DIY dry erase menu and meal plan board

Well, there's not much of a tutorial on this one!

 Hang a frame on the wall and write on it :)

I put some vintage linked paper in mine but you could do anything! Cool patterned paper or wall paper would be fun too :)

This ever so simple idea was inspired by a few friends blogs and pinterest. I put this in the utility room/pantry, and we love its usefulness! I had this 5 photo frame I bought in the damaged section of IKEA because it was $5 and had nothing wrong with it!? I think it was hung in one of the staged rooms? The frame was from my store and I had saved it but couldn't find the right spot. Both were sitting in the garage and either needed a home or needed to go! 

I have to say that I LOVE it! It is SO handy and useful has been super helpful for me to plan meals and keep my grocery needs written on the side. Helpful too when my kids are asking for snacks, it helps me stay creative and healthy!

Enjoy,

Cj

DIY Family Tree

I found this super simple yet beautiful family tree idea on The Bride's Diary. 

I love it, you could do so many different things with this thing. Another project I cant wait to do! 

Enjoy, Cj

DIY paper flower mirror...

So I have no clue what this french MC Maison article is saying :) but the mirror sure is lovely. I have a very similar vintage mirror I just packed up, I might just have to re-create this once we get to the new place!

Un miroir bordé de fleurs en carton - Marie Claire Idées

(I'm thinking "a mirror with a border of flowers in paper?" :)

Enjoy, Cj

DIY ghetto fabulous - book shelves

(pic from Ministry of Deco)

I haven't been doing too much design dreaming for our house recently, I just don't really know where we are going or what we are doing with the house. To move or not to move, that is the question :) We have had our house for sale since mid Fall and show the thing constantly... like almost everyday constantly :) We had an offer in, but the people had a change of heart. So we are back to waiting to see where the Lord wants us to be, and if moving is in His plans.

I haven't been looking at my design blogs, because my brain gets going too fast and I know if we are moving it will be a waste to re-do stuff here! But I did stumble across this great idea @  Table Tonic (a great Australian design blog) , a wonderfully "ghetto fabulous" idea of turning cheap IKEA spice racks into super cool book shelves! They really could hold anything! (photos, vases, candles) And they can be painted any color you can imagine! What a fun accent to a child's room, so functional too. I will be stealing this idea once I figure out which house I am going to hang them in :)

 BEKVÄM | Spice rack

and @ $3.99 each, they definitely qualify for the ghetto fabulous category :)

Looking forward to using these soon! I know my boys will enjoy them!

Cj

Arts and Craft Day!

We had a fun Art's and Craft's time at our house (pre-holidays) with some of our KinderGym friends! Our time consisted of a light lunch, sidewalk paint, paper, glue sticks, and a bin of crayons!

 Here's the sidewalk paint recipe, it's just too easy!

brannonpeople...the blog: sidewalk paint

We had a fun time being creative!

I hope you're enjoying you're weekend! 

Cj

page wreath

Last week, I was checking my email and of course had some random facebook emails that resulted in the FB vortex...you know....we all know....the one that you 20 minutes later stop and realize your looking at some family vacation pictures from Hawaii in 2005, and you don't even know the family! Ya, I don't do facebook much, because when I do it's that! Some people have great self control there and it's a wonderful tool to keep in touch, not so much for me :) 

 This day wasn't necessarily that bad of a vortex, but actually a cool find. This picture of this beautiful wreath popped up on my news feed and I couldn't help but click on it! It was a link to this blog, domestic life (which looks like a super cute blog). She had a bunch of fun and unique DIY wreaths. I couldn't help but post the pic's. You could make this with so many things! Sheet music, old books, patterned paper, and the list goes on! 

If I have a chance before our trip, I'm totally making one! 

Enjoy, Cj

sidewalk paint

Super Sidewalk Paint

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Total Time Needed:

30 Minutes or less

"Inspired by a cool sidewalk paint kit we saw selling for $15, we came up with our own recipe using just a couple of common kitchen ingredients that cost about $1," says Danita Thomas. "This concoction comes in handy when the kids are a little restless and start asking, 'What can we do now?' They've used their homemade paints to design driveway murals, lay out roads for their bikes and toy cars, and even decorate the walkways for holidays."


Check out more fun ideas from John and Danita Thomas, the Kid Concoctions Couple.

Materials

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup cold water

• Food coloring
• Paintbrush

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and cold water. Stir in as many drops of food coloring as you need to get your desired color. Repeat this process for each paint color. Use a paintbrush to make fun designs on the sidewalk or driveway. To wash the paint off, simply spray the area with water.
   
   
   
   TIP: Super Sidewalk Paint isn't just for sidewalks. Put it in spray bottles and use it to color sand castles and snow sculptures.
   
   
   Since this is now "craft week" :) I thought this recipe would be a good one to post! A friend showed me this fabulous recipe last week! We LOVE it! It's super fun, not crazy messy and costs about nothing to make! 

I'll be enoying this craft with my kiddos in the morning, 

Cj

impromptu craft week

I have several million(slight exaggeration) posts that I'd love to post, new sweet pics of my boys(did I mention how sweet thet were?:), a few yummy recipes, new pics of a clients room I'm working on, a few new fun stories... but I'm not a fan of posting without pictures and my iphoto is down! As of now my computer is  telling me, I have no pictures in my photo library that normally has an average of 12,000 photos in it... ahh, where are you pictures!? I'm praying they are not all gone. That would be quite sad(understatement). So, since I can't post the stuff I was planning on posting, I will keep sharing my craft/holiday finds and a few old posts. It's now going to be craft week... or a few craft days until I get iphoto back and running :) I've had a few people ask about templates for the Dear Lillie projects, and I found some for y'all! Also, I'm throwing in a few recipe ideas that make great gifts! Until the pics are found, 

Enjoy the random crafts... 

Cj

Here is an easy pattern for stockings:

Free Christmas Stocking Sewing Pattern

Here are the templates for the "Dear Lillie" pillows:

Dear Lillie: Silent Night, Holy Night Templates

Here are 2 of my favorite easy to make desserts that make great gifts, they are delicious, simple to package and enjoyed by everyone! Put them in chinese take-out boxes or clear favor bags! Bring to a holiday gathering, give as thank you's, or make just for fun... But I might take that back, I wouldn't recommend the "make just for fun", these are way too dangerous to make and not eat. Have a place you are quickly taking them after you make them...

 Bethany's Peanut Butter Squares! (or hearts:)

 Elyse's Roca Brittle

Also, I thought I'd throw in another random, but yummy gift idea :) We made around Thanksgiving last year. Super easy and super useful.

 Herb Bundles

DIY Recycled Crayons

DIY Toddler Friendly Crayons

Wet weather = toddlers getting stir crazy stuck indoors.

So how about gathering all left over crayon bits and creating different and exciting new shapes. Think moustaches, alphabet letters or numbers, hearts, anything available in baking tins. Heat makes a crayon a little loopy; it may melt into a swirl or pool into a whirl.You don't have to stick to just one colour - try different colour combinations like blue and white. They can also make great party favours!!

Tools and Materials

• Kitchen knife
• Old crayons
• Mini-cake tins (that you don't mind getting wax in)

1. Parents can use the knife to chop crayons into pea-size pieces, taking care to keep colors separate so kids can combine them as they like. Use perhaps a cork cutting board - it will be hard to get the wax out and they are quite hard to break!
2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees while children fill the tin with crayon pieces, arranging them in interesting designs.
3. Bake just until the waxes have melted, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Remove the shapes after they have cooled. If they stick, place tray in the freezer for an hour, and the crayons will pop out.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Crazy Crayons - Martha Stewart Kids

We have a  million broken crayons around here and I'm constantly tossing them! I follow this super cute Australian blog,

Chic Mother & Baby Blog {daily} | Dress, Decor and Design Inspiration for Baby, Mum and Women 

and found this ever so useful recycling idea for your old crayons! Its super easy, even little ones can help. Enjoy! Cj

okay i know it's not even thanksgiving yet, but...

A friend e-mailed me the link to the Dear Lillie blog and said I would enjoy it. The second I clicked on it, these 2 projects came up and I knew I was a fan :) They are both super simple and don't cost much to make. The words on the pillows were done with a sharpie, how easy is that :)
They'd make great gifts too! Check out the how-to's here @
 Dear Lillie

Arts and Cracks

I've been wanting to be creative and educational with my playtime at home with the kids. So Hud and I made an Arts and Crafts Box, which he calls the Arts and Cracks Box! I just designated a clear bin in my craft closet and filled it with:

-crayons and chalk

-ghetto rubber stamps found at the thrift store

( so it is no biggie if they get thrashed!)

- ink stamp pad

-scrap paper and  spiral bound note books

-blank cards and envelopes (easy card making!)

-stickers

-scissors

-tape

-clay

-play dough

-bubbles (not really crafty but for some reason they're there :)

Hud loves it! We play with it almost every day. It's been a great way to work on colors, shapes and letters, all while having fun and being creative! It's an easy clean up too, throw it all back in the box and you're done! And it was way cheap, this doesn't have to be fancy , it's easy thrift store and dollar store stuff! 

Enjoying our pre-school at home :),

 Cj

here's some of the lovely work that the art box has produced!

homemade doughnuts!

oh, yeah this is another fun tool for our Arts and Crafts time. 

This IKEA Chalk board is a must have!:)and @ 15.00 it makes a great gift too!A pack of chalk and a bow, you'll be good to go!

Just do it!

Ok. I am going to be real honest tonight... I am a recovering queen of procrastination. I am the queen of putting off today, to only put more off tomorrow. The Lord has been been working on me for a while now but, over the past few weeks, I have been really convicted of a few areas of my life that have needed some special attention (which explains my lack of blogging the past few weeks). One of them being a faithful keeper of my home.  I want my home to be a place of order,  a relaxing haven for my family and those who come to it. But to accomplish that, I can't be lazy, putting off the hard stuff for another day, It only accumulates! I must do it!

 Ok, so here comes the window into my home that's going to be pretty scary! Brace yourselves :) I've been convicted that I had been lazy and needed to clean this beast out so that it would function right and it would be organized and ready to show as we are selling our house. Ugh, clean that thing out?! How and when and where? and Ugh. This has been the biggest dread of mine to do. So many excuses and so many days of putting this unwanted task off, and it was finally time to be done! Here was the "straw". What do I make time for? Sure I have time for errands, cooking, play dates and getting together with friends, blogging, reading good books, fun art projects, and a million other things I want to do. But do a project that my sweet husband has kindly hinted at me to get do over the past few months, oh I can't do that?! And the one I walk by every day and feel guilty for not doing ?! There's something wrong here! I've been a little off on my priorities! It was time to get'er done! Here is a quote that has so challenged and helped me. I need this thing taped all over my house!

Procrastination:

No unwelcome tasks become any the less unwelcome by putting them off till tomorrow. It is only when they are behind us and done, that we begin to find that there is a sweetness to be tasted afterwards, and that the remembrance of unwelcome duties unhesitatingly done is welcome and pleasant. Accomplished, they are full of blessing, and there is a smile on their faces as they leave us. Undone, they stand threatening and disturbing our tranquility, and hindering our communion with God. If there be lying before you any bit of work from which you shrink, go straight up to it, and do it at once. The only way to get rid of it is to do it.

-Alexander MacLaren (1826–1910), Scottish preacher

Here's my "unwanted" task!

I can't believe I'm actually sharing this...

um, yes, all this junk actually fit in there!

here is my sorting room!

1 day, 2 nights,3 goodwill bags, 3 large trash bags and 1 label maker later we had this!!

Oh, the quote above is so true! It truly is peace and relief when things that stand threatening and disturbing of our tranquility, are done! I now have the most functioning craft space I've ever had! I know where everything is. I can stop buying the same things over and over because I realize I actually already have them! What a relief and what a joy! If you're like me and have one of those tasks hanging around, I encourage you to just do it! Ahh, what a relief it is to have it done! 

"She watches over the ways of her 

household,

And does not eat the bread of 

idleness.

Her children rise up and call her

 blessed;

Her husband also, and he praises

her."

Proverbs 31:27-28

May we glorify the Lord with our time and priorities, 

so that we can truly Enjoy all HE has for us ! 

Cj