Dreamy DIY Or How My Mom Saved the Day

Last year we flew from MS to CA and even though I had planned and planned (it was my 1st time traveling with not just a child but 4 children) in the end, on a scale of 1- 10 it was Really Hard.

The bags I had filled with snacks and crayons and a notepad were depleted within 20 minutes.  

So when we started to plan our road trip to Louisiana (6 1/2 hours without kids, 8 with kids), I did a ton of research on how to make the drive fun (or just tolerable).  A lot of suggestions for games were either too pricey or had a lot of small parts and I was not going to deal with a million tiny toy parts all over our car because I'm mean.  

To start, I bought a pack of 4 small canvas bags from Michaels ($7) and drew little things that sort-of applied to each child.  

CC is obsessed with unicorns and Lil' Dude doesn't really care, so their bags were no-brainers.  Annie loves the song 'Take a Walk' (thanks radio) and the Little Mermaid, so her bag sort of reflects those two things.  Brinx likes everything, especially the color purple, so I decided to subtly push an appreciation for Prince on her.  

I made sock puppets without looking up directions (glue gun, old socks, pieces of felt and a permanent marker) . . .  

. . . And they looked awful, but the kids liked them.

The girls' bags had two books (1 from our library, 1 from Dollar Tree), a card game (3 for $1, again Dollar Tree magic), Road Trip Bingo (4 for $8), 

and the real splurge, but totally worth it, Crayola's Color Wonder kit. 

I got these at Walmart for $8 each, along with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Color Wonder coloring book and extra markers to hand out only when the girls got bored. It was pretty pricey, especially since our budget was $0, but lent itself to quiet time, which is worth $Priceless.

Lil' Dude's bag had books, a puppet, bingo and Dollar Tree toys and he was super content.

At the last minute (like pulling out of the drive way last minute) I threw in some pocket Etch a Sketchs which also bought more quiet time.

Magic Man rigged up our portable DVD player with some rope (maybe 10 minutes before we left, we love last minute) so everyone could see.  It made me love him.  

But here's the Real DIY and why my Mom saved the trip:

This adorable, perfect French company, Lale came out with a Travel Kit as a collaboration with the website Babyccino Kids.

Ugh! I wanted them so bad for the kiddies, but at 50 EUROS each and with 4 kids it would have been around $275USD. So I decided I'd make them for free - or a less-amazing version of them (minus the doll, that's just too hard to make).  

First I pillaged my fabric box and also used old sheets.

I drew patterns on regular paper but my mom (an expert sewer) suggested using tissue paper next time for a more accurate cut.  The eye mask turned into a Kitty Eye mask and the knapsack was more like a drawstring shoe bag. 

I used 'coordinating' fabrics for each side of the mask and put a layer of felt in the middle to help block out light (my mom's suggestion).  Mom had extra elastic for the straps and helped me sew since I didn't look up a How-To-Guide (master sewer, I tell you).

And of course, my mom knew how to sew a quick blanket (which is similar to This Tutorial).

I cut a horseshoe shape for the neck pillow but next time I'll look up a real pattern because the neck part was too thin and a little funny-shaped once we filled it (we cut up a regular pillow for the batting).  

Here's how it turned out. . . .

(My mom made up the pattern for the drawstring bags - she's my hero! - but These would work too)

Turquoise for Annie:

Royal Blue for Lil' Dude:

Purple for Brinx:

'Pink' for CC (or the closest thing I had to pink):

The best part?  

The kids actually used/loved them.

 After hours and hours (too many!) and seeing the results, I was happy that I had followed through with this and SO grateful for my mom's help.  

However, if I had tons of Euro to drop, I would buy the ready-made bag that comes in beautiful French fabric AND has a doll so fast.  

At least the kids used them again for their sleepover at Grandma and Popa's house (and we used Lil' Dude's in the hotel to make him a bed using linens I trusted).

Dreamy Lyrics Make Dream Decor

When I was a teenager and our family would visit New York I LOVED seeing 'Post No Bills' on walls everywhere.  I liked how minimal it was and even though it makes sense and you know what the message is, it's such a strange grouping of words.

Last year when I was in NYC I saw the prettiest 

'Post No Bills' sign ever.

I was with my two favorite ladies with one of my favorite pizzas: Lombardi's pepperoni and ricotta cheese.  Oh my gosh I'm so hungry right now.

I had a giant canvas waiting at home and now knew what I wanted to paint. Something neon coral/ orange with a creamy pistachio green in stencil letters.

 But it took me forever to decide on which lyrics to use.  I was really leaning toward's a TV on the Radio song, but I didn't want to use lyrics that would scare people when they came over and I wanted Wolf Parade incorporated in my home decor (naturally) and this could be my chance.  So I chose a line  from 'I'll Believe in Anything.'  It also took me even longer to finally hang it.

 

Dreamiest invention yet? Probably Contact Paper

Not only do I line all my shelves and drawers with it - but I can't stop putting in on my furniture as well.
I scoured TJ Maxx and Home Goods for rolls and rolls.  The more patterns and colors, the better.

For my mini-bookcase I used three different patterns (because I can't stop).  Plus, I considered painting the bookcase like the Roll Top but just the thought exhausted me.   

This night stand came off lucky since I only used one and one color of paint.

I dreamt I had money to buy an awesome sofa

I mean like real money, like ABC Carpet & Home money or Anthropologie money (don't act like they aren't high end - their prices and patterns are so alienating they screams 'high end').

But alas, I do not have said money, so I had to settle for a Rooms 2 Go sofa, which was tres comfy. 

And brown.

Again, like the Roll Top (not to be confused with Roll Tide), I do not have a before photo but you can imagine a plain (read: ugly) brown and black fabric-covered sofa.  I dare say it's made of terry.  

So I took two table cloths from World Market (my version of ABC Carpet & Home in AL) and stapled it to the back and bottom frame and wrapped two cushions in it.

Since it's backed against the wall, you can't even tell how horribly I stapled it to the back.
But soon that wasn't enough - with no experience and without reading about upholstery, I bought a few more table cloths and literally sewed it on the arms.

  Suddenly, a thimble sounded like the best invention in the world, but I was working with such bare bones material, I had to suffer instead.  

Of course, if you look closely you see seems don't meet or match but who's looking that closely?

Not this guy, he just wants to cuddle. 

Did I mention that in AL I met and married a MS boy?  He's so patient with my hobbies and interest as I am with his.

(I am still learning how to dress for these activities.)

Zebras might be my dream animal

Ah, zebras, you have everything a girl could want: stripes, black and white and smaller versions of horses.

My mom is obsessed with black and white animals and growing up we were surrounded by toys and pictures of her favorite animals: panda bears, zebras and snow leopards.

Snow leopards and pandas are fine, but zebras are my jam.

So when I saw this white lamp at Home Goods I knew what had to happen.

Stripes

And florals, of course.

And baby zebra matches perfectly in the family room/ parlour/ living room/ library.

And clearly, between my two preferred home decor aesthetics, I've veered more towards the loud, brash, pattern on pattern type.


Now, when it comes to shoes, specifically Jeremy Scott sneakers, then we can talk pandas. 

I'd wear these so fast.

And maybe get front row seats as a Reward.