Cork Board

We had a great time in Colorado, such a beautiful place! I would never get tired of looking at those mountains.

I finished a quick project for my sons closet/office. My parents had an extra desk and my 8 year old son has been asking for a desk in his room for a while now. My son has a good size walk in closet so we decided to put the desk in there. My son loves being cozy and secluded in his little nook. I decided to add some cork boards above his desk so he had a place to display his artwork and favorite pictures. We did not paint this room when we painted his room, so it needed a little color.

Here is the space before:

I found 12" square cork tiles at Target and I got 4 packs of them. I needed to glue them together because I didn't want the push pins to damage the walls. I had to glue three together to make sure the push pins had enough room. 

lots of glue

weighted them down 

I painted 2 of the squares Open Seas by Sherwin Williams. We painted my sons room that color so I had some left over paint. 

I used Command strips to hang them. I didn't want to damage the walls in case we needed to take them down. The top strips are bigger than the bottom ones, only because I was trying to use what I had, those things are expensive! 

Here is how is looks after:

My son said "cool Mom", so that is a win for me. I really like the color block look. It was a fun easy project, I just love cork board.

I am partying over at:
Home Stories A to Z, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Handy man crafty woman, Mostly Homemade Mom, Thrifty Decor Chick

Ikea Ung Mirror Hack

I have seen the Ikea Ung Mirror all over the blogshere and they always look so cute after a little altering.  I was trying to find a place around my house to put one, then I thought of my daughter.  The minute I showed my daughter the mirror she had to have one. So for her birthday in March her grandparents got her one. And then we had to patiently wait for several months before it was warm enough to spray paint it.

Here is the before:

So my 6 year old daughter and I went shopping looking for the perfect color of spray paint. She picked Krylon Blue Ocean Breeze in a gloss finish. She was dead set on it, but I thought it was a little bright. So we proceeded to go to every store I could think of that carried spray paint trying to find another color she might love. But all she kept saying was "Mom I like the first color". When she makes a decision she sticks to it. Some people might call it stubborn I will just say "strong willed". So Blue Ocean Breeze it is. 

So I took the mirror out of the frame, with my little helper. Just had to bend the clips back and ease the mirror out.  

I took the mirror outside and starting spray painting. And after the second coat dried I started to spray another coat trying to get in all the crevices and the paint just crackled before my eyes. I could have cried, that had never happened to me (the crackle not the crying) and I did not know how to fix it.

I was so sad the mirror sat for a while in my closet because I was not sure how to fix it and the thought of sanding all the little spaces did not sound fun. But my daughter kept asking if her mirror was finished so I did some research online and learned that some dirt may have gotten on the surface and caused it to crackle or it was too warm when I was spray painting and that caused it.
First I got a small piece of sand paper and sanded away the best I could and then I primed the mirror with a rustoleum spray paint and tried again. It was much easier to paint this time around because now it was white from the primer.

My daughter has been so patient because the hubs just hung it today. It has only been three months since her birthday, poor thing. It did turn out really cute though, I even really like the color.

Now she has her own place to put her jewelry on, I just love it.

Has anyone else done an Ikea Hack? They are so much fun!

I am partying over at Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Twin dragonfly designs, Ginger Snap Crafts

The Little Things

Well summer is in full swing around here.  Which means no alarms and sleeping in and no rushing around in the mornings, I love it.  It also means it is really hard to get projects done when we are at the pool or gymnastics or baseball or the playground. It is wonderful and I love it because during the school year I don't get my kids enough, but it can make blogging a little challenging.

So I have a feeling I will be a little hit or miss this summer. Next week we are headed to Colorado and I have never been there in the summer. I can't wait to show the kids all the new sights, should be fun.

One thing I have gotten done is stained the kids picnic table. And I also realized I am accumulating a lot of pieces that needed to be stained and restained and they are all on the same schedule. So I have one year off and then the next year I have 52 things that need to be stained. I might need to work in some low maintenance items pretty soon.

So here is the before, I can't believe it has only been two years since I stained this last. It looks terrible.

I scrubbed it with soapy water and a brush and I can't believe how much more old stain came off.


And here is the after, so much nicer?

The stain is the same in both pictures it had just really faded and worn off.


Now onto the playset, which is big and I am not looking forward to sanding and staining that. I might enlist the help of the kids. I have never let them help me paint before, but it is outside and they could be helpful, right? Have any of you had your kids help paint? How did it go?

Hope you are having a wonderful lazy summer.

Summer Rope Wreath

It is time to take down the spring wreath and put up the summer wreath. In our last house I rarely had a wreath, now in this house it seems funny not to have one. Maybe because our last door was solid and this one has a window.

I love nautical looking things for home decor but it feels funny to have much in the house. We live pretty close to a large lake but this isn't a beach house or anything. But for my summer wreath it is nice to add some rope and american flags.

Here are my supplies:

The wreath is from Walmart, I think it is less than $3. I have used a pool noodle before but the rope is too heavy and it doesn't stay a circle for long. These are so cheap they are my go to wreath forms now. The rope is also from Walmart in the hardware department and is about $5.

I love how this wreath turned out. I used hot glue to secure the rope and had to overlap every once in a while to get the rope straight again.  I tucked the flags under a piece of rope and then hot glued them as well. I used some ribbon I already had and just wrapped it around the wreath and tied a knot.

I am all ready for summer now, at least at the front door.

I love decorating with flags outside, especially when it gets closer to the 4th of July. It will be here before we know it. Do you have a favorite summer wreath? Do you add flags to celebrate the 4th?

Linked up over at House of Hempworths, Shabby Creek Cottage, The Frugal Girls, Somewhat Simple, A Vision to Remember, Be Different Act Normal, It's Overflowing,Uncommon Designs, Craft o Maniac, Keeping it Simple, Mad in Crafts, The Blackberry Vine, My uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Coastal Charm, Happy Hour Projects, Ella Claire, Beneath My Heart, Thrift Decor Chick, I Heart Organinzing, Two Twenty One

Garage Sale Find

I really like going to garage sale. At first I got all my kids clothes and toys from garage sales and I loved getting a deal. I still get clothes if I can find any, it gets harder as the kids get older, and we don't need anymore toys. But now I also look for items I can repurpose or redo for the house. You have heard it before and I will say it again, paint does wonders. And it is so easy and cheap. I really do love spray paint. I am pretty sure my neighbors think I am crazy because everyday it is not windy or raining my yard is covered in sheets with my spray paint projects (my husband does not like the grass to be rainbow colors). And since it is winter about 9 months out of the year where I live, I have to get all my projects done in a short period of time.

Here is my latest garage sale find. Oops I started to tape before I took pictures.

 I covered the glass with a bag before pulling out the spray paint.

And here is the finished candle holder. I used Krylon Fusion spray paint in Dover White. It is a very nice off white.

So my $3 candle holder and $3 can of spray paint (it was on sale) is a pretty good deal. It will be a great addition to the patio decor this summer. Making more progress.

I am linked up at Sugar and Dots, Dragonfly Designs, Someday Crafts, 733 Blog

Red Chairs!

It is the first full week of summer vacation and the kids are at Vacation Bible School ( and they actually like this one, yay Mom!) so it is a good transition so far. It is always a challenge at the beginning because they are not used to so much free time, their schedules are usually really planned for them in school. So they get bored and then they fight. So I just have to keep the perfect balance of schedule and free time, piece of cake (I wish!). So for now we have put together our reading schedule and chores and we will see how it goes.

I am excited to share more progress on the back patio. The previously green/black chairs are now red. I love them! They are a nice punch of color and look great with the brown house. My husband picked the color, I would have gone with blue or green my favorite colors. We won't tell him how much I love the color because I will never hear the end of it.

The chairs are pretty comfortable, they just really needed a paint job. They are about 8 or 9 years old and have held up pretty well. I scrubbed them with a wire brush to get all the loose paint off, then scrubbed them with a brush and soapy water.

 Here are the after pictures:

I wish I had a before picture from this position, this new blogger is still learning. I used Rustoleum spray paint in a satin finish, the color is Heritage Red, I could only find it at Home Depot.  It is a great color not too orange or too bright, I love it!

It feels good to check one more job off the list. Now I just need to find the perfect cushions for the chairs. I have something in mind which pretty much means I won't find it. So the search continues.

Next week we are adding on to our patio (and by "we" I mean I called some concrete guys to do the job for us). I am not up for DIY concrete just yet. I can't wait until it is done, it will look so nice.
Plus the kids will be glued to the patio door all day watching the work. I should have a party and invite the neighborhood kids, there is nothing more exciting than cement trucks and a skid steer in your back yard.
Have an awesome day everyone!


Linked up over at House of Hempworths

Little tray update (involving paint of course)

Hello all,
Yeah! School is out for summer but the weather is cold and rainy, feels more like spring break. I hope this weekend brings warmer temps. The only good thing is I get to stay inside and work on some projects. First up is this small tray I got from Target about a year ago in the $1 section, although it was $2.50. I like the color but it is a chalky finish and I just needed a change.

This is before:

Here it is on the couch table, which has been bugging me for a while I need to shake it up a bit. I should just clear the table off then I would be more motivated to find the right accessories for the top. I have been looking at this table for months trying to figure out what I don't like about it. Do you ever do that? Sometimes it takes me forever just to style a bookshelf or table. But when it is right it is right.

Here is the pretty little tray in a new shade of yellow. A few months ago I picked up a free Valspar paint sample from Lowes. The color is Transit Pass. It looked mustard in the container but is more of a soft yellow. It is a nice change.

Love the little hedgehog that is peeking and I know my fern needs some love. The color is such a nice change, warm and sunny for summer.

Here is the new set up for the table, I am not sure the picture frame is quite right so I will live with it for a while and see what else might work. I love the corks though, great color and interest. Well for now I like the change. We'll see how long that lasts.

Have a great weekend everyone! I can't believe the week is almost over.

update:

I already had to switch things around, and I like it much better. Here is another After shot.

I love corks! and they work much better in the tray.

Ahhh, that is much better. I need things to be balanced and symmetrical. 

Now back to spray painting. I can't wait to finish some projects.

Little patio updates

We had such a nice weekend, weather was great and my parents came for a last minute visit. I can't believe the kids are done with school on Wednesday! Our weather has been so up and down it doesn't feel like summer yet. I think the high for Wednesday is in the 50's, brrr.

Today was perfect though so I got some painting projects done. It finally was not raining or to windy for spray paint.

Our steps onto our patio from our kitchen were never finished, so I am happy to say that was checked off the list today. I also stained the frame of our egress window, so that looks more finished as well.
I scrubbed them with soapy water and a brush to clean them up.
Here are some before pictures:

And for the after pictures:

The steps really look nice, what a difference, they finally look finished.
I used the same stain from the patio table so this project was free. My favorite kind of projects.
Now I just need to fill that pot and landscape around the egress window, the list just keeps going.