Chalkboard Sign Makeover {Let it Snow}

Let it Snow! .... Or not.... ;-)

 I"m a Southern California girl and I like to talk about snow, but let's face it, I'd be a big baby if I ever had to live in it! {Do you live in snow? I admire you!}

I recently saw one of the best winter sayings I have seen this year and I just HAD to make a sign out of it:

 
Ha! "Let it Snow -- somewhere else" still makes me laugh. :o)

To make this sign happen, I converted this old flower patterned chalkboard sign (cute, but I have boys!)

 into a festive holiday chalkboard sign by simply adhering wrapping paper to cover the flowers!

 

I knew I just wanted something quick and temporary for the season,and wrapping paper was perfect! Plus, the colors match my new "Frozen" inspired wreath. Here's my little sign sitting above my kitchen cabinets:

 

After Christmas, I would like to redo this little sign and cover the flower pattern with something more permanent. Maybe fabric? Burlap? What would you use? 

 

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Mini-Man Cave

Do you have a mini-man? That's what I call my two boys. Except that one of them is not so mini anymore. He will be in 8th grade and still shares a room with his little brother; so, I anticipate that he is going to start wanting his own space soon. Being a single parent and owning a small townhouse means I have to get creative with finding more space. The only place I could really go was out. So I spent [more hours than I would have liked] cleaning out my garage, organizing, and creating a little corner for him I like to call our "Mini-Man Cave."

There is a loft storage, about 6 ft high, in my garage, and I created this man cave underneath it:

Here is how the space began:

What's missing in this view is the loft storage, but you can see that the garage is all slab cement and icky storage. [And the only before picture I have because my computer crashed as I started this project, erasing a lot of my photos.]

So, starting with such bare bones was a little intimidating, but exciting, as we started designing and things started to take shape.

THE PAINT: I started by painting the orange stripe on the wall [The color is Behr "dragon fire" paint picked out by my son. Isn't that a cool name for paint?]

THE FLOOR: I then started laying down the black and white vinyl tiles. [Self stick, 12" square tiles purchased at Lowes and super easy to install!]  They were perfect for a low traffic area and easy to keep clean in our garage!

THE EXTRAS: I wanted the space  to be a place my boys could hang out, play [the tv has no cable, it is hooked up to an old PlayStation 2,] read, play board games [stored in the storage cabinet pictured] and just relax. I had been collecting art and little things for this space for a while, so was happy when it finally came together! Here are some of the extras!


I picked up the two sports signs at Home Goods several months ago. I love their wooden background and texture...

The folding table and chairs are for camping. I had the table already but bought the chairs at Big 5. I thought they were easy to move around, the right size for a small space and we could actually take them when we DO go camping! Both the table and chairs fold easily if the boys want to clear the area to play a game.

The lamp is also a camping lamp. It can sit on a table or it has a hook for easy hanging.

Of course, our favorite part of the man cave [and the piece that took the most time] was the rock wall!

Every boy needs something to climb, right? This started out as a bare white wall. I hand painted the rock pattern then chalk marked the studs. Most of the rock holds are bolted into studs, and a fair few are anchored carefully into the dry wall. The rope was also anchored into the ceiling. [But before you hang a rope for your children to swing from, please make sure it is bolted and anchored securely into a stud, and always test it yourself or with a professional before a child swings from it!]

My boys helped make this wall. I think any time kids have a part in the creation of something, they feel more ownership over it and they take better care of it. They also felt really proud that they had a part in the rock wall. Through the process they learned how to tighten each bolt in case, over time, they come loose.

Of coure, the best part is getting to test your handiwork!!!

The boys are very happy with their new Man Cave. My son said now all he needs is a hammock and a refrigerator in there and he would never have to leave! We'll see kiddo, we'll see. lol

They have already tried to say "No Girls Allowed" and actually, I'm okay with that rule. In fact, I may hold them to that in a few years. [wink]

What do you think? Do you like our Mini-Man Cave? How do you create extra space for your kids?

I'd love to see you -- follow me on Facebook|Instagram!


Sharing at Somewhat Simple, Tatertots and Jello, 52 Mantels and some of my favorite places.

4th of July Treat Pops. Sort of.

I love the 4th of July. It's my birthday month (woohoo), I love red, white and blue and there are so many fun crafts and food to make!

This year I'm having some friends over to watch the fireworks at our local lake. I thought to myself, "self, you should make some really awesome treats - one of those everyone will think is UH-MAZING, how-did-you-do-that sort of treat." And they should look festive.

So, when my grocery store was selling these at buy one get one free -- suddenly I had 24 cake treat pops.

Doesn't the picture make those pops look so pretty? So I immediately looked on Pinterest for inspiration (since you know there is no original idea anymore - even when I think I'm being creative and original, Pinterest Popper burst my bubble.) But I digress. :)

And I found these...

{source}

 I liked the red, white and blue - but instead of colored cake, I wanted colored frosting and white cake.

Yesterday I was at a party where I thought I'd practice these treats before the 'big show' on Thursday.

Lessons learned:

1. Mini cupcakes are not EXACTLY the same size as a push up pop.
2. If your cake is not the same size as your push pop, the frosting will "bleed."
3. Buying store bought tubes of colored frosting only kind of works. There isn't enough frosting for 12 push pops. Each tube frosts 3-4 at best.
4. Store bought frosting tubes are REALLY hard to squeeze out after a while. Especially toward the end. Your arms may hurt.
5. You will need to do more push ups and maybe lift some 5 lb. weights for a bit to prepare for your next push up treat pop adventure.
6. Smushy and messy treat pops taste just as good as perfect looking ones. True story.

So, I ask you, I am actually going to attempt this again for the 4th - any tips for success?

 

What's on your menu for the 4th of July?

Medal Display



Something my kids and I like to do together is run. I'll admit that sometimes running isn't fun - in fact, some days it hurts. But the family bonding time we get from it is worth every pound on the pavement. So, ever since my oldest son was about 7 years old, we've been running races together. Their first race was a one mile kids race, and when they figured out they got a MEDAL at the end - it was ON! They both now run 5k's and my eldest is even contemplating running a half marathon!

 

Well, when you run a lot of races, you accumulate a lot of medals, so the quest was on for a creative way to display all our bling! Last year, my friend gave me her daughter's old crib rail. My initial thought was that I'd paint it a fun color and use it to hold craft fabric. I held that thought until I saw this photo on Pinterest. KariAnne used an herb rack for her medal display, but the crib rail was equally up for the task. So, I painted the light oak wood a stainless steel and the result was this unique medal display:

 

 

These are just my medals right now. (My boys' medals are waiting patiently on corkboards in their bedroom.) I have a few more medals in a box somewhere... but no more excuses on not hanging them up now that they have an official display!!

You can see a couple special medals above, but my favorites are by far the ones we earned together.

 {Their first 5k medal!}

This medal will get a special spot on the display. xo

How about you? What activities do you enjoy with your family? Would you use this idea to display sports medals? Team medals? What other ideas do you have to repurpose a crib rail? I'd love to read your comments!

Garage Organization ~ Sports Equipment

One of my goals this year is to be more organized. (I know - it seems like this is a goal EVERY year - doesn't it?) But this year, I REALLY mean it! Starting with my garage. I have two very active boys. They love to play sports (Organized and just for fun!) and as they get bigger, their stuff seems to get bigger too!! So this year, I am reigning in the clutter, getting rid of A LOT of old equipment they've outgrown and creating organized spaces for the things we want to keep.

So, the first step was creating a space for some of their gear. Pegboard is a popular garage storage item and I actually scored three whole sheets for $2 at a garage sale a while back! Yes, you read that right!$2! I only used one piece for this project -- I still have two more LARGE sheets! I cleaned and painted the pegboard a nuetral gray for the background and then, to give my boys no excuses for putting their things away {wink}, I painted the silhouette of each item on the board in white. Here is the result -- can you guess what goes in each spot?

I think the first one is kind of easy... from left to right... the first item is a lacrosse stick, then their baseball bag, their flag football game bag and the last two are for pool sticks. {About 2 feet away fron this board is our convertable foosball/air hockey/pool table.}

What do you think? I had seen people use the silhouette method for storing tools, and thought it would be a fun way to store our sports equipment. How did I do it? I took each item and traced it lightly with pencil on the pegboard. I then took a small paint brush and outlined the item in white paint. The rest I free hand painted - very slowly and carefully. The baseball bag and pool sticks were fine of course; the lacrosse stick and football bag however.... let's just say I'm glad I didn't have to do any redos! {For once!}

 And now when my boys need to clean up - they will know where everything goes!

Here is what the board looks like with all the equipment on it:

{Hooks used to hang each item}

Garage sports organization: Check!! One project down, only a few {Too many to count!!} to go!! I will show you the rest of the garage as we go. {There's a reason you're not seeing the the rest! lol} But what's next, you ask? A craft space {yay!} and a mini man cave for my little men! More on that soon - I hope!

How about you? Have you started spring cleaning yet? What area would you like to get more organized?

This post is MAN APPROVED! ;)

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Linking up here, man up link up and tatertots and jello.

Spring Twig Wreath

Is it spring weather where you are? It has been beautiful over here - in fact, more like summer at times, and I am soaking in all the spring break joy and outdoor fun with my boys!

As we were playing outside, I noticed the wind had scattered a bunch of tiny branches from the trees all over the grass. My crafty wheels turned and it didn't take long before I was collecting branches!

And thus my little twig wreath was born! I love bringing the outdoors IN! What's even better, is she was absolutely FREE since I used supplies I already had on hand!

I love her spindled arms and how the softness of the rosettes compliments the branches. Here is how you can make your own twig wreath!

Supplies:

~Twigs (Gathered from outside)
~Round cardboard circle (cut from the back of a chex mix box! I ended up recutting a smaller circle than was shown. It was approximately 6" in diameter, measuring from the outside.)
~Glue gun
~Twine to hang your wreath
~Any embellishments you would like


First, I sorted the twigs, took off any odd angles and arranged them in a circle. Once I found an arrangement I liked, I glued them on top of my cardboard circle.

{The 6" circle is above. I was spacing the sticks here in this picture. I glued the sticks on top of the circle shown.}

Once all the twigs were hot glued on, I added the rosettes. I have always wanted to make book page rosettes! After throwing my book club party I had an old book that I could still craft with. (As an English teacher, I'm a bit squeamish about tearing apart books - even in the name of crafting, so I am going to get FULL use out of that book!) lol
I actually used the video tutorial here to learn how to make the rosettes. They were easy to make - they just took TIME! I give major props to anyone who has made one of those rosette wreaths! They must have been rolling flowers for hours! If that is you - give yourself a high five! :o)
But I do love how they soften the wreath!

Overall, I am very happy with my little Twig Wreath!

Even though she is hanging on my front door right now, I think I am going to use her to decorate my craft space. Would you make a twig wreath? Where would you hang her? Do you like bringing the outdoors in with your crafting?

Happy Spring!

 

 

Linking up here,  nap-time creations, The 36th Avenue, tatertots and jello, and It's Overflowing

St. Patrick's Day ~ Clover Pancake

I've seen lots of clover pancake versions around the web recently, but none, *I think* have been made this way before.

I was going through my cupboards gettin all my St. Patrick's Day 'stuff' out of the pantry when I came across my flexible heart ice cube mold:

Originally, this tray made fun heart shaped ice cubes:

But as I looked at it, I thought it also had the potential to make a really cool clover pancake. So, operation pancake experiment began. I filled the ice tray with pancake mix:

I let them set overnight in the freezer and then popped them out for breakfast in the morning. I placed the frozen hearts (in the preheated pan) in the shape of a clover:

Frozen batter makes pancakes just as well as fresh batter, it just takes a minute or two more on each side. (Depending on your oven.) The nice thing about the batter being frozen is that I didn't have to worry about the shape changing as I poured and I could be very specific in placement. As the batter heats and cooks, the hearts molded into an adorably festive clover! My kids and I were very happy with the result!

 



 

 

 

I now want to mold pancakes into every imagineable shape! And since there are all kinds of ice shaped molds - the possibilities are endless! Have you tried this technique before? What shapes do you think would make fun pancakes?

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

DIY Washer Pendants

I love jewelry! Since I only have boys, I find that I don't craft and blog a ton about it. But, since I also love Valentine's Day -- I thought it would be fun to do a girly jewelry craft using some washers I had!

So, I made some Valentine's Day - and any day - washer pendants! This would make a great craft for kids too!

Here is what you'll need:

 

 

Yep -- that's right!! You'll need nail polish! I used a variety of colors (a light blue as well - not shown.)

 



 I also used:
-fishing line (or clear elastic line - to tie the washers together)
-random chains and cords I had to hang the pendants.


First I "painted" my washers in a variety of patterns just for fun! Painting with nail polish is a lot like real paint:

- higher quality polish means less coats!
- I used white as a base and primer in some cases. lol

THE PLUS SIDE:
Nail polish dries soooo much faster than paint AND comes with it's own brush! (And lots of fun inexpensive colors!)

Here are some of the fun patterns I played with:

Once everything was completely dry, I used fishing line to tie the red washers and hearts together in a row and the red string as the chain!

For individual pendants, I just tied a chain or cord to the top.
All of these pendents were created free hand. I learned that I am not so good at making chevron patterns.... (although I do love how the yellow pops and that chain!)

And that I should probably stick to painting straight lines. ;o) I LOVE the beachy look of this light blue pendant (only two thin coats!) with this brown cord I stole from another necklace:

I'll be sporting this girl all summer long!!

As for next week, you will see me in hearts!

Have you painted with nail polish before? What about crafting with washers? You should really give it a try! It was a lot of fun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sharing the love at tatertots and jello this week!