So Super Psyched About CARS II

In relation to the Disney Pixar CARS II movie I was told I have to add this funny little tidbit to my oldest child's baby book so I'll share. Kids say the darnedest things! 


Let's just say that our four year old LOVES CARS, especially cars with eyes = Lightning McQueen, Sally, Doc Hudson, you get the drift! His room is decked out in CARS gear (which I was hesitant to do at first b/c of my dislike of themed rooms, especially character themes) and he seriously wanted us to name his baby brother after a very important CARS character played by Larry the Cable Guy. He told everybody he wanted his little brother's name to be Gabriel "Mater"! Anyhow the little story I was told the other day was this. My son got in trouble at his child care center for putting his hands on another child and hitting so he was taken to the front office. There he sat with one of the directors, a thirty something woman and the co-owner, a fifty year old man. The two discussed CARS with my son to try and help him settle down and as upfront as possible, he told the man that he reminded him of Tow Mater because he was old and rusty. They both sat there and the woman said they laughed so hard she was crying. Kids just say what ever comes to mind!


On that note I wanted to do a little something special for our son since the next CARS movie is coming out towards the end of this week. I really want this movie to be an event for him. He's even more excited now with the addition of this easy project of window flags!

I let him pick the fabric and I purchased one yard. It contrasted well with the room so I thought it would be great! He did a good job!

 We ironed and measured out triangles. They were 7" high and 5 " wide, I believe. You can wing that part. 

 I cut out the triangles using a good pair of sewing scissors! 

Using fabric glue I glued seven triangles to a ribbon at one inch apart. I scattered the designs so they would have an even flow. I played around with placement but it's so easy and not perfect.

 

Here they are and it adds a little character to the room. Get it?!?!? He loves it and they're just a fun layer to the simple navy curtain.

Kitchen Is Back In Order

Hello all! The weekend is winding down quickly. Hope you had a great weekend and were able to do something fun. I, for the most part ran myself ragged trying to play catch up on the essentials. Saturday seemed like another day of nothing but WORK. It was full of chores from grocery shopping to straightening up the whole house, dishes, 5 loads of laundry, taking care of two young children... I didn't even sit down until after 4:00 and even then it was STILL folding laundry, which I highly detest. 

In a world where we had money to spend on something remotely luxurious, I think I would hire a maid. Or I wish I would. Even if we had the money to spend on that I don't know that I would. I would be too embarrassed to have someone clean after me. Although it might motivate me clean up better since someone would be coming in the house regularly. It's a terrible thing to feel like you'd be too embarrassed to have someone who cleans houses for a living see your mess.

 

For the past couple of weeks our kitchen has been a mess because our faucet has been broken. We tried to fix it because we just replaced it a few years ago. It's never fun when you have unexpected expenses. We were forced to buy another one because we learned quickly that the piping inside had become corroded and was causing it to leak - A LOT! Unfortunately there was no fixing it.  Fun-filled. Soooo we bought another one and we finally have a working faucet again now. You know how it is when something in the kitchen breaks... the kitchen tends to be the center of the household and when something stops working, the rest of the house seems all out of whack. Finally though I have my kitchen back!   

We had a pull out sprayer before but now we've got one of those goose neck pull down jobs which is getting the job done. One thing the sales guy suggested with these types of faucets is to purchase a well known brand and to get one that has the magnets so the sprayer head will click back to the "goose neck". Never thought I'd be so happy about a kitchen faucet. YAY! 

Hats Off!

Hats off to celebrations! Last weekend I attended a friend's baby shower that had on the invitation to wear a hat. Dress in your finest and wear a hat! I found this to be a perfect opportunity to come up with something on my own! I'm not a hat person unless it's a ball cap on a sunny day and this was a cheap way to come up with a hat since it's sort of a one time gig!

 

 

I found a brown dress that had some white polka dots. I was kinda going for the "Julia Roberts at the horse race in Pretty Woman" look here. Can you believe that movie is over 20 years old now? Holy moly!

 

I purchased a straw hat, wide ribbon and paper flowers at the local craft store.

I played around wrapping the ribbon around the hat. The hat had two holes and I wound up using them to help hold the ribbon in place. I used fabric glue as well to attach it. I tied the hat underneath in one knot and glued it to hold the ribbon in place better.

 

I took two pieces of ribbon to make a flat bow. 

 

 

I looped them loosely in a cross and glued them to each other

 

 

I glued the bow to the back of the hat.

 

I glued the flowers in a pattern all over the hat but not on the top.

I think it turned out very cute! It'll look cute hanging somewhere in the house too. :)

Freshening Up With Framed Fabric!

Give Me A "T"!  Give Me A "G"!  Give Me an "I" and an "F" What Does It Spell??? Ahhhhh! Lots of exclamation points today because it's Friday!

Okay so I resorted to chanting. Really I'm glad that it's Friday but I went to work this morning only to be called an hour later by my child's daycare center that he had a fever. Darn it! After a fit-in at the doctor's office and a prescription run, I'm home for the day with a sickling child. Cutting molars bites the big one, get it? The double whammy is the double ear infections on top of a tummy bug that I'm sure is all linked. Poor little thing. The meds finally kicked in and he's at least smiling again. Hoping for a solid nap but can't be too pushy.

I'm on the computer and looking at some freshly framed art, I mean fabric on the wall!!! I have a stash of different fabrics in the linen closet that I am in love with! Okay now just so you know I am not a "material" girl. I am not in LOVE with "things", I just merely like to make the house look nice and fresh and attract the eye, that's all. There is lots of freshening up to do around here! 

These two pictures have been hanging in the kitchenette for a few years now. They were very reasonably priced prints that I bought at a chain store somewhere because they looked like they would go with the sage color scheme of the kitchen. 


A few of my friends have asked ask why I don't hang my own art on my walls. Well I would but a lot of my artwork is from college and specific assignments and either over-sized or subjects I wouldn't want hung on the walls in the house. I haven't made the time to do a lot of art to hang but one day I will try and get back to that. Painting and drawing are two things I love to do, especially listening to good music!

So as for these two wall hangings I pulled the pictures apart with tools. I used a razor blade to cut the square out of the brown paper backing.

Then I pried the nails out with pliers and was able to pull the cardboard, matting and picture out. I had some cardboard sheets that I cut to fit the size of the glass. I cleaned the glass, ironed the fabric and moved the wooden frame around on the fabric until I got the images I wanted to frame. Then I placed the cardboard on the backside of the fabric and taped the backing down. I taped the cardboard to the back of the frame and then took brown paper and glued it down to the back of the frame and used Mod Podge to glue the brown paper to the back of the frame to cover the tape. I hung it back up and they are more vibrant than the old pictures. 


It's a feminine, whimsical looking fabric but I think that even though I'm outnumbered by males in the house, they can handle just this one bit of floral! Framed fabric is a super simple way to achieve a new fresh look in any room of the house! I like matted art but I like this even though the mats are gone! I think I'll keep it for a while.   

Hanging Basket With No-Sew Liner

I hope you're having a nice weekend! I'm sitting here taking in what just happened on one of my favorite tv shows. I don't watch a lot of tv but I've been sucked into an HBO show - Game of Thrones. I've heard that the book is fantastic so I'm watching the show. It's fun to have something to look forward to watch and the show is great! 

Having a few days off is pretty nice! It has been a pleasant holiday weekend at home with some time to catch up on things and relax a little. Last night I did this little project before I went to bed. I replaced our old system for grocery bag storage. I put together a no-sew hanging basket to keep our grocery bags organized in. It's simple enough!

Below was our old system. It's kind of country with a cat theme and it has seen better days. It was never my taste but it did the job. The problem with it now is that the elasticity on the bottom of it has worn out and so the bags fall out of the hole in the bottom and I was constantly cleaning up bags. Annoying!!!

I found these two hanging baskets at Dollar Tree for a buck a piece. I got three and will use the third as a basket for my bicycle, which I will share when I get to it!

 

 

I wasn't crazy about the color of them so I took some white latex paint and brushed a coat over them. I didn't totally cover the baskets and I left the inside unpainted since I was planning on doing a liner. They're a little rustic.

Below I cut two separate pieces of burlap. I played with the material inside the basket and adjusted how much I'd need. I wasn't precise about any of it. I want to learn to sew but for now this will have to do! It's easy enough!

I just eyed it and reverse-wrapped (wrapped the inside of the basket) it (did I just make up a concept here?) with a glue gun. I started from one end of the inside of the basket and worked my way to the other end, making a flap over the top of the basket and glued it down. 

So that you don't see the cuts in the burlap around the handles on the back side of the basket, I took another rectangular piece of burlap that I cut two slits in below and placed it inside to cover the bottom and then pulled it thru the handle to cover the folds on the back side and I glued it down.  

 

 

On each end of the tops of the basket I poked my scissors thru the two layers of burlap and tied them together with a piece of green ribbon. If you need any more pictures to help see how I did it, please let me know and I'll post. 

It's definitely not perfectly measured but I think it works well in the pantry! Whaddayathink?

Spray Painting is a HOOT

Hey this could be my site's mascot or something! 

 

Spray paints are waaay too much fun to play around with! When I look back at my art portfolio, some of my favorite paintings are those I've created using spray paints. I really like the different textures, cool shapes and bold prints I was able to get using the paints and different objects to help embellish a piece. There are so many things you can do with spray paints. Even though it's against the law, I am forever fascinated with art on trains or walls made by graffiti artists. I am blown away by the details and colors at such a large scale! I would love to be a fly on the wall so to speak to see how the artists do it!

I'm a little random tonight. I have been seriously working to break in my new bicycle so I've been spending a good deal of time outside in the sunshine! It's great fun to ride after work and it puts my youngest to sleep which is just wonderful to say the least! One thing I don't understand though is that when we go for family bike rides, I seem to be the only one swallowing a bunch of bugs. I know it's completely gross but I'm a little disturbed that no one else is having this issue!

Speaking of bugs, I accidentally touched a creepy crawly slug tonight in the yard. Ewww! It was under a piece of cardboard I used in spray painting some decorative objects for the dining room and kitchen. Yuck-Oh!

My object of spray paint was an owl figure. Originally it was a brown speckled owl which was nice and rich looking but I wanted to make it more fun!

Next I made it white. I liked it white but I wanted to make it stand out a little. 

Finally I made it blue using Valspar glossy spray paint. I eventually want to pair up the owl with something else in the kitchen. That will be another project!

Oh I have to add too that our yard looks a little like I tried to test out graffiti painting because I accidentally painted the grass in a couple of areas. Whoops! Hope everyone is doing well!

From Rust to RustOleum!

I'm all pumped about my most recent paint job! A nice end to a good work week and I gave myself trigger finger but it was well worth it! Just kidding but I do have a blister from spray painting tonight. Our rusted metal patio furniture has seen better days but instead of chucking it I just grabbed a couple of cans of good ole spray paint and the furniture looks like new! It's a fresh and cleaner patio just in time for the warmer months! 

I painted 4 adult chairs, one kiddo chair and a bench after I got home from work. They're all wicker with metal arms and legs. It took all of about 45 minutes so that should be encouragement that you can fit this into your schedule if you want to give it a whirl! 

I wiped the furniture with a dry cloth and covered the wicker with newspaper and gently sprayed the metal. I used a brown can of RustOleum with a hammered finish. Heck I ran out of tape to cover all the furniture so I free handed it on the last two chairs and the paint was very easy to control. Just be sure to hold the can about a about a foot away from the parts you want to paint so you don't have any drips! 


Can you tell what pictures are the BEFORE and which are the AFTER? I think it's pretty OBVIOUS! Once I clean off the table I'll take a good picture of the whole set so you can see! 

   

 

Okay so on this peewee chair I accidentally sprayed the wicker parts and wound up 

just painting the whole chair. Hopefully it will weather well!

I just love how flawless the paint looks!

Easy Labels With Cricut

I feel like a little kid! I'm trying to get through all the chores so I can play tomorrow. I got a new bike today and I can 't wait to ride it again! I got a really good deal! A store price-matched another store and then they honored a nice manufacturer's coupon. Not that I need to make excuses for spending money but I don't splurge on big ticket items very often. I figure I used to work out at a gym and now it's not realistic so bike riding with the family is the best alternative. I am so excited!

Onto my next lil organizational project!!! I used my cricut to make some easy labels for the laundry room. I have several canvas bins above the washer and dryer and it's always a pain to have to pull them down and search to see what is in them when I need something. Now with my labels it makes things a cinch. If I could just get every other aspect of our life so organized! Baby steps though, right?

I used a card stock scrapbook sheet of paper in off white and cut tags on the cricut paper cutter. Then instead of pasting them to the tags, I used the "negatives" paper and placed them on the tags and using a brown paint pen, I filled in the text. The labels are certainly not perfect. The marker did bleed somewhat but I think they are cute and they get the job done! To attach the labels to the canvas storage cubes, I used medium width ribbon. Very simple and makes life a little easier in the laundry room!

Ready to Play!

I feel like a little kid! I'm trying to get through all the chores so I can play tomorrow. I got a new bike today and I can 't wait to ride it again! I got a really good deal! A store price-matched another store and then they honored a nice manufacturer's coupon. Not that I need to make excuses for spending money but I don't splurge on big ticket items very often. I figure I used to work out at a gym and now it's not realistic so bike riding with the family is the best alternative. I am so excited!

Onto my next lil organizational project!!! I used my cricut to make some easy labels for the laundry room. I have several canvas bins above the washer and dryer and it's always a pain to have to pull them down and search to see what is in them when I need something. Now with my labels it makes things a cinch. If I could just get every other aspect of our life so organized! Baby steps though, right?

 

I used a card stock scrapbook sheet of paper in off white and cut tags on the cricut paper cutter. Then instead of pasting them to the tags, I used the "negatives" paper and placed them on the tags and using a brown paint pen, I filled in the text. The labels are certainly not perfect. The marker did bleed somewhat but I think they are cute and they get the job done! To attach the labels to the canvas storage cubes, I used medium width ribbon. Very simple and makes life a little easier in the laundry room!

New Finds!

Just wanted to send a warm thank you to the new people who are reading along. I enjoy "meeting" new people and reading other blogs and I will follow you back. Hope everybody had a nice Easter and got to spend time with loved ones. Easter was good. The weekend was good... I got an afternoon all to myself Saturday afternoon. YESSSSSS! I can't remember the last time that happened. I used to think it was so strange to hear mommies talk about how the only place they had a moment of silence or time to themselves was in the bathroom but I totally get it now! I adore my children, don't get me wrong, but I do dream of "me" time and need to find ways to fit more of that into the mix.

On my afternoon off, I got in the car, rolled down the windows, opened the sunroof and blasted the music somewhat and tooled around doing the things that I wanted to do. PLAY!!! Sweetness. First off I heard that there was a pretty good Salvation Army nearby, that I have been meaning to test out so I went and checked it out. I'm not a huge thrift store shopper but thought it would be fun to browse to find things that I could fix up and make my own as far as decorations for the house. Salvation Army was pretty cool but I didn't buy anything. If I was trying to furnish a home, it would be a great place to go. I saw many solid pieces of furniture that looked like they were never used. The prices were great too.

After that, I trucked over to Good Will and wooo-hooo! I found two items I knew I could fix up. I picked up a wooden tray that has some sort of Chinese scripting on it and I got the most adorable lime green lamp! The lamp came with a simple canvas barrel type lamp shade. It was brand new and it works! I would have a picture of it but I already put it in the baby's room and he's sleeping. I have plans for it at a later date but for now it matches the baby's room and looks adorable. Hey did you know that Good Will does returns? That is pretty cool. They take returns up to 7 days after the purchase date. Good to know for future reference! I have some plans to turn this tray into something cute!

Another new find was the HomeGoods store. It was fantastic! I have been dying to check that place out for a while and boy was it cool. There were so many inviting things to look at. I think I walked down every aisle looking at all the modern home decor. If I ever need a super cool lamp or anything for the house, I'll go there! They have so many classic, stylish pieces. I did purchase a cool, glass cannister and it was CHEAP compared to most stores. I have lots of ideas of ways to use it! Psyched! I know I'm a goofball!


So the rest of the week, I will be spending my nights preparing for a neighborhood garage sale this weekend. Pricing, making signs and cleaning out the attic! Lots of work to come this week! I'll keep you posted on that one!