The rest of this and that...

Let's try this again!

Ah, there it is! Snacktime!

What else have we been working on...ah, yes...organizing the hair pretties! 

Sounds crazy I know but with two little girls who are little divas we have a whole lot of pretties!

Barrette and Bow Board

Hair Ties in the Shoe Pouches!

And a nice little bin for the Headbands!

Phew! Told you we had a lot of pretties!

Last but not least, I want to show some photos from our buddy, Evie's birthday party. Her mom did such a nice job planning it out with her. It was super cute and a lot of fun!

Presenting...LOLLIPOP KID!

Watermelon on a stick! Corndogs! Corn on the Cob...on a stick!

Rumor enjoying her 2nd corndog!

The bubble wands had triple duty...they were decor at first...stuck in the ground to look like lollipops. Then they were used as entertainment for the kiddos. Lastly they were given out as party favors.

Brilliant!

Cake Pops...awesome and yummy!

This cake was so cool! It was 6 layers of color and SO YUMMY!

Cool party Kasey and Evie! 

Thanks for inviting us!

Okay, that's it...told you there was a lot! 

Coming this week sometime:

Kids Art Displays

Photo Display

Laundry Revamp

and

more!

A little bit of this and a whole lot of that!

We just finished our first week of school and it was one busy week!
 But here I am...back in action after a weekend of cleaning up!
So sit back, relax and brace yourself for two weeks worth of things I have seen and done!
Let's start with our FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL lunch!

...yup, pretty cute! 

The girls gave the "candy apples" to the principal and their teachers too.

Way yummier than a real apple!

We are still working on the girls rooms. 

This is a napkin ring from PIER 1 IMPORTS that I used to tie back the curtains in Reese's room. The yellow sunflowers look super cute with the pink curtains.

I made a bumble bee painting for Reese's room too! Now I just need to find a frame for it.

We switched out Rumor's dresser and gave her the red one from our family room. I miss it in my family room as it was one of my favorite pieces but it works really well in the rainbow room too.

Well, as promised in my last post, I have a DIY project that is completed!

I took my old dresser from childhood and made it into a "snack bar" for our kitchen dining area. We have a pretty small kitchen so the drawers in the dresser are coming in very handy for storing our snacks and odds and ends. Now I have cleaner counters! Yeah!

Hmmm...snafu...the blog won't let me post anymore photos...

TO BE CONTINUED!

Float like a butterfly...

...STING LIKE A BEE!
Man can I tell that I haven't had anytime this week to work on my own home art!
We are gearing up for back to school here and I have been busy helping to get the preschool room ready at St John. Preschool rooms are so much fun...bright and cheery! I love them...just like I love making my girls rooms bright and cheery and fun too. I have some time allotted over the next 3 weekends to work on my home some more and to especially wrap up the R and R rooms.
Here are my plans for Reese's "Bee" Room:

These little pipe cleaner bees will make a 

major appearance in the room...

somewhere...maybe while buzzing around a hive?

I plan to make the Bee-autiful sign that I spoke about in an earlier blog but I also want to make a sign similar to this but the Beatitudes from the Bible.

I am going to get some plain white...off white fabric and make a pillow like this for Reese's bed too!

I was even thinking about hand-painting bees on the edge of Reese's sheets...but that may be to large of a task for the beginning of the school year!

As for my other lovely...Rumor...she is rainbow crazy and has been patiently waiting for me to add some more rainbow flair to her room. Here are my ideas that I plan on executing during the next couple of weekends:

My heart melts just while reading these lyrics...

I am actually purchasing an unfinished one of these on etsy for Rumor to paint herself! She'll be so excited!

LOVE! And I have a TON of felt already...and a ton of ribbons!

I will also be returning to the laundry room during the next couple of weekends...as if I don't walk through there everyday already! But seriously, I bought fabric for the little windows and need to get those sewn. I called our contractor about putting in my folding table/shelf...shhh...don't tell Dustin! I laid my pretty rug down already and it really brightens that room up! Now to figure out how and where to hang a shelf for all of our laundry yuck! Maybe the contractor can do that too! I'll also be busting out the stain for that room to finish the cabinets.

WOW! I better get to work!

Oh, one last thing...I have been working on my kitchen and dining area but they aren't photo ready yet...but it's starting to look pretty fun! Here is a sneak peak from an idea I pulled from Pinterest:

Hmmm...any guesses?

ART

I think I am getting my artist mojo back...special thanks to Pinterest.com for that. I have been using my creative spirit for the past 6 years...except it has been more kid driven than me driven. Today, on a whim, I decided to work on two ideas that I had seen on Pinterest. (shown below)

The first is made by melting crayons with a blow dryer...it's easy and looks pretty cool when done.

The second is done with watercolor crayons (payons) that have been shaved onto a canvas and sprayed with water. 

Here are my results:

These two pieces of artwork are going to look pretty great framed and hung in Rumor's Rainbow Room!

I have been doing a lot more "artwork" lately...everything from sewing, to painting, to cooking more creative food. Is it a phase? A new surge of energy? Did my time get freer? 

None of the above. I simple remembered that I should be using the talents that God has given me.

I think Erma said it best! With the hum-drum of everyday life, I forgot to simply just use what God gave me. I don't need to wish for this or hope for that. I have all I need right here.

Lastly, a bit of nature reminded me of this exact lesson I had been learning. Rumor called me to our mailbox yesterday to look at the spider that was "blocking her way." WOW! indeed blocking...he was big and he would be scary except he was so interesting to look at...and even his web...his home...had a bit of flair to it. Mr. Spider was just doing what spiders do...weaving a web to catch their prey, to eat, to keep itself strong and moving. Mr. Spider was just simply using his talent. Very cool Mr. Spider.

I went back to look at the spider and the web today but he/it was gone. I am hoping someone didn't just destroy it and that he got a fly and has moved on...making yet another groovy web on some other mailbox. Well, onward ho! 

I have more things to see, pin, do and blog!

Lunch (is) Served!

I worked in the kitchen most of the day today...which is why we had Pizza Hut pizza for dinner tonight. Twice a year I go through all of my cabinets and drawers and straighten them up and clean them out. It always takes place on a whim and looks so pretty after it is done.
We have an apartment sized kitchen so it has to stay neat...in fact, it typically has tons of stuff piled up on the counters...not like HOARDERS but stuff we use and eat because there is just no space. I am still trying to figure out how to keep the counters clear...but in the meantime, what I did today looks pretty good.

The BAKING drawer...shoeboxes are my saving grace

for keeping this drawer decently organized.

The junk drawer...set your timer...let's see how long

this stays beautiful.

The BAKING cabinet...one would think I bake

but I actually rarely do...but just in case someday I

am feeling like June Cleaver.

Here is a great link to some kitchen organization ideas:

http://penniesandblessings.com/2011/04/10-quick-organizing-tips-for-the-kitchen/

Well, all that tidying up in the kitchen made me HUNGRY to use some creative juices. Creating is so much more fun than cleaning! Anyway, I used some of these juices to make my first BENTO box for Reese and Rumor's fishing trip with their Daddy tomorrow. I have become somewhat obsessed with the Bento Box lunch ideas that I see on Pinterst...such as this one:

And so here is my first attempt at BENTO lunch...we shall call this one...

REELING IN THE BIG PB&J

Pepperidige Farms makes "Goldfish" shaped bread--whole wheat...LOVE!

Of course I also used pretzel fish and the new cookie fish. Grapes are here also...for no other reason than they needed a fruit...we shall call them Wapsi Caviar (after our river in town The Wapsipinicon)

Nemo Gummies are hidden under the sandwich and my favorite touch...a gummi worm tied to a string cheese...to look like a fishing pole!

I already showed Reese and Rumor...they said, "Cool Mom! Thanks!"

That's why I do these things...it's the MADNESS to my METHOD :)

Taste Palette

 So, did I have success with scoring some palettes? I did indeed! I asked my friend, Tom, if he knew of where I could get some old, distressed palettes and he pointed me in a great direction...thanks Tom! (That is me thanking you...not Dustin...who still thinks I am nuts!)

I may raise the palette up a bit onto some blocks or something...just to give it a bit more height...The wall is still pretty bland and boring but it will have to do for now...I gotta keep on moving to the next idea!

 Oh wait, found one!

I found yet another idea on Pinterest this morning that I already implemented into our bedroom too! I love when all of my odds and ends (or as Dustin would say--junk) finds a home and a purpose!
Take a look at theirs...and then mine...

Here are some of my favorite "other" elements in our room...the photos in the frames are of the different places we have traveled...including our honeymoon(s) on the very top. I also house my "mom" books here...as Reese and Rumor call them.

Who would even guess that the water meter is hidden in this cabinet? 

Next, my favorite piece of artwork in our room...my painting of Seattle...L.O.V.E.

And last but not least, our story wall...

The map on the left is a map of the US and more significantly of where I was in the world when I started dating and fell in love with Dustin. The map on the right, a map of the middle east, is where he was when he began to tolerate me! Dustin was in the Navy when we first started dating...in fact, we wrote letters back and forth for more than a year before we even got to go on our first date. The shadow boxes in the middle house the letters to and from each other. Every morning, I wake up and see this wall and get to remember where it all began...

AND SO...that's our room...our safe-haven from Littlest Pet Shops and Coloring Crayons...

ahhh...peace and quiet!

Man Cave with a Mom Corner

My kiddos pretty much have squatters rights on the first floor of our home. It was inevitable considering I believe in it being "OUR" home, meaning "ALL" of us...not just the adults. I am okay with it...as long as it is fairly tidy. The girls take care of their rooms and clean up any toys that may have found their way to our Living Room or Kitchen table...which is their favorite place to play. Who needs a playroom when you have a table!?!
Anyway, once we allowed each child to have their own room, I decided it was time for my husband and I to truly have a space of our own. So, the bottom floor of our home (basement is such a drab word)...is the Man Cave with the Mom Corner. Our room and bath are located on this floor as well as the laundry room and Family room. Since relocating the kiddos, this "bottom" level has become my project. We have some "finishing" to do...we meaning my husband. Our ceiling in the Family Room is my favorite...it's made of wood panels and will continue into the laundry...but for now, it is exposed ceiling. I moved some of my favorite pieces of furniture to the basement last week as there is no longer a guest room in our home...I am working them into the "bottom" level as best I can without killing it's modern appearance.
This week, I will be working on our laundry room/hallway area as well as our bedroom. Here are some ideas that I have pinned on Pinterest:

I know that Dustin dreads this...but I want him to build me a folding counter with shelves for the laundry baskets. We already have a small corner counter and own a matching counter top piece...it's the installation of it that he dreads. Maybe I should get tool savvy?

The headboard of our bed is currently a wall. This bothers me...I want a headboard...but don't want to buy one that belongs to a furniture set as there is absolutely no room in our current room for such a thing. We have the smallest room in our home...with the biggest closet! I like the idea of shelves...very rustic shelves as a headboard...still processing what I will do.

We have a beautiful rug that will go down in the laundry room...this is not it...but reminds me of the one I will be laying down as soon as the floor is mopped!

If I do a headboard out of pallets then what the heck, I will do these shelves as well!

Yesterday, at Hobby Lobby, I purchased the Wall Vinyl to use in my Cricut Machine so that I can make words on my wall...I like this design but I am also tempted to do, "Landry Room: Drop your drawers here!"

Our bedroom has many framed photos of us at different places that we have traveled throughout our 15 years together. I LOVE to travel and would do it all the time AND I LOVE to wake up to all of these photos and happy memories. When I saw this idea, I just knew that I had to make one for our room...my only decision now is what photo to put in the background...hmmm...where should we go next?

Yes, another palette...I am digging these!

So, as always, I will keep you posted after the projects are done. As for now, wish me luck...I have so many ideas rolling around my brain that it will be a wonder if I can even execute one!