DIY Bird Bath

I've wanted a bird bath for my yard for as long as I can remember, but could never bring myself to spend the kind of money that retailers want for them. Have you seen how expensive a nice birth bath can be? So, I set out to make one of my own. On a Budget. My frugal side and creative side compliment each other well.

After seeing all of the cute tea cup feeders out there, the light bulb went on and I devised my plan.  And, I couldn't very well keep this idea to myself, so I took some photos and put together a tutorial so you can pamper your little birdie friends as well.

Materials:
Serving bowl/platter (round bowls with flat bottoms works best)
1/2 inch threaded cast iron pipe 4ft long
1/2 inch cast iron flange
gorilla glue
scrap wood
rubber mallot (not pictured)
water
Spray paint (optional)

Gather up your materials and prep your work space. I didn't put anything down to protect my cutting mat, but I recommend laying some news paper down just in case.

Following the directions on the Gorilla glue, lightly wet the bottom of your bowl and apply a thin layer of glue to the back of the flange. I used a bit too much glue and it oozed up through all of the holes because it expands. A lot. Making sure to center your flange, press it onto the bottom of your bowl.

Place a heavy object (or a few) on top of the flange to "clamp" it for 1-2 hours.

While you're waiting for your glue to cure, spray paint your pipe taking care not to paint the threads. Of course, you can choose to leave your pipe as is, but mine was a bit chewed up so I used some brown spray paint that I already had to pretty it up a bit.

 Once everything has dried/cured for the directed amount of time, it's time to put everything together. After finding a suitable spot for your bird bath, place your scrap wood on top of your pipe (to protect the threads) and pound it into the ground about one foot, making sure it's plum.

Thread your bowl with attached flange onto the pipe, tighten down, fill with water and sit back to enjoy your handy work.

 

If your bowl is particularly deep, make sure to only put a small amount of water in the bottom so the birds can stand up in it. They won't bathe if they can't touch the bottom. Alternatively you could place a flat rock in the bottom for them to stand on.

The total cost of this project? Approximately $22. You can make it even more budget friendly by finding your bowl at the thrift store, but I fell in love with this one from Target for $12.99. Let me know if you decide to try this or come up with any variations. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Chewy No Bake Granola Bars

I started looking for a granola bar recipe a few months back when my daughter took a huge liking to the store bought ones. I didn't like all of the nasty ingredients in the store bought ones, not to mention the price tag, so the hunt began.

I tried a few that required baking and turned out more cakey that anything else. They tasted good, but just weren't what I was looking for. Then I came across this recipe and fell in love! I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I didn't have everything on hand, so I changed it up a bit and thought I would share my altered recipe here.

Chewy No Bake Granola Bars

2.5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cups Rice Krispies
3/4 cup sun flower seeds
1 cup dried fruit (I used mango)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Mix oats, rice krispies, sunflower seeds and dried fruit in a large bowl. Line 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper. Bring brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla and kosher salt to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over oats and stir to combine well, making sure to evenly coat the oats mixture. Press firmly into parchment paper lined baking pan. Place in the freezer 10 minutes or until firm. Cut and serve.

This recipe is so tasty and I just love that I know exactly what's going into my daughter's tummy. What's even better is that you can switch it up depending on your mood. In the mood for chocolate? Substitute chocolate chips. Like nuts? Toss them in. The possibilities are endless as long as you keep the dry/"wet" ratio the same.

Enjoy!

Nadija's 3rd Birthday AKA Gray Hair Number 253

So, my princess turned three on Sunday.

I can't tell you how glad I am that the festivities are behind us. Planning her party this year proved to be very taxing regardless of how organized I tried to be. Perhaps it was the 101 trips to every surrounding Target to find enough matching watering cans to give to the kids as favors? (the little baggie is filled with sunflower seeds)

Or the two, yes two cakes that ripped in half while I was removing them from the pan. Thankfully I was able to salvage the second one and made a third to turn into this (don't mind the frosting oozing from the center, not quite sure why that happened)

Or maybe it was the dozen cookies on a stick decorated with royal icing to stick in little buckets full of chocolate cake (dirt) and ice cream, topped with green frosting (grass.) What's that? Oh wait, that means I baked four  cakes in one day. Three yellow for the main cake (one of which became lunch) and one chocolate for the kids' flower pot cakes. 

Of course, it didn't help that I muttered the phrases "don't touch the cookies" or "no, you may not eat the frosting" about a gazillion times to both my husband and daughter. :)

All in all, the party was a huge success. The kids loved their flower pot cakes (I think the adults were a little jealous.) The buckets served dual purposes, first to serve cake in, then to be filled with dirt to grow their sunflower seeds in. Clever, eh?

And what's a birthday blog post without a photo of the birthday/cheerleader/fairy/biker girl?

Birthday Shirt Tutorial

I've made it a tradition to make a numbered birthday shirt like this one for my daughter each year. With her birthday fast approaching this Sunday, I thought it was high time I got my butt in gear and make one for her third birthday. While I was at it, I figured I would snap some pictures and put together a quick tutorial for those of you who might be interested in making one too.

Materials:
Blank T-Shirt
Coordinating fabric
Matching thread
Double Sided Fusible Web
Marker
Scotch Tape
Scissors
Iron
Sewing Machine

Once you have all of your materials, find a suitable font on your word processor with the number of your choice. Enlarge the font on the screen to the desired size. The font I used was Hobo set at 600, which measured approximately 3 inches across by 5 1/2 inches tall.

Take a sheet of your doubled sized fusible web and scotch tape it right to your computer screen. With a steady hand, trace your number right onto the fusible web's transfer paper. I find this method much easier than printing a gazillion copies to obtain the desired size and it also saves on paper. Go Green!

After tracing your number, rough cut the fusible web around your number. Do not cut on your trace lines like I did! It's much easier to cut both fabric and fusible web at the same time than to cut the fabric after you've already cut your web.  Remove the top layer of transfer paper and lay your number backwards on the wrong side of your fabric and iron according to manufacturer instructions. 

Now you can cut your number out on your trace lines and you will end up with a nice iron on applique that looks something like this:

Remove the transfer paper, position your applique on your t-shirt and iron into place according to manufacturer instructions.

Now head on over to your machine and set it to a appealing zig-zag stitch. I think mine was set at 3.5 stitch length and 1.0 spacing. Being very careful not to stretch your shirt as you sew, zig-zag close to the edge all the way around your number.

Remember to secure your stitches at the beginning and end. Snip your loose threads and you're done!

Whip up a cute little flower embellishment, hand sew in place and bribe cute little three year old to stand still long enough to take pictures.

Let me know if anything is unclear and I'll do my best to help. If you decide to try this for yourself, I'd love to see photos - just include the link in your comment. Happy Sewing everyone! :)

Kainen's Bedroom Update

It's been a crazy week around here with birthday preparations for my daughter and an influx of sales in my shop, and by influx I mean more than one sale in a week. Yeah, I get overwhelmed easily. In the midst of everything I was finally able to apply the wall decal that I bought from this shop for Kainen's room.

I had one heck of a time applying it, actually ripping the vinyl at one point, but luckily I was able to salvage it and make the repair look seamless from a distance. I just love the way it looks and the sweet message, because children really are miracles.

I think he likes it.

Oh, and you may have noticed in the first picture that his mattress has been lowered. That's right, people. Within one week of learning to crawl, the boy is starting to pull himself up! And he is into e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g! I thought I was busy before...

New Look

Out with the old and in with the new! I decided it was time for a little bloggy face lift. I've been wanting a new design for my blog for quite a while and had been thinking about paying someone to design it for me. But being the crafty DIY girl that I am, I decided to give it a go myself.

I'm definitely a photoshop amateur so this was a big undertaking for me. I spent a lot of time googling every aspect of the design and installation process, so you can imagine how long that took! I'm not 100% satisfied yet, as there are quite a few flaws (Does anyone know how to smooth those pixelated stroke lines?) and missing elements. I plan on adding a button and making custom sidebar headers, but a girl can only do so much in one day!

So my lovelies, what do you think of my new look? Do you like this one better? Have any suggestions or ideas? I'd love to hear what you think!

Peasant Tops

The weather has been slowly improving around here as the temperatures slowly rise, the sun is shining more and more often and the days are getting ever so slightly longer. I can feel Spring in my bones and am so excited to be able to play outside again.

In preparation for warmer weather I decided I would make a few of these peasant tops for my daughter, compliments of the fabulous tutorial over at indietutes. These were a lot of fun to make and went together really quick.


I'm thinking I might try a few more with long sleeves to bridge the gap between spring and summer. I'll also slope the arm hole cut inward a bit more next time so they don't bunch up so much in the chest. I think the turned out really cute, but more importantly my daughter adores them and that's what really matters most! :)