Teacher's Gift

I just thought I'd share the gift I made for my daughter's teacher last year.  It was so fun to create!  I think I found a tutorial on Pinterest and went from there.  :o)  My daughter's teacher was "Mrs. B." and went with a "Bee" theme, so I ran with that.

I took a clear plastic box that I picked up at the craft store.  I think it was around $2!  I remember using them for beads when I was a kid, and I think my dad probably used them for nails or fishing stuff too, haha.

Anyway, I took some ribbon and tied it around and made a little box.  I found some adorable yellow ribbon that had apples and "School Days" written on it.  I did add some double sided tape to keep it in place.

I used three different pieces of scrapbook paper to layer on the front and get a design I liked.  Glued them in place, and added some cute little scrapbooking stickers I couldn't pass up.  The bee is wooden, and it was already painted and put together.  When I saw it, I knew I had to get it for this!

Inside, I just did the same thing with scrapbook paper, and added some more stickers.  Then I filled it up with erasers, paperclips, staples, mini post its, wet wipes, bandaids, hand sanitizer, chapstick, and gum! 

Her teacher asked me if I was a scrapbooker a couple of times throughout the year.  Sadly, no!  I just like to play with scrapbook paper!  :o)

30 Days to a Lifetime

I'm not sure I'll post about this every day for the next thirty days, and I can't promise that if I do, that I won't back-date it because I didn't have time to post that day, haha...but I am so on board for the 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge with Diary of a Stay at Home Mom!

I am not the most religious person, I keep my faith between me and God.  I don't go to church every Sunday, in fact, I haven't been in years.  Faith based challenges, tend to turn me off, honestly.  It's not that I have a problem with God, or the Bible, it's that it was forced on me as child/teenager and I rebelled.  I don't think that something so personal can be forced on someone and I simply walked away as a result, and kept my relationship with God behind my own closed doors.  I was intrigued by The Love Dare, and started to read it (online) years ago, but did not finish reading as the version I was reading was heavy on the religion.  For it to work for me, I need to overlook that and read the message and not the words.  The action, and not the quote.  Maybe I'm the wrong person for a challenge like this...but maybe not. 

I adore my husband and we have very traditional roles with our marriage.  I love that he takes care of us.  He is an amazing husband and provider.  While I'm not the best cook or housekeeper in the world, and I have frazzled days just like any other mother who stays at home with young children, I love being at home with my family and caring for our home.  I feel it's my calling and where I am meant to be.  I want our home to be a haven for my husband, and I absolutely want to lift him up with love and encouragement.  I have this issue of being QUIET though.  Self concious.  I often think things, that I don't say.  I don't know why, it's not that they are terrible things, most often they are wonderful things and I'm sure my husband would love to hear them...it would fill my own heart with joy to hear those things from my husband, so I'm not sure why I keep them to myself.  It's just my nature to keep to myself (aside from journals, oh, boy can I let the written word loose!)...but I should be sharing those things with him.  I do leave him little notes, tucked into his uniform or his work bag.  A little something written on his lunch container... but we've been together for over ten years, married for over eight...and I think sometimes I get caught up in life and forget to do these things as often as I should anymore. 



So, here's the challenge for the next 30 days:

* You can't say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband, or to anyone else.

* Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband . . . to your husband . . . and to someone else.

To help you get started, have you ever thanked your husband for "choosing you" above all other women? He found you attractive as a person, and appreciated you. Though many circumstances in your marriage may have changed, let your husband know that you are glad God led you together, and that you want to be a blessing to him for the rest of your marriage.

One of the best opportunities to express your gratitude is first thing in the morning. How do you greet your husband each morning? Is he confident in your love? Give him a "wake up call" that he'll never forget--a big "I love you" and an "I'm so glad I'm your wife!"

Coffee & Candles

I saw a pin on Pinterest a few weeks ago, and thought "Why have I never thought of that?!"

I do that a lot.  :o)

This pin said simply to put candles in a dish or vase filled with coffee beans.  When the candles are lit, the beans warm up and release a delicious scent!

So simple, and I love it!

Bonus, it didn't cost me a thing since I already had everything on hand.  :o)

I'm going to get some vanilla or cinnamon scented candles (Oooh, or maybe pumpkin!) for Fall and do this around the house, it makes a great centerpiece for the table or a buffet.

This would make a great gift too, fill a dollar store pillar vase with coffee beans and put a candle in...  $2 plus the cost of the coffee beans.  Inexpensive and beautiful! 

Entry Way

So, I already showed you how I used the .10 wooden pedestal tray.

I incorporated the shelf and the taller basket into my entry way.  It's still a work in progress, but for now, it works.

I decided to paint the shelf black.  I just used cheap, .99 a can paint I got from Walmart.  Or maybe Lowe's.  I can't remember, but I think Walmart.  I didn't prime.  In retrospect, I should have since I was dealing with metal here, but it's been a couple months (I'm slow to post!) and the only thing having an issue is the hooks, and only the most used hooks are chipping just slightly.  I may end up brushing some paint on that is meant for metal so I don't have to take it down and spray it again. 

I did end up going over my cheap spray paint with a light coat of Rustoleum Textured spray paint in black.  I was thinking this would give it more of a wrought iron feel.  

I like it!  I put the umbrellas on it, took the picture and then decided not to keep umbrellas on the hooks, to keep them just for keys.  We have a lot of keys.  The fire fighter has keys for so many different things.

So, here is my entry way in progress!  Eventually I'd like to take down the light fixture and give it a coat of oil rubbed bronze...but, if I do that, I know myself and I know I'm going to want to take off the door knobs and replace them or paint them orb too.  And that is a lot of work to paint them all, and a lot of money to replace them all...so painting would probably win out, but...so much work!  And so many other things to do first! 

I decided to put umbrellas in my .50 yard sale basket!  I took them off the hooks on the shelves because I could just see my little monkeys trying to hang from an umbrella and the shelf would come crashing down, haha.  Much safer over here in the basket.

Painted Dresser

Remember this dresser I mentioned in my Yard Sale Finds post?

It was only $25!  Solid wood.  Great bones, but not in the best condition ever.  I was smitten at first glance though, I knew I wanted it, and when I got closer and saw the imperfections I didn't even care.  When I saw the $25 price tag, I knew it had to be mine.

The back was falling off...but that was nothing I couldn't fix.  My intention was to use a staple gun and some wood glue.  But honestly, I didn't do ANYthing about it.  I just left it alone because you know, it's going to be up against a wall...  no need.  I'm just keeping it real here!  :o)

Check out these drawers!  There are a few that have neat "built ins."  LOVE!  My whole reasoning for wanting a dresser in my family room was to get rid of the junk drawers in my kitchen, and the PILES that kept accumulating everywhere downstairs. 

I just wanted to be able to shove 'em in a drawer and get them out of sight.  These drawers are perfect for keeping me a little more organized too!

So I sanded down the top of the dresser, and primed it with some Zinsser that I had on hand.  I only primed the top.  I figured spray paint is oil based and would cling well enough everywhere else (and it did).  I had a couple kid free hours to work, and I wasn't going to spend the entire time priming!

So after I primed the top, I grabbed my trusty Rustoleum Painter's Touch, 2X Ultra Cover in Semi-Gloss Black.  LOVE this paint! 

Took out the drawers, and removed the drawer pulls and knobs.  I wasn't sure if I was going to spray paint them or not quite yet.

I gave the drawers a coat of paint...remember, with spray paint, light coats are best and be sure to hold the can about 6-8 inches away from what you're painting so you don't get drips and splatters. 

And shake your can OFTEN!  I am constantly shaking the can as I am painting. 

After I painted the drawers, I painted the body of the dresser with spray paint. 

I'm not really sure why I even bother laying down drop cloths, plastic, sheets, or boxes...I end up getting paint all over the garage floor anyway.  My poor husband is a saint for never getting on me about it, I know it bugs him, poor guy!

I painted the top with spray paint as well, but since it's such a large surface, I ended up going over it again with a foam roller and Rustoleum Black Satin in a can I already had on hand.  Spray paint gives a great finish, but for me, when the surface is larger I end up seeing "lines" in my spray paint, and I'm much happier with the coverage of a roller. 

So, I got my finish nice and even with the foam roller and paint from a can.  Let that dry, and brushed on some polyurethane with a foam brush.  Just one thin coat, and careful not to over brush. 

I put my knobs back on to see what I thought, and I love, LOVE, love the aged bronze against the black.  It's gorgeous. 

This dresser is the perfect fit in our family room!  I love how sometimes it seems like if you just wait, the perfect furniture or decor items just come to you! 

How great are these drawers?!  I didn't bother to paint them or to finish painting the sides of the drawers.  I figured no one but me would really pay attention to that much detail.  This project took me about 5 cans of spray paint, so I didn't feel like buying any more for the drawers. 

I keep my coupons in this one.  I love the divider!

Recognize the other yard sale find?

I put the .10 wooden tray on a pedestal (DO those things have a name?), on top and added some greenery.  I love it and I'm so glad I didn't immediately attack it with spray paint like I was inclined to.  The black of the dresser ties in to the FAMILY photo frames and a few other items in the room, and the wood tones flow well with my kitchen cabinets (it's a really open floor plan for the kitchen/family room), and the end tables in the family room. 

Here's a better picture of the whole room, but it's a little disheveled since this is right after the carpets were cleaned.  The curtains are usually hanging to the floor and not bunched up in the window, and the basket with rolled up blankets on the fireplace is usually more to the right than it is here. 

I am super happy with this dresser and how perfectly it fits in this space for us, not only from a decor stand point, but also functionality!  We use this dresser every day!