DIY Shoe Rack

Since moving into our apartment a short 4 months ago I've had a mental to-do list of things I wanted to accomplish.

Well folks, I can now check one of those things off of my list :)
I looked around for a shoe rack to fit behind our front door, but they were all kind of big, or pretty pricey, etc.
I figured we could make one.
My son loved helping me with this project. This is what we came up with.

We have this square of hard floor around the front door, and then carpet in the rest of the front room.
That's where the shoes end up. Just kicked right off once we come in the house.
Living in a smaller space makes it look more messy, so I decided to fix this problem.

DIY Avengers Masks

* I have a GIVEAWAY going on right now for a chance to win some super hero masks of your choice! It's the most recent post on my blog, just click on the header at the top of the blog (or Home) and it will take you there. Make sure to enter!

Ok, here is my second post from my son's Avengers birthday party.  See my previous post on how to make your own Captain America shield pinata if you missed that one, 'cause it's freaking awesome!

I saw these on Pinterest like a month ago and pinned them immediately.  I had this genius idea, instead of doing little goody bags for the kids, (because my son really never plays with the little toys he gets in there, and they would get enough candy and treats from the pinata), so I would make a mask for each of them.  This way they could also run around with the masks at the party and be little super heroes!

I started these a couple of weeks in advance, mostly so I could just work on them at night while my son was sleeping, and also because I didn't know how long it would take to make all 18 of them! 

Supplies you'll need
sheets of felt in the colors you will need Iron Man (red and yellow), Captain America (blue and white), Hulk (green and black), and Thor (a creamish, skin color, and grey).  (They were 29 cents per sheet at Michael;s, I've heard since you can get them at Wal-mart for 23 cents, saving you money folks!)
scissors
white stretchy elastic
FREE template of the masks found at Cutesy Crafts (this lady did a great job making these templates!  She also has a few other super heroes, and princess crown templates)

black and see-through thread

*Update, I did have someone email me, she said she didn't have a sewing machine, and was wondering if these could be made with a hot glue gun instead.

I whipped up a mask using ONLY a hot glue gun, and it does work just as well! 

I got 4 sheets of each color to use as the base of the mask, then 1 sheet for the colors which are the details on the masks.

For the base of the mask (the main color), use 2 sheets on top of each other, pin the mask and cut out the shape.