Week Twelve: Puffy Paint Disaster

Pinterest fails are so fun to look at... when they aren't your projects.

I bet you can see where this is going already. The beautiful puffy pain rainbow from Pinterest looked so fun! I made this puffy pain with my class to paint clouds and water to illustrate the water cycle. It was great!

Shaving cream + glue + food color until it was a good consistency.

You know what isn't great? A toddler covered in food coloring that won't wash off. ;)

Ok, ok. I'm being a tad dramatic. It washed off a day or so later. And he had fun. And we had fun watching him. So I suppose it was *technically* a win. But my oh MY does it look quite different than the Pinterest example.

We will be doing this again. Perhaps with white "paint" on colored paper. Perhaps outside where we can hose everything off. But we will try again for sure.

O was impressed!

Super, super impressed. 

SO impressed. 

Yeah, this seems about right. 

Can you tell which one is from Pinterest and which one is ours? ;p

Week Eleven: Library Tote Bag

We love the library. It may be the toys that make O want to go, but it is the books that keep him there. He loves picking out books to bring home, books to read there, and "beeping" each book at the checkout.

Since we have a special talent of losing track of library items, I decided to take a page out of my cousin's book {heh heh, see what I did there?} and have a dedicated library tote bag!

The idea is that the library books will stay in the bag and we can take them out to read, but they get put back in the bag rather than the other book collecting surfaces, bins, and shelves in our home.

That's the idea anyhow. I know that we are super lazy. And I know we have a toddler who is supper good at toddlering. So in reality, I realize my plan may not be super feasible. BUT what I think will be feasible is at least keeping the receipt with the list of items and due dates on it in the bag. I feel like even we can manage that. ;)

I found some plain canvas bags on clearance at Target and O and I got to work on decorating one to use as a library bag!

Supplies:
-bag
-stencils
-brushes
-acrylic paint
-fabric medium 

After mixing the fabric medium into the paint according to the directions on the bottle, I just let him go to town with the roller and brushes! The roller was the clear hit, and we managed to test one stencil as well. All in all it was a great project and super easy to clean up, which is always a plus. :)

So much fun!

Finished product!

Kitchen Helper DIY

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As promised here, here is our DIY kitchen helper aka "the tower". Mike was very excited to take on this project- partially because he was excited for O to have a tower and partially because he was excited to use his saw.

First we purchased and built our base, which was a step stool from Ikea. Then, Mike ran to Home Depot for some 2x2s. He came home with dowels and hand railing. Definitely a step up in the aesthetics department, and much less work because hand railing and dowels are already nice and smooth. No sanding required. :)

Just testing it out.

Helping Daddy.

Mike cut the hand rail to be the 4 main posts as well as the 3 sided top railing. The dowels served as rails between the posts so O couldn't escape through the sides of the tower. He cut the 3 sided top railing at an angle so it fit together easily. 

Handsome dude excited to use his saw. 

Angled like a boss. 

Just taking some final measurements.

After setting everything up to make sure it looked good we realized that the 4th top railing that would enclose it completely had to be ditched. Thus the 3 sided top railing. The 4th rail would have kept him from falling backwards, but it also made for a very tight fit when he was standing inside it. So away it went. We are still debating adding some sort of rope or dowel or something removable to keep him from falling, but honestly after using the tower for 2 minutes he had it mastered and I really don't think he will fall.

{Ok, except for that one time he fell. But that was my fault. I was pulling something out of his hand and he flew backwards when he let go. Mom fail.}

"Helping" daddy.

Had to get those screws in. Over and over and over again.

Once all the rails were cut and ready to go, Mike drilled little holes in everything and fitted them with little pegs. He stuck them together with the pegs and wood glue, then let it dry with some patio bricks on top since we don't have clamps. {Handy, eh?} The next day he screwed the four main posts to the base and the top 3 rails together as well. Between the pegs and the wood glue and the screws I'd say we have a sturdy tower!

All told this project took like 5 hours or more. But that was including the time spent running back and forth to the Home Depot after we realized plan A {having 4 top rails} was a no-go and needing additional supplies {since we now needed hand rail cut straight rather than angled on two ends}. And it also includes all of O's "help" which could easily account for like an hour. 

In action: he can climb up and down like a pro! It is easily his favorite place to eat snacks. 

In action: helping make banana "cookies". {Recipe here- just scroll down a bit}

I realize that I didn't take as many step by step pictures as I had intended on taking, but hopefully you get the idea. I'm super happy we went with hand rails over 2x2s because the finished product looks so much more.... finished.

I'm pleased to report that the tower has eased 99% of our kitchen troubles {especially him stepping on my toes} and was well worth the time, effort, and cash we put into it. {The 1% is the dishwasher. Damn dishwasher is still a baby magnet. I swear he can hear it open from across the house.}

-H 

Week Twenty-Seven: Kitchen Helper

Do you have a kitchen helper? And by that, I mean a tiny human who won't let you do ANYTHING in the kitchen without them "helping."

O has always been a kitchen helper. Even when he was just Quasimodo crawling around the house, he had to be in the kitchen if we were and he *had* to be under someone's foot. Or in the dishwasher.

And he has not changed. Not even a little bit. Now he can start the dishwasher {which Mike and I realized recently when it was already on the drying cycle and neither of us had started it}, climb the stove and reach the knobs, and open the trash can. He has been such a beast lately that we have tried baby-gating him out of the kitchen entirely, but I've decided the whines and cries and screams and throwing things isn't worth it. So I let him in the kitchen and he stands on my feet while I do whatever I'm doing. That shit hurts. His clammy little feet pull at the skin on top of my feet in the worst way. It puts me over the edge so freaking fast. And that just can't be our new normal. It can't be.

This morning as he whined and stomped on my feet sending me into a stressed out rage I realized what needed to happen. He needs to see what I'm doing. You're probably out there in internet land reading this going- duh- of course that's what he needs! How did you not think of that!?

Well, I figured it out eventually, and that's what counts.

I put O up on our step stool. It didn't let him reach the counter all that well and I had to have one hand on him the whole time so he didn't fall. It was kind of a headache. I decided in a quick hurry that the step stool wasn't an option. Instead we need one of those "learning tower"/ "kitchen helper" things. So I whipped out my phone and started browsing Amazon. Holy. Shit. The cheapest ones were well over $100! Are you kidding me?? I swear, anything wedding or kid/baby related is just a racket. All of it. They overcharge for everything because they know that we, the idiot consumers, will pay for it. Because we need it. I digress.

Buying one of these things is definitely not in the budget, so I bounced from Amazon over to Craigslist. Where I could buy one for..... $95. Wow. What a deal? Apparently these puppies hold their value.

Plan C is officially in the works for this weekend. A quick DIY version built on top of an ikea step stool. Hopefully it is exactly what we need to calm our kitchen helper down and give us some sanity back. I'll for sure post a step by step when we get it done! :)

For now, here are some pictures of our pancake making adventures with the step stool.

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-H

Week Twenty-Six: DIY Envy is Great Motivation

I've been meaning to make O a busy board for months. The idea to make one popped into my head before his first birthday. Things were busy though and it got put on the back burner. Then summer vacation came and I thought I'd make it happen. Well, it hasn't happened.

Yet. 

A week or two ago a friend posted a picture of a busy board she made for her little girl and I loved it! Not only was it super cute and colorful, it reminded me I needed to get my butt in gear and make one for O. 

Well, this week, for Make it Monday we took a trip to Home Depot and found all kinds of fun stuff for the board! O helped pick much of it out, and was happy to play with the light switch almost the entire time he was in the cart. 

Here is what we came up with:

I'm sure the checkout guy at Home Depot thought I was a crazy person buying all this random stuff. 

Ok, ok, ok. Obviously it isn't done. But the only reason for that is that I thought we had a drill bit we actually don't have, not because of lack of motivation {for a change}!

After we acquired a drill bit that will help this job along, it was pretty easy for Mike to get started. We also knew that on top of making the board itself we would need to add some legs {and then cover everything on the back with felt so there was nothing pokey or scratchy} since the light switches were so much deeper than the board. 

Here is our layout after painting and before drilling: 

So pretty!

I'm excited for this to come together, and I think O is going to be obsessed with it. BUT that will have to wait a few more days. Because this is what happens when you try to drill and chisel cheap wood from Michael's without the proper support underneath:

Suck.

So it appears that this project will span two weeks. And that's ok. Because once we get the board glued back together and everything in place it is going to be awesome! The stuff that is already in place is super fun- I tested it out ;)

On the bright side this setback will give me time to exchange the badge holder thing from green to a color that matches the board better! 

-H

Week Twenty: Operation Backyard Makeover

Our backyard has always been...fine. Nothing special. Not bad. Just....fine.

This weekend I was determined to change that! One little step at a time our yard is coming together, which is just in time for O to be running and playing outside this summer. 

This weekend, aside from purchasing a picnic table that I'm in love with {and that O's high chair successfully clamps on to}, we did a little DIY chalkboard on the fence for Owen! 

I've seen this project repeated on multiple blogs all over Pinterest, and it looked so easy. Once we were at Home Depot for the supplies it ended up being even easier! 

First I grabbed a can of chalkboard paint, and then we headed towards the plywood area. We were interested in some 3'x5' sheets, and there were only two that were labeled as indoor/outdoor. Both were about $10 each. Get this: one was plain, and one was already a chalkboard! Umm, yes please! We grabbed two of the chalkboard sheets, put back the paint, and got outta there. 

We decided to screw the screws into the fence, and have them pin the panels in place rather than screwing into the chalkboard panels themselves. While this was a great plan, I think we are going to have to screw directly into the panels another day to keep them from falling down as the humidity fluctuates. 

O was a great help to daddy {stealing the screwdriver and not giving it back} and had fun coloring on them too. And taking bites of chalk here and there. And really just wanting to carry the chalk bucket around on his elbow like a little handbag. 

I love how smooth the chalkboard panels are, because the lightest touch with chalk shows up. I am also in love with the Crayola sidewalk chalk! So many colors and so vibrant! 

-H 

Week Seventeen: First Birthday Party

I still can't believe that my baby is ONE. I realize I have to adjust to this fact. And the fact that people keep calling him a toddler.

O's birthday party was a success! We had a ton of people at our house, managed to have enough food for everyone, and had a happy baby for 99% of the day!

Here are some of my favorite style pictures from his party :)

This is one of my favorite things I made! I created it in Publisher and
 printed it as a poster at Walgreens. So easy and I *love* how it
turned out!

Monthly photos.

Monthly photos.

#paperstrawobsession

POP of color!

Nothing amazing, but cheery and bright. 

Major mom points: I remembered to pull out the baby book for people to sign!

Plans for many tiny balloons atop the cake on skewers just didn't turn out the way I had hoped,
so a quick improvisation worked out well! {Paper straws, watercolor paper from the invites, and crepe
paper twisted into a rope}

Who knew there was an excellent selection of balloons at Dollar Tree?

These meatball/cheese/biscuit balls were a hit at the last party, so easy and yummy dipped in marinara. 

Rainbow fruit skewers!

Mike made the butter-cream, I made the cake!

Too bad my sweet little O didn't care much about it. Presents were far more interesting. :)

-H

Week Twelve: Water Ring Sling

This week has been chaos. CHAOS I tell you!

Luckily I did find time to try my hand at a DIY project that I wanted to do before we left for Florida. A water ring sling! 

I borrowed a mesh water ring sling last summer when O was just teeny and I went to the water park with my mom and crew. It was lovely, secure, and snuggley. It was also way too long for me, and not mine.

So, a few weeks ago I decided I'd try my hand at sewing myself a water ring sling, and what better deadline to give myself than before our trip to Florida? Well, in hindsight I can think of about a million better deadlines. Because, while this was a super easy project, it took time that I didn't really have this week to do it.

In any event, I stuck to my silly self-imposed deadline and made the carrier. It was so easy. I had a few hiccups {like the fabric I ordered online not being quite what I was thinking it would be} but over all it all worked out and only took about 30 minutes or so to do! 

Easy accordion fold. 

If I ever venture into the sling making world again, I will definitely try to do a fancier shoulder so it spreads out a little better.

Luckily, my mom and crew were in town this weekend and stayed at a hotel, so O and I got to test out the sling ahead of vacation. I think it is safe to say he loved it. He loved everything about the pool, including the salt water that he kept licking off his hands {gross}! Gulf of Mexico, here we come!

Trial run!

*If you're thinking of making a sling for yourself make sure you buy quality rings from slingrings.com. Rings from the fabric store are not intended for this purpose and can break.*

Week Nine: Freezer Upgrade

For Christmas, we asked for money to put towards a freezer. Mike and I have wanted to get a freezer to put in the furnace room since we moved into this house, but it always seems to fall to the bottom of the to-buy list. For Christmas, we got the money!

So we bought......nothing. We ended up putting the cash into our savings account because we just couldn't pull the trigger on a freezer. We started to wonder if we would get enough use out of it now that my massive breast milk stockpile in our regular freezer is dwindling.

Then, in a serendipitous turn of events, my great great uncle Richard sold his cabin. When my grandparents were there helping him clear it out, they happened upon an old freezer that still works! Since I'm obviously their favorite grandchild {or at least their favorite grandchild that is in the market for a freezer} they grabbed it for me AND delivered it to my house!

So now I have a freezer sitting in the middle of my basement, waiting to be fit into the overcrowded furnace room {didn't really think that part through}. The past few nights I've been really admiring how ugly it is. And it doesn't have to be pretty, I mean, it's an appliance we're going to keep in the furnace room with the spiders and the kitty litter. But my crafty brain switched on and I had an idea.

In a perfect world, I would have an upright freezer. But here in reality, where I have a free chest freezer, that just isn't the case. I wanted to avoid the chest style freezer because I didn't want to lose things buried under other stuff and forget what we even have in there.

So, that's where my crafty brain took over. I decided that I simply don't have enough chalk board in my life. {I've told you guys before that I love a good bandwagon, right?} I was recently reminded of this when my friend Dawn posted on her blog about an awesome kitchen island makeover. Hint: it involved chalk board.

So I decided it would be awesome to paint the entire lid of the chest freezer with chalkboard paint! Not only will I get my chalk board fix and have some fun, but I'll also be able to keep track of what's in the freezer.

We are still deciding if we will have some sort of grid with check marks to indicate how much of each item we have, a simple list, or even a list/diagram combo just for fun.

In any event, it was an easy DIY and I think it will be wonderfully useful as well!

Here's how it went:

Luckily I didn't need to prime it. I did two coats and then after it dried over night I rubbed chalk on and erased it. Martha Stewart told me to. 

Finished Product! 

Pretty fun, right? I think it will be super useful, too! Getting out the chalkboard paint has also inspired another project that I might have to complete in the next couple weeks, so stay tuned for that. :)

-H

Valentine Update

Now that everyone got their valentines in the mail {better late than never} I can share pics of what I sent out!



Envelopes ready to go.

I have tons of these glittery heart stickers for some reason! {Hoarder}

I cut the "finished product" that O made into hearts to send out.

 

 

 

 The grandparents and a few others got the heart as well as the pictures I shared here.  

 

 

 

Cute, huh?
I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!

 

-H