A Tale of Two Cornices (and procrastination)

We are approaching the three year mark of living in our house and I fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinallllly got around to fixin' up (that's Texas speak, y'all) my breakfast room.  Be patient with me because this redo starts eight (yes, 8) years ago...

Back in those days we were sans kids (sighing and remembering the good ole days) and thought we were SO busy.  Whatev.  If I only knew...I would have taken WAY more naps.  Anyway, on a Saturday morning the hubby and I decided to wake before the afternoon and hit some garage sales.  Who knows what possessed us.  We found a couple of antique-y looking real wood pieces of furniture.  We spent a whopping $35 and discussed all the cool ways we'd paint them...blah, blee, blah.  Of course, we got so busy (seriously, WHAT were we busy doing???  oh yeah, drinking, and brunching, and sleeping) and the furniture stayed up in a room we never went in. 

Then, I got knocked up, we moved overseas, and those little gems didn't make the container cut.  They hung out in storage here until almost three years ago when we moved back.  After all the settling in and crap, I decided I was ready to paint.  There was a perfect spot in the house and so I started sanding.  This step was pre-pinterest and pre-Krissy discovery of little mouse sander.  Yes, this fool was hand sanding.  Idiot, I know.  If only...

The process was moving along smoothly, until, surprise!  Preggers again.  Between the morning sickness and kid #1, no dice. 

I know they say women nag, but the amount of 'comments' from husband about the unfinished piece in the garage would put many a nagger to shame.  Late last summer I finished sanding and commenced the quest for the perfect paint color.  I could picture what I wanted, but after two failed attempts (and this was hand painting), I was frustrated.  My Pinterest exposure had steadily increased and I had read numerous blog entries and how to's about spray painting furniture.  I figured I didn't have anything to lose at this point, but was still stymied about color.  I wanted a blueish green, but never found the right shade.  But, I did find aqua spray paint.  I LOVED it!  It was bright and exactly how I envisioned it. 

But, it did not look good where I had originally planned for it to go.  After a little disappointment and a lot of alcohol, I pulled myself out of the bottle and moved the little sideboard to a corner in the breakfast room.  Perfect.  And, it wasn't just the tequila talking. 

If you're still reading, you rock (and are probably a little crazy).  I'm getting to the point, but I wanted you how to see the 'big picture'. 

As another 'project' (my husband is thrilled when I have redecorating ideas), I had been searching for fabric ideas to make cornices in the breakfast room.  Once the aqua sideboard found its new home, I knew immediately that I wanted aqua/orange fabric for the cornices. 

Two weeks ago, after tireless online searching, I came across a pattern I loved at Hancock.  It's Top Drawer in case you're interested. 

See, good reader, you hung in there and now you get your treat.  Here's the play by play on how to make a super cheap, super cute cornice.  This is the pinspiration.  I liked the general idea of this, but added some modifications.  I didn't like the two pieces covered separately (the long piece and side piece) and I didn't think I needed to use wood.  On another pin I saw someone use insulation board for something (honestly can't remember what) and decided to try that.  Check out the steps below with the pics...please leave a comment and let me know what you think.  I really do want this to be interactive!

Supplies - spray adhesive, insulation board 8'x4', foam batting, hot glue gun, L brackets, screwdriver, fabric, exacto knife, spray paint primer**

Step 1 - measure how long you want the cornice to be and how far out you'd like it to come (I went with 4" out from the wall and just a couple inches past the window on each side).

Step 2 - mark your insulation board and use the exacto knife to cut (I scored it and then you can bend it and it pops apart).

Step 3 - spray paint prime the pieces (my fabric was light, so I thought the pink might show through).

Step 4 - Attach the side pieces to the main piece with hot glue and the L brackets.  I put a strip of hot glue on the bottom of each side piece, then hot glued the brackets on. 



Step 5 - It should now look like this...

Step 6 - Use the spray adhesive and spray the sides you are going to cover with the batting, then lay the cornice on the batting.  Spray some more on the back of the cornice and wrap the batting around the edges and smooth down.  Be careful with this step because if it's lumpy or uneven, it will show up after you cover with fabric.

Step 7 - I did two layers of batting.  You can choose how thick you want it.
Step 8 - Cover with fabric.  I laid the cornice front side down on to the fabric and arranged it so the pattern was how I wanted it.  Starting in the middle, I glued one section down.  Then I glued the section across down and worked toward the edges.

Step 9 - At the ends, I kind of gathered and pulled, then glued where the corners are.  You can see a little bit of wrinkle, but it's much better than two completely separate pieces. 

ARE YOU READY?  This is the whole enchilada.....

I took this picture just before my son's birthday party; we don't normally have four dozen cupcakes sitting around!  Here's a close-up of the longer cornice.

I used skinny L brackets to attach the side pieces to the long piece and wider L brackets to attach to the wall.  I screwed in the brackets to the wall, then fit the cornice over the brackets and screwed the cornice into the bracket.  The screws hold it because the foam board is so light. 

I am just so very happy with how it all turned out.  I love browns and grays and finally am branching out to add some color.  The aqua sideboard started it all!  Let me know if you try a cornice and how it turns out!  It's ok if it takes a few years; I won't judge you!

Color Me...Sassy!

Despite my domestic goddess status, I do occasionally like to put on some shoes and step out of the kitchen...preferably into a nice restaurant.  I've been struggling with stepping up my fashion game since baby has now fiiiiinnnnnnaaaaallllyy gotten past vomiting his mild spitting up phase.  I can rock the jeans and cute top "outfit" and the occasional dress, but putting together an outfit, much more difficult. 

Well, hello, Pinterest.  Several months ago I started my "When I want to look sassy" board and daydreamed about a world with gorgeous BCBG wedges, fabulous jewelry, and color combinations that hadn't crossed my mind. 

Thanks to my awesome, seriously AWESOME, parents, I had a week to myself!  The hubby and I flashed back to 2006 when we were pre-kids.  Dinners in town, spontaneous naps, and to get to the point, outfit assembly.  I scoured my board and landed upon a cute little ensemble that paired a blazer, white tee, and leggings.  In all fairness, I made this choice because I happened to have the outfit basics already and due to the spontaneity mentioned above, I had limited time to get ready.

Here's the pinspiration....

Here's how I pulled it together.

I had to wear one of the hubby's shirts because I didn't have one that was long enough, so I belted it and decided to go with the brown/black theme.  The blazer I picked up at H&M along with the heels.  I think the leggings are from Target.  Completed it with a ton of brown and gold jewelry.  

A couple of notes...don't know why I've got the "nobody puts baby in a corner" thing going on.  And, seriously, don't look at my hair.  Houston humidity wreaks havoc on my hair (and I had a hair appt later that week).   

Let me know if you think I pulled it off!  How have you been fashionably pinspired??       



Just Say No to Crap Party Favors

First of all, if you are one of those that likes to throw a bunch of junk in a bag for my kid to take home from a party, don't be offended!  Keep in mind that I'm extremely anal organized about our game room.  It's hard for me to categorize 'tiny hand clapper'.  I mean, really, what container does that go in?  In order to make you feel even better about yourself because you don't have nearly the amount of crazy that I do, I'll list some of my container titles..."Star Wars Costumes", "Star Wars Toys" (just had a little argument with myself about that punctuation, and quite frankly, I'm beyond exhausted, so it's staying as is...plural possessive??), "Small Piece Puzzles", "Large Piece Puzzles"...and it goes on.  So, you can see my crazy dilemma.  So, what happens is I let little man play with all the crap toys for a week.  My level of discomfort is crazy high, by the way, during that whole week.  Then, I sneakily start removing them.  One by one.  Does he notice?  Usually.  There might be some white lies...I plead the 5th. 

Ok, I know...how the hell does this relate to Pinterest?  I'm getting there.  Don't worry. 

While on Pinterest I saw a canvas painted colorfully except for a name that was 'white'.  I pinned it away thinking I would use it at some point.  I went to the chic's blog, but couldn't find the exact post, but it's not rocket science.  Here's the picture I pinned.

Baby's first birthday was a few weeks ago and I was struggling with what I wanted to give/do since we'd have a wide age range of kiddos.  I was able to grab a 10 pack of canvases for $20 and bought a few tubes of paint along with some extra brushes.  When each kid arrived, I had the parent use painter's tape to mark off the kid's initial.  I taped down several plastic table cloths on my kitchen floor and let the kids have at it.  I only have pictures of the end product because I always forget to take pictures! 

Long story short - the kids had a great time painting and they took home something that could go in their room or could be reused (hello, repaint that canvas)!  Most importantly, no more of the 'goody bag' chaos! 

PS - used baby's footprints for his painting!

My Heart's a Crayon

My craftiness lately is beyond amazing!  There's been much Pinterest success and that makes for one happy mama!  Now, it's time to catch up on all the attempts so that you, too, can bask in the warm glow of Pinterest perfection!

I'm a little late on getting Valentine's Day cards together for the boys to take to school, but baby's first birthday was this weekend and that's what I had to focus on for the past month.  And, boy oh boy, I've got some gems from the party to blog about...

But, today I had to get the Valentine's crap cutesy cards ready.  When I first start pinning (how bout we just lay it out there and call it crack for crafters) I saw several versions of crayons melted into the shape of hearts.  Hello??  Perfect!  I don't know about you, but seriously, my older son goes psycho slightly bananas when all that candy is in the house.  So, a non-edible valentine?  Yes, please!  Hopefully, some of the other mamas will catch my wavelength! 

Now, before I get into the instructions, this is EASY.  The hardest part is peeling the paper off the crayon.  That's where you put those little monsters children to work!  Practice fine motor skills?  Check.  Unfortunately, baby has not yet mastered peeling.  He did a great job of eating the crayon though.

I was under the impression that I needed one of those silicone molds.  Nope.  I was shopping for the food for baby's party and walked past the Valentine's display.  Right in front of me was a heart shaped tin meant for baking donuts. 

I used all the no-name crayons we had in our stash.  Some were the larger versions and some were skinny.  Doesn't matter their thickness as long as you peel the paper. 

Spray your tin with cooking spray.  Break up all the crayons into pieces and let the kiddos toss them in.  Our first batch was just kind of a hodge podge.  But, then we started getting a little creative. 

I saw the printable on The Long Thread and she linked up to Make and Takes where I found specific directions.  Oven - 265.  Time - 7 minutes or until the crayons are all melted.  This is after the pieces were broken just before putting them into the oven.

In the oven - almost ready to take out.

I set mine on the counter for a few minutes until the wax starts to set up.  Then, pop them in the freezer until the edges start pulling away and they are solid.  I think it was maybe 10 or 15 minutes.  Flip the tin upside down and your hearts are ready!

Loved the gray/orange!  Now it's time to assemble the valentines.  I printed out the printable from The Long Thread, rounded the corners, and punched a hole to tie the heart to the valentine.

Annnnnnnnddddd, POW!  Watch out Martha! 



Salt and Paint Kids Craft

So Jack wanted to do a craft and I wanted something easy with minimal clean up. I just hate it when I spend more time setting up and cleaning up then Jack's actual interest in the craft. But the paint and salt activity is a real winner. Jack has already done it three times this week and still likes it!

So here is the link to the craft.http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/crafts-by-age/preschool-crafts/absorbing-artwork-940839/

I think it is definitely important to follow the instructions and use card stock paper. Jack likes dropping the water so much that by the end his paper is dripping wet and the card stock really holds up well.
So basically you grab a piece of card stock paper, make a random design with glue, then pour salt on the glue covering all the glue. It is important to shake off the excess salt... the first time I didn't do this and it didn't quite work right.

Here is what it looks like with the glue and salt.

The next step is color your water. I put one tablespoon of water in a bowl and added about 5 drops of food coloring. I gave Jack three colors to work with. Then with a dropper, Jack dropped the water onto the glue. If you do this slowly, you can see the colored water "travel" on the glue. That is really cool. I liked that part, unfortunately, just when I think jack should stop because his picture looks great, he starts really letting the colored water go... the entire tray is filled with water. This is also a time to point out that using a cookie sheet is key to keeping colored water from going all over the table and floor. Thanks Family Fun, for that suggestion.

Jack's colored water "traveling"

This is when I think Jack's picture looks awesome and he should stop, but he never does.

This is how Jack likes to leave his picture.

Overall, I would rate this as a great craft for kids!

Fumes Talking? Or Success? Spray Paint + Wine Bottles, You Decide.

You better sit down for this.  Finally, crafty Pinterest success! 

Here's the lowdown. 

Grab those empty wine bottles; never a problem around here!  The instructions (I kept trying to click on the link on Pinterest, but no dice - linked to my board so that you can attempt to get to the link) show clear wine bottles that were taped off and spray painted white.  I grabbed some bottles with shapes that I liked and some spray paint. 

Peel off the labels and use some Goo Gone to get the glue off.  I did a quick wash of the outside and rinsed out the insides. 

Outside I grabbed orange and gray spray paint and sprayed those bad boys - one gray, two orange.  Works well to do several light coats. 

Make sure you do it in the back yard so all the neighbors don't see your accidentally spray painted orange grass.  Sorry honey. 

Base coats done!  In my head I wanted a bottle with orange polka dots and one with stripes.  I attempted the stripes first with some painter's tape.  Mistake.  The tape peeled off the base coat.  Sooo, I attempted the polka dots.  I had some of those colored dots that you use for garage sales and those didn't pull the paint off.  So, I dotted the big orange bottle and spray painted it gray.  Once I peeled off the dots I ended up with this!

LOOOOOOVVVVEEEEE how this turned out!  And, here are all three together.





These are going to be a centerpiece for baby's first birthday and I'm going to stencil his initials on the gray bottle and a "1" on the orange bottle.  **Dusting hands** Done. 

You Had Me at Bacon!

First of all, did you miss me??  Oh my cheese and biscuits, life has been crazy.  I planned a huge party for my other half's birthday (which coincidentally will be the focus of several of my upcoming entries), had family in town (also referred to as my workforce for planning of said party), and of course, the baby got sick.  I know you're like blah, blah-blah, blahdida.  But listen.  Is it just me or do you feel like you've been hit by a fully loaded bus when you're up through the night once you've passed about the 6 month mark?  Baby is a few weeks shy of the year mark and this up in the night thing is getting old!  Just smile and nod and I'll be on my way to the bacon.  You know that's why you're still reading.

Let me admit that I have a slight bacon *ahem* addiction problem.  I need to back up.  I read (yes, for pleasure) cookbooks, cooking magazines, and cooking blogs.  And, I WILL TRY ANYTHING that has bacon as an ingredient.  I have made cupcakes with bacon, yes - cupcakes!  And, oh my holy frying pan, those things were deeeeeviiiiiine! 

Soooo, while planning the menu for the party, I came across these little balls of goodness and fell...in...love.  I ignored the smallish fact that other half despises goat cheese (I mean really, one thing for me has to be ok, right?). 

Here's the lowdown.  You get cake pop sticks (umm, who doesn't have these on hand?  really?  because I have like 2 bajillion) and form small - think size of the end of your thumb- balls around the end of the sticks.  I made one batch of the recipe and ended up with about 18.

Pop the pops in the freezer for 20 minutes or so to firm up.  While they are firming, you cook the bacon and mix it with the other toppings (pecans and herbs).

When the pops are done chilling, take them out of the freezer and roll them in the bacon mixture.  I used my hands to make sure the bacon topping was sticking to the cheese as well as rounding the ball. 

These were definitely a hit at the party and I ADORED how they turned out!

Love, love, love them!  The party was a scotch and cigar thing, so I used cigar boxes for all of the food display.  (I'm pretty positive that was a Pinterest find as well - more posts to come)! 

Don't worry; I'll be back soon!  There just might be another crafty attempt in the near future (with wine bottles - I don't know why I torture myself...)!

 

Rainbow kids craft

My son loves to do crafts, really loves them. This is wonderful, except I am not the most creative person, and my son is a bit demanding so there are only so many times we can paint and call that a craft. He wants to do more. Every day after his mandatory rest time (mommy free time!), he wants to make something. So onto pinterest we go. Most of the time, I want crafts that he can do himself, not ones where he is watching me do all the work.

So we found a paper plate craft with rainbow streamers hanging from it. This was fun for both of us. This is something he did mostly by himself.

I cut the paper plate in half and he glued the cotton balls to it. Then I cut the streamers in pieces and he taped them inside. This required a bit of help from me to fit all the colors in, but we did it.

Then I stapled the plate together and used a hole puncher to punch a hole in it and ribbon to hang it by the door. All in all, the project was a success.

Upcycling Christmas Cards into Geometric Ornaments - How Hard Can it Be?

Ha!  OH my.  Again.  This.  Was.  Not.  My.  Fault.  I swear!  Pinterest, your crafty things are so cute.  Why oh why are you failing me?
It is well known (obviously to those who know me) that I am verbally gifted and VERY humble.  My better half is a rock star in the 'how things work' category so normally we make a good pair.  I had to enlist his help during the ornament debacle because my 3D triangles looked like those tab things they put in your mouth to x-ray your teeth.    

Here's the shakedown of the impromptu crafty date night (not really, but he had a scotch and I had some wine AND the kiddies were in bed AND we were conversing about something not relating to kids, bills, or work).

1.  I decide to whip out a few of those oh so cute ornaments since I'm taking down our Christmas cards and I had some left over from previous years (plus I needed something new to put on here for YOU).
2.  According to the original instructions, you cut out 15 circles (2 inches in diameter) and that's where comprehension of the instructions stopped.  Yep, I cut out my 15 circles and then spent an hour trying to crease and glue them into 3D triangles. 
3.  Enter husband.  Choice words. 
4.  He folds and glues.
5.  Verdict - the instructions are WRONG.  All wrong.  I am vindicated, but sad because I have no 3D geometric ornaments (I'm left with a pile of half glued mock x-ray tabs).

For your viewing pleasure.  I hope you realize the sacrifices I'm making for you!

Wine bottles, Fire, and Safety Glasses - Oh My!

Normally I wouldn't recommend playing with fire while drinking, but for this Pinterest experiment, you need an empty wine bottle.  Ok, ok - so maybe drink up the night before you try this one out so you're a little more sober.

Everyone needs a wine bottle cut in half...right, RIGHT?  Of course you do.  Think of the possibilities...candle, wine bottle vase, pen/pencil holder - endless, I tell you. 

Here's a little secret.  I had no real desire to make a candle or add to my vase collection.  Quite frankly, I just wanted to play with fire and see if this really worked.  Apparently you just need a wine bottle, yarn, nail polish remover, a pot of cold water, and fire.  The instructions from Crafty, Scrappy, Happy are simple.  Empty a wine bottle - umm, no prob.  Wrap it with some yarn where you want it to be cut and tie the two ends.  Slide the yarn off and dip it in the nail polish remover.  Slide the yarn back onto the bottle.  Put those safety glasses on.  Seriously.  And, maybe, grab the fire extinguisher (you know, just in case).  The fun part - light the yarn and slowly rotate the wine bottle.  After about a minute submerge in cold water and magically, the bottle should separate. 

It didn't.  In fact, it didn't FOUR times.  Our bottles flamed.  The yarn burned.  We sported some pretty awesome safety glasses.  We rotated.  We submerged in water.  Nothing.  No satisfying pop that EVERYONE says you'll hear and our bottles stayed firmly unified.  While unsuccessful, the pictures are entertaining.  On a side note, I'm pretty sure our children contributed to our failure (this is a song I'm sure I'll be singing again).  We tried to be sneaky so the older ones would not curiously meander into the kitchen - fail.  We tried to distract the baby with some puffies, but the food on the kitchen floor was much more interesting.  And, to top it off, there was a diaper disaster.   

Fire, fire, fire (who doesn't love Goldie Hawn?)!

    Still Whole

Because I like my friend, Rachel, I am not posting the lovely pictures of us in our safety glasses.  

The kids' situation forced us to shut down the science lab last night, but I decided to make one more attempt tonight AFTER the children retired for the evening.  I did a little more research, consulted with Rachel, and voila - sliced bottle.  However, this was a bottle we previously flamed, so I'm guessing that's why it cracked in all the wrong places. 

Here are the differences from experiment 1 to experiment 2.

1.  I held the bottle neck toward me and tilted at an angle.  I still rotated it slowly.

2.  Once the flame was going out (about a minute), I submerged the bottle, neck down, into a pot of cold water.

3.  Finally, a satisfying crack! 

Guess I'm going to have to drink more so that I can try to get a crack free split.