Medal Display



Something my kids and I like to do together is run. I'll admit that sometimes running isn't fun - in fact, some days it hurts. But the family bonding time we get from it is worth every pound on the pavement. So, ever since my oldest son was about 7 years old, we've been running races together. Their first race was a one mile kids race, and when they figured out they got a MEDAL at the end - it was ON! They both now run 5k's and my eldest is even contemplating running a half marathon!

 

Well, when you run a lot of races, you accumulate a lot of medals, so the quest was on for a creative way to display all our bling! Last year, my friend gave me her daughter's old crib rail. My initial thought was that I'd paint it a fun color and use it to hold craft fabric. I held that thought until I saw this photo on Pinterest. KariAnne used an herb rack for her medal display, but the crib rail was equally up for the task. So, I painted the light oak wood a stainless steel and the result was this unique medal display:

 

 

These are just my medals right now. (My boys' medals are waiting patiently on corkboards in their bedroom.) I have a few more medals in a box somewhere... but no more excuses on not hanging them up now that they have an official display!!

You can see a couple special medals above, but my favorites are by far the ones we earned together.

 {Their first 5k medal!}

This medal will get a special spot on the display. xo

How about you? What activities do you enjoy with your family? Would you use this idea to display sports medals? Team medals? What other ideas do you have to repurpose a crib rail? I'd love to read your comments!

End of the Year Teacher Gift

Woot! Woot! There are only 18 days left of school here until Summer!

{But who’s counting?} ;-)

If you need one last little something 

to thank that special teacher in your child’s life for the end of the year,

I have just the gift for you! 

This year we are making these Flower Paper Clips!

As a teacher myself, I am constantly clipping together assignments and papers I need. But there are SO many more uses for these little cuties!

They are perfect for bookmarks…. {I'm ALWAYS marking pages in books!}

for holding a thank you card, or drawing

or clipped to a gift card!

I love using mine as a bookmark the best!

~~~~~

Want to make your own?

All you need is…

• a set of 2” flat topped paper clips (I bought mine at Pick Your Plum but you can also find them on etsy; for example here!)

• AND any embellishments you would like to adorn them with! (I also bought the flowers from Pick Your Plum! LOVE that place! Is it a place?? lol)

• Other embellishment ideas are: buttons, ribbons, fabric flowers and scrabble letters, you name it! The possibilities are endless!

I also like the vintage look of these rosette clips. These rosette flowers I found at Michaels and were the perfect size for the tops of these paper clips!

Don’t have flat head paper clips? No worries!

Regular large paper clips tied with colorful ribbon are just as fun!

The good news is, they’ll ALL hold a card for your teacher equally well!

How about you?  Which version would you make?

{Seriously - I can't believe we're talking end of the school year already!! Crazy! 

When do your kids get out of school??}

PS -- if you need more inspiration, I posted even more Teacher gift ideas HERE!

Joining the fun at tatertots and jello

Real Woman of Genius {Take 2}

So, earlier I “invented” an embellished wipe dispenser into a chic plastic bag holder. {You really should check out this amazingness.} And last night, I had another 'Aha!' moment!

And the story goes… I was cleaning up from dinner last night, a little frustrated that Little Man just LEFT the empty Pringles can and lid on the counter after packing his lunch. {Okay, but I guess he gets props for making his own lunch, so he is quickly forgiven.} I, personally, left a can half full of veggies on the counter after dinner. Why half full? Because my boys are just the right size where 1 can is not enough, but 2 is too many, and I just popped out the exact amount they needed for dinner and left the rest in the can. Yep. It was that kind of night. I know we’ll finish up this can of veggies tomorrow, but I’m sitting there thinking, do I dirty up a tupperware? Cover the can up in foil? Oh the quandary. When I see the Pringles can lid just sitting there. {Because you better believe I’M not putting it away.}… And, DING! {There go those angels singing again!}




Yep! Perfect fit!

The Pringles lid sat nicely right on top of my little can of veggies! Problem solved!! Wam, bam, I put that baby in the fridge and called it a night. {FYI – the Pringles lids are NOT an air tight seal, –see the end of this post for a possible solution – but they do work great for an overnight or short term lid. Also they work great if you need to stack open cans!} Can I get a Woot! Woot!



Of course, I couldn’t just leave mine alone. Once I figured this phenomenal coincidence out, I had to kick it up a notch! So, I got out my Mod Podge and fabric and made over that little veggie can into a craft can!



Um, yeah, we ate the veggies first and I cleaned it out. {Come on, I know SOMEONE was thinking that!} lol

So now the possibilities are endless!! It turns out these cans are just the right size for hot glue gun sticks:




Some gift tags or maybe my “Created by” stamp and stamp pad that I always lose….




The lid actually sits on quite nicely {but doesn’t ‘snap’ on} so if you are still thinking of a tighter sealed solution --- let me recommend – a band of hot glue around the inside lip of the rim.




Again, not airtight, but a little better seal. And either way, these make great little containers that, thanks to Pringles, you can now store and stack to your little heart’s desire!

 

I think it will be a new home for my hot glue gun sticks. How about you?

What will you use this little trick for??

Linking up here; and here

Plastic Bag Holder {Tutorial }

Have you ever had one of those moments where you see an organization problem in your house and then a light bulb comes on {sometimes angels sing} and the solution comes to you instantly? Well, I had one of those moments! {Singing that commercial “Real Men of Genius” song in my head.} I was cleaning my house {which alone deserves some applause} Thank you! :o) I used up my last disinfecting wipe and as I was ready to throw away the container, I noticed my stash of plastic grocery bags. I don’t have a lot of bags as I try to use the recyclable ones, but I do have a use for them. In the past I kept them in empty tissue boxes, but those cardboard holders don’t last very long. So this version, I expect, will last a looong time!



So, yeah, I was excited when I put two and two together! Wipes dispenser + Plastic because = a match made in heaven. I thought – I’m a genius! I’ll be famous! lol UNTIL I looked online and saw some other versions here …and here (this one's for puppy bags.)… but still...Sigh… Are there any NEW ideas anymore? No, probably not. lol BUT, if you haven’t seen one of these before, I thought you might be interested in a quick little how-to. Besides – none of the other versions have a cute little ribbon and flower on their container. {wink}

So, let’s start with the supplies:



You’ll need:

• An empty, clean disinfecting wipes container
• fabric scraps (one large enough to cover the container and one smaller one to roll a flower if you want!) I got that sweet hounds tooth fabric from the Penelope Lane Boutique last month!
• Mod Podge
• paint brush or foam brush
• scissors
• ribbon (optional)
• hot glue gun (option – if you want to glue ribbon or flower on)

STEPS:

1. Cut your fabric to the size of your container. I just laid my container down and drew a pencil line & cut since my fabric pattern helped me keep my line straight.




2. Glue down  the first seam with Mod Podge.





I put some extra Mod Podge on top of the fabric as well to ensure it was secure. You can do this throughout if you need your container a little more waterproof or durable; otherwise the glue seeped through the fabric a little anyways and kept it pretty strong.

3. Continue to Mod Podge the fabric around the entire container - carefully pressing down to keep the fabric smooth. When you’re done, you can be done OR you can add any other embellishments! I added ribbon and a small flower, just because. I hot glued the ribbon:




And then added the flower:



Done! And now, my plastic bags are all pretty!! Woot! Woot!

BEFORE:



AFTER:





Have you ever had one of those moments? Where you created something and thought “Aha! I’m a creative genius!” and then seen your idea all over Pinterest? Well, maybe this container can be added to the Pinterest mix too. Thanks for checking this tutorial out! Have a great {and organized} week!