Pumpkin Packed Mac

This is just a quick post while the pumpkin season is still in full effect.  My three year old will not eat a fruit or vegetable to save her life (literally!). I can get her to eat the occasional applesauce packet or smoothie but those are hit or miss. My 1 year old, on the otherhand, will eat nearly anything (she loves frozen blueberries and frozen peas and carrots (Trader joe's is great for these!). So I bought this book (at the Goodwill of course) Deceptively Delicious. It really got me thinking in an array of directions.

It's pretty basic...just puree veggies and add them to foods. The key is that they have to be of similar colors...like pumpkin and mac n' cheese!  Canned pumpkin has a mild taste and a smooth texture.  It has loads of health benefits.

It blends in so nicely. The color matches perfectly. Best of all...It's been working!

 SO stock up while canned pumpkin is cheap and this will be a great way to get some added health into your little elf.

I've Always Wanted to be an Interior Designer

I am officially a minterior designer.  The doll house is still in process, but the process is the best part! The next best part is the cost.

Tallying the expenses so far we have:

The house $2
The tea lights (ceiling lighting) $2
The trivets (rugs) $2
Wooden tacks (furniture feet) $1

TOTAL: $7

Spying some sturdy looking Styrofoam near my complex dumpster, I snagged it as the basis for the furniture structures.  That along with cardboard, wooden tacks, fabric, straight pins, textured foam, scrapbook paper, mosaic tiles, colored tin foil paper, beads, some wood veneer siding from my personal entertainment center, a whole lot of hot glue, match boxes, a cloth diaper for stuffing, and other household odds and ends made for my mini wonderland.

 THE KITCHEN

styrofoam, mosaic tiles, wooden beads, blue aluminum foil, metal puzzle fragment

oven: metal tape, buttons, sharpie

styrofoam, sharpie

part of a child-size ladel, battery operated tea light
I attached a magnet to the ceiling and one the the tea light so she can turn the light off and on

 

THE LIVING ROOM

Wood veneer, Styrofoam, and wood tacks

battery operated tea light attached with magnet to the ceiling surrounded with some metalic ribbon



couch: styrofoam, scrap fabric, straight pins, stuffed with cloth diaper

Hand sewn pillows out of scrap fabric (same as couch) and stuffed with diaper

Some kids may not do well with straight pins, but knowing my daughter she will be fine.  

Use your best judgement.

THE BATHROOM

Toilet made from Styrofoam and a piece of metal puzzle from one of those holiday poppers

Tub made from the tin package of some headphones
Beads for claw feet
Blue tin foil for water
and more of that metal puzzle 

Vanity=matchbox, veneer, beads, some blue packaging from the battery tea lights, a bottle cap, cardboard, and some left over mosaic mirror squares and circle.
The flooring is some more textured foam.

THE BEDROOM

wooden ornament frame soon to be headboard

textured foam for floorin looks a lot like tile and carpet

scrapbook paper as wall paper 

cloth diaper for padding and not be gross but this one was plenty stained (reduce reuse!)

scrapbook paper...still not decided if I will keep this up but I thought she'd enjoy a little playfulness in her play house

Bed-making: Styrofoam, cardboard, scrap fabric, cloth diaper for padding, straight pins and a whole lot of hot glue

Lamp shade made of a drain strainer thingy and an old knob
The night stand is made from veneer matchboxes and wooden beads
Headboards are made from a craft store ornament frame I had on hand
The rug is a dollar store trivet (3 for a dollar!)
The carpet is textured foam I got on sale

The project is nearly finished!  Now to get a bit of artwork on the walls, a roof, perhaps a chandelier, some curtains, and most important some sweet little peg people to finish this off.  I'm so excited with the way it has turned out so far.  It's stylish and fancy and just rustic enough to be perfect for my little Doo.

The finishing details to come!

The Cheapest Little House on the Block

Okay, fellow thrifty crafters!  This should really get your crafty juices flowing!  I found this beauty at the Goodwill half off sale day (every other week here in Phoenix...I know how do I handle it?!).  It needs a roof, but I happen to have some thin wood planks left over from another house project that should work just fine after my husband drills some holes for me (I've learned I'm a terrible driller/screw driver and I still have the humbling blue nail mark to remind me!). More on that project later!

This is 2 dollar blank canvas for my cheapy crafty brain to expode all over!

 I'd love to hear some of your ideas...

What would you do with this deal of a house?

 I first looked into buying the furniture, but even ebay let me down with nothing but pricy pieces.  I've seen some at the dollar store in the past, but no such luck this time.  However, I did find some trivets that look an awful lot like mini rugs!

So, I started pinning my a*% off and found that anything...anything can be recycled into a miniature.  So, I started searching around my house and found that my home full of craft supplies I've gathered (whenever I've found them on the cheap), and lots of would-be junk was all media for my imagination.

This is going to be a Christmas present for my 3 year old.  I love the idea of this wooden and homemade dollhouse being her spark for imaginative play.  I love that it will show her how play things can be made from all things mundane and that her mama cares enough about her to work harder (and funner if that were a word) rather than costly and quick.  It's our family's mantra really.

Before kids, my husband and I were teachers living on two incomes. We bought a house, then got pregnant; and I stayed home with our first little girl.  I had been a thirfty shopper since I was young, but dropping down to one income really took my thrifty-ness to a whole new level--to the point where it pains me to hear of others spending/wasting money on things I know I could find for cheaper (i.e. the awesome sunglasses I got at the dollar store today while some people pay hundreds).  I may even be teetering on "cheap", but I love it. Thrifting, dollar-store-ing, and general frugal living makes a treasure hunt out of life. It teaches my children to be creative.  And creative thinkers can do anything!

Personally, I've let my creativity dwindle over the last couple years... blaming it on the kids, of course.  Now I'm on a crafting run and it is bringing me such joy and fulfillment.  I'm not just a mama.  Something of who I am has been revived. I'm a crafting queen!

Stay tuned for more detailed doll house progress...