Party of Five

I have always loved HOS' gallery wall and the Party of 5 frames.  

Source: thehouseofsmiths.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Remember the master gallery wall and that little blank spot? 

 Perfect for my own little party of 5 nod.

I had hoped to find a vintage 5, but settled for a cardboard one at Hobby Lobby for $2.47.  A quick coat of my favorite metallic spray paint and a hot glued pop tab made this one of the easiest projects to date.

Completed Gallery Wall

Chalkboard Napkin Rings

Saturday the kids and I went to a nearby garage sale looking for treasures.  I was hoping to find a huge mirror to lean in my dining room, but no such luck.  I did walk away with a dozen wood napkin rings for a dollar.  I knew that these would soon be transformed to chalkboard napkin rings that I spied on Pinterest.

Source: myhomelifemag.wordpress.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

My Home Life's used Martha Stewart Chalkboard paint and there are two reasons why you want to use this paint.  One, it is inexpensive and two, it comes in COLORS!  I chose gray.  This 6 oz paint goes a long was at only $5.99 a bottle at Michael's or with a coupon $3.84 after tax.  For less than five dollars and few hours you can have customizable napkin rings.

DIY Chalkboard Napkin Rings

1.   Wood napkin rings. I see these all the time at Goodwill.

2.   Martha Stewart Chalkboard Paint. Don't forget your coupon!

3.   I found that this narrow brush made the painting easy.

4.  The paint needs an hour to dry in between two coats. No priming needed!

5.  Personalize and enjoy your new napkin rings!

Decorating for $2.50 or Less

I would rather shop for home decor than clothes and nothing gets my heart pumping than a good deal.  I have tried to refrain from the owl trend, but I could not resist when I saw this guy for $2.50 at Target and I did not even have to paint him! 

We are still working on the floors so here is an "in progress" shot of the dining room.  Quarter round has not been installed and it is possible that things are going to remain in this state for quite awhile, but don't those floors look marvelous?!

I was inspired by Emily Clark's rope decor and headed off to Lowe's.  

You can not beat 50 cents a foot.  I used two feet for each hurricane so the total was $2.00.

Source: emilyaclark.blogspot.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Here is my version:

The boxwood monogram was 80% off at Hobby Lobby.  

I paid $1.59 and thought that it was worth every penny.

San Pellegrino water.  I think that it is an unwritten blog rule that you must have at least one room displaying bottles of Pellegrino.  These glass versions were only $1.69 at Meijer.

The tray was a GW find for $1.99 that I painted and the olive tray was a steep markdown at Target for 76 cents. 

What are some great finds that you have scored for $2.50 or less?

Comment and add a link!

Happy 6th Birthday Madeline

My little girl turned six this past weekend.  Time has flown by and have enjoyed watching her grow in more ways than one over the past year.  She is such a little lady.  Her grandparents and aunts in Alabama sent her a flower bouquet.  She felt so grown up!

On her actual birthday she opened up her "big" present, a pink scooter!

We celebrated with family the next evening.

Madeline in her birthday gear from her teacher.  She wore that hat all night!

And one of big brother just because.

The Accident

Tuesday Wyatt was hit by a car while riding his bike or Wyatt hit a car while riding his bike.  Either way it was scary.  Other than a small bump on the head and a bruised and cut ankle he is fine.  We believe that his helmet and most importantly Jesus protected this tough guy.  What we have learned from this experience is that you can tell your kids a thousand times to look both ways, but in an instant that can be forgotten, I will always drive s l o w in neighborhoods, and my children will ALWAYS where a proper fitting helmet no matter how much they protest.  Yesterday I purchased a better fitting one for Luke and a new one for Wyatt as his was compromised from the accident.

This is the helmet that Wyatt begged me not to wear before his bike ride.  I am so thankful that I did not give in.  In the past our local children's hospital gives these away at Target Family Nights at the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  Not only is your child given a helmet, experts make sure that the helmet is a proper fit.  According to IU Health wearing a properly-fitted bicycle helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85%, though only 20-25% of children under the age of 14 wear them. 

Be safe!

Squeezing the Daylight Out of Each Day

The minute the kids throw their book bags on the laundry room floor they are desperately trying to squeeze as much fun as possible in their precious four hours before bedtime.

Wyatt and his sweatbands.  I can not help but giggle a little.

Mini Lemon Scones

Lemon and pumpkin are my favorite flavors and since it is still summer I have a few lemon recipes that I  want to try out.  One of them was these mini lemon scones with lemon glaze by Cooking During Stolen Moments.  My only modification to the recipe was substituting half of the flour with white whole wheat.

Following Kate's advice I placed a cookie tray under the rack to catch the excess glaze for an easy clean up.

 Madeline was a big help this morning. She zested, squeezed, and glazed.

And a small peek at the unfinished floors in the background.

These were yummy and simple to make and I plan on making these again soon.  

I will not divulge how many I consumed today.  My little secret.

Tutorial: Doc McStuffins Headband by Growing Kids Ministry

Lindsey is a blogger over at Growing Kids Ministry.  A blog designed to help parents, teachers, and Children’s Ministry workers who want to help the kids they love grow in their faith.   The blog is filled with Bible lessons, craft ideas, and other resources.  Lindsey made the cutest Doc McStuffins headband. Awhile back I was pinspired to make some band aids and now we will have the headband!

Lindsey has offered to share her tutorial and here it is! Get your glue gun ready!

How to make a Doc McStuffins Headband

“Don’t worry!  I’m a doctor!”  That’s what 4 year old Elle recently told me at her birthday party.  Her newest favorite show was Doc McStuffins and she was having a birthday party to the medical max.  Her dad, who is currently a resident at a local hospital donned scrubs and provided lots of party supplies like band-aids and facemasks.  Her mom, super fashionable in her borrowed scrubs, had lined up a row of stuffed animals along the couch, who were all in need of a check-up.   Before heading to this party, I knew I would need something Doc McStuffins oriented to give to the birthday girl.  I spotted this spectacular headband on Etsy, but alas, it wouldn’t arrive in time.  So, it was time for me to put on the DIY gloves and make my own.   Follow along and you too can have your very own Doc McStuffins headband (a dream come true, right?)

What You’ll Need:

·       A headband ($4 at the grocery store)

·       Purple glittery ribbon ($2.50 on sale at Michael’s)

·       Pink flower (Michael’s)

·       Hot glue gun and glue sticks

What You Do:

Start by cutting a length of ribbon for your first layer.  I did about 3 feet, but that ended up being a little long.  You’ll be doing a few layers, so it’s not a big deal if you cut it a little short.  The shorter the ribbon is, the easier it is to work with.  I would aim for somewhere between two and three feet. 

Begin by applying a little dot of hot glue to one end of the headband.  Press one end of the ribbon onto the glue at an angle.

Keeping the ribbon tight, begin to wrap it around the headband, following the curve of the headband.  You’re going to do a few layers, so it’s more important for the ribbon to be laying flat rather than covering all the headband.

Just put a little dot of hot glue on the headband and then stretch the ribbon over it.  Try not to touch the ribbon, since it might leave a mark with the hot glue seeping through.  I just pulled the ribbon tight against the glue and that did the trick.

Just keep wrapping and glueing all the way down the headband.  You can see in the upper left box where I touched the glue and it came through the ribbon. 

Now you can learn from my mistakes!

Make sure you keep the ribbon pulled tight to keep it nice and smooth. 

Once you glued on one length of ribbon, repeat the process with two more layers.  You don’t have to start on the end each time.  Just start at a gap and keep on going. 

Next, glue on the little pink flower on the right hand side and voila!  

You’ve got an official Doc McStuffins headband!

Check out Lindsey's blog for more fun projects like this one!