Installing Penny Tile Floors Part One

This is what my bathroom/bedroom looks like right now. That's real life, folks. Real, messy life.

We've been slowly remodeling our Master bathroom over the past couple months. Yay! I wasn't being a good blogger when we started this project, so I don't have an excellent before picture, but I did scrape up this realtor photo from when we bought the house:

Yes, ladies and gents, that's carpet in the bathroom. Why, oh, why do they do this? Next to the bath tub? Why?! So, nearly four years later the carpet (and the lovely linoleum in the WC) are no more. 

(You may notice that the cabinets are looking a bit different from that before photo too. I'll have to do a post on that project soon.)

We chose a white porcelain penny tile for the bathroom floors. I have always loved that kind of tile. It is definitely a bit retro, but I think it's a classic too. The tile comes attached to a mesh backing in 12x12 sheets, like so:

One of the great things about this tile (in my opinion) is that you don't need a tile saw to cut it. These are the only tools we've been using to lay the tile:

Scissors and tile nippers. The scissors cut the mesh, and when we need a half or quarter tile, we use the nippers. It's a bit tedious, perhaps, but definitely easy.

So far we have put down the adhesive and the tile. Here's what it looks like pre-grout:

Yay! So excited for it to be all finished.

Linking up at Monday Funday, Tell Me Tuesday at Lil Mrs. Tori, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, BeBetsy, The Inspiration Board at Carolyn's Homework, If It's Not Baroque, and Project Inspired.

Nursery in Progress

Here's a little nursery sneak peek. The walls are still bare, but I finished up three sewing projects this weekend!

Hopefully it will all be done by the time out little man arrives!

Small World Decoupage Globe (Vintage Disneyland Room)

You all have seen the amazing decoupage globes created by Wendy Gold, right? They are so inspirational, and I would love to own one. This is one of my favorites, and one that I thought would fit into my kids' Vintage Disneyland Room pretty well:

ImagineNations by Wendy Gold

It reminds me of the Pixar movie UP. Carl and Ellie would have it in their house. Don't you think? The more I thought about a vintage globe in the vintage Disneyland room, the more I thought that I needed to make a small world globe that reflected the artistic style of one of my favorite Disney artists, Mary Blair. 

I found artwork online that I printed out and decoupaged onto the globe.

I found the different sun artwork at the Disneyland California Report, and the children from around the world were created by Greg Maletic for Hong Kong Disneyland. After decoupaging the images to my globe, I hand painted yellow and pink triangles to create a path around the world and connect all the images.

I am really happy with the way it came out.

What do you all think? I hope to be able to show off the completed Disneyland room soon!

Linking up at Whimsy Wednesday, 36th Avenue, Today's Creative Blog, Lil Luna Link Party, Clean and Scentsible, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Liz Marie Blog, Flamingo Toes, A Night Owl Blog, 30 Handmade Days, Shaken Together, Tell Me Tuesday at Lil Mrs. Tori, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, BeBetsy, The Inspiration Board at Carolyn's Homework, Project Inspired, and Lolly Jane.

Make a Simple Pleated Crib Skirt

Work on baby boy's nursery is progressing! Last week I sewed up some simple crib bedding. Have you made a crib sheet before? It is SO SO easy. You can whip one up in 30 minutes easy and make them in whatever fun fabrics or patterns your little heart desires. Check out Made's tutorial here. If you want a simple crib skirt to go with your simple crib sheet, lemme show you how to throw one together. 

Basically, you need five panels to make a crib skirt: the rectangular base of the crib skirt and one panel to drape off of each side. Start off by determining the dimensions of the five rectangles you need to cut.

First, you will need to cut a piece of fabric for the base. This fabric will not be visible, so feel free to use some piece of fabric that has been sitting in your stash for years. The base will be the size of your mattress plus seam allowances. My base piece was 28x53 inches.

Next, determine the dimensions of the panels--two long sides and two short sides. The side panels will be the length of the crib mattress + pleat + hem allowances. I allowed three inches for the pleat and one inch for hems on each side, which gave me a 56 inch length for the long panels and 31 inches for the short panels

I wanted my crib skirt to have an 11 inch drape (When the crib mattress is lowered, the skirt will be the exact distance from the floor. I decided to go with a shorter drape since the mattress will be in the lowered position longer.), so the other dimension of my side panels was 12 inches (11 inches plus 1 inch for hem/seam allowances).

Once you have done all your maths, cut out your five rectangles.

For my skirt, I cut:

1 base (28x53)

2 long side panels (12x56)

2 short side panels (12x31)

Next, I zig zag stitched around the edges of my panels to finish and prevent fraying (use a serger if you have it or a rolled hem if you prefer). Then hemmed up three sides of each panel a half inch.

Once all the panels are hemmed on three sides (don't hem the top where the panel will be attached to the base fabric), its time to make your pleat. I folded my panels in half and pressed the seam to mark the center of each panel. Then I measured an inch and a half on either side of that center mark (because I had allowed three inches for the pleat. If you wanted a bigger pleat, you could allow four inches and then mark two inches on either side of the center, for example).

Bring your marks (I just used pins) to the center mark and press. Pin your pleat in place.

Stitch your pleat in place with a basting stitch a quarter inch from the edge of your fabric. This stitching will keep the pleat in place when you attach it to the base, but it will not show when the crib skirt is complete.

Finally, sew the panels to the base fabric! Center the panels on each side of the base fabric (right sides together!) and pin in place. Sew each panel leaving a half inch seam allowance. If you want, you can finish your seam allowance with a zig zag stitch or serger. 

Viola! Crib skirt!

When baby is bigger and the mattress is lowered, the pleat will drape below the crib and look like this:

Maybe the best thing about this crib skirt is that it cost me about six dollars. SIX. Woot!

Linking up at Ready, Set, Pin Party; Craft-O-Maniac Monday; Made by You Monday; Monday Funday; Sundae Scoop; Nifty Thrifty Sunday; Tatertots and Jello; Whipperberry; Liz Marie Blog; Flamingo Toes; A Night Owl Blog; 30 Handmade Days; and That DIY Party.

Treat Million Card Giveaway

We like free stuff, right? Right.

So, check it: From now through June 17, any new customer to Treat can get a free card for any occasion absolutely free.

Treat sells personalized cards you can ship directly from their site. Totally convenient. You can change the message, fonts, and add your own photos.

I'm thinking this is just in time for Father's Day. My kids have four grandpas, so this may be the perfect way to send each one a little love. This card is cute:

And, next year, when we have three kiddos in our house, I'm totally coming back for this one:

Anyway, to get your FREE card: 

1. Check out the selection and choose your favorite card (It doesn't have to be a Father's Day card!). 
2. Upload pictures, choose your font and message, and preview the card to make sure it's right..
3. Use promo code TREAT1MA when you checkout.
4. Enjoy the response!

NOTE: To get the card totally free, have it shipped to you. For the cost of a stamp, Treat can mail it directly to the recipient. 

See my disclosure policy here.

I Tried It Tuesday: Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Almost every Sunday, my family and I go over to my mom's house for dinner. And pretty much every single one of those Sundays, my mom makes some delicious variety of cupcake--peach cupcakes, Oreo cupcakes, S'more cupcakes--good stuff, people, good stuff. What I'm trying to tell you folks is that I have a decent amount of cupcake eating experience. And, guys, in my expert opinion, these little strawberry cheesecake cupcakes might actually be the VERY BEST.

I actually made these back in February for Valentine's Day, but they are a perfect summer BBQ treat too. Get the recipe here at Dollhouse Bake Shoppe.

Here are my tips:

1. Feel free to substitute your favorite cream cheese frosting.
2. Don't be tempted to replace the cake batter with some other white cake recipe. Seriously, this cake is SO good.
3. I used store bought strawberry jam rather than making my own filling. It's okay. Give yourself a break. It's still going to be delicious. Trust.
4. It's no big deal if you don't have a bismark tip for filling the cupcakes. I cut a little cone out of each cupcake, and it actually created an adorable heart-shaped strawberry filling in the middle of each cupcake (Really! Check out the picture below).
5. Prepare yourself for compliments. I may be overselling these, but really. So. Good.

Linking up at Monday Funday, Made by You Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, The Scoop Link Party, Market Yourself Monday, and Craft-o-Maniac.