Valentine Mantel Decor

Months without holidays are like cookies without milk . . . They are good but a hundred times better with both:) I don't know how to decorate my mantel without a holiday.

Pink is one of my very favorite colors so I love decorating for Valentine's >> and when there are 4 boys in the house, I have to take the opportunity to decorate with pink while I can. There isn't nearly enough pink here but I am sure there will be before Valentine's. 

 I am obsessed with these triangle felt garlands or any shape felt garland for that matter. They are cheap and simple to make. 

 My love themed mantel had to have pictures of the things I love most >>> my 3 little men, my main man and my Savior. 

I am curious if you guys keep your Valentine decor up all month or take it down after the 14th?? I am usually ready to get out the green goods because those don't get to stay out too long either;) 

Thanks for stopping by!

All Valentine tags in my shop are buy one get one half off with the code VALENTINE until Valentine's Day!

linking up to these parties:

craftomaniac, not just a housewife,  tip junkie, sugar bee, somewhat simple, house of hepworths, tater tots and jello, at the picket fence, remodelaholic, whipperberry, i heart naptime, diy showoff, be different act normal

Yellow Striped Nursery ***UPDATE***

Well, my little man is almost 9 months old and I am finally done making the changes that have been nagging at me. Here is the BEFORE . . .

and the bright, happy AFTER!!! (Well, it was pretty bright before but now it is extra bright) My mother-in-law was getting rid of her white crib and I begged to have it. It took a year and a horse trailer to get it out here but it's here! :) The shelf was a $15 Craigslist find that I painted white.

I made the yarn mobile and you can find the tutorial for that HERE.

Another BEFORE . . . 

and AFTER

My Mom and I found these adorable tops at a vintage store in Old Market, Omaha. I LOVE them and my boys have a great time with them as well. The lamp was a Target find that I covered with fabric.

BEFORE

and AFTER

Not a huge change from the before. I just painted the changing table white, the yellow was too much with the yellow stripes and kelly green wall.

This is my lovely Anatomy alphabet from Oh Moon. 

These book ends are my Dad's actual baby shoes that are now bronzed. I will ALWAYS cherish them! (I really should have taken the time to dust them off before taking a picture. . .)

And this is my sweet little, 9 month old Lincoln wreaking havoc as usual. I love it! Here is to hoping that he doesn't crawl out of his crib in a few months like my other boys did. Hopefully this crib will keep him in there better than the other one!

linking up to these parties:

craftomaniac, not just a housewife,  tip junkie, sugar bee, somewhat simple, house of hepworths, tater tots and jello, at the picket fence, remodelaholic, whipperberry, i heart naptime, diy showoff, be different act normal

DIY Neon Striped Shirt

This white tee of mine has had many makeovers and this is by far my favorite, which is good because that paint is here to stay. I unpicked the red ruffles that were once on there (and looked terrible BTW) and started on the world's easiest project. 

This is by no means a new idea but here is a quick run down anyway.

Grab a shirt that has been sitting in your closet unused for awhile, some neon (or other color) fabric paint, painters tape and a sponge or paint brush. 

 Put your tape on the shirt in any pattern you want, I love the horizontal stripes and thought it would make a fun chevron pattern when I did the stripes on the back. Dip the sponge in your paint and start sponging it on your tee. Let it dry a bit and take the tape off (my favorite part, I love seeing the outcome!). Let it dry and flip your shirt over to do the same thing to the other side, making sure to line up the tape with the unpainted diagonal stripe.

And now you have a fun, bright and cheerful new shirt. My boys helped me paint the stripes on, so every time I wear the shirt they like to come up and touch the paint. I think they are pretty proud of themselves for making something;)

 My little model buddy who is wondering what his crazy mom is doing taking pictures of herself in the mirror. I love that face!!

No go grab some old shirts . . . I am sure your kid's have some too and upcycle them to something fun and new!

linking up to these parties:

craftomaniac, not just a housewife,  tip junkie, sugar bee, somewhat simple, tater tots and jello, at the picket fence, i heart naptime

Clock Face Table Makeover

I've been bored with our plain black pedestal table for awhile,

but didn't want to go out and buy a new one (of course!).

While we were driving home from a friend's house, we found this table on the curb for the trash.

Can you believe that? Who would just throw away such a beautiful table??

It took a lot of convincing, but I finally got my husband to help me put it into our SUV... with two car seats and golf clubs in the back. ;) it was a verrry uncomfortable ride home, but so worth it!

This is my sister's watch- which I love. It's classic and big. BIGGER is better!

I decided to use real numbers instead of the roman numerals to modernize it a little.

 The table had been left out in the rain so the top was slightly warped. I sanded it down and then applied some wood filler. After about 8 hours of dry time, I sanded it again. Lots of sanding. I didn't want a perfectly smooth finish, because I planned on glazing and needed some hangup spots.

After wiping down the excess wood filler, I applied a coat of grey primer and then a coat of white primer. You can see the grey through the white, which I liked. We're going for an aged look here, so after those dried I rubbed more grey primer all over with a cloth and then wiped it off. It hung up in some of the recesses and made the table look aged.

Next, I found the middle of the table and stuck a pushpin in. After tying a string to it and the other end to a pencil, I was able to start drawing circles around the table. This made it easy to figure out where the numbers would go.

 Here's a close up of my pencil lines. I actually left them on because I liked the way that they looked.

I found some awesome number graphics from the Graphics Fairy and printed them up as large as I could- one per page. They're not exact but pretty close. :) I used the two circles that I drew as a guideline and tried to keep the numbers in between them.

After tracing the numbers in pencil onto the table, we're ready to paint!

In this picture, you can really see the glazing and aging effect.

 Starting to paint... and you can see where I had to re-trace the 11. It was a little crooked the first time.

 I added the little minute dashes after the numbers- and outlined one of the original circles.

 Well, at least someone likes the new table around here!

4th of July Yarn Wreath

I originally started this wreath in February and thought it would be my "interchangeable" wreath that I would change with each holiday or season. Well, I liked the idea for a few months but decided I liked to have a variety and not stick with the same stick wreath year round. . . 

 So, these bad boys . . . a.k.a. yarn balls, are now glued on and are only coming off if I get desperate . . . which happens a lot, unfortunately. 

The idea came from the yarn mobile I made for Baby Lincoln found HERE. You can find a tutorial on how to make them there . . . basically just keep rolling yarn or wrap it around some foam balls. I am not sure where I got the glittery stars, they have been in my holiday bins for years and now I found a use for them.

 I love the 4th of July too much to not make wreath for it!! Happy 4th of July . . . and Flag Day!

linking up to these parties:

craftomaniac, between naps on the porch, stories from a2z, not just a housewife,  tip junkie, sugar bee, somewhat simple, tater tots and jello, at the picket fence, whipperberry, i heart naptime, diy showoff, be different act normal, itsy bitsy paper

Chalkboard Wall Bucket List . . . and a winner!

 Here's an update to my post about our summer bucket list!

I have taken a stick of chalk to our kitchen chalkboard wall and gone to town with the list. It's motivating and fun for the kids too. Penny is always asking, "what does this one say? can we do that one today?"

Today we checked off three things. Glow sticks in the tub, movie night and a pillow fight. I can honestly say that I am exhausted and giddy at the same time. We laughed until we cried. I never thought a two year old would be able to hold her own in a pillow fight, but she ran away and hid, laughing and laughing. Sooo funny... and smart!

 Here's hoping that the weather holds up for the nature hike tomorrow... and all of our other fun outdoor activities!

I'm not too worried, though. We're having a good time finding things to stay busy this summer- and when it's too hot, I'm happy as a lark to stay in and make macaroni necklaces.

And the WINNER of a free invitation and party pack from SUGARTOT DESIGNS: THE STORE is. . .

LYNN BROWN

Congrats and a big thank you to all who entered! I loved to see what designs you want to see in the shop. Stay tuned for discount codes!