DIY Pandora Bracelet for under $20

Okay so like most other women, I've been wanting a pandora bracelet for awhile. Sigh....I would be pissed if my hubby spent $300 on a bracelet, especially when he is married to the discount mommy :)

Moving on to that faux pandora bracelet, its really cheap and really simple. 

Here are your supplies:

 

All supplies came from Walmart:

 

Plain Bracelet - $3.50

One Pack of Beads/Charms- $5.00

Initial Charms-$2.00 each/ $6.00  (I used 3)

 

 

 

 

 

You will need needle nose pliers and cutting pliers for this project. I used my hubby's and put them back before he noticed lol.

 

Open up all your packages and lay out your beads and charms in the order you wish to add them to your bracelet.

 

Unscrew one of the balls on the side of your bracelet and set aside. Don't loose it!

 

 

 

Add your beads and charms. For the initial charms I chose, I had to remove the clasp at the top for it to fit onto the ring smoothly. Using your cutting pliers, cut off the top clasp. Don't cut the large circle jump ring holding the initial.

 

Using your needle nose pliers, open up the large jump ring. You want to make it large enough so that is slides easily back and forth on the bracelet, but small enough so that it doesn't fall off.

 

Once you add all your beads and charms, put the circle ball screw back on the end, make sure it is on very tight so you do not lose any charms.

 

You are done!

 

 I also own a Hallmark "pandora bracelet" and those charms also fit onto this bracelet as well.

I found all the charms, initials and braclet cuff in the beads/crafts section at walmart.

They also had baby carriages, houses, rings, cars, and vacation charms as well.

 

TOTAL COST FOR THIS PROJECT:  $14.50

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little Monster Baby Outfit

I loveeee making these super cool outfits for Brady. Its hard to find things they are cute for boys these days. Go to any given clothing store and you will see 20 racks of girls clothes and 1 rack for boy ages newborn-age 17....not cool. I'm always on the lookout for cool fabrics that I can use for outfits, blankets and decor for my boys.
I started with a 3/4 yard piece of little monsters jersey knit fabric from Jo-ann Fabric and Crafts. At $12.99 a yard, the fabric wasn't on sale, so I was able to use my 50% off on regular price item coupon that was texted to me that morning. I also found a pack of monster iron on's in the tshirt section. These were listed as $5.99 and were on sale for 50% off. Sweeeeeet!

I used a plain baby pants pattern I found online here.
I pre-washed my fabric in cold water and laid it out to air dry. I find it easier to cut and sew fabric when it is a little stiff from air drying.
Use the link above and follow the instructions on how to sew the pants. Its very simple.
To make the shirt, I used a plain white onesie we already had. You can find similar ones at Hobby Lobby, Old Navy and Walmart for $3-$6.00.

Iron the patch right in the center of the onesie. Flip it inside out and iron again to make sure it sticks.

 

 

Done! :)

 

 

 

Total Project cost : $ 7.87

Fabric was $4.87, iron-on was $3.00, and I used an existing onesie.

Links below for items used.

 

 Monster Fabric for Pants:

http://www.joann.com/doodles-collection-knit-monster-jam-blue-fabric/zprd_11730512a/

Monster Iron Ons:

http://www.joann.com/babyville-appliques-monsters-2count/zprd_11109386a/

Project Big Boy Room, Part 3

I should be hitting a road block any minute now. All these projects for Matthew's room are coming along wayyyyy to smoothly.... lol

Part 3 will be the mod podge monogram for his wall.

I found an 18 inch "M" wooden letter at Hobby lobby for $12.99, used my 40% coupon code on my phone and purchased it for $7.79. Fishing card stock stickers were on sale for $1.00 so I bought a sheet, but ended up not using them on this project.
 I also purchased 3 sheets of patterned scrapbook paper which was on sale for .30 a piece.

My supplies:

 Here's my unfinished wooden letter. I started by laying down a drop cloth over my table. I regularly buy plastic table cloths from the dollar tree and cut them into 3 sections to use for crafts. They hold liquids well and don't "soak" like newspaper does.

 I put a heavy layer of mod podge over the letter and smoothed it out with a foam brush.  Make sure you work fast, unfinished wood absorbs liquid very quickly.

Once you've applied a thorough amount of mod podge, cover your letter with scrapbook paper or card stock. Smooth out wrinkles as you go. Depending on the size of your letter, you may have to use more than one sheet of card stock to cover your letter.

Smooth out as many wrinkles as you can because you will see them when it dries.

Turn over your wooden letter. Using an xacto knife or razor blade, trim the paper as close to the edge of your letter as you can. These will be your finished edges.

Flip your letter back over. Apply a generous layer of mod podge over your letter and let it completely dry. Mod podge will appear white like Elmer's Glue when applied, but don't worry it will dry clear.  Apply additional layers as needed until you get the shiny finished effect that you like.

My letter had cutouts on the back to hang by nails, but I wanted something more rustic. I hot-glued some leftover twine rope from Matthew's Pirate Party to the back to make "picture wire"

You are done!

I love the rustic look that the "wooden" patterened paper gives this monogram. Since you can mod podge almost any paper or cotton fabric, there are a ton of projects you could do. You could make a solid color one and use as decor every year for your childs birthday. You could make it in pink or blue and give as a baby shower gift thats costs less than $10.00 to make.

 Possibilities are endless.

Total Cost for this Project: $8.69

( I already owned a bottle of mod podge/puzzle saver and an xacto knife)

Links below for items.

18 inch Wooden "M" letter:

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/18-unpainted-wooden-letter-m-366625/

Mod Podge/Puzzle Saver: (you can find the smaller bottle of puzzle saver at walmart for around $2)

http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/8-ounce-gloss-mod-podge-183996/

Xacto Knife:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/X-Acto-1-Basic-Light-Duty-Knife/19703023

Project Big Boy Room, Part 2

Wall Decor....could it be more expensive these days?
Thankfully, Hobby Lobby, Michael's Arts & Crafts and Jo-Ann's all offer a 40% off one regular price item coupon almost weekly. No need to waste paper by printing these either. Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Jo-ann's offer a free app on your smart phone with digital coupons. Download the app, "clip" the coupons, and show it to the cashier. Which is perfect for me because I cant count the number of times I've printed the coupon and left it at home. Crap......lol

Occasionally Michael's will also offer a "special" coupon for an additional 20% off your total purchase including sale items. MEGA SAVINGS HERE!

Enough blabbing about the savings. Tonight we went to Hobby Lobby looking for more inexpensive decor for Matthew's room and SCORE! All posters and matted pictures were on sale for 50% off. I found a really nice "sign" on sale for $5.99. It was the perfect size and I knew I had a frame at home the same size to put it in.

 

 

 

 Whenever I shop for wall decor I always check my spare frames and pictures we are not using before I go, because a can of spray paint is cheaper than a whole new frame. In fact, check ALL your supplies before you leave, make sure you only purchase what you need.  :)

Anyways, the frame I had was a plain black frame I purchased on clearance at Walmart a few months back. I had some leftover Rust-oleum Hammered Spray Paint in Brown, which I purchased at Walmart last month for around $5.00 a can.

The frame took about two coats to get the good dimensional  "hammered" look I wanted for the frame. I let the first coat dry for about 2 hours before applying the second coat. This type of spray paint is perfect for lots of projects because no primer is needed and it can be used on metal, wood, plastic, etc.

 Here is the finished frame, I find the hammered look gives it a more defined edge and blends well with the rustic picture.

Total Project Cost :
 (using the materials I already had at home) $5.95

(clearance frame was $7.00, spray paint was $5.00 and picture was $6.00, so $18.00 if you had to buy all products. Remember,  1 can of spray paint is good for multiple projects, so choose a color that you may be able to use on other projects such as neutral colors)
 Links are posted below for most products used.

 

Rust-oleum Hammered Spray Paint Brown-
http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=29