. best friend week - project #2 .

my desk has been a work in progress since i bought it.  i've never had it like i wanted it and, since i spend so much time at it, i had to get it looking right.  i didn't get a before pictures, but i think i've posted one before.  i really just needed something hanging above my extra large computer to balance it out. 

i remembered i had this huge bulletin board that my mom gave me to use for something else.  i brought it in and it was the perfect size.  i also had a table cloth that a friend gave me.  i've wanted to use it because i love it and it matches perfectly, but couldn't find the right spot for it.  i know.  table cloths go on tables.  but i can't have one on mine.  not with all these kids.  i'd have to wash it every day. 

so i stapled it to the bulletin board.  i'm in love once again.

i still need to get it organized and the "stuff" put in the right spots.  that'll change constantly i'm sure.  i want cute stuff on there, pictures, my weekly menu.  but i'm not real sure how i want it just yet, but how cute is it already?!?   it worked out so good.  i already had the antique bicycle basket hanging on the right.  i've wanted to use it for so long and haven't really had a spot for it either.  it works perfectly for our checkbook binder and my receipts holder.

and, the chair MUST be accessorized to match the bulletin board somehow, right?  we thought about making a seat cushion, but i'm really liking this final touch.

yep.  a piece of the table cloth tied in a simple knot.  i'm also going to try to make a few pillows for my couch to tie it all into the living room.  PLUS ... another free project.  i had/was given everything i used.  my mister is loving this!

. best friend week - project #1 .

ok ok ok ... here's the big reveal.  it's probably not as HUGE as you thought it'd be, but we LOVE it.  everytime we walk in the dining room, both of us utter the words "that window is AMAZING!"  and, it's true.  so here she is ...

the before  - it's the door to the back yard that is in my dining room.  the curtain just wasn't working for me.  always fell off.  and was pretty ugly.  i've been looking for a solution for a while now.

enter pinterest.  i found the idea here and LOVED it. 

enter jasey.  she makes me do things.  i like being lazy and i'm not allowed that this week.  she's kept me BUSY!!!  but it's all been so good and has made a huge difference in my house.

we started with these supplies.  contact paper (the clear-ish kind).  scissors.  the blog i linked above had a link to another blog where they found the idea.  unfortunately, at this time, i'm unable to go to the original blog and link that one, but they posted a template that worked perfectly.  the design fits my style right now perfectly too!  so, i printed the template, then cut it out of cardboard so i'd have something better to trace.  oh, and of course you'll need an orange sharpie.  yes, it's necessary.

i started tracing and jasey did this ...

i certainly did put her to work.  she did most of the cutting out, while i stuck the shapes to the window.  we traced and cut out forever and, with 7 kids in the house, this project took us forever to finish.  several hours it seems.  we were about 4.5 hours behind our deadline, but we eventually got it done.  and i LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  here's the big reveal ....

whatdya think?  there are some bubbles.  but you can't really see them unless you are up close.  we don't have backyard neighbors, but i still don't like people peeping in.  this doesn't prevent that, but it helps a lot.  and ... it's CUTE.  which is what i always go for. 

OH WAIT ... the very best part, other than it being AMAZING ... was that it was FREE!!!  i already had a huge roll of contact paper for art projects, so i didn't have to buy a single thing to totally transform an entire door.  can't beat that!

. 350/365 .

i don't have a picture to post that i actually took today because i'm stuck in the hospital, but i couldn't pass up sharing this project that we did with the kids.  it was my mother-in-law's idea and was perfect!  the kids loved it.  it's a sugar cone, green icing, m&m's, marshmellows, and a gummy star.  how cute (and yummy)!

. super cute caterpillar .

several people asked for a how-to for this on facebook, so i took pictures while we made the last one.

*first up, you'll need ...
-plastic eggs ... you can make a long caterpillar or a short one.  we used one whole plastic egg for the head, and 8 halves for the body.  we made a pattern out of our colors as well. 
-pipe cleaner.
-googly eyes and a sharpie marker

*NOTE: some plastic eggs already have one hole in the middle of each half.  the ones i had, had 2 holes.  so, i used a small phillips screwdriver (b/c i didn't have an ice pick like i wanted to use) and poked one hole right smack in the middle of the bottom of each half.  make sense?  see picture ...

*then we made a pattern with colors.  i let each kid pick their colors.  now, you can make this super long if you want.  i just chose to make ours shorter.  here's one pattern (the 2 green on the left side is for the head).

*here are the next steps ...

*first, put the pipe cleaner through the very last egg.  i wasn't sure how to do this part, so i made it up.  i just put a small piece of the end of the pipe cleaner through the hole, folded it, then bent it down.  (pic 1)
*then start adding the rest of your egg halves. (pic 2)
*for the head, simply put a whole egg together. (pic 3)
*i added a small piece of extra pipe cleaner for a 2nd antennae, curled them, and added eyes and a smile.

how cute are they?! ...

*i did add googly eyes to some of them.  for the babies, i just did sharpie marker eyes.  i didn't want googly eyes to end up in their mouths!

the kids LOVED this project and the big girls even decided if they were boys or girls and named them. 

. fun project .

this was one of our favorite projects.  it was more work for me, but the kids loved the end product.

i cut everything out of construction paper, used marker for the legs, and yellow handprints for the baby chicks wings.  this is one we'll keep forever.

i think i have a thing for handprint and footprint art.  a little overboard probably, but they are always so cute!

. january projects .

i have been doing projects around the clock it seems for the last week, but today was a big one.  for a little background on me ... i am VERY indecisive.  so in order to prevent making decisions about my home decor, i just don't decorate.  simple as that.  we lived in our first house for 4 years and never hung a thing on the walls.  we've lived here for 6 months and am just now MAKING myself hang stuff.  i'm determined to make this house a home for my family.  i want to LOVE living here.  in order for that to happen, i have to make it awesome.  i have to make holes in the walls.  so i did.  and i only need to patch 2 holes so far.  here's pictures showing you the projects i've been doing.  some before and after and some step-by-step.

the projects all started with my mantel.  {note: these are all horrible pictures.  most of them were taken with my phone.}

before:

 
after:  i wanted to created more of a "winter" themed mantel.  i went with white and aqua and used paper doilies for my banner to look like snowflakes.    
 my next project was my buffet in my dining room.  this is it before i even started.  i had just thrown all this stuff on there when i started on my mantel.

and here's the "so far" (instead of the "after" b/c i'm not quite done) ...

the centerpiece for my buffet is our new family bible that my parents got us for christmas.  it's kind of a tradition in our family to have one of these and was a very special gift.  my grandmother has one and my mom has one.  that is my most favorite thing of both of their houses and i'm so glad to be able to have a bible for my own family. 

next up ... you see that mirror hanging above the buffet?  here's the before ...

it is an antique mirror that i got from my granny, but it was a old off-white looking thing and needed a little freshening up.  so it got a coat of pure white.  and now it's beautiful and one of my favorite pieces.  i love the detail.

and those sconces hanging on either side?  i got those from my mother-in-law.  here's the before ... 

i'm not real sure what color they were before, but they needed some freshening up as well.  here's the after ...

here's another mirror i got from my mother-in-law.  i decided to use it for the girls room, but wanted to give it some color.  a little spray paint went a long way in this project.  here's the before...

some pink spray paint absolutely made this mirror cute ...

my last 2 projects i did today and i will post them step by step.  growing up, my parents kept our measurements on the edge of the wall.  i always wanted to have some kind of growth chart for our children, but, b/c we are not settled in our "forever home" i wanted to be able to take our growth chart with us without taking down a wall or part of a door frame (which is what happened when we bought our first house.  the previous owners took their door frame with them b/c it had their childrens measurements written on it).

while blog searching one day, i found this idea and ordered the vinyl ruler that i needed to make this absolutely adorable and fun growth chart.  

first, i ordered the vinyl.  then, we bought a piece of 1x8x6 wood.

 

here it is after it's done, but before we hung it on the wall ... it's like an oversized ruler!  love it.

after we hung it up, we got the girls first measurements.  i plan on going back through and adding their measurements from previous years.

the very last project was much needed.  i do not like clutter.  not on my counters, not in my car, not on my refrigerator.  which are the 3 places that were becoming cluttered every day with artwork and crafts.  i needed a place to hang up karsyn's color sheets and other things she brings home, or mykah's things tht we make at home and i had the perfect place.

it started with this ...

 

and became this ...

 

this little nook in my dining room was the perfect place.  now, the yellow clothes pins were NOT what i had invisioned at all.  i wanted big silver bulldog clips, but i went to four stores today and couldn't find them.  yellow just happened to be the only color spray paint i had left and i refused to hand paint 8 little clothes pins.  so, these are temporary.  i do have little splashes of yellow in my dining room and kitchen, but i'm not too fond of these.  i love the idea of it though.  i love that now i have a place to hang our masterpieces.

those are my projects in a nutshell.  i've had fun and i have another list of more i want to do and plan on doing them in the coming weeks.   

. project #2 crossed off .

i am working really hard on all of these projects.  started #2 late last night and finished it this morning.  and i LOVE it, which is not something i often say about my own work.

remember this ...

 

now, it looks like this ... (minus the tray)

 

 

yes, it's my new favorite aqua color with antiquing glaze again.  i'm in LOVE.

. project #1 - done.

so right now i have a list 9 million miles long of projects i need to finish.  tonight, i finished one.  ok, so it wasn't an important one, but it was the perfect one to start with.

i got a frame from a new sweet friend.  i didn't want it to be pink, so i painted it.  i should have taken a before picture, but i'm not cool like that.

 

the next step after painting ... antiquing glaze.  and now it's perfect for me.

 

this aqua is my new favorite.  not to replace orange, however.  but orange doesn't really make good furniture for my house.  but this aqua ... it's fabulous!  i sat it up on my entertainment center just to take a picture, but i secretly like it there.  it might stay.

thanks, lori, for the frame.  :)