First Batch of Ornaments

The kids and I made our first batch of Christmas ornaments tonight. 

We used shower curtain rings, yarn and decorative stars from Target. 

The kids were able to do the ornaments themselves with minimal help from me. 

We followed the tutorial from Christopher & Tia here  

http://christopherandtia.blogspot.com/2010/12/handmade-yarn-wreath-ornaments-2010.html

A few photos from the night

Tia used styrofoam rings in her tutorial but I found the shower rings for $1.19 a 12 pack at Target and thought they would work just as well. 

It was a tedious job so we watched a movie to keep us entertained. 

Our boy was able to crank out 4 ornaments in about an hour but then reached burn out.  There is ALOT of wrapping involved. 

I think our girl finished 3 in an hour.

We added the sparkly little star from a 12 pack purchased from Target.  The pack was $3.00.

It would be nice to add a scripture tag in scrapbook paper to it as well.  We may do that later. 

Star of wonder, Star of light . . . . . .

Spray-Painted Bathroom Countertop

Yes, you read that correctly.  Spray-paint. 

This week I finally finished the countertops in the kids' bathroom.  The old countertops were white laminate, original to when the house was built.  They were in great condition but just seemed dated and boring.  Of course I would have loved to have granite or even new laminate put in but I thought I would try a much less expensive mode first.  I secretly thought that if I messed it up good enough we would have to get new ones FAST.

  But, overall I am really happy with the way these turned out and they were SUPER cheap.  I have not finished organizing and decorating the bathroom so the pics are not great but they do show a good before and after of the countertops. 

So here's how I did it.

Let's start with a before photo, shall we, white laminate with a white laminate backsplash.  I wanted to remove that backsplash and tile the wall but it seemed too much to do for now.  Maybe later.

I used these supplies:

120 grit sandpaper

Rust-Oleum Mulitcolor Textured Spray Paint

(This one has the textured look I was hoping for.  I did not really want a smooth

surface laminate look.)

MinWax Polyurethane Clear Semi-Coat (OIL BASED)

Small foam roller

There is a can of primer in this picture but I did not do a priming step.  It just wasn't necessary.

A close up of the surface before.

First, I sanded.  Really lightly sanded.  Took a whole minute or two just to rough the surface a bit.  Seriously, you don't have to put much effort into this. 

Next, I covered the cabinet and mirror and began spray painting the countertop.  I must admit I was plum excited to spray that first bit of spray paint onto the top but then I got downright nervous about what I had done when it looked like this. 

Really I thought my hubby was going to kill me when he came home and saw what I had done.  I was smart enough to cover the sink and fixture so that we wouldn't have to replace them later due to paint splatter.

Luckily, I got a few good coats on before he came home so it looked presentable.

For most of the day, I would spray a coat, give it an hour to dry then go back in for another coat.  I am not sure how many times I did this but ended up using about 4 cans of spray paint.  Each time it covered more, looked darker and better. 

When I finally got good coverage and was happy with it.  I gave it a day to dry really well. 

Then I came back with the poly.  I knew it would need to be coated well since it would be a highly used area with the kids and water would be involved.  I made the mistake of using the same poly I 've used in the past which is water-based.  Don't do that!! When the counters got wet they showed white water spots.  So I had to research a bit more and figured out that I needed to use an oil-based poly instead. 

 I used the roller and a brush to repoly the surface.  I did this twice and let it dry at least a day before we started using it.  This time when we got it wet there were no water spots and I could also spray cleaner on it to clean the countertop without any funny film appearing. 

Here is a closeup of the surface after completion.  It is rather durable.  I am so pleased!

I am approximating here but I think this is very close to the cost breakdown on this project.

4 cans of spray paint at about $4.00 a can = $16.00

1 can poly ( I didn't even make a dent in this can so I have plenty left.) = $14.00

I had everything else at home but if you did not you could figure another $10.00

So total cost: $40.00

$40.00 and a newish bathroom counter.  I like how the new darker color makes the sink and fixture look new too. 

I actually am planning to do the same thing in our master bathroom but maybe use a different color.  So there you have it, a $40.00 counter top update using spray paint.  That stuff is so versatile.

Photo Memory Chalkboard

When I first pinned this lovely chalkboard/memory/photo board from

Under the Sycamore

http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2010/02/25/we-all-got-presents/

I knew that I wanted one somewhere in our house. 

 It was a happy place of sweet family memories and reminded me of my old mirror from high school that I would tape pictures and funny sayings to daily. 

I know that may seem a bit juvenile but this one was done in such a tasteful and mature way that I knew I could imitate it. 

Isn't it lovely?

So, I collected a few pics, put a few nails in the wall and had fun arranging until I got a board that resembled her work.  I thought it would be fun to add the phrase "make today beautiful,"  because the members of this family do make each other's days beautiful.  Unless a certain two are fighting and calling each other "lovely" names.  ; )

Just for the record, this was a zero cost project. 

I simply collected and rearranged previously owned items.

Smallish wall in BBP's Room

I had a few minutes this week to update an important wall in BBP's room.  It is the wall that you first see when you look into his room.  It is a smallish wall that is snuggled between a large window and a corner.  It was hard to decorate as I wanted it to make a statement but not be too fussy or busy.  Before this week he had a bulletin board hanging above the shelf, but the cluttered papers and pictures made the room seem messy (whether it was or not) because this was the first view you got into the room. 

Well, I am happy to say I found a home on this wall for the large letter "B" I bought at Warrenton for $10.00.  I had also taken this great picture of our boy just casually relaxing on the ranger wearing his cowboy hat.  It captures all of his handsome, boyish innocence.  I just love it! 

 And wouldn't you know Goodwill had this perfect green picture frame.  I like this arrangement so much better.  Seems cleaner and gives a more personal feel of just who makes his home in this corner of our house.  Oh, and I didn't trash the bulletin board.  I actually moved it to a better location next to his desk.  Makes more sense there anyway. 

Painted Pumpkins

acrylic paint and pumpkins

make for a fun and artsy afternoon

Master Bedroom Progress

 

So happy to have made some progress in our bedroom. 

 It was an unbelievable mess for such a LONG time. 

 There is still much to be done but so thankful that we are moving forward 

This before pic is not great but it gives some small perspective into the room. 

 I had just finished painting the bed when this was taken. 

Here is an "in progress" shot from the same view point.

A pic of the curtains and pillows. 

 Not sure how I settled on this color scheme,

 but I like the cleanliness of the white,

peacefulness of the blue and cheeriness of the red.

And I am instantly filled with warmth when I read the chalkboard

we are loved

by each other

but most importantly, by our Jesus.

Pin-inspired

I pin ALOT! 

 But mostly that's all I do. 

 Pin, pin, pin but never make, make, make.

However, I was able to get a quick sewing project done that was inspired from a recent pin.

 I follow an amazing photographer Laura Winslow's blog. 

http://laurawinslowphotography.com/blog

She shares great photo ideas and on Wednesday's she does a post specifically on wall art.  Which I love!  So, while reading her blog I saw this little cutie.

 I loved the lighting, orange chair, and sweetness of the photo but was especially drawn to the shirt/dress combo the little girl was wearing. I wanted to try something similar. Luckily, we happened to have a shirt that was too short and some coordinating orange material for the ruffled suspenders and dress at the house.

Behold my copycat version of the dress.