Sad Day

Remember this frame I scored at Salvation Army?Well I cleaned it up and with a little paint it came out looking like this! I had a piece of board cut to fit, and covered it with chalkboard paint. Then I left it on my porch, my gated porch, to dry. I was so excited because it was exactly the perfect width to hang on the column in our kitchen. Oh the things I would chalk on this board! And then I went outside to get it in the morning, and it was gone. Somebody stole my frame! I'm so furious to think somebody would steal a DIY project from a stay-at-home mom! And to think that it's probably hanging in somebody's house right now! I hope they get a guilty conscious every time somebody asks where they got the gorgeous frame. It didn't cost much, but making my home look nice (oh and raising my son) is my livelihood! My home is what I have to show all day for what I do (oh and my son too). Ugh. Thankfully though, our Schwinn bikes that were sitting on the porch were not touched. And they now reside in our dining room until I can make room for them to fit in our teeny little utility room that already has one bike and a lot of stuff in it. So now our living area contains an outdoor table with four chairs and two bikes. Lovely.

This quick project brought to you by nap time!

At one time the porch had outdoor carpet. I still don't get the concept of it, do you vacuum it? We had it at our old house, and it was awful to try and keep clean, and I did pull out the vacuum once or twice. But anyways, the carpet was gone when we bought the place, but there were a few strangler pieces left behind, and lots of yellowed glue on the cement. It appears somebody tried to remedy that by doing a less than satisfactory red paint job. Possibly the same red paint they used on the kitchen tile.Add to that all of our construction mess being drug over it, and it was looking pretty grungy.
I spent the early afternoon scrubbing the cement, all the while disguising it as water play time for the baby. Then a can of pre-tinted porch paint and one glorious hour and a half nap later...
It's looking a whole lot better. Hopefully everybody can figure out how to walk around it when they get off work! I had originally left a strip down the middle, but with Hez still asleep I'd be crazy not to just finish it! I'll probably do another coat though. Dirty spider webed walls look like they need some attention too. And the gate could use a fresh coat of black. And the light needs replacing...and...

The Birthday Photo Booth

Since Hez's birthday was at a park, I didn't feel the need (or desire!) to do any organized sort of game. But I did want something fun for everybody to do, so I decided to construct a photo booth of sorts. It was pretty inexpensive, the frame is just a few pieces of PVC and the fabric is some sort of fake cheap velvet. I used iron tape to make a simple curtain to hang from the frame, no sewing required! The one thing I was worried about was sunlight shinging through the back since the fabric was so thin, but I clamped a piece of black-out fabric I already had to the back.But I wanted more than just a red curtain, and since nobody seems to sell large circus font letters I decided to make them myself. The actual project was easy, but incredibly time consuming. First I cut out two of each letter and used strips of poster board to make some 3D letters.Then several layers of paper mache.Then some spray paint.Then a little gold paint for details.And once I set up the tripod and camera I ended up with this! Next to our 'photo booth' was a bucket full of props: the barbell from his invitation picture, top hats, big glasses, mustaches and clown noses...most of which was from the dollar store. I did a vintage effect on all the photos too.

Easter Fun

In an effort to avoid storing an Easter basket, I came up with a not-so-typical basket for Hez that we'd be able to get use out of year round. A Boon Inc "Stash" organizer, filled with lots of art supplies. Paints, big chunky paintbrushes, chalk (I had no idea chalk came in that many colors!) and triangle crayons (easier for little ones to grip).Chalk was a hit, and he colored the sidewalk and his mouth.I think I may try to have Hez decorate a wooden egg every year as he grows, it would be cute to see them all lined up years from now. So since he isn't quite coordinated enough to actually paint an egg, we did a little tie-dye action. One coffee can, some craft paint and a wooden egg.Little bit of each color...Drop in the egg.Shake it up...or roll it.And that's it! Nothing fancy, but it came out cute and the baby got to be a part of it.And the colors are nice and springy too!Cutest 'green' eggs ever...Young House Love made some awesome all natural dyed wooden eggs for their baby girl. I might have to do this next year!

Alterations

While I am still working on having completed a successful clothing item for myself, I have learned that altering baby clothes is quite simple. Most boys shirts seem to be wide and boxy looking on our tall and skinny baby, plus I think that's kind of the look nowdays. Needless to say, I've been taking in his shirts for a nice fitted look. Fancy baby.

1st Birthday: The Props!

The silver bucket he's sitting on? It held paper fans at our wedding! The backdrop is several yards of an inexpensive velvet kind of material draped over the gate on our front porch. It'll show up again at the party in something fun I am planning! Notice some snack looking things sitting in his lap? Yup, that was the only way I could keep him sitting in one spot! If you look close he even has a little crumb on his chin, which I choose not to Photoshop off because it was too cute, and so him to always be eating those "greenies" we like to call them. Not to mention his uncooperative hair! I rubbed in some baby lotion and attempted a little comb-over, but you better believe it doesn't stay like that for long! I love his fly aways!

Strong men need heavy things to lift! And since a baby safe barbell is not a thing they tend to sell anywhere, it was of course time to make one. It cost around $12 to make...Styrofoam seems really expensive for what it is! But very simple. I cut a thick dowel to size, and pushed it into the Styrofoam balls. Then I paper mached a few layers on the balls to give myself a good surface to paint and also to keep them from mashing. After the mache was dry I glued the dowel in with some school glue and spray painted the entire thing black. The unevenness of the mache ended up giving a really cool effect of old iron weights! I added the "1" on in Photoshop.

A Strapping Young....Strap?

Teen Mom commercials = perfect mini-sewing project time! Made myself a cover for my boring 'ole stock camera strap. It's just a tube of fabric with some hot glued little fabric flowers I made. It was so quick and easy I'm thinking I might whip up some more, you know, so I have options. After I made this one (and one for my sis!) I found a lot of tutorials online for making straps, and they are a lot more fancy than my little 10 minute one! I'm definately going to try a few of these.

• Skip to my Lou's Tutorial


• The Cottage Home's Tutorial


• Crafty Southern Mama's Tutorial


• Kevin & Amanda's Tutorial

1st Birthday: The Outfit

When I dressed Hez up for his "strong man" portraits for his invitations, I knew stripes were a must! This $5 navy striped onesie from Old Navy would have done the trick, but sleeveless would have been much better. I grabbed a cheap $3 navy onesie from Target to cut up and use as bias tape. It seemed easier than going to the fabric store although price wise it was probably the same. After cutting off the sleeves, I pinned on the strips from the other onesie (their folded twice just like normal cotton bias tape). After a quick stitch on the machine, this alteration had only taken me around 15 minutes.

Craft Hope

I came across a crafting book called "Craft Hope" the other day at Barnes & Noble and it's got me itching to do some crafting. It's got dozens of crafts, pictures, tutorials and patterns. But it's not just a normal craft book, it's 'crafting for a cause' and all the crafts are matched with places and organizations around the world to donate them to. They have a website/blog with projects and information as well. I can't wait to get my craft on!

image from barnesandnoble.com

Lookin' Sharp

Teddy got a new bow tie today, although the original recipient was meant to be Hez. I found a tutorial for a Lil Mister Bow Tie over at the blog Delia Creates, and while the directions were easy to follow, I somehow ended up with a very tiny bow tie. And at the risk of choking my child I handed it down to his best stuffed friend (Momma being his very best friend...and Papa too). No harm in the size error though, it was a scrap anyways. But it looks like I'll have to do another "test run" with a scrap so I can have a good pattern to work off of. At least teddy can't complain he has nothing to wear to Hez's party anymore.

1st Birthay: The Invitations!

It's a vintage circus!
I started the invitations months ago. While I made the invitations in Photoshop, I give the idea credit to this etsy invitation. It's exactly what I was looking for! And although mail-back RSVP cards are not the norm for a one year old party, I couldn't help myself. What's a circus without a big red ticket? I created them in photoshop and instead of the normal 'number' on the edge of the ticket, I wrote in each invitees name. And below the "admit one" there is a check box for their RSVP. My plan is to use all the RSVP tickets in a little raffle at the party. The tickets were paired with little navy envelopes ready to mail back, and the invitation was sent in a ruby red envelope with a matching mailing label I created in Word.

Some information blurred for privacy.

Prepared

With the countless disasters happening in the world, it baffles me why I have not had a good First Aid kit for my family or a stock of emergency food. Or even an emergency plan. So I got the emergency prepardness itch and it's been mine and the baby's project this week. I used the recommendations of a First Aid kit listed on the Red Cross and Kid's Health Websites. Both are fairly similar. I got most everything at Target, including a $10 red backpack. By purchasing their Up & Up store brand I saved a lot of money and the end cost of everything was roughly $80. I added a few extra things I thought were important because we have an 11 month old and rather than buying the suggested individual packets of alcohol swabs, ect, I purchased larger bottles of the alcohol, ect. Since we are a family of three I wanted to be thouroughly stocked for ourselves, as well as anybody we may encounter in an emergency situation that could require help.
Here is what my kit includes:

• Gauze Pads (small, medium & large)
• Cold Packs
• Large Bandages
• Small Bandages
• Bandage Roll
• Airborne Disease/Dust Masks (I noticed when I got home it was only a two pack and will be adding an additional box so we have enough for all of us)
• Gauze Wrap
• Cloth Tape
• Burn Gel
• Sterile Exam Gloves
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Advil
• Neosporin
• Thermometer (free...it was one they gave us at the hospital when the baby was born!)
• Small scalple (I've had this, random to have but good for a first aid kit)
• Bar of Soap
• Toothbrush and toothpaste (part of the freebies from the dentist, I imagine in an emergency brushing our teeth would be a luxury and I wouldn't mind sharing with Eli)
• Hand Sanitizer
• Two flashlights (one that you shake to power)
• Two knives (one being a pocket knife)
• Emergency First Aid pamphlet

Then my "extras" that were added specifically for the baby:

• Single serving Pedialyte packs
• A few bags of squeezeable baby food puree (he doesn't eat puree anymore, but thinking ahead that our emergency food supply may be things he can't yet chew, it seems smart to have these fruit and vege packed pouches for him)
• Similac Toddler formula
• Pack of cloth diapers
• A long sleeve onesie that is bigger than what he currently wears
• Baby tylenol

I still need and would like to add:

• Safety pins (for the cloth diapers)
• Hand crank radio
• A bigger stronger flashlight and extra batteries (still keeping the no-battery one as well)

I removed most of the items from their boxes and organized them into plastic quart sized freezer bags to save space and ensure they stay dry in the event of flooding.I plan on sewing a first aid cross patch to the front of the backpack, and possibly some lettering to read "First Aid" or something to that extent so that it will be clearly labeled. I'm not exactly sure where/how we will store it, but I do want it to be close and accesible to an exit in our home. My goal is to stay on top of these things and update/cycle out things as they expire or would not be needed (like the formula or baby onesie).Next project will be preparing an emergency food/shelter bag which I will share as soon as we do it! On the same topic, they had small First Aid kits at Sports Chalet for 40% off today so I took advantage of the deal and got one for the van to replace my very outdated and half emptied one.

About Time

I finally found a hook to hang up my DIY mobile with! I had in my mind to center it over the crib so when you are looking at the wall with the three frames, it would be right in line with the middle one. But with slanted ceilings, I couldn't reach that far and didn't care enough to drag a ladder upstairs and move the crib out of the way.

A Place for Prairie Dog

I read a lot of blogs. And I see a lot of these cheap finds from thrift stores or yard sales...and it makes me jealous. I don't find stuff like that. Maybe because I don't look. Maybe because nobody is getting rid of cool stuff. I probably just don't look, with a baby around it can be easy to be okay with paying for convience. But! That all changed on a recent Goodwill trip with my husband where I scored this gorgeous prairie dog painting! Joking...it wasn't the painting I was after...but the frame! Old driftwood. And the perfect size for a little chalkboard for Baby's room. Bonus? The prairie dog is painted on a piece of wood. So I could paint right on top of it and not have to worry about getting a piece of wood cut!
Extra bonus? The price tag. $1.95 made this my proudest moment! (Second to the birth of my son, of course!)
I sanded the little puppy down so I'd have a nice smooth painting surface.
And after a few coats of chalkboard spray paint I have the perfect little chalkboard hanging on the wall! I managed to remember to pick up hardware to hang it while at Target...but I forgot chalk! You better believe I'll be grabbing some tomorrow!
And a little sneak peek at some nursery progress. I've been busy hanging!
I'm trying to save all the nursery pictures until the end, a sort of "final unveiling" if you will. Hopefully it'll be worth waiting for!

Still left on the list:

• Hang the curtain rod back up.
• Sew the curtains! Then hang them.
• Still need an air vent cover to replace the old one we removed.
• A few more frames to hang and fill with pictures.
• A few floating shelves to be hung (have them marked...but didn't have the right screws).
• Find a comforter for the twin bed.
• Hopefully follow through with an idea I have for the closet door curtains!
• Make the computer desk sitting in the corner a little more presentable

Framed

The red frames from Baby's room are red no more.
They're drying outside as we speak and I've picked up a few $2 matte's to use in them. Can't wait to get some pictures printed and plan how to arrange hanging them in the living room. The big blank wall could use some love!

And these aren't the only thing being painted...I finally have removed the canvas painting from the large frame I bought and it's now white. Amazing what a little paint can do. Picture to follow!

Secrets

I have been working on projects, and I have been taking pictures...but I'm thinking I may hold off on posting them because they are things I am working on for Baby's birthday. Yes, I am that crazy, possibly going way to overboard Momma who has already been planning his first birthday since almost two months ago. But he only turns one once right? I've got a notebook full of lists and stuff I'm trying to plan...it seriously feels like wedding status. But I am totally not one bit ashamed, I'm so excited! And I think I want to keep it (the theme and decor) kind of a suprise. Not like it's anything amazingly grand (or maybe it is....) but I just don't want to spoil anything! So I'm working on several DIY stuff and I'll definately post eventually.

In the meantime, I did find this at Salvation Army for a mere $5 and change. I plan to take out the canvas painting and paint the frame, probably white, and it'll probably end up in our bedroom. Not sure what I'll put inside the frame, several ideas have crossed my mind though. Thought of leaving it just empty and putting it above our bed, thought about some fabric or something, also thought about filling it with a piece of chalkboard painted wood. I'm leaning towards chalkboard right now. But if I don't (or even if I do), I'm on the look out to do a framed chalkboard for Baby's room too. Something at his level that he'll be able to draw on when he gets bigger.

DIY Baby Mobile

I've seen a lot of mobiles like these on the internet and they look easy enough to make. I've been wanting to hang a mobile above his crib in our bedroom, but also wanted it to somewhat go with the colors we've been using as we decorate.

Five pieces of paper later...I punched a LOT of circles.
I had a little sticker maker that I ran all the circles through and I think it saved a lot of time and mess that a glue stick would have involved. But I sandwiched two together on top of fishing line and then attached all the string to two different sized hoops.

Now I just have to get a hook to hang it up with!