chalk board platters

Sorry it's been a long time! I have been lacking in the creative department... and it shows! Anyways, here's the latest project. Sorry no step by step guide, but it's really easy to do!

I bought 3 "silver" platters at the Dollar Tree (any shape you'd like), a can of chalkboard paint, and I had a big roll of red ribbon at home already.

I sprayed the platters with 2 coats of the chalkboard paint. Tied bows with the big red ribbon (making sure to have long "tails" on the bow). Then I hot glued one bow to the back of each platter. Hung up and placed a little note on them!

This says "Welcome Home Daddy" since the husband will be home tonight... I doubt he'll even notice these, but hey I love them!!!

Long overdue

Yes, this post is WAY overdue... I've been a little pre-occupied with my other blog. I am hoping to post more fun crafty stuff on this blog, so we will start with a last minute project I did this afternoon while waiting for pizza dough to rise lol!

Wine Cork Letter in a Frame

I have had a bunch of wine corks just hanging out under my sink. They once were decoration in glass holders, but I got sick of them. I decided it might be fun to make the letter "P" out of them and frame it. I've seen tons of things made out of letters, and since I had everything at home to do this, I went for it. (forgive the photos, I'm far from a photog and I have a crappy point and shoot!)

What you'll need: Corks, hot glue gun (or strong glue), frame, and paper to create background for the letter.

First I arranged my corks to form the letter "P"
Then, I started gluing them together... this was a little stressful at first... I was so afraid it wasn't going to turn out how I had planned!

All glued!!!

Then I placed a few globs of hot glue on the underside of the letter and pressed it gently to the glass of my frame.

I cut out a red piece of paper to fit my frame and voila! I have a framed letter! Kinda 3d and stuff too!

I placed it onto my long window mantle (where most frames and decor ends up!). I couldn't get a good photo of it on display, but I will try to take a better picture tomorrow.

so long, no post

Sorry... it's been 3 weeks since I last blogged. This pregnancy is kicking my butt! I'm constantly exhausted and nauseous. I spend most of my time on the couch... this is the most I've relaxed in 5 years! I am glad that I'm so symptomatic though, this just means things are going well and I praise God for that :] Derek cleaned the house for me on Sunday, which was a HUGE surprise... and so great to just have it done. He and Owen are being such troopers. Since Owen wakes up about 6:30 every morning, I've been eating breakfast with him, then taking a nap. I set the oven timer for 2 hours, get him snacks, a drink and some nick jr. on the tv and he lets me sleep until the timer goes off. Such a blessing! I know I was sad to think my kids will be 5 years apart, but I can't imagine being this sick and tired with a little one... God sure knew what he was doing ;]

our little secret

We're finally pregnant! 8 weeks now and so excited. We had our first appointment yesterday morning and I was a nervous wreck! I cried when the dr came in so excited for us. She decided to just do the ultrasound to put my mind at ease. I got to see the little teeny baby all healthy and got to see it's heart beating. And we got to hear it... it was so amazing. My Dr said it was ay 175 beats per minute which is nice and strong. She also said she's very pleased with me taking the progesterone and baby asprin during this pregnancy. I have to keep taking these for 6 more weeks. My next appointment is May 3rd where I get to hear the baby's heartbeat again! Thank you every one for the prayers... they're greatly appreciated!

I'm so excited!

I just ordered me an ipad 2! I can't wait for it to get here! I don't get to spoil myself too often on expensive things. We had decided to split our tax return down the middle and have fun buying stuff. Well, Derek took his money out in cash and mine sat in the bank account and I spent $500 on stuff for the house. Th rest of my return was spent on bills, ugh. So, when we got the Hawaii state return I claimed it! I still won't have spent as much as Derek did, but I'm ok with that. Just too excited for it to get here! Hopefully before my birthday :]

St. Patrick's day

I've become the woman I've always hated. I am excited to decorate for every holiday... yes, I hated women like me in the past. Owen loves having decorations up and so I want to do it for him. For Valentine's day I made a banner of hearts. I wanted to do the same thing for St. Patrick's day, and this time I remembered to take photos so I can do a "how to"! It's really not hard, but here we go!

I searched for "clover", "horseshoe", and "pot of gold" online in images.
I printed out 8 of the clover and horseshoe's and 2 of the pots of gold.

I found this "Best O' Luck" sign at the dollar store and I knew I wanted to put it in the center of my banner.

Next, I cut out the images and laid them in a pattern on my ribbon.

I glued each one to the ribbon and let it dry... this is my favorite glue. It's great for these kinds of projects, and for modge podging.

I tied each end to my hooks, and it was too long... woops! So, I just put another hook up in the middle and it looked great! Here it is!

Thanks to Eighteen 25 for yet another great subway art print!

and to The Crafting Chicks where I got this "Lucky" print. Click here to get one for yourself!
I also mounted it onto a piece of foam board... and now I'm the proud owner of an X-acto knife! I feel like a real crafter now hehe!

I flipping love the dollar store... I got these window clings there and now they're all over my house... including the downstairs bathroom!

she's here!

Oh, yes... I am now the proud owner of a new Avington Slipper chair. Ain't she purdy??

(excuse the blurry cell phone picture)

Target deal

I've been eying this quilt for Owen since he got his twin size bed (he was 2!), but at $79.99, I just couldn't justify it. I happened upon this lovely sight at $19.98 today! Booya!
*The first clearance tag said $55.98... I got a screamin' deal!

for my love

Just a little something I saw on a blog and I thought it would make the husbands day. A little frame that tells him why I love him... daily. I can write on the glass with dry erase and tell him something special each and every morning :]

Product Love

Mane 'n Tail shampoo & conditioner. I'm in love with it! Not only does it leave my hair feeling silky smooth and clean, I've gotten rid of this ridiculous dandruff problem I've had since Owen was born! I've tried every shampoo you can think of, and nothing, not even extra strength T-Gel, which is made for dandruff problems would help. I recently purchased some Paul Mitchel Awapuhi shampoo and conditioner (for $25 through my hairstylist friend) and I loved it until it gave me some gnarly flakes, not something I want to walk around with. Sally Beauty Supply had the Mane n' Tail on sale, buy one get one free. So, for a whopping $7 I got some amazing shampoo!

Candles

I saw this on a craft blog that I frequent... she had wrapped her candles with a green ribbon for St. Patrick's Day, and I thought I could wrap some old candles I had with some ribbon to match my house. Here's how they turned out!

AND
here's how to do it!

you will need the obvious ribbon (any color, any size), candles, scissors, and a stapler.
(the blog I read had used push pins... cute idea, but I figured the staples since they're shorter would be easier)

Wrap the ribbon around the candle and cut it at the appropriate length.

Now, take your stapler and open it up

Press the stapler on the ribbon like you're stapling something to the wall and there you have it!

I snagged my ribbon at The Dollar Tree. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep this ribbon on because it's a little "furry" for me... I might grab a different ribbon, but for the sake of the ol' blog I used what I had.

tax return!

Oh, I love this time of year! We got our tax return yesterday and I've been waiting patiently for it! I went to Fleet Feet in Bonney Lake last night to snag a good pair of running shoes. I have put a few too many miles on my $40 Nike's for my poor legs. I had heard of how Fleet Feet fits your foot and analyzes your running style. I figured that since I'm becoming more serious about running, I'd better get the best kind of support I can. The sales girl measured my foot sitting down and standing up. I've always purchased a 9 in almost all my shoes, but she suggested a 9.5 which was weird! I guess with a running shoe you need more room by the toe for your foot to move. So, next she had me hop on the treadmill and run barefoot for about a minute. On the TV above the treadmill she showed me running... slowed it down and did all kinds of angles to show me how I was running. Apparently when I run, my ankles tend to drop down and my leg creates this weird shape. She got me into a great running shoe and I wanted to try them out this morning, but woke up to a gnarly cold. So, looks like they'll have to wait a few days :(

On, another tax return note... I am known for purchasing things for my house during this time. Derek will spend his half on toys for his garage, parts for his jeep or anything else that I usually don't enjoy. It's just what most of us women do... So, I have been eying this chair that Target has had in stock off and on. Last week they didn't have any in stock, and this week they do! So, I bought this bad boy for $129.99 with free shipping! If I were savvy and crafty like my good friend at You Paid More Than Me, then I would've found something like it on craigslist an reupholstered it ;]

Hot deal!

After I worked out today, I hopped on over to my local WalMart. I had to grab just a couple things... I was caught off track by the 50% off Valentine's stuff. I peeked around the crowd of people and found 2 things I just couldn't live without...

Cupcake stand for $2.50! BOOM!

and a box of Fun Dip's for about $2!

Derek and I had been talking about Fun Dip for the last few days and I was stoked to find these!
Although I don't have a use for the cupcake stand right now, I have a feeling I will be hosting a lot more parties and will need this baby!

Bliss

Every morning, Owen wakes up and walks into our room and climbs into our bed (always about 7-8am). This morning, he climbed up and laid on top of me for a while and just cuddled me. Those of you who know my son, know that he's NOT a cuddler! He would do anything to not snuggle up and get cozy... such a weirdo! I loved this cuddle time this morning (even if it was short). He saw a hair color commercial and said to me, "Mom, don't do that. Don't make your hair different. I won't like it"... so I reassured him that I wasn't going to change my hair. It was so sweet. He's loving that I'm growing my hair out. When he was bout a year and a half, I chopped my hair off. I kept it short for about a year and it's taken a while to get it to grow out (that super cute inverted bob style is a pesky grow out!) I am loving my little man becoming a mommy's boy... never thought it'd happen!

yoga love

I've had this amazing yoga DVD since we were in Hawaii. Without a gym membership there, I needed something to help tone while I ran for my cardio. I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up this baby that I highly recommend! If you want something to kick your rear, then this is the DVD for you!
I love that they past contestants are real people... not some waif model workout crazies that can do every move with amazing grace. I also love that one is Michelle... yes, at times Bob will tell her to hold something longer and I imagine that it's him pushing me further... maybe I'm a dork because of this haha!

Valentine's Day

Yesterday I did a little fasting... I fasted the Internet. Since I'm struggling with trying to figure out a way to earn more money and having a hard time getting pregnant, I decided to not use one of the things I waste most of my time on. So, the Internet it was! I had such a good time just really relaxing, and creating! I had seen a few ideas for Valentine's Day banners, but once again... I don't have the money to print out photos or go buy special V-day scrapbook paper. So, I grabbed a few sheets of construction paper, a ribbon and my craft glue and made my cheap version of a V-day banner!

Lots of tracing and cutting, but I love the way it turned out!

Thank goodness for these hooks I already had up for my cousin's sprinkle! And for the pink ribbon I purchased for it too! (I need a better camera though...)

I downloaded another subway print for my Goodwill frame! You can find it here.

I snagged these cute blocks at Target in the $1 section. They can also say "love" "kiss" & "hugs"

I don't have much as far as the V-day decorating goes, but it helps make my house look a little festive!

need a few ideas?

My lovely friend has this great blog. She has so many amazing design ideas, and for a great price! Go check her out at You Paid More Than Me ... you won't regret it! ;]

words I despise

So there are a few words that I hear and it just irritates me... these are the words:

Hubby:: If you're going to shorten the word husband it should be "hussy" right? Cause the s comes before the b...

Prego:: we're talking about a pregnant woman... not spaghetti sauce, she's creating a human being, she's pregnant (really any way to dumb down the word pregnant bothers me ie. Preggers or Preggie)

Ba-Ba:: please speak to your child like the human that they are... If I hear another grown woman say this word about they're child's bottle I think I will explode.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

workin' for worms

Owen went outside to play ;] This is what I saw when I checked on him...

He's got a lil plumbers crack starting haha!

Menu Board

I saw a post on another blog about making a menu board. I loved the idea, but didn't like the complexity of the project (cutting wood, cutting metal, hammering and such. Plus you needed a Cricut or a Sillouette which I don't have either!). So I looked on Etsy for one already made... for $50 I could have one of my very own! Not my idea of budget friendly. So, I thought to myself "why can't I make one??" I have had a 12x12 frame from about 3 years ago when I made a calendar (which I still use!)... the frames came from Ben Franklin and at 2 for $12 they were a really good deal. Anyways, I downloaded a font from here ( lots of cute ideas for blogs and such on here also!). I used Paint.NET (I also downloaded this a while ago) and made my menu, printed it out and glued it to a piece of scrapbook paper I found in my stash. I then, placed the menu in the frame. Now, I can write the menu for each week with a dry erase marker and wipe it clean at the start of a new week!

VOILA!!!

After telling my sister about this, she asked where to find a 12x12 frame... since I got mine 3 years ago and the chances of finding this exact frame is slim to none. Try a framing store...Aaron Brothers and Michaels are great places to look.

PS:: I would love to see your menu board if you make one!!! ;]

New Year

Oh man... here it is mid January and I haven't blogged in a long time! I have been one super busy girl these past few weeks. My great friend Lindsey got married on the 7th and we were busy the few days prior with spray tans and the rehearsal, plus the day of we had the whole day to get ready and help with the finishing touches. It was such a beautiful wedding with even more stunning bride! I had a blast and am so happy that she got to marry such an amazing man.

Then, last weekend I hosted a sprinkle for my cousin Cindy. She is pregnant with her second baby (a little girl named Payton) and since her son will be 15 months old when she's born, we decided to have a party for her to get the things she doesn't have... diapers, wipes and girl clothes! Hopefully soon I will have all the photos from my other cousin Tarah so I can do a post on it! Haha!

So far that's it... nothing big happening until July when I host my sisters baby