DIY: Dressing Up the Foyer...

I have been looking for a long time for a storage savvy piece for my foyer.  Now don't start thinking I have a grand foyer; the very word "foyer" sounds grand doesn't it?  Well, my foyer situation is not grand but after lots of searching and thinking and more searching I finally found the perfect piece.

I found this piece at my local favorite flea/antique haunt.  It was olive green when I found it:

 

I knew that it needed to be French Louis blue. I used my favorite Annie Sloan chalk paint and cleaned this old girl right up.  It took a good 2 1/2 coats; I spent the bulk of my painting time talking to Sophie so I quite enjoyed myself. I finished the whole piece off with Annie Sloan wax and allowed a few days to dry completely before I styled it.

Here is this beauty NOW:




The drawers contain ALL of our DVD binders and Wii games.  We still have a whole spare drawer for whatever crops up in the future.  I loved the colors and lines of this piece.  Also, it weighs a TON, so it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Like, it seriously weighs a ton and I still can't believe that I hauled it out of my car and into my house. If I ever doubt my own strength I just have to look at this giant thing and pat myself on the back.

Pretty Twine

Want to see the prettiest twine EVER?





This just makes my heart go pitter patter.  Like seriously.  I have millions and millions of fabric scraps. This will be the perfect way to use them all!  Got to do this right now...

This quote resonated with me today.





Thank you Mr. Twain.  Those are some good thoughts.

On Gratitude...

 

I have been thinking on gratitude a lot today. I have a child who, despite all he has been blessed with just doesn't GET gratitude.  Doesn't get it.   And I don't know what to do to help him see and understand all that he has.  It is frustrating.  

I have always been a "glass half full" kind of girl.  I don't know how else to do it.  And I am so grateful for that gift alone because I see how others struggle to find the good in the crappiest of situations.  I most strikingly noticed this trait about myself 7 years ago.  My husband and I were in Mexico on vacation when I suddenly miscarried at almost 13 weeks.  It was totally unexpected and devastating.  We had a 2 1/2 year old and 4 year old at home and they both were excited to have a new sibling.  While I was waiting to go into surgery, I was alone with just a pad and paper (my phone had died).  I decided to make a list of the things I was grateful for in spite of just suffering a loss.  It was a silly list...but it was a lifeline for me.  And that simple act of writing down what I was grateful for in a moment of quiet sadness and desperation set the course of how I was to deal with a loss.  It showed me something about myself.  It showed me that even at the worst moment, I am STILL a glass half full kind of girl.

But how do you teach that to someone else?  Is it something they either have or they don't?  Is it a personality trait?  Can you learn it?  If you CAN learn it, does that lesson only come by heartache and hardship?  I truly do not know.

I can see how hard life can be for someone who is not grateful. I don't want that life of "lack" for my children.  This is one of those days where being a human being...just being a parent seems very very hard.

Chalk Painted...Hair!

YES to everything about this!  YES!  Forget about your regular, old ombre.  This is so much cooler.  For tips on how to create this look please visit this website.  Now go!  Chalk paint your hair!

The Flower Crate Strikes Again...

Remember my vintage flower crate that sits in the middle of my kitchen table?  Well...my mom fell in love with it while she was visiting in May and so I shipped it back to Virginia for her birthday.  Then I needed another vintage crate...





Luckily, my friend and neighbor Amber deals in vintage wares and so she had the perfect replacement.  After a stop at Larry's Produce in the "You-Pick" flower fields, my chalk painted jars are now happily refilled in my new crate.  Loving all of the summer colors.

Sunny Sunflowers

I hope that today you feel a bit of joy. A bit of sun. I hope that you have a little spring in your step and maybe your heart leaps just a tad. And if none of those things are happening for you, then I hope that you look this photo of sunflowers down the street from my house and they give you a little boost :).

DIY: Spring Flowers

We are channeling purples in the dining table flower box today. This simple chalk painted mason jars DIY vintage flower box is still one of my favorite things in our home.

Thumbprint of You...

This is genius (in my opinion). It is a thumprint using scraps of paper...all about YOU.  Find scraps in magazines, newspapers, etc.  Cut up, turn into a finger/thumbprint.  It would be a fantastic gift too!  Think of how much your mom or dad would love something like this...

Love it.

DIY: Spring Centerpiece with a Vintage Crate and Mason Jars!

 A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a neighbors garage sale and brought home this beauty of a box!  Vintage, perfect coloring, and wood in good condition.  Then I grabbed my chalkpaint colored mason jars (I made a dozen for a bridal shower back in February), filled them with purple wildflowers and viola!  A spring centerpiece on our dining room table!

Vintage crates like the one pictured above usually go for between $20-$60 depending on dealer, size, condition.  My neighbor gave me a generous price of $20; you can be sure I will be going back to her post haste :).

Easter 2014

It was Easter this past weekend.  We enjoyed lovely spring weather and an incredible feast with family and friends.  But most importantly, we prayerfully considered and expressed gratitude for Jesus Christ.  Easter is all about the Savior and His resurrection.  To learn more about my beliefs visit here.  I am grateful for my faith, my testimony, my family.  I love being Mormon; I can't imagine my life without my faith.

Here is this amazing family of mine.  I love that 3 of us are in VERY similar glasses, and 3 without.  Remarkably, we are all smiling at the same time and looking in the same direction.  It was an Easter miracle :).  Both of my daughters dresses are from Target (recently).  My whole outfit is from Anthropologie.  The boys...who knows where those clothes are from?!

On Saturday we had a little backyard Easter egg hunt for our chickpeas.  Very fun.  I have the happiest memories of my grandparents doing an ALL OUT hunt for us every year.  Money in the eggs, our favorite candies, giant chocolate bunnies.  It was epic.  I am trying to teach my children to focus on the reason for the Easter holiday to begin with (Jesus Christ) but we still have our family traditions :)

The kids opened their baskets in the playroom on Sunday morning.  Everyone got one thing they had been asking for/looking forward to (oldest son was the next book in his favorite series, oldest daughter a pair of yoga pants, etc.) and then of course lots of candy. Candy is a given on Easter, am I right? Most of which was gone by the time we got to church at 1 PM.

Later we enjoyed the yummiest feast ever with our cousins the Clawsons. Corned beef, roasted corn on the cob, sour cream and cheese potato casserole AND baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, salad.  And a giant strawberry shortcake trifle for dessert.  It was perfection. Every last morsel. 

All in all, a lovely Easter weekend had by all.  

DIY: Vintage Bottlecap Magnets

You guys.  These are the easiest things in the world to make.  Like EVER.

Supplies Needed:

Vintage bottlecaps
Small circular magnets
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Step 1 - Find a source for old bottle caps.  Some people collect them, some find them on ebay, some find them in thrift/antique stores.  Me?  I have a guy on ebay that I get them from. Just search on ebay under the term "vintage bottle cap lot".

Step 2 - Go to Michaels or Home Depot and get a pack of small circular magnets to match up with the number of bottle caps you will be using.

Step 3 - with a hot glue gun, attach the small magnets to the back of the bottle caps.

DONE.

I completed my sets (which are sold in stores around the Bay Area as gift items and on my etsy site) by getting metal carpet tacks (I think that's what they are called) at Home Depot and backing with my business card.

So simple.  Great gift.  The end. Now go forth and create some of your own!