Small Things Are Big Things

April 28, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

CosmetiCare {Age with Grace WITHOUT Surgery!}

I’m going to be 35 this year.
Getting older has never really bothered me.
REALLY.
I’ve looked 35 since I was 13.
REALLY.
You don’t believe me?
Let me pull a picture or two of me in Jr. High to prove it… (last one from high school)

{Let’s all pretend the mom jean trend in the 90s never existed.}
Any hoo, I always thought I would age with grace, and embrace my wrinkles as laugh lines.
Well, the time has come for some embracing of lines and this girl isn’t embracing.
At all.
This girl is getting fake eyelashes and wrinkle cream!

I’ve never felt comfortable with plastic surgery. I’m not sure why.
But ask me again in 10 years! (Ha!)
The folks at CosmetiCare say “the beauty of youthful, ageless skin is not only possible: it can be yours!”
Um… ok!
They are having an event called BeautyLand on May 7th, and you’re invited!
I’ll be there! (At the 4pm slot.)
During the event we’ll get a behind the scenes look into CosmetiCare’s seven signature beauty rooms, where we’ll learn more about non-invasive treatments!
CosmetiCare has everything from a Skin Care Room to a Fat Melting Room.
Yes please, for the latter!
I hope you can come and hang out with me!

The details for the BeautyLand event:
Date: May 7, 2015. Tours take place at 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
RSVP is required by e-mailing inquiry@cosmeticare.com or calling 949.273.2663

All of us attendees will have the opportunity to win gift baskets filled with skin-care products and services (valued up to $600). A $2,000 grand-prize winner will receive a gift certificate for one area of laser hair removal, one area of Tru Sculpt, one syringe of Juvederm and more!

But for now, CosmetiCare is letting me give away a $500 gift certificate for beauty services from CosmetiCare’s MedSpa! Enter the #BeautyLand giveaway in the box below… loads of extra entry options!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Maybe to you can’t go to BeautyLand because you live too far away.
I can’t let you leave this post empty-handed!
Below you’ll find 2 free printables all about beauty. Download the PDF here and print for the women in your life with true beauty.

Good Luck! I’m off to Costco to get bulk everything!

April 9, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

#iheartOC Giving Day {$2 million dollars can go a long way!}

I’m thrilled to be a small part of the first ever OC Community Foundation #iheartOC Giving Day!
What is this “Giving Day”? (You’re thinking)
Well, Thanks for asking!
The short answer is:
OCCF is rallying together all the amazing folks in Orange County to raise $2 million dollars toward OC non-profits, within a 30 hour period – from 6am on April 21 to noon on April 22. #iheartOC
Easy, right!?!
And you have 350 charities to choose from!

Now, I’ve done the math and there are 3.114 million people in Orange County, so if everyone gives $1.56 during #iheartOC Giving Day then we can call it a day!
Who says small things can’t make a big difference in your community?
You know how I feel about that!
But I’m guessing not everyone in Orange County will pitch in, so you better donate at least $25 to make up for all the folks who might flake out. And it just so happens, that donations start at $25! 😉

The long answer is well, a lot longer:
One of the Charities on the list is Safe Families for Children. Our family has been extremely blessed to be involved with Safe Families. We have hosted 3 Orange County children.
Our first hosting was a 5-year-old homeless boy for 10 days, you can read about here, here and here. It’s a doozy!
And the third hosting was a 2-year-old boy who he lived with us almost 5 months, and we are still involved with his family today.

The hosting in the middle was a beautiful 3-year-old girl named Abby. You can read all about it here. Below is an excerpt from that post.

“But I couldn’t shake the feeling that it could be in Abby’s best interest to be adopted. If Casey was pregnant and made the decision to adopt her newborn, it would be considered a noble choice. To some, maybe even the highest act of love a parent can do for their child.
But Casey isn’t pregnant. She has 5 children under 9-ish, with 5 different men. She is a good enough mom and is overwhelmed.
I feel like there is some disconnect for kids like Abby.
How can spicy/sweet/smart kids like her catch a break?
Adoption?
Luck?
Fate?
Or people like you and me doing Small Things?
We don’t have to be asked to do a task – when we see we can help with something, we should.
Like $12 shoes that fit.”

I asked Cora what she thought of Safe Families. I was able to catch her response on video. My two favorite lines are: “Safe Families: if kids come to our house they become a Lawson…and if they are at they their house, they are still our family!”

After you’ve donated to one of these amazing Orange County charities, like Safe Families, you MUST enter to win $150 to grant to the nonprofit of YOUR choice! OCCF is giving away three $150 grants. It’s as easy as following the instructions in the box below! Enter the #iheartoc giveaway and show your love for Orange County. You have until April 20^th to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now that you have entered to help out your favorite non-profit, I’m going to gift you with this free printable. This is one of my favorite quotes. What a perfect reminder that even if we don’t have millions of dollars to give away, we still have the power to help others. I’ve made two per sheet so you can print one for yourself and gift another to a friend.
You’re welcome.

January 16, 2015 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Dollar Bin Challenge Test Tube Candle

Our January dollar bin challenge was a tough one for me. We found those glass test tubes in the dollar section of Michaels (they have plastic ones at Target), and while they are so cool looking, I had no idea what the hay I was going to do with them.
The candle kinda reminded me of a candle and I’m pretty lucky to have clever friends with loads of crafty supplies. Amber from Bambu Earth had some soy candle wax and yummy smelling essential oils. Then I built the stand with a small block of wood and wire.
The test tube candle turned out pretty fantastic.

You’ll need: test tube, soy candle wax, wick, tacky wax, skewer, small block of wood, 24″ wire, Hot glue. {I found a small bird photo holder in the dollar bin at michaels too, and had planned to use that as the base… that didn’t work out. i.e. it wouldn’t stand up. But I love love love the industrial look of the one I designed myself so much better!}

We melted the soy wax and added some Birch Mint essential oil. This candle smells delish… kinda like this soap.

We jimmy-ed a mason jar and wash cloth as a stand for the test tubes.
Use the Tacky Wax to adhere the bottom of the wick to the bottom of the test tube.
Use the skewer to hold the wick in the center of the tube.

Fill the test tubes, being careful to keep the wick in the center of the tube.
{If the wick touches the sides as it burns, then it will turn the glass black.}

As the wax cools it may shrink a bit. We added a bit more melted wax to our candle would go all the way to the top.

Next you’ll hot glue the cork to the center of your block of wood.
Wrap your wire about 5 times around the tube, then bend the remaining wire parallel with the tube and stick the end into the cork.
Finally, put a small bead of hot glue on the bottom of the test tube to secure it to block of wood.

I just love this craft! I want to make a hundred more. Or how cute would it be if you did a long row of test tube candles!?!?!

Check out the rest of the dollar bin challenge test tube crafts…

Homemade Bath Salts with DIY Inspired
Love Potion #9 with A Speckled Owl
Valentines Day candy with Life with Lovebugs
Strawberry milk printable with Popsicle Blog

December 20, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

CASHFLOW board game {…even more family arguments than Monopoly!}

{Disclosure: Many thanks to RichDad for sponsoring today’s story and encouraging me and my family to be financially savvy with CASHFLOW! Although this article is sponsored by RichDad, all my opinions are my own. What else can I disclose?… um… I never do posts about something I don’t like… ever. Oh and I cuss at my kids. Hope that covers all my bases. (smiley face)}

You all know that I have been doing some major life reflection since my mom died.
Today actually marks the two year anniversary of her fall… I can’t believe that two years ago I was about to embark on the crazy roller coaster of her coma and death. That sucked.

Something I’ve said over and over again is that I don’t want to be part of the “rat race” of daily life. That was one of the big reasons we started homeschooling this year. I used to be even more extreme – right after my mom died I was completely done with the rat race … I wanted to sell it all, buy an RV, and live off the grid with my family. But that’s crazy… though I still kinda wish we could do that.
True story.

Instead we opted to get our finances in order because things got crazy after we bought our house.
(yay for being debt free!)
And I have dreams of doing so much more.
I’ve always been the kind of person who thinks big. I fall asleep at night allocating the funds and imagining investments I would make if someone gave me 10 million dollars. (Yes, TEN million… that’s how big I think. And, yes, I know I’m crazy.) A clean 10 million would be enough for everything I want to do, with minimal effort. But 5 million would be good too. And 1 million would get me off to a good start. (Just throwing that out there to the universe… because you never know!!)

Just in case I’m not gifted a couple million dollars, I’m learning the basics about investing with a game called CASHFLOW.
It’s an intense game, but super fun!
Think Monopoly on steroids.

I think you’ll really like the game. The basics are simple: you start with a job in the “rat race” (doctor, janitor, teacher, etc.), and along with your job you get an income statement (this includes income, expenses and liabilities), then you are offered deals (big and small) as you move around the board. All in an effort to get out of the rat race and onto the “fast track.” Once you are on the fast track, the game continues with more deals and pitfalls.
Like I’ve said, it’s intense!

(Can we all just pray Cy is on the right side of the law!?!?!)

One of the reasons to play the game is to “learn why investment ‘risks’ aren’t so risky when you know what you’re doing.”
I love that! And the game’s creators should know! Robert T. Kiyosaki is the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad and Kim Kiyosaki is the author of It’s Rising Time. They are pretty amazing, check out his timeline about page. The Kiyosakis knows what they’re doing!

Another thing I love about the game is one requirement in the beginning is to pick, and write down, a dream. Your dream can be financial, (like earn a million dollars) or silly, (like own an alpaca farm). I can’t even begin to tell you how powerful that is to me! Writing down your dreams and claiming them is the first step to making your dreams come true.
We don’t think as big as we should.
And there are things we DON’T have in life because we haven’t asked.
I believe that with my whole heart.
And I want my children to believe it too.

If you think big, and have larger than life dreams (like me), but don’t want to practice with real money just yet, get CASHFLOW (here) at 10% off with the code: CASHFLOW

I feel like this is just one small way we can be teaching our children how to handle money properly!
Small Things are Big.
At least, that’s what I think.

December 10, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Mark 1:1-11 John the Baptizer

Continuing our Gospel of Mark devotion series…
Find the introduction here.

Mark 1:1-11 John the Baptizer
Read Mark 1:1-11 here.

Mark introduces Jesus the Messiah by, appropriately, introducing John the Baptist first.

Mark describes John as, “thunder in the desert.” I picture a hot, dry wasteland. Nothing for miles with very little life. Suddenly the wind picks up, dark clouds are rushing in from all directions, and BAM!
Thunder rumbles then jolts the desert earth.
There is a pause, then over the open sky lightning crashes and a heavy rain begins to pour onto the cracked soil.
After the rain, the dessert, we once saw as a barren wasteland is teaming with life.
Out of a dull cactus pops up bright purple flowers and from nowhere, animals come out to drink from the fresh rain water pooled in the dips a hollows of the once barren terrain.

John is the thunder, the jolt that alerts us to run for cover from the storm.
Jesus is the much needed rain that pours over the ground giving life.
John is the opening act, the one that grabs our attention before the headliner.
Jesus is the “the star in this drama” whose words direct the plot of our stories.

Much Most of the time I think of myself as the star in my own life.
I want to do things that make me happy. Pursue things that make me feel passionate. I want to be surrounded by people who encourage me. And I want to stay away from people who provide more drama than normal… ahem.
Those aren’t bad things. Our time here is short, and we should be looking for ways to be happy.
But it’s also the easy way out.
There is so much more.
We can be the thunder in the desert.
We can be the opening act.
We can get the attention of the people around us and point it toward our creator!
We can.
We think we can’t.
But we can.

After John proclaimed to the people about the coming Messiah. Jesus, the physical Messiah, entered the scene with signs and wonders and Truths about the Kingdom. It’s not the same for us. We have the Holy Spirit, which is real, and always here, and better then having Jesus with us. But the Holy Spirit is also quiet, and gentle, and sometimes easily ignored.
It’s easy to chalk things up to luck or coincidence, instead of giving credit to the Holy Spirit orchestrating events in our lives.
It’s easy to get prideful and take credit for our accomplishments, instead of acknowledging out strengths are a gift from God.

There is so much more when we step back and just let the sweet rain wash over us.
There is so much more when we allow the Holy Spirit to be the star of the drama.

Pray boldly to be the John in someone’s life. Let us be more aware of the Holy Spirit’s role in the events of our lives when we are tempted to let others think we can do it all, or when we are embarrassed to point in the direction of Jesus.
I’m praying to be more aware of the Holy Spirit.
I’m praying the words to the song below on repeat.
The lyrics say: Holy spirit you are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory God is what our hearts long for. To be overcome by your presence Lord. Let us be more aware of Your presence, let us experience the glory of Your goodness.

A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. -Isaiah 40:3

December 4, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Mark Devotion – an introduction

I received The Message version of the Bible about five years (and two kids) ago as a gift from my mom at Christmas. I wanted to just pick up the Bible and read it like I read books. I wanted to get lost in the narratives and read the letters with the expectancy and reverence the early church must have had when a new letter from Paul circulated into their gatherings.

What I did was put the Message version on my living room shelf. I would pick it up when referencing a verse from time to time. But with every child born, my quiet times were few and far between. Then my mom fell and died and Jesus met me again in a whole new way.
Jesus is real my friends.
Just as real as that coffee you’re sipping right now. (Or am I the only coffee addict?)
Then I started writing for HomeFront Magazine and that was cool because my job was to write about Jesus. (Really really cool. Amazing. And a dream come true.)
AND now I homeschool, so I have more time to be in the word and write.

I wanted to challenge myself with just reading through the Bible. No time frame… I mean, I read a novel a week, so technically I could read the whole Bible very quickly. I thought of trying the One Year Bible (again). I think the One Year Bible is great! But I wanted to read through a whole book at a time, instead of jumping around.
So far, things are going so well, so I’ve decided to record what I’m learning!

Take you Bible off the shelf and let’s get lost in this great book together!

Introduction
(I couldn’t find the book introductions on the internet. For those of you who don’t own The Message version in print, you can buy it here .)

I chose to go through the gospel of Mark first because of the introduction.
The introduction of Mark says, “Mark wastes no time in getting down to business.“
Yep, that sounds good to me… I don’t have time to waste.
It goes on to say, ”There’s an air of breathless excitement in nearly every sentence he (Mark) writes. The sooner we get the message, the better off we’ll be, for the message is good, incredibly good: God is here, and he’s on our side.”

As a mom of small children I can get so involved with caretaking (aka, cutting apples and wiping butts) that I forget God is here. He is with me now, right now! Even better than that,
He is on my side.
When I’m filled with frustration at the end of a long day and Tess drops a whole bag of graham crackers on our dark wood floors then stomps them in to a trillion little pieces.
God is here, and on my side.
When Cy runs to the opposite side of the grocery store screaming and I’m getting judgmental stares from the people around me as I try to make an extremely embarrassed quick exit.
God is here, and on my side.
When Eli feels defeated and stupid during our reading lesson and nothing I say seems to get through or encourage him,
God is here, and on my side.

Take a second to let that sink in. Pray in your weak, frustrated, angry, or embarrassed moments that you would hear the gentle whisper from God saying, “I am here and on your side.”

November 28, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Grey Water –it’s a thing and I want a system

My grandfather was a farmer here in Orange County.
He grew oranges, go figure!
He would save plastic containers to put at the bottom of his shower. After his shower the containers would be full of water, and he would go out and water his garden.
I’d like to call this genius, and the easiest/cheapest grey water system you could ever install.
Brad thinks I’m crazy.

You guys! I’m only getting more extreme with all my ecology interests.
Really.
Maybe it’s my grandpa’s genes coming though, but now I’m seeing our rain barrel was just the beginning.
I swear, one day you are going to come on my blog and we are going to be building a bomb shelter and making our own soap!
Anyhoo…
I took a grey water class at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano and I loved it!

The class was taught by Brooke from H2OME and I want her to come to our house and install stuff! Brooke does home consultations for water capturing landscape and water systems and she gave us so much great information.

What is “Grey water?”
Thanks for asking! Grey water is the water leftover from showers, bathroom sinks and your washer. You can use this water for landscaping instead of city water. (I really liked this FAQs page about grey water)

Why does it matter if we save grey water?
Well, in California the drought is pretty bad. Really bad. Really really bad. And if we reroute our grey water back into the ground we won’t have to use city water, and we will be replenishing local aquifers and the existing water levels, instead of sending the water back to a treatment plant.
After taking the class, I really want to install a 1,000 gallon rain barrel, redo our landscaping to “catch” any rain water we actually do get and install a grey water system to our washer. I would love love love to do one in our upstairs shower… but I’m not really sure if we can afford it right now.
I’ll break it all down for ya!
(I told you guys… I’m getting crazy. Just stop me before I start putting plastic containers in my shower… though I may not tell you if I do!)

Cora Jane and I took the class together. I can’t even express how much fun I have with my kids. And how fun it is to have one-on-one time with them. My kids are rad.
Your kids are rad too.
Stop reading this post now and go tell them. Then come back and finish the post.

A 1,000 gallon rain barrel seems huge… but it really isn’t (see pic below) and it is SHOCKING how much water your roof can catch. (Read my rain barrel post for more details and a video!) The logic behind the bigger barrel is to use it as much as possible in the “rainy” season and hopefully get about a month of use in the summer. Of course you are turning off your sprinklers during this time. How awesome if you had a drip system and didn’t even have to worry about sprinklers at all!

1,000 rain barrel, yo!

Redoing our landscaping – It is so important for us to keep our rain water on the land and not running down the street into the ocean. Our yard doesn’t really have any crazy landscaping. It’s a blank canvas and I would love to use our landscaping in a better way. This would even prevent your average and sprinkler runoff. And it would be easy and cheap (“just the cost of the shovel”). I love this simple video about runoff and landscaping. 8 minutes, but It’s worth a watch!

For loads of info visit his site too: http://www.harvestingrainwater.com/

Now for installing a grey water system! The easiest system to install is in your washer and dryer. It would cost about $300 to have done by a professional and if you do a laundry load everyday (who doesn’t??) it would supply all the water you need for a small area of your garden. I’m hoping we can install one and it would keep my rose bushes watered and we could turn off the sprinklers permanently in that area. Buuuuut a shower system… now that would really put a dent in the water bill. We are a family of 6… wait 7… wait 8, people (shoot!), and we all take showers. Each 10 minute shower uses about 20 gallons of water (roughly 2 gallons per minute). That is 160 gallons of water A DAY that can be put back into the ground. We could install a drip system for our vegetable garden and whole yard. Squeeee! But this system can cost around $1,200 per shower. Ouch! Buuuuut it would save us about $400 a year. I want it.

I hope to share this whole journey with you! It’s small things like changing up your landscaping a bit, that can make a big impact in the world!
If you are local, check out The Ecology Center’s calendar of events here!

(I love these wooden planters. I’m going to have Brad build me some with some scrap wood we have! Details soon.)

November 21, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

7 Ways Small Children Can Save the World {Green Kids Book Giveaway}

Kids can make a big impact on the environment in a positive way.
Even small children.
And to make a big impact, you don’t have to do big things.
So here are 7 ways small children can save the world!

I’m only becoming more and more of an ecologist.
(I blame my obsessed-with-recycling-mom and my farmer-grandfather.)
I’m not brainwashing my kids to save the world, but I am teaching them, their actions will affect the environment – in both good and bad ways. And I’m starting conversations with them about their impact.
I hope you like these small things… that are actually BIG!

1) Pick up trash at the park or on a walk. I keep a few old plastic grocery bags in our stroller and before we leave the park each child picks up as many pieces of trash as their age. Even just one “trash walk” around the neighborhood a week will help keep your area clean and give your kids a sense of ownership for their neighborhood. Conversation questions: What would the the park be like if no one threw away their trash? Why do you think this person threw their trash on the ground when there is a trash can right next to the playground?

2) Turn off the water while you brush your teeth. I’m sure you have heard this water saving tip a thousand times. So why do you still leave the water on? You’ll waste about 2 gallons of water if you leave the water on while you brush your teeth! That would be enough water to fully hydrate my family of 6 for a whole day. Do this Experiment with your small children: Plug up the sink, brush your teeth with the water on, and watch sink fill up. Then take your cup and dip it into the water and scoop out the amount of water your child will use to rinse out their mouth. Compare the amount of water and ask if they should waste all the water in the sink, when they just need the water in the cup. Practice turning on and off the water together.

3) Visit the Farmer’s Market once a month. It might seem silly, but in this age of prepackaged/pre-prepared everything, so many kids don’t understand where their food comes from. As you walk the isles let your little ones touch the different fruits and veggies (with the vendor’s permission). Pick up ones they are interested in, to talk about the colors, textures, and taste. Let your kids ask the farmers about the food too! Buying your weekly fruits and veggies from the farmers market, even just once a month, will make a big impact on the environment: Supporting local farms, less fossil fuel than grocery store stock, and the knowledge your kids get about food and where it comes from will last a lifetime!

4) Use both sides of the paper when coloring or doing art projects. If your kids are anything like mine, they will create an art masterpiece on one side of the paper without ever being aware of the valuable paper-real-estate on the back. Or after a piece of paper has one line of color, it’s tossed in the trash. Talk with your kids about using the backside of their construction paper for drawing. This would cut paper waste in half… well… kids art paper waste! Here is a great exercise to help them understand a paper with a bit of doodling from a former owner is still usable. Take a piece of paper and make a few simple doodles. i.e. a line or a circle or a scribble. Then guide your child to use their imagination and add to the picture. This is a really fun game. You take turns adding to the picture until the paper is full. Then the next time your child comes across a “used” paper in the paper pile, they be ready to play a fun game, instead of throwing the paper away.

5) Turn off lights in a room. Electricity is generated from fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and oil. If we use less electricity we reduce pollution from all of the above. This is a bigger concept for small children to understand. But they will be able to understand, the lights should be off in a room, if the room is empty, or if it’s light outside. Play a game by turning on all the lights in an area of your home then letting your child race to turn them off. Do this a few times, all the while cheering them on as they try to beat their time. Give your littles the job of turning off all the lights before you leave the house.

6) Use reusable bags. Plastic grocery bags are the worst. WORST. They don’t biodegrade, it takes 12 million barrels of oil to make the Unites States’ plastic bags a year (so it can raise fuel prices), and plastic bags kill like eleventybillion animals every year because animals can’t digest the bags they eat. (See this list for so many more reasons too!) Instead opt for good reusable cotton, canvas or denim bags. (I read somewhere polypropylene can leach toxins. Polypropylene bags are that thin bumpy material, used for a lot of the reusable bags… I searched for some more info about that but didn’t find anything conclusive about the bags, but it sill freaks me out.) Let your small children be in charge of packing the reusable bags before a shopping trip! I give my kids a penny every time they remember to pack our reusable bags. They think that is so fun!

7) Recycle and use reusable water bottles! You can just ‘copy and paste’ most of the reasons not to use plastic bags, for not using plastic water bottles as well. Instead, use a good reusable glass or stainless steal bottle (these and these are great!) But if you have to use a plastic bottle, recycle it! I know families that let their kids keep all the recycling money and that really motivates the kids to take ownership of the recycling chores. (Our city has separate cans for the recyclables and that makes it very easy to recycle. We do miss out on a payout from our recyclables, but I also don’t have to store things, or make an extra trip out to the Recycling Plant.) Consider getting a trash can/recycler combo or recycling can! It’s pretty shocking how many things can actually be recycled! Small children love to guess what things go in the recycling and what things go in the trash.

I hope you enjoyed my 7 ways small children can save the world!
Just to add to the ecology fun, I’m giving away these adorable Green Kids books.
5 paperback books that share the “going green” lifestyle with kids who can talk to animals. Now that’s something to smile about!

The illustrations are bright and beautiful, and each book’s theme is topped off with a related science section in the back.

Follow the instruction in the box below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

November 12, 2014 by: Kara Noel Lawson

Dollar Bin Challenge Baby Doll Bed

I love the dollar bins in every store. Don’t we all! Don’t you kinda feel like you are sticking it to the man when you get something from that section? (Or am I the only one?) My crafty friends and I got together and created the Dollar Bin Challenge! We each picked up the same thing from the dollar bin at target and tried to outdo each other with our creativity! I came up with this fantastic baby doll bed. It is EASY to make and Tessa loves it!
LOVES!

1. You’ll start with the “bed frame.” I decided to go with a brass bed style frame. I used metallic permanent markers. But you can just as easily do a wooden frame with a brown marker. I did the big top circles first. Then used the ruler to create straight lines to the bottom and across for the base of the bed.

2. Then you’ll go ahead and color in a mattress and pillow. I also drew a simple bed skirt… I mean our baby doll isn’t being raised in a barn!

The $3 doll (also from target) is the perfect fit for this bed. I love this size doll for toddlers.

I feel like this bed is pretty cute as is! But let’s say your baby doll is complaining about a bad back and you want to offer her a life of luxury. We all want the best for our children!

Then you can whip up bedding with some fabric scraps.

For the Mattress: Cut two pieces of fabric 6×8”. Place the right sides together and sew a 1/4” around the rectangle, leaving a 2” gap for turning. Turn. Stuff – I use the stuffing from old pillows. Then sew up the open seam.

For the pillow: Follow the directions above with two pieces of 4×6” fabric.

For the comforter: I had a cute quilted hoop that I repurposed for this comforter, finished dimensions should be about 6×7”. You can sew something or pick up find a fun hot pot holder!

I also made a throw pillow from scraps. That tiny little thing brings a smile to my face!

Isn’t this the cutest holiday gift? I want to make a few more for the little girls in my life for Christmas! Tess has been carrying hers around since I gave it to her… and she puts the baby doll bed next to her bet at night.

Now visit to the other Dollar Store Challenge gals!

From top left:
Thankful cards and basket from Life with Lovebugs.
Organization center from Simply Creative Ways.
Chalkboard succulent box from Pandora’s Craft Box.
My lil’ babydoll bed!
Succulent garden hostess gift from DIY Inspired.
Creativity Corner on a budget from Zoo Cutie Printables.

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