Striped aqua shower curtains

I'm in the process of a little re-design project on my kids' bathroom.  I guess I can't really call it a re-design.  To re-do something you would have to have done something with it first.  Their bathroom has been shamefully untouched as far as decorating is concerned.

Someday soon I will have the project finished and some pictures to share.  In the mean time, I wanted to show you the top two contenders for shower curtains.

I wanted a striped shower curtain, somewhere in region of  aqua or mint. This proved to be hard to find online or in stores. I looked for months. I almost painted stripes on white shower curtains  but really didn't want something that labor-intensive.

I finally found some blue-green striped goodness  and was so pleased with it, I thought I would share. I was beginning to give up hope when I found these two beauties at Kohls.com.




I hung them both up to help me decide which to keep.

The curtain on the left- Oceanside-is more of a blue. The one on the right- Mosaic- is more of a true mint, with the darker stripes being teal.

I had a  hard time choosing.  I loved the linen-like texture of the blue Oceanside curtain on the left and after a lot of head tilting to look at it from every angle, it was crowned the winner.

You can find the aqua Oceanside shower curtain here and the mint Mosaic curtain here.

P.s. Of course they are on sale now that I've already purchased them ;)

In Pursuit of Mint Spray Paint

I have taken a shamefully long sabbatical from blogging but am happy to be back!

Months ago I started a seemingly simple project: re-painting my bar stools.  I found a really fun new-to-me spray paint color: Catalina Mist from Krylon.  It is a minty-fresh color that was perfect to brighten up my bland bar stools. Long story short, I ran out of Catalina Mist half-way through my project. I returned to Hobby Lobby to buy more only to find they were out.  I began looking everywhere for the color: Walmart, JoAnn's, Michael's, Kmart, Home Depot, Lowe's, repeat trips to Hobby Lobby- no luck.  It was nowhere to be found. I don't know if my Hobby Lobby quit carrying that color but I have not seen it in on the shelf for months (I just checked again today).
    

A more resourceful person would have turned to that new-fangled contraption called the Internet to find the illusive mint spray paint.  This did not occur to me as I stared at my half-painted bar stools for three months.  I did employ another valuable resource: my mom.  She found it!  So if you are in search of that same mint spray paint, do as Mom says and go to Ace Hardware!  They had an ample supply of Catalina Mist at multiple locations.  On a related note, if you are clever enough to try your hand at finding it online it is available here and here.

Now, if the temperature ever exceeds 3 degrees again in my lifetime, I will seize the opportunity to finish the bar stools! Three cheers for Catalina Mist and three cheers for my mom!

Fourteen Fabulous Free Printable Designs

As promised, here are links to some great free printable designs. We are using these as part of our Super Saturday party.  We've tried to find and offer a variety of different styles of prints to attempt to have something for everyone.  I saved these files to a jump drive and took it to my favorite local print & copy shop.  I asked them to print the files on linen card stock (for a little texture) and they look great and cost less than a dollar per print!  Please be aware, these are not my designs. I am just providing links to the sites where each print is available for free download.  The designer is listed under each design.

Halloween Subway Art- Eighteen 25

Eat, Drink and Be Scary - Craftily Ever After

Halloween Children's Ryhme- Sissyprint

Trick or Treat- The Graphics Fairy

Keep Calm and Count Blessings- Saved by Love Creations

Thanksgiving Subway Art- Eighteen 25

Joy to the World (+2 more)- Jen's Favorite Cookies

Christmas Printable- Design Dazzle

Peace on Earth-My 3 Monsters

Christmas Subway Art- Eighteen 25

Jingle Bells- Kinzie's Creations

We Can Do Hard Things - Simply Fresh Designs

Love is Spoken Here- J & A and Company

Be Honest- Sissy Print (low res-version is free)

Craft Party/Super Saturday Ideas- 2nd Edition

Fall is upon us, friends!  For me that  means its time to plan Super Saturday (a big craft extravaganza with the ladies from my church).  You can read more about Super Saturday and how to plan your own craft party here. The basic idea of this glue-gun fest is that the planning committee chooses several craft/decor projects, makes samples of these projects and then the party goers choose ahead of time which projects they want to make.  The party planners gather the supplies and we all get together with lots of food and friends and Mod Podge and create and craft our brains out!

I am always gathering ideas for said party.  I have a Pinterest Board devoted solely to this endeavor.  If you need some ideas or inspiration for your own craft party, feel free to peruse my Super Saturday board.

Below are the projects we are offering this year for our Super Saturday crafting party. I'll be sharing tutorials for a few of them in the coming days and weeks and links to other tutorials that we used to make our projects.  So stay tuned!

The fine print: Not all of these are my ideas or creations.  I had a team of amazing women that helped to find and create these.  Some are inspired by projects found on Pinterest.  Some of the photos are mildly atrocious because they were hurriedly snapped on my cell phone whilst my children ran a muck through the church.

Vinyl-patterned Christmas Frames

Tulle Halloween Wreaths.  I was having trouble with the image of our wreath, so I'm showing you the inspiration photo we used.  This was found on Pinterest and is the creative work of

 Jamie at Something to Do.  

Instant Art .  I gathered many free printable designs, found via Pinterest, and had them professionally printed on linen card-stock.  Party-goers browsed the options and just gave me their orders. These are great for those who don't love crafting and those who do. I'll share links to all of the printable ASAP. 

The Halloween Subway Art pictured below is a 

free printable from the lovely and talented ladies at eighteen twenty five

Merry Christmas Blocks

Ruffled Knit Scarves

DIY Photo Canvases

DIY Silhouettes (using photos and Photoshop- no tracing or cutting required)

Stenciled Holiday Pillow Covers

Links and tutorials coming soon- I promise!

First Day of School Photo Ideas

Let's pretend this blog hasn't been shamefully neglected this summer, shall we?  We've been playing so hard all summer long, I blinked and it had been a month since I updated my blog. I have the standard mixed emotions about school starting but it will certainly be nice to get back to a routine and my blog will benefit greatly from it as well. I have a lot to share with you and finally some time to do it.

I've been collecting ideas for a first day of school photo like I did last year.  These are all ideas I've collected via Pinterest.  You can see all of them on my Memory Keeping board on Pinterest.

If the first day of school has already passed for you, I believe that there is nothing wrong with recreating the moment-better late than never, right?

Here are some of my favorite inspirations:

I love a first day/ last day comparison and it doesn't get much simpler than this idea: a photo taken in the same location both times (this looks like a pillar at school) and the photographer added text afterward.  This is great because it requires no props, and uses an easy-to-find back-drop.

This photo follows the same concept: a brick wall- probably at the school- and text added later.  I love that both of these provide a snap shot of information about the child too.

Since sidewalk chalk is something most of us have on hand, this is a fun, colorful and still very simple way to get that first day photo.

If you want to add props, I love the chalkboard approach used here and this one as well.

This dear blogger has done all of the work for you for a first-day prop.  You can use her fun printable signs for your first day photos.

Theses photos are certainly more styled and take a little more time to plan but are oh-so-cute! I love the setting for this photo.

The next  photo uses simpler props but is a similar concept- I didn't post the photo to my blog because it has the photographer's copyright on it but you can click here to see the photo- SO CUTE!

Good luck snapping your first-day photos!

The coolest contraption for your next barbecue

I discovered the coolest way to keep food cold at an outdoor party: meet inflatable serve ware.  Have you seen this stuff before? My neighbors used it at our annual block party and it was so cool!

These buffets are like mini-kiddie pools for your serving table. Fill them up with ice and nestle potato salad, fruit plates, drinks- whatever you need to keep cold!  They are bright and fun, provide easy access for loading up your plate and are less bulky an awkward than serving out of a cooler. The best part is they are inflatable, making them easy to store. You can find them at party supply stores.  The polka dot buffet is from Birthday Direct.  The striped red version is from Birthday Express

They are also available at Oriental Trading, Amazon, Target and more. Just search for "inflatable buffets" online and you'll have many options.  Prices range from $10-$20 each. Isn't this the coolest serving contraption {pun intended}?! 

Fast Fourth of July Wreath

Hi friends! I took an impromptu vacation, which was nice, but I'm so sorry for not posting for ages!

Here is a fun patriotic wreath idea. It is so very last minute but I leave up my Independence Day decor for the whole month of July- maybe you do the same?  The good news is that this is really simple to make so you could whip it up quickly or save the idea for next year.

My wonderful mom made this one so she gets all of the credit.  I don't have a formal tutorial for this one, but read the directions and you'll find it is pretty simple to make.  You can always contact me with questions.

Materials

• Styrofoam wreath form (you could use straw as well)
• Yarn - it usually takes between 1/2 to 1 skein (ball) of yarn- it depends upon your wreath form size
• Scraps of fabric 3-4 inches wide ( we used a star-spangled printed cotton,  blue felt and burlap)
• Needle & thread
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Scissors
• Optional: Holiday sign to hang on the wreath. My mom bought her vintage sign at JoAnn's. You could tuck a flag in the wreath instead or you could also use a free printable patriotic sign.  I've collected a few on my Pinterest boards.  Feel free to look through them here and print them if you want.

Instructions:

1. Hot glue the end of your yarn to any spot on the back of your wreath and begin wrapping the yarn around the form.  Keep the wrapping tight for a uniform look and make sure to cover the Styrofoam as you go.

2. When you have covered the form entirely, cut the yarn from the skein and glue the loose end somewhere on the back of the wreath.

3. Embellish! We simply added round fabric pin wheels to the wreath and pinned the sign on it. They are similar to the fan I made for this wreath. You do a simple basting stitch down one length of the fabric, then pull the thread until the fabric gathers, form it into a circle and glue it together. Here is a link to a tutorial  that I found online that explains making fabric pinwheels from Happy Together.  (They are quick, I promise).

Thanks for sharing, Mom!

I hope you have fun plans for the holiday!

Current Obsession: Antique Farm House

Thrift shopping and yard sale scouring are not my strong points- I wish they were. Truly. I see so many amazing treasures that people find. I simply don't have the gift or the patience but I love the look of beautiful, old,-time-worn pieces and I love a good deal.  Enter Antique Farm House.  I stumbled upon this site as I was perusing the blogosphere.  Oh mylanta!  It's pretty amazing. It is a deal-a-day (or deal every few days) site offering great, unique home decor at reasonable prices.  Many of their products have a sort of aged feeling to them and make me positively weak in the knees. There are several offerings at a time but they sell out fast and once they're gone, they're gone.  Here are some favorites I've spotted recently. 

 You can visit their site and drool peruse their products here.  You can also sign up for their  email list, so that you are always aware of their events.

The Simplest Preschool Snack

Hi friend! I hope Mother's Day was fabulous for you!

Today I'm sharing the simplest preschool snack- it was a hit with my daughter's class. This treat gets check marks for fun, simplicity and good nutrition.

Fruit Race Cars

• Apple slices
• Grape slices
• Tooth picks
• Whole grapes

I sliced the apples and the grapes ahead of time.   The kids put the two tooth picks in each apple slice and added grape slice wheels.  My daughter thought each of the cars needed an antenna, so we all added another toothpick on top and put our grape antenna-topper on it ;)