DIY

I love to do DIY
projects around the house - especially when I am bored or procrastinating.
Our den/living room/study - basically the room we live in -
has a lot of various wood furniture.
And it looked bad.

I was wanting a change and decided to paint the coffee table a gun metal black.

Since I live in a cold and rainy country
I set up a drop cloth in said room and got to work.

I am really pleased with the result...
what shall I paint next?




(it looks nicer in the photo than it was in real life - think Ikea but made with real wood)


and VOILA....

Bring on the Post Cards!

I have been wanting a cork board

but they aren't that great looking here
and they are pretty pricey.

So when I saw a big wooden frame at a charity shop,
I figured I could make my own.
Here are the supplies you would need to make your own:

1. burlap 2. scrap cardboard (they don't sell plain cork...had to improvise)
3. Wooden Frame 4. Paint, I went with Cool Slate 5. Glue Gun

Cut the cardboard according to your frame size, I made 3 or 4 layers of cardboard
Wrap the burlap around the cardboard and glue to secure
Set Aside
Paint wooden frame
Once Dry,
Glue the corners of the burlap wrapped cardboard to the inside of the frame

Voilà....You have a cork board





Now all I need are some POST CARDS to fill it.....
(my not so subtle) Hint, Hint!

I LOVE GETTING MAIL

make your own postcard or
buy a goobie one!

(or you can leave comments, it makes me feel loved)

It's always something

So, I like doing projects and sometimes I like to bite off a bit more than I can chew. Thus, why not refinish a table? I have had this green desk for a few years and have always wanted to paint it. But painting didn't seem like the appropriate plan of action.

(Here is the table before, also in our old loft)

I started stripping the paint and realized I liked the wood underneath so I scrapped off all the green paint on the top of the desk. The base would have been WAY to much to handle with all the nooks and turns so I decided not to scrape it.

I painted it a creamy white and then scrapped in a few spots to roughen it up a bit. I think as it gets more wear it will become better looking.

I really love to top, but the verdict is still out on whether or not I like the white paint color I chose? Thoughts?

Kids Art!

I wanted to share with you some of the amazing things my students have created. I am a Pre-K and Kindergarten art teacher and love seeing how creative my students are. I have selected a few of my favorites from the earlier part of the year.

FROG PROJECT
I purchased some African Frogs in the beginning of the year for my classroom and thought it would be appropriate to have the kids draw them.



FALL LEAVES
The PreK created these fall leaves out of clay during the fall. I was so impressed with the way they turned out!



JASPER JOHNS
When the Kindergarten was studying America we learned about artist Jasper Johns. The students used crayon, colored pencil, oil pastels, marker and water colors.



FISH
I did these clay fish with one of my aftercare groups....I wanted to steal them all and make a wall of fish!



VAN GOGH
Another one of my aftercare groups, just as a reminder these kids are 5. I think that's pretty impressive! Van Gogh would be pleased.



Just a taste....there is more to come!

Spread the Love

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day!

Celebrating Valentines Day with four and five year olds really makes you smile. Here is my favorite Valentine of the day!

Aprons

I started collecting aprons before I got married. I have always thought wearing an apron was kind of flirty and sexy. When I got engaged my roommates gave me a beautiful antique white apron with my new initials monogrammed on the pocket (see below).



When I go into Anthroplogie I always drool over their aprons. But seriously who wants to pay 40 bucks for an apron. Every time I saw one I liked, I thought "I could make that for nothing" so one day I finally did. I don't have a sewing machine but I do know how to sew...kind of.

So I picked out some cool fabric and used concepts from aprons I already had. I used magic sewing tape to bind the hems. Here are all the parts: the top, the skirt, the waist band and the straps.



I ironed the hem in place before I put the magic tape in so the hems would be straight. I also pleated the skirt and pinned it in place before I adhered all the pieces together.



When everything is magic taped together I go back and reinforce the connections with embroidery thread. It also gives it the hand made look.
Here is the final product!