Over the Christmas holiday, the kids and I did a lot of playing around with pictures of our family on the computer.  We’re big fans of Picnik because it’s free and you can make a lot of funny faces with it.  Have you tried the Gooify tool?  Hilarious what it can do to facial features!

Anyway, I was looking for a rainy day project, and I remembered there is a tool that will transform any ol’ photograph into a black and white sketch.  So then I thought we could just make some coloring pages for the kids… here is the simple (and free!) step by step:

***** See update to this post at the bottom with the latest disappointing announcement that Picnik is closing on April 19th (or in some aspect moving to Google+) that came the day after this tutorial was posted.

* * * * *

It’s best to start with a high resolution image (1000+ px) since you’ll be printing these as 8 x 10s on letter size paper.  First, upload your image into Picnik and change it to a black and white image under the Effects tool.  You can also use the Boost tool to add a little more contrast between the blacks and whites.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m such a fan of Pinterest and find myself pinning my favorites quotes from time to time.  I got to thinking how easy it really is to create your own free printable word art with free online editing software.  Not everyone has access to Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator, or the skills to use them proficiently like many talented graphic artists. 

I know the basics of Photoshop, and work with it from time to time to make inspiration boards, but most of the time, I turn to the free and very user friendly software programs provided by Picasa (and Picnik) that I’ve mentioned in the past.  Nope, I’m not getting paid to say, it, I just have been using these two for years and love what they can do!  I use them often for my own photo editing and watermarking but they are equally great for creating your own artwork with fun fonts. 

If you want to make your own free printable word art for your home in any color, style and font you love, it’s really easy if you follow a few simple steps.

.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hey there, hope you all had a great weekend!  We spent most of Sunday helping my parents move their things onto a moving truck, and since they’re downsizing, they graciously donated some bookcases to our Alma Project.  I’ve been scouring Craigslist for weeks without any luck, so how fortunate to score some sturdy freebies from my folks!  Now we can build that entertainment center we’ve been planning for so long.    

I also managed to squeeze in an hour to put the finishing coat of paint on a simple project I started last week.  My little girl is at that age where improving her reading ability is priority number one, so I wanted to build her something that would keep books front and center in her world.  These inexpensive bookshelves are made from basic wood brackets and dowel rods found at a home improvement store, and they cost me about $15 each. 

If you want to replicate the project, here’s what you’ll need for each shelf:  2 basic 6” x 8” wood shelf brackets (I found these at Home Depot), ½” thick wood base cut to chosen length; 2 dowel rods; wood filler; wood screws; power screwdriver and drill bits; wood glue; primer and paint.  Decorative appliqués are optional.

Read the rest of this entry »

My friends, if there ever was a bandwagon, this carefree DIYer is jumping right on it.  For months, I’ve seen fabulous versions of the sunburst mirror pop up all over the blogosphere.  And for weeks now, with every stop in the paint department, I couldn’t help but notice how those paint stir sticks might just make a very cool version of this decorative favorite. 

I couldn’t figure out how to stack them nicely enough around the center to make it worth my effort, but that little road bump didn’t stop me from snagging more than my fair share of free stir sticks at a time, like 8 or 10, over the course of a month.  When I read how Danielle used an embroidery hoop, that convinced me to make my own version too!  Those free stir sticks led to this latest creation:

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been falling asleep in this space for a few nights, I just can’t help it!  I find snuggling up with my little guy in this room late at night completely irresistible.  It’s here where I learn all his secrets, his battle plans, and if I listen carefully, the location of buried treasure.  It seems everyone in our house has been spending more hours in this room lately, especially the resident to whom it belongs, our five year old son. 

Last year we said goodbye to the soft blue nursery walls, and upgraded to a more mature, more intense teal blue, and the completion of the board and batten treatment last week enhances the color even more.  I wanted it to be a bright clean happy place, one where he could adventure and explore.  A room where he could not only display everything he loves right this very moment, but one that would also adapt to his changing interests over time. 

Want the grand tour of our boy’s room?   Come on in!

Read the rest of this entry »