Before

I was looking through old pictures tonight and came across these pictures of our living room. It is a crazy coincidence because they were taken exactly two years ago, January 6 2007.

We've come a long way living room.

At Last

Here are pictures of what I've been up to in the last... however many days since I last posted.
I can't claim that I did the floors and carpet myself... but I did paint and move furniture and clean clean clean!

Our new floors (post flood) are laminate. I'm really happy with them. Easy to clean and very durable, crucial characteristics in a house with small children.

The little hands and feet aren't some wild-modern-art, they are plaster molds of Cameron & Eli's feet and hands at two weeks old.

Glitter is soo IN

I've jumped on the glitter band wagon. I love this stuff! I was really feeling the need for a craft so I called my crafting mentor, Krista. (I use the term "called" loosely, we have a unique method of communicating.)



Step 1: Cover styrofoam shape with mod podge. (Original instructions said to use a spray adhesive, which works well on smooth surfaces but Krista suggested mod podge, and I think it works better for rough surfaces.)

Step 2: Cover with *SPARKLES!*

To really get the full effect you need to see Krista's.

Project

I love completing a project. This one has left me a little unsettled because I need to put a knob on the drawer and because there is no sense putting in back in our room because it will just have to be removed at carpet-laying time. But anyway.


Before:

It required primer. I did it the lazy-girl way, with spray paint primer. It's so easy to do when you have a few minutes here and there during the day.

A fresh coat of paint can make a garage sale bargain feel new and personalized.




When my house gets put back together I'll post a picture of the table in its proper place. I am thinking cute old-fashioned clock and lamp on top?

Tater Turkey

One last preschool craft. After four weeks of toddler-mania I am off the hook! (For a few months anyway.)

It's a pretty lousy picture, but for me that is normal. He has pepper feathers, craisin eyes, and a pisachio beak. He was supposed to have onion wings but we didn't make it that far. He is standing up with the help of a tripod of toothpicks.

Here is where I got the idea.

www.familyfun.go.com is a great resource.

Apple Chips

Here is a yummy and easy fall treat. I did these with the preschool kids and they loved it. Cameron didn't actually like the end product, but I did!

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees

• Line cookie sheets with Parchment paper.
  

(Brilliant side note: I didn't have parchment paper so I consulted the internet and found this idea. Cut part of a paper sack and spray it down with cooking spray. Let it sit for a few minutes and it works great. Don't try to do this without some kind of paper, I made that mistake for you.)

In a bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. You can add nutmeg and ground cloves if you have them. (I didn't.)

• I used my handy vegetable/fruit slicer to slice the apples very thin. If you don't have one, cut the apples in half and slice them in half-moon shapes. (The thinner the better.)

• Dip them in the sugar/cinnamon bowl and lay them on the cookie sheets.

• Cook for 1 1/2 hours and then turn and cook for another 1 1/2 hours. If they aren't crispy enough, turn off the oven and leave them inside overnight or for a few more hours.

• To prevent them from sticking to the paper, loosen them with a spatula as soon as they are done baking.

These are my modified instructions from this recipe.

Last Halloween Craft

A Halloween idea the day before Halloween. Really helpful. I did these today with Cameron's preschool. They are empty Crystal Light canisters, wrapped in gauze, with little paper eyes.

No wiggly eyes, we all know why.

Creative Wall Art

I am not an artist. I don't say that to be modest. Even Cameron gets confused trying to figure out why my "elephant" looks more like an airplane. But I can paint geometric shapes on a canvas. (With the help of stencil.)

I did these awhile ago but this blog was hurting for some more posts. You can see that I got my inspiration from the shower curtain. Not fancy, but hey- it's just a bathroom.

Then I did a clock to match. It's pretty basic, but my aim here is to provide ideas. Those who are blessed enough to paint without stencils could really show me up. (They were just blank canvases from a craft store. ) Any questions? More ideas at Michael's.

Cheesecloth Ghost

The other day in exchange for watching her little girl a friend bought me the stuff to make a cheesecloth ghost. So thoughtful. It took me a few days to get around to it but here it is.

The cheesecloth cut into strips.

My "form". TIP: These arms were WAY too long. I cut them halfway through, and I still think they were too long.

The instructions said to cover it with plastic wrap. Since I am currently out of plastic wrap, I had to improvise. Yay for saving winco produce bags.

Then I put the strips into a ziploc with all the fabric stiffener and mixed it all up.

Draped the strips over the form...

And almost 24 hours later it is almost dry! One more tip: take the time to make the form just the right shape. I wasn't totally thrilled with mine. He doesn't really have a neck, but as I type this I am realizing that most ghosts don't have necks... so I guess he is just fine. Thank you Laura, I think I got this idea from you.

Easy Peasy

This idea was not my own. (They never are.) I got it from a new favorite blog called The Inspired Room.
But it was the easiest thing I have done all day. (Busy day!)
The Happy Halloween sign isn't my creation. It was done by Nikki for our card swap that I mentioned last month.