Placemat Wall Decor!

This past summer a Garden Ridge opened up near my house.  I was super excited! I thought they would have such amazing deals!

Turns out... it IS a good store, but not great.  They have good deals on some things, but others, not so much.  It's worth a look if you need new lamps or things to adorn the walls of your home.  I needed both, so we found a few good deals.

The best find was something that I had no intention of buying when I walked in the store...

Placemats!

But I didn't use them for placemats.  I put them on my bedroom WALL!

I was looking at some of the metal, iron, aluminum art to use in our master bedroom, but everything was at least $10 - $50 for a small 12" x 12" piece.  With that size I'd need at least 3 of them, so that just was too much. (Since I had already bought lamps!)

My wonderful mother was looking with me and saw the placemats.  She picked up this cute round placemat made of felt with ornate cut-out designs and said, "You could use this on your wall."

I thought, "Genius!"  I love it! It's exactly the style I wanted, and best of all...

It's only $2.00!!!!! PERFECT!!!

I bought 3 of them. 

They are the perfect accent to the small wall, beside the window, above the comfiest rocking chair ever! 

And the rest is History.....

Have you ever used something for an unintended purpose, but it was the perfect thing for you!?  Post it below in the comments! I'd love to know!

Moose Mobile Tutorial

My sister, Kristen, is having her first baby in April, Baby Gunner.  We are so excited for her and Scott and can't wait for that little baby boy to be here!  

My sister is crafty, artsy, creative, etc... All the things she got from my mom and I never knew I had. - (until recently!  Being a mom sparked my creative side!)

She is also super thrifty! (Now I know I have that! And Yes, we also got this from my mother.)

Gunner is going to have the cutest Moose and Hunting themed room! And it is going to be done on a very friendly budget! (Once his room is complete, I'll post a blog about his adorable room, and the adorable budget! So check back! Tons of pictures included!)

My sister decided to make Gunner's mobile, instead of buying one.  It is so cute and so easy to make! You could make this with any "theme" (her's is Moose).  Here is the tutorial in case you want to make one for your little bundle of joy!

MATERIALS: (cost: $12 - Wow! That's Cheap!)

Remember to use your Coupons for these items to make them even cheaper!

Pack of 4 wooden dowel rods

Different colors of felt - 8 pieces

Thread

Stuffing

Plastic multi eyeballs

Wooden beads

Hemp rope

1.  Make a template out of cardstock of the moose face, snout, and antlers.

2. Trace and cut out each piece with your choice of felt color.

3. Then hand sew all of the pieces together, and stuff each moose with some pillow stuffing.

4. Once the moose face and snout are together, add the antlers. After adding antlers, add small pieces of felt for the ears and nostrils, along with googly eyes. (all using fabric glue)

5.  For the actual mobile, take 3, 12" wooden dowel rods, drill small holes on each end and secure them all together with one simple screw in the center.

6. Take hemp string and various wooden beads and string the beads along the hemp, securing one to the end of the dowel rod with a knot.

7. Hang each moose from one side of each dowel rod by sewing the hemp to the moose with a simple series of stitches.

8. Hang the entire mobile from the ceiling with an "s" hook and again, more hemp.

9. My sister is thinking about adding a small box that will allow the mobile to spin on its own, or a small device that will play music. (We will let you know what she finds! Or please, any suggestions would be great!)

There you go!  Now you have yourself an amazing mobile, made with love, for your precious baby!

Updated Coupons!!!

Updated!

Here are some very important coupons that you will want to have if you need to pick up a few crafting items for all of your DIY projects!

I'll continually add new ones to the blog, since eventually these expire. Just print them out and enjoy the savings!

Check back often and look under the coupons section of the page to find great coupons that you might need for all your crafting, designing and decorating desires!