Thankful Notes

With Thanksgiving on its way I wanted a way for our family to remember what we are thankful for.  We have so many blessings we just sometimes need a reminder. This year I decided to use a frame I already had to pin up our thankful notes each day in November.

I started with a white frame. It had a canvas in it that I probably used for a chalkboard. So you could find any size frame from around the house or a thrift shop.

I spray painted it, of course, using Avocado green by Valspar. It is not a perfect paint job and that is ok because I am not done (plus it was cold and windy the day I sprayed it and I was done).

The green was too bright so I used some stain I had on hand. Then with a rag I dipped it in the can and then squeezed out most of the stain and then wiped it on the frame. I wanted a light coat, not too dark just an aged look. I continued around the frame until I got the look I desired.

Not a great picture but you can see how the stain settled in some of the cracks and corners.

I picked up some chicken wire from Home Depot and stable gun and wire cutters I had on hand.

I unrolled the chicken wire and stapled it down on one side to secure it.

I tried to stretch it a little from top to bottom so it didn't bubble out so much then I stapled along the top and bottom. I cut the wire before stapling the last side.

And that is it! Pretty easy!

I picked up some small clothes pins at Michaels and cut some card stock into various shapes. I placed them nearby so the kids could grab them easily.

The kids have had lots of fun writing down things they are thankful for as well as drawing pictures. I love seeing their pictures and it also helps practice spelling for all the kids. The beginning of November is easy to come up with ideas, I look forward to later in the month when they have to get creative. You can only write "family" once. We are putting our names on the back so I can save them and next year we can read them again. This will be a great family tradition.

This will also be great to display Christmas cards and maybe even love notes for Valentines day.

Do you have a tradition with your family on ways to show what you are thankful for?

I hope you all are having a wonderful week!

Linked up at: DIY by Design, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Thrifty Decor Chick, A few minor adjustments, Cozy Little House, The Happy Housie, The Life of Jennifer Dawn, Someday Crafts, Seven Thirty Three, Cherished Bliss, Lamberts Lately, I Heart Organizing, Imparting Grace, Simply Designing, Liz Marie Blog, My Love 2 Create, The Blackberry Vine, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Cupcakes and Crinoline, Home Stories A to Z, A Stroll Thru Life, Hope Studios, Lil Mrs Tori, A Few Minor Adjustments, Cozy Little House, Not Just a Housewife, Or so she says, Home Stories A to Z

Gold Sea Urchin

I have been seeing these gold sea urchins all over and I just love them. I looked for a good tutorial and found one over at Craft and Couture.

I started out with clay that you could bake (from Michaels), gold spray paint and BBQ skewers (because I had then on hand). I liked the pointy end of the skewer so I just cut them to size.

1) I cut the clay in half 2) then rolled it into a ball.

With my skewers cut to about 3 1/2 inches 3) I started putting them in first in a straight line 4) then crossing that line. 5) I filled in each section 6) then finished half. I did have to adjust skewers as I went along and try to reshape the clay a little since I would push on one side with my fingers while putting the skewers in on the other side. So mine was not perfectly round when I was done.

When I had all the skewers in I set the oven at the temp on the packaging and baked it for about 2 hours.  Some of the skewers got a little brown on the ends but otherwise it looked fine. It was at this point I was pretty sure this craft was going to be a fail. It did not look great. But I decided to go ahead and spray it just to see how it looked, and I am so glad I did. It turned out so much better than I expected. Oh how I love spray paint and it is almost getting to cold to use it anymore :(

It adds so much interest to my book shelf. I really like how this little guy turned out.

And since I had extra clay my 4 year old daughter wanted in on the action. I just love hers! She was so proud. It has a perfect spot on the book shelf too. I think she wanted it in her room but I knew it would just get lost in there so I am glad she let me display it.

Halloween is tomorrow, are you ready? It is always a fun day, the kids have so much fun! I remember those days. Have a great Halloween everyone!

Linked up over at: The Turquoise Home, Lamberts Lately, Suburbs Mama, My Love 2 Create, Thrifty Decor Chick, The Blackberry Vine, Carolyn's Homework, Coastal Charm, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Hope Studios, Lil Mrs. Tori, House on the way, DIY by Design, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Happy Housie, The Life of Jennifer Dawn, Someday Crafts, Seven Thirty Three, Cherished Bliss, Imparting Grace, Simply Designing

A Touch of Gold

I am loving all the touches of gold I see in peoples homes. I have to admit though only a few years ago I was still so anti gold and brass, I could not imagine ever liking it again. Well, I like it again and I had to have a little gold in my house too.  We are starting small here and we will see where it goes.

Here is how my little candle holder, I found on clearance, started out.

I found this cute little can of spray paint called Gold Leaf.

And a few coats of spray paint later I have a touch of gold in my house.
I love it! The shape is fun all by itself but the gold makes it look classy. Such an easy and inexpensive transformation.

Do you have any gold in your house? Hope you are having a wonderful week.



Linked up over at: Thrifty Decor Chick

Lazy Susan

I can't believe how fast the weeks are going now that school is so close. I know some of you have already started, but we don't start until after Labor Day. It is only two weeks away! Although it will probably take that long to get them going to bed earlier so they can get up earlier.  That always seems like a difficult process.

I have had fun getting ready for our end of the summer BBQ coming up. On our trip to Michigan in May we went to Ikea and I picked up a lazy susan and some metal buckets. I was going to use it for craft supplies but I don't have a place to leave those out all the time and the lazy susan is pretty large to just leave on the kitchen table all the time. I decided to add some paint (of course) and use it for entertaining instead.


Here are my supplies:

I used Valspar spray paint in Indigo cloth satin. I just love that color. I also thought I would use magnets to hold the buckets in place but they seem to stay just find so I didn't add them.

I just LOVE how it turned out! It was such an easy project and will be a great addition to our backyard BBQ and will be great use for other entertaining as well.

I love the blue with the metal buckets.

I hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer. Are you working on any projects? I don't know if I will get more or less done when the kids go back to school. Our schedule will sure change.
Have a great day!







Linked up over at: Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Balancing Home, Someday Crafts, House of Hempworths, The 36th Avenue, Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Tatertots and Jello, Happy Hour Projects, It's Overflowing, Suburbs Mama, Uncommon Designs, Skip to My Lou, 4 You- With Love, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Balancing Home, Handy Man Crafty Woman, DIY by Design, The Life of Jennifer Dawn, Someday Crafts, House of Hempworths, The 36th Avenue, Imparting Grace, Thrifty Decor Chick

Just a Little Spray Paint

Well I certainly did not plan to take two weeks off from blogging, but I guess that may happen from time to time. It has been a busy wonderful two weeks. It started out very hot here and the kids and I were at the pool and the beach and lived in the sprinklers at home. It was so fun, but not very productive. I had several painting projects I wanted to do but it was too hot. I was hoping for it to cool down but not quite to 58 degrees. This weather is crazy, it feels and looks like Fall.

Last week we spent the week at my parents cottage and it was so wonderful to regroup and have no where to go and no list of things to do.  Now back to some projects, I have a renewed energy after a nice break.

I have had this picture frame for a few years and it always stays in the same spot but the color is constantly changing. It started out a dark wood color, but after falling into the sink several times (it sits on a ledge in front of the window behind the sink) by the wind it got pretty banged up. So it went avocado green.

It never looked quite right with the gray walls, and I have been wanting more color so this is a easy place to start.

I  decided to try to Tropical Oasis spray paint by Valspar since I had some left over from another project. I liked the color much better. Now it was time to distress it.

I am so pleased with how it turned out! I love that you can see all the colors underneath. It adds just the right amount of color to my kitchen.

And I just love that quote from Julia Child. It is a perfect reminder for me to see everyday.
I found it over at Centsational girl. I love the orange and aqua!

Have you found what you are passionate about?

Partying over at: Skip to my Lou, Uncommon Designs

Drink Cart

Happy 4th of July!!

I just love this time of year, the parades, fireworks and fun community events.

I love entertaining, especially for the 4th, but this year our back patio is not ready for guests so we will have a party later in the summer.

I found this great cart at a garage sale for $2! I was so excited when I saw it, just needed a little paint. I knew it would be perfect as a drink cart on the back patio.

Here is the before, not a pretty color:

I taped a zip lock bag over the wheels because I could not get them off.

Here is the after:

I used Valspar spray paint in indigo gloss, it is my new favorite color!

I just love how it turned out. I have been using it as a side table to my bench but it will work so great for a drink station when we are entertaining. So for around $7 I have a great outdoor drink cart. I just love garage saleing, you never know what you are going to find. Have you found any treasures at garage sales lately?

Have a wonderful 4th of July!!

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