Crayon Initial

A few weeks ago I saw an idea on Pinterest for crayon initials. I've seen people use crayons or pencils but I like the look of the multicolored initial. This project is pretty cheap. All you need is a glue gun, crayons and a frame. I bought a frame at Target and took the glass off and then traced the letter E. 

Then I chopped the crayons in half with a sharp knife to make them fit inside the E and mix up the colors.

I arranged the crayons inside the traced letter and then took a glue gun and started gluing! ;) I wrote my daughter's name alongside the E after it was all finished. Ta-Da! It's a super easy craft. 

Another Pottery Barn Knock Off

I love looking through Pottery Barn kids magazines. The price tags aren't so fun, though. Like the price on this adorable bed canopy for a girl's room. ($99.00)
A good friend of mine made a knock off one for her daughter's room and it turned out so cute! I asked her if she could help me pull one off for my daughter's bed. By the way....you can check her blog out at www.themodesthomestead.blogspot.com

My friend said she found a petal pattern online. She blew it up larger and printed it off. Here is an example of one off Google images. You need 9 little petals and 9 large ones.


You'll need an embroidery hoop, 9 yards or so of tulle ( depending on how long you want it), 2 yards of pink fabric, 1 yard of green fabric, thread.

I sewed all the petals sides together and then added the button holes on the tips of the petals. Then you can hang them all around the hoop using a little leftover tulle as 'rope'.

You have to 'break' the hoop in one spot to be able to feed the tulle around the hoop after sewing about a couple inches all the way around. Then you can wrap tape around the hoop to seal it up. Tie some tulle in 3 strips around the hoop and then attach the top of the petals and layer them around as desired.
Here is the final outcome. Thanks LeAnn for all your help with this project!

"In My Seat"...A pilot's story of the September 11th attacks

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:3

First day of Kindergarten

Today was an important day at our house. Our daughter started K5. =) She was beyond excited. I was trying to come up with some art projects and special traditions to make her first day of school, special. One of my favorite websites, pinterest, had a lot of ideas to try....too many to choose from, really. =)
But we decided to try our hand at a framed crayon initial and a giant cookie to celebrate the day. I also found many bulletin board ideas here. I'll post the diy on the cookie and crayon initial in other posts.


The original gumball bulletin board read: 'Wel-Gum to First Grade!' and it had all the names of the students in the gumballs. Since we are homeschooling, I tweaked it a bit. We couldn't just have one gumball in the machine! =) I wrote down some sight words that Emma will be learning in Reading/Phonics class for each piece of gum.

The crayon initial adds some bright color to her desk. ;)

We have already put this ikea easel to good use during the school hour and little brother also likes to wander into the school room and scribble on the white board side. =)


And one of Emma's favorite parts of today was baking this gigantic cookie! It was definitely fun to make. I think we may keep this tradition for first days of school later on.

Looking forward to this first year of school with my little girl!

Thrifty school desk makeover

I had visions of this Land of Nod "Walden white desk hutch" for my daughter's school room. She is starting K5 this year and I wanted to have an area for her to be able to do her schoolwork and have everything organized.

This desk looked perfect! It has plenty of storage space, plus a bulletin board and wall shelves above. But then I took a look and the price tag and everything changed. There is no way we have $700.00 to spend on a desk right now. So instead of breaking the bank I began hunting for the perfect desk at thrift stores.


I found a great desk a couple weeks ago. It was originally $120 but they had just marked it down to $40.00! Now we're talkin'!!! =) I started by sanding the whole thing down with a tougher grain sand paper and then bought some Valspar paint with primer already mixed in. I gave it a first coat and then used a very fine grain sand paper in between coats to smooth out the finish. Then I painted my last coat and added the hardware.


We took a special trip to Anthropologie and my daughter picked out some light pink crystal knobs for her drawers. An added plus was that they were on clearance as well!

I bought a bulletin board at Target for $10.00 and I'm going to paint the frame to match the desk. I also found the perfect wall shelves to hang above the bulletin board at Ikea (love that store!!). Those were $14.99 a piece. Let's calculate here: desk, paint, sand paper, knobs, bulletin board, 3 wall storage cubbies = $148.00 A far cry from $700.00!! I love it when a thrifty plan comes together. =) I'll do one more post when I have it all put together. I'm still waiting on the shelves to get in.

Knockoff Pottery Barn Owl Bookends

I saw these Pottery Barn owl bookends a few months ago and thought I could try and make them for my daughter's school room. The original ones cost $29.00 plus shipping. My owls cost $11.00 for the material, thread, stuffing and rice.
Basically, I just pulled up the image of the original PB owls on my computer and tried to copy it as best as I could. I will say, if you try and make some, be careful to keep the eyes close together and the wings rounded and falling to the side. My first attempt came out looking a little bat-like. (not good!) After I embellished the front of the face I sewed the sides and wings together. Then I stuffed the top of the owl with poly-fil and filled some zip lock bags with rice for the base of the owl.

Easy DIY Hair Styles

Sometimes you just need a little inspiration. Have you gotten stuck in the same old routine with your hair? Check out these easy styles.

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

The author (of the article in the link below) makes the point that motherhood is not a 'rock bottom' job or a hobby but rather a calling. You might get stressed at times but it's good to remember even though your hands are full....'they are full of good things'...Great article!!


Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

Super Easy Cherry Limeade

Check out this limeade recipe over at Pouty Pink Princess. With this heat wave beating down on so many states this summer, it's a great way to cool off.

Happy Saturday

I just thought today I would leave you with a picture to put a smile on your face! It even looks like the dog is chuckling! Happy Saturday!

Fresh Strawberry Yogurt Cake

I came across a most delightful recipe that I just had to share! If you combine Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, lemon zest/juice and butter among other ingredients, you come up with the most delicious cake you have ever tasted! The lemon gives it a little kick and it's oh so moist. Check out the directions HERE.

Summer Boredom BuStErS!!

Here are some fun ideas to help your kids beat boredom this summer. Thanks to my new favorite website, pinterest.com for so many awesome activities! Here are some to name a few...tent sleepover, glow jars (simply use glow paint and spatter the inside of a canning jar), super hero cape, rainbow painting, friendship bracelets, pirate dress up, lava lamp, hula hoop rug and the best bubble mixture...ever!

Nuts for Nutella

I LOVE Nutella. I've usually just spread it on some toast in the morning or sandwiched it in between a croissant but there are endless possibilities and new recipes to try with this rich, creamy, delicious chocolate spread! Check out some of these recipes I've discovered recently. I haven't made all of them (and probably shouldn't ...unless I want to expand my waistline drastically, ha!) But once in a while it won't hurt to try one of these recipes! ;)

Strawberry-Nutella Thumbprints

Self-frosting Nutella cupcakes

Banana-Nutella muffins

Nutella Brownies

Nutella Ice Cream Sundae with Toasted Hazlenuts

Is your mouth watering yet?! Yum!

Book Recommendation

I enjoy browsing around and trying out Ree's delicious recipes at www.thepioneerwoman.com. Just recently Ree Drummond (the author of 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks' and 'Black Heels to Tractor Wheels') released a children's book. I was excited about this one! I love to read books with my kids before bedtime and am always looking for good reads. 'Charlie The Ranch Dog' has been a huge hit with my Emma and Luke. It's endearing, funny and almost makes me want to have a basset hound added to our own family! ;) I've even been thinking about what old man names would best fit a dog...(if we were to actually get one). Winston, Earl, Hubert and Stanley are some of the runner's up. :)

P.S If you go to www.barnesandnoble.com/storytime this month, Ree reads her story online for free! Check it out!

The Royal Wedding Ceremony - Westminster Abbey Choir - This is the day (...

One of my favorite songs from the Royal wedding.

Perfectly Royal Scones

This morning I gave into my hopelessly romantic side and got up at 4am to watch a certain royal wedding. The night before I had baked some scones for this momentous occasion. When my alarm went off, I groggily made my way to the kitchen and put some water on to boil for some tea to accompany my scones. I felt so British. ha!

The scone recipe I found on www.allrecipes.com was amazing! My scones have had a history of turning out hard and tasteless but these were soft, airy and slightly sweet. You can customize them with your favorite dried fruit, chocolate chips or whatever you might want to add. I baked mine plain and added some blueberry preserves on top. YUM!

Scones

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter. Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Spring salad with bunny ears

I follow 'One Charming Party' and they had the most adorable idea a few weeks ago. I read their post here about a bunny party. Basically, you could throw together any salad combo of your choice and stick the Petits Palmiers in the middle of your dish and voila...you have 'somebunny' in your salad! =) My kids thought this was so neat! I found the palmiers at Trader Joes like they suggested.