Do It Your Freaking Self - Blog - Page 20 of 23

13 Vintage Aprons to Make and Buy

on April 15, 2016

I’m not gonna lie you guys… the idea for this post came to me while I was binge watching Young and Hungry. I’m a bit in love with that show… especially Gabi’s Aprons. Seriously? I know its TV magic, but how does someone that broke afford all of those super cute aprons?!? Priorities man!

I personally have quite a tidy collection that I’m very proud of. I tend to get them from discount stores like TJ Maxx and Ross, but I’ll admit I’ve been weak and bought one from Anthropologie for way more than I should have. Honestly, I know it might sound sexist or whatever, but I think every woman that likes to entertain should have at least one hostess apron. They let you look cute while not messing up that cute party dress you spent hours picking out… Or just threw on because you just took a shower and are running late getting things out of the oven. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on one either. In fact there are a fair few in this list that you can make for super cheap.

ByChelsea

Celery Rose Stamp Tea Towels

on April 12, 2016

Mothers day is coming up and I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with a mothers day craft for the kiddos to do that is classy but not just a simple handprint.

So, the story is that I was babysitting the littles one night and they asked for some Ants on a Log. You know… celery and peanut butter topped with raisins? No? take a look.

Anyway, I cut the stalks off and said to myself “huh? You know that base looks a lot like a rose”. And so I’ve had that in my head the whole time for when I needed to stamp something.

The kiddos LOVED that their snack was also their craft and the towels ended up looking super cute and elegant.

ByChelsea

Homemade Rice Heating Pad

on April 10, 2016

Few things are quite so lovely as waking up at 4:30 am to cramps and a hearty HELLO from your period. Yes ladies, I went there, sorry dudes.

So what do I do? Well, I usually down some alieve, grab the rice heating pad and make sure I have some Halo Top Ice Cream on hand (4 carbs/serving is a low carbers DREAM! and oh so delicious)

If you’ve never had it, Halo Top is the BOMB for those of us that are doing low carb but can’t quite give up the ice cream. I’m currently rocking the vanilla bean. SO GOOD.

But anyhoo, on to the rice heating pad thing. See, like any quintessential single lady, I happen to have a cat who can sometimes be an awesome if unreliable heating pad. Unreliable in that she either lays on a difficult spot, doesn’t want to cuddle at all, decides she hates me, or makes biscuits at the site of a particularly bad cramp. no, cats do not make great heating pads at all. So I’ve had to resort to more traditional means and make my own.

I adore my heating pad. Not only is it great for cramps, but its also perfect for pre-warming the foot of your bed on a cold night (Just like in Downton Abbey!), back pain, and well, pretty much anything. My favorite thing about it is the essential oil aromatherapy that helps relax me!

ByChelsea

DIY Flower Crown

on April 6, 2016

Festival season is upon us which means, if you live in SoCal, Coachella! If you don’t, there are a million festivals going on all summer for you to go vibe out at. If you’re a mom, dad or nanny to little girls, it means tea party picnics and pretending to be a pixie among other things.

That being said, I am anxiously awaiting all of the bohemian fashion posts that I will assuredly see on various fashion blogs.

One of the staples that I’ve seen every year are beautiful flower headbands and crowns. I’ve seen them retail for upwards for $50, but today, I’m going to show you how to make one for under $5. Yep, under 5. Let us all say thank you to the 99¢ Store powers that be.

ByChelsea

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

on April 4, 2016

What do you guys do to combat stress? I know that at this point in my life I should know what good stress is and bad stress is, but honestly, I just feel constantly overwhelmed. Like there’s too much going on and too many plates spinning in the air. There have been quite a few craft fails, late nights, even earlier mornings and not enough kitty cuddles to go around… Oh, and did I mention that my diet totally went out the window? I lived on takeout. I wore the same outfit TO WORK 2 days in a row. Yep folks, this is adulthood.

One of the things I’ve done since I was a kid is when I’m stressed or upset or overwhelmed, I bake. I don’t go on baking bender and make a million cookies in 10 different flavors, but I do like to cook up a mean batch of cupcakes on occasion. I could say that these champagne cupcakes are stress cupcakes, but really… the flavor says otherwise. So grab some dry champagne and give them a try… and a taste at your next brunch. You could even do orange cream buttercream for a traditional mimosa flavor!

ByChelsea

10 Must Have Items for the Creative Babysitting Bag

on March 30, 2016

As I learned from reading the Baby Sitters Club as a child, having a bag is VERY important. Like, life changing important. As a crafty nanny, its even more important to have things on hand to create an activity at a moments notice. It has become so (need a word for this) that a lot of my kiddos call it my “Mary Poppins” bag, and since I’m still convinced that Mary is a time lord, I take it as the highest compliment.

How does she fit it all in there? Seriously!
Photo (c) Disney

But really folks. Who here that babysits or nanny’s doesn’t try to roll up like Mary Poppins and just blow everyones minds? If only it were as easy and practically perfect as she makes it look. I mean… I want to jump into a chalk painting and hang out with my chimney sweep best friend while I’m playing with someone else’s kids…. moving on.

I want to be practically perfect in every way. © Disney

I want to be perfectly perfect in every way.
© Disney

Now, that being said, these are the craft staples of my nanny and babysitting bag. I buy most, if not all of these things at the dollar tree to cut down on costs. Other things change out from day to day and week to week, depending on what I’ve got going on. These items stay in there though because they’re great for a quick activity in any combination!

Want to survive the summer? Check out the Summer Survival Babysitting Bag too!

UPDATE: I’ve just added this adorable DIY Emoji Pillow Busy Bag to my babysitter bag staples!

ByChelsea

Coffee Filter Butterflies

on March 28, 2016

As a nanny, I’m always looking for a craft that is going to keep the kiddos engaged. Here’s my rule, if the set up and clean up take longer than the craft itself, I’m not doing it. Sorry, I’m sure they’re cute, but if it makes my life harder, its not worth my time when I can be spending it with the kiddos. These Coffee Filter Butterflies had one 5 year old busy for 1.5 hours. Yep… HOURS. Who doesn’t love that?

Recently I’ve been having a love affair with coffee filters. Seriously, I have a keurig, so I don’t really need them, but OMG they make great craft supplies! And just in time for spring, I have been making butterflies with the kids! They’re pretty amazing because they turn out great no matter what. Even if your child uses a million colors and scribbles in zero decipherable pattern.

ByChelsea

Easter Bunny Chow Recipe

on March 25, 2016

Holidays always involve a lot of tradition, whether its hot cocoa with your family on Christmas Eve, the fireworks on the 4th of July, or Church on Easter Morning. I for one love them.

But sometimes, you create your own traditions. When I moved to LA I didn’t really know many people. No one that I could say I was close to, so I had to sort of make my own. In making my own tribe/family, I also realized that I was making traditions with them as well. One of those for us is an Easter brunch. My friend Natalie always makes Ham Pies (her families’ tradition), we meet at a friends house after church, eat a bunch of casserole, ham, and sweets and really just enjoy spring and being together. Does anyone have a favorite Easter tradition? I’d love to know.

ByChelsea

Fabric Decoupage Easter Eggs

on March 24, 2016

Spring is in the air! Full of flowers and sunshine and allergies. Ugh.

I’ve been working on a lot lately and honestly, I feel like I’m spinning my wheels? Anyone else feel like they just overcommit without any really payoff? On top of that I haven’t really made time to craft. And non-crafting Chelsea = a stressed out Chelsea. Funny how that works.

So, in an effort to be festive, cause I LOVE Easter, get rid of some fabric scraps and work on a craft that I can really spend some time on I’ve been decoupaging like a mad woman. Go me!

ByChelsea

DIY Spin Art Easter Banner

on March 21, 2016

Does anyone remember spin art as a kid? I’m pretty sure we used everything the kit gave us and more on the first day, sorry mom! I just remember hours of fun experimenting with colors, patterns and the like to make some pretty awesome art work. However, I also remember the ridiculous amount of clean up that went with all the tiny parts… guess you win some, you lose some.

While those days may be gone, I still like to do my fair share DIY Spin Art and I adore doing it with the little ones. I come over an they ask for it! They can experiment with colors and using the salad spinner method helps the toddlers work on fine motor skills. Win Win! Honestly though, even though there is a some clean up with this (parts) it is relatively mess free when it comes to kids and hands.

ByChelsea

Older Posts

Newer Posts