Easter Crafts

A few mommy friends came over to do some crafts that we pinned on pinterest.  We had a blast...each one of us brought supplies and instructions for a different craft. 
I was in charge of the topiary:

the best part about doing this project with a group is I felt OK buying lots of ribbon...this was way too much for 6 topiaries but I will use it for something else...and nothing beats ribbon at 50% off.

I trimmed the ribbon into 3 inch strips

and used small pins to stick the ribbon into the foam ball.

We made bunny bunting...

yarn eggs...

and we blew out and dyed eggs...

Thanks to that night I have a beautiful Easter shelf...

I added the Spring Sign...and 2 more topiary.

Zack's Easter Basket

Easter Baskets are EXPENSIVE...or cheap looking.  I hate things to look cheap and I hate for things to be super generic.  I took advantage of Michaels 60% off baskets sale (a long time ago) and bought several of these very un-eastery baskets:

I call them apple picking baskets...these will not be Easter Egg hunting baskets (I have another project in mind for that but am waiting for the sale...maybe by next Easter) because they have rough edges.  I love that they have soooooo much potential...I mean there is no where to go but up.
I bought the cheapest paint ($.50 a bottle), a few spools of ribbon, and a wooden letter Z.  I put 3 coats on the outside and 1 1/2 on the inside (I figured the grass would cover the bottom part).

I hot glued ribbon, using the wrapped wood as my guide.

and hot glued the Z...

Oh and because it is pretty Holiday neutral it was perfect for holding favors at Zack's birthday party

Not too shabby...well sort of shabby in a cute way.  The best part is the colors aren't too bright...making it a perfect addition to my Easter decor and the colors aren't pastel (I have a major problem with things that are too pastel).  The other best part...the whole project cost me under $10 plus I have almost 2 whole spools of ribbon left over for other crafts!
I liked it so much I painted baskets for Adam and I...I figured when we have another kid I can decorate the basket for them and Zack and #2 have matching personal baskets made with love from their mommy :)

Key Hook

Because the tracing numbers thing was so easy and worked so well on my growth chart...and because I happened to see this piece of wood:

and our keys are currently hanging on a hook I found when we moved but don't have to right screws for and always falls off the walls...

I decided to make something a little nicer (difficult task...I know).

you can see the indents

 

The date on the bottom was tiny and hard to paint...

I touched it up a lot...and I figured it didn't have to be perfect because I planned on sanding it down to give it a more rustic "pottery barn".
I added the hooks and a hanging piece on the back and voila...

Growth Chart

This is officially my first completed Pinterest project...notice I said finished.  I have a problem, whenever I go get supplies for one project I get inspired for others and I get so excited about the new project I start the new one before I am fnished with the origional.  The positive is I tend to finish my projects at around the same time so I will be posting a lot of DIY posts in the next week or so.
I saw this project on Pinterest:

 I liked the idea...I just wanted mine to be a "I can put it anywhere in whatever house we live in and something my 15 year old will only hate being measured agenst a little bit verses a ton because it's for little kids". 
I painted the wood gray (3 coats...about 7 min each side over 4 nap times and two days). 

Then (another idea I saw on Pinterest) I printed out numbers...

and traced them with a ball point pen, which left a dent...

and made it super easy to paint...notice I piced some whimsical numbers that would be pretty forgiving.

Here is a close up:

Oh...the other change I made was making it 7 ft. (including the foot before the board starts...Zack is already tall and Adam is over 6 ft so I figured it was a safe bet.

I bought the "M" and painted it just to make it a little more personal.

Menu Board, Chalkboard and Family Binder

I had been pinning menu boards on pinterest forever...so many of them required a lot of work.  The reason I was doing this was to make my life easier...not to have a huge project (trust me I have several other big projects going on).  The board I fell in love with used magnetic printer paper and a pre made calendar white board. 

I just typed in our favorite meals (others can be written in) and printed it out.  Here is the website for the template.

 My chalk board...painted frame...canvas with chalkboard paint.  I decided to do this after seeing it at a friends house with a monthly verse.

 It came in handy this month!