Hall Organization: Steampunk Cubby Tags

Posted on January 16, 2012 by kate

Hall organization

Hall Organization

I have been trying for months to corral the children’s shoes and bags and coats that seem to find there way in the path of the front door. I’ve got a long narrow foyer that is more a hallway than anything else. The stairs and three entrances to other rooms converge on the tiny space. Many benches and bookshelves were too long for the space, and taller ones interfered with the chair rail molding. (not sure why you need chair rail molding in the hall, but that’s what we got for now. My husband, the super hero that he is, bought me a bookshelf with six rattan cubbies to help with the issue. now there are enough cubbies for shoes and backpacks and mittens and such. (Yes that’s a fish skeleton on top, he’s waiting to be framed up, and the little shelf is waiting to be hung.)

But now there’s a new problem. My little princess has taken over two of the cubbies for her shoes and keeps trying to take over the other one meant for little sprout. OK, I guess this is two problems. One I need to get her to put some of her shoes back in her room, but the other is a matter of ownership.

Cubby tags

Cubby tags to the rescue. There are a bunch of different types of cubby tags. Names, pictures, and initials are the most common ones I’ve seen. The kids are too little for full name tags, and I don’t want pictures hanging from my Cubbies. But initials can solve the problem and help the littlest sprout with letter recognition, too.

Steampunk cubby Tag

I decided I didn’t want the generic letters I have available on my sizzix machine, so I found a nice font. It’s called “Victorian LET” and blew it up to a font size of 250. I went for a steampunk look so it’s decorated with vintage sears roebuck ads, copper tape and lace. I was going to add some industrial bits and bobs, but all of them looked less than toddler proof. Now each cubby is designated, will it mean an end to fighting, an end to war? Meh, we can always hope.

Steampunk Cubby Tags Tutorial

Find a great font and make it huge.
Trace the letters onto sturdy cardboard
Glue on scrapbook paper of your choice to the cardboard
Decorate with any other embellishments you desire
Cut out the cardboard/paper
Use a hole punch in the top left corner
Add ribbon to secure it to the cubby

Did you like this? leave a comment below and let me know.
If you like the bookshelf cubby I got and want one, please order from the link below and support this site.

Favorite Craft: An End to 2011

Posted on December 31, 2011 by kate

First off, sorry about my lack of posts. the last two months have been… trying. Between several vermin that thought my house would be much better than their outdoor nests and other homes, a cold that just keep going (I swear, it’s like the energizer bunny cold), and the fact that as a crafter, I actually need to craft some gifts for the holidays, blogging fell to the wayside.

I am looking forward to the new year. The present year got off to a bumpy start and never really got much better. In fact when a light bulb shattered near our dear child last night, my husband asked me, “When will this year be over?”

I’m looking forward to making lots of great things for myself, my home, and my kids this next year. I’m plotting how to spend my gifts cards to crafty stores even now. But this year I made many things. to remind myself this year wasn’t all bad, I want to think about my favorite crafty project.

Favorite craft

I think mine must be the murloc ornament. It took just long enough to be proud when I was done, looked exactly like i wanted it to, and it was well received.

What about you? I must know, what was the favorite crafty project you did this year? Feel free to link to your crafty post. Leave a comment below. (BTW, spammy links that have nothing to do with crafty stuff will be deleted. I’ve been getting more and more of those lately. I appreciate that small business people want to get the word out, that’s why there’s a url under your name. Please only link in text, if it relates to the post.)

Pumpkin Decorating

Posted on October 31, 2011 by kate

I’m not sure how it happened but Halloween snuck up on me, again. I made both of my children’s costumes, but I never made it to my own this year. All of those fabulous ideas for my yard fizzled. But Halloween is here, and i have the Make Do Craft spirit. (That’s kind of like Casper with a glue gun)

Cheap Home Decor Projects with Pumpkins

Halloween Pumpkin Witch

I joined a CSA, so I have a metric ton of squash and pumpkins right about now so i stacked up two pumpkins and added a baby witch hat for a bit of decor. I’ve artfully arrange groups of squash and pumpkins around my home anywhere there’s a spare square foot.

While I was on vacation I found a whole lot of other ways to display with pumpkins. I wanted to share a few of them with you. Most of these can extend beyond Halloween and decorate well into Thanksgiving.

Decorating with Pumpkins

Line up small pumpkins or gourds above your door lentil. I saw this in Falmouth, Mass. It looked clean and traditional.
If you don’t have a door lentil, you could use your porch railing as well. Medium size pumpkins and squash work well for it.
I don’t even have that, So I arranged over a dozen pumpkins on my steps leading up to the house. I have three large ones, a couple of mediums ones and growing collection of tiny pumpkins.
Pumpkins made a great medium to paint, glitter, or otherwise decorate. Make sure your pumpkin is dry and clean, then spray paint gold and sprinkle on some glitter.
I’ve piled my squash into a bowl as a centerpiece which doubles as storage until I can be bothered to cook them.
Pumpkin characters: Taking the witch idea above and you can add other accessories to make pirates, pilgrims, or santas.

What are your ideas to take fall produce and decorate with it? Leave a comment below and let me know.

No Money Home Decor – Trees

Posted on October 17, 2011 by kate

Fall is here and it’s the perfect time for some super no cost, no money home decor change ups around your house. Here’s my top five list of things to add a little fall to your home, when money doesn’t grow on trees.

Twigs in a vase: Take some small sticks or twigs and group them together in a vase for an earthy arrangement without the florist’s bill.
Pressed leaf charger: For your next party gather up newly fallen leaves, press them in between a couple of books (Be sure to put down paper to protect the books) Lay them out to acts as charger plates on the dining table.
Pine cone ornaments: Do you have plant hooks, with less than vibrant plants hanging on them? Hang pine cones in groups from a string to replace your dying summer annuals.
Acorn basket: Collect all those acorns falling into your back yard and display them in a small basket
Branch Book shelf: The Nate Berkus show did a fabulous book case by taking a birch branch and combining it with standard shelving. They cut the branch so it looks like it is supporting the shelving, and continuing up through to the next shelf.

All of these no money home decor projects can help you bring in a little nature to your fall decor. Remember to craft with what you got.

Do you have any no money home decor tips for using branches in your home? Have you used any of these tips. Please let me know. leave a comment below.

Make Do Craft

Craft With What You Got

Tag Archives: home decor