Mini-Mantle Makeover + Front Closet Fun

You might remember my recent mantle makeover HERE.  Once Halloween had pasted I wanted something a little more Autumn feeling and did a quick switch up.

I moved a few things around and took off a few things.  I found the silver frame on the left at Goodwill for $2.99... it was brown and hideous so I spray painted it silver.  I eventually want to put the glass back in it with a photo or a piece of art but until then it's framing the vase and flowers I stole from my dining room table.   

The picture frame on the far right was one I just had laying around, so I found a free printable that is a countdown to Thanksgiving and has a place to write what we are thankful for each day.  My kids have loved this!  They enjoy taking turns choosing what we will be thankful for each day and it's nice to see what they come up with.  We just write on the glass with a expo marker... think I'll be saving this for next year.  

Yesterday, I randomly decided I was going to make over the front coat closet.  It's a place that never gets much attention and always seems to be a mess.  I recently found a small shelf at Goodwill for $2.99... seriously I think I'm addicted to Goodwill shopping I've been to 4 different ones this week!  Anyway, I found this shelf that I wanted to use for the shoes and then I picked up a cute hook rack thingy to put up for the kids to hang their coats on.  Because honestly what 3 year old actually hangs their jacket back up on the hanger?  So before I hung that up I wanted to paint the closet.  The final product was great and it was nice to start and finish a project in one day.  

I decided on a dark color because the wall was covered in black scuff marks from the kids throwing their shoes in the closet, and because I had a whole gallon from a previous project ;) .  I added the stripes for some color, that happened to perfectly match the color I spray painted the hook rack.  

Here is the BEFORE: 

And the AFTER: 

The rack is tucked inside and is a perfect height for the kids to hang their jackets. 

I didn't plan on a makeover on the shoe shelf, but after painting I realized I wasn't gonna be happy with the plain wood.  I ended up spray painting the edges and sides of the shelf.  On the shelf I Modge Podged on some fabric I dug out of my basement.  I like how it adds a pop of bright color.

Overall I'm really happy with the changes... and thinking I might have to give the upper half some love down the road.  

Super Hero Surprise Party!!

We had this great idea to cover 4 birthdays in the family with one awesome Super Hero Surprise party. It was a success and soo much fun! 

On the right you will see the list of birthday boys... 

Cunning Clint! 

Atomic Andrew! 

Blaize the Bomb! 

& Super Shaw!

Yeah that's right cheesy and ridiculous but FUN! FUN! FUN!

Other decorations included cool super hero words/sounds.  Like Kaboom! Skadoosh! Pow! You get the idea.  We made them out of some inexpensive poster board and some markers.  

Shaw couldn't help but fly away with his cape on : ) 

Yup we were taking pictures of ourselves while we were waiting for Cunning Clint and Atomic Andrew to arrive for the surprise.

The dress code was pretty simple... stick to some primary super hero colors.  Blue, Red, White, Yellow,  and Green.  We made these awesome wristbands with duct tape.
*Shaw wore his wrist bands for 3 days after this... he just couldn't get enough!*

We painted on "masks" with some inexpensive acrylic craft paint.  Directly around our eyes we used some metallic silver eyeshadow and it blended perfectly with the metallic silver paint.

"SUPER HEROOOOOOOOOSSSSS!!!"

 For the capes we found this fabric at Wal-Mart for only $1.50?! a unit.  There were 2 "dangers" per unit so 6 capes only cost us $4.50!  We gathered the top of the cape and pinned it onto some scrap pieces of fabric that we cut for the ties.  Then we just did a straight stitch across the gathered area.  These were so quick and easy and I'm sure you could even hot glue them if you didn't want to pull out the sewing machine.  

The entire super hero posse!

Sisters are great... if you don't have one you should get one. 

Now, I will be honest we only wore these boots for the pictures then we put our flip flops on... it was almost 100 degrees and that weather is not made for boots : ) 

*a super power was used on this photo* 

Now onto the funnest part of the party... we did a Super Hero Slip and Slide!!! 

A large sheet of black plastic + some dish soap + water = AWESOMENESS  

This one deserves a video so enjoy!

We also did some interviews with our Super Heros.

For those of you with iMovie I used the "Cartoon" effect on this video.  I think it really give it a fun comic book kind of feel.  : ) 

Cork Board Project

I found this great 30"x 42" cork board on Craigslist for $10, it had never been used and it was in perfect condition.  

 I almost forgot the before picture, but here is what it looked like before.  I think cork is very boring so I thought I'd spice it up.  

 I did the back round color in a flat finish, and the design was metallic of the same color.  I drew out a template for the design I wanted and cut it out.  I would just lay the template out and paint about an inch around it, so the template wasn't getting covered in paint, I also didn't want the pattern to be perfect so I wasn't super concerned with following the pattern exactly.  

I am not a naturally organized person, so it has been my goal since becoming a wife and mother of four to learn some organizing skills.  I found this great website called iHeart Organizing and printed out some great free printables that will help me keep track to appointments during the week, meal plans and a few other things. 

My fabulous cork board is now hung in my kitchen and ready to keep me on track.  

Nap Time Crafts: Jewelry Hanger

I met up with my sister today to pick up some coupons she snagged for me, as we were having a quick chat she mentioned she wanted to make her own jewelry tree or hanger.  I expressed how much I needed one as well and after hearing her fabulous idea I said, "Let's do it right now."  So.... we did.  That's right, we forgot about the dishes, checkbooks, laundry, and other mundane household chores and decided to create something much needed and awesome.  Her idea was to get a piece of board and paint it fun and add some large nails for hanging the jewelry on.  

We headed to Home Depot and found a sheet of plywood that was thick enough for some heavy duty nails but not too heavy to make it difficult to hang on the wall.  Home Depot gladly did 2 cuts for us giving us 3 jewelry boards! Two boards 12"x 34" and one 14"x 24".  We also picked up some 1 1/2 inch nails with a nice large head, and some metal picture hanging brackets for the back.   

Total cost: UNDER $20!!! 

We painted a base coat of black (this is my favorite back round color, everything looks amazing on black!).  And from there let our imaginations wander.  

This is the one we made for her roommate, it's a bit hard to tell in the picture but the birds are a metallic silver, and the large dots you see are the nails.  Now, the only difficulty we had with this project was getting the nails to stay.  Some of them went in nicely but others would seem in and you would move onto another and they would start popping out, if I did this project again I would consider using screws or smaller nails.  You also had to be careful how far you pounded them in because if you got them too deep they would come out the other side of the wood.  

 This is my sisters... it will match her bedroom perfectly and I LOVE these colors.  She did a great job painting it, but we ran out of time to get the nails in so she took it home to finish that part.

Here is mine... I was so excited to hang it up that it was still partially drying when I hung it on the wall. I painted my nails black so they would blend in and you don't really even notice them when you look at the painting.  

Here is a side shot so you can see how much the nails are actually sticking out and the thickness of the board.  I only painted the head of the nail, but because the angle of the light it looks like the whole nail is painted black when you see it on the wall.  

I love that we were able to combine art and function all in one inexpensive project.  It was such a fun surprise for my day and I'm so glad we were able to accomplish 95% of it during nap time... SUCCESS!!!  Thanks to my sister for the fabulous idea and willingness to set aside her full "to do" list and join me in the creativity!  

Frankencrispy Treat & His Bride

I decided to make some fun treats for a Halloween party on Saturday... 

The hosts of the party are going to be Frankenstein and His Bride so I thought I'd stick with their theme and make some Rice Crispy Treats Frankenstein style! 

I did your basic recipe and added some green food coloring. 

I formed them into a large cookie sheet and then cut them into the desired size.  

 Then I shaped one sheet into rectangle-ish shapes. 

(This is the green you get when you forget to mix the food coloring in until you are already stirring them up.)

And the other batch into long rectangle-ish shapes. They were easily molded even 15 to 20 minutes after I had poured them into the pans. 

(This is the green you get when you add the coloring in the marsh mellows before you start mixing.)

After the shapes had set for a bit I melted some dark chocolate on a double boiler and half dipped, half painted on the "hair".  

The chocolate was taking a long time to set and so I proceeded very carefully adding all the details.  

-For Frankencrispy's hair, eyebrows and mouth I used the chocolate.  

-For the eyes and stitching your basic out of the can frosting with some food coloring.  

-For the bolts I cut miniature marshmellows in half and secured them with some frosting.  

-For his lovely Bride I used the chocolate for her hair and eyelashes.

-For her eyes, mouth, stitching, and hair highlights I used frosting. 

(For applying the frosting I used a sandwich bag with a small hole cut in the corner.)

Wha La!  The happy couple : )

I love how these turned out and the kids and Andrew said they tasted great! 

I can't wait to give one a try on Saturday. 

Before and After Fabulousness!

So a while ago I purchased a great dresser for the girls room... and thus began my first furniture make over! 

Here is the before pics that I almost forgot to take... there were gold pulls on these drawers

 Here is the dresser with some primer on it...

After the beautiful aqua spray paint : ) I was in love already. 

Then from some fabric I had got inspiration for these cute trees. After many layers of pink and yellow I finally finished yay!! This is what held up the process the most. 

 

Here is the close up of the schnazzy handles that I love! 

 What goes better with a cute dresser than an newly refreshed head board?.... no before pic here, but it was just a plain white head board before.  We (me and my sister...a pro upholsterer) added 4 layers of batting and then this super cute fabric accented with some brightly colored rick-rack. 

A close up of the cuteness : )  We completed this all in just a few hours soo rewarding!

After finishing up the head board we got inspired to start the quilt that started it all... and finished it in just 2 days of working a few hours here and there.  All it needs now is a backing and to be quilted :)

 

This flower is applique' ...it's the first time I've ever attempted it and I was pleased with my results.

 This isn't the girls bed... just need some muscle to get the room moved around and then we'll have a final pic with all the components all together : )

Soo... after 2 days of finishing the dresser painting, making a head board, and a quilt I'm feeling accomplished and so excited for the girls new colorful room.