Rustic Sign: Papa's Shop

A cool sign we made for my dad's workshop using cedar pickets and paint. It looks great and Papa loves it! 

Superman and Graffiti

Jonathan shows the I Love You sign to dad who is way over there. :)

 I don't know if this art is PG or not... I think it says "thief"... but I thought it was a neat backdrop for a cool kid like Jon-Jon!

Halloween Fun

Here we are as Rosie the Riveter, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and Tick-Tock croc!

Ryan's 2nd Down!

Hard to believe, but it's true! Our little Ry-guy turned two. He and his brother (and his dad for that matter) love to cheer on the Cowboys and since they were playing in the play-off game on the same day as our little one's birthday, we declared it to be a football birthday party: Ryan's 2nd Down!

 Peanut Butter Dip found on Pinterest

Football shaped cake (made by baking in a rectangular pan, then let it cool, turn it out and trim off the corners with a knife. Frosting the cake was tricky... crumbs.)

 Had to get the Cowboy cupcakes because I knew the boys would like the rings!

 Isn't he adorable?!

 Big brother stepped in to blow out the candle after Ryan's unsuccessful attempts.

We sure do love you, Ryan!
You make us laugh and smile everyday. You're so easy going and a delight to be around. Strangers stop us to tell us how cute you are and we agree completely! Jonathan loves playing with you and helping you.
Some of your favorites:
Favorite food: cereal, beans, cheese, fruit, ham, pretzels (you are not a picky eater!)
Favorite candy: chocolate and suckers
Favorite toy: (changes daily) but recently Tweety or Woodstock
Favorite clothing: shoes
Favorite person: Daddy
Favorite activity: painting, playing outside
Favorite book: Naked!
You can take off your own diaper, you're just about ready to potty train!
You can say a ton of new words.
You cry for Daddy when he's not around by saying "My Daddy!"
You like to go for rides in the car but hate being in your car seat. You say, "I'm stuck! Ow-ie!"
We pray you will grow strong, healthy and even sweeter in the coming year.
Love you very much,
Mommy and Daddy

Christmas Crafts: Chalkboard Pizza Pans

I made these chalkboard/magnet boards for my nieces and a couple of my sisters for Christmas. 

Materials: Pizza Pans

Chalkboard paint and brush

White craft paint (Wal-Mart)

Ribbon and faux flowers

hot glue gun

magnets

chalk

 The first one is for my niece who is a daycare teacher. I thought she could hang it in her classroom or on her door and add magnets to make it a message board for students or parents to see.

 This one is for my high school aged niece who is very into fashion and taking lots of selfies. ;) I thought she could use this in her bedroom or bathroom as a make-up holder. I gave her magnets to attach to her eyeshadow, mascara, etc.  She liked it! and uses it!

 The last two are countdown to Christmas chalkboards that I gave to my sisters who both have little ones at home. These were pretty easy to make. I scuffed up the pans first with sandpaper, wiped it clean, painted it with two coats of chalkboard paint. For the crown and the reindeer, I just went online to Google images, found ones I liked, sized them and printed them out. I then rubbed chalk all over the back of the paper and traced the shape with the non-brush side of my craft paintbrush. The chalk left the outline on the pan and I just filled it in with the white paint using a small craft paintbrush. I used the same technique for the letters. Hot-glued the ribbon in place, hot-glued a loop of ribbon to the back to act as a hanger and voila! The whole project took me about two evenings to complete and I think they are so cute!

Laundry Room Shelves from Reclaimed Lumber

Our laundry room is tiny and serves as the entrance to our home if you're coming in through the garage. The space was pretty blank... no shelves or cabinets or anything like that. We ran into the problem of having nowhere to put our laundry baskets but on the floor and tripped over them every time we walked through. And the corners of the tiny room were stacked with stuff that couldn't go in the house but couldn't go in the garage either. My husband and I came up with a solution and made these shelves from reclaimed lumber. We measured, cut, sanded and installed in one afternoon (while the children watched a little too much T.V.) Didn't cost us a thing but time. We already had the tools and materials at hand. I love how they came out and I am proud that we made them without spending a dime. So much better!!!

                                       

The other side is where the drier lives and now the drying rack does as well. 

Old lumber from someone's deck patio re-purposed into laundry room shelving.

We had enough lumber left over to make a little soap shelf as well.