Fun Art Idea for Kids on Pinterest

So, have I ever mentioned that Jayna loves bubble wrap?  Well, she does!  So when I saw this on Pinterest:  http://intellokids.blogspot.com/2011/04/kids-bubble-wrap-activities.html, I knew we had to try it!  Here are a couple of pictures!  If you have any extra bubble wrap laying around, try it!  :)

Can you tell what she painted?!

Peg Dolls for Fun!

Hi! I've been creating...and one interest has been these peg dolls. I originally saw the idea here: http://tomiannie.blogspot.com/2011/08/peg-doll-family.html and have been in love since August 31st...haha! So I tried to pester Tomi Ann to make me a set cause she is so extraordinarily talented at crafts, but she had faith in me to try...so I did. And I have to say, I am happy with the outcome. :) I did use her suggestion and buy the peg dolls from Etsy dealer GooseGrease and bought the unfinished, naked ones to try my hand at this. I used non-toxic acrylic paints, and I have yet to seal them up with mod podge. I wanted pictures first. My lighting is horrible...but I think you get the idea of my "family." Brent always has WVU gear on; his alma mater. I wear my pearls more than anything with lots of muted shades, and I couldn't leave off my glasses since they never leave my face...sometimes I fall asleep with them on! Carly loves anything with a peace sign, and to look very girly. Adam is a Tiger Scout. I wanted to do his whole uniform top, but there were too many details for a tiny peg doll and I just do not have steady enough hands or patience! And Jayna is our little princess. Her crown is slightly brighter than her hair, but it's the best I could do! And her skirt is actually sparkly pink paint, but again, the lighting....so what do you think? I tried my best and I think they look similar to us!

Toy Room Makeover

Okay, there is one room in my house that has been called many things: office; scrapbook room; t.v. room; and now it's a toy room. It's been so many things because it is rather a very small room in our house, and it was an addition the previous owners made. So there is not overhead lighting, and it's not exactly functional. We've tried! But it was the last of our first floor rooms to get a makeover. Beginning last week, I stripped down the golf border at the top; plugged a bunch of holes with spackle(?), sanded, vacuumed, and prepared it for our three day weekend to be painted and re-arranged. I was very excited to do this. The original color was a rustic red with a glaze, and since there wasn't an overhead light in the room, along with it being on the side of the house without much sun, it was a rather dark-looking room ALL DAY LONG. So my first decision was to paint it a completely different shade. I settled on this "Dew of Silverberry" from WalMart, but I bought the paint at Sherwin Williams during their holiday sale. The room actually took three coats (with primer) to get the final product, but soooooooooooo worth it!!! Then we used some old wooden Charlie Brown decor that my mother-in-law made for her kids. I didn't touch them up at all, because I liked their old look, especially since The Peanuts gang isn't exactly modern these days anyway. (My kids love the Peanuts movies during the holidays.) Lastly, I visited Target and decided to just blow the budget up and get some new pillows and some wall decor. (It wasn't really that bad...just more than I am used to spending on "wants" and so it made me feel slightly guilty.) Then we re-arranged the room completely different than it was before, which is a MUCH better use of space. The t.v. and cabinet on one side of the room, and the toys and such on the other, with the little play table in the center of the room, which will be used for snacks while watching some t.v. or during playing with the kitchen. I am sooooooo very happy with the way the makeover went. I think it's now my new favorite room of the house! ;) Thanks for all of your hard work, Brent! We did a great job, but I know I could not have done it alone!!!

Creative Anniversary Gift

My friend just celebrated her three year anniversary from her Temple sealing, and I know it's so very special to her, so I made her this gift. I used Wordle.net to create the word picture; then printed it on a sheet of transparency; then painted the opposite side with mirror-like spray paint that I found at Hobby Lobby; and then framed it with a 50% off frame I found at HL, too. It was fun to make, and I can only imagine the one I could make up for my own family -- which I plan to do. The mirror-like spray paint turned out just as well as I thought it would...kind of antique-looking. I love it! I am glad it was personalized for my friend...or I might have just kept it for myself! Thanks for looking! (It's much nicer in person than pictured. But with the mirror-reflection, it was hard to get a good shot of it.)

Easy Wooden XOXO Blocks

Grab some 2x4, acrylic paint, vinyl, and ribbon, and you've got these blocks! I had the 2x4 blocks already pre-cut into these squares for a previous project that I never got around to doing. Then I painted them with a couple of layers of acrylic paint in Primary Red and Carnival Pink each. Next I used my Gypsy, Expression, and Mini Mono, Plantin Schoolbook, and Storybook cartridges for the scalloped square and letters in white vinyl. I placed the vinyl on the blocks, tied a cute dotted pink bow around one end of one block, and done! Cute blocks adorning one of the shelves of my fish tank in the living room. :) Very easy and super cheap. And festive for February!!