decorating
Paper Rainbow Butterfly Art
An alternate title to this post could be, “How to Turn Birthday Decor Into Art.” Or, I could have titled it: “The Time I Spent 50 Gajillion Hours on a Silly Project.” Before we moved to Georgia, my daughter had a “Rainbow Butterfly” themed birthday party. There might have been unicorns in there too. It’s hard to pick just one favorite thing when you are turning six. Anyway, I had this brilliant idea to make it look like a swarm of butterflies were passing by our window. It wasn’t a hard project. It involved construction paper, tape and a butterfly hole punch. I did severely underestimate how long it would take…
Way Back Wednesday – Oregon House
It’s time for another trip down good ol’ memory lane! It’s been a little over 10 months since we moved from Oregon to Georgia. While we do love the South, sometimes I miss that quaint, old farmhouse in Oregon! The photos in this post were taken by the real estate photographer, not yours truly. I wish the lights would have been off and a different camera lens used, but it really doesn’t matter. You’ll get the idea! The Oregon house had two stories plus a basement and for a home built in 1936, was pretty large at 2,100 square feet total. One of the funky things about the layout was…
Printing Photos on Canvas
I have a friend who is amazing, in part, because she prints out photos of her child all.the.time and I’m assuming, shoves them into an album. Actually, she probably scrapbooks them into cute shapes with witty captions. Agh! The most recent printed photos I have of my children are ones she printed and gave to me. Sigh. Yes, she’s a gem and I will keep her as my dear friend even though she mocks me about this situation quite regularly. That’s what friends are for! đŸ™‚ So recently, I  was feeling pretty “how do you like me now” when I had my children’s pictures printed on CANVAS, baby. Oh yeah!…
Jazzing Up a Fake Wreath
The house we are renting has a double front door. Cool, right? I have been very proud of myself for resisting the temptation to paint those things. Anyway, I don’t have two wreaths, let alone two matching wreaths, so I was on a mission to somehow dress up those front doors this holiday season. My first inclination was to buy a fresh wreath. Well, they were more than I wanted to spend. Big, surprise. Then I saw a fake wreath at Target and they wanted $25. For a fake wreath! Sheesh. So, I went to Hobby Lobby and their Christmas stuff was 50% off. I found a fake wreath for $5.00, originally…
Using Contact Paper to Make a Deer Silhouette
I’ve fallen for the animal silhouette fad – especially around the holidays. I can’t help it! I have not fallen for the vinyl cutting machines, like the Cricut, which would make creating a silhouette so much easier. I just haven’t been able to stomach the price tag on those puppies. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have one, but then I’d be afraid to waste the vinyl, so then it wouldn’t get used like it should. It’s a vicious cycle, people! It’s often these moments of cheapness frugality that lead me to get a little desperate creative. So, I came home from preschool drop-off last week, did my happy dance…
Storing Logs in an Old Boiler
My dad’s house still has a wood stove. Not a fireplace, a wood stove. Anybody else? They also have a secondary heat source, so the fire doesn’t get lit as much as it did when I was growing up. The other day, my stepmom showed me her super cool new – not new – firewood holder. I’ll freely admit I immediately felt a pang of jealousy. How cool is this old container? My dad says it is a boiler. I need to do a little research to see what its actual, intended purpose was for. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t to hold firewood. My dad said you would heat or…
Way Back Wednesday – Oregon House
Since we will be traveling to Oregon soon for a visit – our first since moving to Georgia – I thought I’d show you some more photos of our last home in Oregon. We will be visiting friends who live on the same road we used to, so we will definitely be driving by the old homestead. I’m wondering if the kids will “get it” that the house isn’t ours anymore. I know my daughter will, but my 4-year old, who knows. He’s already decided we’ve been in our Georgia house for too long and it’s time to move! (These photos are courtesy of Charles Price Photography, our realtor’s photographer.) Moving…
Distressed Scrap Wood Arrow: ScrapMaster Project #3
Many months ago after we finished building the guest bed and my daughter’s bed, my husband cut up all of the leftover wood scraps into 1 inch x 1 inch x random length segments. I’m not sure what possessed him to dot hat, but it’s been fun to dream up uses for all of that wood. Now, if only I had the time to execute on those ideas. Right? One of the things we made was a wood crate to dress up my plastic milk crates. The other item we made was an arrow-shaped growth chart. The third item is kind of a twofer. I actually started it before the…
Easter Egg Acorns
I so wish I was the original one to come up with a way to repurpose plastic Easter eggs into acorns. Alas, I am but one of the many, many imitators. I made these last year and I still love them this year. I’m predictable that way. Do you remember when nylons came in large plastic eggs? You kids out there remember what nylons are, right? I hear Princess Kate is bringing them back in style. Anyway, when I was little I would put those in my shirt and then laugh hilariously at the lop-sided boobs. Clearly, I was not proper princess material. Moving on… All you have to do…
Fall Vignette
Do you go crazy with holiday or seasonal decorations? Me? Not so much. I love looking at everyone else’s decorations though and I admire the beautiful spaces they create. Let’s face it…my kitchen table most often resembles a lego factory. Or a toy construction site. Or a Littlest Pet Shop playground. Or a Rescue Bot battleground. You get the point. It requires actual effort to use the table for something crazy like eating. I decided to take a moment the other day to take a couple of quick snaps of our kitchen eating area while the kids were at school. You’ll see the paper pumpkins that I talked about last…
