DIY

8 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids
Crafty!

8 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids

by Désirée
written by Désirée

Looking for a cute (and easy to make) Halloween costume for your kid this year?

We’ve got your back.

Keep reading for a collection of our favourite DIY Halloween costumes that anyone can make… Even if you’re not the Queen or King of DIY.

8 Easy DIY Halloween Costumes For Kids

Pin your faves and make sure to click through for more info on each costume!


Black Bat Costume from 5 Minutes for Mom


Baby Mummy Costume from Small Fry


Skein of Yarn Costume from Dukes & Duchesses


Baby Cow Costume from Make It and Love It


Scuba Diver Costume from Delineate Your Dwelling


Flower Costume from Your Wishcake


Snail Costume from Oh Happy Day


Pineapple Costume from Delia Creates

BONUS: If you have a costume that needs a pair of ears, you can make pretty much ANY type with this simple no-sew animal ears how-to from 5 Minutes for Mom.

You can also reuse these costumes as dress-up clothes for the rest of the year! Toss them in a plastic storage tote or hang them where kids can reach for playtime. Totally worth it! Happy Halloween!

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Encourage Acts Of Kindness With a #KindMonsters Jar
Crafty!ParenthoodSchool Age Days

Encourage Acts Of Kindness With a #KindMonsters Jar

by Jill
written by Jill

We’ve been talking a lot in our family about the importance of kindness toward others lately. This is a time of year when it’s easy to celebrate random acts of kindness, but it’s something I want to be a part of my children’s everyday lives- not just something we do in December.

When Monster High asked me to team up with them to promote their #KindMonsters pledge, which they created in collaboration with the Born This Way Campaign, I enthusiastically said yes because I knew Leyna and I would have a great time working on it together, and it would give us an easy way to talk about kindness every day.

“With a shared vision for a positive and bright future for young people, Monster High and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation are in a multi-year partnership to inspire empowerment and acceptance. Together we support the well-being of young people and elevate kindness, bravery and acceptance both on and offline.” 

With that mission statement in mind, we worked together and came up with the #KindMonsters Monster High Kindness Jar.
mhkindnessjar

I’ve talked to you all before about how pleasantly surprised I was to learn about Monster High’s message of kindness and acceptance. The monsters are students who accept their friends for all their unique qualities because that’s what friendship is all about. I love that I’m able to connect with her about this super important topic through the lens of toys and a show that she already enjoys.

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Supplies:

1 glass jar with a lid
Monster High Minis
fine glitter
Mod Podge
Mod Podge sealer (optional)
paper plates
foam brushes
hot glue gun
colored paper or cardstock

The ultimate goal is to fill the whole jar with acts of kindness, either that she did or that she witnessed. She’s in kindergarten and is just now learning to write, so it doubles as a great way to get her to practice putting words on paper. For now, she’s getting a little help from me, but I hope to have her filling them out all on her own by the end of the school year.

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First, brush the Mod Podge onto the outside of the glass jar- wherever you’d like the glitter to stick.

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Sprinkle the glitter onto the Mod Podge while holding the jar over a plate. Later, you can move the jar to dry on a clean paper plate and pour the excess glitter back into the jar.

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Unpackage your Monster High Minis…

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And decide how you want them arranged on the jar lid. Then an adult can hot glue them to the lid.

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While the glitter and lid are drying, cut colored paper into strips or squares that are big enough to write acts of kindness on. You can always fold them to fit inside the jar if needed.

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Write down your first act of kindness! Be sure to put a date on it. It will be fun to look back at what happened when the jar gets full.

img_5932As an optional step, you can spray over the glitter with the Mod Podge sealer. This helps keep the glitter from flaking off. But hey, you could be cool with glitter all over your house! So you do you.

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Set your jar, papers, and a pen/marker/pencil in a place that’s easy to access, and write down your act of kindness every day. Then fill the jar!

kindmonstersjar

Monster High has partnered with Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to empower and support young people to spread kindness and compassion in their community. You can learn more about their partnership here, take the pledge, and even nominate someone for a Kind Monster award!

bornthiswaymonsterhigh

Thanks to for sponsoring this post, and for supporting the Born This Way Foundation and #KindMonsters who are spreading kindness, compassion, and bravery. 

 

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Braided Wreath DIY – Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath
Crafty!

Braided Wreath DIY – Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath

by Jill
written by Jill

When I saw this giant fluffy yarn at Michaels, I immediately had a vision for it as a wreath, so I bought it in a couple colors.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

 Bernat Blanket Big Stich ‘n Win yarn

But not as a yarn wrapped wreath. I not-so-secretly detest yarn-wrapping wreaths. No patience!

Instead, I thought it would be fun to teach myself a 4 strand braid, and bedeck the top of a foam wreath with it.

 

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on


This was my first attempt, and I love it for it’s simplicity. For this one, the foam wreath is wrapped in a few strips of burlap that I had in my craft room, with an extra burlap strip used for a big bow.

It’s a really simple project, which is another reason I love it. Here’s a basic tutorial for you, including a video at the end of the post. You can easily customize this to match your decor, and different holidays and seasons.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

What you need:

1 wreath form- I liked using the flat top foam wreath for this because it keeps the braid flat. You could probably make a rounded wreath form work, too.

1 skien very chunky yarn- This Bernat Blanket Big Stitch ‘n Win is the biggest I’ve seen at my local craft stores. If you end up with something smaller, you could always bunch several strands together to create one strand. Or even cooler- braid several strands together to create one strand, then braid those!

Ribbon- Enough to wrap around your wreath and extra if you want to add a decorative bow. It took me 3 spools.

Ornaments and/or floral picks- Totally optional. I made one wreath with and one without. You do you.

Hot glue & scissors

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Secure your ribbon with some hot glue, then wrap, then secure the end of the ribbon, then keep wrapping with the next spool, then hot glue again when you get all the way around.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Gather 4 pieces of yarn that are about 2x the circumference of your wreath. I tied mine together at the top while braiding.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

I found it helpful to roll up the ends of the strands so I didn’t have so much yarn to wrangle while braiding.

Now, imagine the strands are numbered, left to right, 1 2 3 4. Take number 2 and number 4 and move them over the strand to their left (crossing 2 over 1, 4 over 3).

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Next, take what is now strand 2 (was originally 1), and move it over 3 (was originally 4).

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Repeat this to create your 4 strand braid.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

If that’s not clear, or if you do better with a video, this is a video I found on YouTube that helped me a lot.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Hot glue your braid to your wreath.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Cover the ends of the braid with a bow.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Add your optional flare.

Braided Wreath DIY - Another Simple, Fast Holiday Wreath | BabyRabies.com

Done!

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AITKWK: Episode 2- Cement & Toddlers & Poor Choices
Crafty!ParenthoodVideos

AITKWK: Episode 2- Cement & Toddlers & Poor Choices

by Jill
written by Jill

Our first episode of Adventures In The Kitchen With Kids went so well and was so fun for the kids, that I promised we’d do another. And because I can never keep things under control, I decided to try and make cement eggs with all 3 kids, including the 2.5 year old.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 3.46.48 PM

I pinned this a while back and thought it looked like a pretty easy thing to pull off, yielding results that the kids could have fun with, and some extras that I could decorate with.


Cement + kids- what could possibly go wrong? Actually, the kids were mostly fine, all things considered. As you watch this, keep in mind that Scott’s behind the camera and it’s like he’s a nature photographer. He can only observe and not interfere… not even when wet cement falls on the floor.

The biggest issue was that the eggshells were impossible to chip off and we wound up having to soak them in vinegar for 4 days. It was a long road to a very little and disappointing house.

But the video? Pretty funny. Keep your eye on Lowell. He has a lot of feels in this.

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My First First Monday Trade Days Adventure & What I Bought
Home Decor & DIYLifestyle

My First First Monday Trade Days Adventure & What I Bought

by Jill
written by Jill

I live a little more than an hour’s drive from this place called Canton, TX.

For those of you not familiar, it’s home to an ENORMOUS (truly not exaggerating this time) flea market/thrifting/craft expo kind of thing. It’s technically called First Monday Trade Days because it happens the weekend before the first Monday of every month.

The fact that I’d never been in the nearly 8 years we’ve lived here is shocking to some people… until I remind them I have small children and few childcare options on the weekend. And then they’re like, ohhhhhhhh…. gotcha. Because a giant NOPE to me taking my kids to this place.

I mean, there are kids there. I wouldn’t say it’s not kid friendly, but it’s not me-with-my-kids friendly. There are few things I’d rather do less than drag my kids through crowds, in wagons even, repeatedly telling them not to touch things, while re-applying sunscreen, and praying they don’t run away and disappear down a long aisle of 1970s dressers, piles of bedsprings, and antique stained glass windows.

But Canton with a friend? And not only a friend, but a seasoned Canton shopper who is decisive and doesn’t dawdle? Dream come true.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on

Stephanie Totty and I were made to shop Canton together. We went there on a mission, and we conquered. Behold, my spoils of our victory!

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While we walked through the “flea” part of it, I wasn’t too hopeful I’d find anything. But as we turned a corner, there she hung. A little dusty, but still beautiful. This copper hanging light glinted in the sun, and I had to have her.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on


She came home with me for only $35, which is approximately $1,000 less than the Pottery Barn light fixture I’d been dreaming of for this space. Dare I say, I love her a whole lot more.

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Lighting was on my mind the rest of the day. Our light fixtures in our house are nice, but they aren’t the style I envision. I didn’t intend on coming home with any light fixtures, but it was fate, and I brought home TWO. I found this lovely about an hour after I found the copper light, though I didn’t immediately jump to buy it until I got the OK text from Scott, mostly because he’d have to install it.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on

This orb is HUGE, and the scale for our 20 foot tall foyer is perfect. Even better, that lightbulb is massive and looks so cool. I got it from the Twigs Candles booth, and the whole set up- orb, lightbulb, wiring- was only $100 with tax. Which is, again, SO much cheaper than anything I’ve had my eye on for that space.

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Since we moved in here,  I’ve had no idea what to do with this massive blank space looking over our living area. I thought for a while that I’d hang a large collection of thrifted mirrors to reflect the floor to ceiling stone fire place on the other side of the room, but couldn’t shake the visions of heavy mirrors falling from 20 feet up and killing someone below. (Hello, my name is Jill, and I take medication for intrusive thoughts and anxiety.)

When I saw these massive stars, I knew I had to have at least one just because I loved them. Within 15 minutes, the booth owners had me talked into buying 3, and I knew exactly where they were going. I love that they are light- both physically and visually. The scale is perfect for the space, without making the room feel top heavy.

For those wondering, we got these at a booth in the Flea/Junk area. Their tent is under a red, white, and blue windsock. Sweetest couple. They are $28 each, or $100 for 4. Naturally, we got 4. 1 for Stephanie, 3 for me.

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I got a couple other small things, including a couple burlap coffee bean bags that I’m still trying to figure out what to do with. (Let me know if you have ideas!)

And I came home with a lonnnnnng list of other stuff I want to go back and buy. What I loved is that I could find stuff to upcycle and DIY with, or I could find stuff that’s already done. Give Scott and me a pickup truck, a free Saturday, and $500 and we could do some DAM.AGE. So many awesome bits of wood and randomness that’s just waiting to be turned into something beautiful.

We could also have our pet blessed by Paul the Pet Preacher. So there’s that. And camo. There was a lot of camo. Just a real cornucopia of the American experience. Yup, that’s what I’d call Canton.

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Snowman Wreath Tutorial
Crafty!Home Decor & DIY

Snowman Wreath Tutorial

by Jill
written by Jill

Someone asked me the other day how many seasonal wreaths I have. 12. I have 12. I’ve actually given away quite a few (and a couple have broken- sad face).

But, believe it or not, I really didn’t have any that worked well on our new front door for the holidays. Last year I purchased an evergreen wreath on sale at the last minute. I gave away Santa and Rudolph the year before! The felt pomp wreath goes over our fireplace.

Well, we all know what this means. I made a new wreath- a jumbo snowman wreath! I know he might not look “jumbo” here, but our door is huge.

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You know I love me an EASY DIY, and this one is certainly that, but I will say he’s not inexpensive, especially if going the jumbo route. Hopefully I’ll get a few year’s use out of him to make up for it. (Total cost was about $55-$60 for this jumbo size.)

Here’s whatcha need, which isn’t much:

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First, RUN to Target’s Dollar Spot and get you that top hat for $3. If you miss out, you can get a top hat on Amazon, though I think it’s a touch bigger.

You’ll need either a small scarf, or fabric to make a scarf. I picked up some clearance flannel and used about 3/4 yard to make mine.

A corn cob pipe

For this jumbo wreath, I used 7 white feather marabou boas. Honestly, 8 would have been best. If you make a smaller wreath, obviously you’ll need fewer. The great part about using white ones is it won’t matter much if the white from the wreaths show through.

That leads me to the wreaths. Here’s a picture with all the info of the exact ones I purchased.

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That’s a 13.8″ and an 18″ extruded foam wreath, and if you’re doing the jumbo, yes, you need both.

They should fit perfectly and snugly, one inside the other.

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*The reason I did two wreaths was to decrease the inner space and make the wreath seem fluffier. Another option, which would be less expensive, but more work, would be to create a white tulle wreath. The tulle pieces are longer and fluffier, and you won’t need that inner wreath form. Plus tulle is much cheaper than feather boas. 

My wreaths fit so snugly that I didn’t feel like I needed to glue them together, but you certainly could for extra security.

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I wrapped my feather boas around the wreath, hot glueing the ends to secure them. I left a little spot for the scarf to tie.

IMG_6326There’s no right or wrong way to do this, but I did it with 2 separate pieces.

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IMG_6331I cut the top hat in half (so technically you could get 2 wreaths out of one), so it would lay flat against the door. I secured it to the wreath with long pins. Eventually I’ll get around to coloring those yellow heads with a black Sharpie.

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I also used the pins to add a ribbon for hanging to the back.

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All that was left was to insert his corn cob pipe. I pressed it between the boa, into the styrofoam wreath sideways. You could secure it with hot glue if it doesn’t feel snug enough.

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And that’s all you have to do to make a jolly happy soul with a corn cob pipe to adorn your doorway.

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SnowmanWreathTutorial

 

 

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Gold Leaf Coral Frame Tutorial
Crafty!Travel

Gold Leaf Coral Frame Tutorial

by Jill
written by Jill

Who doesn’t love combing through the soft beach sand, where the shore meets the water, and coming up with hands full of sea treasures?

Leyna and I spent hours doing this on our Carnival cruise excursions.

Baby Rabies_1.jpg

Carnival asked me to write about bringing our vacation home with us, and I knew this tutorial was the perfect fit.  Why should those bits of coral and shells be destined to a life in a dark closet (or the trash, honestly)?

Baby Rabies_2.jpg

All you need for this are:

A picture frame
*CLEAN pieces of coral that have washed ashore, or shells
Hot glue gun/glue sticks
Mod Podge
Sponge brush
Clean and dry fine bristle brush
Package of gold leaf sheets (don’t let this throw you, it’s not expensive – about $8/package)

*Guys, don’t go breaking off live coral, okay? There’s plenty to be found that’s dead and dried up along the shoreline. 

Baby Rabies_3.jpg

Start by arranging all your pieces on your frame how you think they will best fit.

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Then carefully remove a couple pieces, hot glue them back down, and repeat.

Baby Rabies_5.jpg

Dilute your Mod Podge with about 40% water, then apply over the pieces, really soaking them. The coral will drink up a lot. It’s probably wise to make sure you’ve removed the backing and glass from the frame by this point.

Baby Rabies_6.jpg

Let it dry for about 5 minutes. You want the pieces to be tacky, not wet.
Now rip small pieces of gold leaf and dab it on with your dry, clean, fine bristle brush. Really work it into the crevices, and all that great coral texture.

Baby Rabies_7.jpg

The gold leaf is crazy delicate and will flake everywhere. Don’t worry. It wipes up fine. After the gold leaf has had about 10 minutes to dry, you can go back over with a light coat of Mod Podge, then apply another coat of gold leaf if you’d like.

I wound up doing 2 coats of gold leaf, then a final coat of Mod Podge to seal it. I didn’t cover the coral in it’s entirety because I liked the unfinished look. But, with enough time, you could probably get nearly full coverage with just one package of gold leaf, if that’s what you’re going for.

Baby Rabies_8.jpg

I started out wanting to frame a picture from our trip in it, but I love the simple look of the coral and the gold so much that I don’t want anything to detract from it.

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So now it’s just a statement piece on our eclectic mantle. A simple reminder of our Carnival cruise, and all the treasures we brought home with us.

This post was created for Away We Go with Carnival, the destination for getting in the getaway state of mind. Head on over.

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Turn Ceramic Tiles Into Ornaments. In July. I know. I’m sorry.
Crafty!

Turn Ceramic Tiles Into Ornaments. In July. I know. I’m sorry.

by Jill
written by Jill

FaLaLaLaLa! I’m a lunatic!

It’s okay to hate me for posting about CHRISTMAS right now, but hear me out. Every. Single. December. I’m like, “Wow, I’d really like to make x,y, and z (including desperately needed new ornaments), but LIKE THAT IS HAPPENING NOW. Pshaw.” And then I run out for more wrapping paper.

So I saw some craft groups I’m part of on Facebook starting to share these awesome tile to ornament transformations a few weeks ago, and I immediately saw them as a win-win to my 100+ degree woes right now. They are super fun crafts to do with the kids, relatively cheap, and come December, I’ll be like, “Wow, Jill. You were SO on top of things!”

Many of these craft groups are doing fancy designs with their vinyl cutters for these (I recently got a Silhouette Cameo), and they are amazing, but also not something people can do if they don’t have one of these costly machines.

So I made it my mission to come up with a couple cute ideas that ANYONE can do.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

Supplies:
Sharpies
Spray paint (I used gold and Krylon’s Glitter Blast in red – obsessed with that stuff!)
Removable vinyl letters (look in the canvas and art supply section at the craft store)
Masking tape or vinyl (I used vinyl scraps, you can buy a roll at the craft store for about $8)
Felt, hot glue, and ribbon to finish off the back
Ceramic tiles

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

This sheet was about $7 at Lowes.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

This box of 5 large tiles was $15 at Lowes.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

For our first project, we used the removable vinyl letters to spell words out on the big ones, and add initials to the little ones.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

The kids did the dot-dot-dot Sharpie thing around their initials…

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

They look like this once we peeled away the stickers (and hot glued some felt and a ribbon to the back)…

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

I hit the big ornaments with a couple coats of Krylon Glitter Blast and got this look when we removed the letters…

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

Here’s a better look at the felt and ribbon on the back:

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

My personal favorites are the ones I’m going to use to decorate MY tree. I got an all white tree last year that goes in our front room.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

I simply cut shapes and strips of vinyl, adhered it to the ornaments, then hit it with a few rounds of gold spray paint. Love!

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

There are so many other fun applications for these! We did a few decoupage with scrapbook paper I let the kids pick out, and even some printed pictures. We also tried this Sharpie water color look, but it didn’t work too well for us. I think we’ll just spray paint over them.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

This has really inspired me to do more Christmas crafts… for now. I will have to put them all away in September so I can properly respect the pumpkin and the turkey.

 

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#FreeToBe-lieve In Your #Selfie – Another Easy Tutorial
Build ItCrafty!

#FreeToBe-lieve In Your #Selfie – Another Easy Tutorial

by Jill
written by Jill


We have half bath downstairs that’s supposed to be for guests. And by “guests” I mean the 10 boys on the street who pee in our house frequently.

It’s fancy and formal looking, which is the exact opposite of my taste. So I’ve decided to add some whimsical touches to it, because painting over the maroon walls is at the bottom of my “that sounds like a total nightmare” priority list.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

And because it’s my bathroom and we are all #freetobe-lieve in our selfies. Plus, this bathroom has the best selfie mirror in the house. I love the idea of filling this room with conversation starters and positivity. If you can’t have fun with a stuffy bathroom, then what good is a stuffy bathroom?

All free clear wanted me to talk about being #freetobe crafty this summer, and I realized this would be the perfect project for this sponsored post.

To start, I found a piece of wood that fit the space in our scrap pile (about 18×24), but you could always ask your home improvement store to cut one to size for you.

Keep in mind that you want your sign to show when you take your selfie, so plan according to that space.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

This one was a little crooked, but I liked that about it. We just gave it a quick sanding to smooth out any rough spots.

This is actually the first project I’ve done with my vinyl cutting machine, and it made it SO easy.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

The key to remember is the letters have to be BACKWARDS on the wood/canvas for them to appear the right way in the mirror. So I designed my text that way in my machine’s software.

If you don’t have a vinyl cutting machine, you could easily request this as a custom order from one of the thousands of vinyl vendors on Etsy.

Now, the sign looked pretty awesome just like that, but it wasn’t the look I was going for, and I liked being able to remove the vinyl so I don’t have to worry about it peeling at some point.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

First, I used some gold spray paint around the edges, which is a totally optional, but fun thing to do.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

I painted over the letters and covered the top. I used white chalk paint for this.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

Then I carefully peeled back the vinyl letters while the paint was still wet. And made a big mess, then made a mental note to throw my clothes in the wash immediately after with some all free clear. (I’ve been working that stuff hard this week. Thank you, stomach bug.)

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

This little scraper tool helped a lot. You can get it in the craft store with the paper and vinyl cutting supplies.

I like the idea of someone sitting on the toilet, totally confused by what that sign is supposed to mean until they stand at the sink to wash their hands.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

I sanded the white paint a little bit to even the texture and distress it just a tad.

Believe In Your #Selfie bathroom sign tutorial | BabyRabies.com

Annnnnnd done! Super simple, but so unexpected. And fun!

Summer is a great time for getting the paint and craft supplies out and experimenting. You can throw on old shorts and make a big mess outside, then let your projects dry in the hot sun while you use all free clear to clean up everything from your clothes to your counters- with their all free clear OXI booster.

If you’d like to save $1 off any all free clear product, head here for a printable coupon.

And if you’d like to take a couple minutes to answer this short survey, that would be pretty cool.

A photo posted by Jill Krause (@babyrabies) on

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Turn Old T-Shirts Into Room Decor – Wall Hanging and T-Shirt Pillow DIYs
Crafty!Home Decor & DIYSchool Age Days

Turn Old T-Shirts Into Room Decor – Wall Hanging and T-Shirt Pillow DIYs

by Jill
written by Jill

We are so close to completing Kendall’s bedroom, which would make 2 rooms completely done in 6 months since moving in. I predict we will finish the last room of the house just in time for me to want to start decorating all over again when trends change and robot butlers become a thing.

I am itching to show the room off in it’s entirety (hopefully next week!), but for now I thought I’d share a couple simple projects we did over the week to help jazz up the space. They’d make awesome weekend projects!

You know me. The name of the game is SIMPLE. So I promise both of these require minimal skills.

So Kendall is 7 now (OMG I KNOW), and he’s fully immersed in all those things 7 year olds love, like Minecraft and Harry Potter and Zelda, and did I say Minecraft?

If it were up to him, his whole room would look like a giant video game. So much nope to that.

I met him in the middle, though, and decided to add some video game decor that 1. didn’t cost much (like, so cheap) and 2. could easily be changed out.

Upcycle old t-shirts into room decor, including wall hangings AND a crazy easy video tutorial for a t-shirt pillow cover | BabyRabies.com

Tiny sneak peek of his room! The 3 pictures above his bed were once t-shirts that he’s since outgrown. (And yes, I know they are askew, but we were in a hurry to hang and I was yelling, “My light! It’s almost gone! Hurry!” to Scott, so I can’t blame him. #BloggerHusbandProblems)

We simply cut them up and stapled them to some inexpensive canvases.

Upcycle old t-shirts into room decor, including wall hangings AND a crazy easy video tutorial for a t-shirt pillow cover | BabyRabies.com
Upcycle old t-shirts into room decor, including wall hangings AND a crazy easy video tutorial for a t-shirt pillow cover | BabyRabies.com

So that literally cost me $7.

The Minecraft pillow on his bed was a little more, but only because I had to buy a Minecraft shirt for it ($9 at Target), and a pillow to go inside. ($12 at Hobby Lobby with a 50% off sale. Bonus for the pillow looking cool enough to not need a cover.)

Upcycle old t-shirts into room decor, including wall hangings AND a crazy easy video tutorial for a t-shirt pillow cover | BabyRabies.com

It was SUPER EASY to make this boys X-Large t-shirt into a cover for a 16×16 pillow. I even made a video tutorial!

Now, I’m not sure the video is entirely comprehensive, so here are some quick details and steps:

First, the size of pillow will affect what size shirt you need and vice versa. Also, you may want to show off a design on the back of your shirt. For these purposes, the “front” just refers to the side with the design you want showing on the front of the pillow.

I placed the inside-out shirt, design side up, over the pillow and smoothed it out, then cut from the bottom of the shirt up to the 2 bottom corners of the pillow. Do this through both sides of the t-shirt.

Be sure to measure over the top of your pillow to see how big you should cut the t-shirt. My 16×16 pillow, actually measured 17.5×17.5. I wound up cutting my sides to 17″ each, figuring I’d want the fabric to be stretched tight across the pillow.

I made a couple prototypes before this one. It really is best to mark down your measurements with a straight edge and pin your shirt together.

When you fold that top flap under, you want to be sure it stretches all the way across inside because you want to stitch it between the two sides of the shirt.

I also did 2 rows of stitching on the 3 sides, making sure to back stitch at the corners and at the ends, just to give it some extra stability.

So, just to be clear, you are stitching from the top of each slit you cut, up to where you measured the top should be, and across that. So 3 sides. You are only stitching 3 sides.

Then you just turn the shirt right side out, stuff the pillow inside, wrap the long flap around the bottom of the pillow and stuff it in the front, then flip that flap thing over.

Upcycle old t-shirts into room decor, including wall hangings AND a crazy easy video tutorial for a t-shirt pillow cover | BabyRabies.com

Once you have this process down, it really shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes if you’re using a machine. You could knock out lots of these! Go get you some fun vintage shirts from the thrift store and some ugly old throw pillows!

Let me know if you have any questions.

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