designergirl007

Creativity Unleashed - Bottlecap Jewelry, Bows and More - Oh My!

My sister-in-law sent me some items she is making and selling. Now, she is uber creative and is also making bows and other items that she will soon be displaying on her etsy store. Which I will shamelessly promote when it is up and running, however, until then, I thought I would share with you some of her creativity.

Being an Arkansas Razorback fan and now that they are going to be playing in the Sugar bowl it is Hog Fever around here. You can bet I will be decked out in my Razorback shirt, sweatpants and now adorning my Razorback necklace and bracelet. Yea baby!!! And in case you don't know how to call the Hogs here is a little history so even if you aren't a Razorback fan you can join in on the fun. Here are some iphone pictures of the bracelet and necklace I will be wearing.

Here is the bracelet

 The other cool thing about these are they are interchangeable. If I want to wear the Razorback medallion on the necklace and the "A" medallion on the bracelet then I just switch them. If I want a totally different medallion I can get another sport team, my initial or even some kid named Justin Bieber. LOL!

Needless to say, I think these are pretty cool. I have seen bottlecap necklaces at the girls store Justice for girls but I have to say these are made better and look better. I had my necklace on and my son saw it and now he wants a "boy" style one for him. I have ordered it as a stocking stuffer. :) She has numerous designs and options available.

Christmas is coming up and these are great stocking stuffers and gifts. If you would like more information or would like to order a necklace, bow or bracelet just send me an email.

This mission is complete - creativity unleashed and ready to wear!

 

 

One of My Favorite Things.

This is one of my favorite things. When I worked at a corporate job, I had a planner. It had everything in it and unlike most people now-a-days, I really like paper and didn't succumb to the digital calendar world. Each day, when I would get my day started I would write my to-do list on the right side of the planner (and hope that it was filled with bright yellow highlighter marks at the end of the day - showing I had accomplished all I had set out to do). Now, on the left side of the page the first thing I would do is write one funny thing that Jack had said or had done the night/day before. I did this for years. I still have the planners all filed and ready to transfer these precious memories that would have been long forgotten without the few minutes it took to jot it down. It is a lot of fun looking back at all the funny things he said and did.

Listen to this, now this is taking an idea and making it your own. I had a co-worker who recently sent me an email. He said he had overheard me talking about my quick Jack journaling in my planner and he started doing it. He kept everything in a Word file and wrote a quick line or two down about his kids. He started on Mother's Day 2009. Here's the best part. His wife had no idea he was doing this. Here is part of the email that he sent...

"Mother's Day 2010 rolls around and I presented my wife with a 273 page book of memories, no pictures, just text (10pt type). I got a little carried away and obsessed with it... didn't miss a single day though! It's funny flipping through it now... a lot of stuff you really do forget. So, thanks for the inspiration!"

That is a great idea! Are you listening up fellas. :) As you know, my life now has changed. I no longer use a planner to schedule my day. I have 2 babies that do a pretty good job of scheduling my day for me. I found it hard to keep the journal idea alive. After buying a journal and keeping it by my bed, I found I was always too tired to write in it, saying I'd do it later and not following through. It took a few weeks but here is the new system that works for me.

There are post-its that say the first foods the twins have eaten as well as a date that Jack and I went on with the ticket stubs. When the wall is filled with memories (it is actually the side of the refrigerator) I pull them down and just stick them in their scrap books. It is nice having them hanging around for those challenging days when I need something funny or something to make me smile - when I have had my fill of dirty diapers and washing bottles I can look up there remember....

I hope this inspires you to jot your memories down. I promise it'll be worth it. 

Arts and Craft Hour - Reinventing picture frames

Okay, folks I am working to get back in the groove and that means projects. Lots and lots of projects. I have a list a mile long. The challenge is finding the time as a new stay at home mom with the 3 kids home this summer. I am getting projects marked off my list and pulling things together, it is just taking a bit longer than BT (before twins). If there is anything I have learned with the 3 kids home with me 24/7 it is patience - patience - patience.

So, you know I like to be inspired by things around me. This adventure is part of some inspiration I saw this winter while I was pregnant. You see, I had almost every pregnancy symptom, and one of them was a runny nose. Yep, that is a symptom believe me. I went through a lot of kleenex's and ended up having boxes all over the house so they were always within reach. There was one box in particular that had a pretty cool guitar design. I thought the colors and design would be great for the boys bathroom. Bold colors just like them and music - what could be better. With that in mind the bathroom redesign project was under way. At least as soon as the babies were born and things went back to some type of "normal." Whatever "normal" is now-a-days.

Knowing I want bright. I wanted some picture frames but couldn't find any that fit what I was looking for. I ended up seeing an ad for our local hobby store that frames were 50% off. Always a looking for a good deal, I checked it out and found frames that had good bones but weren't the colors I wanted. I bought them with the intention of making them my own.

First, I ran over the frames with 120 grit sand paper to knock off any finishes they had so the paint would stick better. Are you impressed I know what 120 grit sand paper is? Well, in high school, when other gals were taking Home Ec., I took wood shop. That is correct. I am just as familiar around a router, planer, and table saw as I am around a blender, oven, and Cuisinart. My big project in shop class was i designed and built a water bed frame. It was a daybed with bookshelves and lights, and drawers underneath, the works I' tellin' ya. I made picture frames, lamps, coffee tables, even a fish tank stand for Ross when we were dating and he needed a stand for his piranhas - now that is love.

Anyway, after you rough up the picture frames, it's easy, just pick your paint color and paint the frames using long strokes and going with the grain of the wood works best. It may take several coats to achieve the desired look.

I had a dark brown stained frame I used cyan blue paint to cover. I didn't mind some brown showing through and I thought the blue would be good with the chocolate brown accents. The other frame I had a gold/silver finish. This frame I used bright orange. I thought the gold/silver highlights would be a good accent underneath the orange. The only frame I have left to add to the mix is a lime green frame. I need to find a white painted frame with a wide border. I think the white will accent the lime well. I will just have to wait until the next 50% off sale to scout it out. Once I get all the frames painted I'll put one on a frame stand to add height with the others in front. This should be a nice focal point on one of the counters by one of the sinks. I'll show a complete image when all are finished but wanted to pass along this tip in case you needed to reinvent some frames around your house.

Enjoy!

This shows the rough sanding and first coat of paint making sure I get paint in the grooves of the frame before making my strokes go with grain of wood. 

  Gold/silver frame before hitting with sandpaper and scuffing it up. See below for finished frame images. I still need to add the photo in the orange frame or maybe even a nice script like "wash" or music notes, or copy of sheet music blown up since the theme is going to be a guitar theme.

 This is so cheery it just makes smile.

Goin' On A Treasure Hunt...

One of our favorite things to do with Max when he was younger, and even now, was go on a bear hunt. We would go through the house on our bear hunt and pretend to go over waterfalls, canoe down a stream, and step over fallen trees, until we finally came to a cave (usually a dark room) where we'd find the bear then run all the way back the way we came laughing all the way. Tons of fun and it never got old for him or for his parents. 

This weekend it was a lazy day around the house and Max was a little bored. He is older now, entering kindergarten in the fall, so I decided to send him on a treasure hunt. This is a fun idea to do with Max on a "stay at home" day as he says. He had a great time and it was an entertaining way in incorporate some learning as well.

First, I scouted our yard and house for areas where I wanted to send him. I then created a rough map with the first set of clues. My map had our house in the center and landmarks roughed in around the appropriate areas. I had the directions on the map marked as well. Here is a sample of the clues on the map...

"A tree with red blooms is where you'll start, with approximately 13 paces East is what you'll chart."

Max and his dad were the scouts for the treasure so they worked on this together. They started by a potted tree on our porch with red blooms and followed the directions.

"Down the count of 2 and around the bend, is where this treasure hunt will send."

They stepped down 2 steps off our porch and around the sidewalk that curves.

"Forward you go as a place to rest you'll see. A bench - a bench - in front of a tree"

This is a bench on a small side patio they headed to next.

"The secret passage is here, a door to pass thru. But first you must knock to the count of 2!"

They knocked twice on the door.

"When the secret knock has been given and the doors open wide, you'll be given your next clue as you pass inside. 

By the Princess of the village the clue will be given, as your close to the treasure so keep being driven."

Of course I nominated myself as the princess and handed them the clue as they entered the house. :)

The clue I handed them was a rough drawing of a table with accessories in our TV room. In a bowl at the bottom of the table is where the next clue was hidden but they had to find the furniture that matched the drawing.

In the bowl was the final set of clues they said...

"Down a hall you will travel, enter the 2nd door on the left - travel safely on to finish this quest."

"The treasure is located in the place you keep clothes, figure out the code for the treasure - it'll keep you on your toes."

For the treasure code I wrote out the alphabet with numbers underneath each letter and they had to match the numbers on the code to the numbers underneath the blank spaces I provided. This was a good way to have him work on his alphabet and numbers as well as having fun.

The treasure code read "blue suitcase." This led them to the blue suitcase in his closet.

The final statement read. "Open carefully, the treasure's inside. The last seeker to try suddenly died!"

The treasure was a empty formula container (we have a lot of these with the twins) and I filled it with some coins, a sucker and a plastic ring Max had in his room that he had gotten out of a gum ball machine. It wasn't about what was inside really, it was about the adventure to get there. 

This was a really inexpensive project, it cost basically nothing just the time to put it together and with things we had around the house. We will be doing another treasure hunt in the next couple weeks. We'll have to see where the next adventure leads us - our imagination is our only limitation!

This would be fun for a birthday idea as well... 

Max's Room Redo. Hello Big Boy Room.

A couple weeks ago, Ross purchased P90X (this is a serious workout program). He dedicated himself to toning up and this was the program that was going to take those love handles and make them disappear. To accomplish this, he said he needed a room. Not an area, but a room. He also wanted work space in his room which started the couple weeks of transformation.

We had a room that we called the "play room" for Max. It had all his toys, a desk, entertainment center etc. It is the largest of the spare bedrooms and we decided this should be Max's room and Ross' workout/study room could be Max's old room. The work began. It's a little embarrassing. I didn't get a photo before we started moving so things are all over. As you can see there are play costumes, toys, the desk, etc. This room was to Max's new big boy room.

We decided we would move everything and paint later. We still have a few finishing touches to do and some art to hang but overall we are pleased with how it turned out and Max, amazingly enough, picks up his toys now. I think it is because everything is organized. Before he wasn't sure where things went. Now, everything has a spot so he knows where things are when he wants to play and where to put them when he's done. The black entertainment center is now moved into the guest room and I use it for blanket/quilt storage.

A couple things about this photo. Storage is from Target, swinging wicker chair is from Ikea (thank you Julie and Rhonda for bringing it to its new home!).

This is a little lounge area with papasan chair, little recliner, black table - found at a garage sale and repainted. And no area is complete without a Batman playhouse! Lounge to watch movies or read. The perfect hangout for little ones.

Storage unit houses large trucks, books, art supplies, Nerf guns, Play do, music instruments, tools and more. Everything has a spot. It was amazing to de-clutter the closet, which housed all the toys before. The lamp is from Crate and Barrel. Oh, and all those costumes... you know how much Max LOVES costumes. They are now in fabric bins under his bed!

This is his closet, it may not look tidy but it is organized. The organization drawers hold puzzles and books on tape. That is sitting next to a tub with all over-sized toys like weed eaters, saws, X-large Nerf guns. The best tip is taking a clear shoe rack to hold things. My sister-in-law told me this trick when I was pregnant with Max. When he was a baby I used it to hold all the small baby stuff, Desitin etc. so I knew where it was and it was easy to see/find. Now, it holds, all the small toys that would get lost otherwise, he can easily see them and it keeps them out of the way.

I hope you have found some helpful tips in the room redo. I am not sure on what color to paint the room. Max is partial to blue so we'll see. Max is very happy about his new room and now sleeps in there every night. So, it's a win win for everyone. 

Window Envy.

I am not going to lie. Everyday when I take Max to school I pass this house with glistening windows. I mean, the cleanest windows I have ever seen and I totally have window envy. I have always said if I see the owner outside I am going to stop and ask them what they use to get them to be so fantastically shiny.

The opportunity hasn't presented itself and since it's spring I was in the mood for some spring cleaning. I talked to my mom and we came up with some ideas to try. I have to say I am putting the concoction below that made my heart happy because I too now have glistening windows. It's all about the simple things and looking out a clean window to see the world without spots and grime is a pretty good way to start the spring cleaning.

Here is my before picture, I realize it is hard to show the speckles, but believe me they were there. If you look at the tree leaves in each picture you can see the difference from the dirty window to the clean a little more and if it is hard for you to see mix it up below and see for yourself. It won't disappoint.

Before...

Glistening Window... Ahhh happiness...

I tried wiping the mixture off with a microfiber cloth, sponge, squeegee but the best results came from newspaper. I used newspaper on inside and outside of the windows and it was streak-free and fantastic. We left all the blinds open today just to look out the windows - I know we need to seriously find something more entertaining to do.

So, use newspapers and the below recipe and  you'll be set.

4 cups of water

1/2 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon dish soap (I used Palmolive dish soap)

I put it in a spray bottle, shook it up and went to work with my newspapers. Hope you find this as useful and enjoy the result of glistening windows as much as we have. Now, I just have to keep those grubby little 4 year old fingerprints away - at least for a day. =)

Oh Yea Baby! Frosted Baby Booties.

Here is a little project that is simply adorable. It takes a little time so don't start this with plans to make a bunch the night before the party or you'll be up until the wee hours. 

What You'll Need

Frosting - Keep it Stiff

Large Marshmallows

Ribbon

Small paper cup

Jelly Beans

1. Start by placing 2 marshmallows on the plate you are going to be working on. One marshmallow stands up and the other lays on its side beside it. Place the paper cup on top of the marshmallow standing up. This is the bootie base.

2. Make your frosting.I have linked to a frosting recipe you could use if you don't have one of your own. The frosting will be piped to create the boot feature above. The icing will harden around the marshmallow and cup to form the boot, then you can add treats in the top, like above. To finish, add a small ribbon to the front of the booties.

Your hand will get tired there is a lot of piping involved and if your like me and don't do it very often you can really build up your hand muscles.

Nest Easter Egg Holder

We colored eggs today, yes, a little late but never-the-less we got it done. I just love the colors of the Easter eggs. My favorite is green followed by robins egg blue. We even glittered some this time, I know... so fancy. I am always looking for creative ways on how to display the decorated eggs and have made paper holders before but this time I went for something different. 

I found little twig wreaths at a craft store (they didn't have actual nests) then I put some small rocks to fill the middle of the circle wreath. Then, I just placed the eggs Max and I colored on top. It looks like a little bird nest and I think turned out pretty cute. I had the little rocks already in another bowl around the house so I just took them out of there for the time being to complete this little project.

Here is how it turned out. Easy and inexpensive - my type of project. Tomorrow, I'll post our table setting that follows with the natural type theme. 

A Hand in Time - Preserving Handprints with an Easy Sewing Project

If you have kids, you know that time flys by way to too fast. In the blink of an eye it seems they go from their very first smile to playing their first soccer game.

It is also amazing the amount of paper, artwork and crafts Max brings home from preschool, Sunday school, etc. I love seeing everything he is doing from coloring aliens, his first family drawing, and thumbprint lady bugs to tracing his first letters and watching his mind work as he completes his first worksheets. Although, all this is fantastic - there is absolutely no way, I can keep all these pieces from now until he graduates from High School. So, I must be selective. I choose those pieces that have his little hand prints or foot prints, or family drawings where we are big bubble people with stick arms coming out our ears. Which brings me to a way to hang on to the time when Max's little hand could fit in the palm on my hand or when his whole little hand could gently squeeze just one of my fingers when he was a baby. I love his little hands and feet, they are just precious.

My mom has done this craft for my brother and I growing up and now for her grandchildren. It is really easy and it you're like me and like to see their little hands this is a great way to look at it all the time and be able to remember that yes, at one time they really were that little!

Here's What You'll Need:

1. Flour Sack T-Towels. You can get these at any discount store. I purchased mine at Target, these are also what I used for the napkins in the Dinner With Friends post (party Idea category). I believe they were something like $5 for 6 towels.

2. Embroidery Thread. You choose the color. Max likes blue and I like green so I used these two colors. I purchased this at a local Hobby and Craft store, 3 for $1.

3. Embroidery Needle. The hole in the needle is wider, therefore easier to get the embroidery thread through.

4. Absolutely No Talent for Sewing. This is possibly the best part. I am NOT a seamstress. I basically know how to darn socks, tack Max's pants to make them fit and a couple other things but I do not have any talent in the sewing dept. I basically use liquid stitch to put patches on Max' vest for the AWANA clubs, so do not be intimidated by this project at all.

Here's what you do:

Trace a hand. I usually use a corner. You could put a different kids hand in each corner, you could trace the same child's hand in a corner for each year, or you can just do a single hand print in the corner. If you can get the child to do it more than once you may want to make a couple. You may want to trace once to keep as a keepsake and the other to use. You would be amazed at the smile a towel with a little hand print can bring. I also think it would be fun to have a copy so when Max is all grown up and possibly with his own family, they could come to dinner and we could pull them all out and each person could use a different hand print as a napkin at dinner.

You can also write the date or their name somewhere as well if you choose. I wrote the month and year.

Then, you use the embroidery thread, I doubled mine to make the line thicker, and trace the hand print and wording.

This isn't time consuming at all, it just takes a little bit and having the hand print and memories of that age will last a lifetime.

In the Pink Luncheon Table Decorations

A couple friends (Amanda and Wilson) and I helped with the local In The Pink Luncheon for the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation. Since next month is our local Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure I thought I would show you the table decorating idea we helped with and maybe it will inspire you for your next event or remind you to support the fight to find a cure for breast cancer. 

Centerpieces: 3 different sized white boxes. Because we needed some height for the sod to show up above the box, the newspaper donated old papers so we had them cut to size and stacked them under the sod. The sod was donated as well from Campbell Enterprises.

We used ribbons to wrap around the boxes and flowers were donated for the top box.