I had a hard time titling this post, mostly because I didn’t want you to see the word “kid” and think that it was art that only a mom or grandma could love. But I have to give them credit!

My kids LOVE to paint. When I go to paint something, I usually hear “where’s my paint?” I’ll usually get out their color wonder stuff, watercolors, or convince them that they want crayons, and let them draw something on paper and that’s it.

But if I’m trying to inject color into my home and create pieces that speak to us, that we love, why not include them in the fun? Why not let them help me create artwork for our home?

Supplies Needed:

painters’ tape in varying widths (I used 1 1/2 inch and 1/2 inch)
paint (I use and prefer Martha Stewart craft paint!)
paintbrushes
blank canvas
a kid (not pictured below)

First first, if you find your canvas at Goodwill, you might want to paint it white. These just weren’t my style. (Sorry, high school kid who painted them.) I gave ‘em a few coats of glossy white.

Next, tape off the edges of your canvas. I wanted a crisp look, almost like the artwork had a mat.

Next, add your stripes. You could have a specific pattern, or mix it up. I liked using tapes of different widths.

let your tape stripes sit on the outside tape instead of wrapping them, it was much easier to pull off

Here’s the key to making kids’ art fit your home: only give them colors that YOU want in a piece of art. They won’t mind, and your piece will look a little bit more refined and match your color scheme.

Next, let them paint. Don’t tell them what colors and where, let THEM do it! Trust me, trust them.

Use it as an exercise to color inside the lines for older kids, or just tell them to paint over them. Don’t worry about unpainted white space.

When they’re done, peel off the tape while the paint is still wet. Let dry.

I was thinking these would go in their room, but now I’m not so sure! I love how they look and want to show ‘em off in the rest of the house!

Nice job, kids! I’m gonna put you to work more often…

click here for other projects that put your kids to work your kids can help with!

Have you let your kids help with your décor?

I posted about planning the headboard. Posted teaser pictures on facebook and instagram. And then I stopped. I’ve reached a sort of impasse. I’m not sure where to go with this, and I’m hoping you can help.

I am loving the look of the headboard, but once I added the nailhead trim, I felt like my heart sank a little. I don’t know if I’m a huge fan or not. I love nailhead trim, I love tufting, but together? In this headboard? I’m not so sure of myself.

I think part of the problem is that I’m trying to use nailhead trim instead of individual nailheads. When nailing them through a few layers of padding, it creates a wavy look. Also, I didn’t measure anything to make sure I was going in a straight line. I know, bad. I got lazy. But as a result, the nailhead trim kinda accentuates the fact that this thing is not perfect. And I can’t stop seeing that when I look at it!

And when I look at this picture, I swoon all over again.

So what do you think I should do?

Rip out the nailhead trim, measure and start again?
Go with a single layer?
Or scrap it all together and continue the tufting out to the edges?

Also, my friend Pamela is having a big giveaway going on to celebrate her first year of blogging! Today’s package is a big blogger blowout giveaway, and includes prizes from Kristen Duke Photography, Jenna from SAS Interiors, Simply Klassic Design, and yours truly! :)

Click the button to head over there and enter. I wish I could win, it’s such an awesome package!

I second guessed myself when I got to Home Depot (it looked too dark) and then bought two gallons of “non-refundable” Whetstone Gray. I got home, and the color was almost white. Wah wah wahhh.

Went back to Home Depot. Bought two more gallons of the right color. Finished prepping the room, and here we are. I’m about to get my painting clothes on and we’re painting a room, folks!

Here’s our little palette:

Here’s how everything plays out:

And the Whetstone Gray? Since it’s almost white, I have a few ideas for what I can use it for. Maybe not all two gallons of it, but at least some of it.

What are you doing this weekend?

Also, the giveaway winners for the three copies of I Brake for Yard Sales are:

#724: Stephanie Chan
#707: Maricela Woodruff
#156: Stacey Hopkins

Congratulations, ladies! :) Check your inboxes, I just sent out your emails.

Yep, you read that right. This isn’t just a potato salad that tastes sweet. Or a potato salad that makes you say “Dude, this is a SWEET potato salad.” No, this is a potato salad made with sweet potatoes.

I’m calling it a sweet potato potato salad, because that’s how it makes sense in my brain. If you’re worried that people will think you’re stuttering, feel free to eliminate the extra “potato” .

I wanted to make potato salad the other day, and when I went to get my sack o’ potatoes, I found that I only had four potatoes. That wasn’t going to be enough. I grabbed four more sweet potatoes and wondered if I could make a potato salad with both kinds. If I chickened out, they could always be mashed, right?

I posted this pic on twitter, facebook, and instagram hoping that someone would tell me what to do, but you guys just liked it and said it sounded cool. So I was on my own!

I told myself “Okay self, no chickening out on this one. Figure it out.” So I googled. And I found one. And I adapted it. AND IT WAS AMAZING.

4 regular potatoes, diced and unpeeled
4 sweet potatoes, diced and unpeeled
3 T butter
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 green onions
3 big spoonfuls of mayo
2 splashes of orange juice
4 dashes cumin
4 dashes paprika
salt and pepper

Cook potatoes (I used a steamer). Drain and add butter, stir, and let cool. Add mayo, orange juice, spices, and stir. Add onions and green onions. Salt and pepper to taste.

They were sweet, and creamy, but also savory! Trick your kids into eating it by telling them they’re cheesy. ;)

The recipe I used has more precise measurements, and uses red peppers. Can’t wait to try it with those!

While I think I’m a good cook, I don’t really have a signature dish. You know, the one that when you RSVP for a party, they say “ohhh, can you bring your amazing ____!!!” I always bring fruit or dessert or something they need. But I’m going to start bringing this to parties. :)

Fingers crossed that I finally found my signature dish!

What’s your signature dish, the one you’re famous for?

I love going garage saling with friends or family. Not only is it fun to walk around and enjoy their company, but I love seeing what everyone scored. It’s almost like you got it, except you don’t have to pay for it or find a spot for it. I still feel the thrill of the hunt and am almost as excited as if I found it.

I also love reading blog posts of other people’s treasures. So I’m sharing my finds with you today! If there’s one garage sale that I have to get to every year, it’s this one.

My first score of the day was this Joovy Caboose Ultralight, $40. Sometimes you have to be patient with garage saling, I’ve been looking for this same stroller for two years! Finally found it. Super happy.

In order to get the goods, you gotta get garage saling early. I found the stroller around 7:30 am. Our favorite garage sale opened up at 8:00, so I headed out there to wait.

Good thing I did, I was able to snag five Pottery Barn seagrass rugs and a dresser that were sitting in the driveway, priced. I was seconds away from getting a 8×10 PB rug for our family room, but alas, it was not meant to be.

$30 times 5 = $150 worth of rugs, and I paid $12 :)

Here’s my pile. Part of this is my mother-in-law, and two SIL’s, and no, I didn’t get those AWESOME seagrass baskets and mirror. The mirror was $25, the baskets were $10 each, and I didn’t have a place for them. But aren’t they so nice?! But I’m happy she got em. :) I did get the dresser!

I did get these frames, you can see them leaning against the dresser. Pottery Barn, $8 for two of them, $10 for the other. If you would have told me I’d spend that much on frames at a garage sale, I probably would have laughed in your face. I guess you kinda go in “I need that” mode when you’re at the PB house…

But they’re BIG, and they’ll hold the Instagram pictures I’ve been wanting to frame.

Wanna see the house we call the “Pottery Barn House” ? Gorgeous.

My favorite find was this docking station for our iPhones, $10. Doug was going to get me the same exact one for Mother’s Day. I was going to buy one for him for Father’s Day. Great minds!

Either way, I love it. It’s amazing how much better of a mood I’m in when listening to music, same goes with the kids. “The Bare Necessities Radio” on Pandora is what’s up.

I bought these pillow covers for $2 each, the other pillows for $1 each. I took my green pillow covers off, and popped on these covers. Love the colors!

There is a gray tone in the pillow, and I also bought a gray queen sized throw.

I got this wool vintage throw pillow, $4. I love it.

These old tiles for either my kitchen or dining room. Talked her down to $4.

Here are some other things we got.

And oh yeah, I almost forgot. I’m gonna start video blogging. Vlogging, that is. I love hearing and seeing my favorite bloggers, so why not give it a try? Maybe it’ll help me get over seeing/hearing myself.

I’m hoping to do this at least once a week. Maybe I’ll do a tutorial, maybe I’ll just talk, maybe I’ll make a complete fool of myself like I did here. Either way, be easy on me. ;)

Thank you, YouTube, for the flattering video thumbnail.
Is that what you thought I sounded like? Is my face weird?

What’d ya think of my finds?

Did you find anything good last weekend?

Don’t forget to enter to win one of three copies of Lara Spencer’s new book, “I Brake for Yard Sales” by clicking the book below. :) The giveaway ends Friday!

Sadly, I came back to find that my blogging friend Heidi from Honeybear Lane lost her sister-in-law over the weekend. Alice gave birth to her third child last Wednesday, and passed away that evening.

I have no words. I cannot even imagine their pain, or what this newly widowed father of three is going through.

Please head over to read Heidi’s post, share the post on your Facebook wall and elsewhere, and consider making a donation to the Alice Hansen Family Fund. Please keep their family in your prayers.

Life is so short, none of this other crap that we try to fill it with matters. Enjoy this sweet, sweet time we have on earth, spend time with those you love, and celebrate this life we are given.

I’m sorry I’ve held back. I’m super in love with the floors. I clean my kitchen and vacuum every night so it looks all shiny. I don’t have to dodge doors while walking in and out of the house (I never even knew I did that). But things have been a little nutso around here.

I’m not gonna act like I’m the first person living through a renovation, or the first person with three kids living through renovation. And I’m NOT COMPLAINING. But it’s tough! Doug took a week off and is now left to finish the rest of it with any spare time he has. And with two biz-ness trips, and long hours, it’s been slow goin’ folks. I feel like we’re in a 2 br apt without the family room. I guess I could learn how to do it? No, I won’t do that…

BUT! our foyer looks a little like this:

Doug and his brother Daniel built the railing and they did an AMAZING job. That thing is so sturdy!

My dad came over and helped build us some wider stairs. We’re gonna go with the stained steps/white risers look, and have wood flooring down here in the foyer as well.

Ultimately, we decided to not go the built in route. I love using these wine crates as shoe storage, so why not give them a comfy top and make em a bench?

Here’s a little mock-up for ya. See that black shelf/hook combo? It’s gone. Getting out of there. That space will be so much wider as a result! We’ll put some hooks down here on one of the walls.

The balcony will be perfect for playing Rapunzel, Romeo & Juliet, and belting out songs from Evita (thanks, Mark for that one!). Or throwing toys, that game works too. :)

I guess we could work around the furniture when putting up trim and finishing things up, buuut I’m making things difficult. You see, almost as soon as we painted the kitchen, I’ve wanted to change the color of the kitchen.

so to do that, we have to change the color of the whole family room and foyer (see picture below). Probably would have been a good idea to decide on that BEFORE we had the floors in (oops), but it’s a good thing we decided before the trim was in, no? ;) I’m leaning towards Martha’s Sharkey Gray.

So our family room furniture is still in our front room and basement, and our family room is filled with tools, boxes of flooring, and no furniture. We’re using this couch in here, I’m adding accents of butter yellow, wood, white, and robin’s egg blue. And I’m on the hunt today at the best neighborhood garage sale EVER for some accessories and swanky comfy chairs. Two of them.

So while it’s far from an after, it’s definitely much better than the before!

What do ya think?

I was recently sent a copy of Lara Spencer’s new book, I Brake for Yard Sales to review.

And GUYS. I love this book. Like, I devoured it in one sitting and couldn’t stop.
You thought The Hunger Games was addicting? HA. This is my Hunger Games.

My first impression was that it would be a book on how-to “sale,” which I thought I knew a lot about.

But instead, the whole book is like a design book or magazine, filled with rooms decorated MOSTLY with thrifting finds. There are lots of before and afters of pieces, stories from “saling” and the history behind her pieces in the book, and specific tips on how to be awesome at different kinds of sales.

I’m sure you know Lara Spencer, she’s been the host on shows like Good Morning, America, Antiques Roadshow, The Insider, and is the creator of Flea Market Flip on HGTV and It’s Worth What? on NBC. But I never knew that she is also an avid thrifter and decorator, and has been her whole life!

Lara writes as though she’s talking to you, spilling her secrets like you’re old pals, sharing prices, and coaching you so that you can come along to the next sale. And I loved seeing photos of her super-gorgeous homes with the occasional “I got these for $2 at a garage sale!” scribbled onto the page. It makes me feel so good to know I’m not the only one who tells everyone where I scored, and how much I paid for everything in my house, haha!

She talks about homes she’s worked on, such as that of comedian Kathy Griffin, tells you the history of pieces, and what she did to repurpose and save them. Lara has an amazing eye, and she trains you to do the same. Many of the pieces she showcases I wouldn’t have looked twice at, but after seeing the after, WOW! Definitely a huge inspiration.

I’ve been wanting to incorporate color and more personality into my home, and this book is just what I needed! I wanted to lick the pages, they were so vivid – like beautiful flavors of ice cream. The styles highlighted in the book are very high-end, and different than my own, but they cost the same as the plain-jane stuff I find! By carefully editing and being patient, you can have a high-end home of your own.

After reading I Brake for Yard Sales, I realize I need to have a more trained and patient eye, step out more into the world of flea marketing, and make bold design choices. My favorite neighborhood garage sale of the year is tomorrow, and I can’t wait to put her tips to good use! I’m bringing my copy with me… ;)

If you’re still looking for a great gift for Mother’s Day, I Brake for Yard Sales would be perfect for the mom in your life! Whether she is an avid garage saler or is looking to start, you’ll score major brownie points. I have a few women on my list that I know would love a copy!

and guess what?

I have three copies of I Brake for Yard Sales to giveaway to you!
click read more to view the rafflecopter form and enter. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This post is a sponsored post and I was given a copy of the book for review. However, my opinions are 100% my own. I truly loved this book, think you will too, and was not paid to tell you that! I only share products on here that I think you’ll enjoy. Thanks!

One of my favorite things to spray paint are lamps. It’s amazing what a coat of paint can do to an otherwise boring, normal lamp! Or maybe I like them because I get to throw out Anchorman quotes in my blog post?

But you can’t just start spraying, there’s some prep work involved in painting a lamp. You don’t want to ruin the electrical parts or get things sloppy, and you want it to work.

I put together this handy dandy photo tutorial that you can easily pin and store for reference!

when spray painting:

-Leave lots of time between coats, the more time the better.

-If you prime the lamp, it’ll hold up really nicely and the paint will stick well. I skipped this step, because I will probably change the color someday, and I didn’t want extra layers.

-SHAKE WELL!!! I’ll say it again, cause it’s that important. SHAKE WELL!!!!

-Don’t try to cram it all in one coat: long, light sprays are the best. Hold the can farther away to avoid drips!

(Geez, these tips need their own fancy picture… I will get on that!)

A few more things about this project:

-I will only use Shaklee’s Basic H when cleaning. It cleans ANYTHING, it’s safe and all-natural, and since it’s concentrated, very cheap! Works great on dusty lamps.

-I use Frogtape, and love how well it performs. I haven’t had an issue with other brands, but honestly I like this one because it’s green. And has a cute frog. No, they did not pay me to say that. (Yes, I am such a girl.)

-This lamp was bought at a garage sale for $10, the shade is from Target.

-The yellow color is Hubble House Golden Maize by Valspar. While I normally stick to Rustoleum or Krylon spray paint, I will be unloyal for this color. It’s the perfect yellow, and Tatertot Jen also used it on her entry way table here. (thanks for the tip, Jen!!!)

What do YOU love to spray paint?

Favorite brands, colors? Any other questions?
I’d love to make another one of these, so what would you like tips on?

shared with Today’s Creative Blog

You’ll be surprised at the look you create and even more surprised when it costs you next to nothing. Think I’m crazy? Keep reading, and I’ll show you. :)

The flowers for this piece were cut-offs of a flowering bush in our backyard! The greenery are hosta leaves. I made a bunch in my hands, broke off branches, and moved em around, and stuck em into a mason jar full of water when I was happy. DONE!

Making the table number was also free and easy! Using a chainsaw, cut slices of a fallen branch from your yard (this is from a black walnut tree). Paint a pick brown, paint a number onto the slice of branch, and hot glue the slice to the pick. I added clear glass glitter for added interest.

In addition to table numbers, you could use the branch slices to make place cards for your guests! I used a Sharpie, but you could take a wood-burning tool, or engraver to make it look like your guests’ names have been lovingly carved into a tree.

I scooped a little bit of dirt (free from the backyard), into mason jars of varying sizes, and stuck in a tealight. Maybe you don’t think dirt is all too pretty, but it has a beautiful dark color and gives great contrast to an otherwise white table. And don’t you love the idea of it? Everything in weddings is clean and white, throw in some dirt and make it interesting!

Start scouring garage sales and craigslist, you can often get mason jars for next to nothing. I bought a box of about 20 jars for $3, and saw another huge box last weekend for only a dollar!

While you’re at it, go ahead and tie in common garden flowers and even weeds (yes, weeds) into your bouquets. WHAT?! Yep. In fact, I did just that in our bouquets! Before you think I’m crazy, let me show you.

I used to work at a florist, and I had a very specific idea of what I wanted. In fact, the florist making our flowers thought I was nuts when I suggested using these flowers in my wedding bouquets!

Look closely and you’ll see queen anne’s lace (a weed), green mums (this kind are called “kermits”), grassy looking accents, along with the more wedding-ish roses and gerbera daisies. Instead of using large, regular sized roses, I had them use smaller ones, which have lots of blooms per stem.

Some people shun the more “common” flowers and want nothing but roses and lilies in their bouquet. NOPE, not me! I wanted the mums and the weeds, and all that other stuff in mine too. Again, the florist thought I was nuts, but she was gushing once they were done. ;)

Okay, sure. I’ll post a pic of us :) I know you were wondering if I would…

So instead of thinking only of roses and other EXPENSIVE flowers, go in your backyard, trim your bushes(or bug a neighbor), and create something that makes a big statement, for almost no money at all!

I’m serious.

You gone? Phew. Okay!

While I already made my mom her present, I wanted to make something a little more sentimental. I’ve always wanted to make a photo book for her, but the task seemed daunting and I never did it.

When Clever Girls Collective asked me to check out Animoto, a video creation service (both online and mobile), I thought it sounded interesting. I wanted to make a video that captured my mom’s time as a grandma, almost like a timeline.

Take a look for yourself.

After I was finished, I watched it. I cried. Went back in and added more pictures, watched it again, and cried some more. And laughed. Ugly laugh-crying.

It was absolutely beautiful.

This wasn’t just a slideshow, it was like a moving, breathing, card. A card that told the story of our life.

Before I started making my video, I read a bit about Animoto to see what they were about. They are so many video creating programs out there. But what really got me was that they said that it was quick.

Animoto makes it easy and fun for anyone to create and share amazing videos using your own pictures, video clips, and words, and it takes hardly any time at all! Just 3 steps!

Step 1: Select your video style
Step 2: Add your images, videos, music, and words
Step 3: Share with friends and family via email, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest — or you can even make a keepsake DVD!

You always hear the words “quick, easy, fun, just a few clicks” and so on and you’re always stuck waiting for things to load, things crashing, blah blah blah. And if it really is easy, usually the quality is lacking.

NOPE.

Not with Animoto! Seriously guys, I wish I could convey just how easy and fast it was! The longest part was tracking down and deciding what pictures to use, but if I had that all set and in a folder, it would have taken minutes.

We’ve had three computers since having Lily and all our photos are scattered across jump drives, CD’s, photo storage sites, and SD cards. But tracking down the pictures wasn’t even an issue, I could upload all of my photos from facebook and instagram!

And they all loaded SO fast!

After I added and moved around my pictures, I selected music, a style, and added text for emphasis and to personalize it even more. They had tons of choices to pick from.

I’ve never seen a photo or video site load this well. I cringe at the thought of uploading videos to other sites because it takes forever, but this took minutes to load and buffer and such.

As in not even five minutes.

I can’t wait to make more videos and try out their mobile app! I want to make one for each of the kids, maybe one with our wedding pictures, and maybe even one with our house! I love that you can send them to a DVD, I will definitely be using this feature.

Want to make one for your mom?

Animoto is generously offering a free coupon code!
Just enter the following code, CleverFL, and you will receive a free, full-length video credit.

And in addition to that, Animoto is giving away a coupon code for a one-year subscription to Animoto Plus!

Comment below answering the question: “Who are you making your video for?”
and I will select a winner at random. Giveaway ends noon CT, on Tuesday, May 7th.

Good luck, and Happy Mother’s Day!

Just kidding. ;)  I’m Italian, I always have words! Do you love it?!

I need to touch up the cabinets and have a few other ideas to freshen up the space. I also conned Doug into starting another huge project before we start adding trim, any guesses?

One more beauty shot. Ignore the glimpse of the “realities of renovation,” aka a pile of stuff that doesn’t belong in my dining room. Go go photo editing blur magic!

And I know you want a before and after, so are you ready?

and even more way back (and gross)

I can’t stop saying it, but I love ‘em!

I didn’t do a lot of garage sailing last year (yes I know it’s a garage “sale" , but I like saying “sailing”). Two years ago, I was out every weekend. Maybe that’s a bit much, maybe not, but I missed them. Goodwill just doesn’t cut it sometimes.

I hit up a neighborhood wide sale last Friday and scored! Wanna see what I got?

These sweet mini oil paintings, about 8” long, $4 each. Might paint and glaze the frames, what do ya think?

A mini crock to go with my big crock, $1. All the shorter utensils that get lost in the large one fit PERFECTLY!

not sure what I want to do with this one, $2. Paint the frame? Chalkboard over the glass? Leave it?

This big crate from an old man’s garage, $2. Lots of dust and cobwebs, my favorite kind of find ;)

these odd ballerina silhouettes will not be gross much longer: $1 for both

Not shown, but I also got five grocery bags STUFFED full of clothes for me, Ben, Lily, and Adam. (I’m sure you don’t want to see pics of bags of clothes.) My favorites were a pair of Crocs for Lily and a pair for Ben, and three Hanna Anderson PJs for Adam for $1 each! :)

And not from this weekend, here are a few other finds.

This side table is from my mother-in-law, who got it from her mother. I think I want to paint it (she okayed it), because the finish is in bad shape. :-/

I found these lamps at an otherwise junky garage sale. $5 for both. They have a tag from Home Goods, FOR $50 A LAMP!!!!! I love lamp. I love these lamps. I debated painting them, but like the natural look. They will go in our family room with the new couch.

and although not from a garage sale, this gray MILLINGE rug from IKEA was only $19.99, on sale from $29.99! Boy oh boy am I crushing hard core on gingham these days. It’s 6’7” by 2’7” and will fit perfectly in the new foyer.  They also had it in red, but it’s clearanced so it won’t last long!

If you’re near an IKEA, ya need to head there now. They are getting ready for the new items for their July catalog and had a TON of clearanced items, and new items (I was swooning, I tell ya). In the area and want to make a date? Lemme know. :)

Tell me about your finds!

Have you gone to a yard sale lately? Sailed the garage sea? A flea market? Spotted a good clearance deal? I love this time of year. :)

The folks at Plaid Crafts sent this HUGE box of goodies from the Martha Stewart Crafts line and asked if I would create a project for Mothers’ Day. My answer was “YES!!!” I couldn’t believe my eyes when I was opening it all. Brushes, stencils, paint, heat and spray painting tools, and so much more.

It’s like Martha sent me a Mother’s Day gift of my very own!

I was so impressed by the quality of these brushes. They were beautiful! I also received these sea sponges and immediately thought “mom’s sponge painted 90’s kitchen,” but one use I was in love.

I received two packs of paint, one in satin and one in pearl and metallic. The paint was the perfect texture: smooth, thick and not goopy like many I’ve used in the past. And the colors are SO vivid!

What really impressed me was that they can be used on basically every surface: wood, glass, metal, fabric, ceramics, yada yada. They’re indoor/outdoor, waterbased, non-toxic (yay!), and weather resistant. Pretty much they do everything you’d ever need a paint to do for you!

After using the Martha Stewart Crafts acrylic craft paint, I will not buy another brand of acrylic paint. No joke, this stuff is perfect! You can find them at your local Michaels. I can’t wait to check out the other colors!

Okay, onto the project!

I wanted something that my mom could actually use. Something that my young kids could help with. And something that didn’t scream “my young kids helped with this”. I decided to use the stencils, paints, and brushes to make my daughter’s handprints into flowers on a planter.

Here’s what you need:

-large planter (mine is from IKEA)
-Martha Stewart Crafts sea sponges and assorted brushes
-Sea Lavender, Mint, Habanero, Raspberry Ice, Carrot, Jonquil, and Surf satin paints
-Nautical Study, Playroom, and Typewriter stencil packs
-clear gloss sealant

Let’s Get Started!

1. Stencil a border around the top using Sea Lavender satin paint and a rope stencil from the Nautical Study pack.

2. Paint your kid’s hand with the Mint satin paint. Plop ‘em on the planter or let them go wild. I wanted them to look like stems, so I tried to guide her towards the bottom of the planter.

3. Using the flower stencil sheet from the Playroom pack, add flowers in Habanero, Raspberry Ice, Carrot, Jonquil, and Surf satin paints. There were about 12 flowers on the sheet in different styles and sizes.

4. Using the stencil tape, create a border above the rope and paint over any finger prints your kids may or may not have snuck onto the project while you were taking care of the baby. AHEM. I used Surf satin paint.

5. Take the Typewriter pack of adhesive stencils (love love love these!!), peel, stick, and stencil the year onto your planter. These were one of my favorites and again, so easy to use.

6. (not shown) Take a clear gloss sealant, and spray it over the planter to seal everything.

For more Martha Stewart Mother’s Day ideas, connect with Plaid Crafts!

· Twitter: http://twitter.com/plaidcrafts (@plaidcrafts)
· Facebook: http://facebook.com/InspiredByPlaid
· Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/plaidcrafts

or on twitter, check out the hashtag #marthamother

You will be blown away, so many great ideas!

I’ll be sharing a few other projects that I made with the Martha Stewart Crafts products within the next few weeks. HA! Or more like forever. I seriously have enough supplies to last me a lifetime!

What would you make for your mother with all of these lovely goodies?

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own. I really truly love the products mentioned in this post and think you will too!

connect and don’t miss a thing!
    

Day One:

The laminate tile was taken out, staples removed, and all the junk was scraped out.

Furniture was cleared out, the floor was started.

These registers had to be refigured and cut, because they were originally right up against the wall. These will later be stained and poly-ed to match the floor.

Day Two:

Got farther, but also reconfigured another vent, and worked along the stairs:

Day Three (yesterday):

Two more registers reconfigured:

Doug and his Papa, who came to lend a hand

aaaand here’s where we are today. Finishing the family room

and starting the kitchen!

What do ya think?

Personally, I am in love and sooo excited!

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there is a quick way to cut your stack of buttery, syrupy, and peanut buttery (if you’re like me) pancakes without everything getting all sloppy.

Use a pizza cutter!

Perfect for when they’re eating ‘em faster than you can cut ‘em. Which is pretty much all the time! ;)

How do you like your pancakes?

When cleaning a space that has gotten a bit out of control, I think it’s best sometimes to devote all of your attention to the task and just GO AT IT. Put your phone in another room, put the kids to bed, turn on some music, and just CLEAN!

I devoted an hour of my time to our bedroom and it went from looking like this

to this! It’s amazing what a little focus (and naps) can do for a room.

Now what if you had more time and money to clean up your space, can you imagine how big of a difference you could make? A big difference, that’s what! ;)

Is your apartment messy? Do you want to spring clean but need a little inspiration?

How does $3,000 sound to you?

ForRent.com is on the hunt to find the Nation’s messiest apartment!

The contest will run from April 2nd to April 23rd. Contestants just have to like the Facebook page at facebook.com/aptsforrent and upload their messiest apartment photo under the contest tab!

Their panel of judges will choose five finalists who have the messiest apartment.

Don’t have an apartment? You’ll still want to like them! After the finalists are chosen, they will turn the voting over to their Facebook friends! The public will decide from the five finalists who wins the grand prize of $3,000. Not a grand prize winner? Not to worry! Four finalists will each win $500! The winners will be announced on or around April 30th. Sound exciting?

Use the money to clean, buy new apartment goodies, or do whatever you need to give your apartment a facelift!

What would you do if you won $3000?

Stop being ashamed of your mess. Let it make you some money so you can clean it up! ;)

Disclosure: I was compensated by ForRent.com to review their contest. The opinions in this post are my own and I only recommend companies or services I believe my readers (you guys!) will enjoy. :)

I am wearing a bib (per my kid’s instructions). I just found a lovely masterpiece on the wall done in crayon. I just refilled my coffee cup. Ben is climbing on my shoulder singing “bee-yowk! bee-yowk!” (milk! milk!). My hair resembles a birds’ nest (thank God buns are in right now).

I may or may not have just given myself a time out on the stairs to the attic.

I feel like I’ve been warmly welcomed to the stage of toddlerhood.

I can handle babies. And before someone gives me crap, having three kids isn’t the issue at all. Adam is the easiest. Night time wakings, growth spurts and marathon feedings, crying, diapers, none of them bother me in the slightest. Even when I’m puked on. I laugh in the face of bodily functions.

But with a three year old and a two year old on my hands, I feel like every day ends in tears (my tears), a nervous breakdown, and the feeling that I’m going insane. And maybe wanting a drink. Really badly. I hate the feeling of not being in control or being able to handle a situation, and every day I’m feeling this way.

While before I liked coffee, maybe even loved it, now I feel like I need it. If I don’t have it, I literally cannot get through my day. Addicted much? This Caramel Macchiato got me through yesterday.

They’re independent, they have to help, they can be mean, they are so dang smart, and STUBBORN! We’ve been having a lot of melt downs lately, attitude, time-outs, and whining. Ohhh the whining.

And yet they’re so cute that I can’t stand it! The things that come out of their little brains and mouths have me cracking up, taking lots of pictures, and texting Doug throughout the day with their little nuggets of hilarity. I love them so much. So so so so so much. At the same time, I admire their independence and love watching them learn. Dare I say it? I love this age.

But they drive me up a wall and I feel like I’m losing my mind.

Please don’t tell anyone that, mmkay? I’d hate to have the lady in the grocery store feel the satisfaction that maybe, just maybe, she is right and that I do have my hands full. I hate that phrase. I feel like it insinuates that I have lost control and my kids are raving beasts. Most times I get it, they are perfect little cute angels.

Yes, my hands are full. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love it. Not every second of it, but I love it just the same. So hush your mouth, lady.

Can you sympathize? Are you losing your mind too?

Please say yes.

Wanna be besties on instagram? I’m @whbsblog, find me, and I’ll follow you back. I promise. :)

You may remember that we had these two leather couches, a hand-me-down from Doug’s grandparents. But as the years went on, they got all worn and holey, and duct-tape-y. There’s just something about a hole in a couch that makes a kid want to poke their finger in and make the hole larger..

I posted them on a local resale site on Facebook and *poof!* the couches were gone a few hours later.

Our new-to-us couch was scored at a garage sale from my sister-in-law Bonnie, then given to my mother-in-law to use for staging their investment property, who gave it to us after the house sold.

It’s super big, comfy, in great shape, and from Restoration Hardware! So we now have two olive green couches, and I’m definitely going to be putting these ideas to work in this room. Maybe I’ll find two chairs for this room this garage sale season?

Here’s looking back towards the front door and new entry way. That shelf on the right side will be taken out once we add coat hooks to the entry way. So exciting!

For now, their table sits here, but I think I might be putting it in the basement after the floors are down. It’s nice to have for breakfast and lunch, but those little chairs are always helping them get into trouble. We shall see. But for now the chairs and I are not friends.

Many of you have asked where we got their table and chairs: the table and two chairs were from a garage sale for $10, and my mom found the other two (which match PERFECTLY!) for another $10. Unfortunately I don’t have a source, but I know IKEA has great sets that are cute and inexpensive.

Adam’s little corner is right over here, so nice and baby proofed with all of the cords and electrical outlets. And I can assure you that those spots are not mold, I think they’re left behind from the padding? Lovely.

So that my friends is the state of the family room. The rest of the house is in a bit of disarray as well, but it won’t be long till things are all pretty and done. I’d rather live with renovation than have those carpets any longer! ;)

What do you think?

I went to their site, and was blown away by all of the color choices and options! I believe what style you wear says a lot about your personality, and camera straps are no different. I wanted something neutral, yet somewhat colorful and fun. My husband will take the camera on occasion, so I wanted something that didn’t scream “girly” like many other straps I’ve seen.

But the one thing that stood out to me about mod. was this Premium Eco Strap. An Eco strap? Why is it called “Eco”? You would not believe what it is made of – recycled billboard material! How’s that for repurposing? Sooo cool!

They have these Eco straps available in white, natural, and colorful.

The other side is a soft minky fabric, super soft, and it keeps your camera strap from digging into your neck! It also keeps the strap from slipping around on your shoulder or neck

Mod offers many fabrics and color choices to customize your camera strap the way you want it! For me, that was bright and colorful. I love that the white will go with anything (and won’t get dirty!) and the yellow gives it a fun pop of color.

The strap is built around a webbed camera strap, so unlike other camera straps that can be flimsy, the mod. straps are thick and sturdy.

When taking pictures for my blog, I often have to get up close or on a chair, or at a weird angle where the camera strap can get in the way. I normally don’t take the strap off, because UGH, have you tried it? It’s a HUGE pain. Mod’s premium strap offers a quick snap release buckle, so no more hassle to remove it!

Besides the product – Why do I like mod?

Mod was started by two moms on a search for a good quality camera strap, and it’s evident in their product that they succeeded. They are based in Texas, and make all of their products here in the US. They’ve found a way to repurpose something that is usually thrown away, and turn it into something beautiful. And the strap is professional quality, but still cute! Definitely a company I want to support!

One Lucky Reader will win:

a $35 Gift Certificate to modstraps.com! Open to US and Canada.

To Enter:

Visit modstraps.com and tell me what you would order if you won!
Don’t have a DSLR? They have lots of options for point-and-shoot cameras as well.

Leave a comment below, and then fill out the rafflecopter form for your entries!
Please click “read more” to view the rafflecopter form. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received product free of charge from the sponsor for review. I have not been paid to promote the product reviewed in this post, and my opinions are my own. I genuinely love this product, and was not paid or persuaded to tell you that! ;)