We recently moved lil Bro into a big boy bed.. Sniff sniff. The problem is its a very themed bed.
Big bro has a fleece tie blanket and I figured how hard could it be, well thanks to pinteret no DIY project is too hard to conquer!
I took a trip to Hobby Lobby, without a coupon! but still was able to grab a yard of red fleece and a yard of firetruck themed fleece for about $13
The best thing about this blanket is its NO SEW!!
1. Line up the 2 layers and trim the edges
2. Cut strips the entire length, about 2 inches, remember the more you cut the smaller your blanket becomes.
3. Tie knots.. I tied a line at a time, I even had a "helper" wake up from his nap.
5. Ok so for the edges you don't have to make slits the entire length because you take your scissors and just cut this square off!
And thats it!
A couple tips, do not tie to tight or it will make it more circle shaped.
I saw some that said tie like a balloon but it made the knots harder where if you just do 2 regular ties they stayed soft.
Id day it is a hit!!!
Did I mention my new love for milk paint?????
I got a new laptop about a year ago and since then it has sit on a small, crappy, table, squeezed between the printer and a baby monitor. There was hardly any room, and poor hubby thought we would hear something crash down at any point. I knew I needed something to take its place. I didnt want to go the normal desk route becuase its in our bedroom and didnt want it to feel "officey" soooooo I found this cool dresser on a re-sale site for $25 which included delivery!! I also knew I wanted to add some color. Hubby kept pushing for black, but we have a TON of black furniture. Our bedroom set is actually a dark almost black and we have accents of blue and brown so I knew I wanted blue..
We were able to talk The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company into trying their paint. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way it turned out!
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| Hubby sanded it down when I was at work. I knew I wanted to take 2 drawers out and use as shelves. |
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| We bought plywood for about $2 a sheet and cut to size. |
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| We used Soldier Blue and mixed with Snow White. We also used the Daddy Van's beeswax as a protective top coat. |
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| The paint went on so nice! We didn't even need to put on a second coat. |
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| The master sander/painter/waxer ;) |
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| Taaa Daaaaa!!! |
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| LOVE the way this turned out! We still want to get baskets for the shelves but such a beautiful piece. |
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| Works great as a new desk! |
The product we used is called Safe Paint. A few facts include...
* Environmentally friendly
* non-toxic and biodegradable
*Non-Flamable
*Odorless when dry
*Cleans easy with soap and water
* Dry's to touch in 30 min
*easy to store, can keep mixed paint in
a airtight container and powder in a sealed bag
*Permanent colors
Multiple sizes available, the above bags are 16oz and can cover approximately 75 square feet with one coat.
I love that this is a piece unique and something you cant just go buy in a store. The color is beautiful and the wax really brings it out while leaving a protective coat.
To contact the company check out these links-
Thank you again "Old Fashioned Milk Paint" for the amazing paint!!! I will never use store bought latex again!
Ok where has milk paint been my whole life and why am I just now discovering it???? This paint is awesome!!!!
I recently purchased a old, loved, and used wooden child's desk on a resale page locally and really wanted to do something completely different. I had heard about milk paint but never used it.
I looked around and discovered Miss Mustard Seed. her website is filled with super cool projects she has worked on and her online tutorials made it very easy to discover how to use her products.
What is milk paint you ask???
welllllll its a all natural product containing milk protein, limestone, clay and natural pigment. Milk paint is long lasting and will never peel and is mold resistant. It is also environmentally friendly and is non toxic.
You also can achieve different looks with milk paint (like the antique chippy look) and you actually do not need to prep your surface because it will bond so well!
Miss Mustard Seed has a variety of colors. I told her our project and asked to send us a fun color. We received a bag of the lucketts green.
We also received the bonding agent and furniture wax just to ensure it will maintain its beauty.
So this is our little gem pre makeover... Guess how much I paid???? Ill tell you at the end,
I actually didn't watch the tutorials before starting the project, and didnt realize I didnt need to sand prior to painting with this paint. I had mentioned to my darling husband I needed this sanded and the next day while I was at work he sanded the poop out of it.. Poor guy.. It did have some unevenness and unfortunately It looks like the previous owner left it outdoors thats why the front left leg is trying to take a sharp right.. The left side also has some warping :(
Post sanding, pre painting..
My helpers..
"wow, great job buddy" as mom cringes...
During!.. I almsot wish I would have left just one coat, I like this look!
Love this color!
Taaa daaaaa... There defiantly is some variation in color, sometimes you'll hit a chunk, or the bottom of the cup is slightly different color but I like that! I love Miss Mustard Seeds attitude of just let it be what its going to be. It seems milk paint isn't a exact science and its a lot of add water mix, add powder, see what it looks like. The furniture wax really brought out the color and added a protective layer. Overall I was really happy with how this project turned out and even hubby commented on how easy the paint was to work with.
Ok so what is your guess on how much I paid for the desk??
would you believe $10 smacker-roos!
You can check out Miss Mustard Seed at
to find either a retailer near you, or a online retailer.
You can also become facebook buddies at
Firetruck Party
Our youngest (Nug) turned 2 this april, and we decided on a "wheewww wheewww" party. Aka Firetruck fun! We rented a local building, (air conditioning in april in florida, yes please) had the local heroes at the fire department stop by, got some pizza, HOT dogs, yummy snacks, a "photo booth", piñata fun and partied down till nap time :) One of the major highlight for the kids was when the fire fighters allowed the kids to shoot the fire hoses.. Now for the HOT details..
We started with invites from our friends at Paper Built Shop
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| These invites were perfect to set the feel, We used a exato knife to cut the windows which, when lifted shared the party details. |
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| Birthday Boys shirt was provided from Bluewater Road Kids |
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| I love the fact it included his age and can be used again, non party. |
Paper Built Shop provided us with the signs, table tents for food, photo booth props and signs and invites and thank yous.
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| matchsticks= pretzels with chocolate dipped tips |
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| Fireman Munchies (Including birthday boys favorites Jalapeño Cheeze its) |
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| "Fire-hose" Twizzlers |
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| Red Hots (cost $.25 each box) |
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| Food table, banner also made from Paper Built Shop |
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| Photo Booth props and signs also made from Paper Built Shop |
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| Grannie in the photo booth |
I thought the photo booth was a big hit and a great activity for everyone to participate. Good for parties of little ones who might still be too small to play party games, plus great memories of friends and families at the party.
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| Paper Built Shop sign |
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| A stack of hats were provided from a local sub shop but we wanted to make them more personal. Paper Built Shop provided templates for new labels :) |
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| Chocolate Lollipops made by Sandi Pop Lollies |
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| party goodies |
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| Our goody bags were stuffed full of fire themed goodies. We went to our local fire dept and set up them to come to our party, they also provided multiple brochures, coloring books, crayons and stickers. We bought fire hydrant squirt guns from Oriental trading company and our friends at giggle junction provided I-spy bags. The actual favor bags are from Ready Set Create, who also made our table toppers. |
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| Ready Set Create provided favor bags, multiple colors and labels were included. |
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| Check out these awesome personalized table center pieces from Ready Set Create |
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| I loved these unique table toppers and thought the personalization was perfect! |
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| Goodie bag favors provided by Giggle Junction, they can do in any amount and will also include a large I-spy for the Birthday kid if you choose. |
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| Cakes and cupcakes provided by Sonia Raghunandan |
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| My mom is a super party cookie maker and I call on her skill for most b-day parties. She went above and beyond this year! |
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| The cookies paired with these cute firetruck envelopes from Lark Paper Design were both yummy and cute :) |
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| So im kinda a dork and want the entire family to be in the party theme, I was lucky enough to have a co-worker donate her hubbys uniform, the only problem was it was a XL long sleeve, call into action the beloved PINTEREST!! |
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| This was the start of my tank :) |
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| Dada also fit into the theme |
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| and big bro |
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| The Fire Dept was super nice to open up their trucks and explain all the parts to the guests |
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| My boys hugging and checking out the firetruck goodies. <3 |
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| The highlight for the kids was when the firemen let all the kids spray the hose. |
We also had a piñata for the kids
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| Go slugger Go! |
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| Can't believe he is 2 now! I think the firetruck party went really well :) |
We had a few of Lark Paper Design envelopes left over and wanted to do something nice for the firefighters that took time out of their day to come to the party. We gave them a thank you card and made some chocolate chip, peanut butter cookies and took to the station as a "thanks"
Paper Built Shop = Provided signs, food tents, photo booth props, fireman hat labels, invites, thank yous and banners.
Bluewater Road Kids = Provided Birthday Boys shirt
15% off using the code NUANDNUGS15
Lark Paper Design = Provided cookie envelopes
Ready Set Create = Provided favor bags and balloon centerpieces
10% off purchase using cose THANKS01
Giggle Junction = Provided I-spy bags for favor bags
Free I-spy bag. See below
Sandi Pop Lollies = Provided chocolate lollipops
Free Dozen chocolate lollipops. See Below
Sandi Pop Lollies = Provided chocolate lollipops
Free Dozen chocolate lollipops. See Below
Nugs First Haircut
So its a tradition in our family to take the boys to get their first hair cuts at Disney. Last Sunday (which was both St Patty's day and Nus actual birthday) we went to Disney along with my sister and Bro-in law. We also have waited till the boys were about 2 to get their hair cut. Since next monday (April 1st) is Little bros actual birthday we figured it was time..
So its a tradition in our family to take the boys to get their first hair cuts at Disney. Last Sunday (which was both St Patty's day and Nus actual birthday) we went to Disney along with my sister and Bro-in law. We also have waited till the boys were about 2 to get their hair cut. Since next monday (April 1st) is Little bros actual birthday we figured it was time..
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| .....................BEFORE..................................................................................AFTER............. |
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| Such a good little man, YouTube train videos help |
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| They give you a hat with "my first haircut" and a certificate and of course your little cut locks. |
The barber shop is located in Magic Kingdom on main street. There always seems to be a wait, I hear you can make appt.. Girls can also get "pixie dust" or coloring.
I also wanted to thank My Little Beauty Queen for B's St Pattys Day shirt!!
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| Handsome boy! |
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| Flash Back to Big brothers first cut! Lots more hair and not as happy about the cut as little bro. The R2D2 helped though |
Vintage Train 4th Birthday Party
My oldest turned 4 on St Patty's Day. I usually start the Birthday party planning process after Christmas, and this year he picked trains. This is actually the second time we have done trains (we did choo choo I'm 2, in 2011).
I wanted to go for a big boy train party this year so used "Vintage Trains" as the theme.
We knew we wanted to have a train come to the house and we used
The train was a huge hit.
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| We ordered Conductor and Engineer hats from Oriental Trading Co. |
I tried to do a mix of DIY and purchased products.
Our invites came from Luc and Lilah Events, they offer couture printable invitations and paper products.
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| I blocked out our address and phone number, the actual invite is more centered :) |
We used Bug A Boo designz for the printable package. I loved the chevron print and the vintage look of the train.
We used her printables everywhere!!
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| Fuel Car |
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| lollipop favors |
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| Choo Choo water |
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| Juice boxes |
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| Banner |
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Food table tents
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| Mason Jar drinks |
Straws were made by the fabulous shop The Party Penguin
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| We served "Bar-B-Choo pork sandwiches |
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| And "Cams Corn" |
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| I used dollar store containers to make a produce car, with strawberries, a coal car with Oreo cookies/marshmallow mixture, and a log car with pretzels . |
Accent signs were provided by Sittin on a Cloud
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| My sister Jessie Sheehy painted the backdrop for the drink table! Turned out PERFECT! She used the printable's as inspiration and added hidden details like his age and monogram to the front of the engine. |
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| Favor Bags |
Inside contained a wooden train whistle and a bag of "gold" bubble gum from Oriental Trading Co.
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| Vintage inspired suitcase from Michael's arts and crafts |
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| Wood purchased from hardware store for less than $3. Reflectors also purchased from same store less than $4 for 2. |
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| Outside "ticket station". Red Amelia Earhart suitcases purchased from local thrift store for about $10 for both! |
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| Ordered the yellow flag on ebay then used painters tape to do the X and printed a R to use as a stencil. |
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| More outside signs. Metal train sign from eBay |
Dads Shirt from Atlantic Coast Images
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| The whole family decked out! , Dads shirt, Moms shirt, Birthday boy and little bro's shirts |
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| Train track floors using painters tape (which are still down and probably will be for a while) |
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| A friend sent me a YouTube link for making tissue paper poms and fans, super easy to follow |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u1PA_FI79U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GraHvOojmuo
The train party was a huge success and Cam had a blast! Thank you to everyone who helped and came to celebrate our special boys 4th birthday!!
How about some giveaways and discount codes :)
If you don't see your parties theme contact the shops owner and ask about custom work. All discount codes are to be used at their etsy.com shop ( link is underlined)
Straws from The Party Penguin
10% off your order use the code PENGUIN
Moms shirt is from Smash Transit
http://smashvintage.com
10% off your oder with code NUANDNUGS
Printable signs, labels, tags from Bug A Boo Designz
20% off purchase with code NUANDNUGS20
Muslin gift bags from Crafty Clementines
20% off one time purchase with code ADVENTURE20
Accent signs from Sittin on a Cloud
They would like to offer a giveaway for one product from their shop.
Dads shirt from Nova customts
10% off order using code 747train
They would also like to offer one reader a vintage train shirt of their own
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Birthday Boys Vintage train shirt from Lion and Lamb Tees
They would like to offer a Lion and Lamb Tee from their shop
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Invitations from Luc & Lilah Events
They would like to offer a $20 voucher towards invitations in their shop
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also thank you to our friend Karol Porter for taking pictures
And to my mom for making the Pork in the Bar-B-Choo sandwiches
You are my Sunshine
So early this year a neighbor was throwing out some wood (YAYYYYY) I grabbed it all and made my "Love you to the last star and back" sign See details here. Well my mom texted me a pict of a sign she saw in a antique shop in Sarasota (way far from me). My youngest LOVES the "you are my sunshine song", and my mom sings it to him often, so I knew it would remind her of him, I also knew I HAD to make it for her!Invitations from Luc & Lilah Events
They would like to offer a $20 voucher towards invitations in their shop
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Also thank you to our friend Karol Porter for taking pictures
And to my mom for making the Pork in the Bar-B-Choo sandwiches
You are my Sunshine
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| The inspiration picture my mom sent me :) |
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| Started with this |
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| It was even framed! I love trash finds |
I primered it white, used stencils and black paint and off I went. The paint leaked a little so I touched it up, painted the edges black, took a piece of sandpaper scrapped and taaa daaaaaa
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| The finished product hung at my moms :) |
<3 ya mom
You've Been Booed!!!
Has anyone ever been Booed before??? We have not, Ive heard about it but do not think it is practiced in our neighborhood. Well this year we are changing that by starting the tradition in our hood.
The purpose is to anonymously leave halloween goodies on your neighbors door with instructions for them to do the same. You then post the "we've been Booed sign" so the hopes is multiple families can participate.
I found this blog with tons of ready made templates and decided to do 2 boo's.
The boys and I made a trip to the dollar store and spent $6 on each Boo bag (including the bag)
Our 2 boo bags included
- inflatable bat or pumpkin -
- solar activated statue guy -
- Cute cardboard house, which we put spider web, spider rings, gummy body part candies, mini candy bars, and pumpkin shaped cookies we bought at the grocery store -
- A rubber brain decoration -
- the bag which will make a great trick or treat bag -
I think they turned out really cute and are a small, inexpensive gesture.
Now hopefully it will spread throughout the neighborhood, and we will see lots of We've been booed signs on doors.
Backyard Re-Model
When we bought our house we were kidless, there was a nice square shaped area with a huge sycamore tree that would loose its leave every fall and make this huge mess that at the time was a pain but manageable. Once our first came and we released that was prime playset space we knew that nice tree, which was great for shade, had to go. I had mixed feeling about that but Bruce couldn't wait to bust out the chain saw a rip that sucker out. Below is the evolution of our yard.
The white arbor we knew wanted to stay. My Dad had built this for our wedding and we were actually married under it and had it moved to our home. Cam was around 11/2 when we decided to take on this project and Brody was a sweet pea in my belly.
Not only did it have a ton of leaves drop but the root system was awful!!!
Its better it came out now rather than once it cracked our foundation. Bruce rented a tiller and prepped the yard and removed about 10 truck loads of dirt.
We knew we needed a barrier to keep whatever we were gonna put down around the playset off the patio so we opted for a brick area right off the patio.
Next Bruce leveled the ground and placed a week barrier down. He had re piped the sprinkler system so the only area that got h20 was the far corner on either side of the arbor for a future garden. Cam assisted.
Camden also got a new playset for his second birthday from family that would be the focal point for the yard.
Papa and Dada building away!
My dad found a place in nearby town that took tires and removed all the steel to make playground mulch so that made the perfect bottom. We got over 500lbs!
Tada!!!! Dada worked so hard! with help from Papa assembling the playground and grandpa Bob for tree removal.
Didn't really anticipate the appeal of shoveling the mulch.
Next project was the garden boxes, a gift from my Dad for my big 3 0.
He used vinyl fence pieces and pre cut to fit into the shape we wanted. a idea I saw on pinterest.
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/2010/05/24/how-to-build-a-vinyl-square-foot-garden-box/
Turned out better than I imagined! our first harvest was sunflowers, carrots, spinach, peas, a pineapple top, some avocado seeds from Brody Odie's favorite meal and a red pepper.
Cam loves watering his garden and watching his plants grow.
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| Updated 3/2013 we used more vinyl fence pieces and created a small barrier to keep the rubber mulch in. Garden is doing great!!! |
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| Carrots have been a huge hit! The boys love picking and eating our fresh organic carrots. |
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| Pineapple, onions, red peppers and more carrots |
Busy Moms = Easy Recipies
So like every other Martha Steward wannabe I'm so in love with PINTEREST! borderline obsessed! I even admit to digging thru my neighbors trash for boards to make into family pictures and taking home old tires off the side of the road to make into teeter totters. (both project are not completed and may make a appearance in a later blog.)
The newest frequent pinning is recipes.
Ive never been a great cook, I think I'm too impatient to give it the time it needs and deserves, but recently I've seen lots of easy, minimal ingredient meals and thought my wonderful hubby deserves a few home cooked meals every once in a while.
First up is chicken spaghetti
I don't have my own pict but here is the link I followed.
so easy, so yummy and hubby = happy tummy. Next time I think I would change out the rotel for tomatoes, although Bruce said he liked the kick, I thought it was too spicy. I also thought it was better the next day as leftovers. Like the recipe mentions I had most of the 7 ingredients in my cabinet already and I like the dump and cook process.
For desert I made another round of the angel food/pineapple desert I made for the boys on 4th of July. Again this is a pinterest find, and again soooo easy, not to mention the two ingredients makes for a quick make. So light and fluffy!
On tonights menu we have
slow cooker salsa chicken
and cake batter cheesecake bars.
Heres my versions..
The slow cooker salsa chicken was super yummy. I could not however get it to look anything like the example pict. I think I didn't put enough chicken cause mine was more watery which made it very messy.
Next up were the cake batter cheesecake bars. I used a pre made graham pie mold. Mine didn't turn out like the picture at all! I also didn't notice that after you make they want you to put in fridge at least 3 hrs so the boys and I tried it this am and it was really tasty!
My little helper
Not sure how they didn't make the top part brown... Maybe cut a layer off????
Anyone else have any easy to follow, minimal ingredient, place in a oven or crock pot and cook recipes????
Link to my pinterest
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