color activity

When I saw this idea on pinterest I knew I would soon be making one. I’ve been working on colors, numbers, letters, etc. with Rigby and I thought this would be a fun way to memorize colors, not to mention work on his fine motor skills with the clothes pins. I bought a pack of 50 clothes pins from the dollar store and I collected the paint samples from Cloverdale Paint for free. I already had the glue gun and glue at home so this little project cost me a whopping – $1.

I collected 2 of each paint sample strips, one to cut and one to pin to. I cut small sections from one and then glued them to clothes pins.



I only did four sections from each color strip as the lighter colors are very similar and harder for little eyes to distinguish between. Plus, that’s a whole lotta clothes pins to store.



This isn’t the favorite toy around but we have had fun pinning the pegs and talking about the colors. I’d be lying if I said some of them are not already wrecked but for $1 I don’t feel like this is something I have to treasure.
 

It’s a fun little activity that both Rigby and Porter have used, definitely worth the time and the dollar.

I can't write a post about colors and not make a color-blind joke – this activity is something we don’t let Neil play. We don’t need his help around here when learning colors. :)

faux chenille blanket for a special little girl

When Neil told me he needed to head to Edmonton this weekend I knew that if I got my act together I could have something ready to send with him to give to my BFF Sharlee who is expecting a baby any day. I enjoyed making my last faux chenille blanket so much that I didn’t have to think long about what to make for the special little lady on her way.



I picked out this adorable cotton print and matched 3 pinks and one cream for the fuzzy side. You can find the tutorial of how to make a faux chenille blanket on this post at made. It is definitely a time consuming project but it is enjoyable and easy. And the end result is fantastic.



I couldn’t decide if I wanted to do cream or black binding and had actually decided on cream but the fabric store I was at didn’t have a long enough length and had no more in the back – thank goodness! It wasn’t until a few days later I thought about doing pink and I’m so glad I did. I love the way it ties in the patterned back and looks against the chenille stripes.



A faux chenille blanket is fun because although they are not necessarily a swaddling blanket, they are soft and snuggly while having enough weight to act as a car seat cover or play mat on the floor. I hope this one will have many uses and get lots of love.

I hope Sharlee adores this little labor of love as much as I do. And I hope she actually has a girl! :)

DIY moustache mugs

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. By the lack of posts here you can tell I have! With THREE birthdays, Christmas and New Years in the month of December it gets really busy for us. It's pretty much a non stop party for weeks and I'm starting to feel like I'm coming off some bender, but the end is in sight. Normal life is so close. It's been fun though. 

I've been excited to post about these mugs I made. They were a Christmas gift that I mailed away so once I heard they had been received I knew it was safe to post about them.

I’m sure a lot of you have seen these mugs around, they seem to pop up here and there.

I saw a DIY tutorial on my friend Kandee’s blog and I instantly wanted to make some myself. I wanted to take it one step further and make a feminine counterpart for the moustache mug. I thought it would make a cute “his and hers” gift. I found a template for some cute pouty lips and made a kissable cup too! I sent these to my cousin who has 2 little boys and I didn’t want to leave them out so I found 2 smaller mugs of similar style and made mini moustaches to go on those. Now the whole family has a set.




Working with the Pebeo Porcelain markers was a breeze. Well, I should say the black one was a breeze. The red one was much more finicky and I never did get the paint to blend well and was constantly fighting against streaks. When I peeled off the stencil I was easily able to clean up any smudges with a Q tip and because I baked the mugs to set the paint they are now dishwasher safe.

I think the moustache and lips mugs are adorable but I am not limiting myself to these. With these Pebeo markers you can draw on plates, bowls, glasses – anything! The next project is to draw little beady eyes at the bottom of my boy’s cereal bowls – a little surprise to help them finish their breakfast.

thrift-store shirt alteration

When I uploaded these photos I had a little bit of a panic attack. Looking at these pictures I suddenly really liked the ‘before’ shot… BUT it’s too late!

I have to remind myself that while I have had this shirt for some time now I rarely wore it, and when I did it was always with a cardigan over top, to hide the baggy sleeves and poorly fitting body. Every time I put it on I committed to alter it some day soon. So with that said, even though I like the look of the shirt in the ‘before’ photo I know in reality I wasn’t comfortable wearing it like that.

Here is the before – a shirt I purchased from a local thrift shop for a few bucks.

 

And here is the after – I removed the extra large sleeves and took it in in the body and under the armpits. 

 

I added a belt for extra definition and the cardigan ‘cause I’m cold hearted blooded. At least now I add the cardigan for comfort instead of trying to hide under it.

I'd like to know your opinion – are you a fan of the before or do you prefer the altered version?

boys room reveal

Wow, the word reveal makes it sound like this is going to be really exciting. I hope I don’t disappoint. This isn’t a huge makeover but I do feel like we’ve taken the room from baby boy to big boy. This is what the room looked like before if you need a reminder.



We found a bunkbed on Kijiji for a great price and after I spent a good couple hours cleaning it up (for the love of all that is good, don’t let your children put stickers on things!) it looks almost new and fits perfectly in the room. I found 2 inexpensive comforters at Jysk (I make that sound a lot more simple than it was: this is the third, THIRD color I tried and finally I’m happy with the brown.) and sewed 2 matching pillowcases from the fabric left from the cornice I made. 

One thing I really wanted to create in their new big boy room was a place to play. With the crib and changetable in the room there wasn’t much space for toys or playing. Having said that I didn’t want it to be a disaster area with toys everywhere. I hummed and hawed about different storage options but finally decided on using unused space I already had instead of adding another dresser or bookcase – under the bed! I went to the dollar store and bought these baskets. They are all categorized which makes playing, and cleaning up, simple. We are loving them. I laid down this car mat we had been rolling up and storing away after play, and I’m so happy my boys now have a room they can enjoy.

Although it’s a tight fit I wanted to keep my rocker recliner in the room as that’s where we sit and snuggle to read stories and sing songs. I didn’t want to lose that space. I moved the little bookcase over and created a reading nook.

I have already shown you the dressers I refinished and here they sit. We are loving how much more space we have for the boys clothes and that they are short enough Porter can get in and out of them by himself. (And yep, that's our frog tank, we've still got 'em!)

(Apparently when I took this photo Rigby had wandered away with the “R” block.)

And last but not least, as a finishing touch I felt like the wall along the bed was really empty and needed a little attention. I wanted to put something there but knew that it would undoubtedly get knocked down so I decided vinyl was the answer. I was unsure of what quote or words to put up until my girlfriend suggested I do a random collection of BOY words. I loved the idea and thought it would look adorable and really customized. I had another friend add some more ideas and then cut them out for me. This is what we came up with. I’m really happy with it. It fills up that empty space in the room and the words are very fitting for my pair of little boys.

I have one more idea I am working on - a little something to put on top of their dressers, but I'm not sure when I'll get that done so until then, I call this boys room complete. And they love it more than I do! 

DIY boot socks

Let me preface this post by saying if I had taken time to plan this project out I would have purchased socks that actually match. I used what socks I had on hand and realize now that this was a successful job if I don’t intend on taking my boots off when I go anywhere. Really, I’m going to come over to your house, take my boots off and walk around like that? Well actually I probably would.

I have been ogling boot socks lately. I see them everywhere and decided I must get a pair. Because I have put myself on a shopping ban for the time being I decided I had either make some (as seen on pinterest) or go without. I remembered this little beauty who had been dissected for this project and figured she’d work perfectly for boot socks.




I cut the arms off, stuck my sock inside one so right sides are together and then serged the 2 together in sock-making-matrimony.

  


As I have mentioned the intermediate result is a little unattractive but picture a matching sock and that is remedied.




The end result however is fantastic: cute boot socks, in 3 minutes and for free – well, for free if you don’t ever want to take your boots off. Add a few bucks for a matching pair of socks and it’s still an inexpensive alternative to purchasing new ones from the store.



Think of all the thrift store sweaters just waiting to be turned into boot socks!

please pass the corn(ice)

Ok, the title’s a stretch but at least you got a laugh. Or are totally confused. THIS, my friends, is a cornice. I had no idea that these things had a name other than that-bar-thingy-that-goes-across-the-top-of-the-window, but apparently they do. And it’s cornice.

During my visit to my sister’s we went to Joann to look for fabric. I was looking for something I could use to make a window treatment in the boy’s room. My mom found this little number and the green, yellow and brown combination was perfect. I had intentions of making faux roman shades as I did in this project so I bought enough fabric for 2 panels, the length of each window. However, while perusing through pinterest one day I saw this tutorial and thought it was totally adorable and totally do-able. I decided to build a cornice for the boy’s window instead. Because the fabric I bought was cut into 2 panels I had to sew a seam down the middle to make the fabric wide enough to fit the window. Simple. The rest of the project was just as easy. Neil found a board in the garage and cut it to the length we needed. I used a staple gun to wrap the board in batting and then in fabric. *TIP* My sister passed on a handy hint for recovering things. Always staple on the batting and the fabric separately. It does mean twice the staples BUT should you ever want to change the fabric you only have to remove the fabric layer while the batting stays intact, so you don’t have to redo the entire thing! Pretty smart.

After the long board was wrapped and stapled I covered the 2 side pieces and then Neil helped me fasten it all together with 2 L brackets. We then used 2 more L brackets to secure it to the window. Easy peasy. I’m not much of a tutorial maker (I always forget to take pictures of steps along the way!) so if  you are completely lost and you’d like to see the tutorial I followed here is the link.


And here is the finished product. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. I think it adds just enough detail to the room.

 

Because I took the pictures looking up it looks like the cornice doesn't quite cover the shade hardware at the top of the window. Let me assure you it does. We hung the cornice as low as possible, flush with the top of the window trim, making sure that it covered the top of the shades. If I were to make it again I would probably make the cornice a couple inches wider but I'm happy with this one regardless.

The best part is because the cornice did not use as much fabric as the roman shades would have I had a lot of fabric left over. Just enough in fact, to make 2 matching pillow cases for the beds. How great is that?

I'm just working on a few more touches and then the room will be complete! Stay tuned.

boys dressers makeover

For about a year now the boys have been using a large second hand dresser I bought from a friend. She did warn me of it’s condition but I have hated and cursed that dresser every time I had to open one of it’s dilapidated drawers. (Seriously, do I need a reason to procrastinate putting away folded laundry?) I couldn’t take it any longer and decided to buy the boys a new dresser. Initially I was looking for another large one for them to share but then decided on getting 2 smaller dressers because a) there are more options of how to position them in the room and b) if the boys don’t share a room one day they will have separate dressers to use. I’m a big fan of buying used and inexpensive, without the fear of putting in some time and a little elbow grease to make it look new and beautiful. I had only one requirement – the dresser must be solid wood, good and sturdy – none of this particle board junk.

I started scouring thrift stores and kijiji ads and found this little beauty at Value Village for $13. The drawers were in great condition, she was wood, and I knew I could fix her up.

My handsome husband getting his hands dirty. I don’t know what they used to paint the top of the dresser white (white-out? nail polish?) but once we started at it, it practically peeled off.

I wanted to find something somewhat similar to the first dresser so when I saw an add on kijiji for this one I was thrilled. The gal posted it for $15 but since I had exactly $13 change in my wallet she agreed to let it go for that price. I thought it was a good deal – 2 solid wood dressers for $13 each – not bad!

I wanted the dressers to be fairly neutral in color, nothing too wild like this dresser makeover! I chose Heirloom White by Rustoleum, a very popular color and rightfully so, it’s beautiful. I was able to get 2 coats of paint on the first dresser before it got too windy and I had to stop. I hoped the next day would allow me to finish but it was too cold so we moved the dresser back into the boys room and hoped for a nice day soon. I watched the forecast like a hawk, looking for a window of weather that allowed me to finish this project. The next week I was given a gift from Mother Nature of one beautiful day that I was able to haul the dressers and drawers out (by myself!) to finish the first dresser and start and finish the second. It snowed the next day. True story.

The dressers in my work station on our back pad. 

I made the boys some popcorn to keep them occupied while I painted. Of course the entire bowl ended up on the grass but they ate it anyway. (Yes, that’s Porter in shorts and a cut off. I told you, that day was a gift!)

And here they are in all their glory, moved back into the boy’s room.

Dresser 1

Dresser 2

The hardware I chose for the set. I was originally going to get handles but really liked the look of these knobs. I think the dressers look like they are wearing double breasted jackets!

And here they are, sitting side by side, not identical but close enough to match. Kinda like brothers.

 

faux roman shades

When I was visiting my sister Sharon she showed me an awesome tutorial she found on how to make faux roman shades. I immediately wanted to make some as I’ve never loved the mini blinds in our kitchen but didn’t have an idea of a window treatment I wanted to do. Sharon made some for her boy’s room and they are darling. It is another easy, cheap and fast project that makes a big impact. Score!

This is the tutorial we followed. Don’t you love how hers turned out?! I didn’t want the backside of my fabric to be seen from the outside so I lined my shade with white broadcloth. Even with adding that extra step this project went very quickly.

I don’t want to be a one trick pony but I do think I’ll be doing this in more rooms of my house!

the shades open

the shades closed

*I am happy with the way they turned out except for the way they all bunch at the bottom. I thought they would fold more evenly down the length of the blind. When I look at other tutorials it seems they are all the same with the bulk at the bottom, which makes sense when I think of the construction of it. Even still it looks adorable. If you'd like to make some I recommend the tutorial we followed. Her instructions are clear, with lots of photos to help.

our humble abode

Over 4 years ago we purchased this little duplex with Neil's brother and his wife. We live in one side and they live in the other. (Awwww.)  When we first bought the house we developed the unfinished basement and completely renovated the upstairs. It's an old home but the inside is pretty adorable. The outside has been completely neglected and with us going away every summer it makes it a little difficult to do much landscaping or updating to the exterior.

This fall we decided that the time had come to finally give the outside the improvement it's been needing. We picked (and re-picked) paint colors and got to work. We used a sprayer and the job went relatively quickly and easily. With the onset of colder weather we still have yet to do the second coat and trim work but I think now it's going to have to wait till spring, but at least it's getting there!

 Here is the before:

and here is the after:

(You can see the 2 tone parging and what I meant about "re-picking" colors. We'll fix that.)

and here are our paint speckled faces! 

Happy house-painting!

'brothers' crate sign

I'm not usually one to decorate with a lot of words or sayings but when I saw this on pinterest I thought it was absolutely adorable (I'm such a sucker for anything to do with 'brothers'!) and would be so cute in the boys room I am currently redoing.

 My handy husband built me a crate and my little helper and I got to painting it.

After my little helper had gone to bed I stenciled the words onto the crate with some craft paint and a set of stencils from the dollar store.

After the paint had dried I took some sand paper to scuff it up quite a lot. I then took some dark stain to give it a further worn and roughed-up look.

I'm going to wait to show you how I hung it and where I placed it in their new "big boy" bedroom until I can show you the entire room. I'm really happy with how the sign turned out and love the sentiment behind the saying. I'd like to think my boys are superheroes for each other....

although, sometimes it seems they both want to be the villain...

brothers.