diy – JourneyChic - a quest for easy, affordable style

Felt Monkey Ornament {how to}

December 12, 2011 By JourneyChic 9 Comments

Junior is obsessed with monkeys. I suppose this isn't uncommon with 17-month old boys, but ever since he learned the Spanish word (mono) at daycare he loves to point out monkeys wherever he sees them represented. " Exchanging ornaments is a family tradition, so for Junior's second Christmas it made sense for him to have his very own monkey hanging from a (Christmas) tree. Enter Etsy, where I found an adorable little mono that served as inspiration. I whipped up my own version on a Friday … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts & sewing, holidays

Colorful Bucket Advent Calendar {how-to}

December 5, 2011 By JourneyChic 11 Comments

Last year I fell in love with an overpriced Pottery Barn advent calendar that was made with little buckets strung up on branches with twine. It was $200, and its simple and elegant style was pretty for grown-ups but not very exciting for kids. With inexpensive craft store supplies and mini galvanized buckets purchased from a wedding favor site, I took my inspiration piece and added bright Christmas colors to make a unique bucket advent calendar for my little boy. Supplies 5 wooden … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts & sewing, holidays

“Where The Wild Things Are” Nursery Mobile

November 28, 2011 By JourneyChic 5 Comments

Happy Monday! I don't know about you, but I plan on spending my lunch break looking for Cyber Monday deals, so I will keep this quick. When I visited my friend and her new baby recently, I naturally had to check out the little guy's nursery. What caught my eye was this precious "Where The Wild Things Are" mobile that my friend's husband made. My friend is a teacher and her husband works at a museum, so they are both very interested in how and what children learn. Babies are stimulated by … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts & sewing, nursery and kid spaces

Reader Re-do: Quatrefoil Mirror Transformation

October 24, 2011 By JourneyChic 11 Comments

The most pleasant surprise arrived in my inbox this weekend: a JourneyChic reader followed my tutorial on how to paint a quatrefoil mirror and shared her shiny, silver results! Renee from This Won't Hurt A Bit bought the inexpensive black quatrefoil mirror from Lowe's that I recommended in my original post, and gussied it up with silver paint. She also took some smart steps: instead of using newspaper to cover the mirror while priming, she used metal foil. Then, she topped it off with a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: diy, reader appreciation

Guest Blogging: Fun with Crayons!

September 13, 2011 By JourneyChic 2 Comments

Today I'm guest blogging for Eve over at Beautiful Spitup about cool projects to make with crayons. Eve's a great mommy blogger from Boston who I virtually met through a SITS class, and her blog is filled with funny and informative tales about motherhood. Please stop by to see more ideas like this one: Source: familyfun.go.com via Laura@JourneyChic on Pinterest Check out more inspiring crayon projects on my "Fun With Crayons" board on Pinterest! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts & sewing, guest blogging, Uncategorized

Guest Posting About Easy Nursery Projects

September 12, 2011 By JourneyChic Leave a Comment

Hello, all! We're back from a relaxing vacation in Maine, which means we're back to crazy morning traffic and waking up before dawn. Sigh. Although I'm still getting all my ducks in a row for the week, you can find me over at Bluebird Kisses today where I'm sharing a bunch of easy nursery projects that I made with a little help from paper and glue. Check it out! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts & sewing, guest blogging

Easy Nursery Monogram in 7 Simple Steps

August 22, 2011 By JourneyChic 8 Comments

A common nursery design element that Junior's bedroom lacked until this weekend was a monogram. Monograms and other personalized art are such cute ways to teach kids their names, but with so much art going on in his room - between the animals above the changing table and the travel-inspired alphabet cards above his crib - I hesitated to add something else. Until this weekend, that is, when I was bit by the craft bug. Cluttered walls be damned! My kid's gonna have a monogram! A big 12" … [Read more...]

Filed Under: crafts & sewing, nursery and kid spaces