Height Marker - Measuring for Kids Heights

I saw something similar to this and had to try it on my own. Perfect for keeping track of the kids heights without marking the walls--great for those of us the move a lot with the military. The process is the same that I used for my Charleston Rustic Street Sign.

Step one: Paint a board black on one side (my board was about 4 inches x 1 inch x 6.5 feet. Make sure it is a strainght, smooth board without any warping.

Step two: I use Sure Cuts A Lot 2 software linked to my Cricut to cut out the numbers and hash marks for the oversized ruler. I cut them out on contact paper, so I can place the contact paper numbers on the wood and remove without leaving any residue.

 Step three: Use a measuring tape to mark off and place the contact paper numbers and hashes accurately.

Step four: Paint over the board and contact paper with a white or cream paint--I just use whatever housepaint I have extra. While the paint is still damp, peel off the contact paper. Be careful not to smudge the paint onto the revealed black paint. If you do smudge a little, don't worry, you can either go over it with a black sharpie or let the brown stain mute it out in the final step.

 Step five:  Once the paint is fully dry (a good afternoon in the sun helps), I brush one coat of stain over the front and sides of the board and prop it up to dry vertically, so that the extra stain runs down to the ground.

Finally, start marking the kids' heights with a sharpie! I'll even be able to pull this out for my future grandkids to compare how tall they are to their parents!

iPhone 4s Ringtone Making Instructions -- too easy!

Ok, through trial and error and combining several sets of directions, here’s how you make a ringtone for your iPhone (btw I have the iPhone 4s and iTunes 10.5.1 and Windows 7 on my laptop and this worked for me):

1. Open iTunes and find the song you want to make into a ringtone.

2. Listen to the song and decide what part of it you want to be the ringtone (must be less than 40 seconds).

3. Right-click on the song and select “Get Info,” then select the “Options” tab, then set the start and stop time for the section of the song you want to be the ringtone (such as 1:33 to 2:06, minute:second format).

4. Select “OK”

5. Right-click your song again and select “Convert Selection to AAC” and wait for iTunes to create a duplicate version of your song.

6. Right-click your newly converted song and select “Delete,” then select “Delete Song”, then select “Keep File.”

7.  Find the file in your computer’s folders (mine was under “Libraries>Music>iTunes>iTunes Media>Music> then, under the band’s name – you should see two files here, the shortened length (file extension is .m4a) and the original. My shortened song was listed right above the original). 

8. Right-click the shortened song and select “Rename” and change the file extension from .m4a to .m4r. If you do not see the file extension, you may have to look at the top left area of the page and select the drop down menu to Organize > folder, then select “search options” and click on the view tab. Uncheck “hide extension for known file types” then go back and rename your song with the .m4r file extension. You will probably get a warning that you are changing the file and it may affect playback, OR are you sure you want to change it—select ok.

9. To add the new ringtone to iTunes, all you have to do is double click on the new file name and it will automatically add it to your iTunes library. OR, go back to iTunes, select “File”, “Add file to library”, then find the .m4r ringtone and add it.

10. Connect your iPhone and sync your new ringtones!

History of Blue Star Service Banner

Ever wonder about who should hang the Blue Star Service Banner in their window? Well, if you are interested in hanging it in your window (exterior), then you should have 1 blue star for each actively serving military person in your family. If a family member has died while in service to our great country, then you can place a gold star over the top of the blue star (fully covering it).

Support our troops!

Family Silhouettes - Halloween Style

I used word to enlarge some pictures I found online and then cut them out of black cardstock. In this case, I simply glued the cutout to white computer paper and taped them to the glass over their actual silhouettes. For the vampire, I actually combined 2 pictures I found to get the right cape with the right face, and then I cut a tiny fang...

Cute Spider Applique pillow cover

This is "sew" easy to make. It is a simple envelop pillow cover, but the front has a super cute appliqued spider with Ric Rack web and grosgrain ribbon accents. I layered two colors of grosgrain ribbon to get the green and black pattern. The Ric Rac is the smallest Ric Rac you can buy, and is easy to shape into the web pattern with a single row of stitching through the middle.

Trick or Treat Shutter project for Halloween

Ok, so I went to my local Re-Store and purchased a bi-fold closet door (2 pieces hinged together) for $15. I pulled out my trusty Cricut and cut the letters (each 6" wide x 8" tall) out of contact paper. I placed the letters on the doors, painted a couple of coats of black satin enamel over the whole door, and peeled off the contact paper lettering. The paint bleeds a little and may pull up at the edges, but that adds to the overall effect. This project took about 2 hours, start to finish, and makes quite the spooky statement!

New STRIPED Curtains are finished!

I'm really happy with the final product! I pieced together 10 inch strips of linen to CREATE my own horizontal stripe fabric. I added pleater tape to the top and used 4 pronged pleater hooks. I lined them with drapery liner so that have a very substantial weight and feel.

Before and After TV Room RE-ARRANGE

I changed the Fireplace surround tile from large, black tiles to small Travertine subway tiles in a brick pattern--it is much brighter!

FINISHED with Master Shower - LOVE IT!

Making Progress

Over half way done, now!

Making Progress on the Master Bath reno

I've gone from feeling a little overwhelmed, to seeing the light...shower floor mortar mud bed is next, then tiling.

Master Bath DEMO

Three broken floor tiles, became a complete DEMO, down to the studs and subfloor!!!

Repair or Replace Porch Column Base

This project was not as difficult as it may first seem.  I removed the 4 base pieces and trim around the bottom of the column and took them to my local home improvement store, where I matched them up with some PVC board.  The nice thing about the PVC board is that it will not warp and mildew they way the untreated pine wood did (see picture number 2 below).  I used Gorilla glue (because my hubby's liquid nail tube was a solid mess) and 2 inch outdoor finishing nails. A little wood putty and several coats of paint--voila!

Front Door Transformation

Changing the front door on the house we purchased last year improved our curb appeal SIGNIFICANTLY! The new unfinished wood front door cost $450, the local hardware store I purchased it from, used the original door as a template and drilled the holes for the hardware at no additional cost. A few coats of stain later and voila!

Charleston Rustic Wood Street Sign

To purchase from my ETSY store, click here.

Easy to make with a Cricut, some paint and birch plywood! This was a fun project and makes a huge statement. Finished size of this statement piece is 23 x 47 inches. Believe it or not, I started with a sheet of birch plywood (cut to size at the home improvement store). I painted a coat of satin black; used my Cricut to cut out various street names and words that remind me of Charleston on sticky contact paper; placed them on my plywood; painted over the whole board in a cream; peeled off the letters; lightly sanded; and finally stained with some left over stain (from another project, of course). The finished look is FANTASTIC!

Silhouette cutouts of my children

Want to be a silhouette artist? With Microsoft word, black paper, and some patience--you CAN!  I purchased Silhouette paper off of Amazon (25 sheets for less than $10).  The best way to do this is to fold the paper in half with the black side on the inside. That way you only handle the white side and the natural oils from your hands don’t mar the black silhouette side.  I used Microsoft Word’s picture formatting tools to “gray scale” the profile picture I took of my kids. I printed it out to the desired size and used this as my template to cut out the silhouettes.