Category Archives: Frugal

Aug22

Infant Elvis Costume NO SEW!

Posted on August 22, 2016 by completelytypeA

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That’s right, you read correctly, this is a NO SEW Elvis costume. I used my hot glue gun to put it together. It was a late night, last minute, one hour project, using my cell phone to take pictures… So you get what you get.

Now, if you’re looking for a durable costume to last you for years to come, for heaven sake, pull out the sewing machine and sew wherever I say glue. BUT, if you know your kid is only going to wear this once or twice, and you don’t care if it lasts that long, follow my lead, my friends.

I started out with a long-sleeve onesie and a pair of white leggings from Target. I went looking for plain white, but the only ones I could find had little gold dots on them. Luckily, this worked with the costume. You’ll also need red felt, stiff white felt, red and gold glitter glue, gold elastic, Velcro dots, sequin, and most important, a glue gun.

Step 1: Cut a slit in the front of the onesie starting at the middle of the collar. Turn the onesie inside out and fold the side back and glue down with hot glue. Be careful that your glue doesn’t go through both layers. Place cardboard in between to be safe.

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Step 2: Glue a piece of red felt over the “V” shape you’ve created. Again, be sure your hot glue only goes through the one layer of fabric.

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Step 3: Still turned inside out, do the same thing with each of the sleeves.

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Step Four: Turn the leggings inside out and do the same to each of the legs. Go along the side of the leg that will face out.

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With the onesie and leggings done, your costume should look like this once you turn it back right side out:

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Step Five: Cut a piece of stiff white felt for the collar. Honestly, this was the trickiest part for me. Getting the shape of the collar was hard. Once you’ve got a shape that works for you, glue the edge along the back of the onesie collar.

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Step Six: Time to bedazzle! Decorate the collar and sleeves with sequin and glitter glue. I attached the sequin with glitter glue also. Notice the zip lock bag in between the fabric so that it wouldn’t go through to the back.

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Step Seven: Glue Velcro dots onto your gold elastic for the belt.

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All done! Don’t forget to gel your baby’s hair in a slick Elvis curl! Happy Halloween!

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Feb23

Book Shelf Makeover with Paintable Wainscoting Wall Paper

Posted on February 23, 2016 by completelytypeA

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Looking at my book shelves one day, I realized they needed a makeover. They were cheap to begin with and I didn’t want to spend a lot of money to update them.

I was wandering around Lowes pricing out various ideas and came across WAINSCOTING PAINTABLE WALL PAPER. Never heard of the stuff, but it looked dang cool, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I first spray painted everything that I was going to paint white:

Then I painted with semi-gloss paint the shelves and box. It took THREE coats and I used Swiss Coffee from Home Depot color, the same as my house trim.

I then laid the shelves down flat and applied the wall paper following the directions. That middle shelf is permanent, otherwise I would have pulled that out too. It took four separate pieces of wall paper for each shelf. I wasn’t worried about getting it absolutely perfect because it would mostly be covered by books anyway.

I then taped off with painters tape and painted the wall paper a Sherwin-Williams color called Mega Giege, which is the same color as my walls. It took two coats with a small foam roller. Again, I wasn’t too worried about perfection. Here’s a close up with a few of my favorite books:

I wish I could arrange my books to look prettier, but we’re going for functional here. But, you get the idea. It completely brightens up the room and matches my other furniture and decor much more!

A side-by-side view:

Feb16

Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner Decorations

Posted on February 16, 2015 by completelytypeA

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I had the task of decorating for our Cub Scout Blue and Gold dinner. We didn’t have a specific theme, just blue and gold, which made it pretty easy! I went to Party City and got the disposable plastic table coverings (100 foot roll) and all the paper products.

I used these amazing games as the place mats and had pencils out on the tables also. Thank you Akela’s Council Blog for your hard work!

For centerpieces, I used these wooden stands from a previous project and added vinyl with my Silhouette. I used the 12 Core Values of Cub Scouts and labeled each centerpiece with a different value. I printed off the Cub Scout logo and taped them on the centerpieces with painters tape.

The gold stars on sticks doubled as decorations and trophies for the awards for the cake decorating (all the boys got one). I got the pre-cut stars and a pack of dowels at Joann’s, and had the Hubs cut a 1×1 stick of wood into squares. In one of our den meetings, the boys painted everything yellow and I added the blue vinyl and ribbon. The best part about these is they were about 35 cents each to make. Not bad!

We organized the eating tables in a “U” shape. At the top of the “U” we positioned the flag stands, the food tables, and the cake tables. It looked fabulous and everyone had a clear view of the front. Sorry, this is the best picture I have of the table set up.

It all worked out great, a pretty fun night!

Feb13

Cake Mix Gift Tutorial

Posted on February 13, 2015 by completelytypeA

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Trust me, there are a million cute cake mix gift ideas out there. Comparatively, I think my version is plain, next time i make this, I will jazz it up a little! I got caught in the trap of trying to match the box of cake mix- red, which is unnecessary since the cake mix doesn’t even show that much. When I do this again, I’ll do whatever colors I want! I got the sprinkles and cupcake holders at Joann’s with my coupon, the total cost for everything was about $5 including the cake mix since I had the ribbon and paper on hand.

Here’s the back:

And here’s the tutorial, good luck!

Here’s all the items you need: three pieces of 8.5×11 card stock, another half piece of another color (not pictured), two colors of ribbon, a cake mix, a three pack of sprinkles, clothes pin, cupcake holders, clear bag sandwich bag (not pictured) and glue gun. I don’t have measurements, just based everything off the size of the box and sprinkle containers.

Take two of the card stock pieces, cut to width of cake box and glue to each to the bottom and top:Fold red strips to fit around the sprinkles:Attach your last piece of card stock to the bottom of the cake mix and make a fold the same size as the sprinkle container:Glue on paper for sprinkles, insert sprinkles into their holders:Trim and fold card stock as pictured:Glue to sprinkle paper and flap down (the flap is just for added strength):Attach the ribbon. Here’s the front… And here’s the back.Glue on the clothes pin and add the cupcake liners to the back:Decorate the front, all finished!

Nov26

Simple Nativity

Posted on November 26, 2014 by completelytypeA

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Here’s a super simple nativity gift idea. I made four of them in a few hours (mostly drying time for the paint) and have a few more gifts checked off my list. If you want the step by step, here it is:

1) Cut 1×4 wood into 5.5 inch pieces (or whatever size you want).

2) White wash the wood with two part white paint and one part water. Paint all sides and front and back.

3) While drying, cut vinyl. This is a Silhouette shape sold on their website.

4) Apply vinyl to wood when paint is dry.

So easy and less than a dollar each!

Oct13

My Fence Fell Down, So I Made Stuff

Posted on October 13, 2014 by completelytypeA

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The morning after a wind storm we awoke to our fence laying flat on the ground. Not the best news, but at least I had a whole bunch of distressed wood to make a few things. I wish I had patterns to tell you for these, but really I just got out the skill saw and drill and went to town with no real plan. Here’s what I did:

US flag: Wood split in half longways to make smaller pieces. I used barn red, navy, and off-white paint and made the vinyl wording and star stencil with my Silhouette.

Garden Table: I made this garden table as a gift for my cousin. I love how it matches her door! I did have to get some 2x4s for the base, only the top is wood from my fence.

“Be the Good”: This sign hangs in my kitchen. I love the message! Again, I made a stencil with vinyl, then painted it colors to match my decor.

Front Entry Sign: This hangs on my front porch. I love how it compliments the color of my house. I use the little knob to hang seasonal signs.

Frame: I tried something new with this, still deciding if I like it. I had a green distressed frame, so I made a pallet background for it to help it to stand out and make it look bigger. I covered it in Mod Podge (after washing with water) to give it a shiny look. I like how all the grain shows through, but not sure if I like the overall look. This is just a stock photo added in.

Aug29

DIY Soccer Banner and a GIVEAWAY

Posted on August 29, 2014 by completelytypeA

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It’s soccer season around here, and let me tell you, people go ALL OUT. I love being a soccer mom, but not a big fan of all the costs involved. In our league, each team is required to pitch in to purchase a team banner which usually runs about $300. Too expensive! This year, I offered to make our Bumble Bee banner and Expressions Vinyl was kind enough to donate the supplies. I also have an awesome giveaway from Expressions Vinyl, more on that at the bottom of the post.

We are the Bumble Bees, a very fun theme. The blue background piece is heavy vinyl like the type you’d use for table cloths, purchased at a fabric store. The frame is made from PVC pipe and breaks down easily to carry. Everything rolls up together and is easy to transport.

The design is all outdoor vinyl and the shapes are all purchased from the Silhouette Online Store.

Here’s a better view of the stand:

I loved how the soccer ball beehive and the bees turned out:

If you’ve never done multiple layers of vinyl, its simple! Just build the shape front to back, on transfer tape first:

GO BUMBLE BEES!

*GIVEAWAY INFO*

I have a $25 gift card that can go towards any vinyl purchase from Expressions Vinyl to give away to one lucky winner! I purchase all my vinyl from this company because their prices are low, they send out great coupons via email, and shipping over $75 is free.

HERE’S HOW TO ENTER:

Go to Expressions Vinyl and find your favorite product. List it in the comments section of this post. One winner will randomly be chosen on Sept. 8, 2014.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER!

May18

How to Make Elsa’s Ice Castle from DISNEY’S FROZEN

Posted on May 18, 2014 by completelytypeA

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I’ve been searching the internet the last few weeks for ideas for my little girl’s Frozen birthday celebration. I wanted to use Elsa’s castle for the centerpiece at the party, but not finding anything in my price range (I will not spend $110 on this!) I decided to make my own. I’m giving a shout out to this guy’s tutorial since I based my castle shapes off his Frozen castle. I had most of the supplies on hand, so this whole project only cost me $2.50 for the foam core.

Supplies Needed:

3 12×12 pieces of card stock (I recommend something with a glossy finish or photo paper)
1 piece of foam core
glue or paper Mod Podge (something that won’t warp your paper)
paint brush (to apply the glue)
glitter and embellishments
3D mounting tape
scissors and/or cutter

Here we go!

I first made a pattern out of plain white 12×12 paper so that the measurements would show up better for you to see. You don’t need to make a pattern, just cut your paper to the measurements I’ve specified. All measurements are in inches. The red circled letters are explained later.

Here’s how each 12×12 piece of card stock is cut. Please note on the second page how there’s a section from the third page taped on.

Once you’ve cut out your pieces, you can begin to assemble your castle. The circled red letter on each piece indicate which layer the piece will be at. For example, all the “A” pieces will attach directly to your foam core first. The spires are just made from scraps.

Next add Level B. Use mounting tape for all attachments.

I then added glitter to the middle of the door opening. I think if I made this again, I’d use silver glitter, but your choice!

Attach the Level C piece:

And lastly, the Level D pieces:

I then added a few embellishments including sliver glitter around the edges and a white snowflake made with my Silhouette.

Then cut around the outside of the castle with a sharp exact-o knife, leaving about a 1/4 inch around the edges. I took the left over foam core and attached a piece to the back of the castle so that it would stand.

All done! I’ll post about the rest of the birthday party soon.

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May12

Quiet Activites

Posted on May 12, 2014 by completelytypeA

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I made these little pouches for my niece and nephew so they have a quiet activity to do during church. I didn’t follow a pattern, just went for it. One thing the pictures don’t show is I used interfacing between the inside and outside panels. Other than that, hopefully the pictures are self explanatory.

Girl Version:

And the boy version:

The white road dividers are heat transfer vinyl with my Silhouette.

Apr10

Flower Pot Candy Bowl: Easter Version

Posted on April 10, 2014 by completelytypeA

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I’ve been eying those darling DIY gumball machines for awhile now. Needing a little gift, I made a spring version.

My first choice would have been to paint the pot a pastel color to match the knob, but bright pink was what I have on hand. I got the glass bowl at Walmart and the knob at Lowes, each for a dollar. The “Happy Easter” was made with my Silhouette vinyl cutter. The candy was the most expensive part!