Bannister

The baby is getting four molars. All at once.

Take this sound and repeat it for three hours: "aeaeaaaaaeeeeaaaaaa."

That's my baby, growing molars. Poor thing.

And while I'm on the subject of motherhood, I'm gonna say this:

This past week, I struggled with feeling significant as a stay at homey. I just did. Things just didn't work out right and I felt homely and tired.

So tonight, the wonderful hubs told me to take the night off.

All I wanted to do was SEE something from start to finish.

I looked at the bannister. It winced.

"Don't worry, Mr. Bannister. You're in good hands."

And with that, I sanded it with coarse 80 grit sandpaper.

And then I taped it with my new Frog Tape. It says that it won't let paint leak through like regular paint tape. I'm going to take the challenge.

And then I primed it.

And somehow the momentum carried over to the other side of my entrance where there is this little alcove. Hmmmm...

So far, this job has taken a half hour to sand and an hour to paint.
I found it relaxing.
But that's probably because the children were in bed and I could hear the hubs watching TV in the room next to me.

Somehow, after that hour and a half, sanding the bannister felt like it sanded away my frustrations and gave me something new.

I've been putting off this project for a long time.
I didn't realize how enjoyable it would be.
And it's really not that hard.

But there's still work to be done.
Are you curious about what color it will be when it is finished? I am. :)

To be continued...

Outdoor Table

Spring is here.

Technically.

And I have spring-itis.

Recently I went to a home show where some really cool gals showed me their work with vinyls. The things you can do with vinyls these days! They said they were JUST about to start working with etched looking vinyls. Oh my...

I had this table in mind...

I sent the company a design I had in mind for this table: faux placemats.

When my vinyls arrived, I cleaned my table on both sides. Then I flipped it over and marked off with tape where I wanted the placemats.

The placemats are in the experimental stage. The company I'm working with had me try to apply the vinyls in both dry and wet applications.

Here's what it looks like when I wet the table first, applied the vinyl, squeezed out the water and air bubbles and let it dry.

(Can you see my kitschy design? I love whimsy.)

And then the dry application... It is more subtle.

I can't decide which one I like better, but I think I'm leaning toward the dry application one. I'd love to hear what others think:

In case you're wondering, they are semi-permanent vinyls. They will come off if you attempt to remove them, but they're meant to be loved for several years. :)

Sanctuary

I'm saving my shekels.

I'm foregoing cute spring outfits.

I'm boycotting most shopping trips for necessities only.

It'll be worth it for this piece of cedar sanctuary:

Does anyone else save up for things?

I wonder what is "sanctuary" for others...

If you're interested in the plans for this beauty, click here.

Candles

Several months ago I got a new countertop.

I didn't intend to get a new countertop, but that's what happens when I throw a squirming child's bib on top of a candle.
Isn't it lovely:

I'm very thankful that no one was hurt.

I light candles a lot in my house. Especially in the evening when my lovely daughters become grumpy and restless and set the mood to "unruly".

But I feel conflicted about lighting candles because of this wonderfully curious little creature:

(Do you see her hair? She's growing hair!)

*ahem*

So here was my solution:

First, I purchased these great candles for about six bucks.
They're about 2" tall.
I like them because they are already in glass containers, so there is less mess.



Does everyone have at least one hurricane?
Because I can think of a million uses for these things.
And almost all of them are child friendly.


This is a placemat I found at Pottery Barn on clearance. I think it was $3. In any case, I didn't know at the time that I would use it for this project, but I loved the look.

One hurricane +
One placemat +
One helper=
Fun!

"What are you doing, Mom? Can I help?"
"Sure can, sweetie! Why don't you pour this sand?"

Just hearing the sand pour reminds me that summer is coming.
It feels good to the fingers, too.

Putting the candles in their places...

And lighting them.

I have had evenings where both children are crying and Dan isn't scheduled to come home for another hour, but when I light these candles and put on some soft music, everyone seems to be happier.

If you don't count buying the supplies, this project takes 5 minutes.

Hurricane- $20-40
Candles- $6
Sand- $5
Placemat- $5
Total= $26-$46

The initial cost might be steep, but I always have sand and stones on hand as well as a few hurricanes for various projects.
They're great to have around.

It's fun to include children in decorating.
This is definitely a "two thumbs up" child-safe project for school aged children.

Easy peasy!

Seasonal Decor

It's harder for me these days to find decor that is safe from little one-year-old hands. It just is.

But I refuse to give up because I like purdy things.

Plus, I like to celebrate the outdoor change of seasons by reflecting it with inside decor.

Remember this photo (see below)?

Focus on the sconce-like hurricane to the right of the mirror... I love this thing. I bought two from Pottery Barn a while ago after I oogled it for ages in the catalog. I haven't regretted buying it one bit. It's safe from little hands and offers me a fun place for decorating. There are some things worth investing in... This was worth it to me.

So today's post is how I decorated with it this past week.

First, I determined how much money I wanted to spend:

Zero.

But fortunately I had some design stuff lying around that allowed me to spend very little money.

First, I took a look at an old calendar I kept.

Hmmmm...

I have an idea...

First I'll take my glass hurricane...

... and stuff the bottom of it with rags.

Then, I'll load them up with fake lemons.

They are available at Target for about $5 for a pack of 8, I think.

I bought 4 packs with a gift card I had forgotten I received.

(Don't you *love* when that happens? It's like free money.)

Even so, fake lemons are so versatile for decorating with.

I wouldn't use real lemons because, well, we all remember what happened when I decorated with real pumpkins on my buffet.

Then I put the hurricane in its iron-looking frame on the wall.

Remember that calendar I mentioned? I cut it up and...

... slipped it in front of and behind the hurricane.

It reminds me of all the travel I'd love to do.

I cut the pages high enough to cover the rags in the bottom of the hurricane.

Later I was thinking, if I didn't have the wall hanger for my hurricane, I'd simply use twine to hold the papers wrapped around the glass in some swanky way. Or use some invisible tape.

I love decorating.

Dining Room Wall

A few months ago, this was my dining room wall. I'm showing you the ugliest wall because it makes the after pics looks better. The wall was brown (not terrible, but not yummy, either) and had a patch on it.

And then we painted it a light and dark green from the olive family. I got the "inspiration" from the colors from our rug because I didn't want it to clash.

And then... the chalkboard plates were made. I had so much fun making these.

What's more, I love how I can make the dining room look fun and frisky or tone it down to look more sophisticated.

I put up three different sets of plates. And here are the tools I love to use for any wall hanging:

Of course you've already heard about the Disc Hangers, so I'll move on...

1. Mounting putty.

T'aint pretty but it's kind to the walls and helps those silly pictures from sliding in a cock-eyed fashion. Put it behind picture frames or mirrors and it will give it a grip.

2. Floral wire.

For some reason, floral wire rescues me on so many craft projects. In this case, one of my plates had a few small holes that I needed to thread something small through in order to hang the plate. Of course actual frame hanging wire would do well also. :)

3. A Hammer.

Mind if I say "duh"?

4. Assortment of anchors, screws and nails.

More "duh".

Here is me modeling how easy it is to use the Disc Hanger. *Love it*.

"Easy peasy lemon squeezy," as my Morgan says.

Voila!

We interrupt this program to let you know what crazy thing Morgan has created out of Legos. It's an "invention train"... essentially, a train with inventions on it.

For using the Mounting Putty, take a blob and put it behind the item you're hanging. It needs to touch the wall... for obvious reasons.

(Side note: Did you know I was a hand model for Rolodex? I'll have to show pics one day.)

This is what the hanging job looked like before and...

...after. :)

When I walk in my dining room now, I'm surrounded by plates of happiness. They remind me of people I know and love.

Now get thee to a home improvement store and buy some Mounting Putty.

Dining Room Debacle

I don't know about anyone else, but my dining room has gone through so many iterations that it doesn't know if it's a craft room, a dining-ish area or a "no touchy" room- only for looking pretty.

It's a debacle, I tell ya.

Last November, I started to embrace the dining room as a place of seasonal decoration.

My, I had fun decorating the buffet.

I even made a runner out of an old burlap seed sack.

(Side note: It was during that time that I learned that burlap no likey to be washed.)

Then, some tragic happened to my buffet...

See those pretty orange pumpkins in the picture above?

They rotted right through the burlap sack onto the buffet.

Words cannot express how horrified I was. I always, always wanted a buffet and to have these gourds leave a permanent mark made me quite upset.

But then something kind of neat happened:

I let go of the buffet.

I let it be a piece of furniture for the benefit of my family. I stopped making it a place of storage for just china and other things I don't use much. In fact, I went through my buffet and started USING things. Like candles. And pretty dishes.

And then, I emptied out the left storage area of my buffet and...

...let my precious Morgan have it for her sewing stuff.

I can't even begin to tell you how thrilled she was to have a place in the buffet. Her own place.

Even Eve caught on... She knew there was something special behind this door.

And she really wanted to know why sister kept going inside.

I'm still not happy that my buffet will need to be restained, but I'm glad for the way this stain loosened my grip on the buffet's purpose. I'd sure love to hear stories from others about how children have helped them redecorate or re-prioritize their life.