Brady Lou: Project Guru

DIY Rain Jacket Pouch

SAVE MONEY. BE ORGANIZED.

My husband bought a new rain jacket after our trip to Colorado this past fall. I think it was the whole getting stuck in a downpour on a two hour hike that made him realize he wanted a rain coat. Several months after getting his rain coat, he talked about wanting a little pouch to put it in so he could stick it in his car and have it when he needed it.

While making superhero capes, I ran across some rain jacket material and had a lightbulb moment– I could make a pouch for Jeff’s rain jacket pretty easily…so I got to work!

Supplies:

sewing machine
fabric
snap closure

Game Plan:

1. Cut out two long strips of fabric a little bit wider than you want your pouch.

I totally guessed on the size of my fabric and pouch. I really had no idea how big it needed to be to fit the coat in but it ended up being the perfect size so good luck guessing!

2. Put the right sides together and sew along all four sides, leaving a two-inch gap for you to pull the fabric right side out.

3. Pull the fabric right side out and then hand stitch the gap closed.

4. Press the fabric.

5. Figure out how big of a flap you want, and then stitch the sides together to create a pouch.

6. Hand sew snap closures onto the flap and bag.

It was so much fun surprising Jeff with his rain jacket pouch when he got home from work. I love being able to meet his needs without spending any money!

Thursday Leftovers: Organize Before You Shop

SAVE MONEY. SAVE SPACE.

Have a shopping trip planned sometime soon? Before you spend all your money on new clothes, I suggest you set a timer for 15 minutes and spend that 15 minutes organizing your closet and drawers. Try to get through them all so you can get a good sense of what clothes you already have. This way, when you go shopping you’ll know what you actually need and will be less likely to buy an irresistible red tank top if you just looked at the other three you have tucked away in a drawer. It’s a good way to prevent yourself from blowing lots of money on cute but unnecessary clothes.

I thought of this tip while writing the week-long series on de-cluttering closets. It made me question how I got so many clothes and why I have three pink tank tops. After cleaning out my closets and drawers, the thought of going shopping made me sick because I had too many clothes as it was already! I realized then that the next time I go shopping, I need to organize my clothes BEFORE I go to help battle my strong urges to buy when I see a good deal!

Even if the tip doesn’t work for you and you still come home with bags full of new clothes, at least your closets and drawers will be neat and tidy!

Bookshelf Makeover

SAVE MONEY. FURNITURE MAKEOVER.

This bookshelf has been with me for a long time! I got it when I was elementary age to hold all my dolls. It originally had sliding glass doors that enclosed the bottom two shelves but those shattered when I moved into our apartment after I married Jeff.

Rather than toss it, I just decided to use it as a bookshelf and have been for the last eight years. The bookshelf is made out of particle board and looks rather cheap because it is shiny and you can tell it is not real wood very easily.

I was using it to hold decorating books and nicknacks but decided that was a very good use of it since it was in the hallway outside the kids’ bedrooms. I wanted to use it to hold the kids’ reading books and for extra toy storage but decided I should make it over before I did all that. I love how it turned out and now you can’t tell it isn’t real wood just by looking at it!

Supplies:

paint
painter’s tape
paint roller
ruler

Game Plan:

1. Cover entire bookshelf with paint primer.

Bookshelf BEFORE

2. Paint two coats of white paint on bookshelf.

3. Using a ruler, measure out stripes for the top of your bookshelf.

4. Press tape down firmly to top of bookshelf.

5. Paint a color of your choice on top of the bookshelf and immediately pull the tape off.

I had to do two coats of paint so I had to wait to pull my tape off. The sooner you can pull it off, the better. The longer your paint dries, the messier your lines will be. Mine looked pretty good, especially with having to let the first coat dry some before I painted a second coat.

I am making some toy boxes to fill the empty space on the shelf but am not quite finished with them yet. The blue canvas boxes are from the Dollar Store believe it or not and the wooden box I got at Hobby Lobby and then stained it. Stay tuned to see my finished toy boxes.

Tuesday Tip: Hy-Vee is Kid Friendly

TREAT YOUR KIDS.

I posted last week on how your kids could get free cookies at Wal-Mart. I’ve got great news for you, Hy-Vee one ups them!

At Hy-Vee, kids can get a free cookie at the bakery AND a free balloon on a stick at the floral department. Plus, if they ask they can get a sticker from the cashier! Did I mention they also had car carts??

My four-year-old begs to go to Hy-Vee now– a very smart marketing move on Hy-Vee’s part!

What other stores do you know that cater to kids?

Vintage Gift Wrapping

PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING.

I had so much fun experimenting with different materials to wrap packages for my friend Izzy’s bridal showers. Here are a few gift wrappings I came up with; I hope they inspire you to get creative with your gift wrapping.

Newspaper & Burlap Package

1. Wrap gift in newspaper 2. Wrap a thick strip of burlap around the package and hot glue ends together on the backside of the package.

3. Make four loops with raffia and hot glue on top of the burlap strip.

4. Make a flower out of one coffee filter by following my blog post on Coffee Filter Flowers.

The flower on this package is just ONE filter instead of several.

5. Make newspaper flowers by cutting out a spiral and wrapping it tightly and gluing it together. Glue flowers to package. 6. Cut out leaves from newspaper and glue underneath flowers.

Coffee Filter & Lace Package

1. Wrap package in brown shipping paper.

2. Wrap a wide piece of lace around package and hot glue together on the back of the package.

Wrap lace around middle of package

3. Wrap a piece of twine around the package twice in a crisscross pattern and tie in the middle.

Tie twine around package and lace

4. Make a large coffee filter flower following the directions on my Coffee Filter Flower Tutorial. Hot glue the flower in the middle of the package.

Satin & Newspaper Package

1. Wrap package in satin fabric.

Use pinking shears to cut the edges of the fabric to give a finished look.

I started by wrapping my gift in luxorious red fabric

2. Use lace ribbon to tie off the top of the package.

Then I tied a lace ribbon around the top portion

3. Cut out a tag out of card stock, punch a hole in the top of it, and use string to tie it around the top of the gift.

Make the tag appear old by rubbing the edges with brown stamping ink.

Next I added the newspaper accordion flower and an antiqued tag

4. Make an accordion flower out of newspaper by following my Newspaper Accordion Flower Tutorial.

Looking for other vintage bridal shower ideas? Check out some of my other posts:

Newspaper Accordion Flower

Lace Flower Tutorial

Vintage Bridal Shower Garland

Vintage & Rustic Wreath

Vintage Bridal Shower

Monogrammed Tea Towels

Sewing Pattern Flower

Vintage Flower Arrangement

Coffee Filter Flower

DIY Superhero Cape

DIY. SAVE MONEY.

Have some slick material like satin laying around? Most of you probably don’t have a bolt of satin laying around, but you may be surprised to find you have the perfect material for making a superhero cape– you just have to think outside the box.

I took some previous bridesmaid dresses and transformed them into superhero capes for my boys and their friends when they come over to play. Emden even has a pink one now!

Supplies:

slick material such as satin
scissors
sewing machine
velcro or snap closures

Game Plan:

1. I had an existing superhero cape already so I just traced around it.

2. Cut out two layers of the cape.

3. Put the same sides together and stitch around the outside, leaving a couple inch gap to pull the fabric through to get it right side out.

4. After your cape is right side out, hand sew the gap closed.

5. Sew velcro onto the cape around the neck area.

6. Add a name or letters to the cape if desired.

I haven’t gotten to this step yet because I’ve been pretty busy, but I do plan on making each of my kiddos one with their name on it eventually. I also would like to make one with a Superman and Batman logo. One thing at a time I guess…

What other ideas do you have for repurposing old bridesmaid dresses?

Thursday Leftovers: Set Veggies Out to Encourage Munching

Not getting enough fruits and vegetables these days? Have any picky eaters? Wash and prepare your fruits and veggies as soon as you bring them home from the store. Store them in see through containers so you can be reminded to eat healthy every time you open the fridge. Also, set out healthy foods your family struggles to eat the 30 minutes before mealtime. This will encourage healthy munching and might get your family where they need to be when it comes to eating their 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

This has worked great with not only Jeff and I, but our three year old son who rarely ate any fruits and vegetables. Now if I sit out a container of carrots or grapes before supper he doesn’t have to nag me about being hungry and I honestly don’t mind if he spoils his supper by eating an entire container of carrots! Especially because tomorrow he may decide he no longer likes carrots!

What do you like to munch on before meals?

Donate Hair for Cancer Patients

MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

A little over a week ago I decided to make a difference in the life of someone I’ll never meet or know by chopping off 12 inches of my hair and donating it to Locks of Love. This was my fourth time to donate and I can’t think of an easier way to help someone out. Plus, it motivates me to change things up about every two years!

Locks of Love’s mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

Game Plan:

1. Make sure your hair meets the GUIDELINES FOR ACCEPTABLE DONATIONS

Hair that is colored or permed is acceptable.
Hair cut years ago is usable if it has been stored in a ponytail or braid.
Hair that has been bleached (usually this refers to highlighted hair) is not usable. If unsure, ask your stylist. We are not able to accept bleached hair due to a chemical reaction that occurs during the manufacturing process. **If the hair was bleached years ago and has completely grown out it is fine to donate.
Hair that is swept off of the floor is not usable because it is not bundled in a ponytail or braid.
Hair that is shaved off and not in a ponytail or braid is not usable. If shaving your head, first divide hair into multiple ponytails to cut off.
We cannot accept dreadlocks. Our manufacturer is not able to use them in our children’s hairpieces. We also cannot accept wigs, falls, hair extensions or synthetic hair.
Layered hair is acceptable if the longest layer is 10 inches.
Layered hair may be divided into multiple ponytails.

Curly hair may be pulled straight to measure the minimum 10 inches.
10 inches measured tip to tip is the minimum length needed for a hairpiece.

2. Cut at least 10 inches of hair from tip to tip off.

Hair must be in a ponytail or braid before it is cut.

3. Mail in hair.

Hair must be clean and completely dry before it is mailed in.
Place the ponytail or braid inside of a plastic bag, and then inside of a padded envelope.
All hair donations must be mailed to Locks of Love at:234 Southern Blvd.
West Palm Beach, FL 33405-2701

4. Print out and fill out the Hair Donation Form on the Locks of Love website and place in the envelope.

If you can’t get the form to print for you, just write down your name and address on a full size separate sheet of paper and include it in the envelope.

BEFORE (taken with my iPhone)

Don’t have 10 inches of hair to donate? If you only have 8 inches of hair to donate, you can check out donating it to Pantene.

Tuesday Tip: Free Cookies for Kids at Wal-Mart

SAVE MONEY. TREAT YOUR KIDS.

So I recently just discovered from some friends one of the best kept secrets…Wal-Mart gives free cookies to kids! I was shocked by this news because we frequent Wal-Mart a lot, yet I had never seen or heard of this deal!

Of course, my next trip to Wal-Mart I had to test it out myself and why wouldn’t I? Who doesn’t want a free cookie?

All you do is go to the bakery and have your child ask if he/she can have a cookie and viola, he/she will get a cookie! It worked for us! Our Wal-Mart actually just had a little container the cookies were in and you got them yourself, but I would still ask before you just grabbed one out.

What a great way to give your child incentive for being good in the cart while you’re shopping. If only I would have known of this deal earlier!

Owen devouring his free cookie!

Handmade Bouquet Bridal Shower Game

HAVE FUN. BE CREATIVE.

I came up with this game to play at Izzy’s bridal shower last month. I wanted to do a game that was new, allowed for people to interact with each other, and that was a lot of fun. I think this game hit the spot! Guests of all ages got involved and dare I say showed some competitiveness!

Izzy was so impressed with the bouquets, she thought it would be fun to save them for the bridesmaids to carry down the aisle for rehearsal. What a great idea! If you plan on doing that, make sure you have the same number of groups as bridesmaids so you aren’t short a bouquet come rehearsal time!

Supplies:

Baskets (1 basket for each group)
floral wire
tape
scissors
sewing patterns
newspaper
lace
fabric
coffee filters
paper plate
fork

Game Plan:

1. Gather above supplies and fill each basket with them or similar items.

2. At the shower, divide the guests into equal groups.

3. Explain that they must create a bouquet for the bride using only the items in the basket.

4. Allow groups 5 minutes to create their bouquets.

Make sure to give a one-minute warning and take lots of pictures!

Mother of the Bride looking to see where to make improvements

5. Have each group pick a representative or “bridesmaid” to line up at the back of the room with her group’s bouquet.

6. Have the bride-to-be stand at the front of the room and have the group representatives walk down the “aisle” as a bridesmaid would. The bride-to-be judges the bouquets as they walk down the aisle and must pick one as the winner.