the Nursery

Okay here it is, for those that have been waiting...if there really were any of you out there...the BiG reveal.  Can I say I'm feeling a little nervous and a bit of pressure!?  First let me disclose that the room is still in a state of being 'sort of finished'.  But really, is the decorating ever completely FINISHED...not around here.  There are a few things I would like to try and include before baby comes, like a rocker of some sort and maybe a chandelier...if I ever find what I'm looking for (if you have ideas where to find either, please do share!!).  But for now it is as done as it's going to get.

The main project of this room was the board and batten treatment we did on the walls.  Initially getting the boards on the wall went pretty quick and without too much trouble.  We, like many others of you who have board and battened, went to the Home Depot and had the MDF cut...relieving much of the time and work that could have been spent.  After that we spent one weekend gluing, nailing, and painting.  If it weren't for the custom made trim and the finish work we could have had it all finished up in one whirlwind of a weekend.  Unfortunately making your own trim from scratch (couldn't find precut trim that I liked) and puttying and sanding then not liking the results and having to reputty and resand (3 or more times!) does take some time to accomplish.  Needless to say, it did get done and I LOVE the results.

I should probably take a moment here to mention that I really had little (okay, nothing) to do with all the labor that was involved in the making of this room.  That credit all goes to the hubs and my dad who put up with me and my 'ideas' through the entire project.

Okay, so on with the tour...

The paint color I chose for the upper wall is Glass Tile by Valspar.  Yes it is a bluish color.  And yes it is a little girl's nursery.  The one thing that my dad voiced his opinion on.  But you can see how much I listened...

The birdie canvas is from Pier 1 Imports and lamps I moved from another room (I found them at Hobby Lobby a few years ago).

I've been collecting different containers and buckets over the last few from all over to put on the cube shelves.  Most of these buckets are from Target's dollar spot and the canvas bins I found at Walmart.

I made these create paper balls last year for another project.  Thought they fit in the room nicely.

Because there is a lot of different patterns going on in the room with the bedding and different fabrics I couldn't decide what I wanted to do for curtains and finally ended up with plain old white panels...er, sheets.  That's right, $4.00 Walmart flat sheets.  Add a few curtain hooks and little fluff...you have very inexpensive drapes.  And later on if I find something I like better I won't feel guilty about spending the $. 

The furniture is all recycled from the basement and has already survived two little boys.  I did, though, add a little fabric to the fronts of the drawers (just stapled it right on there) and added new knobs from Hobby Lobby to fancy up the dresser/changing table.

I've already mentioned the deal I got on the bedding once before...but for those who missed...I found the bumper pad and bed skirt for $8.00 a piece on clearance at Target a while back.  Then I made a few pillows to coordinate and tie in all the colors of the room.

I used some of the same fabrics from the pillows to make a pennant banner...I can't get over these!

The chandi art I found at Real Deals.

Can't get over the pom poms either...made these from tissue paper.

This little table used to be navy blue.  Looks much better covered in Glass Tile I must say.  I'm thinking she needs a cute little lamp to go up top.

I borrowed the zebra rug from the playroom (originally from Walmart).  Still trying to decide if I like it in the room or not.

And there ya have it...all ready for a baby, preferably a girl one.

Now that it's done I can focus on the less important things, like finding a car seat and other basics that have yet to be purchased...in my world decorating comes before the essentials.  Priorities. 

Rainbow Cupcakes...a How to

I've had a lot of questions about these cupcakes that I made last year for St. Patricks Day since they were featured on Sister's Stuff today.  So let me see if I can help you all out by answering a few questions here.

1.  I used Airhead Extremes Sour Belts for the rainbows.  You can usually find them in any candy isle.  I recently found them in Target's dollar spot. 

A trick when using these, they're usually a little soft and don't hold their shape when they're fresh out of the package.  So I usually open up the package and let them sit for a day or two before putting them on my cupcakes.

 

2.  To make the cake rainbowed I divided the batter (make sure to use a white cake mix) equally into 5 different bowls, colored each bowl of batter (colors of the rainbow).

 ...then spooned a bit of each color into the cupcake liner til it was 3/4 full.  I used my mini cookie scoop (only filled about half full) to get them filled as evenly as possible.

 This step does take a little bit of time, but it's worth it I promise!

 Also, I used gel food coloring to get more vibrant colors.

And the final product.  So fun to rip open that wrapper and find the rainbow surprise inside.

3.  I use real butter for the frosting...gotta use the real stuff!

Easy Butter Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1 lb. powder sugar (about 4 cups)
3 TBS milk
2 tsp. Vanilla

Cream butter til light and fluffy.  Add sugar 1 cup at a time mixing well inbetween.  Add milk and vanilla.  Then whip until it's light and fluffy...really, keep whipping!  Then I spoon my frosting into a quart sized baggie, snip one corner of the bag and pipe the frosting in swirls on top of the cupcake.

Hope that answers the questions.
Good LUCK...hee, hee...with cupcake making!  Love these, they are one of my very favorites. 

It's MarCh!

I can't believe it!

Time is flying.

It's been nearly a month since I last posted.

A baby girl will be here soon.

Trying to finish things up before that happens.

Yikes!

Will it all be done in time?

Made a little St. Patricks print, or two.

Copy, paste, print...if you'd like.

I've got pics of the (sort of) finished nursery.

Hope to have them up soon.

Thats all I have time for now.

Be back soon...I hope.

VaLentine LeftOvers

So, how was yours? Full of love I hope.  We had a nice day. Filled with lots of treats. Just how Valentines should be.

Thought I would post a few pics of the treats we handed out. I know a little late, but I bothered to take the pictures...so, save them for next year. Or, adapt them to work for St. Patty's...change heart shapes for shamrocks and pink for green, easy as that.

My preschooler took a few of these Valentine SmOre Pops last week for his treat.  He's a huGe fan of anything smore so as soon as I found these (can't remember where, sorry!) I knew I had to make them.  And they were a cinch.

First: I cut the gram crackers with a metal heart shaped cookie cutter.  Really wasn't as hard as it sounds.  Just make sure you apply even pressure when your pressing down.

Second: Place your cut crackers on a cookie sheet add a few marshmallows (I used the pink heart shaped ones...kind of a nice twist with the strawberry flavor).

Third: Sprinkle some chocolate chips on top of the marshmallows.  Probably would have been just as easy to put a square of chocolate bar.

Fourth: Place in the oven and broil for about 2 minutes...but watch them carefully!  You can end up with charcoal quicker than you think...not that I would know :)

Fifth: Plop another cracker on top of that melted, gooey goodness.  Stick in a lolli stick if you'd like and enjOy!

I wrapped a few up in a cello bag and tied with a little ribbon for easier transport.

Now for a treat for the teachers.  These we handed out yesterday along with our Framed VaLentines.  I've seen these a few places but most recently on eighteen25, which is also where I found the printable.  These were super easy to make and so, so cute to look at.  I love anything covered in sprinkles!

I found the cute takeout boxes at Michaels...they're probably on clearance now.

Didn't get a great picture of my cookies, but you get the idea and I was originally going to try this recipe, but ran out of time.  So, I bought the cookies at the grocery store (oriental food isle) melted some candy melts and dipped one end of the cookie in the candy then in the sprinkles.

Then I boxed them up and handed them out...but only to the teachers that we're fortunate to have.  Totally kidding.  Love them all.

And another super fun treat that could be used any time of the year...Pudding Parfaits.  We made these for an Activity Days treat.  They were yummy and again, so cute!  I didn't take any pictures of ours, but I found the idea here and am borrowing one of their pictures...hope they don't mind :)

We did ours with chocolate cupcakes and added marshmallows and chocolate chips to the layers.  The girls loved them!  If you want all the details on how to make them visit Bee in our Bonnet, they'll tell you how.

Framed VaLentine {4 the teachers}

We ♥ our teachers!

They do SO much and work SO hard for our kids!  I think they deserve a nice little Valentine, too. 

So this year we're giving our teachers a framed valentine.  I found the ABC I ♥ U print here (while you're there look around, she's got a TON of cute prints...all free). I loved the ABC theme and thought it would be perfect for the teachers. I picked up the 8x10 frames at the dollar store, used a piece of coordinating scrapbook paper for the mat and attached the print with glue dots. Then to add an extra little touch, I cut out a felt heart and attached it with another glue dot over the ♥ on the print.

EasY peaSy LemOn sQueeZy, as my 5 year old would say.  And easy on the pocket book, too!

If you'd like, wrap them up and make them look more like a gift...

And don't forget the tag...

And there you have it, a super sweet Valentine for the teachers.

Something they can keep out all year to remind them how much their students ♥ them.

Game Time.

(found the printable flags here via be different act normal)

Who are you rootin' for today?

GreeN oR BLaCk?

Me, I say go PaCkLerS! 

I'm just excited there's a reason to make cupcakes.

Love Note Baskets {Activity Days}

Can you believe I'm already posting another activity!?  I haven't even had this one yet and here it is up and ready to go.  I'm never this far ahead of schedule!

Let's just say I've got a serious case of the gotta-get-everything-done...and gotta do it NOW.

{N-E-S-T-I-N-G}

So in keeping with the Valentines theme I decided that it would be appropriate for Activity Days to have a little lesson on Loving One Another.  Okay really, I wanted an excuse to use this SO CUTE idea from Becky Higgins.  LoVe this!  She always has the most amazing ideas...and GREAT printouts.

I printed up her free printables here (I did have to make up my own card for the lOve note instructions). 

Then found these cute lOveY note pads at Target.

I lOved Becky's recipe card box idea, but couldn't find any that were in my price range (really cheap).  So when I saw these heart shaped baskets at the dollar store 2 for a buck...I figured for the price I would make them work.

I added a little ribbon and scrap fabric to fancy them up.  Then tied the cute lOve notes tag to the handle.

I found these frames at the dollar store, too.  Thought the looked pretty decent for the price...and even better once I put the cute print in them.

Edited to add: sorry! originally forgot to link the Love One Another print...fixed now :)

For our activity we'll make up our lOve noTe baSkets and talk about the importance of letting those around us know how much we lOve them.  I think this would make the perfect activity for FHE on Valentines (since it does fall on Monday this year!).

So go now and make up your own lOve baSket, share some lOve with the ones that you lOve.