Spring Crafting and Decorating

In honor of spring, National Craft Month, and my March Goals, I had some fun last weekend!

I've had this little picket fence box for a year and decided it was time to give it a makeover. I wanted to make it classic white but also look authentic with some scuffs, crackles, etc.

After the first (dark) coat dries, then you apply the Martha Stewart crackle medium. I brushed it on more on the lighter side because the packaging said the heavier you put it on the bigger the cracks. Well, those fence posts are not that big so I didn't want the crackles to take over. If I could do it again, I would put more of the crackle medium on because I didn't get much of an effect.

Close up of the crackle. This one fence post is the only good one. The other side of the little planter didn't show ANY crackle. It's not as good as I hoped it would turn out, but it does look more rustic than if I had just done white.

Next craft task--I saw this tutorial for a pinwheel wreath and knew right away that I wanted to make it. Thanks to Sabrina at Neverland Nook for the easy-to-follow tutorial with pictures and directions. I've had my eye on this stack of yummylicious paper at JoAnn's for over a month now. I didn't have a specific use for it so kept telling myself not to buy it so it would just sit in my craft pile with so many other things that I haven't gotten around too. But then, Sabrina's pinwheel wreath tutorial provided the PERFECT reason to make this paper mine.

The lighting isn't the best for these pictures. It was nighttime when I was crafting so I had to use flash. But don't these papers just make you smile!?! I want this to be a fabric line so that when I have a little girl (someday) I can ask my mom to make a quilt out of this fabric!

According to her directions, first cut the paper into 5"x5" squares.

Then glue two different patterns together to make it double-sided.

I didn't take any pictures of making the pinwheels because I was having too much fun. The fact that I needed all my hands to hold the 4 corners may have been a factor as well. :) But Sabrina took pictures and gives great directions how to make the pinwheels so definitely go check out her blog.

Aren't they so fun and whimsical?

Here's the finished project!

I'm in love with it and so glad I made it!

After my crafting was complete, I got to putting it all together for my spring decor. I found the birdcage, frame, and key in the $1-$3 section at Michael's. The key came in a variety pack of 5. I made the blue jar 3 years ago and the wooden birch slice is from my wedding. You can find the spring subway art printable here.

Can you believe after living in our house for 9 months this canvas was the first thing we FINALLY hung on the walls last weekend. Good grief! My mom gave it to me when she was moving a year ago. It fits along perfectly with my latest bird obsession.

Not much on the calendar this month but the few items that are there are big: spring! March Madness! Ireland!

Then we were on a roll and decided to hang something else! I knew I wanted this canvas when I saw it at Hobby Lobby, but I had no idea where it would go that would be just perfect. Hubby held it against various walls so I could look and then he thought of this wall above our stairs. I love it there!

I think it fills the space so nicely and I get to see it multiple times a day!

The end of our bar needed a little spring lovin. I made the button cross last year when I was crafting and decorating for our spring mantel.

This year's spring mantle!

This nest basket (also from my mom) was perfect to go along with my birdie silhouette and some wooden eggs.

I followed some tips from Bird's Party Blog to give my wooden eggs a speckled effect.

I don't consider myself an artist by a long shot so I was pretty proud of myself when my chalkboard turned out this good! My inspiration was this pin whose source I cannot find but it may have been inspired by this chalkboard. I went with a mushroom instead of a bunny or chick because animals are definitely not something I can draw.

The last touch is this little bicycle I found at JoAnn's. I want to find a mini succulent to put in the holder but a candle will do for now.

Have you done anything crafty this month? Do you decorate for spring or only holidays?
Have you used the Martha Stewart crackle medium before? How did it work for you?

Curtains--How to Choose?

In case you missed the First Step in our living room decorating, we have a new couch. I am loving it! It is so wonderfully comfortable and both hubby and I can stretch out as much as want for movie watching. When I walk in the door from work, I just smile when I see it. But, like with many things in life, gaining one thing just makes me want another. Now I'm not really confessing discontentment but just the natural decorating itch to take the next step. I've really been feeling that the next step for our living room is curtains. Curtains because I am craving some color and curtains because it is too dang cold to work in our garage to make a coffee table until...oh maybe July.

I have spent a couple hours this past week "researching" for curtain inspiration. This entailed lots of Pinterest and blog hopping. I found plenty of inspiration but still have no idea which fabric/curtain to choose!? However, I DID still accomplish my February Goal to narrow down my options. When you look through the pictures you may think it's not very narrow at all but trust me, there's a lot of great fabric I said "no" to.

Originally I had thought I wanted a multi-colored fabric to tie in all the decor ideas I have for this room. As I perused, I came across really only one multi-colored choice that I liked. I did some more thinking (mostly when I should have been sleeping) and decided that I want to go with just one color (or two if you consider color + white as multi). I am leaning towards a coral design. It's got to be the right coral though, not too orange and not too pink. This is subject to change of course. :)

So first, let's look at my main inspiration for living rooms and curtains.

I am in love with this living room from "Four Generations One Roof". The light and airy feel, the rustic chic look and the cool color palette is exactly what I want. I love her TV console! We have an old dresser and I will be thinking of hers when we re-do ours. The lanterns and bird are such a fun touch and yet keep the room simple.

 Yum! Jessica, I hope it's okay if I try to copy you! :) I really like her DIY burlap curtains, which you can read about how to make here. While, I don't think these curtains will work well in my living room, I may consider them for a room upstairs at some point.

Okay, inspiration living room #2 belongs to Abbie at "M is for Mama". This woman loves color and she knows how to use it! You can see more pictures of her beautiful living room here. I love reading Abbie's blog and I especially love seeing any of her home decorating and DIY projects.

Her use of color, thrifty ways, and overall decorating style usually have me wishing she would come spend a month at my house and help me decorate. I plan to decorate using the same color as her: coral, blues and yellows. I even almost bought that "In This House" canvas from TJMax after seeing it on her blog. For some bizarre reason I decided to wait and when I went back a couple weeks later they were sold out. Learned my lesson there! I love the bird pillow and really all the different pillows coordinated together. I skimmed all the comments left on her blog post to find out where those curtains were from. She said they were called Volary from Fabric.com. I immediately opened a new tab and searched only to find out that this too was no longer available. So while some copying is out of the question here, I do hope to find a nice coral/white fabric and then some great colorful pillows to start adding the excitement that my living room so desperately needs.

 My third living room inspiration I originally found on Pinterest and then followed the link to the magazine website "House Beautiful". Once again, I love the light, airy feel and the splashes of multiple colors.

So those were the three living rooms that really inspired me. Now I have some curtains and fabrics that I love and just can't decide which route to go.

First are these somewhat striped coral curtains from Anthropoligie which I saw on Pinterest. But (insert heavy sigh) these also are no longer available. Probably just as well since I love them SO much I would have really struggled to bring myself to pay over $100 for one panel. But maybe they could have been on clearance! (another sigh)

So while they don't have the ones above anymore, they do have a few similar alternatives. I'm not in love with either one as much and the price tag is still a problem for me. But let's just look anyways, shall we?

These ones are called "Crochet Spliced Curtains" and have a crocheted type of stripe which I think is really cute and gives the whole stripe style a new sensation. However, when you compare it to the one above, I think this may be too far on the orange side of coral for me.

The next is called "Swing Stripe Curtains." This one again has a fun style of stripe. They are little pom poms. I think its a creative idea but I'm not sure I love the 3Dish effect the curtains would have. Also, as they would be behind my couch, I would like to have the color be more dominant than the neutral tone to offset my couch and the white walls.

These are totally not coral, but if I were going to make a major color shift, I think these would be it (well in a world where the price tag doesn't matter again). These are Pottery Barn's Classic Stripe Drapes in Porcelain Blue. I love how it can't really decide if it's green or blue and I think that would work well with my decor style where multiple shades of a color will appear together and (hopefully) not look weird. I do wish the neutral stripe was more tan than white though.

***Insert totally unrelated curtains into the blog post about curtains for the living room. ***

I LOVE THESE!!!

(the bird ones, not the blue floral)

I would not put Applique Birds on a Wire Curtain from Pier1 in my living room for a couple reasons, but their more reasonable price tag (still a little more than I would like to spend) and my absolute love of them is causing me to rack my brain for WHICH room I CAN put them in. I would not put them in my living room because as I said before, the neutral is too dominant to go right by my couch and white walls. Also, the couch would hide half the birdies and that would be so wrong! I am wondering and kinda hoping they could work over the slider in our dining room. It is on the same wall as the living room window and only separated by about 3 1/2 feet of wall but that distance from the couch might be enough. Plus, if I do get a colored curtain for the living room they would balance each other out. Or.....am I totally off track in design world and the curtains for both should be the exact same? Someone with more decor savvy please tell me! :)

I just looked online again and discovered that they are available at the store 5 minutes from my house. Yikes! I now have the urge to go buy them and hold them up in different rooms and make a decision before the return date. What do you think?

An entirely different route would be for me to buy some fabric and make my own curtains, which is going to be the cheapest route. It's just a matter, once again, of choosing.

Abbie at M is for Mama posted not too long ago about "27 Vibrant Home Decor Fabrics for Under $25/yard". As I was perusing Fabric.com, I realized that at one points or another, I had tabs open for 6 of her 12 fabrics here! Check out her blog to see more picks, find out what these are all called, and just to pay her a visit because she is so wonderful!

After a couple hours looking through pages and pages of home decor fabrics, here are my top picks! Some would be curtain options, some maybe for throw pillows or something else.

1. Zig Zag Khaki 2. Gotcha Ocean 3. Suzani White/Coral 4. Vertical Ticking Stripe Ivory/Brown
5. Stripe Slub Salmon 6. Swavelle/Mill Creek Renette Floral Sundance 7. Lulu Stripe True Turquoise 8. Fynn Ocean 9. Claridge Dots Jacquard Tango Mango 10. Duralee Home Birdcage Canary

When I was still highly considering multi-colored curtains, #6 was high on the list. #10 also comes in coral and grey which are equally wonderful.

Here are my last top pics for fun coral prints!

This is called Poppies Coral by "Birch Organic Fabrics" in their line "Elk Grove Knits". The only problem is I don't think a knit would be a good fabric for curtains. Also, it's a little too pink for what I want.

This is Chevron Melon by "Dear Stella" in the "Mercer" line. That whole line is such a fun mix of navy and coral!

 This lovely fabric is Honey House Peach by designer Bonnie Christine in her line "Sweet as Honey."

The last one is Beekeeper Coral also by Bonnie Christine and also in the line "Sweet as Honey."


So many beautiful living rooms, curtains, and fabric! How is a girl to choose? Help me out! I'd appreciate any design advice or votes! 

March Goals

Happy March!

I am so excited for this month! First, because it is the month in which winter is NO more. I like all the seasons but winter just sticks around for waaaaay too long in these parts. And most likely even when it is officially spring, I am sure it will still look and feel like winter. But somehow, "the first day of spring" helps me mentally start getting over the freezing cold and never ending snow.

Second--this month ends with the start of spring break! Unfortunately that also means another set of report cards to get done. But this month, I will have loads of motivation! Two days after the quarter ends, we are headed to

 IRELAND!!!

Isn't that beautiful?!?!

Those are the Cliffs of Moher and I will be there!!! I am preparing myself to be wet and cold but taking tons of pictures and soaking up all the amazing landscapes. This will also be my first time to Europe so I'm pretty excited to add another continent (and country) to my (very short) list.

Here were my February goals:

1. Go to the gym 5 times
2. Read 2 books kinda
3. Blog 2 times
4. Cook 1 new recipe
5. Get my Project Life out of the closet and start working on it again
6. Narrow down an idea for the curtains for my living room

While basketball and report cards were not an issue this month, I had so many sick/absent students that it created lots of extra work for me to keep them on top of their work and then I got sick too and lost all energy and motivation to do anything. I did make it to the gym 5 times but my workouts were pretty mild as it would wipe me of all my energy. I finished 1 book and am currently reading 2 different books "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth and "Love Does" by Bob Goff so that kinds counts as read 2 books since I didn't say "finish". :) I blogged once and have another post 90% done but it just didn't get finished before March. I did cook something new and it was very yummy. I made Balsamic Glazed Lamb Chops. Thanks to Kayley at "The Kitchen McCabe" for the recipe. Sadly, I never did get my Project Life out. I planned to do it last night after Wyldlife but we decided to hang out with some friends and I'm glad we did. Depending on your definition of narrow, I have narrowed down my ideas for curtains. It's actually the blog post in progress so you will hear and see more about it soon! So not amazing but not terrible! And hey, in my defense....February shorted me by 2 days!

Here are my March Goals:
1. Go to the gym 6 times
2. Finish "Allegiant" and "Love Does"
3. Brush up on my photography skills and how to use my camera beyond Auto so that I can fully capture Ireland with awesome picutres
4. Get my Project Life out and start working on it again
5. Make a March Madness Bracket
6. Blog 2 times other than this post
7. Make 1 new recipe
8. Really narrow down curtain options and buy some--or the fabric to make some.
9. Do 1 crafty thing! March is National Craft Month and I feel like I should partake even if it's in a small way.
10. Decorate my house for spring!

Wow, way more goals than previously. But I'm feeling motivated and 80% of my lesson planning is already done for the next 6 weeks since I'll be out of the country for all of break and don't want to come home and write lesson plans. We'll see how I do!

Any tips for international travel? 

What to pack? (I HATE packing and tend to over-pack every trip) 

How to survive the looooong overnight flight? (I will NOT be watching the new movie "Nonstop" despite how much my husband wants to see it!)
Do you have any goals for this month?
Do you decorate your house for spring?
Do you watch March Madness at all?
Will you be crafting at all for National Craft Month?

Seahawks Superbowl Party

Most of the bloggers out there plan way ahead and will give you recipes, crafts, decorations, and tips for an upcoming event. I give major kudos to those ladies. I, however, am not one of those bloggers. Not by a long shot. I am usually a week to a month late on posting about my holiday creations. Or hey...maybe I AM the ultimate planner and I'm getting you ready for next year. ;) No? Okay, well anyways, even if it doesn't help you prepare for your events, at least you can see what's been going on for me lately. And years from now, I can also look back and pat myself on the back for still doing the baking, crafting, decorating, party hosting, etc. even though I wasn't the ultimate blogger. :)

All that to say...here is what Superbowl Sunday looked like around here!

Starting with my paint chip dry erase calendar:

Thank you to Jacquelyn at Style Me Pretty for these free Superbowl Commercial Bingo printables.

Our guests had a really fun time with this game. Everyone got into it and we would debate about if something counted or not. Unfortunately we didn't think the commercials were that great this year and none of us got a black out but it still made for a friendly competition when we weren't focused on the game.

Here's the table decor. The megaphone and pom-poms were from the Dollar Store a couple years ago for the March Madness championship game and the tablecloth was less than a dollar at WalMart.

I made the footballs using my Silhouette and the ribbon I use as a belt/sash for one of my dresses. I love finding things around my home to use rather than buying or making new things all the time.

In case the crayons and colors on the table didn't give it away, we were cheering for the Seahawks!

I used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw the outlines of the letters and then cut the pennants and footballs with it as well. I used Sharpies to color in the letters. The twine and clothespins were already up from Christmas decor--this is where I displayed Christmas cards we received.

I had to get put away all my Christmas decorations so instead of having a bare dresser, I pulled anything blue and green that I had. (You can also see part of the awesome gift my hubby got for Christmas there on the left...he loves that bean bag and was so surprised!)

I didn't have any football printables or time to get one printed so I grabbed a chalkboard and drew something instead. I knew to use X's and O's and that yardage lines but hubby had to help me with the play.

So maybe candles, vases, and fake flowers have NOTHING to do with a Superbowl, but hey, they were the right colors!

Moving to the food and decorations there. And don't forgot the Skittles!

I used the negative space from my footballs and attached them to mason jars with a zig pen. I got the idea for the jars from Bev at Flamingo Toes. Yes, I know the stitches are white but I already had these brown ones that were just going to be thrown away so I decided to just go for it. (I am realizing I need to figure out a trick for taking pictures of glass jars...these didn't turn out so great. Also, can you see me in the spoons?)

When I saw this Seahawks silhouette design on Pinterest, I knew right away I would be using it! Thanks so much to Lisa at Sweet Benana & Sam for creating and sharing this free Seahawks SVG file! When I grabbed this design, I decided to create my own printable. I added the words and used my Silhouette sketch pens to draw it.

A couple weeks before the big game, during a quick trip to the grocery store for a couple items, I saw the plates and napkins and threw them in my basket. At that point, we hadn't even confirmed we were having a party but somehow Seahawks plates and napkins was all I needed as motivation. :)

Blue and Green Sweets!

I decorated two different kinds of cupcakes. Thanks to the class I took at JoAnn's I had a lot of fun practicing my frosting skills making these.

Sprinkles for the 12th man!

And a Skittle atop the swirl

Seattle Seahawks Cupcakes

And for the sweet 'n salty taste, I made three different kinds of pretzel rods: chocolate with heath, white chocolate with M&M's and sprinkles, and chocolate with a white chocolate football stitch decoration. I just couldn't resist using my blue mason jars from Target as the finishing touch.

In addition to the desserts, I made BBQ pulled pork for sliders and we had potato salad and veggies. My husband also made his own recently-created guacamole recipe which is delicious! Our friends brought several other yummy dishes. As is necessary for any Superbowl Party, we had lots (so many leftovers) of food, cheering, and fun! It made it so much better when our team won dominated the game!

So maybe you can use some of these ideas next year for any Seahawks game! :)

February Goals

We are one twelfth of the way through 2014, woot!

How was your January? Mine went by so fast, but was great. Disneyland was a blast! We were so exhausted each day and didn't ever stay til closing, but we did make it on every ride! I plan to post pictures and more about our fun adventures this month so stay tuned. :)

Once we got home and school started again it was go, go go. We finished the second quarter so the last two weeks I have been crazy busy with catching up on grades, report cards, half of my conferences, and trying to plan lessons at least a month out. My students finished their semester strong with awesome reports about an animal of their choice accompanied by a model of it's food web and a presentation. I love seeing what they are capable of doing!

When I haven't been stuck in teacher mode, I have been the videographer, biggest fan (read loudest screamer), and sugar supplier for my husband's basketball team. Last year, I started this thing where I would bake a dessert for the team whenever they won a game. This was a) my way to get involved and b) an excuse to bake and eat only 1 of whatever it was since my husband doesn't care for sweets and I could but shouldn't eat a whole batch of anything alone. Well, last year it was all fine and dandy. I baked every other week or so. This year...not so easy. They have been winning maniacs! They just finished the regular season yesterday and have a 11-3 win-loss record! They are second place going into the tournament next weekend. It has been SO much fun to watch and cheer for the team and they have played some amazing ball. However...all this winning has caused a bit of dilemma because I can't keep up with the baking! Guys, I'm 4 wins behind and the season is almost over. It has been a lot of fun to be involved more with the team this year. I've gone along on all the van rides, attended both out-of-town trips, and became a team favorite as made apparent by walking into practice with a plate full of warm cookies and not a single player can focus on what Coach is saying anymore. :)

Last night was senior night. It's so bittersweet (especially more so for my husband than me) to recognize the guys who won't be back next year. Two of them have been in the program since my husband started coaching so this year is even more significant as he says goodbye to his first batch of 4-year players. This year has just been so much fun and it will be hard to not have those four guys around. After a particularly rowdy game the other day where I had to sit in the other team's fan section for the best filming angle, I told my husband about how annoyed I was with some of their comments and cheers. I realized that it bothered me so much because I've almost adopted those 11 guys and feel protective and proud of them. When, I first met my husband, coaching and basketball was HIS thing. I had no desire or intention for it becoming MY thing. But it just goes to show that when your spouse is so passionate, invested, and good at something, you can't help but come along side them and support, cheer, and invest in it yourself. We are having the whole team over for dinner and a movie ("Glory Road") on Wednesday night and while I am a little bit daunted by the idea of cooking for 11 teenage boys (that's a lot of spaghetti!), I am excited to host them and know that the moments they spend with my husband and the other coach will remain as some of their favorite memories from basketball and even high school. We have high hopes for the tournament next weekend and a good end to this incredible season.

Well.....I certainly didn't intend to get all sentimental when I sat down to blog tonight. I was just going to tell you how I met and failed my January Goals and move on to this month. Ahh but that's the fun of writing...you never know where one thought will lead you.

So without further ado thought, let's recap on my January Goals:

1. Go to the gym 4 times
2. Read 1 book
3. Blog 2 times (other than this post)
4. Cook 1 new recipe

I barely accomplished the first goal, but made it for the fourth time yesterday morning. I read "Divergent" by Veronica Roth in 5 days (SOOO GOOD! I cannot wait for the movie). I (barely) got even 1 blog post in for the whole month (11pm last night). The new recipe was a cookie for the basketball team, which they loved so much they asked for it a second time. Thank you to Taylor at Trendy Schmendy for these easy and delicious cookies.

Here are my goals for February:
1. Go to the gym 5 times--with no report cards to worry about and the basketball season ending in one week, I think I can increase my presence in the gym.

2. Read 2 books--I'm already half way through "Insurgent" and have a few other books in mind to read.

3. Blog 2 times (other than this post)--since I didn't meet this one, we'll try again.

4. Cook 1 new recipe--I like cooking so I like challenging myself to try something new every so often

5. Get my Project Life out of the closet and start working on it again--I'm not setting a goal for how much gets done as long as SOMETHING gets done, I will be happy :)

6. Narrow down an idea for the curtains for my living room--I have NO idea what I even want

Did you have any goals for January? How did you do? What are your goals for February?