Caden's Chalk

Caden loves to draw... especially with chalk. It took us awhile to teach him to not color with his chalk on the wood floors, but once he learned chalk only goes on chalkboards having this easel in our home has been a great thing! I love to wath him stop by and create.

Playroom Redo

I love our home, but you can imagine with three kids (and a dog), space is limited at times. We've figured out how to use the space we do have pretty wisely. See the girls' room HERE and Cade's room HERE. Storing our children's ever growing supply of toys, art books, and knick knacks... now that's another story.

When we first moved in, we discovered a big closet under our stairs. We've seen neighbors use their closet for food storage, cleaning supplies, or a catch all. We decided to use ours as our children's playroom. Or more appropriately - their "playcloset".

Over the past five years, this little room has seen several changes. It's a tight fit for Josh and me, but it has been loved and enjoyed by our kids... it's a space they get to call their very own.

Between the shuffling of toys, the addition of more shelves and a schoolhouse desk, this little room has held several different arrangements. When we first moved in Lexi was just three. Now she is 9. She's outgrown her carebears and strawberry shortcake dolls, playdough and other things. Cali (wanting to be just like her older sister) insists she, too, won't play with any of those things. So out with the old... and in with the new.

I love this sweet picture of my son playing with his cousin in this special space.

My challenge: How to make our children's playroom more to their liking... a space they'd still enjoy and ALL actually use. Being artistic and crafty (like their momma) both Lexi and Cali love making things. So, keeping this in mind, I decided to change their playcloset into a "creation station".

I've had so much fun! First, I took everything out. Then, I painted the walls a more mature color... one that matched the rest of our house. I wrapped their bulletin board in fabric and found a cute wall quote, "Make Each Day Your Masterpiece". Next came the "Look What I Did!" board (from Grandpa Chuck) and some whimsical wooden butterflies to hang on the walls.

     

Finally, I collected baskets and went to town rearranging and then rearranging some more... filling the baskets with all of their art supplies, material, paper, stencils, some toys, and paints galore. I love an organized room! We'll see how long this lasts. ;-)

In the meantime, I'm loving that my kids love their "new" space. Caden loves playing with his animals around the corner, on the children's desk. It's a room Josh and I enjoy hangin' out in too. Move on over kids! Too fun!

Trash to Treasure - Step Stool Redo

I've been looking for one of these for years for my kids... What luck! I convinced the antique store owner to let me take it away for 10 bucks (warped wood and all).

 

With it's fold-up steps and sturdy seat, I saw potential. Cali too. :-) She couldn't wait to fix it up so she could use it to help me cook. We took turns carefully pulling off the warped wood and happily discovered nearly smooth wood beneath. 

I love working on projects with my girls. I can see them gaining creative confidence. I hope they keep this confidence and strong sense of self with them well into adulthood.

After sanding the steps, we got out the black spray paint and went to town. We were careful to lay a protective sheet down in the garage. What a huge difference a little paint job can make! I love the classic "all black" look, but this step stool needed something more... 

A little more flavor! ;-) Lexi helped me pick out the fun striped and polka dotted paper. Then, we traced the steps and the seat onto back of the paper and cut the shapes out.

Next, we applied Mod Podge liberally... onto the back of the paper and also onto each wood step. Mod Podge dries clear.

Cali helped apply Mod Podge to the top seat. We also applied it (in several layers) onto the steps to give the paper a good seal in case in the future it got wet.

My kids LOVE their new addition to our kitchen. It's light weight and easy for them to move around. The steps fold down for easy storage. It was so fun to turn something (that probably would have been discarded) into a "treasure" in our home.

Barn Owl Primitives

Have you ever heard of Barn Owl Primitives? I'm a typography geek, so when I recently saw their hand painted and distressed, beautiful AND unique wooden typography art signs, I fell in love!

If you like what you see, too, the fabulous Tatertots and Jello is offering a giveaway for two $25 gift certificates to Barn Owl Primitives' Etsy shop. Check their giveaway info out HERE. This giveaway ends Monday, October 25th at 10 pm {MST}. Good luck!

BOO! Blocks

With a little less than two weeks left before Halloween, I thought it would be fun to fit in a few more "holiday" projects. We have yet to venture into our attic to pull out our Halloween decor from last year. Funny how that works...

I found the wood blocks for 25 cents at ACE. Using scrapbook paper (from a previous project), I traced the paper onto the wood blocks. Then, I cut the shapes out.

I found the beaded BOO sticker at Michaels for 50 cents. After mod podging the paper onto the front and back side of each block, I applied one letter to each.

Next, I painted the sides of each block using black Delta craft paint. You can find this at Michaels too.

The project took just 20 minutes (and less than $2) to complete. Simple and cute!

DIY - Rosey Posey Pumpkin Art

Using the same concept as the Cheap and Chic Halloween Art posted earlier...

I added a happy, little twist. BTW- this is the clamp I use to hold so many of my "art projects" together until the glue has set. Yep, it's just a curl clip.

A friend of mine has a beautiful collection of rose paintings in her home. I made this festive frame for her.

By adding a few ribbons, beads and other fun trimmings, anyone can go beyond simplicity and make something with a lot more whimsy.

Most of the additional embellishments were purchased from Michaels. The butterfly appliques were $1 each and the small dot beads can be found in the scrapbook aisles for about 50 cents per row. Very fun!

DIY - Cheap & Chic Halloween Art Tutorial

Not wanting to spend a fortune on Fall/Halloween decor for our home this year, I decided to try my hand at making a few festive things.

I bought three unfinished wood frames from Michaels for $1 each. The bag of miniature foam faux pumpkins was just $2. Each bag comes with 6 pumpkins. The paper I already had. All in all, this chic art that now sits on our mantle cost $7. How sweet is that?!

Here's a quick tutorial... First, I spray painted the unfinished wood frames black on all sides.

While the frames were drying, I cut the faux pumpkins in half leaving their stems attached.

Then, I traced the frame center onto paper cardstock and cut the shape out. Then I glued the two pieces together. Next, I attached the pumpkin halves to the cardstock with tacky glue.

While the glue was setting, I mod podged the pretty cardstock onto the wood frames.

Finally, I centered the pumpkin art into the frames, secured the back and it was done! Cheap and chic!

DIY - Pumpkin Frills!

Here's a fun tutorial on how to make a cute ribbon embellished pumpkin for your home...

I found the creamy, white faux pumpkins on sale for $4 at the Poway Michaels. Then, rather than buy more embellishments, I pulled the lace, ribbons and ric rac from the collections I already owned and went to town.

Using sewing pins, I attached the ribbon to the top of the pumpkin close to the stem and wrapped it down around the bottom of the pumpkin and then up the opposite side.

My 9 year old daughter got in on the action too. All in all, I think we used about 30 pins.

Besides the black ric rac, I decided to use ribbon that coordinated with other colors in my home. Alexis found the light blue sheer polka dot ribbon. Too cute!

Next, around the stem, cut and pin all sorts of different ribbons to add some flair. This sweet project took us about 15 minutes. It was a fun project to work on together too. Easy peasy! Simple and fun.

For more fun ways to decorate a Fall pumpkin for your home, check out the Tip Junkie.