Sunday, September 8, 2013

My Little Projects

Ryan has always encouraged me to find a hobby. That's hard to do when your world revolves around raising a family. Between Pinterest and Etsy, I have found what I love doing. I love crafting things I see online or get a vision for. It's fun, gives my brain a rest, and I am proud of my cute little accomplishments. Oh, it is much cheaper too! I LOVE fabric. It's amazing what you can do with fun fabric. Here's what I have done...

name board, picture display board, pennant banner, and "I love you because" frame, hand painted stripes on walls.



picture display board, fabric covered canvas with painted wooden butterfly, birdhouses, "I love you because" frame, name board, and surrounding frames/mirrors, dress up closet, stenciled canvas, hand painted stripes on walls.





 

framed name board, painted shelves and subway birth sign. there's also a chevron covered canvas now with the train glued to it, but easton is always asleep when i work on my blog, so i don't have an updated picture, framed "you are my sunshine" prints, pennant banner, and hand painted stripes. 



framed print with painted mat since white mat was boring, striped canvas with painted wooden anchor glued on and polka dotted canvas with painted wooden mermaid glued on


framed poster prints (saw online for $56!), fabric covered canvases with painted wooden shapes and letters, artwork display line with painted clothespins, chalkboard, ABC and 123 framed prints, open frames for highlighted artwork, and pennant banner





i didn't make the bench and shelf, but am so in love with this fab etsy find. i've been eyeing the pottery barn samantha bench and shelf for a long time, but it's nearly $900. yikes! i found this masterpiece on etsy. not only is it an exact replica, but handmade (probably better quality), i got to choose the stain after multiple discussions and samples, and it was $300 including shipping! if you are interested, search tin barn creations on etsy. i then painted square canvases and hot glued (with just a dab) the photos of the babes. i intended to modge podge them for a more finished look, but want to change the pictures every photo shoot, so decided not to. i painted cute wooden shapes from michael's with chalkboard paint and wrote each child's name on a basket, which right now holds many of their shoes and prized possessions. 

i love reusing fabric. i covered wood pieces from home depot with left over fabric to spruce up my not quite finished new built ins. there are a few more on the other side. the bottom left has a burlap covered canvas with more left over fabric and a painted "C." my mom helped me remat the frames on both sides with burlap to replace the boring white mats. 

i ordered these distressed EAT letters from etsy a while back before i realized how capable i was. they were boring, so i cut up an old custom table runner made of fabric from ballard designs and covered some canvases and glued the letters on. much more fun! 

can't claim this one, but my mom recovered our dining room chairs with some great fabric by premier prints from fabric.com. love them! my grandparents refinished the table and chairs which originally were my great grandparents as a wedding gift for us. it's a beautiful set, but eventually we would like a table that seats more. for now, though, the chairs flow with the decor of the house. 

cute front door wreaths that i literally copied exactly from some i found on etsy. the burlap has yellowed a bit from the sun, but they are still adorable! next up are some fall wreaths. 
next up...a "FALL" burlap pennant banner, wreaths, a wooden sign, and more prints. 



Saturday, September 7, 2013

Awesome August!

Wow! Talk about a month that flew by! August is always a bittersweet month because it's the end of my "full time mommy" days and back into the chaos of being a "full time and working mom." My schedule is awesome again. I work 1-3:30 every day, teaching 1-7th grade and 2-8th grade Language Arts classes. The best part about this schedule is that we have our whole morning to learn together, go to the park, run errands, or hang out at home. We have breakfast and lunch together and there's no rushing in the morning, so consistency remains for my little lovies. The only person it's hard for is me because I leave during nap/quiet time and come home when everybody is ready to have fun again. It's a lot, but blessed we are for me to be home most of the day and have a job that contributes to our income and is a job I enjoy. The big news is that Clayton and Chloe started preschool on Tuesday, September 3rd. I definitely have had my moments of second thoughts as I've never left my children anywhere besides their grandparents house and most of the time their grandparents come to our house to watch them. I still feel like they are so little and that I could teach them what they need to learn. I do plan to supplement with a home school curriculum called, Before Five in a Row. We started it this summer and are having fun with it, so we will continue it. I believe, though, the few hours two days a week will be good for them. I know they will have so much fun and enjoy the social aspects preschool has to offer. I am also looking forward to spending quality, one-on-one time with Easton. I plan to start My Gym with him in October. He doesn't have much that's just his, so this special time will be wonderful. Oh and Easton, my baby boy, is a total trouble maker! He is that kid that just walks right into pools, steps off of ledges at playgrounds, climbs high on fences, stands and balances on toys toddlers are meant to sit on, BUT he loves to cuddle, give kisses, high fives, wave, and be loved. So, I guess I'll take his craziness and enjoy every precious (and scary) moment of it!

Here's some pictures from our last month of summer...

Clay rocked it at basketball camp!

Walked to our neighborhood park!



Chloe LOVES Easton and thinks he is her baby.

Dr. Clayton trying to wake Daddy up.

Little soccer protege. His "coaches" kept challenging him. He accomplished every challenge! 

Family movie day...Planes!

Hanging out at the farm with our friends, Ashton and Amanda.


Proud soccer star!


Little E found the pantry and found veggie chips...his obsession!

We took Uncle KyKy, Auntie, and Jett Jett to visit Daddy at the fire station!


What this picture doesn't show is the butt bounce that followed this run across the bridge!

Frozen yogurt date with our friend, Jillian.


On her own, Chloe lifted Easton up to lean against her and gave him his bottle. Such a sweet big sissy.

E modeling his first pair of real Nike kicks!

Yogurt face!

Our first trip back to our favorite place, Disneyland since our passes were blacked out all summer.



Morning snuggles and funny faces!

Several of our books talk about the sun, so we made a sun. 

The twins have been all about boats lately, so Ryan's friend Joe and his family took us out on their boat for the day on Lake Elsinore. 



Easton doesn't like ice cream, does he?!

"Mommy, I'm wearing a hat and my gwasses!" My little sassy pants!

Clayton's big boy haircut at Sports Clips.

Papa Jim taking his boys for a ride in his "Corvay" as Clay calls it. Easton laughed the whole time, Clayton was in awe and Chloe decided not to go for a ride. 


Best buds!

Labor Day pool fun with our fam!

World's best Grammie made finger puppets to go with an adorable song she sings with the babes.

It only took a year and a half, but Easton loves his paci now.