Monthly Archives: October 2011

Shh… Baby Sleeping

Posted by Leanne on October 28, 2011 8 comments

Our little baby, now an incredible 5 months old, sleeps downstairs.  Okay, not really…. her bedroom is downstairs.  But this little doll, I just can’t seem to separate from her!  So for now, except for naps, she sleeps in a bassinet beside me (which she is dangerously close to over-growing!)   :(     But the rest of the family has a hard time clueing in that when her door is closed, it probably means she’s sleeping in there.  So I decided she needed a large sign.  Honestly, it doesn’t help much, but it looks pretty!

I scrounged together some supplies around the house, plus made the home-made Modge - Podge Recipe I posted about here.

Step 1 - Black Craft Paper... wrote words by hand and cut them out...

Step 2 - found corresponding craft paper

Step 3 - used 3D tape to tape onto fancy craft paper

Step 4 - found some scrap cardboard lying around

Step 5 - Roughly painted matching blue Craft Paint to the edges

Step 6 - Making Modge Podge... glue and a jar

Step 7 - Modge Podge... pour glue into jar

Step 8 - Modge Podge... add equal amount of water

Step 9 - Modge Podge... shake, shake, shake!

Step 10 - "painted" modge podge onto the surface of the cardboard

Step 11 - Apply sign

Step 12 - when dry, applied top layer of modge podge

Step 13 - allow to dry ~ was starting to curl a bit, so I "weighted" down the corners

step 14 - added blue ribbon and an 'E' accessory, and ta-da!

And….

...my next Victim!

…although, the way this table is treating me, I might be the victim!

Thanks for reading!!

If you are just visiting my blog, thanks for visiting!  I would love for you to become a follower, and you can receive my postings by email.  Just find the spot at the top right hand corner where it invites you to add your email.

I’d also love for my readers to click on “Like” (below) if you liked today’s post, and of course give me your comments, anytime!  Just click below where it says “Leave a Comment”.  Thanks!!  (If you are a follower, and received this post by email, you will need to visit the blog page, by clicking today’s title in the email to add your “like’s” and comments.)

I’m Partying Here.  (Doin’ It Yourself @ AKA Design, Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple, Ta-Da Tuesday @ Mommy By Day, Crafter By Night, Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife, Sweet Little Gal’s – Turquoise I’m Lovin’ It!)

Making Chalkboard Labels

Posted by Leanne on October 25, 2011 4 comments

While I was attempting to clean out one of my drawers the other day, I came across money.  Lots of money.  Problem?  It was all in different currencies, none of them Canadian!

Still left over from my days as a Flight Attendant, 10 years later I finally decided it would be fun to have this “on show”.  So I dragged out some Mason Jars I bought this summer, the labels that came with them, some Chalkboard paint I found at Michael’s Craft Store, and got to work.  (Remember when I wrote the post about Mason Jars?  I quickly bought some afterwards, with every intention to make jam, I bought the strawberries and everything…. ya, never happened.  I found some other reasons for them instead – keep reading!)

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Grab the Chalk….

and Ta-Da!

What do you think?  Pretty easy I tell ya!  And the kids were impressed!  :)

My other uses for my Mason Jars this summer:

Cutlery Holders/Water Glasses.  An easy and cheery way to set the picnic table for a casual dinner party.

Sugar Cube Storage.  I love this little jar for my sugar cubes.  Right by the tea (which I drink a lot of now, since I’ve been banned from caffeine by my doctor… wait.  Does that include chocolate?!  Woops.)

And I made a pin cushion!  This was inspired by one of the photos I posted on my Mason Jar post… very different from the photo, but I loved the concept, so I grabbed some odds and ends we had around here, and “whipped” this up!

Thanks for reading!!

If you are just visiting my blog, thanks for visiting!  I would love for you to become a follower, so you can receive my postings by email.  Just find the spot at the top right hand corner where it invites you to add your email.

I’d also love for my readers to click on “Like” (below) if you liked today’s post, and of course give me your comments, anytime!  Just click below where it says “Leave a Comment”.  Thanks!!  (If you are a follower, and received this post by email, you will need to visit the blog page, by clicking today’s title in the email to add your “like’s” and comments.)

I’m Partying Here!  (mommy by day…crafter by night – Ta-Da Tuesday #10, Tip-Me Tuesday @ Tip Junkie)

A Pumpkin Pedicure

Posted by Leanne on October 24, 2011 4 comments

So, again, I mentioned way back in September, that maybe I should do a pedicure tutorial… so why haven’t I followed through with that?  Because embarrassingly enough, I haven’t given myself a pedicure since, ahem, July.  *blush*.  Now for most of you, this may not be a big deal, but to me, having been as esthetician for 8 and something years, this is as important to me as making sure I wash off my makeup every night and moisturize day and night…  so here it is.  I am putting my ugly toes on the internet!  Ready?!

Since I did this pedicure, I have “re-touched” it about 4 times, those cute little decals started at the bottom of the toenail, now almost grown off, and you can see many nails are good and chipped now.  So…

Step 1.  Remove nail polish and clip nails

Step 2.  Apply cream or cuticle oil to your cuticles.  This will soften them for later.  As you can see, I slathered mine with cream.

Step 3.  File nails.  When filing your nails, it is healthiest to work from corner to middle, on each side of your nail, not an aggressive back and forth movement.  Sometimes with toe nails there might not be the choice but to be somewhat aggressive, however, if you are following this to give yourself a manicure, please be nice to your fingernails!

Step 4.  Push back your cuticles.  Now that you have had them soaking for a while, your cuticles should be nice and soft for a GENTLE pushing.  Again, be nice to yourself!  Being aggressive will only cause you pain, and even scar tissue.  For this step you could use q-tips, a towel, a cotton pad…  if your cuticles are too built up to move them out-of-the-way, then leave them, and work on them a bit more next time.

Step 5.  If you are planning on giving your calluses a little exfoliation, now would be a nice time to do it.  Use a foot paddle, or an exfoliating product.  If you have the time, treat yourself to a little foot massage!

Step 6.  Prepare your nails for polish.  Towel off all the cream off your nails and surrounding areas…

… then use nail polish remover to remove any leftover oils from your nails and surrounding areas.  This is important to help your polish last as long as possible.

Step 7.  Base Coat.  Base Coat is important to protect your nails from the polish color staining your nails yellow, plus creates a surface for your polish to adhere to.  (kind of like priming before painting!)

Step 8.  Polish Application.  In the mood for Halloween, I chose a dark OPI color – ‘Lincoln Park after Dark’, a favorite of mine.   Polish always needs 2 thin coats for best coverage and lasting results… doing your best to “color in the lines”…

but even I’m not perfect!  ;)   I try to clean up as I work, but a little extra cleanup after was needed here…

I like to use lint-free wipes, wet them with polish remover, wrap around my thumb, and clean up the edges.   This technique won’t work if you have polished fingernails, but personally, as long as my fingernails are short and clean, I don’t pay much attention to them!

Step 9.  Accessorize.  This is when you might put on some “bling”!  First, apply a thin layer of topcoat to the nail you will apply your “bling” to.  Then, using something with a sharp point, example:  toothpick or tweezers, apply a dab of topcoat to the point.  Using this now sticky tip, “pick” up your jewels and place in your design.  (this would also work with a decal, just no need to put topcoat on your tool point).

Ta-Da!  My Pumpkin Pedicure!

Step 10.  Top Coat.  I suggest not trying to rush your drying process.  Use a good topcoat and wait.  After an hour or so you may put on socks etc, but be patient.  Many products that claim to speed up the process just cause the polish to bubble and then chip sooner.  Apply your top coat to all your nails, using a light touch with your jeweled nails, so you don’t drag the jewels out-of-place, and Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!!

If you are just visiting my blog, thanks for visiting!  I would love for you to become a follower, so you can receive my postings by email.  Just find the spot at the top right hand corner where it invites you to add your email.

I’d also love for my readers to click on “Like” (below) if you liked today’s post, and of course give me your comments, anytime!  Just click below where it says “Leave a Comment”.  Thanks!!  (If you are a follower, and received this post by email, you will need to visit the blog page, by clicking today’s title in the email to add your “like’s” and comments.)

I am partying here!  (Shabby Creek Cottage – Motivate me Monday, Not Just A Housewife – Show me What Ya Got #46, Mommy By day…Crafter By Night – Ta-da Tuesday #10, Tip Junkie – Tip-Me Tuesday)

My Mom,

Posted by Leanne on October 20, 2011 4 comments

Most of you may know that I have not been feeling too hot the last 6 weeks.  Since September 9th ( I remember the date because it was my brother Mike’s 40th birthday!) I have been dealing with headaches (and many days of migraines) all day every day.  Along with that came nausea, and big eye problems.  My eyes are back to normal health, and I am currently on a medication that helps tone down the intensity of my headaches, gets rid of nausea, and allows me to get through my day as normal as possible.  In the meantime I’ve had Dr appointments, tests and massages (whatever might help, gotta try it! :) ).

My amazing mom has been with me every step of the way.  She calls almost every day (and I DO appreciate it mom!) and she has been here to watch the kids for almost every appointment, and was here to help me with everything when my eyes wouldn’t allow me to see proper.  She brings us dinners and many prayers.  She is amazing.

So for my mom, and for all the other awesome moms out there, I have found these quotes, and the sign at the bottom is something I found on Pinterest, about being a mother.  I love you mom!

I cannot forget
my mother.  She is my bridge. When I needed to get across,
she steadied herself long enough for me to run across safely. ~Renita Weems

I love my mother
as the trees love water and sunshine – she helps me grow, prosper, and reach
great heights. ~Terri Guillemets

The moment a
child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman
existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

When you are a
mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to
think twice, once for herself and once for her child. ~Sophia Loren, Women
and Beauty

A mom reads you
like a book, and wherever she goes, people read you like a glowing book review.
~Robert Brault

If you have a
mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been.
~Robert Brault

When it comes to love, Mom’s the
word.

- Unknown

Curtains, Rods and Shelves, Oh my!

Posted by Leanne on October 17, 2011 None comments

I mentioned a really long time ago, in the beginning of September, that I would write a tutorial on how to hang curtains after we tackled it in our baby girl’s room… it’s taken a really long time for me to write this, because, well…. it’s boring!  But, tonight I try, because one of these days it’s gonna have to get done again, and I might need to remind myself how…

You see, I have the world’s #1 husband, but real life gets in the way, and hanging curtains can get real low on the honey-do list.  And I’m a (fairly) patient lady, but there always comes the day when something inside me ticks, and I try to go at the task myself… but something you might not know about me is that I break things.  Everything.  We have to buy new drinking glasses often.  Because of me.  I always open food packages the wrong way.  Cereal bags are always torn to shreds.  Don’t give me a CD still wrapped in plastic, or I’ll break the case just trying to get the plastic off.  Our baby girl’s room has a big hole in the wall (I won’t tell you where, you’ll never find it!  ;)   ) because I tried to take a shelf down by myself, and it was stuck… I took it down anyways.  Whoops.  The pictures that I have hung in our house are held up with many push pins, because I’m afraid to take a nail and hammer to our walls… who knows what I might end up with!  Therefore I am also afraid of power tools – I’d like to keep all my body parts, thank you!  I can generally handle a drill, and now the electric sander too, but I don’t dare to experiment with more power than that!

So, because of all that, I did manage to wait 4 months for these curtains and shelves to go up in our baby’s room, but we have a couple more “makeovers” planned here in the near future, and just in case, I would like to refer back to something in case I decide to take charge.  And in case you need a little help to, I’m sharing my “expertise” with you!  ;)   Beware, it’s long, with many pictures.

First, measure out the height you want for your curtain rod.  We weaved the curtain onto the rod, and held the rod up to the height that would allow the curtains to drape nicely on the lower ledge.

From there we decided on where the brackets were to be placed (if you can find a stud, awesome), and drew in with a pencil the shape of that little keyhole shape:

oops, that’s a picture of my son peeking in, and showing us the moth he was trying to catch.  Let me try that again…

Can you see it? the wee little pencil mark is there.

Next, we found a drill bit similar in size to the screw we were using, and drilled a pre-hole in the spot for the screw.

Placed the screw in the top portion of this little keyhole shape…

And drilled into the wall.  Because of the awkward angle, we had to tighten by hand with a screwdriver.

We placed the rod up, and hubby (ooh, isn’t he handsome!!) held it while I perfected the balance.  From there he marked where the second bracket was to go.

Since this side didn’t have a stud, we had to use one of those anchors.  Hubby pre-drilled the spot, and pushed in the anchor

These screws and anchors came with the curtain rod, but you can purchase cheap sets at places like IKEA, or even the dollar store (but of course, buyer beware, you get what you pay for).

How my hubby keeps his organized…

Screw in the bracket on the other side, and Ta-Da, done!

Now onto the curtain rod for the wardrobe…

This rod I purchased at WalMart was the expandable kind, but it had some sort of crazy spring in it that caused the rod to jump out spontaneously.  Not cool.  There probably was a proper way to adjust it, but wouldn’t you know it, I ripped the instructions when I took the rod out of the packaging… wonder how that happened?!  So I hit up Home Depot, and got these rod holder thingy-majiggy’s for super-duper cheap.

This rod had a fat end and a skinny end, which we realized just in time before the screws went in.  So here is hubby placing a pencil mark where the screw is to go.  We had already done the step of manually hanging the curtain and rod to decide on height.  *Note* make sure you wash and dry your curtains, plus allow them to hang for a couple of days to “settle” before hanging and hemming!  Somehow I messed up on the measurement, and (oh how I love good luck) the curtain reached the perfect length… no hemming needed.  I have a raw edge at the bottom, but I love that look.

Anyways, again, hubby used a drill bit to pre drill the hole.  The reason for using a drill bit first is because otherwise the screw could crack or break the wood.  Hubby chooses a drill bit slightly smaller than the screw, so that when he does screw the screw in, the screw still has wood to bite into.  Next, he screwed the bracket on.

We held up the rod and curtain, into the 2nd bracket, to decide the height… and repeated the steps.

Up goes the curtain!

Baby girl is patiently waiting while we beautify her room.  I think this is the moment when I decided she needed a bird mobile!

The little shelf above the change table was the next job.  this is where quality of anchors came in.  I won’t bore you with the details, but we had to try 3 different kinds before we got ones that the teeth actually opened up and grabbed inside the wall.

First, of course, decide where to hang the shelf, and check the level.  I penciled in the screw holes.

Hubby chose an anchor… the anchor abides by the same rules as the drill bit – just slightly smaller than your screw.

Pre-drill the holes…

Insert the anchor…

we placed the screws in the holes of the shelf, and matched them to the anchors…

And tighten.  but don’t tighten all the way yet…

Be sure it’s level.  Then tighten.

Awww…. poor Cody is wondering when it’s dinner time!

There’s MORE?!  Yup, just a little more.  Now the hooks.  But this time there’s no need for words.  You know it all by now!

Done!  Dinner Time!

Thanks for reading!!

If you are just visiting my blog, thanks for visiting!  I would love for you to become a follower, and that way, you can receive my postings by email.  Just find the spot at the top right hand corner where it invites you to add your email.

I’d also love for my readers to click on “Like” (below) if you liked today’s post, and of course give me your comments, anytime!  Just click below where it says “Leave a Comment”.  Thanks!!  (If you are a follower, and received this post by email, you will need to visit the blog page, by clicking today’s title in the email to add your “like’s” and comments.)