, and the kids get compliments on their one of a kind fashion statements. Life is good…

Super simple, right? And the instructions that come with the Belle Bottoms have more thorough instructions and lots of tips too. If I can do this right the first time – then anyone can. Seriously. {And…. FYI: Keep reading. At the bottom of the post there’s a chance to win a HUGE prize package that includes a set of these sweet Belle Bottoms!}

DIY kids fashions

“The trick is growing up without growing old.” – Casey Stengel

I hate to waste anything. Ever. I’m totally live by the phrase “Use it up, Wear it Out, Make it do…or Do without.” I get that from my grandma, for sure. So when I realized that I had some scrap  of this adorable polka dot fabric left over, I used ’em to make a cute shabby chic style matching headband. I used one of Abby’s fabric covered headbands as the base. I cut the scrap piece of fabric into little strips. I used the little adhesive strips on them to double ’em over and make little loops on each end, and pulled out a few extra strings to give each bare edge a nice little fray. Then I simply tied them together, and attached with hot glue to the head band. Super cute.

Buti Bag Belle Bottoms

Get connected and learn more

You can learn more about Buti-Bag and the rest of her amazing products built for busy moms with style – Check her out on ButiBag.com. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter, to get updates on new products and promotions. {Like the totally amazing sale you missed if you weren’t following her – she just had where the WHOLE site was 40% off. Rockin’.} So follow her and stay tuned for cool stuff like that in the future too!

Click here to enter to WIN this big prize package – Including a set of Belle Bottoms!

back to school must haves for moms - swag giveaway

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mompact and received a promotional item to thank me for my participation. Only the best products make it onto this site, and my opinions are always as true as can be. All photos and opinions are my own – I think these rock, and know you’ll love ’em too.}

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New Site Lets Your Build an IdeaFolio to Design your Dream Home

Merillat Kitchen Design Your Dream Kitchen – This is super cool. You know I’m a big fan of home design sites – {my last addicting find was Houzz.com. Love it!} And I’m excited to spend more time using the tools and freebies here on this new site too – Check it out! It’s another super fun way to put together an idea book for cool projects inspiration…

Super cool inspiration and ideas…

What you’ll find here – Create a scrapbook of your favorite products and images from Merillat.com. Save your step-by-step kitchen and bath planner results or create your own styleboard. Share your projects with your friends too, which is super fun.” All free tools! You’ll also see links to get freebies like the Take 5 booklet, featuring 5 quick and easy recipes from renowned chef Curtis Stone and Curtis’ top 5 favorite Merillat product features!!

What is YOUR favorite home design site??

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No Drilling Required DIY Giveaway – $900+ Prizes!

No Drilling Required (Nie Wieder Bohren)

German Engineered Bath Accessories, Shower Caddys and Grab Bars with a patented no drilling required mounting technology for tile, natural stone, glass and metal now available in the United States.

Smart Solutions

Leave it to German ingenuity to solve the issue of drilling holes into high-quality surfaces like tile to install bath accessories and grab bars. It combines the strength of a high-performance, single-component commercial adhesive used in the automotive industries with a patented adapter to form a permanent bond on tile, stone, glass, metal, concrete and brick. The system works on rough or smooth surfaces and directly over grout lines. Additionally the mounting system was designed to be reversible and can be removed if needed with no damage to the surface. The system has been tested to ASTM F446 specifications for “Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Grab Bars and Accessories Installed in the Bathing Area” and is rated at 250lbs.

Want to buy your own No Drilling Required accessories?
Use code CC20 to receive 20% off!
{LOXX Collection Robe Hook}

Enter to WIN big!

Enter below to win the grand prize of a $250 certificate to choose your own accessories from the GRIPP, LOXX, KLAAM or HUKK collections or one of 20 robe hooks from the LOXX Collection. {And if you’re feelin’ lucky, enter to win all of the other amazing prizes listed in my sidebar too!}

Have fun and good luck!

[Read more…]

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Celebrating Life’s Wild Moments!

Glad Black Bag wants to help moms celebrate life’s “Wild Moments” – Because, when you have a life with kids in it, you know that good times can often end up with BIG messes too. Have you ever beaten yourself up over a broken glass or a spill on your dining room chair? Life is full of those oops moments – which is why Glad Black Bag has teamed up with the Picker Sisters – best friends and interior designers Tracy Hutson and Tanya McQueen – to celebrate and cleanup those wild moments, and then find ways to reuse discarded items.

trash to treasure with the Picker Sisters

“Don’t blow it – good planets are hard to find.” – Quoted, Time

I can’t believe that I hadn’t heard of this show before! The only time that I watch watch TV usually is when I join the Mister for one of his shows. Some of my favorites that he watches are shows like Storage Wars or American Pickers, so when I heard about this, I went right out and ordered  Picker Sisters: Season 1 – I’ve always been such a big lover of the “trash to treasure” idea. I love “junk-crafting” – finding ways to reuse things and make them cool again. {Get inspired by some of my favorite clever ideas on my Junk Crafts board on Pinterest!} Read what the sisters say about it –

“We live by the saying, ‘one person’s trash is another’s treasure.’ In fact, on our television show, we travel across the country to find reclaimed trash to turn it into treasure for our store,” said Picker Sister, Tracy Hutson. “However, you don’t have to travel far beyond your home to find items worth transforming into beautiful pieces.”

I’ll be sharing a post tomorrow filled with a bunch of their best tips, to help you take your own trash and junk pieces and turn them into treasures! I’ll share some of my favorite ideas and tricks too. {If you have any cool ideas to share – leave me some comments here, and maybe I’ll feature YOUR great ideas tomorrow too!}

Glad bag art auction

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” – Native American Proverb

Glad Black Bag is partnering with Keep America Beautiful’s Great American Cleanups across the country – they’ll be collecting trash items, and providing them as materials to mosaic artist Jason Mecier, who will combine them with trash collected from celebrities like Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Raphael Sbarge (Once Upon A Time) and Nathan Kress (iCarly) – and then turning them into one-of-a-kind treasures!  Four pieces of art will be auctioned off during the Glad Black Bag art auction on eBay – {you can bid on them here from April 16-26th, 2012!!} – with proceeds benefiting Keep America Beautiful’s Great America Cleanup events. How cool is that??

“The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” – Ross Perot

No matter what WILD moments life throws your way – you’ll be prepared for any messy clean-ups when you stock up on Glad Black Bags. They’re the bags with that cool diamond print texture – you know, that stretch with your trash, to prevent rips or tears, and keep that trash that you CAN’T turn into treasures secured safely for disposal. Because there’s nothing worse than cleaning up a mess TWICE! {Seriously, the Glad Black Bags are my very fave around this house.}

  1. Connect with the Picker Sisters, Tanya and Tracy on Lifetime.com.
  2. For additional information on GLAD Trash, visit, www.glad.com.
  3. See the other amazing trash to treasure collections on Ebay.com.

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Glad Black Bag and received a Glad Black Bag product and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. I was also asked to “pin” one (1) Glad Black Bag Art Auction photo on Pinterest.}

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How to DIY your way to luxury outdoor living

We moved to a new home a little over a year ago, and it is such an amazing change for me – We went from a house that was super cute, but was right on a major city street in a not-so-great neighborhood, to a new home outside of the city with a HUGE 4-bay shop, wrap-around cement patio, and in-ground pool. Our first summer here last year was all about doing some basic clean up of the property – and a HUGE project getting the pool cleaned up and taken care of – But this year we’re ready to do some fun improvements! We loooove to entertain, and with the 100+ degree temps all summer here in Central Washington, our pool becomes the gathering spot for all of our friends and fam, which I love. So, I’ve picked out some totally uh-MAY-zing pics to guide me in transforming our space… They are all totally out of reach for me on my super limited budget, but they can inspire some more budget-friendly outdoor living DIY projects…

“One must maintain a little bittle of summer, even in the middle of winter.” – Henry David Thoreau

How awesome is this? From the built-in kitchen set up to the under-water bar stool seating, this is just incredible, right? We obviously are not rock stars or Mega Millions winners – yet – so this is out of reach. But, there are some cool aspects of this that we can use. One big goal of mine is to build an outdoor kitchen – and I’ve seen some awesome budget-friendly ideas like this amazingly cheap outdoor kitchen DIY using old cement blocks, or this outdoor kitchen project built around your existing BBQ. And while I can’t afford underwater seating – I can get us a few new fun fabric-covered pool chairs, so that we can carry our drinks while we float. Love those. {Plus, I use Swagbucks, and earn tons of free Amazon gift cards, so I can get at little cost.}

poolside seating ideas

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James

Doesn’t this make you long for a sunny afternoon and a good book? So perfectly lovely. But alas, my budget does not include funds for a beautiful white cabana. But, I am planning to make some pretty cushioned seating on our patio, like this fabric-covered concrete block bench. We have a ton of old block laying around, so this would be super inexpensive to build. It won’t be as luxurious as this, but it will still be a nice place to read and relax.

fountains in swimming pool

“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.” – George R.R. Martin

Something about fountains feels so childlike and magical to me. I was always so intrigued by any type of waterfall or fountain when I was a little girl. This is so beautiful, the way it falls into the pool. Love it. And I found a bunch of totally do-able outdoor fountain ideas that we can make on the cheap from TipNut.com! There are so many fun ideas on there.

garden path DIY

“It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine … it’s summertime!” – Kenny Chesney

Since summer is all about outdoor entertaining for us, I want to have ways to connect all of our different outdoor spaces. There is a walkway from the pool area to the shop – and the guys spend a lot of time in there. We’re building a play area for the kids behind the shop, near the field – with a swing set, sandbox, and picnic area. Then we’ve got a path that winds around to the front of the house too. I love this ideas of using big stones to make a fun pathway, and this would be a lot cheaper than paving or making full brick paths. I love that it’s so simple and whimsical.

What do you think?

You can see more of my Outdoor Living ideas on Pinterest, check out my current favorite book, Backyard Idea Book: Outdoor Kitchens, Sheds & Storage, Fireplaces, Play Spaces & Pools – and be sure to follow along during the month of May, as I share tons of tips, ideas, products, and all the progress we’re making on turning our outdoor space into a super fun place. With tight budgets we’re not able to take a real vacation – so instead, I’ll show you some great frugal ways to make your own property a perfect place to spend your summer afternoons. Do you have any great ideas or tips to share? Leave me some comments!

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