Transforming a Monogram Accent Piece (on the cheap)

We've been doing some major room -- make that entire house -- renovation this month. Wall colors, furniture placement - everything was up for grabs. It looks so much better and I'll share the after photos with you soon.

Until then, here's a quick and easy accent piece you can make for under $5.

I picked up a shiny metallic initial from Hobby Lobby (1/2 off, of course).

I sanded her down so she would take paint well. FYI - those letters, they don't like to be sanded. Gold glitter was everywhere. But a quick wipe down with a damp cloth, a few coats from a Behr sample that may or may not be my new favorite kitchen wall color ever (wait and see!) and...

She turned out so pretty, don't ya think? I didn't use a clear coat because I liked the matte finish of the flat sample paint. You can see a sneak peek of my new living room in this photo. Such a transformation; I'm so happy with the results!

Come back soon to see the after photos, paint names, and some vignette inspiration.

Have a great weekend!

Birthday Train, How To

Remember the birthday candy train I showed you last month? It was a fun addition to the Rainbow Balloon Birthday party we threw for our sweet baby boy.

I promised you a tutorial, so here she is! This one is simple, very simple. My favorite kind. I wanted a white train for the table but did not want to spend a lot of cash so I dreamed up this little idea one afternoon while roaming Hobby Lobby. I picked up one of their natural wood train engine pieces, and three small cardboard craft boxes.

I got rid of the lids, then painted everything white, except for the wheels, which I painted black. Then I hot glued colorful buttons for the wheels, and to add height.

 The most tedious (and expensive) part was separating out the Skittles for the rainbow cargo. :) I cut white coffee filters to fit the boxes so I could pour the Skittles in on top of those instead of the painted (not food-safe) boxes.

There you have it! An easy, eye-catching centerpiece you can make in one afternoon (or less) on the cheap. Happy crafting!

Linking to:
   Tater Tots & Jello   

Cooking with Artichokes

I finally gathered up my nerve and cooked with canned artichokes. Does anyone else think they smell a little bit like crab meat?

I used this recipe from faithful P Dub and it did not disappoint. In fact, heavenly might be an appropriate adjective.

PS - How precious is Ree on her new Food Network show? I think I've become a groupie.

What I've Been Up To...

A whole month?! I guess it has been a while since I last posted. We had a computer crash (again!) so I blame that.

While I've been silent, I haven't been still. Here's a peek at what I've been up to...

Picking out new wall colors. Oh, the insanity. It got to the point that I almost asked the internet repairman to pick his favorite. But I finally made a decision! (Pictures to come, but if you want a sneak peek at where this is headed, you can check out my Pinterest)

{FYI...the sad paint colors not labeled are my own mixes}

I organized. A lot. This is a picture of all the orphaned plastic container lids I thew away. Why was I taking up cabinet real estate with these?!

Even my shoes got the organizing treatment. My heels are now in order of ascending height. I can almost breathe better now.
But most of my time, fortunately, was spent entertaining my precious 3 year-old. This week we crafted a bubble foamer. Care to copy? It's 3 easy steps...

1. Cut the bottom off of an empty plastic bottle.

Secure a thin damp terrycloth rag (we used a baby washcloth) to the bottom opening with rubber bands.

Mix up a bubble solution of a few squirts of dish soap (Joy works wonders) and water, dip the bottom of the bottle in it and go to town!

I got this idea from skimming through the wonder that is Pinterest.

So, what have you been up to?

A Rainbow Balloon 3rd Birthday Party

My precious baby turned the big three years old recently and we threw him a big birthday bash. The theme was balloons but rainbow balloons are even more fun, so we combined the two.

A six layer R.O.Y.G.B.I.V. (minus the indigo) cake with cream cheese frosting. It was a big hit and tasted fantastic! The trick is using gel dyes instead of liquid. They make for very intense colors!
My son loves balloons. He can spot them from a mile away. But truth be told, I didn't think I had it in me to make a cake shaped like any of his favorite characters of the moment. So we went a little more abstract this time around. He still was thrilled with his cake and was absolutely head over heels when he discovered we had filled an entire room full of balloons. He had a blast plowing through them again and again.
Whoopie pies! Key lime, lemon, and red velvet all with cream cheese frosting. My son loved these and even skipped cake, instead saying, "I want a gween one, Mommy!" (I'll post directions for these soon but trust me, they are a piece of cake! Ugh, puns...)
Rainbow tissue poms added fun color and a festive backdrop. I couldn't believe I had never thought of those before! It's just your basic tissue pom, only with a variety of colors.

I'll have a tutorial soon for the candy filled train as well.
All of the food was served on white servings trays I have collected (on clearance, of course) over the years and we ate off of dollar store napkins and plates. Nothing too expensive or fancy, just fun and bright. It was the perfect evening celebrating our incredible blessing!

A lot of my inspiration came from Pinterest. Oh, Pinterest. Where have you been all my life? See the inspiration board for the party here. If you want to follow along with all the goodies I'm discovering on the web, you can follow me on Pinterest here.

Hope you're enjoying your last few weeks of summer!

We need rain.

That's just all there is to it. We. Need. Rain. Even the ants think so...they've resorted to eating my cantaloupe. My beautiful cantaloupe that I've been babying for months and throughout the drought.

I get that the whole country is sweltering right now, but seriously. Texas is an oven. My son begs all day to go outside but it truly isn't safe (or bearable) to do so until after 8pm. And no rain in sight. The forecast keeps climbing too. It's now in the 108-111 degrees range.

This is my backyard this morning. Cracking under the heat.

And my poor red oak that I have faithfully watered throughout the drought. No amount of watering can make up for this kind of heat.

But we have faith in our Father and believe He will provide. I keep asking him for rain, and I know I'm not the only one. This morning my son and I went out to water the trees. Their leaves are browning now, falling off, and the dirt around the roots is pulling away and cracking from dehydration and heat. The dirt around our house foundation is pulling away as well. Our driveway has started to crack. This is serious stuff, this heat. More than a few lives have been lost this summer in Texas because of it.

We need rain.

So today I've put this plastic cup on my kitchen island as a reminder. My son planted grass seeds in it at VBS last week and decorated it with stickers that say "Trust in the Lord." The grass in this cup is doing great, of course, since it's growing in an air conditioned home, and getting plenty of water. But those green blades are serving as a reminder to me. My God is bigger than this. He gives and takes away. I'll trust Him.


We need rain.

Rainbow Cake

Summer is still in full swing over here but we've managed to fit in a party or two. I'll post more pictures later, but here's a sneak peek at the birthday bash we threw last weekend. It was an absolute blast!