Thursdays Things I Love!

I would like to show some posts from some very talented bloggers this week! I love what they have done and thought you might too!

Two Twenty One did this great Mossy Ampersand Tutorial. 

A Very Dandoislion Life upcycled an old drawer into a great display piece

Mama Michie's Musings made this Crochet Egg Garland!

 I know how to do a straight row of crochet, I just wish I could learn all the lingo to make more.   This is where I am a visual person and need someone to be physically present to show me what "Ch 2, dc in same stitch, 2 dc in next 2 sc, 3 trc in next sc, 2 dc in next 3 sc, 1 dc, hdc in next 2 sc, slp st row closed" means!

That's My Letter made these Fabulous Jute Pears and Eggs

Moore Minutes did this great Vintage Boys room for her son.  I've been toying with the idea of using corrugated metal in our playroom.  I want to do a vintage "game" theme....more on that later (:



Tidy Mom made these great survival kits out of POT HOLDERS!  Think Teachers gifts!


There are so many talented bloggers out there, it's so hard to choose! But these were MY Favs

April Fools Foods

This was my dinner trick for last years April Fools Day Dinner. 

 I made:

 Sushi using rice crispy treats wrapped with fruit by the foot and gummy candy centers

To do: Make rice crispies treats.  Lay a rectangle of wax paper on the counter and put some warm treats on it.  Wet your fingers and flatten them out in about a 4 inch wide strip.  Put gummy candies in a row down the middle (red and green). Use the wax paper to roll them into a cylinder.  Put into the fridge to cool.  Take out and cut into sushi size disks and wrap with green fruit by the foot (or fruit roll ups cut into strips).

Meatloaf in a muffin pan and mashed potatoes



To make a muffin.  The juice glass is filled with orange jello.  If you do the jello drink, have a video camera handy, because it is the funniest thing when your kids keep putting the glass higher and higher. 

My kids talked about this meal all year. 

I had to come up with something new this year (of course).

Luckily I came across this "candy in a fruit can" tutorial that Laura over at Come Together Kids did.  My kids will have this in their packed lunch.  I will have to add cookies or something else that is school appropriate.  But I thought this was a great idea that I think they will talk about all year! Plus they won't be expecting a trick in their school lunch (:

 Thanks Laura for the inspiration!

My Goodwill finds Today

All this for $4.47

It was half off blue ticket today and luckily all my pots for Herb planting were BLUE!  The two small silver pails are the same size...the picture makes it look like the one in the front is larger..wierd, I know.  These pails will be placed inside the teal planter (which will be repainted) and Curly Parsley and Thyme will be planted. The larger silver pail is for Oregano. 

There was a Glass planter at Goodwill too for $1 and I think I might go back and get it.  It had some writing on it, but I will just use a label over it and Plant my Rosemary in it.  I've never planted anything in a clear container before...might be interesting.

I already have Italian Parsley, Mint, and Basil in my outside garden.

I think I am going to use the 3 mugs for an Easter project. 

After I plant, I will post them on my Bookshelf.

Kids Craft: Tissue Paper Wreath

This is the easiest craft to do with your kids and it doesn't have to be perfect to look fabulous!  My daughter and I did this craft this morning and she's doing another project as we speak with the left over tissue paper (:

First, I cut out the tissue paper squares. Make life easy on yourself and fold the tissue paper over an inch and then again and again until you are at the end of your tissue paper sheet (you won't need a whole sheet if you are doing multiple colors).  Then just cut ALL the seams at the same time to make many strips of tissue paper.  Then cross cut to make 1x1 squares.  I hope I explained that good enough...if not tell me and I'll take pics of me doing it.

I used a cardboard circle that came in the packaging of my glass jars in my kitchen bookcase (Flour, Sugar, Pancake Jars)....SAVE and REUSE!

My daughter just balled up the tissue paper and stuck them on the glue (only put a little amount of glue at a time, so the glue doesn't dry on you)

I had a little wooden half egg that I painted purple and used ribbon to attach it to the wreath and to the picture stand. 

Now, to finish all the other parts of my spring decor....more to come

Our New Family Member: Carly

Carly is a Borador: 1/2 Border Collie 1/2 Laborador

A Borador is said to be a Designer Breed Mix, although it isn't recognized by the AKC.

We were lucky to stumble upon her and her brothers. She was the only White one.  If you are looking for a smart family dog, consider looking for this "breed".

Here is some more information about Boradors:

Appearance The Borador looks like a small Lab puppy with a shorter, pointier nose and shorter ears with a a white blaze on the chest and black spots.


Life Expectancy The average life expectancy of the Borador is 12 years.

Size The Borador is about 17 inches tall at the shoulders with an overall body length of around 29 inches from the tip-of-nose to the tail. They will weigh between 34 to 88 pounds when fully grown.

Characteristics The Borador has a strong herding instinct with a lot of the retriever characteristics but not the nose. They make excellent Guide Dogs.

Personality The Borador is an intelligent, sweet, happy, friendly and loyal dog that can be extremely excitable and extroverted but does not typically show aggression.

Temperament The Borador is a very friendly, inquisitive dog who is eager to please and usually described as "very happy".

Family Dog The Borador makes a great family dog. They show strong attachment to family members and accept new acquaintances easily. They typically get along great with children and other dogs in the family. Please be advised that some Boradors depending on their history may not get along with smaller dogs or pets.

Companionship The Borador makes an excellent companion dog. They are affectionate and loyal to their family and excited by strangers, but never aggressive towards them.



 

I think I have a VINTAGE DoG!  Look at that comparison to the RCA Victor LoGo Dog!  HaHa!

Furniture Redo: Kitchen Bookshelf

This is the before of the bookshelf that will be going in my kitchen.  The color is not that bad, it just looked a little dingy and dark.  I want to lighten and brighten my house up and this piece did not fit that feeling. 

I took the piece to my garage and took all of the shelves out.  I sanded everything down and primed it.  I put 3 coats of cream paint on it and then roughed up the edges with 60 grit sandpaper.

Here's a tip: To get the wood to show through in the crevesis of moldings on a piece of furniture, I use a small screw driver and scrap the paint off and then sand it smooth. It's hard to get in there with sandpaper. I usually scrap in random spots while the paint is still slightly wet.

I used Minwax Finishing wax to finish it off and here it is in my Kitchen:

Got these at Fry's Grocery store on sale and used my Cricut to vinyl-ize them!

Finally a place to store all of my cookbooks!

(notice the straw container in the background...used a pickle jar...my kids love having them handy)

Homework station... LOVE IT!

The pencil and crayon holders are reused Febreeze candle holders and the metal containers came from Goodwill for $0.50 each)

To do list:

~ Encase square windows above bookshelf with molding

~ Plant some herbs for the top of bookshelf

~ Make Bench for entryway

~ Find a piece for other entry wall or look for other inspiration

What's on your to do list?

Linking up with the parties below:

Paper Airplane Invitation

My son's birthday is next week and I made these invitations last night. My son is so excited to have his friends over to our house for a make your own pizza, Nerf Battle at our local park, and make your own sundae with cupcakes party.  I am just thankful we aren't going to Peter Piper Pizza for another party!

Here is the picture of one of the invitations:

I used 10paperairplanes Website to learn how to make the airplanes

The opposite side of the paper was the actual invitation.

This was the inspiration.  I was walking through Michael's and saw this paper on clearance for $5.  I saw the picture on the front and was immediately inspired!

The colors for the paper will be the colors for his party. 

If I make anything extraordinary for decorations I will post them.



Vintage Headboard to Coat Rack

I have been shopping these few weeks and found lots of great items to refinish.  I am excited about this piece inparticular, because I think that it came out beautifully!

 I picked up this old vintaage twin headboard at an Antique Mart for a steal! The headboard is actually very small compared to my daughters headboard and therefore, could never be used as a headboard with a standard twin frame and mattress.  I had other plans for it anyway....a Coat Rack!  Initially I was going to keep the stain the same, because I loved it so much with the patina of old age, but unfortunately it wasn't working with my decor, it was a little too yellow. 

I sanded it down and put on some primer and then painted it black (Valspar black, premixed, off the shelf). After it was painted, I used Minwax Finishing Wax for the protective top coat.  I love this stuff!  Anyway, without furthur ado, here is the final coat rack on my entry wall:

I will of course have to fill in the empty spaces around the coat rack (bench, pics, etc...) so this is all you get to view of that area, more to come...

Don't you just LOVE the vintage hardware? I made sure not to paint over that! It has this cool green patina inside.

Here, I did a little sanding to make it look as though it has been through years of coat hanging. 

As I was completing the Coat Rack today, I started priming this piece:

Stay tuned for it's after pictures in my kitchen

Thanks for Stopping by!

Linking up with these parties: