I’m one of the ten True Value Blog squad members this year so right now on MJ&G you can find me creating a fun outdoor living space!   Today I’m breaking away from my project to share something quick, easy, and (I think) so fun! I’ll be the first to admit I get bored easily.  If you already read MJ&G you probably now I’m a ball of randomness and am always switching things up (including my blog banner, because I get tired of looking at it).  So I’ve been oohing over all the fun laptop skins online FOREVER but I know I would tire of it to quickly to justify the cost…… so I came up with my own solution that is 1. CHEAP! and 2. completely changeable!  Here is my finished project….

What you need–

• White contact paper (shelf liner, found in the housewares department, or I got mine at True Value!)
• Laptop template (I modified mine from a free one at Sticker Mule or you can create your own)
• Permanent markera Image to trace (unless your a free hand drawer/doodler!)
• Scissors
• Window or lightbox

My last laptop was silver and I never seemed to have any issues with it looking dirty or beat up, but this (practically brand new) black laptop looks AWFUL! 

To top it off my daughter got into some nail polish and began to paint it pink!  Which may have been lovely…. but not done by a two year old   But not even my remover could get it all off…..

So I was a bit embarrassed to take my laptop in public…. It’s all good now!  To start….. print out your template or make one by laying paper down and your laptop upside down on top and trace.  If there are any special molding indents you need to go around go ahead and work that out on paper.  I had to go around a small ditch at the bottom.

Contact paper comes in all kinds of colors, I chose white because I wanted to draw on mine.  Wood grain is very easy to find and would really fun if your in to that kind of thing.  You may like to draw on top of a patterned option also… it’s completely up to you and very easy to change when you want something new.

1. Lay your template onto the back side of the contact paper, tape down and trim around.

2. You can test to see how it fits after you cut it out.  It wont’ stick until you remove the paper backing.  I decided I wanted to put one of my (many) previous banners on mine, so I printed it out and used the window to trace the design onto the contact paper.

3. Using permanent markets… I have a great set of colored sharpies.  The fine tips weren’t great for coloring the large areas, but it did work so use your judgement on what you can live with.

4. Remove the protective backing from your contact paper and stick to your laptop!  Don’t stress to much about this step…. contact paper is VERY forgiving and will allow you to reposition multiple times.  Smooth out any airbuses you may get.  You can prick stubborn ones with a pin if needed.

I can think of so many fun possibilities for this!  How about a calendar, or an advertisement for your business while your in public….  Your log when your at a craft or art fair!  You can also use acrylic paint if you prefer to paint.  Just don’t bother trying to use your printer….. I tried it….. smudge city.  Thanks so much for having me here today!  I hope you are able to come and visit me sometime!  Lots of fun to be had at MaryJanes and Galoshes!  Taylor

PS — For all of my Utah friends — Downeast Basics & Modbe is having a HUGE warehouse sale in Layton tomorrow. Nothing will be over $10. You can find out more on the Downeast Facebook Page. I’m going to try to make it to that — sounds awesome!!

PPS — It’s FRIDAY — my favorite day of the week. Why?? Because that’s when I can see and feature YOUR ideas. Come link them up to The Weekend Wrap Up Party. The party starts tonight at 6 pm MST.

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I have been enamored with Subway Art for awhile now. I love the graphic black and white look of it.

One type of personalized Subway Art that you can make would be a Family Sign. This would be a good gift if you have a friend or family member and would like to make a gift for the whole family. You can put each person’s name on the board and then characteristics of that person.

The second type of personalized Subway Art you could make would be individual plaques. You could do these for different types of people — family members, friends and even as teacher gifts.

There are two different ways to make each type of personalized Subway Art. 

The first is by printing out paper on your computer and mod podging it onto your board. I took a piece of MDF ( you can also use a canvas if you like). I painted the board black. You can also add some decorative molding to the edges if you want to make it extra special.

Then I went in Microsoft Word and printed out some letters (I used Ariel font — regular Ariel, Ariel Narrow and Ariel Bold). I printed out the fonts to see if they were the right size. Once I decided the right size for the board, I reversed the font out by making the background black, then I printed them out and cut out each word individually. Lay the papers on the board the way you want them to look when you are done. Then take them and lay them out to the side of the board in the correct order.

**Note — here’s a good tip — use photo paper and print out on the matte side of the paper. If you use photo paper, your black will be blacker.

Then I mod podged the paper onto the board. Once the words were all on the board, I put an extra layer of mod podge over the top of the board.

The second way of making the personalized Subway Art is to use your Silhouette and print the words off using vinyl. Then use Transfer Tape and transfer them onto the board.

I made the smaller boards 8 inches x 8 inches square — but you can make them any size you want! The last thing I did was added a vinyl embellishment or a flower to each board to add a little extra pizazz.

 And you have a great, personalized gift that’s great for birthdays, anniversaries or a great  
Christmas gift!

XOXO

The post Christmas gift Idea — Personalized Mini Subway Tiles appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

 Hi! I’m Mique from 30days and when Jen put out the call for willing people to guest post, I jumped on it. I have been an admirer of Tatertots and Jello and even got Jen to post for my Funner in the Summer series. In real life I’m a stay at home mom to 3 crazy kids and when I have down time I post my ideas and those that I’ve found online at 30days.

Today I wanted to share a quick, no sew headband idea. What could be better when you’re feeling kinda frumpy than a little hair accessory? And it’s super fast.

To get started, you will need the following:

(forgive the pics, we’re in the middle of having flooring put in and paint done in my house- which is exciting- but doesn’t create great areas for tutorial backdrops

Doesn’t she just look thrilled to be having her pic taken?

Thanks again to Jen for letting me guest post today.

Stop by and say hi over at 30days!

 Thanks Mique for sharing such a fun, cute idea with us! Here’s a button for you If you haven’t been over to Mique’s blog — 30 Days — get over there and check it out! It is fantastic. She just had a Funner in the Summer series that had tons of great ideas. Plus, she has wonderful projects and ideas all the time, like:

 

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Hi, I’m Polly from Helping Little Hands. I’m a chemistry and math teacher turned stay-at-home mom to 3 wonderful kids. I super excited to be sharing a tutorial here today on Tatertots and Jello! Thanks, Jen!

We’re moving soon to a very rural farming town in central Washington for Hubby’s new teaching job, and I thought some tractor shirts inspired by a vintage tractor from my Granddad would be a fun celebration.

My son loves to play with the buttons on his shirt to make the tractor “drive.”

This technique will work for any design. Simple clip art or coloring pages are great starting places for designing your own appliques as well. For this project, I simply took a photograph of Granddad’s tractor and simplified and traced the picture onto a piece of paper.

Here’s the real secret to really clean looking machine applique…You want to be sure to leave a long tail at the beginning and ends of your stitching and DON’T secure the ends by sewing back and forth. Instead, pull the thread on the front of the shirt, through to the inside. Then tie both threads together in a square knot several times. Then I leave about 1/2 an inch when I cut the threads, so they’re less likely to come untied.

When I was finished, the back looked like this.

Then for a final touch, I sewed on some buttons for the center of the wheels. And you’re done! I’ll have a pattern up on my blog soon for how I resized my daughter’s shirt. (I like to resize slightly larger ones for her so they have more length and we see fewer belly buttons.) My son’s shirt was an early attempt at one of Dana’s 90-Minute shirts. The tutorial for the capris my daughter is wearing is here. Here’s the printable pattern for the tractor. (Pardon the chocolate smudges! Yikes!) If anyone ends up making one, I’d love to see it!

Granddad’s Tractor If tractors aren’t your thing, here are a few examples of other applique patterns available on my blog. 1st Birthday Cupcake Onesie Applique and Very Hungry Caterpillar Applique

Sea Turtle Applique

Jet Plane Applique

Cat Applique

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It is such an honor to be part of Jen’s fabulous blog this today…she truly is such an inspiration to me!
My name is Kami, from Sweet Charli Boutique & Blog.

I love crafting anything from accessories, to home decor, to refashioning clothes, and baking/cooking! Come over and visit when you get a chance – I always love new lookers!I have been on a handbag kick lately…mostly ones I can make from what I have at home. Today I am sharing my Hand Towel Tote Bag Tutorial. I hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks Jen, for inviting me over!

~Hand towel tote tutorial!~

Okay now on with the tutorial!!

What you need:

used or new hand towel

sewing machine

bamboo handles

pins

15 minutes – no, I’m not kidding!

1. Take your hand towel off of your rod and wash it!

This towel came already with these darling ruffles on it! Don’t you love them? I think they came from Target.

If you don’t have a towel you want to use from home, buy them super-cheap at Ross or T.J.Maxx

2. Fold in half inside out and sew about 1/2 in. seam

3. Turn right side out

4. Now get your bamboo handles

5. Place your handles on the inner part of your purse and fold the ends in over them. Make sure to eye the handles to the center of the top of the bag. Pin.

I hand-sewed the handles on since I am still a beginner sewer and all!

And you’re done!

I added flowers to mine, but it looks cute without too.

I just took my little girl’s old washcloth and cut into circles, then layered them on top of each other for the flowers!!

This bag is great for taking to the pool, boating, or even to the mall for a summer look!

Enjoy!

LOVE, KAMI

This bag was chosen as Amanda’s pick over at:

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Once the necklace is complete you can embellish it to your liking. I created a flower with ribbon using the V and C DIY Flower Corsage Tutorial. Happy necklace making!

Thank you for letting me share this tutorial with you all today! I had fun being here and I hope you come on by and visit me atTo be Charmed for more ideas and projects!

Here’s a button for sharing your great tutorial with us Elizabeth! 

Thanks so much! 

Be sure to check out Elizabeth’s beautiful blog. 

She shares the most wonderful ideas and tutorials like:

The post Guest Project: Gingham & Pearl Necklace Tutorial appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

I absolutely love crafts of all types.  I have little inhibition when it comes to trying anything new, and while I sometimes end up in over my head, I can say that I’ve tried a lot of different things!  I like to sew, love Mod Podge and can do some pretty neat things with freezer paper.  The project that I settled on for my guest post is making a coffee table out of an old window.  I’m even going to show you how to replace the glass with tempered glass, making it safe for little ones!  I was actually surprised by how simple it was!  Let’s get started, shall we?

Supplies

Old/Antique Window

4 Table Legs

Hardwood: 1x3s  (I used Maple)–You’ll need enough to equal the perimeter of your window)

2″ wide x 1/4″ thick (I used Aspen)–Enough to equal the perimeter of one pane x2

Screws: 2″ and 1 1/4″

Drill/Screwdriver

Pliers

Moulding Remover

Hammer

Tape Measure and Pencil

Saw: Circular and Straight (with Miter Box)

Paint (Primer if it’s not included in the paint)

Paint brushes: Bristle and/or Foam, depending on your preference

The first step is to prepare your window.  Remove any old hardware.

Now you want to start measuring your frame.  Lay the window on top of a 1×3 to measure the length.  Mark the length with a pencil.  (Some of you fancy people might just measure the window and transfer that measurement to the board, but here in our house, we like to keep things nice and complicated.)

Make sure that you transfer your marking to the inside of the board, where you’ll be sawing.

Now make the cut!

Since you need another board of the same length for the opposite side of the window, you can measure with the board that you just cut.

(That’s my hot hubby!)

Make that cut too.  Here’s another picture, just in case you missed the first MAKE THE CUT shot.

To measure the short sides of the window, lay the two boards that you just cut together along one side.  Then measure and mark your board.  This allows you to account for the width of the boards, without having to measure between them.

Make the cut, then use that board to measure the board for the opposite side of the window.  Make that cut as well.  Look back two shots if you need another picture of the saw.

Your frame is ready to go!

The next step is get the table legs ready.  The legs that I chose had screws in the top.  If your legs came that way too, just use pliers to twist the screws out.

Time to put it all together!  The first step is to lay the entire frame out, with the table legs in place.  You want to be sure that all of the corners are squared up and that everything fits together correctly.  

Now just pick a corner at which to start.  I drilled holes before putting the screws in, but it’s up to you whether or not you do that.  Check the box of screws for that information.

Use a screwdriver to insert 2″ screws.  I placed two screws on each side of each corner for a total of sixteen screws.

Making sure that your table is properly aligned every time, continue to place the screws until there are two screws on each side of each corner.

Hurray–Your frame is built!

If you would like to use the glass that is already inside your window frame, the next step would be to screw the window to the top of the frame (see below).  If you have small children like I do, and want to change the glass out for tempered or thicker glass, continue on with the following steps.

We’re going to start out by building a small support frame for the glass.  In my window, the glass was only supported by a few nails and I didn’t think that support would be strong enough for use as a coffee table.  We’ll begin by pulling out all of the nails.

Carefully remove the glass.  When it is time to replace the glass, we will actually be replacing it through the front of the table.  (We’ll be removing the molding, replacing the glass, then replacing the molding.)

For the glass support, measure the length between the table legs on one long side of the window, inside the table frame.

Transfer that measurement to a 2×1/4 slat.  You can simply use a straight saw to make this cut.

Measure the lengths between the table legs for the other three sides of the window.  Don’t assume that the two long sides and two short sides will have the same lengths.  Placement of the the table legs and layout of the table itself meant that one of our lengths was just slightly shorter than the opposite side.

Make the remaining three cuts.  Lay them inside the table to be sure that everything fits correctly.  

With the glass supports laid out, measure the length of the window’s center bar.  

Measure, mark, and cut this length on two of the slats.

This is what the underside of your table should look like thus far:

We won’t screw the glass support slats on until later, so remove those pieces and set them aside.

Attaching the Window to the Frame

Right now it’s time to screw the table to the base!  Set the window on the frame, lining it up as best you can.  Measure to find the center of the windowpane because that’s where we’ll be placing the screw.

Insert the screw (and make sure that you’re having this much fun):

I placed two screws on the long sides and one screw on each of the short sides.  Be careful to drop your screw into the middle of the 1×3, under the window.  (It won’t be centered on the width of the window itself.)

Time to attach the glass support slats, so turn the table over.  Layout all of the frame pieces to be sure you have them in the correct places.  Insert two screws into each pane area on the long sides (4 per long side total) and 2-3 on each short side.

For the center supports, place three screws into each piece.

Now take a quick break and check on your kids.  This is what I found (That’s supposed to be a mustache–What?!):

Now it’s time to paint!  I purchased a paint-and-primer-in-one, but if you don’t have that, it’s probably a good idea to do a quick coat of primer before your paint.  I forgot to take a picture, but before you paint, sand down the old window frame.  I didn’t take off all of the paint because I wanted it to retain a little of its texture and charm, but be sure to even everything out so that the paint goes on smoothly.  After sanding, use a wet washcloth to wipe away all of the sawdust and paint chips.  Wait for this to dry before painting.

For the actual painting, we used a combination of bristle brushes and foam brushes.  There were a few areas, especially on the legs, that necessitated a foam brush.  I also used them to smooth things out at the end.  Don’t forget to lay down a drop cloth; I have a white rectangle from a past paint project on my driveway that I’m starting to think is never going to go away.

Let the paint dry according to the directions on the can.  If you just want a white table, skip ahead to the directions on replacing the glass.  I wanted my table to look somewhat aged or antiqued.  This is what I did:

I used a rag to wipe Wood Stain onto the table, then used a clean rag to wipe it back off.  I mixed my stain with a little bit of water so that it wasn’t so thick, so just see what works best for you.  I tried it out in an inconspicuous place on the table just to see how it was going to work, before I smeared it all over the top.  I went for a little darker look on the areas that would supposedly be the most aged, like the corners and edges.

The stain will give your wood a bit of a worn look, sort of antiqued.  I only used the stain on the actual window itself, as I wanted it to appear just a little bit different than the rest of the table.

Replacing the Glass

Start removing the moulding from the window frame.  Use the hammer to gently tap the moulding remover between the moulding and the frame.  Carefully pull the molding away from the frame.  Be extremely gentle or you’ll end up cracking the wood.  If at all possible, leave the nails in the moulding!  (We’ll use them when we put it all back together again.)

After you have removed the four pieces of moulding from each pane, remove the old glass.  Gently place the tempered glass into the window frame.  Then replace the pieces of moulding into their original positions.  If you left the nails in the moulding after you pulled if off, you should (hopefully!) be able to just hammer the nails back into their original holes.

Now do a little dance because you built a coffee table from an old window!  What do you think?  I absolutely love my new table.  My husband and I have never owned a real coffee table before, as they’re all very expensive and he’s still a Resident, but now we have one and even better, it’s homemade!  I owe a huge thank you to my dear hubby, who was more than helpful in the building of this table.  I had back surgery a couple of months ago and just could not have done it all alone.  Thanks, Honey!

Thank you, Jen, for letting me blog for you today!  I had so much fun building our table and am so pleased to be able to share it with your readers.  Thank you!

 Thanks Emily — that is an amazing project and a wonderful tutorial! Here is a button for sharing your tutorial with us! 

Emily is so so talented. You really need to check out her blog —   

Martha Shmartha — 

where she shares great projects all the time like:

 Monogrammed Door Mat

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I am a mom, wife, decorater, crafter, TV going, thrift shopping sassy girl.
I am pretty sure that I have a sickness when it comes to spray painting and drinking Diet Coke.
I LOVE THEM!!!

I would spray paint anything that didn’t move.
Really, I would.

I sprayed plastic chairs and they turned better than fabulous!
I also sprayed my front door and shutters and all of my outdoor lights.
I couldn’t believe the difference! You all should do it!
If you want to know how I did it or watch me talk about how I did on TV-click here.

I also love using fabric in strange and unusual ways.
I CAN’T sew-I wish that I could.
Truth be told, I can’t even turn on the machine.
So, I use it in ways that make me happy.
With my glue gun!
I used fabric to make these frames.

You can read about it here

I also used fabric to sass up these books!

You have got to try this!!

I also love to reuse things in different ways.
Like here and here.

I love to decorate and blog about the crap that I come up with-but sometimes I just need to vent and put all of it out there for all ya’ll to read.
I did this here
I can’t tell you how fabulous of a response I got from people!
The kind words and love from these fabulous women, really impacted my life for good.

I am sharing some before and afters of my 5’s bedroom over at my blog-Sassy Style
I am so embarrased to even show the before’s. But..I figure I can’t be the only woman out there who has a piglet for a daughter.
And  yes, I am so placing ALL of the blame on her!
I am such an awesome mom!!

So, I am going to share a tutorial with you.
Truth be told-it’s so simple-it’s probably not really even considered a tutorial.
But… I was in a rush tonight to get a gift wrapped in a fun, not boring way.
I know that we all have all been here before.
I had 20 mins!
I always work best under pressure.
So, this is what I started with.

So, I understand that the finished product is kind of hard to tell because of cello-I hope it’s ok.

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Tatertots & Jello Cupcakes

Hello, Tatertots and Jello fans! I’m Liz, the Hoosier Momma from Hoosier Homemade. I’m a SAHM of 3 teenage boys, that keep me running with their sports and school activities. I’ve been blogging a little over a year, I share lots of baked goods, Budget Friendly Meals, and decorating tips and tricks, all to help you “Make Your House a Home.”

What would be fitting for the Tatertots and Jello Blog? Well…Tatertots and Jello Cupcakes, of course!

When Jen asked me to show you some of my cupcakes, and teach you how to make them, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Back in April, for my son’s birthday, I made him Chicken Nuggets and Fry Cupcakes. I used the same concept that I made the nuggets with, and made Tatertots.

Tatertots Directions:

1. You will need…a pound cake or angel food cake (store bought because it has a better texture, believe me, I tried), a can of store bought frosting, vanilla (not whipped, I almost always make my own frosting, but for this, you need store bought), crinkle cut sharp blade of some type and vanilla wafers, crushed.
2. Cut the cake into chunks, about 1 inch square
3. Melt the frosting in the microwave about 15 seconds until very thin, dip cake chunks into frosting then into wafers
4. And…there you have it, Tatertots

Jello Poke Cupcakes Directions:

1. You will need a plain white box cake mix, plus the ingredients to add (hop on over and check out my video on how to make your box mix taste homemade), jello and Cool Whip (for frosting)
2. Bake cupcakes, after they are cooled, place them on a foil lined cookie sheet and poke them several times with a fork
3. Mix Jello according to directions on the box. I used red and blue because of the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, but of course, any flavor you like is fine.
4. Gently pour jello over cupcakes, you can see there is lots of overflow, that’s why you want to put them on a pan
5. Then line another cookie sheet with foil, wipe off the bottoms of the cupcakes and transfer them to the other pan (this way, when the jello sets up, the cupcake won’t be all sticky on the bottom) Place in fridge for a couple hours.
6. I made finger jello with the extra jello for decorating the cupcakes

I’d love for you to head over and visit me at Hoosier Homemade. Earlier this week, I shared these cute Memorial Day Cupcakes and a video showing you how easy they are to make.

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