officially nesting

The nesting bug has officially hit our house. More specifically, the 'what the heck is she thinking nesting bug.'

R came home from work (basketball, actually) about a week ago and cautiously asked… 'why is everything off the walls upstairs?' Judging by the look on his face, he already knew.

Our main living area (kitchen, living room, dining room, breakfast nook, hallways) all open up to each other in one big area. It's the only area of our home that hasn't been painted (or really even touched much at all) since we've moved in. That's over six years of brown walls everywhere you look. That's a lot. (Have I mentioned our bedroom and master bath have each been about 5 or more colors since we've moved in? I'm not one to commit to colors very long. Six+ years is a LONG time.) When I was pregnant with B I had the major itch to paint upstairs but R talked me out of it. Once B came along, we knew it was too big of a project to take on with a baby. Then he started walking. Then we sort of forgot about it.

So.

I knew when the itch hit again I just needed to dive in get started. I knew if I thought about it logically too long it would never happen. Thus taking everything off the walls approximately two minutes after I decided it was happening. :) (I'm not saying it was a good idea. I'm just saying that's how it happened. I don't recommend that method.)

We've had paint chips for possible replacement colors in the house for over a year now (and I've been mulling them over off and on that entire time). So I had an idea of a color but couldn't commit to one. I eventually did eenie meenie and prayed a little bit and ended up with Modern Gray (Sherwin Williams color but I had it mixed with the Valspar paint + primer at Lowes). It's a super light gray with no blues in it (which is typically my issue with grays).  I asked the paint lady at Lowes for the formula to make sure there were no blues. The formula looked safe so I went with it. She suggested starting with a sample before buying the 5 gallon non-refundable bucket. I went with the bucket. :|

I'll spare you the details on the painting drama. (Long story short we have some touch up work and ceiling work to do…) But it's (basically) DONE! (yay!)

I only cried about it for two days after it went on the walls.

I was in a slight design identity crisis.

I started grabbing random things from around the house and trying them in different spots upstairs. And even started liking a few of them.

Eventually I landed on a new design identity- I'm calling it 'industrial charm meets mid-century modern.'

And things started taking off from there.

We still have a ways to go so I don't have many details to share yet but here are two quick pics from Instagram….

(Sharpie wall tutorial on Vintage Revivals. It is well with my soul canvas was made with the community silhouette and is most definitely grey on gold and not black. For obvious reasons. And I can't wait to show you what's going on the back wall where the painter's tape is. I think it's my favorite thing I've ever made!)

Hopefully I'll have more of the million shades of grey makeover to share soon…

We'll see. :)

Bedroom Redo 2013

It's been awhile since I've blogged and now all of a sudden there's several posts in a row. Crazy, I know but I had two nights of sessions rained out this week so I've been caught up on editing (for now). (This post is set to autopost so by the time you see it I will be behind on editing. Again. But for now.... I'm visiting the Hickstionary!)


It's also been awhile since our latest bedroom redo. The longest while in between bedroom makeovers actually. We built our home five years ago and in those five years, we've had some paint color on the walls! The previous paint color was there the longest. Not because we loved it but because B was born and it's a lot harder to work full-time hours from home and have a baby than I estimated it to be. And to throw in any home improvement projects? Pure craziness. I digress.

It'd been awhile since our last bedroom redo so when R told me for Mother's Day and then again for anniversary... and then on my birthday.... that he would do a house project for me as a gift, I knew what project I'd be picking out. I definitely wanted to redo the bedroom!

The problem was he kept gifting me an 'IOU' but we never saved the money to actually make it happen. Enter: my 30th birthday. And the crazy awesome friends/family that showered me with gifts/gift cards/cash. I haven't gotten that much birthday money since... never. Wowsers. I was spoiled. And I had a plan for those very generous gifts. (Thanks, guys!!!)

The plan was to use the birthday money for the bedroom if you didn't figure it out.... ;)

And so began #bedroomredo2013.

(But first lets look back at the two most recent looks.... yikes.)

And the bedroom redo 2013:

The breakdown:
-White down comforter, coral pillow cases, bedskirt, grey ombre dip died curtains, top drawer mercury glass knobs (on mint dresser): Target.
-Grey pillow: Kohls. (And I still have $30 in Kohl's gift cards to spend... any ideas?)
-Headboard: made from 1x8s.
-Sconce: cordset from West Elm (wrapped in scrap fabric), bracket made from scrap wood.
-Dakota's dog bed: Pet 360.
-Mint dresser: neighbor's curb (then painted).
-Flooring: Shaw Rustic Allure Delavan Pine (Menards)
-Paint colors: Walls: Timeless Ivory. Mint: Coral: (all from Menards)
-Wood stump nightstand: R brought the trunk home from working tree service. The plan was to use it in B's 'big boy' room as a night stand but we realized our existing nightstand wouldn't work in here so we 'borrowed' it until B's room is ready for it.
-Printables: found online (with modified colors) or {cb}h printables.
-Wood folding chair: my MIL got a set of them from a church that was getting rid of them.
-Everything else: found around our house.



What I love:
-The lighting in this room. We have some big windows on this side of the house and get some awesome light a few times a day but before the walls were painted 'white' most people wouldn't have known it.
-The flooring. It's just not possible to feel like carpet is clean with you have a dog and a toddler. (Yes, they both hang out in our room.)
-The white bedding. (Hello, bleach!)
-The mint dresser (It was a great find on our neighbor's curb! It needed a little TLC but is now a lovely shade of mint.)
-The coral pallet arrows. (Super easy-and free! project but adds a lotta punch.)

What I'm not crazy about:
-The coral painted nightstand and sconce. (I painted the nightstand coral first and thought the sconce would balance it out and tame it down. It did the opposite and added enough coral to make it look like a preteen bedroom instead of a master bedroom. Yikes.)
-The headboard. (We had planned on making it out of barnwood but that didn't happen. We found cheap 1x8s and went that route instead. I planned to stain them but R said they needed painted. They started out bright mint. I attempted to tone that down. It's less nautical than it was in it's beginning stages but still not quite where I want it.)


What I'm going to try/still need to do:
-Tame the headboard down with some driftwood stain.
-Paint the nightstand. Again. (But what color?!?!)
-Paint the sconce bracket grey (of course).
-Find a paper mache ampersand!!!!! The plan was to put 'R&H' on the headboard but for the life of me I can't find that '&.'
-Find a replacement nightstand for when I need to move the 'wood stump' to B's room.
-Paint the bathroom. (That blue you see peeking out.) I always get hung up on a bedroom color because I always feel like the bathroom should match. We hate painting the bathroom (there's a lot to it!) so we've yet to do it. I'm thinking a light grey maybe? Anyone wanna help? :)


What I've thought about but wont likely get to:
-An art gallery wall where our caricature is.
-An area rug.


So overall, it's a huge improvement from before! We're loving the walls and the floor so hopefully those things will stay put for awhile. A little paint on the nightstands and headboard will make it super easy to change out this room as soon as I get sick enough of the coral color to do it.

What about you? Any home projects your way lately? :)

365 wk22

28- All of this summer's house projects have a budget of $0. Good thing we have a lot of paint on hand! The faux dip paint method is a fast, easy and cheap way to update the 'blah.'

29- B's 'Papa tractor' came to see him. We've had a lot of visitors that come during nap time lately. :)

30- 'Coffee' date. Only no coffee for B and I.

31- B's idea of helping in the kitchen.

1- Outdoor movie night was a little chilly. We'll have to have a redo in the near future.

2- B used his good looks to get all the strawberries that were ready out of the neighbors' garden.

3- Do the zoo!

my funny [and slightly crabby] valentine

Once B was born, I decided I needed to learn how to bake cookies. It took me until last Valentine's day to feel confident enough to share my baked goods with the masses. This year when I mentioned my plans to do the same, R mentioned how it was now a Valentine's Day tradition. I like traditions. I loved the sound of it.


So on date night when we realized we were all out of butter and couldn't make cookies without it, we had to make a pit stop. And when I realized B's 15 month well baby check would keep me occupied in the morning I had to stay up late to bake the cookies. It was a tradition. :)

I stayed up late baking. I got B up early for his 15 month check. A 15 month check means shots. They also took some blood. B was not so happy about it. Our morning was off to a rough start. And the cookies I stayed up late to bake hadn't frosted themselves.

Enter a genius Heidi idea. (Are you keeping track? That's already the 2nd one this year.)

Time was short. I was bored with frosting cookies. Jars are cute. And anything you put in a jar automatically becomes cute by association.

And that's how the Hickstionary Decorate Your Own Cookies Kit in a jar came to be.

Pour some sprinkles in a jar. Carefully (or in my case, not so carefully) place the cookies on top of the sprinkles. Fill a zip lock bag with Wilton Buttercream Frosting. (Do NOT use any other kind. It just wont work. I promise.) Carefully fold the zip lock bag over so the zipper is hidden. Gently lay the bag on top of the cookies. Stick a clever note in saying it's a cookie decorating kit. (Leave out the part about how you're too lazy to decorate the cookies yourself.) Attach a picture of your funny Valentine. Take a picture of your funny Valentine holding on to the jar and looking cute. (Unless they just had shots then you should probably just save yourself the torture and skip that part.) Be too lazy to actually deliver the jars so hand them out to the neighbor kids as they get off the school bus and eat the rest of the cookies yourself. Okay, that part is optional but the rest of the directions are totally necessary.

Cute, right?

And yes- I did actually frost a few cookies. We took bags/boxes of cookies to every place we visited that day. In total, we delivered (or ate) 77 cookies (at last count). B's favorite stop was daddy's school. He LOVES running in the gym and he LOVES seeing his daddy so it might have been the happiest moment of his day. As soon as he properly greeted his daddy though, he spotted a neighbor girl (he is incredibly gifted at spotting the neighbor girls in a crowd and chasing them down). He ran after her as she was leaving class and made it out the door behind her. I tried to get a shot of him giving her a hug but by the time I grabbed my camera, he was off to check out something else. Probably another Valentine. ;)


Hope you had a happy and funny (not crabby) Valentine's Day!

Party Time

Who doesn't love a good party? It doesn't take much of an excuse for me to want to throw a party.

B.B. (before Beckett), we felt like we had to be creative with our party reasons since we didn't have the children's birthday party excuse to invite people over. We've hosted game nights, yard games, outdoor movie parties, gender reveals, bridal showers, baby showers, March Madness parties, bowl game parties, Super Bowl parties, craft days, favorite things, and the list goes on and on.

B.B. we had a little (a lotta) bit more expendable income so mixing up the party decor and going overboard on the food was never a big deal. These days, we still love any old excuse for a party but we have to be a lot more thrifty about it.  In the past we may have offered every guests' favorite drink; these days we offer just one or two. Our old parties would end with tons of leftovers; recent parties have had much smaller menus and in several cases have even been potluck.*

And the decor... yep, we pretty much reuse and repurpose it for every. single. party.

We started with some good staple pieces back in the day. And by request, I'm going to share my hints and tips for throwing a party on the cheap. Lucky you. ;)


First off, I'm going to share with you my all time favorite party blog. I cant even believe I'm giving up this awesome resource but in the days of Pinterest, there really aren't any 'best kept internet secrets' anymore are there? (And yep. I too have a Party Time board on Pinterest.)   Hostess With The Mostess is a loverly little blog about all things hostessy.

Pretty much all the party trends that have popped up and exploded on the interwebs, were first featured on HWTM. Those cute little milk bottles you can now buy everywhere? They were featured in this lovely brunch on HWTM before shops even sold them. You had no choice but to go the Starbucks bottle route. Party shops around the web took note and capitalized on the opportunity.

And that's where my party supply essential list starts.

-Milk bottles. As previously mentioned, I first saw them on HWTM. That was nearly two years ago. You couldn't buy them in shops so I set out to the grocery store to buy a pack of the Starbucks frappucine bottles. I bought a pack of 4 and tried to drink them. Tried to pawn them off on every guest that walked through the door. Tried to convince R he liked them. Nothing worked. The cheapskate in me couldn't buy them and dump them down the drain so I put out an all call on Facebook and within minutes had around 50 bottles ready to go. I saved approximately 30 for our party needs and got help cleaning them.**



-Jars, large containers, tubs. Buying the cute little bottles in the grocery aisle got me to thinking... what else could I find there? Sure, you can buy cute jars and tubs in all kinds of craft and party supply stores but you can find it cheaper in the grocery aisle. My favorite find has been an extra large jar previously holding large dill pickles from Sams Club. The thing is HUGE. If you have a connection to a school cook or the person running the concession stands, that's a great hook up for oversized food jars. These are great for displaying cookies, animal crackers, candy & other treats. They are a great place for people to stick cards for a shower. They're a great spot to stick those cute party notes in. You can use them for games. The list goes on.

-Trays, crates, drawers. These are fun finds that can add a lot to your table scape. Turn the crates upside down to add some height. Stick some treats in a drawer to separate it from everything else on the table. And trays? They're a party planning no brainer. They can be used in so many ways. Use it as a drink station, a snack station, etc. etc. My tip here is PAINT. You can find trays, crates, drawers and more super cheap at thrift stores, on curbs, and in the seasonal clearance aisles. They might not be pretty there but the price will be right. My beloved chalkboard paint serving tray started out as a $2 Thanksgiving find at Hobby Lobby. It had a great big ole turkey on it. I covered it in chalkboard paint (or might have convinced the hubby to) and it looks like I paid at least 10 times the original price for it. If you cant find steals in the thrift store and clearance aisles, visit the craft stores and shop the unfinished aisles. You'll find great deals here (and of course never buy from there without a 50% coupon- most will coupon match from their competitors). And of course you can paint it any old color you like.


-Chalkboards, decor, other details. If you've been to a party at the Hicks' ranch, you probably recognize the tiny chalkboard above. You can find details like the mini-chalkboards, wooden clothes pins and scrapbook paper at your favorite craft supply store. Use the wooden clothes pins to pin up pictures of the guest of honor. Use your giant hole punch to make fun confetti with your scrapbook paper. You can also use scrapbook paper for banners, chargers, and more. Washi tape is another craft supply that can add a lot to your party decor. Use it to make little banners for your straws or cupcake toppers. Stick a strip on those cute party pictures you hung up. Add a little color to your favor bags or boxes. The possibilities are endless!

-Speaking of banners. We have a chalkboard (imagine that) pennant banner that we continue to reuse every party. If I'm really feeling festive, I'll write 'Happy Birthday' or another fun message on it. Having staple pieces like this in a neutral that can be reused is always a good idea. You can also easily make your own banner for super cheap. String together cupcake liners or rip up old favorite clothes and tie them to a string (as seen on the Sweet Shop Lulu homepage below). Super easy, instant decor!

-Stripey straws and napkins in a neutral. Again, we got these in grey nearly two years ago. We've reused them for several parties and STILL have some left over. My trick here is that I stick them in the front bottles for picture purposes or just leave a jar of them near the drinks. I found that if you stick one in every drink, some people prefer to not have them and they end up taking them out and tossing them. By just sticking them in a jar nearby, they last a lot longer. I also intermix cute napkins with cheap ones to stretch out the cute ones.

*Can we please come up with a new name for potluck? Puh-lease? Anyone?

**To clean your bottles, jars and other awesome finds from the grocery aisle, start by soaking them in hot sudsy water. Peel away the labels, using goo gone if needed. The stamped on dates can easily be removed by using fingernail polish remover. You can use elbow grease instead if you choose but these two tricks will save you lots of time (and possibly your elbows). WASH the dickens out of the bottles after using the goo gone and polish remover. I recommend the sterilize dishwasher setting.


PS- I started this post after Kelsey asked me for some ideas but it took me a long time to get it posted. As you can see by her super cute party planning post, she's good to go and doesn't need any help but y'all are still welcome to be a cheapskate like me and make your own party super cute for super cheap.

What about the rest of you? Do you have any fun parties coming up? What are your favorite party planning tips?

B's First Art Project

Well not technically his first. He's made some things with me but I've always added to them or jazzed them up. This was his first ever, creative, open ended art project, done all by himself! And even though I was expecting a pintrosity, other than the whole eating paint thing it went great!

Oh don't worry. Paint wasn't the worst thing he ate today. In fact it was #3 on the list of worst things he ate for the day. (Toilet cleaner wand and dog food topped the list. I guess I was just THAT awesome of a mom today.)

(Note to self: Buy children's/non-toxic paint...... and put the toilet cleaner wand away.)





B's Valentine Hearts..... inspired by Pinterest:

DIY Squeezable Baby Food

I swore I would never buy those expensive baby food pouches. But one day we were at the store and the kid (who had no idea what they were) pointed to them and signed 'more please.' And I'm a sucker for his baby signs so I got them. And I tasted them (what, you don't taste the stuff you feed your baby?). And they were actually pretty yummy. And then one day we were running late. And B needed a snack. And these were sitting right there all convenient like to grab. And they made my life a little easier that day. And.. well.. you get the idea.

So B, who has been perfectly capable of eating all sorts of good solid food for quite some time now, started eating the squeezable pouched baby foods. And life was a little easier when I could just grab one of those instead of cook up some peas for a snack.


But they are expensive.

And our small town store doesn't carry them. So we rarely have them on hand. And when we do, I really try to save them for 'special' times (like when mama is running late and shoulda been out the door 10 minutes ago but the babe needs a snack).

But the kid still loves 'em anyway.

And tonight as I was cleaning out the fridge and went to throw one away he freaked.
Of course it was the last one. And we don't own any of those cute reusable ones.
So I dumped some applesauce into a straw sippy cup and called it good.
And wondered why I hadn't thought of that before? And why I've never seen it on the interwebs.

Until now.

Mama didn't raise a rocket scientist but I do present to the world, the DIY squeezable baby food pouch. AKA a sippy cup with a straw.

P.S. I sincerely hope you don't feel dumber for reading this post. ;)

Update: Today we stuck a straw in the yogurt and B loved it. We are getting all kinds of crazy ideas around here. :)

I know this post is old news but several people are still stumbling upon my blog by searching for DIY squeezable baby pouch so I thought I'd add our latest DIY pouch- just use the hole puncher to make some holes in the top of the plastic yogurt lid and stick the straw in. This has been the easiest one yet and B loves that he gets to do it all by himself. (The yogurt eating, not the hole punching!) :)

Christmas Craft Day 2012

We had another round of Craft Day today! Craft Days are some of my favorite days of the year! 

This time around we had a few snacks and a BYOUFCM* hot cocoa bar (complete with Redi Whip which isn't pictured here but should be!). ;)  

*bring your own ugly festive christmas mug

I think it may have been my most successful craft day yet- I finished ALL of the projects. And I was actually happy with the way all of them turned out. Can you believe it?! :)
Four is the new number for projects in a day (remind me of that next time please!).

Projects:
-Gratitude Journals
-Chicken Wire Frames & fancy clothes pins
-Tile Coasters
-Tea Towels

Thanks a ton, ladies! It's alway fun to see you!
And for those of you that have asked in the past about craft day- we now have a Facebook group for it. Be sure to let us know if you want an invite to the group!



Updated: Pictures of completed crafts-

Christmas Craft Day '11

We had the third edition of Craft Day here at the Hicks' Ranch last weekend.
Of course it was attended by some fabulous women. I'm blessed to have such great gals to craft with in my life! :) We had some breakfast and did some crafting. And lots of catching up. In fact, by the time I realized what time it was, we had missed lunch and it was time for dinner (which we ate breakfast leftovers for!). Good times!

I realized I didn't get a photo of each craft (and I would take a photo of each of mine but I haven't quite finished all of mine yet.... ha). I tried to get a crafting in action photo but almost everyone hid as the camera came out. Please note the paper covered tables though. No super glue casualties this time around!! :)

We had a little guest make his way downstairs. (Somehow on daddy daycare day, daddy ended up leaving to work out. How does that work?! Ha)

And some of the crafty girls. I never think to take a picture until at least one chica is gone (sorry, Lisa!) and we're also missing Jen (who sent her craft up but stayed home so she wouldn't spread her germs. I ended up getting sick anyway. Bummer!).

But I did get a photo of:
(br) Jill, Erin, Ashley, Kari, Anne
(fr) Molly, Me, Kelsey & Jaren

With some of our crafty goodness.

You can check out all of the projects below (and check out the blogs from those lovely ladies- maybe they'll post their finished projects..... hint hint girls!):

-vintage paper ornaments
-braided headbands
-santa belly ornaments
-scrapbook CDs
-ruffle bags
-block letters
-button paperclips
-button bobby pins
-t-shirt necklace


Thanks for another Craftastic Day, girls!! Cant wait to do it again!


(PS- Have you noticed all the blogging going on here today? I still have the 'snotty nose, sore throat, cant cuddle a baby crud' so Mr Beckett is sitting next to me in his MamaRoo while I blog in between naps- and feel too lousy to do anything else around here... you know.. except for stare at the laundry pile I should be folding)

A Craftastic Summer Evening

Updated: I have been asked for this post by a few people and I thought I had posted it. I typed it a long time ago and just never got around to publishing. Sorry!!

I have to admit, I really dropped the ball on craft night. We originally talked about doing a spring one, then an early summer one, then finally it turned into lets just get one in before school starts again. -We're much more realistic now and already planning the next one for another Christmas one! I'm also being a little more realistic about what I'll be able to contribute and have already asked the foodie to be the menu planner. ;)

My high school friend, Jill (a foodie) brought the BEST cheesecake stuffed strawberries and the cutest mustache mug craft. (Seriously, I could go for a ton more of those strawberries right now. You know how everyone is polite and leaves the last one? I was totally 'that girl' that ate the last strawberry tonight. SOOOO good!)

Molly brought this fun canvas project. (Are you noticing the Pinterest trend yet? We thought the next craft date should maybe be changed to Pinterest date instead....) Jen made the vinyl letters for mine with her fancy schmancy cricut. Have you seen those things at work? So geeky but soooo awesome!

Kari brought the sand vases. I think you were supposed to cover the entire thing but I opted for a sand stripe instead. (I like to live on the edge).

I did the Scrabble 'frames' with the clothes pin. Jen reminded me yesterday that I hadn't actually seen it or tested it to see how it would work (and that not everything I envision works out). I should have stuck with a Pinterest craft. My original plan was to do the bigger Scrabble canvas as my craft but it's pretty hard to come by that many letters for everyone! (But you can keep collecting those old Scrabble letters for me please and thank you!)

Here's a sample of what we made. Jill has better pictures on her blog so go check those out. My mustache mug had already found a home in my new niche before I took this picture so you may have spied it on my desk picture. (and yes, our little guy's name is blacked out on purpose. R wont let me tell anyone!!! sorry!)

As always, some of the craftasticly awesome women I know:

The 'What is That?' Spot.

We built our home three years ago. (I don't use the term built lightly like many do. I'm talking about doing the actual, physical building. Yes, I think there's a big difference.)

Since we moved in, we've had this little niche by they back door. I always had big plans for it but it sat empty- or full of boxes, storage tubs, bags, shoes, etc, etc, etc. It was a sad, lonely, unfinished, brown niche. Most people that went through our house would ask about the odd little space and what it's purpose was. And the truth is, it really didn't have a purpose.

Until today.

All I wanted for my birthday was for R to do something with the niche. He's been putting it off for one reason or another (namely blaming his finishing carpentry skills) for quite awhile now but finally decided he would give it a try.

One of the nice things about always having a project going on is that you always have odds/ends materials for new projects. The total cost for this project was $20 and only because he was 5" short on plywood.

The breakdown:

-I made a cardboard template for R to copy and he used the ($20) plywood to build the desk part. He trimmed it in with trim pieces we already had in the basement. We painted it with existing trim paint (We always have this color on hand- it's Sherwin Williams 'PATIENCE.' Don't you love that?)

-We painted the wall with leftover paint from the nursery trim (Sherwin Williams 'Drizzle' color- looks more blue here but it's aqua). Yes, it's trim paint, not wall paint. We improvise on a lot of projects around here.

-The post box was a hand me down from Holly. I painted and ruffed it up.

-The post box holds storage for stamps, post its, pocket change, business cards, etc.

-More storage is located on the back walls (that you can't see). There are also EIGHT outlets on those walls (I originally planned to use this as a charging station).

-We have no idea what the 'In' and 'Out' board is from. I actually pulled it out of the basement garbage and hot glued the scrabble letters and clothes pins on. This will hopefully work great for us because I have a lot of outgoing mail with {cb}h and R is often the one to do the post office run. I often check the mail and things he needs to go through sits on the counter until he gets to it. (Yes, we have the back of the pantry for that purpose but he would forget to check there for it. Hopefully this works better!)

-Bucket next to the pen jar is a 'To Do' bucket. Was hoping to keep it empty but there's always something to do.

-Mustache mug is from craft night (more on that later), courtesy of Jill. Isn't it perfect?

-The pink canvas is taped to the wall while I figure out what to put there. Likely a similar canvas project (with the letters going the correct way obviously).

-Chair I bought from The Shabby Tabby for $5 awhile back. It's a photo prop but this is the perfect place to store it, dontcha think?

I know it doesn't look like that big of a deal but I really wish I had the before picture so you could see what an improvement this really is. Hopefully it serves its purpose well and keeps the kitchen counter clutter free! Thanks for working on this today, R!

PS- He still has over half the plywood left and thinks it's enough for the nursery storage bench so the $20 is going a long ways!)

DIY

I don't know if we are actually 'DIY' type of people or if we are just the 'too cheap to pay someone else to do it' type, but we end up doing a lot of our own little projects around here.

We're in the middle of a big little project right now.... oh you've heard me mention it a time or two? (If you're already bored, just click on outta here.)

R finished laying the flooring in there (a grey wood laminate) and put the trim up (painted deep aqua). We got the crib set up and the next big thing on my list was bedding.

You may have heard me mention the fabric issue before.... my intention was to find some fabrics that I loved to make a crib quilt, choose one of those fabrics for the skirt (and bumper) and put all that together with a nice, matching (store bought) sheet. I quickly ditched the bumper idea (that's a lot of work for something the baby isn't supposed to use anyway). And after searching for days (weeks, really) and not falling in love with any fabrics, I changed the main quilt color to white and realized there was no need to make a white crib skirt (right?). I got online with good intentions of finding a nice (CHEAP) white or grey crib skirt. I figured I could surely find something plain for $15. Then I saw this Dwell crib skirt. It wasn't exactly $15 but I couldn't get it out of my mind. I searched a few more days with no luck and kept coming back to the grey mini dots. I almost made an impulse buy but it was out of stock. I figured that was a good sign. Or was it a challenge? I searched a few other places. After finding it out of stock in online store after online store, there was finally a place that had it ready to ship. I made the fastest 'impulse' (or maybe just stupid?) buy I've made since college and it was on my doorstep two days later.

If you're taking notes, that's now the second baby purchase we've made- after the flooring. (I actually purchased a few little clothing things over the weekend and again yesterday so I've made a few more little purchases now too.... I'm slowly catching up to where you all expected me to be by now...)

I couldn't wait to get it up so when I came up to the trim down and a husband willing to set up the crib, we did it. (There's no mattress yet and we will eventually move the base up, this was just for looks people.)

And that's the way too long, 5 minutes of your life you'll never get back, story of how I gave up a DIY project. Now if I could just hand off this quilt project to my mom, I'll only have 372 more DIY projects to go!

How To Make A Stunt Man Shirt

Today's HOW TO is one that's too cute not to share. It comes from Ashley at Under the Sycamore. As you can see, we adapted Morgan's. She clearly did not want her's to say STUNT MAN. Or girl. So she stood on her head to see what words she could think of and as she started to tumble over she said "WHOA!" Go check out Ashley's page for more great DIYs!

{cb}h

Here's a little ditty from {cb}h (that's created by this time).

It was a Monday night. I was in the middle of another working evening. My brain needed a break.

I'd been wanting to test out some craft ideas for our (almost) homemade Christmas event (I'm SOOOO excited about it, y'all!). And we are going to be in need of some wall art in the near future. (That's the only current hint you get about that project.)

So I grabbed an old sweater. One I love. One that has memories attached. One that's just a little too snug for me these days.

I scuffed up one of those frames from another project idea (they've been laying around since we got engaged waiting to be used for a last name project..... I figured that wasn't happening anytime soon and I could steal from that project's pile...).

I stuck a little ditty on the little (as in too little) sweater and stuck it in the frame.

Materials needed:

A sweater that doesn't fit you anymore (or does. I'm not picky)

A frame

A little ditty of sorts

Glue gun

Sewing shears (I kid. I couldn't find mine and used my pampered chef shears instead.... don't tell on me.)

10 minutes.

Yup... that's all. 10 minutes. Or less if your glue gun heats up faster than mine. Or more if you choose to be careful and make sure your sweater isn't in the frame backwards. Whatever.

So go forth. Make some little ditties. (Oh- and this isn't making the (almost) homemade Christmas cut so you'll have to do it on your own if you want one!)

(Almost) Homemade Christmas

A friend asked me about crafty Christmas gifts. It made me realize she is way more on the ball than me!!!! With less than 50 days till Christmas, the countdown is on for a handmade (or at least, thoughtful) Christmas.

I searched my blog for ideas first.

Know any little ones?

These little hats are always easy, cute, and customizable. And who doesn't love em right now?

Cute onesies or little shirts require very little stitching (the shirts could even be done without stitching) and are super customizable.

My niece and nephew both love the super hero cape.

The Ugly Dolls are always cute!

Need something for a friend (or family member) of the taller variety?

Easy (and cheap) to make cake (or cookie) stands filled with homemade treats of course. Last time I was at Goodwill I wanted to stock up on the plethora of candlesticks they had that would be perfect for this project.

These ornaments are always fun to get little ones to make (as a top secret project, of course) then to give to their mommas, grandmas, etc.

Take an old window and turn it into something new. My favorite is the magnetic photo/card holder. And I get so many compliments on it when people come in the front door. It's cheap ($7.99) and people think it costs a lot more. You could make customizable magnets to go with it! (I still have a few windows from my sister's house if anyone needs one.) The smaller version of the magnet board can be made with a picture frame.

The necklace/jewelry holder is an easy craft. Every time I'm at my sister's I wish I would've made one for myself.

Do you sew? This scarf (no knitting required) got a lot of use last year. (I have a new idea for one this year but so far have been afraid to cut my fabric...)

A lot of people are getting DSLR cameras. Why not give them some bling for their camera strap?

No camera? How bout some bling for their neck? (You can borrow my stamping kit!)

A few years ago (we were either building our house or saving for a wedding- I just remember we were POOR), I took wine bottles, filled them with white Christmas lights, painted them with snowmen (and other winter scenes) and gave the decorated wine bottle to most of our family. Christmas decorations are nice because it's not something a lot of people care to spend a lot of money on and they are only out for a short time so they don't get too bored with it (and they don't feel guilty putting away your gift at the end of the season).

For my secret santa at work, I usually stitch together a corn pillow. Similar to the Wuv It- you can heat it and use it for aches and pains. I have a couple of the heat packs and love them!

Homemade goodies never get turned away. Put them on a cute serving tray or bowl and earn extra points. Last year I jarred up some homemade cocoa mix, attached the recipe and some Pampered Chef bamboo spoons (that I had 'earned' from a party) and my secret Santa was set.

Coupons are cheesy, but still thoughtful and super helpful. My cousin gave my uncle a meal a month one year. I was jealous. Maybe you aren't crafty but you can cook? Maybe you can't cook but love to clean? Maybe you don't like anything domestic but you can at least keep someone's kids alive while they go on a date night? Meal, house cleaning, and babysitting coupons aren't a bad idea.

Last year my mom got me a $5 subscription to Midwest Living. I don't get any other magazines so I really appreciate getting this in the mail (plus who doesn't love getting something other than a bill in the mail every once in awhile) and every time it comes I think of mom.

And of course I have to say that photos are always a good gift. The canvases are my most favorite right now (though not cheap or handmade) but there are less expensive routes to coming up with photo gifts. And when Shutterfly is giving away free photo books- that's a great time to get a photo book for someone.

Hopefully I'll have some new crafts after this year's Christmas.

Good luck with your handmade Christmas (or your shopping)!! Less than 50 days to go.....

This post has me wanting to host a homemade Christmas craft day! Who's in!?? :)

Stamped Metal Necklaces

Stamped Metal Necklaces (the one that I almost caved in and bought before my inner cheapness talked some sense into me!)

I'm posting this project because I had a hard time finding any information about it online. (Mostly because I didn't know what to search for.... now I know I needed a metal stamping kit and tutorial. ha)

Supplies:
spoon (the cheaper/thinner the better)
chain
hammer
drill
metal stamping kit ($18 at Michaels if you use your 40% off coupon- teachers have a 40% coupon they can use good until October 1st- or you can borrow mine!)
(optional) any pearls or jump rings you want to add
sharpie pen
jewelry cloth (or I found a wet paper towel works in a pinch)


-Lay your spoon face down on a mat (I did this in the garage... the concrete surface under the mat worked well). Use the hammer to flatten out the spoon.

-Bend the spoon where the handle meets the head until it breaks. (Using tin snips to give you a head start works great. I also used some fancy machine at my father-in-law's house that was really nifty for this step.... not sure what it's called...)

-Drill a hole at one end of your metal disc.

-Sand the rough edges (I was able to use a metal grinder but they do have metals sanders you can use).

-Use your metal stamping kit to stamp your letters. I used the tutorial video on beaducation.com to get some tips. The biggest problem I had was that I had to turn the disc over and flatten it again after each letter. I didn't do this the first time and found that the letters would show really well on one side but you couldn't see the whole letter.

Jen's "one whack" method works the best but it's difficult to do with the heavier weight metal.

And even if the letters don't look perfect.... it's very therapeutic after a Monday work day. (Rusty even asked if I skipped work today because I didn't have any good stories for him.....)

-Fill in the letters with your Sharpie pen and wipe off the extra. The jewelry cloth works great for this but for my first one I was in the garage and just used a rag. It worked okay too.... just required more rubbing.

-Put your pieces together on your chain (I'm still on the hunt for inexpensive chains)!

That's it. Not nearly as hard as I was expecting them to be. I would practice letters first. And am probably going to pick up some cheap thinner metal discs so the letters are easier to make. But overall, a decent project that is cheaper to do than buying a necklace. (And you know how I'm a fan of the squint method!) : )

productive saturday

R was super motivated today. After he had completed a huge list of [boring] chores [ie. mowing, cleaning the garage, etc], he grabbed a paint brush and started painting. He never paints. He hates painting. He hates the word painting. So I was super impressed [and surprised] to see his final product (the back door and steps). Since he was on a painting kick, I grabbed a quart of paint and schemed him into helping me paint our fireplace. It's definitely different.... :) I'll have to get some pictures taken of it soon.... after Jen gets up here! R also helped me with my craft project today. He fixed the holes and shaped my metal for me. I'm thinking he's building up to ask for something big... but for now, I'll take it! :)

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Updated: R would like for me to point out that he didn't help with "craft" projects. He did "manly things" like cut metal and drill holes. :)

More Hickstionary

I used to have all these pretty little tabs across the top of my blog about past topics.... then I realized that was way too much work and TAGS are much easier. So here's some past topics from the Hickstionary. You can search through tabs and use that handy little search box up top to find more! :)

FAITH

FAMILY

FOOD

FIRESIDE

FUN

FOREVER

ODDS/ENDS



HICKSTIONARY 365 from 2010