st. pat’s apparel + rainy day making

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! By this time, I hope you have found the proper place to enjoy a green beer and some corned beef and cabbage. Because corned beef. It’s only good once a year.

I have been slacking on the creative mom front lately (see last post where I whined uncontrollably about being sick) and St. Patrick’s Day snuck up on us. So, in last minute fashion, I grabbed some puffy paint and a $4 tee from Ben Franklin (yes, they still exist). It doubled as a great rainy day activity and our St. Pat’s apparel.

There’s clearly no rules here. Puffy paint until your heart’s content and wear.

Obviously, I helped M a bit. I traced the shamrock and listed about 1,000 phrases for her before she was insisted ‘hello‘ was the message she would like her shirt to send. I was worried that her portion would be nothing but huge blobs of never drying paint but she did a really good job of keeping her hand moving.

To keep our trend of last minute slacking standing, we didn’t get around to painting until it was too late for our shirt to be worn today but M has a themed day at toddler school on Thursday. Better bet this baby will make an appearance.

repurposing

A few weeks ago, I spent the entire weekend repurposing a table for our living room. In an effort to pull off some of our home deco goals without busting the bank, we are using a few pieces from our old house with a new style. We have a huge round table that started off as my in-laws dining room table, then we got ahold of it and covered it in vinyl, spray-painted the legs brown and used it as an end table of sorts in our last house. I was determined to hang on to it for our new space but it definitely needed another update.

Poor table. It’s got to be having an identity crisis by now.

After countless Pinterest hours, I decided on using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Wax. It seemed like it would give the farmhouse / vintage style I was looking for this time around. In the end, it was the perfect choice. I’m smitten with the new look and updating the table from brown to white brightened up our whole space.

I won’t pretend I’m an expert (or anywhere near close) on using chalk paint now but I did learn a few thing along the way that might help if you decide to head down the chalk paint path as well…..

1.This paint choice was spendy but 100% worth it.

I used very little and this was a fairly big project. Also, the look was incredible. Normally, I’m the brains (or just the bossy one) and Kyle executes projects but he insisted that I take ownership on this one. So glad he did because the paint is very forgiving and I actually loved tackling something new.

2. I watched about 20 you-tube videos before touching a brush.

I was nervous nervous nervous before starting because of the different paint strokes and waxing process required. The videos were incredibly helpful and I limped my way through the process while pausing and restarting them over and over.

3. This project took me a day and a half.

One of the best parts about chalk paint is that technically there is no prep work. No sanding, etc. Buuuutttt since we had previously used adhesive to stick the vinyl down, I spent a few hours sanding, scraping and trying to remove the rough texture from the top of the table. That delayed the process a bit. Then, I let the paint dry overnight before waxing the next day. So there you have it….a whole weekend.

4. I didn’t pony up for the expensive brushes. 

From all the videos and research I did, the brushes look amazing and are probably worth it if you plan to tackle multiple projects but when I went into this, I wasn’t sure if I would be wowed at the outcome. I was. Maybe I’ll go back for the ‘good’ brushes before my next project but my Home Depot brushes worked just fine for my first go round.

Here are a few photos that show our process….

^^ before

^^ during

^^ after

washi tape frames

As the house starts to come together, I’m finally getting a few things on the walls. I am so.tired. of buying frames so in M’s room, I went for taping prints to the wall. I kind of love the way it turned out and thought I would share in case anyone else is looking for some frame-spiration (see what I did there?).

It’s so easy.

1. Tape one style of washi around the outside of the print to hold it in place. Overlap corners and leave a few strips longer then others.

2. Use a different style tape to angle and highlight at the corners.

I chose a really simple frame type but there are so many ways you could hang prints with washi. I pinned a few ideas if you are in the market for something a little crazier.

Spot Print: DIY

Lip Print: printable by The Motivated Type

vacation ready cutoff shorts

We have filled May with some serious plans this year. M and I are headed out for a little vacation this week, I’ll be doing some alone traveling (yipee!) and we will also be celebrating M turning two in May. In preparation, I went shopping a few days ago for summer wear and was appalled at the cost of good pair of cutoff shorts. I’ll pony up for the perfect summer tank or even for some sandals but it seemed silly to pay for shorts when I had a huge pile of old jeans hanging out in my closet.

Until last summer, I hadn’t been brave enough to take scissors to a pair of jeans. But, I figured the worst that could happen is that an old pair of pants would find it’s way to the trash pile. Didn’t happen though. The shorts turned out to be my favorite pair of the season. So, yet again, I found myself chopping away at my jeans a few days ago.

If you are scared to try it, don’t be. I promise that the hardest part is the fringe and I think I’ve developed a few tricks to help  you out on that.

What You Need || 

An old pair of jeans

Ruler

Scissors or Rotary Cutter

A pair of shorts in your desired length

Chalk

Sand Paper

 

What You Do||

1. Lay a pair of shorts with your desired length on top of your old jeans.

2. Use chalk to copy the outline of the bottom of your current shorts. Notice that they slant down, toward the thigh.

Note: I wanted my new shorts to be just a bit longer then my current pair. So, I used a ruler to measure one inch below the line I made (in three spots) and created a new cut line. 

3. Cut line.

Note: IF you have a sewing machine or know how to hand sew, you can sew a few stitches into the side of each leg to keep the sides from splitting. Go right over the current jean stitching. If not, don’t worry, they will split a little with wear but it blends right in with the frayed look. 

4. Use sand paper to rough up the cut line. You will get a lot of fray and will need to trim the long pieces later.

5. Use the sharp point of your scissors to create scuff marks or holes wherever you desire in the legs of your shorts. Sandpaper around the edges for a more frayed look.

6. Wash, wash again and wash again.

7. Trim the fray.

 

Enjoy! Melissa

 

P.S. A little house keeping note….. As May is super busy and we’ll be traveling A LOT, posts may be a bit spread out this month. I am going to try my hardest to post daily but I’ll promise you just three times a week. So, keep stopping in!

 

metallic colored easter eggs

Last year M was too little to experience Easter egg decorating so, this year, I was excited to bring the tradition into our house. Although a little messy, it turns out that this is a great activity for a 23 month old. She was able to sort the eggs into color cups and identify colors, then to use metallic markers to help decorate them. I think we’ll still hunt for the plastic version since we had a few egg casualties already but these will make a cute Easter display on our table.

What You’ll Need: hard boiled eggs, a typical egg dying kit (we used this Paas kit), metallic permanent markers (we liked these BIC pens)

What You’ll Do: 

1. Dye your hard boiled eggs using your egg kit. If you use a bit of vinegar mixed with the water, your color will be more vibrant. Also, the longer you let your egg soak, the brighter your color will be.
2. Put your eggs back in their crate and let them dry overnight in your refrigerator.
3. The next day, wipe each egg down before drawing on them. There will be a bit of dew that you need to remove.
4. Draw whatever your little heart desires with your metallic markers making sure not to touch right away. You can see some smudges in mine where I bumped my drawing too soon. They will need to dry for a few minutes.
5. Display beautifully!

diy valentine’s

The day of love is tomorrow and M and I are hoping our Valentine’s were mailed out in time. We put these amazing little printable cards together a few days ago and mailed them out to a few of our bff’s and family members. So, Dear Family: If you haven’t received yours, go to the mailbox. Now.

This cute little printable is from The 36th Avenue  and all we did was print, color, cut and washi tape balloons to the front. I just love them and appreciated that they didn’t leave any pieces of candy sitting around for me to shovel into my mouth. You know I just can’t resist those gross little candy hearts. Shameful really.

Enjoy! Melissa

DIY || Fringe Package Topper

May seems to be the month of gift giving around here. We have so many baby birthdays, anniversaries and big kid birthdays to attend and I have been running out of ribbon to decorate my packages with. So, I turned to a few balls of yarn I had sitting around a few days ago and loved the outcome. It turned out to be such a fun way to dress up a plain box. See below for full instructions. 

 

|| What You Need ||

Yarn

Scissors

 

|| What You Do ||

1. Wrap a few strands of yarn around your box in a typical pattern and tie off with a strong double knot.

2. Wrap several colors of yarn around 3 fingers until you feel as if their is an abundant amount. A varied amount of yarn will make different sized fringe.

3. Tie a loose piece of yarn around the middle of your fringe in a tight knot.

4. Snip both ends of the ball open.

5. Tie the loose piece of yarn around the middle of your wrapped package.

 

 

Enjoy! Melissa

 

 

 

DIY || Party Photo Station

I was out a friends birthday last week and she had set up an awesome photo station. It reminded me of the photo booth I made for Little M’s Halloween party. We had 10 little one’s and their parents over to celebrate the holiday and the photo booth ended up being a great way to ensure I got pictures of all the little’s in costume. Even now, it’s fun to look back on a few months ago and smile at our little puppies, sharks and mermaids.

|| Materials ||

2 yards of white vinyl

1 large stamp

small to medium sized sponge brush

black acrylic paint

staple gun

window cling stickers

any props you would like

|| Steps ||

1. laid my vinyl out completely flat

2. applied the stickers to the vinyl

3. brushed the acrylic paint onto the stamp with a sponge brush {after each push onto the vinyl, more paint is needed depending on the look you are trying to achieve. you can see which stamps I applied the paint and which I didn’t.}

3. pushed the stamp in straight lines onto the vinyl leaving gaps at the stickers

4. let dry overnight

5. stapled the vinyl around the edges of a large painting I have hanging in my living room.

6. created some signs for props using construction paper and paint pens and also put out funny objects from around the house as props

And I know, I know there are no step by step photos. This booth was WIWODOPW {when I was only dreaming of Pretty Wednesday} so I wasn’t prepared.  Next photo booth will be properly documented, I promise!

Enjoy! Melissa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Knees || DIY Baby Knee Protection

Now that the sun has shown it’s beautiful face a few times, we have been outside playing. For Little M, this means crawling around outside and ruining her pants with holes and stains on her tiny knees. Believe me people, there is not enough stain stick for all these grass stains. We can’t go outside without pants {This is the northwest, not Florida. We are outside sweating in 60 degree ‘heat’} so my solution was to cover up the knees.

I took an old pair of my socks and cut the feet off, slid the tube over her pants and they covered her knees like a charm! We spent the whole afternoon in the yard and not one stain on her knees. Maybe not the most fashionable idea I’ve ever had but it got the job done!

I’ve strategically placed our new knee protection next to the back door as my little sign that we will {fingers crossed} be spending many more afternoons playing in the yard.

Enjoy! Melissa

Pasta-licious Play

Go out. Stay in. Go out. Stay in. Spend money. Be frugal. Little M and I go through this debate almost every day. To be honest, both are equal amounts of effort. Getting in and out of the car with the mountains of stuff we schlep around or trying to fill our day with enough stimulation and activity to keep M {and me} from getting cabin fever. I more often then not decide that the mountains of stuff are worth it and we go out and about. But, when we do stay in, I try hard to keep us both busy so she {we} don’t get cranky.

In an attempt to keep her stimulated, I diy’d a little sensory bin earlier this week. I hardly recreated the wheel with this but it turned out to be a huge hit so I thought I would share. To produce our noodle-licious sensory bin I:

1. Boiled left over pasta I had in the pantry. 
2. Drained and let it cool.
3. Put 1/4 of the pasta at a time in a bowl while I added food coloring and stirred until it was all covered.
4. Placed the colorful pasta in a 9×13 tray.
5. Buried some bath toys under the noodles.

I put the tray full of a rainbow pasta and toys on a towel, stripped Little M down to her diaper and let her play in all the noodle glory. She was hesitant at first but once she got the hang of it, she loved squishing the pasta around and searching out her toys. The best was putting her feet in it. Kind of like Lucille Ball in the vat of grapes. She had a little gross face at first but then squished her baby toes around.

She played for 30 minutes and besides having to grab pasta from her mouth every two seconds, this was a huge success! Oh, and the dogs got a belly full of pasta since she fed them every piece I wouldn’t allow her to eat. How nice of her.

Enjoy! Melissa

Side Note: If I did this again, I would find more natural food dyes. She really {really} wanted to eat some. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal if I was more confident in the dye. Next time!