Dry Erase Message Board

We are remodeling our laundry room. It is, for us, the main entry into our home. I needed a place to drop my purse and keys. We added a new counter top and the back splash area was screaming for a message board. I love all the picture frame message board tutorials on the Internet! I originally saw the Message Board on Make It and Love It. What a great idea. Here is how I made mine:

Start with a frame you like. I purchased mine at Michael's yesterday. It is a 16 x 20 collage frame complete with mat. I saved the mat in case I decide to use this for pics again someday. I don't really see that happening but you never know when you might need a mat. BTW, I got this frame on clearance for 5 bucks! It was normally 20 bucks. I picked up 5 of them for our laundry room.
Find a fabric you like. I picked a neutral fabric that would coordinate with my laundry room color scheme. At least I hope it does. :D

Cut your fabric slightly larger than the picture frame backing.

Do you have one of these? A Pampered Chef stoneware scraper. I love these things. I use my for caulk work and for when I use my hot glue gun.
Hot glue down your fabric onto the back side of the frame backing. Below you can see how I do my corners.

All tidy!

Now for the lettering. I used my Cricut to cut vinyl. I have cut vinyl for my friend's projects but never for my own. I learned a lot this time around. First of all, you want the vinyl to go on the back of the glass so when you are writing you won't accidentally write on your sticker. That isn't a bad thing except that you will eventually have dry erase "crumbs" collecting on your words. Make sure you use the "Flip" function to create a mirror image. If I had been smart I would have also entered my letters in backwards so I could take the letters off in strips instead of individually.
I ended up using transfer paper to help me place the letters so I wouldn't have finger prints on my vinyl. Just picture when you are wrapping presents and you get finger prints on the tape.
On the front of the glass I used a dry erase marker to draw a line so that I could attempt to have straight letters. Then I placed each letter. Again, wish I could have just dropped one whole word down.

All the letters placed.

Backing back in the frame.

Voila! But be sure to erase your guide line.

I can't wait to try something like this for a chore chart for my kiddos! The bead board in the background is part of the remodel! Pics of that coming once it is all done. Funny how a project I think will take one weekend takes one month.

Baby Bib/Apron

This isn't your typical bib. I got tired of normal bibs just not covering enough. It seemed that whenever my daughter had food all over her face she would manage to get it on her shoulders. Looking around at Babies 'R' Us I found the perfect solution. However, it was 10 bucks per bib. I thought "I can make at least four bibs for the price of that one bib." So I bought the bib and took it home to copy. Below is what I came up with. My daughter is now almost 4 years old. So this is a bib that can be worn for quite some time.

My pattern

Liner fabric: (I use flannel) cut one using the top piece.

Bib fabric: cut one of each pattern piece.

Hook and Loop or Ribbon to tie in back

Then I realized I really didn't need a full pattern. Duh! Cut one on fold. :)

To cut down on time I folded my fabric like so:

And then one more time so that I could get two liners and only cut one time.

Before sewing any pieces together I embroidered baby to be's name.

Then sandwich the pocket between the bib front and liner. You will also want to position the hook and loop tape. Sew right sides together. Be sure to leave a gap so that you are able to turn it right side out. Then I sewed around all the edges and closed up my hole. Sewing around all the edges will help it to hold its shape after washing.

Before sewing the armhole:

After sewing the armhole:

Sorry about the angle of the photo

The back view of the bib/Apron:

Front view of bib/apron:

I made a few for baby to be and plan to also tuck in some spoons and other eating accessories into the pocket. This bib is perfect when you forget to feed your sweetie before she puts on her Sunday best! Don't forget the boys also-just pick a boy fabric. I plan to make a few boy ones also for my little guy.

This pattern would also work well for a craft/paint apron for your little one.

Baby Boy's Nursery

And here is my sweet hubby who helped me finish it. We started this room at the end of May. It took a little longer than I thought it would but we are pretty happy with the results.

Pic Below: This print was found in the basement of the Crosby Illinois house when we went back last summer (Cliff's great-grandparents home). I thought it was cool and would look great in the garage above Cliff's work area. But then we found out we were having a boy! So here it is matted and framed forever. Cliff picked out the frame-it is powder coated-a guy thing.

Pic below: View of the entire wall. Cliff worked so hard do all the wood work in the room. And then he added all the cars along the shelf. Julia donated her Backyardigan's bus to brother's room and there are plenty of emergency vehicle cars along the shelf as well (no fire trucks though).

Pic Below: Saw the USA print in Pottery Barn Kids catalog. It was our inspiration for the room. Found the vintage cars, airplane, and motorcycle at Ross. The interstate sign and stop sign are from Disneyland-another steal from Cliff's garage art.

Pic Below: We had to have cars just about everywhere in the room including on the drapery rod. Found ones at Pottery Barn Kids that I absolutely loved. But went with these from Target for pennies compared to what PBK wanted to charge. Shelving for toys is also from Target. Julia also donated some of her toys to baby brother. She is so sweet!

Pic Below: The before pic of the changing table. This is a dresser that Cliff's Grandpa Lagerquist built. A little paint and a change of hardware and voila.....see next pic.

Pic Below: Vintage motorcycle from Ross, blue car shelf from Target, first ball cap from Auntie Meaghann, and the new/old-changing table/dresser. And every boy needs a dump truck trash can.

Pic Below: A close up of his sheets. Do you see the hint of a police car?

Pic Below: The crib was Julia's but I didn't think he would appreciate her floral motif bedding. This bedding Cliff picked from PBK and we found matching twin bedding for when he grows out of the crib bedding so I won't want/need to redecorate when he is ready for his twin bed. The car mat was Julia's-another donation.

And that's the room!