Trees Don't Wear Skirts!

"Tree's don't wear skirts!"  At least that's what my three year old daughter told me when she asked what I was working on a few weeks ago.  I was covered in hot glue and burlap fuzz constructing a new skirt for our Christmas tree.

My inspiration came from Pinterest.  I was browsing one day and saw this pin.  

Source: doneoverdecor.blogspot.com via Katie on Pinterest

I followed the directions at Done Over Decor.  I hadn't planned for mine to look so Minnie Mouse like, but we're all big fans of Disney so I'm OK with it.

Ruffle Burlap Tree Skirt 1

I also hadn't planned on a furry new addition to the family.  Let me tell you, raw burlap edges and a young puppy aren't a good combination!  I've had to chase the puppy away many times and I'm forever picking up stray threads.

Ruffle Burlap Tree Skirt 2

From this angle you can see the black felt base under my ruffles.  I used a large piece of black felt cut into a circle with a hole in the middle.  I think I found directions for making the base on Google.  I made mine fairly small since our trees are usually skinny.  I used hot glue to attach the fabric strips. By the way, hot glue and burlap are a horrible combination.  The glue oozed right through the burlap sticking to and burning all my poor fingers.  But regardless, the end product was worth the temporary discomfort.

Ruffle Burlap Tree Skirt 3

This is our tree.  Its a cedar my husband cut down.  Cedars are not good for the Oklahoma prairie so we have cut one down every Christmas for the past 5 years.  They aren't the prettiest trees but my husband is proud of his efforts to help the Oklahoma environment.  You can read more about cedars on the Pioneer Woman's blog.  

Ruffle Burlap Tree Skirt on Cedar Christmas Tree

Usually there is a recliner living in this corner of the house, hence the pictures hung high on the wall.  The United States map is another project I hope to share soon.

Here is our new puppy, Bruiser.  He is a white faced Boston Terrier.

Boston Terrier

I got a new DSLR camera for Christmas and Bruiser has been my test subject as I practice shooting in manual mode.

Boston Terrier Bokah

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

And Then There Were Five

Yes, we are officially a family of FIVE!  Last month we went to court and finalized our adoption!  We are so happy!  

If you would like to know more about our adoption story please read Our Adoption Story Part One and Part Two.

How To Sew a Changing Table Pad Cover

I've been busy getting Little Brother's room ready.  Tonight I sewed a new cover for the changing table pad.  We have some very nice pink covers from Pottery Barn Kids.  I looked to them as a starting point, but altered my pattern to make the project easier. My cover is made from one large piece of fabric.  I used no-pill fleece from Hancock Fabrics.  My changing pad is a standard contour pad bought at Target about five years ago.

Add 

Changing Table Pad Cover Pattern

I started by cutting out my fabric.

I sewed together the cutout edges, right sides together. (Working at night my lighting isn't the best so the color is a little off!)

Then I folded and pinned a generous hem of 1.5 inches.  This is so the elastic will fit inside the hem.

When I stitched the edges I left the sides open (between the pink pins) to insert the elastic.

My stitches were an inch from the edge to leave room for the elastic.

I used two elastic bands, each 22 inches long.  

I pinned one end of the elastic and threaded it through the hem.

 Then I stitched both ends down.  Last, I closed the open hem.

Changing Table Pad Cover Tutorial

Finished!

Changing Table Pad Cover

This project was very easy and took about an hour total.  I hope to whip out a few more covers this week!

Taking Care of Business

Hi Feathers and Fingerprints readers!  I'm sorry for the long absence of posts.  Life got pretty hectic for a while between adding a third child to the family and changing jobs!  I left first grade after 7 years to teach gifted and talented education.  It has been a huge change but I am so glad I took the leap!  

Now that life is starting to settle into a routine again I'm finally getting around to showing you the finishing touches in the hall bathroom project!  To be honest, we spent so much time in the bathroom this summer potty training our 2 year old that I had no interest in blogging about it!

Let me remind you where we started.  You can read more about the reno here, here, and here, and see the last reveal here.

Hall Bathroom Before

Finally we have a shower curtain and towel bar!  The shower curtain came from Home Goods and the towel bar came from Ikea.  I picked up both items while traveling this summer.  Unfortunately, we don't have either store in my home state.  I sure wish Home Goods would come to Oklahoma...

Tree Shower Curtain

The towel bar fits our needs perfectly.  It provides plenty of hooks for towels and swimsuits.  I hung it low enough that the kids can hang their wet items on their own.  And the price was insanely cheap so I'll have no regrets if I want to replace it with something nicer later.

Bathroom Towel Bar Hooks

Next, the mirror got an upgrade.  We reused the original mirror and made a frame from wood trim.  There are many tutorials on the web if you search.  The frame was a cheap and easy way to add character to the room.

Bathroom Framed Mirror

And, because I love the frame around the mirror so much, why not add one around the toilet paper dispenser?  I've never been a fan of the built in toilet paper holder.  I wanted my husband to rip it out and fix the drywall when he was repairing the other walls.  Unfortunately, I forgot to mention it.  Oops.  So, crazy thought, lets fix this eyesore by framing it.  I think it totally worked.

Toilet Paper Dispenser Frame

There you have it!  My finished bathroom!

Thanks to our hard work, creativity, and careful planning, this entire renovation was completed for under $1000.  That's some serious budget DIY! 

What projects do you have going on?

Hand Stamped Jewelry

About a month ago I bought a set of metal alphabet stamps to make a necklace for my mother-in-law.  I posted a picture of the finished necklace on facebook and soon had many requests to make more!  A couple of these were custom made Mother's Day gifts for new moms and grandmas or end-of-the-school-year gifts.  Here are some pictures of my work!

In the beginning I did a lot of practicing to get my letters and words spaced even and straight.  It also took some experimenting to find the best stamping set-up.  I started on the wood workbench in the garage, but learned fast that the workbench was absorbing a lot of the vibrations from hammering and I wasn't getting a deep enough stamp.  So I moved to the garage cement floor and got better results with less hammer strikes. 


I have many more ideas I can't wait to try so I'm sure another post is yet to come!

A Rainbow Birthday!

My sweet little Bean just turned three!  How did that happen?  Time is going too fast!  Lil Bean requested a blue cake for her birthday.  I thought that was a little boring, so I showed her a picture of a rainbow cake, and, well, she was sold!  

I enjoyed mixing the colors into the cake batter.  When the cakes were done baking I trimmed off the golden brown edges to show the pretty colors inside.  Then I iced the top and left the sides exposed!

Rainbow Birthday Cake

Rainbow Birthday Cake

This cake was so pretty.  And so easy!  Hands down the easiest birthday cake I've ever made for one of the kids.

To celebrate Bean's big day, we had our toes done with Grandma 'Zona.  What a treat!  Bean was a little nervous, but Monkey is counting down until her birthday so we can go again!

And, no birthday would be complete without taking treats to school!  The kids got a kick out of these rainbow cupcakes.  I kept them simple and put just a little icing on top.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Happy Birthday to my Little Bean!!

Spring at Feathers and Fingerprints!

Spring time around here usually means more time outside, a busy schedule, and this year, hatching baby ducks! The kids had so much fun checking on the eggs every day and watching as the ducklings began to pip and hatch. For a couple days the ducklings stayed at our house and followed the girls around. Now they are living at hubby's work where they will join his education program. Here are a few pictures of the ducklings in the first few days after hatching. Enjoy!

Checking eggs for cracks.

Ducks parading through the kitchen!

Going for a splash in the back yard bubbler.

Three little ducks went out one day...