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Summer Shorts Upgrade: Just the right length with personality

This post on summer shorts is sponsored by The Good Stuff and Coupons.com.

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Patriotic Rag Wreath

Remember the days when holes in pants were considered messy and poor? When did we get the trend where pants are being bought with holes in them? It truly baffles me.

I have to admit though, as my kids wore holes in their pants, I became a little lax and let them wear them anyway. It was the trend after all.

After a General Conference address by Jeffrey R. Holland where he said “Sunday best has lost it’s meaning in our time“, I recommitted myself to pay more attention to what we wear all the time, not just on Sunday.

The holey pants had to go. Being the frugal person that I am however, I wasn’t just going to toss these otherwise perfectly good pants out! Instead, we like to upgrade our pants into shorts.

Summer Shorts How-To

Bonus here – you know how girls shorts are always way too short. I mean, WAY TOO SHORT! This simple fix gives your summer shorts that are the perfect length and fun to wear.

Here’s what you do. Take a pair of pants with holes in the knees. Cut along the hole that is up highest on one leg. This will be your guide for cutting along the other leg. Fold the pants in half, and cut off the other leg.

Ta Da! Shorts!

Being the creative fun type (hahaha…ok I do try sometimes!), I then pulled out some fun crafts to really give our summer shorts an upgrade. Why not dress them up a bit?

With fabric markers and iron-on patches, you can really turn an old pair of pants into something new. If you personally don’t feel creative, turn the project over to your kids, and let them express themselves on their shorts.

This is a great activity for when the kids are bored, and it’s raining outside, or just because you need a day to actually get stuff done around the house this summer! Iron on patches and fabric markers can be found at most fabric stores, or as always on Amazon.

I suggest a parent helps with the cutting and any iron on patches. From there though, this is a project the kids can run with. We personally went with a patriotic theme to get ready for the 4th of July this week.

We styled the shorts with a fun striped shirt before heading out for some photos. Read How to Style Summer Shorts for more tips on styling your new creations.

June 30, 2019
Patriotic Rag Wreath

Be proud to be an American, and hang a Patriotic Rag Wreath on your door this summer. So easy, even small hands can get involved making it.

I saw this awesome Rag Wreath over at Sassy Sanctuary, and just had to make one. She actually makes a lot of stuff that I want to someday make, but for now we’ll start with the wreath. I had all the materials on hand, and knew I could pop it out easy peasy! The only thing I needed to buy was the wire frame which Amazon sells, or you can check out your local craft stores.

Start by cutting the fabric in strips measuring 1″ by 6″. Any smaller and they won’t fluff out as nicely. too long and they’ll look droopy.

Using a simple knot, tie the strips around the wreath. Depending on the fabric you chose, you can make it a pattern to look more Flag like with the blue and stars on one side and striped red and white around, or scatter the colors around for a more mixed look like I have.

Of course, you have to have a little fun while crafting, right? It really makes the perfect picture frame with Nana.

Finally, add a longer strip of fabric or some coordinating ribbon to the back of your frame. Hang it on your door for all visitors and passersby to enjoy! You now have a Patriotic Rag Wreath that will never go out of style.

Leave it up all year, or pull it out whenever you’re feeling especially patriotic. Enjoy your 4th of July!

Read How to Add A Little Color to Your Porch

Made this project? Share a photo with me over on Facebook!

Originally published June 11, 2011.

June 10, 2016
St Patricks Day Coffee Filter Wreath

I had so much fun putting this St Patrick’s Day Coffee Filter Wreath together while sitting on the floor with the kids. I had made a pink one in February with some friends that I just loved. While we sat there poking holes in cardboard, we surmised how cute a St Patty’s day one would be. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you click on and make a purchase.

Coffee Filter Wreath

This is such an easy craft that anyone can do it. You need a total of 4 items, that you most likely have on hand.
– green tempera paint
– Round cardboard – I used the cardboard from frozen pizza.
– coffee filters
– skewer

You start by dyeing your coffee filters in the tempera paint. I poured a few tablespoons of the tempera paint in a glass bowl, then added some water. The water helps the coffee filters soak it up better. Dip the edges of the filters in the paint, and then flip over to dry. I let mine dry overnight and well into the morning the next day.

Once the coffee filters are dry, it’s time to do some poking! Using the skewer, poke holes through your cardboard. They don’t need to be very close, about a 1/2″ to 1″ apart. and then just kind of scattered around the cardboard. Most likely you’ll skip filling some of the holes even.

Now that you have the holes made, you can start filling them with the dyed coffee filters. To do this, gently wrap the filters around the skewer again, and push it through the hole. Grab the skewer on the back side to help glide the filter through. This was the most time-consuming part, but it was something I could do while the kids played next to me. Princess R colored me some pictures, while little Prince built towers with the LEGO’s. It was a kodak moment I tell you!

To finish off the look, and to avoid it being just a green blob, I added some festive “Happy St Patrick’s Day” ribbon – that I bought eons ago, knowing one day I would use – and some little shamrocks. Confession, I did take apart the kids Shamrock necklace so I could add them to the wreath. They only curiously asked what I was doing though, so I believe we’re safe.

May the Luck of the Irish be with you!

March 15, 2015
DIY Clarinet Lamp
Music lovers will love this tutorial for a DIY Clarinet Lamp. Make a matching pair to really stick out in your music room. This post contains affiliate links and I will receive compensation if you click on and make a purchase.

Last summer Mark took an old Clarinet we had and mounted it on some particle board, then threaded a lamp cord through it. He left it as is, and as much as I loved the idea, I kept telling myself I would update the lamp to look a bit nicer.

Finally this month, I made the time. Finding the right lampshade was half the battle, but once that was found, I knew that not only would this be a Clarinet Lamp…it would also be a stage for some little Musicians we’ve had laying around the house.

We went through a number of lampshades before finding the right one. I believe this one above was #2. It was just a little too small for the overall feel though. I couldn’t wait for the right lampshade before I started updating it, so out came some paint, and I gave that base a new look.

I was worried about the particle board showing through, and taking in too much paint, so I gave it 3 coats before calling it good. I’m still debating putting a chalkboard layer over it – what do you think??

I went back to our local thrift store to see if I could find a better shade, and this time, they had it! A nice square, to offset all the circles going on, and that’s when it hit, that this was going to be a stage.

Some stencils quickly made using Picmonkey, a razor, and some white paint, made a simple, anyone can do it, musical shade. I used scrapbook glue dots to hold the stencil on the shade.

There are obviously some extra bumps of paint, but I think it just adds a nice rough look to the shade. Plus, from far away, you can’t even tell.

Time for the final touch, the little Musicians – aren’t these just awesome?!

DIY Clarinet Lamp

What you’ll need:
- Old Clarinet
- Screws
- Circular particle board base
- black paint
- lampshade
- light bulbs – I prefer GE LED Bulbs
- lamp kit
Drill a hole through the center of the base. Carve out a section for the lamp cord to lay safely under the base. Paint your base black…or any color you prefer. Thread your lamp wire through the clarinet, and the base. Attach the clarinet to the base using 2-3 screws. Add a light bulb, and shade. Plug in, and enjoy some musical ambiance.
May 27, 2014
14 Crafty Ways to Reuse Pie Pans

The holidays bring my favorite dessert – pie! What do you do when you find yourself with a stack of pie pans though? These 14 ideas are sure to inspire you to reuse pie pans in a myriad of ways.

Thanksgiving is upon is! Family, football, Macy’s Parade, and Food. Lots of Food. Which will usually equate to lots of trash as well. Styrofoam cups, paper plates, cans, napkins, and pie pans. So many pie pans!

Did you know about 50 million pumpkin pies are eaten at Thanksgiving? (source) That is a lot of pumpkin pie, and I highly doubt that even half of those are made at home in a reusable pie plate. Add to that fact, that some people out there just don’t like Pumpkin pie – raising my hand – so then we’ve got apple pie, cherry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my personal favorite cheesecake!

I’ve talked recently about how we can reduce our waste by buying products in cartons, but what are we going to do with these pie pans? Lucky for you, I’ve been brainstorming, and have a pretty awesome list to reuse pie pans.

14 Crafty ways to Reuse Pie Pans after Thanksgiving

Garden Stones. Fill with cement, and add sparkly things like bead
s for a bright garden stone. These make great Grandparent gifts too.

Bake more pies. I think this is pretty obvious. Also a great way to make pies for neighbors or potlucks without worrying about getting your dish back.

Kids Crafts. Things like a bird feeder, addition to a costume (think tin man), a mask, Frisbee, boat, the uses are endless here.

Sensory Play. Have you seen sensory play pins? Something like this Frozen Sensory bin could easily be recreated in a pie tin.

Pet Bowls for on the go. Keep one or two in the car, for travelling with pets. Fill with water for a quick drink on the go

Make a Veggie Basket for the grill. (Source)

Store leftovers. If you get the tins with the lids, save those lids and use the tin and lid to store leftovers, or to keep your husbands dinner warm if he has a late night (or wife if she’s the one working)

Husbands lunchbox. Again hang onto the lids, and send your spouse to work with a meal in a tin.

Recreate Cafe Rio favorites at home. If you’ve never been to Cafe Rio, this might not make sense. You get a huge burrito, with beans and rice on the side, all served in what looks similar to a pie pan, but with higher sides. Save some money and recreate these favorites at home. I suggest trying this Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Recycle. If you’d rather not keep them around the house, then please recycle them. Give them to a crafty friend, or put in your recycling bin

Christmas Ornaments. I found this fun idea over on Thrifty Fun. It would be easy to recreate with kids.

Key and wallet Holder. This one is so simple. Just set the pan on your counter, and request everyone leave their wallet, keys, sunglasses, and other pocket junk in the tin. It will keep your counters looking cleaner, and no one will lose their keys.

Screw holder in the garage. Attach multiple magnets to the back of the pie pan. Hang on your garage wall. Whenever you have a loose screw, or nail, or bolt, with no place to put it, toss it into the pan, and it will stick to the magnets. Great garage storage idea from Mark!

French toast. This is a tip I actually shared a few years ago, and what inspired me to think further outside the box. I use pie tins (make sure they have no holes) and their lids to soak my french toast in before cooking it up. They can be washed and reused over and over and over again.

How will you reuse pie pans this year?

November 27, 2013
Creative Teacher Gifts with Printable Gift Tags

The end of the school year is coming. Teachers have worked hard, and you’ve seen your child progress in their knowledge. It’s time to say Thank You for all the teacher has done during the year. Check out this list of Creative Teacher Gifts and you’re sure to find something for the greatest teacher ever.

I found this practical idea of gifts that teachers can use in the classroom. I think it’s common knowledge that many teachers use their own money to buy supplies for the classroom, so every little bit helps them out. Paper clips, pens, pencils, highlighters, and of course a treat as well. I created my own printable for you to use with the paperclips, but I Saw That Going Differently In My Mind has cute sayings for each of these gifts.

The idea was cute, but I wanted to make it a little extra special. So I mustered up my courage and made the easiest printable for this. Nothing says You’re Awesome like paperclips right? OK, maybe add a treat that your teacher can enjoy just for themselves to take it up a notch.

Paper clips not the thing for your teacher? Well, that’s A-OK because I’ve gone around and gathered together some of the most creative teacher gifts I could find on the web! Now all you have to do is put the gift together and say Thank You.

15+ Creative Teacher Gift Ideas

Expo Marker Teacher Gift Idea

Super Hero Candy Bar Teacher Appreciation Gift

A Fortune Cookie Teachers Gift

Stylish Teacher Gift Ideas Teachers Really Want to Receive

Mod Podge Teacher Gift

Refreshing Teacher Gift Idea

M&M Teacher Gift Printable

Sunshine Sugar Scrub

Sharpie Teachers Gift Printable

EOS Lip Balm Teacher Gift Idea

Teacher Survival Kit

Teachers Tote Gift

24 Ways to Encourage Teachers

Popcorn Teacher Gift In A Jar

Pilot G2 Teacher Gift Idea with Free Printable

Commit-Mint Teacher Gift

December 20, 2012
How to Upcycle Receiving Blankets into a Quilt

Don’t throw those old receiving blankets out just yet. So your kid outgrew these special blankets, but now you can turn them into an heirloom to grow with your kid. Upcycle receiving blanket into a quilt that your child will love to snuggle with. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated when you click on and purchase through them.

After having 3 girls, I started accumulating pink receiving blankets. My kids grew out of them very quickly, and with Rosalina we mainly used them as burp rags instead. For quite some time now they’ve been sitting in a closet, taking up precious space.

I was thrilled when I saw Heather from Handmade Haven had turned her receiving blankets into a baby quilt! A novel idea, I thought, and then they still sat around my house, just no longer in a closet. I finally decided the receiving blankets had to be taken care of before they were all lost. It was time to do a little upcycling!

Upcycle Receiving Blankets into a Toddler’s Quilt

To start out, cut up your receiving blankets. This can be done easily by folding them in half, and then cutting 2-inch strips.

Next, cut through the fold so each 2-inch strip is now 2, 2-inch strips.

Now you have fun designing your quilt! Don’t worry if some pieces are longer than others you can either trim them down now or after they are sewn together.

If you desired you could cut your strips down further to make separate blocks, but let’s face it, I’ve got 3 kids running around, I could only keep those scissors out safely for so long.

Once you’ve got your quilt designed, it’s time to start sewing! Make sure you have plenty of bobbin thread and spool thread. Using a 1/2 inch seam start at one side of the quilt and begin sewing the strips together.

Once you have it sewn, trim any edges, and dangling thread. Iron out the seams so they lay flat going the same direction.

Cut out the quilt backing – make it about 3 inches larger than your finished top.

Roll out the quilt batting, and then take your new quilt top and lay it on top. Cut the batting so it is the same size as the quilt.

Lay out your quilt back, wrong side up. Lay the quilt top and batting on top with the quilt side facing up. A simple cotton fabric works best for the backing since this is all sewn on the machine.

Fold the backing over so it touches the edge of your quilt top, and then again a second time over the quilt top’s edge. Iron the edge down, then pin all three layers.

Using a coordinating thread color, sew around the edge to finish your quilt. If you use fleece, remember it’s bulky, and it will “shed” into your machine. Take the time between edges to clean out your bobbin case.

TIP: Most machines come with a cleaning brush, but if yours is missing like mine, a soft paint brush does the trick as well.

You can make your quilt any size, I chose toddler bed size, but if you have more receiving blankets than me, you could make it bigger!

June 8, 2012
Budget Wall Art: Love Is Spoken Here
When budgets are tight, but you need some inspiration or beauty added to your life, a little bit of DIY Wall Art is all you need.

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I pretty much spent my day yesterday looking at the wall in our front room. We had this large bare spot that needed something, but a framed picture would’ve looked too cluttered. We got to thinking about vinyl lettering and decided we’d go that route. Then Mark came up with the brilliant idea to just paint it. It would be a lot cheaper, and could actually fit into our budget.

The first step was designing what we wanted. I knew it would say “Love is Spoken Here”, but I still needed a good font. After playing around for a bit with the fonts, Mark sat down, and in 5 minutes had the whole design done on photoshop.

To humor Mark, and because not many people will make the connection, the font and star are taken from his favorite band – Smashing Pumpkins. The next step was finding someone to print our 2-foot by 3-foot design. We went with AlphaGraphics for just under $4! Now that’s a deal.

After picking up the poster, I taped it up on the wall and marked the corners where I wanted the final image to be.

Once I had it where I wanted it, I removed it from the wall to cut out the letters, creating a stencil. Anywhere the white wasn’t attached (middle of R), I laid some tape on to keep it in place. Then it was back on the wall.

At this point, I then used a pencil to trace the whole design right on to the wall. Finally the fun part! Painting. We used some black acrylic paint that we already had on hand. Mark helped for a little bit until Rosalina woke up from her nap. At that point I got Venice and Chloe to help take some pictures.

After we took the stencil off, I went back around a few of the edges with a fine brush. This helped fix where some of the paint dripped or seeped through the paper.

It only took about 5-hours from start to finish but was worth every minute and the neck ache. Did you notice my yard sale find? I picked that candle holder up knowing that this was exactly where it would be going!
June 14, 2011