Category: diy

DIY Teacher Tote

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Can you believe we are already at the end of the school year? Our kids are done on May 26th. Teacher gifts have been on our radar this week because next week is going to be crazy! We are always so appreciative of our teachers. It seems like they spend more time with our kids than we do! It’s always fun to do something special to say thank you. This doesn’t mean you have to break the bank, though. Having multiple kids in school does add up when you are buying teacher gifts. Here is a DIY for a fun gift we came up with.

Teacher Tote! Have you noticed that totes are all the rage? Reminds me of this cartoon my kids like. Tote Life!Screen Shot 2017-05-19 at 11.34.57 AM.png

Really, though, we love having a tote to take to the library, on a day trip, or to church. IMG_0351

Here is what you need to make a teacher tote (I got this stuff at Walmart):

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You can download the image right HERE:

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Load your printer with the iron on paper

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Then you need to trim the paper. The white of the paper irons on with the text so use a paper cutter to make sure your lines are straighter than ours!IMG_0345

Then you peel off the back of the paper and place the parchment that comes in the pack on top of your image.

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We used the cotton setting on my iron. The instructions say to use medium heat. This just takes a few seconds and you have an awesome finished product!

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XO,

Repeat

Freshen Up Your Entry

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This time of year, a lot of people are adding gorgeous annual (or perennial) flowers to the front of their homes. This is our first spring in our home with landscaping so I’ve been watching all the colors in our yard blossom for the first time. We definitely have mainly purple flowers of various shades. In our last home, we grew lavender in a flower bed and it did extremely well–apparently they thrive in Utah. For our pots, I wanted something non traditional and a little wild. Lavender immediately came to mind. I have been shopping around for some time for just the right pots that went with my home. Here is what we began with:IMG_0196

  • I found great concrete looking pots at Target! I had already checked nurseries and hardware stores and once again, Target was the store that had a great fit for me. Plus they were on sale!
  • The pots aren’t super heavy and we live in a pretty windy area so I added some rocks I found at a vacant lot to the bottom of the pots.

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  • Those rocks also served as a booster for the smaller pot I added.
  • I should’ve measured, but by some miracle, I eyeballed the size of these green pots perfect! I then unloaded my lavender into these pots with some fresh soil. And Ta-dah!!!:

Instant curb appeal!!! Also, the lavender smells fabulous!10000

If your momma is in need, this could be a great project to do for her for Mother’s Day!

XO,

Repeat

 

Party Planning For a “No Frills” Guy

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What do you do for your husband when he isn’t a big birthday celebrator? This is tough because I. LOVE. BIRTHDAYS!!!! I use it as a day to spoil the people that I care about. It’s just totally fun to me. Plus it is yet one more excuse to get creative. So… my husband doesn’t want much fuss for his birthday. I was wracking my brain and luck came upon me! Here are some ideas if you’re in the birthday planning rut:

  1. CENTER THE PARTY AROUND A SPORT OR SHOW- My husband’s brother has a birthday super close, so he just wanted to watch the Utah Jazz game! What an easy request. If your guy likes a certain show, you can Tivo the Season Finale or Premier for guests to watch together. You can do the same with renting a fun movie.
  2. KEEP DECOR SIMPLE WITH BALLOONS- Going to the party store to get balloons really got my toddler into the spirit of the party. Plus, the balloons made my whole house festive on very little effort. Also, those confetti balloons are all the rage and look fabulous! NOTE: If you get balloons with high float added, they are meant to last 24-32 hours. If not, balloons will last about 8 hours on average.

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3. USE OLD PHOTOS- I have a bunch of cute old photos of Josh and his brother together. It was a no brainer to put those puppies to use. Once I decided on going in that direction, the rest of the party fell into place.

I took these old photos and turned them black and white:

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I also added thought bubbles using a free font called Talkies that you can download here.

Once I got going, the sky was the limit. These birthday boys have great senses of humors, so I went for funny on these; Adding signs for the bathroom mirror:

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…A 16×20 poster, printed in just an hour at my nearest Walmart…

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…and cake and cupcake toppers!

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That amazing cake was made by Denise. It tasted so good. Just the right touch to make the birthday guys feel special.

Here’s to having great parties big or small!

XO,

Repeat

Color Blocking Paper Eggs

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My Easter decor stash is seriously lacking. I’m adding little pieces here and there every year. I went to my local craft store the other day and gathered up some supplies:

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I love crafts, but I don’t want things to look too cutesy, craftsy.  I have these craft paper eggs and decided that color block painting them would give the modern touch that I love.

I started by spray painting my eggs gold. I started with the gold because it went on so easily in a thin, even layer.

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Then I taped my eggs with painter’s tape and added my color (two coats):

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My favorite part is peeling the tape after the paint dries:

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I assembled the rest of my Easter supplies and now have a centerpiece and an Easter mantle.

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Such a pretty time of year! I hope you enjoy!

XO,

Repeat

 

Marble Run Fun

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You may have guessed by now that each week I’m thinking of ideas to make my house feel more like a home. We moved into our home almost a year ago and ever since, we have been gradually adding things to make it more us. Down in our basement we had a big blank wall. My husband came up with the idea of a big magnet board for that wall. When we lived in Boston, the city had an amazing Children’s Museum that we visited quite a few times. There was a room full of tracks to set golf balls on to watch them roll all over the place. The room included a metal wall with moveable magnetic tubes and pieces to roll your golf ball on. The Leonardo in Salt Lake has a similar exhibit.

We started with the metal wall. Josh got this from his work. They used it to list employees and chart tasks, then updated the system. I checked out pinterest and others did smaller versions.4

Then I picked up supplies from Home Depot and The Dollar Tree.

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I started out using the “Goop” to glue on the magnets, but swiched to a glue gun to get finished quicker. I will probably go back to the “Goop” later since it seemed more sturdy when it dried.

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I started adding pieces to our wall. So much fun! I can’t wait to add more and more! The funnels were the most fun and can be found at the dollar store. I couldn’t believe Home Depot didn’t carry them!

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The girls tried it out and had a blast. We are going to make a trip to the local thrift stores to get some more light weight pieces to add!

Such a simple project that can be done on smaller walls as well.

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Thanks for stopping by and try this little project if you need something fun to do over spring break!

XO, Repeat

A Bit of Green in a “Pinch”

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Why is it that on St. Patrick’s Day no one in my family can find a single article of green clothing to wear? Let me tell you, the fear of being pinched is REAL! Years ago I came up with a remedy for our lack of green. It was a day I was under intense pressure to have a solution in very little time. With that being said, this project takes no time at all and has a very adorable end result!

You will need:

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  • green felt
  • small white buttons
  • needle & thread
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun
  • hair clips or bobby pins
  • mini safety pins
  • small straight pin
  • clovers template (click here: clovers)

method:

  1. Print clovers template.
  2. Cut out desired sizes of clovers (I used the smaller sizes).
  3. Use a straight pin to attach clover to felt.

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4. Cut around clover pattern.

5. Stitch small white button onto clover.

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6. For hair clips or bobby pins, use hot glue to affix clover.2

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7. For a lapel pin, use the small safety pin to attach to both the clothing and the clover.
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My work here is done. You now have pinch insurance. You’re welcome!

xo.

Pete

DIY: Paint Your Piano!

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Painting a piano sounds scary, but I’m telling you, it’s not as scary as it sounds, especially if you have an old beat up piano that will look good no matter what you do to it! A few years ago I found a piano on Craigslist. I called the seller and he told me he had a bunch of pianos I could come check out. I don’t know a thing about pianos so I called my friend who was a music major in college and she came with me to take a look. The piano we both liked the best was only $200. The seller even delivered it to my house. The piano became special to me when I opened up the top and saw that it was a piano from the L.A. Unified School District where I grew up!

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Here is the breakdown of my piano DIY:

Supplies

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I also used Elmer’s wood filler to fill in any holes. Then I sanded the dried filler with Josh’s sander. First time for everything! Note the fear in those eyes!

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Once the sanding was sufficient we just got straight to it and started painting. I like chalk paint because it goes on so thick and smooth. We did two coats. After that dries, we did a coat of Creme Wax to protect it from water:

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We didn’t have a piano bench so I found one at Hobby Lobby that I spray painted.

Then I put it all together and got this:

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And the Before and After:

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Feeling Lucky Banner

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Are ya feelin’ lucky? This cute banner will put you in a lucky mood…or at the very least get you to finally take down those Valentine’s Day decorations! Ahem, Terese. Anywho, here’s what you’ll need to get started on this project:

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  • glitter letters or gold glitter cardstock
  • green glitter cardstock
  • cute twine
  • scissors and/or Exacto knife
  • hot glue gun
  • printed clover & letters template  (click here: feelinglucky)

First of all, let me apologize now if you never purchased these adorable glitter letters from the Dollar Spot at Target last year. They make this project a snap! If you didn’t, I got you covered! Using the letter template I provided above will work just as well–it will just take a bit more time. If it makes you feel any better, I had to supplement a few missing letters myself!

To begin:

  1. Print out feelinglucky template.
  2. Either cut out items on template and trace around them onto the glitter paper or use transfer paper to transfer them onto the glitter paper. Note: Trace/transfer two clovers facing opposite directions. Also, be mindful that you need to have the letters backwards on the back of the glitter paper so they face the right direction on the glitter side!

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3. Cut out images on the glitter paper. Small scissors work well, but you may need an Exacto knife for tight areas.

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4. Lay all of your cut pieces out along your twine to help you determine spacing and how long your banner will be. I like to wait to cut the twine from the spool until I’ve done this and make sure to give myself a few extra inches.

5. Place a dab of hot glue on the top of each clover and letter and place it on its designated area of the twine. Make sure you are protecting your work surface with something that hot glue can be removed from easily (i.e. a plate or plastic cutting board). As each piece is cooling, gently lift from the work surface to ensure that it isn’t completely stuck to it.

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6. Once the glue has cooled you’re ready to hang your banner!

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May the luck of the Irish be with you!

xo.

Pete & Repeat

valentines, “gal”entines, or “pal”entines

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Have you gotten supplies for Valentine’s Day yet? I’ve had it on my mind, looking at all of the edible and non edible options, but I didn’t commit to anything until this morning. I find that keeping it simple makes every holiday more fun for me with kiddos. Look at how cute keeping it simple can be!

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I always start by finding a pack of party toys. I looked through an Oriental Trading catalog, but decided I didn’t want to risk cutting timing close with shipping. I might try that next year! Here were some options I found at my closest store.

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The next step is to come up with a clever pun or corny compliment:

  • you’re pretty “sharp”–pencil sharpeners (hot item in classrooms where kids aren’t allowed to get up to sharpen pencils!!–so I hear!)
  • you’re all-“write”–pencils
  • I think you’re “fly”– toy airplane
  • We’re so “mint” to be–mints
  • you make my heart “saur”–toy dinosaurs
  • you’re the coolest thing on wheels–mini skateboards, toy cars

Here are some templates you can download in our Freebies section and print on card stock!

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To attach the toy, I used blue sticky tak.

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Good luck and have fun!!!

xo.

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