How it's going.... and Creative Cat's Tuesday

Last week I made an activity/learning clipboard that gave us something different to focus and learn each day. I just thought I'd give you a quick update on how it's working. First of all my kids are so excited about this. It gives them something to look forward to all day and they can't wait to do it! Last week we played and learned the rules of baseball, we practiced leading music and we made brownies together. Library day has been great because the kids know they will only have their books for a week so they have been really trying to read a lot so they can finish their books before we have to take them back. For craft day we made cute little flowers out of hands. I saw the idea on Jamie and Kelli's blog called The Junk Box. I like the look of theirs with the yellow pipe cleaner, but we didn't have that on hand so we just decorated the fingers with glitter. I'm thinking about joining the anti-glitter coalition because of how much glitter I keep finding in my house even after a week, but they had a blast so it's worth it. My son even loved it. We just used a boyish print paper for his. For another way to make super duper cute and kid friendly felt flowers check out Hannah's post HERE.

I would have to give the clipboard a big two thumbs up. It forces me to do something really interactive with my kids even when I don't really feel like it, which is unfortunately just what I need.

I decided I'd like to give you an opportunity to share any of your creative ideas on Tuesdays. It can be something you've made, a room you've decorated or a fun thing you've done with your kids. Really anything under the sun. They only give you a few options for what to call it and still be free, so I picked Cats on Tuesdays. Ha ha ha. Please don't post pics of your cats, we just need to stretch that into Creative Cat's Tuesday( I don't know if that's actually legal, I may be really irritating the cat community. We'll see if anyone complains). I'll see if I can get this to work. Today is kind of a test run. I would love to see what you are doing! If you don't have a blog and would like to have a project shown just email me a picture with a description and I will post it for you! If you don't have anything to share this week get crafting and be ready next Tuesday!!

Finally done!!!....well sort of....

I've been working on my sweet bench find this weekend and it is finally done! O.K. so it's not, but it looks like it is!! I would have had it finished if I hadn't had problems with my stapler and tried to fix it by myself. After an hour of trying to figure it out, I almost had it and then all of the pieces went flying!!! Not so awesome!! Funny enough I was trying to tack the material down with those tiny little nails that come with picture hanging hardware. I ran out about half way through the first cushion, so I just tucked the material around the other cushion and pressed it into place. I made a coordinating pillow. I thought it looked kind of cute wrapped in a sheer scarfy thingy that my sister gave to me. I got the fabric at Broadbends on a recommendation from Heather. I am a big fan of that store for material!! If you live around here, it's on 100 w. In Lehi. Very cute fabric choices!! I am so happy with the way that this turned out!!! I love it and I owe it all to this stuff!! Have you ever used the stain gels?? This is the first time that I've tried them and I LOVE it!! It is so much easier to antique something and it's not so messy! The gel helps it to color really quickly and easily!! Seriously, if you like the antique look you have got to try this stuff!! I got mine at Robert's for $1.27. After painting it(like 5 times, white takes SO many dang coats).

I sanded it and then just took a washcloth and wiped the stain gel on top. Easy as pie! I loved this little bench so much that I rearranged my front room around it!! Of course I was up until 2 am because that gave me the darn rearranging bug which just seems to grow exponentially anytime I start. I was tired, but happy!

Love at First Sight...

I was driving into town through a wicked snow storm to get to Costco. The roads were pretty slick and the visibility wasn't up to par. Someone forgot to mention to the weather that it's SPRING!! Of course while we are slugging along my 3yr old has to "go". There's no way we are making to the store in time so I pull off to the side of the road. I carry her out in the snow storm so she can do her business on the side of the road. She was freezing her little buns off and her #1 business decided to turn into #2 business! Perfect....So this has the makings of a very exciting day for me!! {Why is she telling is this???}...you may be asking yourself right about now...well, I just wanted to set the stage. I really deserved to find a great piece to refinish today and I did!! It was love at first sight!! I usually take a bit of time to inspect pieces, see if they have any broken parts or whatever-not this time. I nearly jumped a few aisles to snatch it up. I didn't even look at the price. I just love it!!! It was $25 which in my opinion was well worth it...I mean, can you really put a price tag on true love?? I guess you can because if it was any more than that I probably would have had to step back and reconsider. I have really been wanting to re-do a bench for sometime now. Plus I get to do a little reupholstering which is especially fun when it's a simple seat cover. So, this is what I'm going to spend the next couple of days working on. I still haven't figured out what I want to do with it. This is going to sound really cheesy, but as I am working on something I like to get a feel for what it wants to look like...ok so that may sound a bit psycho, so I'll put it another way. I just think that pieces of furniture will look better if the paint job matches the style and design of the furniture itself, and it's fun to try and figure that out. My youngest ones napped when I got home so I was able to get an hour of sanding in. I've even got a war wound from the sander!!This better turn out cute because I've shed actual blood for it!! I'll let you know when it's done!

Inexpensive pot racks

I have a list of things that I would like to have in my "dream home". Wide plank distressed hardwood floors that are unbearably hard to clean(but so cute), a brick wall, french doors, a fireplace mantle( I don't really care if it has an actual fireplace inside of it), a really cool banister and a built in window seat. I also really like the idea of a big farmhouse looking kitchen with the huge hood over the oven and the butcher block counter top...again very impractical when it comes to cleaning. I actually would love to live in an old farmhouse... minus the mice, and the possible plumbing issues, and I need my neighbors to be closer than 5 miles away. Ideally I would like a new house that looks like an old farmhouse, but they just don't make them that way. One of the things that I've always wanted in my farmhouse kitchen is a pot rack. I totally love my kitchen now, but the whole pot rack thing has been hard to work in because it is kind of a narrow space and a pot rack would just be in the way. When I was walking around IKEA this afternoon I came across these little hooks in their bathroom department.

I bought a couple and hung them above my kitchen window. It's an inexpensive way to nip my pot rack cravings and it doesn't take up much space. What's nice about them is that they go right over the top of the curtain rod, so I can still close the curtain behind them if it gets too sunny. Also above windows in most homes there is a header... which means you don't have to use drywall anchors because you are guaranteed to hit wood-SWEET!! So, if a pot rack is on your "dream home" checklist, try IKEA's bathroom department. $7.99. They also have some towel racks that could double as pot racks. I almost went with one of those until I remember that I have zero wall space to put one. The have one that has 4 different rods so you could also stack your big pots on the top!

Color changes everything....

I am feeling sick today, so I'm going to forgo any intense projects. I thought I'd do a bit of web-surfing and show some pictures about how color affects a room. These pictures were pretty intriguing. I have painted the walls in my house numerous times. I'm going to leave the actual number kind of vague because I'm pretty embarrassed by it. I am a color changing addict and I'm pretty sure we have lost square footage in our home because of how much I have painted those poor walls. One thing I have never painted is the ceilings! It looks really appealing in some of these photos, but I think I would have to put much more consideration into the color before I took on that kind of a project. In my house the downstairs rooms excluding the bathroom are all connected. I'd have to be really careful when choosing a ceiling color because I'd have to make sure it worked in every area. Plus it's just really tiring on the arms to paint the ceiling, especially if you have really textured ceilings. Anyhoo, here are some tips on color.

• Wider: If you would like your space to appear wider, combine dark ceilings with light walls. Isn't that purple gorgeous with the white walls. It is a way to add lots of color and still have the room have an airy feel to it. The small touches of purple accents in the picture and on the lampshade draw the color down into the room. I also like how they added the lights under the cabinets. I think that also helps to open up a small space. {Picture from 3.bp.blogspot.com}

• Smaller: If you would like your space to appear smaller(I don't feel sorry for you if you have this problem) then paint the walls a dark color. Dark colors make a room appear smaller because they absorb light rather than reflect it. If you have a really large room and want it to feel more cozy but you don't want to feel like the walls are closing in on you, try just painting one wall a dark warm color. {Picture by fotki}
  
  

• Narrower: White or light colored ceilings make a room look narrower-and taller-when paired with dark walls. I love the decorative molding at the top of the walls. If you don't want to go that extravagant you can also put up a small inexpensive strip of molding about a foot down from the ceiling line and leave that section white.{Picture by NY Times}
  
  

• Lower: Once again, if you have this problem...don't cry to me about it! But really, if you want your ceilings to feel lower, you can paint them a dark color. This picture makes me WISH I had high ceilings because I really love how the dark brown looks with the white trim and beige walls. Good luck with your painting if you are attempting a project like this one! You may want to call backup help! That is quite the job for a DIY.{Picture by Fabulous Finishes}
  
  

• Closer: Warm colors advance, making walls seem closer.
  
  

Larger: light-color walls make a room look larger because they reflect a lot of light rather than absorb it(not that this room needs to appear larger...it really is larger). I'm really digging that staircase and the rounded doorway. I think the brown of the wood helps to ground the color a bit. This house is so gorgeous!!{Picture by Active Rain}

• Higher: White ceilings appear higher. It also helps to hang the curtains above the window to give a taller feel. {Picture by Country Living}

Do you have a favorite color in your home? If so, what color and what room did you use it in?

"Mom, I'm bored" board

Becky sent me an awesome idea yesterday. A lot of houses have great big mirrors in the bathrooms. She created a really cool border using vinyl shapes that she cut out with a Cricut. She used Sure Cuts Alot software which allows you to make any shape or true type font without having cartridges(nice). I think it is a very inventive idea and how perfect if you are living in an apartment because you can easily take it down when you leave! Check it out HERE. Thanks again for your email Becky! I really appreciate it!

Do you ever hear your children complaining of being bored? I remember being bored as a kid, but as an adult, I really can't imagine ever feeling that way. I really do pack my days so full that I sometimes wish I had a couple more hours mixed with a bit more energy to accomplish everything that I'd like to. Although I am really busy, sometimes I feel like I am busy with the wrong things.

There are a ton of things that I want to teach my kids, but sometimes I just forget to do it. I decided to come up with a way for me to remember to teach them about something every day. I bought a clipboard at the dollar store and painted it blue.

I cut out pieces of craft paper and put different categories on them. The categories are things that I feel like I want to focus on teaching my children on a weekly basis. I'm sure our categories will grow over time. The thing that is going to make this successful is my kids! They are so excited about it. It actually surprises me. My oldest ran down the stairs this morning to see what we are focusing on today.

It's not going to be a huge thing. Maybe just the half hour after dinner that we work on them. For my categories I picked:

• Sports(I'm not super great at any one sport, but I know enough about a lot of them to give my kids a good intro. Plus it will remind us to exercise as a family.)
• Cooking(I thought I would have the kids plan and prepare a meal with me including shopping for the ingredients. I figured I could throw a little budgeting and time management into the mix.)
• Music(learn a new song, teach them how to lead music or go to a musical production.)
• Library day(literacy)
• Service(family service project once a week. I'm really excited about this one.)
• Family Night(spend the night with each other and include a spiritual lesson, game and of course treats.)
• Crafts(my kids always craft while I am crafting each day, but I rarely teach them how to do what I am doing. I want to start.)

I glued a bunch of magnets on the back of the clipboard and hung it on the fridge.

I decided to keep mine pretty simple, but you could do all sorts of embellishing if you are a better scrapper than I am:)

I also wanted to share with you the cutest thing that my son did for me yesterday. While I was painting he made a craft corner for himself in our pantry and would NOT let me peek while he was working. He knows I love decorating, so he made me this:

He even took one of my old sponge brush sticks and glued it to the back as a hanging mechanism.

So clever and sweet!

Spring Contest

I heard from Little Birdie Secrets that Plaid, the makers of Mod Podge, are having a Spring Contest . To enter, you email them something that you have made using Mod Podge and that has a spring theme or uses spring colors. Of course I am a fan of Mod Podge and also of Spring, so it sounds like fun! For my entry I found an old magazine stand to refinish.

I went to Robert's Craft and picked out some really springy paper and some French Blue paint. I used Mod Podge to create a spring scene on the lampshade and after sanding and painting the magazine stand I added some bright blue and green paper.

If you would like to enter something that you have made you have until April 2nd. The winner will get $75 worth of products from Plaid! Cool eh? They also have prizes for the 2nd and 3rd place winners.

To Enter:

• Submit your fav craft project. Projects must be inspired by spring , use a spring palette or have a spring theme.
• Projects must use Mod Podge
• Projects must be created by you and owned by you.
• Email a phote of your project to promotions@plaidonline.com along with the following info: name, email, address, project description, products used,what are your crafting plans for the summer and the original reason for making the project(specifically for the contest, gift-giving, home decor etc.)

Have a happy Monday!

Jen's Shelf

For today's post I wanted to show off a shelf decor display by the very cute Jen. She ordered a couple of shelves from our Poppy Ginger site a little while ago and she was sweet enough to send me a picture of one of them all decorated! I love how it looks!! She bought this 3' Daisy shelf unpainted so her cost was $15. She did a fabulous job with the paint and decor!! Thanks so much Jen!! If you have purchased a shelf from us and would like to send a picture to me I would love it!! Also, let me know if it is ok for me to display the picture on my blogs and in an album. Thanks!!

Children's art board

My next project was inspired by my hubby's random junk(no, that is not the name of a blog, even though it could be a cool one). He loves to bring home really bizarre things. I tried to clean out the garage yesterday and it didn't take me long to realize that I wasn't the right person for the job. There was too much stuff in there that I had no idea why we had, so I turned the job over to Joe. I did however happen upon these little black numbers.

They are probably used for mailboxes or something...I decided to use them and make a place for my kidlets to display their artwork. I also decided to use some pink cardboard letters and some clothes pins.

I routed a piece of mdf and glued the clothes pins onto the bottom of the board.

After the glue had dried, I painted everything a light green. It was a little bright so I also sanded the edges and rubbed a dark stain to help age it a bit. After everything was nice and dry I randomly glued the letters and numbers on.I love the new addition to our loft!! And want to hear something cool? I was lucky enough to hit two studs when I hung it up and I didn't use a stud finder!! That never happens!

Picture...perfect price...

I was at my parents house the other day looking through the pictures that they have on their computer when I came across a few I hadn't seen before. One is a fantastic picture of my late Grandma Minnie riding a bike down an old main street!

So cute! I also found one of my dad riding a huge bike as a kid and also one of him playing the accordion with an adorable expression.

I decided I'd like to make a picture collage for a small space in my bedroom. I bought some mattes at the dollar store a while ago and finally got around to putting the pictures in them last night.I was thinking that I would make some frames, but when I went downstairs the chop saw was gone!! Joe is helping a neighbor frame his basement. I guess no frame making for me. I still wanted to get them done so I ended up just using paint as a frame. At first I was using painters tape, but the tape peels off some of the paper matte, so I just used the edge of another matte and that worked great.It really gives the feel of a framed picture, especially if you don't put them up in a spot where people are going to see them up close...Hey you can't beat three bucks!!

Order In The HOUSE!!

One of my goals for 2009 is to organize my house.....ALL of it!! This is one of the hardest goals I could EVER set for myself and I'm sure it will take me AT LEAST a year to do it. I have got to be the most unorganized individual on the planet!! Think I'm exaggerating??? I took pictures to prove it to you! Before I dive into the kitchen I'm going to share with you a quote that I am totally inspired by and it makes me happy to think about while I am cleaning out the old:

"Make room for the new you. You may not have totally determined who the new you is going to be, but you probably have decided that there are some things about the current you, that you want to change. Well while you are working on what the new you will be, start 'cleaning out a room' for the new you to live in. Get rid of the junk in your life both physical and mental that doesn't fit you anymore. Take things out of your schedule that are taking your time away from finding out what you want to do. By making room for the new you, you will create a vacuum that the new you will rush in to fill and you will be on your way to the top."~Edward W. Smith

Feeling motivated yet?? OK, this will probably make you throw up in your mouth, but here is a picture of my kitchen cabinets. Most people have a "junk drawer", well our junk drawer has taken control of my whole kitchen!!

Pretty awesome right?? My BFF Rachel is the queen of organizing. She has to be because she has 5 children and they live in a 2 bdrm apartment. You walk into her house and EVERYTHING is in order. She shared with me a few things to get me started.

• Don't go out and buy a bunch of containers before you clean and throw things away. You'll end up with a lot of expensive things that you won't necessarily need.
• THROW IT OUT!!Seriously....just get rid of almost everything... tupperware for instance...use the buddy system. If it doesn't have a partner get rid of it.
  
  
• Put things in their place. For example My fingernail polish has no right being in the kitchen. It may sound like an obvious and simple thing, but I was really surprised by everything that I found in my kitchen that really should be somewhere else.
• Don't feel like you need to fill up your space with stuff. Leave a place for things in the future.
  
  

Ahhhh I can finally breathe in here and look how much room I ended up with!! It's so awesome! I even had a whole entire cabinet that I could convert into a kids craft spot!

"The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious"~Marcus Aurelius