#12mos12projs

You might think that rounding up every single one of these tiny tormentors (and tossing them) was my April goal for my 12 Months 12 Projects Nesting Challenge. That would be a very House-focused (and fantastic) project; but, nope, this month I was focused on Home.

April’s project tackles Nesting in the form of Making Memories (and, these little tripping hazards came in handy for doing so). Read on!

Using Pinterest Helped Me Plan My Kiddo’s 9th Birthday Party

When my daughter was a toddler, I came across a book that inspired me called The Mother-Daughter Project by SuEllen Hamkins. It chronicled the experiences of a group of moms and daughters who met up together monthly between the daughters’ ages of 7 – 17. Talk about the whole kaboodle of childhood and adolescence – yow!

I found the book so inspiring that I invited a group of mom-friends to create our own Mother-Daughter circle when my daughter was 5; and, thus, a Pinterest board was born to help me track cool activities to do together.

Lorie’s Mother-Daughter Pinterest board image

Thanks to my board, I had a link-stash of ideas to consider when it came time to throw together plan my Kiddo’s 9th birthday. Yay!

I briefly considered a Detective/Mystery theme, because I’ve come across some really cool Pins about that.

Clockwise from top left: ThaumaturgeArts on Etsy, EmmaSmith stationery, and Mmmcrafts.blogspot.com.

But, we had had cross-country travel, pernicious post-travel sickness, more cross-country travel, AND a group-meal-for-8 already in April. Tricking out a Detective themed party was beyond my capacity this year.

What I’d do instead? SLUMBER PARTY, of course!

Pizza, ice cream cake, glow sticks, and a DVD from the library was my first “sketch” of the celebration. Thanks to my Pins, I prepped for a few party games and activities, too.

These images/Pins on my board inspired me:

From the left: www.Parents.com, www.cometogetherkids.com, and www.thetaylor-house.com.

Here’s how I broke the birthday party schedule down:

5:00  Arrival of Guests

5:30  Scavenger Hunt

Hidden in plain site? Scavenger Hunt http://www.loriemarsh.com

I found one! Scavenger Hunt http://www.loriemarsh.com

Remember the Tiny Toy Tormentors? They made excellent items to seek and find in the front yard for our Scavenger Hunt. Birthday Kiddo is 9 years old, so I hid 9 items to find.

6:00  Feats of Jumping with the Pogo Stick

Start here. Birthday Pogo Fun http://www.loriemarsh.com

How far can you go? Birthday Pogo Fun http://www.loriemarsh.com

6:30  Coloring Fun

Birthday Coloring Fun – Group Activity

At this point, I put pizzas in the oven.

7:00  DINNER!

7:30  Ice Cream Cake

7:45  Game of Whipped Cream “Catch”

I had three cans of whipped cream, a bag of mini-marshmallows, a bag of pretzel sticks, and two shower caps on hand.

Pretty much anything you do after the whipped cream goes on their heads is fun for them and hilarious.

I gave each “competitor” 10 pretzel sticks and 10 mini-marshmallows. The one who landed the most items on the other’s mound of whipped cream “won” that round. I had sour gummy candies as “prizes.”

Birthday Game – Playing “Catch” with Whipped Cream

Catch w/Whipping Cream http://www.loriemarsh.com

Catch w/Whipping Cream http://www.loriemarsh.com

8:30  Hose Down and Open Play (An Outdoor Pillow Fight Ensued)

9:30  Pajamas, glow sticks, sleeping bags in the Family Room, and movie time.

I picked up Disney’s animated version of The Jungle Book. We all sang along with Baloo the Bear as he crooned, “The Bare Necessities.”

11:00  Parents collapse. Kiddos stay up half past midnight, giggling.

Parents were told to pick up their kiddos the next morning between 10 – 11 o’clock. I had bagels, cream cheese, hard-boiled eggs, apples, yogurt, and cereal and milk on hand for breakfast.

Not to mention, half an ice cream cake left. Nom.

Oh, and there were errant pretzel sticks and mini-marshmallows in my backyard for a couple days… until helpful neighborhood critters cleaned them up for me. Isn’t Mother Nature grand?

How about you? Do you have a favorite birthday celebration story? Do share.

2016 Nesting Challenge – Hooks & Hangings II

Living Room wall – BEFORE I’ve had an empty wall over my sofa for three years. Three years of BLANKNESS. No personality. Nada. Visitors might have wondered if we were either a) extreme minimalists, b) traumatized by a prior hammering incident, or c) extremely dull. But, once I committed to my 12 Months 12 Projects goal, it was only a matter of time before our living room wall accurately reflected…

2016 Nesting Challenge – Hooks & Hangings I

Phase 1 of Project 3 of 12 Months 12 Projects is completed! Adding hooks in the mud room – BEFORE photo. You might recall from an earlier post, that I have a number of hooks in my possession. Okay, a lot. When I come across a cool hook, I think, ‘Ooooo! Organization!’ and ‘It’s not that expensive.’ and I buy it. Then I expect House Gnomes to do their work while I sleep and to see the hooks…

It’s time to hang the hooks. And, the mirror with hooks on it. Oh, and those other hooks. While I’m at it, I should also hang that art I finally framed. Then there’s that one basket thingie that I got to hold potatoes and onions in the kitchen… See, I find myself in stores like IKEA or The Container Store, and I get caught up in the fantasy of Total Organization and House Dwelling Hipness that…

Project 2 of 12 Months 12 Projects is completed!

Remember how I shared that my hall mirror was trapped in the 1970s?

Hall Mirror After Chalk Paint

Well, now it’s been updated with some Annie Sloan chalk paint, and I tricked out the benches under the hall table with some DIY upholstering using old curtains. Woot!

Have you ever worked with Annie Sloan chalk paint? It’s pricey, yes. But, I love, love, love that I don’t have to strip anything before I dive in with color, baby! And, I like using the Annie Sloan wax to finish it; using it feels more arty and tactile to me than working with polyurethane.

So, how’d I do it?

Here are the deets, pictorially:

Put kiddos to work taping off mirror.

Annie Sloan sells brushes that look very fluffy and fun to use, but I’ve had satisfying results using plain old 2 1/2 inch nylon/polyester blend brushes from any paint or hardware store. Also, you can order your paint from the Annie Sloan website or use the site to locate a physical store that may be near you.

I love visiting Mama’s Happy in St. Paul to get my chalk paint supplies and up-cycled decor and accessories fix!

After playing with blue painters tape, put the kiddos to work with the paint brushes.

Don’t be surprised if the first layer of paint looks patchy and the coverage uneven.

My experience with Annie Sloan paint is that it dries pretty quickly, so get your layer on there and then leave it alone. If you keep messing with it, it’s going to look even patchier and scratchier. You can always lay on another coat after the prior one dries.

We painted two coats of Annie Sloan Coco chalk paint. After the paint dried (I waited a couple hours), I grabbed some sand paper out of my husband’s toolbox and sanded edges on corners and ridges to make a distressed look. I blew and dusted off the grit and made sure the surface was clean and smooth. Then I used a flour sack cloth to scoop two fingers’ worth of Annie Sloan clear wax at a time and rub it onto every painted surface.

Once the wax dried, I went back with a clean cloth and buffed every surface.

I could’ve stopped there, but even after sanding the edges like I did, I didn’t feel the finish looked as distressed as I wanted.

So, I broke out the Annie Sloan dark wax,

scooped out two fingers’ worth onto my cloth, and applied it to edges and details to bring them out more. I worked little by little, so I didn’t over-commit with the dark stuff in big globs.

If I wanted to pull back on the effect of the dark wax in a spot, I’d scoop a little plain wax onto my cloth fingers and work it into the dark spot until it got lighter. And, voila!

Painted edges sanded to look distressed, then waxed with Annie Sloan dark wax.

Next, a few pictures to show you how I did the makeover on the stools under the hall table:

This is the bench before being painted.

Remember I have a curtain obsession? I do, and as such, I have old curtains laying about in closets, beckoning to see the light of day again. Get it, ‘see the light of day?’ I’m so punny.

Anyway, I tried two possibilities:

Using old curtains to reupholster benches; which pattern to choose?

I do love damask, but the flowered one of the right won. Next up, time to get my friend, the staple gun.

GAH! How to get a good angle on this puppy so the that the staples stop pinging off to the sides?? I got smart(ish) and laid the bench upside down on the floor so I could apply more direct pressure and willed those little metal brackets into place, that’s how.

Voila! I got the staple gun to work, yay! I win at reupholstery.

Behold, I put the whole ensemble back together, added a new lamp from Tuesday Morning, and we have a NOT 1970s Hall Mirror and Table! I still don’t like the drawer pulls, but they’re not a standard size, and I’ll have to get crafty to change them to something I like better. Another day…

This project took me a full week longer than I expected. I’ll tell you, I’m not picking another reupholstery project to complete for the next couple months!

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for replacement drawer pulls?

My Front Hall Mirror Has a Case of the 70s

Today’s posting could also be named: The Foyer Files. Living in the Great North of Minnesota, I have a fixation about foyers and mud rooms. Getting through snowy, cold winters means wearing a lot of layers. And, taking off all that crap after being outside means muddy, wet floors and piles of coats, mittens, scarves, gloves, hats, wet wool socks, boots, and ear muffs. I want order. I want hooks.…