doodle books

I bought these blank magnetic doodle boards on Pick Your Plum. I wanted to customize them for each of my kids, so I used washi tape and fabric bows. Here they are:

Blank doodle book

Inside of doodle book

Washi tape

Girl doodle book

Another girl doodle book

Boy doodle book

easter fun

My hubby asked if I was going to post anything soon....I think he was hinting I have been slow to post updates. I wanted to post some pictures from a few of our Easter events. Our church hosted a community easter egg hunt and the kids were able to "hunt" themselves. The little kids were especially cute. There was a photo shoot area that I manned, and I made a shabby-chic backdrop out of burlap, sheer, and some pennants. Elauna loved helping me tie the ribbon and strips of fabric to the jute to make the string pennant. I cut triangles out of coordinating fabric to make the other. My friends made cardboard cutouts of vintage Easter bunnies and eggs, and I think the look of it all was super-cute! We had 100 kids show up for the Easter egg hunt....pretty fun stuff!

the backdrop

yes, she is smiling.

the "big" kids

pretty typical: holding hands and pulling ears

tiny princess

handsome boy

picking up some eggs

Easter morning I made a sunrise meal for our church family. We had about 50 people attend the breakfast of egg strata, cream cheese glazed rolls, blueberry muffins, pickled eggs, and fresh fruit. We used nice china and the tables were set in white linens with victorian bird cages with fresh white flowers arrangements. Some people never get an opportunity to sit at a nice meal and feel like they are special: what better place than to feel that way with your church family. My family was a great help as always. I still don't know how I would pull off an event without them.

To end a perfect weekend we had Easter meal at my parents, and let me tell you, my mom is the world's best cook. She never ceases to amaze me at how she makes everyone feel so special and well fed. She did a mini egg hunt for all the grandkids, inside, since it was raining. It was neat for everyone too, because it was the first weekend my brother was home from Thailand. 

my girls

miss claire

miss elauna

capiz ring

At our local co-op, I get the opportunity to teach a class my daughter is in. Our topic this week was oceans, and I couldn't pass on a chance to share my shells I had collected at the beach this past summer. When at the beach, I love walking along the shore and picking up all types of shells, some whole, some pieces, but all with a bit of lovely to them. I took many types of shells with me and let the children play with them, talk about them, and pick their favorites. The boys strung shells on jute to make necklaces and the girls made rings. I made my ring out of capiz shells.

Here are the rings for the girls. Each was able to pick her own shells and I hot-glued them onto the ring blank.

pick your plum

For those who love crafting and cute kids clothes and home decor, there is an awesome website for you to check out. www.pickyourplum.com Their motto is "get it before your neighbor does." (The funny thing is, it was my neighbor who introduced me to this site.)

Each day they have a fabulous deal  - just one item sold per day - and weekends off. To give you a taste, I will show you today's deal. They are mini notebooks, sold in sets of 3. You can decorate them yourselves. Oh, the fun!

Here is the write-up from their site:

Naked Notebooks - Set of 3 for 69% off!

Every mini-sized thing is cuter than a regular-sized thing.  Don't believe us?  Go down the soda aisle and look at the mini six-packs.  OR.  Look at the notebooks featured on this very page!  These notebooks are mini and dreamy and fit easily in your purse.  That's right.  No longer will you have to dig through your bag for 15 minutes trying to find a pen to fill out your checks or make a note about the hair dresser your friend recommended.  So convenient.  Also, let's talk about giving these little lambs as gifts.  What teacher/neighbor/best-hair-colorist-of-all-time wouldn't love this little number?  And.  AND!  Can.  We.  Say.    Give a plain one for your creative child to design or pre-gussy them up with washi tape, modge podge or ribbon.  Are you guys feeling this?  That's what we thought.  Grab a set of 3 for just $3.99!

Pick your notebook (remember, they come in sets of 3):

• 3 - Sticky Set:  Comes with 5 small sticky pads (25 pages per pad), 1 large sticky pad (50 pages), and one fantastic shorty pen $3.99
• 3 - Blank Paper Set:  Notebooks are filled with 80 blank pages and a shorty pen $3.99
• Set of 4 shorty pens:  Pens all have black ink $1.99
• One of Each

Fine Print:  Shipping is just $3.99 to ship one or 14 sets.  Canada shipping is $9.99.  These will ship on or before March 20, 2013.

bling for the bull

Here is another project I did for our conference room. I found an old cow skull in my woods a few years ago while I was walking. I thought it was a rather strange find at the time, but I really liked it and saved it for a future project. The skull has been sitting in my hubby's shop so it was nice and dry now, and the loose parts fell off easily. (I did find it in the trash once....guess Jeremy didn't see the potential). Oh well. He did paint it white for me the same time he was painting another one of my projects. He really is a dear, helping me with all these. :-)

After the white paint job

After is was painted white, I added some "bling" with turquoise colored shells pieces and some rhinestones. I used Gorilla super glue to attach them to the skull. I definitely suggest using the Gorilla super glue over regular super glue because your fingers won't glue together and the glue comes off your hands much quicker. (Mom, that tip is for you). It took about an hour to glue these pieces individually, and I probably should have had more ventilation because the smell was getting to me by the end of the project.

When I do the post of the entire room I will show this piece again when I have it mounted. I thought the colors gave it a nice Southwest feel, with some cowgirl charm added.

happy LOVE day

My sweet hubby surprised me when I arrived home today by having these lovely roses in the kitchen for me.  These light pink with yellow are my favorites, and he had them in my white pitcher - nice! He had cards (which I love) on the table for us too. My mom and dad also had sent the kids cards in the mail, and my Elauna was very excited to open hers.

The co-op we attend decided to let the kids share "valentines", so I designed some today and assembled them. I pasted the kids pictures on the back side of the card. My family has called Valentine's day "love day" for awhile as we have a friend whose last name is Loveday and February 14 was her special day.

I was making valentine bags for my co-op class to put their cards into and take home. I took brown paper sacks and used scalloped scissors to trim the top of the bag. Next, I folded the top over and and punched two holes and ran a red ribbon through. My mom had been cutting hearts out of a paper towels to amuse the kids and I loved the way it looked. She cut out some more for my bags.
Thanks, Mom, for all your help!

custom lantern lights

One of our projects this year was to finish a meeting room off the shop for groups to come in, as well as a place for Jeremy to meet with clients. He wanted a rustic theme and I will do a complete post of the room when it is finished. I have designed most of the light fixtures for the room. The first group of lights are old lanterns wired to work with modern electronics. We did not want to change any of the physical features of the lamps so as to preserve their originality.

Most of the lamps only required cleanup with a rag and cleaning solution, but one lamp was so rusted it needed restored. I had found this lamp in the cellar at our house, and it is an old Dietz. I wiped it down, then took steel wool and made it smooth. Next, I sprayed it with Rustoleum polished bronze paint. The final step was to clean the glass.

before

after

To wire the lamps, I used three components: 

1. 18-2 brown lamp wire (2 feet per lamp)
2. Leviton 15-amp 125-volt 2-pole light duty plug
3. Leviton 167 outdoor pin socket

I assembled the lamps by running the wire through the top of the lantern on the backside (most were through the ventilator), down into the globe. The lanterns pull apart so the globe can be removed for cleaning. I stretched the lanterns part, wired the socket and screwed in the light bulb. I closed the lamp and wired in the plug end. All finished! The hardest part is getting the lights to hang straight in the lamp. We purchased wrought iron hooks from Hobby Lobby to hang the lanterns from the wall. (At 50% off, they came to under $3.00 each.) 

Here are some photos of the finished products:

An art-deco lamp. We left this one rustic-looking as it has a nice patina.

A Dietz fire truck lantern.

Dietz large skaters lantern.

Another Dietz large skaters lantern.

Two of the lanterns in the room.

Most of the lanterns came from Jeremy's parents collection that they purchased in Maine several years ago. We enjoy upcycling antiques, or doing the same thing they were intended for, just in a modern way. 

words of wisdom {signs to make}

pin board

A few years ago my sister and I went to an auction {which I love to do} and the lady whose items were for sale had been an artist. She had tons of old frames, some good...others so-so. I bought entire boxes of antique frames for $1.00! Yes, I am a scavenger and I like really good deals. These frames have been in my attic waiting for good projects.

This one was made for a friend.

This project uses one of those frames. Since it wasn't in great condition and had no glass, I painted it the color my daughter chose....her favorite: pink! I used Rustoleum 2X to spray both sides of the frame until it has a nice sheen.

Next, use a staple gun and some cotton twine and zig zag the twine and staple to the back of the frame. Do this for both a vertical run and a horizontal run.

Example: pink is the first vertical run.
When to the bottom, reverse and go to the top
between the gaps of the first run (the blue line).

Next, I took scrap fabric and rolled to make a rosette. A strip two feet long by one or two inches wide will make the big rosette. After the rosette is formed, hot glue the back to hold the shape. I then glued it to the corner of the frame. Differing sizes give it some variation.

After making the rosettes, I cut triangles from the same fabric to make a miniature bunting. I hand wrote the letters on each piece, but a stamp could be used instead. If you are writing the letter yourself, use a Sharpie pen - fine tip, or something comparable.  Hand sew the pieces on a piece of cotton twine using a matching thread. Leave a few inches on either end to allow the bunting to hang natural instead of straight across.

Finally, choose a fabric for the back of the frame and hot glue to the back. I use the tiny clothes pins to hold on pictures and letters.

I sent all the components but the frame to our missionary friends in Haiti. Pat made a frame from twigs and Cheryl assembled the rest of the project. I think it looks very cute, and I love the natural look of it.