Father's Day Gift Idea from the Little Ones

Mr. Hiner and I decided when our little one was born that we would do only handmade gifts for Father's Day and Mother's Day.  However, that can be a little hard to do with a man.  Most of the DIY ideas out there include a tie or some other stereotypical idea.

We at the Hiner house strive for the different!  So last year we made an idea that I adapted from browsing online:  The Daddy T-shirt.

Front ~ "Daddy..."

Back ~ "Hands Down You're The Best"

I love it!  This guy wears it proudly!

I love this shirt.  Especially for the first Father's Day, which it was for us in 2011.  I think it is great as a memento or even for the dad, like Mr. Hiner, who is brave enough to wear it out in public!

We are so grateful to have him in our lives and are two VERY lucky and blessed ladies.

Good luck and I hope this inspires you to do something creative for the fathers in your life!  If so, please be sure to share with us your ideas...maybe it will help someone else who is looking around!

Much love,
The Ponytail Momma

Do you feel this way?


Can I ever just make a straight face for the camera?

I shiver at the thought of what my obit pic might be one day when these are the ones floating around right now!

What?

Mommy's Time Out Wine - Thank you McNews, it came in very handy

Edward Scissorhands ~ with crablegs

Chicken hat and Flamingo glasses.  Always a classy way to go!

I guess I will have to get GlamourShots if I want a "real" pic!

The "Green" Birdbath

Many of you have seen this idea floating around Pinterest. 

I found these old pots on Big Trash Day (one of my favorite days of the month)!  I knew they had big potential, but wasn't quite sure what for.  Initially I was going to make a stacked flower pot, but that would require more work than I was willing to put into it.

Then it came to me...a birdbath! 

I have been wanting a bird bath for quite some time.  But I didn't want a stone one.  I wanted a really pretty blue glazed one.  But, I just cannot justify spending that much on something I will probably forget to use half of the time!  Not at this point in my life anyway!

Initially I was going to paint it all different colors, but for some reason felt it would be way too much in the yard.  So, I dialed it back a notch to this lovely Sherbet Green color.  After painting it, I realized it was almost the original color of the house ~ hence the Green Birdbath (so many meanings).

It is amazing what Valspar Satin Everglade Glen spray paint (by the way, I love their new can design...one click and it is locked, and easy trigger) and E600 glue can do in one evening!

In case you aren't sure or can't tell.  My birdbath consists of two pots turned upside down.  I stacked and glued them.  Next I added two saucers for height and then another big saucer left over from another project and voila! 

I love it!  It is a perfect accent for our front flower bed. It is amazing what you can do with other people's trash!

Close up ~ Two pots stacked.  Small saucer glued onto that with very large saucer glued on top!

Hard to believe this was the actual color of the house at one point!

It is so happy in front of the house!

Much love and Happy Spray Painting,

The Ponytail Momma

Adventures in Spray Painting!


I am sure it was all the hours I spent watching my mom spray paint baskets for her "Baskets and Bows" business.  I have been hooked on the idea of simply changing something by painting it.
I know, it sounds so simple.  Anyone can do that.  But really, alot of people don't even think about the idea of giving something new life just by changing its color.  That, however, is one of my favorite things.
I am sure my eye for other peoples junk will get me in trouble one day.  You might see me on an A&E show for all the wrong reasons.  Until then, I will keep on finding treasures that others have thrown out and making them my own.  -The great thing about repurposing or upcycling is that if you don't like it you can put it on your own curb for big trash day and there is no sentimental attachment!

Here are a few of my favorite spray paint projects:

These green Adirondack chairs were sitting right across the street at my neighbors house for big trash day.

The changeover process - I love spray paint for plastic!

Finished and so pretty!

I found these white cubes at Goodwill.  They just needed a touch up coat of white spray paint.

This was one of my favorite projects.  I have been collecting frames for a while and love the idea of bringing them together with a can of spray paint!

My dining room wall was so bare.  It was just plain white.  I have been wanting a family photo wall for a while and decided it would be a great way to accent the antique furniture plus a great way to provide a pop of color. 
No, I haven't put all the pics in yet.  That will be another project.  And yes, I am fully aware there are strange weird things on my wall like a pink flamingo and a giant wooden spoon.  If this is the first blog post of mine you are reading then just be forewarned.  I like weird.  I actually like "almost normal with a hint of strange".  That's how I roll. 
The spray paint color for the frames is American Accents Satin finish Lagoon.  I could only find the right color of turquoise at Hobby Lobby. 

I have more projects already finished and will unveil them on the blog very soon.

Until then, get creative.  What do you have around the house that can be changed just by changing the color and giving it new life?  I can't wait to hear!

Much love,
The Ponytail Momma

Wreaths Glorious Wreaths!

    

Hello all!  Spring is here and I love it!  It is one of my favorite times of the year, besides Summer, Winter, and Fall!
About a year ago I started making wreaths.  I love them and I really enjoy trying t figure out how to make them for the least amount of dough.  I though I would put together a collection of my wreaths right here for you to check out in case you need inspiration.

Fun tip: One of the best places to find wreaths and supplies is Goodwill or your local thrift store.  You can get them very inexpensively at these stores.  Of course most of them are already covered in someone else's art, but wreaths are super easy to deconstruct. 

Another great place to find decorations for your wreaths are Dollar Tree.  I love to put one of their glitter signs on my wreaths.

Don't be afraid to think outside the box when it comes to crafting wreaths.  I have used cut up tshirts, ripped up fabric, holiday table runners, and burlap to wrap my wreaths. 

I like to use straw wreaths because they are super easy to wrap and pin with floral pics.  They are very forgiving if you are like me and realize you don't have enough burlap to wrap around the wreath until the very end and you have to restart to stretch your material!

Don't forget: Get thrifty when making wreaths - it doesn't have to be expensive.

This was my very first wreath to make:

Patrtiotic wreath using a cut up tshirt wrapped around the wreath and fabric rosettes

See how much more cute it is with a $1 sign from Dollar Tree?

 

 

Second one to make...still my favorite!  This is where I learned all about straw wreaths and floral pics

This is my burlap wrapped Halloween wreath.  I use 1/4 yard black burlap on a small wreath, added fake spiders, fabric rosettes, and a Dollar Tree sign that I embellished with glitter!

Wicker Wreath

6 Ft. holiday table runner

The magic of hot glue!  Tah Dah! I literally only added two sprigs of glittery greens and holiday ribbon as you can see below.

And my newest wreath for Spring:

1/2 yd. burlap, two sprigs forsythia, 3 sprigs small red flowers, 1 crazy cool thing of greenery, small bow made out of leftover fabric.

This is one of my favorites.  I love using burlap to wrap wreaths because it can look really messy and still look great (one of my mottos).  I bought the greenery and flowers at Hobby Lobby when they had them half off. the wreath is giant and is from Goodwill, and I just used some white swiss dot gauzey fabric that I have at the house.  I had originally planned to build the wreath with it, but it looked like a mummy.  So, I went with the classic burlap.  I do plan to add some orange flowers to this because I think it needs a little more pop!

So there you go.  All my wreath creations in one blog. 
Enjoy being creative with these.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Love ya,
The Ponytail Momma