When Dave Lowe, our Home & Family Propmaster, and I were in the garage brainstorming to find a fun way to reveal the Hallmark charms we kept coming up blank. Then we asked ourselves, what was most iconic about Valentine’s Day to us – at the top of both of our lists: Sweetheart candies! Dave took it from…
Superhero Birthday Party
When your kids want a superhero birthday party, you give them a superhero birthday party!
The Kids Table, All Grown Up
With all three of our kids now out of high chairs and heading into our first Thanksgiving with the entire extended family, the old school concept of the kids table has real world implications for me. What table do I use, where do I put it, how should it look, where will I put it…
Cauldron Cupcakes
My mother made cupcakes for my 2nd grade Halloween party, each had a black cat perched on top. An unmentionable number of years later I still think of them and how special it made the holiday feel. I’ve promised myself that I’ll try to make all the holidays as special for my kids. So in that spirit,…
Framed Silhouettes
Decorating kids rooms is always a bit of a challenge when it comes to artwork. You want something that they kids will find fun and stimulating, but something that you don’t mind looking at everyday when you’re picking up toys or changing diapers. I decided to go for an updated silhouette – it’s old fashioned,…
Sewing and Craft Armoire
I had an hour a couple of weeks ago to make some headbands for a sewing segment I was filming. It was nap time so I new I had to work fast! By the time I got the sewing machine out of the basement, my notions box out of the closet, the fabric out of the…
Scrabble Wall Art
A simple project with lots of impact. Great for the family game room, a kid’s room or the cottage at the lake where you play Scrabble incessantly every summer…. MATERIALS – 6″ wood squares (often sold as lamp bases or decoupage plaques) – 5″ vinyl letters – 1″ vinyl numbers – picture hanging hardware STEPS…
Reversible Hairbands
Having two little girls has given me a focus on hair accessories that I didn’t think was possible. And in that focus I’ve realized that cute, inexpensive, durable headbands are almost impossible to find. So, not to let my girls hair go under accessorized, I decided I was going to make my own hairbands from some scrap…
Book Lamp
I love a good lamp and one that’s distinctive and won’t set you back a pretty penny is hard to find. So why not take advantage of your corner used book store (or your boxes of books in the basement) and make this one-of-a-kind reading lamp….get it…reading lamp…made of books…sorry. There are so many ways…
Last Minute Halloween DIYs
Okay, you know who you are. It’s Halloween morning, T minus 9 hours before kids come knocking or friends are headed over and you’ve done nothing. Well, fear not, I’ve got your back! Here are 5 easy halloween decorating ideas that you can do with things around your house or things you can pick up…
Modern Day Patches
We have lots of clothing holes around our house – mostly focused around the kid’s knees and my elbows. Thankfully, patches have made a huge comeback so I get to pretend I’m being hip, while really just saving money by not having to buy new clothes for everyone! First we’ll deal with the…
I’ve Created a Monster!
All out of human cadavers and an extra brain? No worries, you can create this Frankenstein using PVC pipe, buckets and a trashcan. Engineered by our Halloween addicted prop master Dave Lowe, you can find lots of other amazing projects on his website at http://davelowe.blogspot.com. The whole thing will cost you about $50 and snaps together…
Life-size Nutcracker
So here’s our life size Nutcracker that I put together to kick off our Christmas in July week on Home & Family. I must say, I really love this guy. He was a blast to build and surprisingly easy and inexpensive. He was master minded by our Prop Master, Dave. (He’s got lot’s of…
Marshmallow Fondant
For Coco’s birthday this year I decided to brave the unknown and try to tackle fondant. I was going to buy some, but all the reviews I read said that store bought fondant was difficult to work with, tasted awful and was expensive…uh…what’s the point!! So I did some research, tested some recipes and came…
Crepe Paper Flowers
Crepe paper flowers have a long history in our country. Around the turn of the last century, they became very popular for Decoration Day (the predecessor of Memorial Day) where they were used to decorate graves since they lasted much longer than fresh flowers. Today, they take a modern twist and are great for decorating…
Bunny Runner
If you’re in a pinch for an Easter tablecloth, make this simple one from a roll of butcher paper! Use a dinner plate to trace and cut out the scalloped edge and print out my templates below for the bunny and egg shapes. Best thing is, the whole thing goes into the recycling when you’re…
Ruler Growth Chart
Coco’s about to turn 3 and she’s quite obsessed with measuring things….especially herself. So, this year I’m upgrading her growth chart to something that we can use for years AND looks great in the house. While I’m at it, I’m going to make two more for the twins! MATERIALS 10″X6’x1″ Pine Board Wood Stain…
Sports Jersey Pillows
Trying to figure out what kind of indestructible pillows you can get for the kids’ rooms, while also trying to figure out what to do with last year’s sports jerseys they’re so proud of? Kill two birds with one stone! I made these sports jersey pillows for this Saturday’s episode of Home Made Simple on…
10 Tips for Kid Friendly Decorating!
We love the gals at Pop Culture Passionistas! They recently interviewed Ken for his Top 10 Tips for Kid Friendly Decorating. Here’s what they had to say!: Ken Wingard is one of the designers on OWN’s Home Made Simple. He specializes in designs on a budget and has done several kid-friendly projects on the show….
I Heart Storage Boxes
I heart storage boxes….no, I really do love them. If it was possible I’d have a wall of them in every room of the house. They’re great for storing papers (one for incoming mail, one for outgoing, one for filing), storing toys (one for MegaBlocks, one for Playdoh, one for doll cloths), storing clothes (one…