do it yourself divas: March 2011

DIY: Turn Cloth Napkins into Curtains

1:46 PM

Our Lovely mother decided to freshen up her house a bit.

(This is our mom... if she knew I posted this picture she would probably die... Isn't she lovely?!)

Here is her house before the "freshen-up". She is such a cool grandma dancing with here granddaughter! Also if you want to make the tutu she is modeling just go to our tutu tutorial "HERE" !!!

To do this she bought some new curtains, rugs, throw pillows and even painted a bit. In addition to the curtains that she bought for the living room she wanted to find color coordinating curtain shams to put up in the kitchen nook. After searching EVERYWHERE without any luck she took matters into her own hands and DIY diva'd some fancy napkins she found at the local Target.

Here was her color inspiration...

And here is what she did...

Found her favorite napkin. They come in a pack of 4 for $10 I believe.

Take one cloth napkin and fold it over at the top two inches down. We soon found out that not all napkins are EXACTLY alike so it's important to make such everything is lined up on the bottom. You may have to just say screw it to the two inches folded over on the top to get everything lined up on the bottom. Are we being perfectionists?

Pin it down and then do the same to a second and third napkin. Layer them to create a pleated look. Two go behind and one in the front. The two that are behind the napkin in the front are placed right at the center of the front napkin. Know what I mean?

Sew the folded edges in place, straight across. This creates a little hole for the curtain rod to fit through.

Feed the newly make sham onto the curtain rod like so!!

And here you have it!! Cloth Napkins magically turned to look like cute pleated curtain shams! Good idea mama! We must get our craftiness and good looks from you!

DIY

DIY: Getting In Shape After Pregnancy

3:27 PM

I had a baby a little over 3 months ago and I am determined to get my body back to normal! I have been taking baby steps so I don't want to throw in the towel. Here's what I have been doing...

I have added this wonderful shake into my diet! No joke, it is the best thing to hit my stomach. My body craves it everyday. I must have really been lacking in nutrients. Here's a shout out to my friend Erin for posting it on her blog! Here is the recipe.

This shake makes a lot! My hubby and I usually split it. Even then it is still a lot but I try and get it all down in one setting. It makes for a good breakfast with all the fruit and nutrients. I will sometimes put my half in the fridge and snack on it throughout the day.

I drink a ton more water! I love my Nalgene bottle. It is really durable which is great since I use it all the time! It really helps me to realize how much water I have had in a day. I try and refill it as much as possible.

I hate running, but I decided to give it a try since runners are extremely healthy and have fabulous bodies. But I started SLOW so I wouldn't want to give up right away. About 6 weeks after having my baby, I just walked for 10 minutes everyday for a week. Then the next week, I walked 8 minutes and ran 2. The next week I walked 7 minutes and ran 3 minutes. Now, I have stretched out my workout to 15 minutes and 5 of those minutes are running. Slowly but surely I will become a runner lady! Oh ya, I keep the treadmill at a 3% incline. That way the intensity is more like being outside.

After having a baby, your core can be left a mess. I know mine is!

So...

Hubby and I love to watch a little TV at night, and our favorite part about watching our shows is that we do our core exercises at the same time. :) I'm talking about the plank, the bridge, the bird dog, the superman, and windshield wipers. Seriously, Biggest Looser, American Idol, and The Office are not the same without our exercises.

Bridge: 2 sets of 20 held for 4 seconds each

Plank: 2 sets held for 30 seconds in each position. Be sure to do each side.

Bird Dog: 2 sets of 20. Hold for 4 seconds each, alternating arm and leg each time.

Superman: 2 sets of 10 held for 4 seconds each

Windshield Wipers: 2 sets of 20, dropping legs down to each side and back up.

Now I just need to cut some crappy food out of my diet and add more veggies. I will be posting some healthy yummy recipes as I find them on my journey to getting my body in shape after having a baby.

Stephanie

DIY

DIY: Inspiration for Throw Pillows on a Denim Couch

2:54 PM

CHECK OUT MY NEW AND IMPROVED UPDATED THROW PILLOWS HERE!!!

Here are my denim couches.

We have had them since we were married 4.5 years ago, and will have them a little while longer while the hubby is in school. They are super comfortable, hide stains from my kiddo nicely, and are BLUE. I am constantly trying to figure out how to make the couches look less country and more modern/chic. Here is a little bit of inspiration for what I could possibly do.

Please Please honestly tell me what you think!! If there are any ideas out there I would love love love to hear them!

And the colors that I think might look good are:

white

mustard yellow

gray

light or gray/blue

all on denim

Here are few of the ideas for what the pillows might just look like as well.

OK, they are not ALL going to have ruffles and flowers, but a couple will I think. What do you think??

DIY

DIY: Shirt

12:54 PM

I whipped up this shirt the other day. This was the first shirt I made without using a pattern. Since I thought it wouldn't work, I didn't document the experience. I totally should have because it worked!! Okay, I know it's not perfect but I am proud of it.

I had to make it a V-Neck because I was having trouble making a round neck since I was using Jersey-knit fabric rather than ribbing. Curves can be tricky for me. I still need to figure out how to make then lay right. Thus, the back of the shirt has straight lines too rather than curves. I actually like not having the standard curved neck and back lines.

Stephanie