Playroom Shelves – Fun colors
HOW FUN IS THIS!!! Ikea now has pink and turquoise in their popular EXPEDIT model. I absolutely love them and wanted to spread the word. They also have matching EXPEDIT shelf inserts. This is a great playroom storage idea and cheap too. * I was in no way paid for this blog entry. I [...]
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Pumpkin Bread in a Jar Recipe – just in time for fall!
Pumpkin Bread in a Jar Recipe Ingredients: 1 Cup of Apple Butter 2 Cups of Brown Sugar, packed 1 Cup of Sugar 3 Cups of Flour (or Gluten Free All Purpose Flour) 1 15oz Can of Pumpkin 2 Eggs 1 Tbsp Baking Powder 1 Tsp Cinnamon 2 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice [...]
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Fall Favorites – Girl toddler clothes
So on Wednesday I posted my favorite fall finds for boys and now its the girls turn. I hope to one day have a daughter to dress! H&M Lined Boots H&M Knit dress H&M Knitted cardigan BabyLegs GAP Trench coat GAP Ciao Shirt GAP Printed Leggings Old Navy Sweater Dress ZARA Overcoat [...]
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Cute and Fun Halloween Finds
Here are some of my favorite Halloween finds! Nothing too scary. Trick or Treat Banner – $18.00 Pumpkin Head and Arms Decor – $5.00 Finger Soaps (you could really scare someone with these) – $6.95 Pumpkin Teeth 3 pack – $7.50 Pint Size Halloween Mason Jars – $7.50 Custom Trick or Treat bags – $25.00 [...]
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Nursery Ideas! LOVE these baby nurseries :-)
I love cute nursery ideas! One of the best things about being pregnant is definitely the nursery design. I love all of these. Original source is Coastal Living via Little Green Notebook. This bright and cheerful room was originally posted here. The combo of navy, peach and gold, makes this nursery so [...]
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Favorite Nursery – Black and White
Hopefully one day I will have a daughter and this will be her nursery. I am not a super girly girl so this is perfect! And the gold touches really make this nursery special. I would probably add some touches of pink or purple as well. (1) Bokeh Lights; (2) Black Pendant Light; [...]
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Favorite Etsy Nursery Prints
Here are a few of my favorite nursery prints on Etsy. I could spend hours on Etsy so it was really hard to narrow it down to just a few. Hope these inspire you… 1. Smiles print $11.50 2. 2. World Awaits $14.00 3. Moon and Back $29.00 4. Lemonade $22.00 5. Make Believe $30.00 [...]
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Superhero Nursery
SUPER CUTE Seriously would consider this nursery if I had another boy in the future. This is a re-post from Better Home and Gardens but I adore it so much that I had to share it. Its fun and whimsical. Everything that being a baby should be. Sources, from top left: (1) White Pendant; [...]
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5 New Easter Traditions
I believe that building traditions strengthens families. It adds to the “special sauce” that makes your family unique from all others. Not only that but it is just plan fun to have things to look forward to on a daily, weekly or yearly basis. This year, I have been on the hunt for some new [...]
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I used to have a clean house
Back in the day when I had just two kiddos and a 700 square foot house, my home was super clean. To the point of being annoying to others, I am sure : ) I was very much ‘Type A’ and that definitely came through in my housekeeping. I cleaned my entire house once a [...]
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How to create a shared bedroom for a boy & a girl
Our oldest two children (Hunter age 8 and Ashlyn age 6) have shared a bedroom for about a year. It began when our in-laws brought us the bunk bed my husband used as a child and set it up in Hunter’s room. It didn’t take long before Ashlyn was joining Hunter each night and pretty [...]
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DIY: Summer Parasol Wreath
I love the idea of a well trimmed door with a fresh new wreath awaiting each new season! I found this idea for my summer parasol wreath on Pinterest. All you need is: -A wreath (either foam or a grapevine as shown below) -A box of mini parasols (I purchased a box of over 100 [...]
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Chalk paint dresser makeover (& a giveaway)
I used to be scared of projects like the one I recently completed. I never imagined I would be sharing a post about a piece of furniture that I restored. People that do things like that have blogs with names like “Crafty Mama” or “Furniture Chick” (neither of which oddly enough are active websites!) But here I am giddy with excitement to show you my “trash into treasure’ project which was all made possible by a product I had never heard of before until my good friend Selina over at Creative Juices for Decor told me about it. The product is Chalk Paint. At this point you likely fall into one of two categories. Either you are nodding your head in agreement saying “yes isn’t that stuff wonderful?” or you are assuming that I am talking about Chalk Board paint (also a fun product but totally unrelated).
“What is Chalk Paint?” you may ask.
Only all your furniture dreams realized in the form of a can of paint.
Only the most simple solution to restoration (the furniture kind) that I have found.
Only amazing. No sanding. No priming. A-mazing!
Ready to see it in action?
-I found a three drawer dresser on Craig’s List for $10. It was nice and solid and had good lines. I had planned to use it as dresser. However, 2 of the 3 drawers were sticky and didn’t slide well. I decided I could turn two of the drawers into shelves. I offered $5 and they agreed. As it was lifted into the back of my car, the 1 drawer that did work toppled out and broke on the road. Bummer. Not figuring that they would want to buy it back from me, I decided to see what I could make it into. I decided to remove all 3 of the drawers and install shelves, transforming it into a toy storage unit.
-Because the initial piece was two toned and because I was going to allow some of the under color to show through when I distressed it, I decided to replicate the two tones with my paint choices. I used the “Arles” (yellow color) Chalk Paint on the top “changing table” area and also on the inside. For the rest I used “Emperor Silk” (red color).
-The only “prep” work I had to do was wipe down the wood with a damp cloth to remove any dust and lose particles. After that, paint! The first coat of paint went on fairly quickly and I was surprised by how fast it dried. But the second coat was even faster. Because I planned to distress the furniture and allow the original wood to show through, I didn’t have to worry about putting the paint on thick enough to completely hide the original colors. I was amazed at how much could be covered with so little paint!
-Once both coats of paint were dry, I went over the entire piece of furniture with sand paper lightly sanding a smooth surface and spending more time on the edges, corners and any areas that I wanted to appear distressed and aged. This was a fun step.
-Next I covered the inside back by painting Mod Podge over 12×12 sheets of coordinating scrapbook paper cut to size using a paper cutter.
-My husband cut to size 3 thin boards purchased at Home Depot and glued them on top of the pre-existing drawer sections (after removing the small wooden glide rail which was no longer needed).
-To finish the Chalk Paint, I covered the entire painted surface with one thin coat of Johnson’s Wax (which I purchased at Home Depot) using an old t-shirt. This provides a protective seal on the wood and brightens up the paint which, after sanding it, had been dulled.
-Using some left over scrapbook paper from the Mod Podge part of the project, I created coordinating labels for the plastic storage bins. I choose to have the most baby friendly items toward the bottom and coordinated each row of labels to match, in an attempt to make it easy for the kids to put each drawer back in the correct section.
The end result turned out better than I could have expected. It is bright and colorful, highly functional and because of the distressed nature, durable to child abuse.
Being able to look for furniture based on how solid it is and the beauty of its lines, rather than its color, opens up a whole new world of possibilities. I had been initially hesitant when I first saw that Chalk Paint was sold by the quart rather than the gallon. I had only ever purchased paint for the purpose of re-doing an entire room. However, after finishing this project, I can now see that a small quart of paint would be more than enough for most furniture projects. There are even small 4 oz. “sample” Chalk Paint sizes available which can be used for smaller projects such as picture frames, chairs or a small bench or stool. I also LOVED that the VOC s are so low. I couldn’t detect any paint fumes which was a huge plus. I am already eyeing my next project! If you have some additional questions about chalk paint, you might find your answers on this FAQ page.
How about you? Would you like to try out Chalk Paint on your own project?
Of course you can simply go to the Stylish Patina and buy some, but I would love for you to win some! Kelly over at Stylish Patina has graciously offered to give one lucky Mom 4 Life reader a $45 gift certificate to her store! I might suggest spending it on a quart of Annie Sloan chalk paint ($38) and perhaps a set of paint brushes ($10) or “sample” Chalk Paint for accent colors or a small side project ($13.50). To enter simply fill out the rafflecopter form below (you must be on the blog to view the entry form). The giveaway can be entered until Monday June 18th (MST). There are several ways to enter, good luck!
Also, if you like to be inspired, Kelly posts some fantastic stuff over on her Stylish Patina facebook page, go take a look!
Turn buttons into beautiful: DIY framed monogram
I’m over at my friend Selina’s blog (Creative Juices for Decor) this week sharing one of my favorite DIY crafts: a button monogram. Come join the fun!
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DIY: curtain rod art wall
Children’s art work is one of those things that most families with young children have plenty of. it is finding creative ways to display, preserve and not get buried under it that can be a challenge. A few years ago I created an art wall in our home to display the projects that my kids would bring [...]
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you have an important job to do.
an important aspect of mothering that often gets overlooked.
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Going paperless in the kitchen
A few weeks ago, I shared that I was enjoying my new ebook: One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler. As the title suggests, I am working my way through it one project at a time. One of the more recent projects I have tackled is “Make Your Kitchen Paperless.” Why [...]
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Waste more time in 2012 (and 52 other little goals)
On New Year’s Eve we sat around the table and pulled some questions out of a hat taking turns reminiscing 2011.
I had to answer “what was your biggest time waster in 2011?” and although this may sound surprising, I was stumped. For better or worse, I have been “blessed” with a highly productive and organized personality which struggles to waste time (I know, pathetic right? I can practically hear you gagging. Please tell me I am not alone with this strange trait!). My husband was quick to provide some examples to illustrate this point. If I am waiting for my emails to download, I will throw in a load of laundry. If I am going upstairs, I will bring up the clean laundry along. If I am folding the laundry, I will be listening to a book on CD or talking on the phone. Leaving the house before wiping off the kitchen countertop or making my bed would be a huge mental hurdle and I almost never go to bed at night before first cleaning my sink. The poor man has been subject blessed to my mental efficiency and over the last 11 years of marriage, has adapted surprisingly well. The closest thing I can typically get to doing “nothing” is reading a book or watching a movie, but I can hardly ever justify wasting taking the time to watch TV. After some good hearted laughs at my expense, it was decided that one of my goals for 2012 should be to enjoy more downtime, or said a different way: waste some time!
52 ways to simplify life
I plan to consider this goal of wasting time as the year progresses, but before I get to that goal I am having too much fun reading my newest ebook from Tsh Oxenreider titled One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler.
In Tsh’s own words:
Merry Christmas!
Our two oldest kids are home from school and we have been really loving the lazy days that provides us. Thanks to Pinterest, I have been inspired with some fun new ideas, crafts and traditions. I will share some of my favorites below and encourage you to see all of the ideas I saved here. [...]
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Easy, adorable, eatable, fall acorns
Today I want to introduce you to a very dear friend of mine. She is one of those people that just overflows with fun creative ideas and has a great eye for design. We were visiting last week and I asked if she would be willing to write a guest post so that she could [...]
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How to make your own chemical free dryer sheet alternative
Finding natural alternatives to chemical household products is something I enjoy so when I recently came across a recipe for homemade dryer spray to replace dryer sheets I was curious to give it a try. As I often find with homemade recipes, the ingredient list was short and it was quick and easy to put [...]
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Button monogram craft: DIY
In a previous post I gushed about how much I have enjoyed using the website Pinterest. I want to show you a project I recently completed that was fully inspired by a Pinterest find which I had tucked away in my “to make for the home” board. The project was not only fun, but proved to be a lovely addition to the mantle above our fireplace (just don’t look too close because I see that one button has apparently gone rogue).
Want to make one of your own? Here’s how:
Be still my beating heart: Pinterest
My friend Kira recently introduced me to a website that I LOVE! Have you heard of Pinterest? It is like the marriage of Evernote and Facebook with a little Flickr thrown in for good measure. Or another way to describe it is an eye pleasing, super easy to use, share and find, idea garden for crafts, projects, tutorials and more. (Oh ya it is free too:) ).
Let’s organize our day: the evening routine
After replying to Lana’s comment in my last blog post asking how I manage my time, I started thinking about some of the little things that I routinely do to make my day run more smoothly and organized. It has never occurred to me to write about them because they have become natural to me [...]
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