Jewelry Holder

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Jennifer

I love necklaces but never seem to wear them since they are always at the bottom of my jewelry bag.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Therefore, I decided to make a jewelry holder which allowed me to view my collection.

Several months ago I found an old spice rack at Goodwill for $2.99. I originally bought the rack with the intention of using it for storage in my craft room but eventually decided against it.

Yes, someone else attempted some lovely DIY before me.

First step – Sanded the piece down

Second step – Cut off the middle shelf and dowel to allow for the necklaces to hang

Cutting the shelf left holes so wood putty was used to fill them

Third step – Paint (primer from the garage), add hooks ($3.94), and secure to closet wall

Fourth step – Hang jewelery

The little shelves allow me to display bracelets and gives me a place for my earrings in boxes

Before

After $6.93

Hopefully, I’ll wear more jewelry now that I will see it every day

Do you have a favorite way to display jewelry?

Moooooooove Over Pride…We’re Eatin’ for Free

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Jennifer

Last Friday, much to Derek’s dismay, we dressed in our cow costumes and headed to Chick-Fil-A for our free meal. Two years ago we dressed as Star Wars characters so we decided to be “Rock Stars” this year.

Derek was completely mortified as we walked into the building. I reassured him this was only temporary, we’d get a free meal, the kids would enjoy it, and he wouldn’t have to dress like a cow for another 364 days.

Well, as we entered the restaurant, the store manager came over and took our picture. She very excitedly informed us that our picture would be on the stores’ Facebook page. I kept staring and smiling at her, completely ignoring the look of horror that suddenly came across Derek’s face.

When the manager walked away I looked at Derek and said, “It’s for the children.”

“And more importantly, the $25 meal we are about to receive for free.”

So I present to you…..

Moo Hendrix, The Stubborn and fiercely independent 6 year old who refused a name, The Black Eyed Cow, Sheryl Cow, and MooDonna

Picture of Family Dress for Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-a

My chicken sandwich and waffle fries were delish!

Already contemplating our theme for next year….Derek is desperately hoping he’ll be out of town on business.

Father’s Day Gift – Part 2

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Jennifer

In addition to the printables the boys filled out for Derek, we put together a few snacks for him to take to work.

I bought 3 of these containers from Target

Filled them with snacks: honey roasted peanuts, “kisses for Dad,” & sweet candies

Wrapped a ribbon around the sides – secured with tape

Alex created some labels for each jar: Super Dad, #1 Dad, We love you

I desperately wanted to edit the labels Alex created by enlarging the word size, changing the font but I held back. How it looks is really not the point. In the end, Alex was so proud of his labels and so was I.

I chose these containers because they are stackable and would take up less space on Derek’s desk at work

At Target we also found some firework paraphenalia – pops & confetti bombs

So we made personalized sign covers for them. Cheesey I know.

Pop sounds like Derek is 75 years old but we just went with it

Here’s the final Father’s Day gift: the 3 containers, the father’s day printables, the dynamite gifts, and messages written on hand tracings. (Some people are having trouble printing out the printable. Please email and I will send you a copy if that happens.)

Andrew’s says, “You’re my best dad.”

For the record, Derek is Andrew’s only dad. 🙂

Father’s Day Printable

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Jennifer

Father’s Day printables are flying around blogland but I decided to create my own.

Alex and Andrew filled out their “All About My Dad” forms and will give them to Derek on Father’s Day along with a story they are writing.

I wrote down Andrew’s answers for him.

If you’d like a copy of the Father’s Day printable please visit my etsy shop.

Thank you.

How are you celebrating those special dads in your life?

14

Posted on May 24, 2011 by Jennifer

14 years ago today I said, “I do.”

I was pretty naive at 23 and thought I got a wonderful husband on that rainy May day.

What I didn’t realize is how much more I got.

I got someone willing to hold me when I cry.

I got someone who gets my humor (even if it’s the same joke ten years later).

I got someone who will stand by my side.

I got someone who always does the right thing (sometimes a little difficult for this pedal to the metal gal).

I got someone who challenges me in the pool and out.

I got someone who can take my vision and turn it into reality.

I got someone is who my computer genius (who stays remarkably calm when telling me “it’s control z” for the tenth time).

I got someone who loves me in the morning and at night.

I got someone who is an amazing father.

I got my best friend.

Thank you for helping me create our family.

Derek, I love you forever and ever…no matter what!

Kitchen Bench

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Jennifer

We have a window seat in the kitchen which the kids use to sit on when they eat. The table gets pulled up close so they can eat easily. It’s practically been a year since we moved into our house so we thought we’d give them something comfier to sit on. Here’s the before picture:

Derek started by cutting two boards into the needed size. The seat is 116 inches long so two boards were necessary.	Next we bought 4 inch foam from the craft store & spray adhesive.
The craft store used an automatic knife to cut the foam so we decided to cut our foam this way too. Great idea until we realized we didn’t have an automatic knife. Turns out stores don’t carry these unless it’s Thanksgiving. We finally found ours at Dillard’s.	Derek is cutting the foam – I would have loved a chance to try but I think he was enjoying it too much.
Next, we put the boards on top of the fabric. We used a staple gun to secure the fabric on either side. We spent plenty of time trying to get the pattern on the fabric in the center.	Once the long sides were secure, we folded and stapled the short sides.
Here’s a shot of one completed board. (I originally bought a different fabric for the project but it was about 5 inches too short – Great measuring from a math teacher!)	Close up of the pattern: Waverly Sun N Shade Parterre Indigo – I bought outdoor fabric since it’s described as durable, and in this family, we need durable. When we finished making the boards, we used scotchguard to further protect the fabric.

The final product! I love it and more importantly, I think the kids do too.

My next goal for this area is to ~~figure out~~ buy some artwork for the wall.

Have you completed any home improvement projects recently?

Display Board for Kids Room

Posted on April 25, 2011 by Jennifer

Do you have a large frame you haven’t used in years? We have several and I decided to turn two of them into something useful for the boys’ room. Since our marathon displays have been in a closet for probably five years I decided it was time to change them up.

After taking the back off of the frames, I sprayed them with red paint. The boys have red beds in their room so I decided the frames would coordinate nicely with those.

I had some chicken wire lying around and decided to use it. Yes, I know. We do not live on a farm and I just happened to have some chicken wire lying around. Last summer I was going to make a jewelry holder using a frame and the chicken wire but I never got around to it. So, yes…I had the chicken wire just sitting around.

The frames were 22 x 26 inches so we cut out a piece of wire that was 24 x 28 inches. This gave an extra inch on each side for bending and stapling.

I declined to include pictures of our bloody hands from the wire. This was for the benefit of everyone with a weak stomach.

Derek bent the wire edges roughly 90 degrees using pliers. The bent section was the extra one inch of wire initially added on.

He then stapled the wire in place.

We hung the boards on the wall using the same wire that was originally on the frame.

The boys were able to each place their special papers (drawings of their imaginary soccer teams) and ribbons on their own board using clothespins. (We didn’t make a cork board for the boys since having the push pins around would have been dangerous for Caroline.)

If I was a true “crafter” I would have decorated the clothespins with glitter or scrapbook paper but frankly that seems like too much work to me.

The final product – I love it!

6 Weeks

Posted on April 21, 2011 by Jennifer

It has been 6 weeks since my miscarriage and I’m angry.

Just plain angry.

I don’t know what stage of grief that falls under. In fact, I purposely have not looked at the stages of grief. I don’t want to think I’m on stage three when a bad day makes me realize I’m really still at a one. I know I will teeter back and forth between the stages, whatever they may be, but I don’t want to know about them officially just yet.

Here are the stages I have gone through:

Stage 1: Sadness. To the core.

Stage 2: A Need to Hide: I could not see or talk to anyone the first two weeks. I knew I would break down and it was not something I was comfortable doing in front of so many.

Stage 2: Retail therapy: I told Derek I didn’t want to hear anything about our Discover bill this month. Just pay it and we’ll worry about the next bill in due time. I’m sure he’d say THE LOFT, Target, Macy’s, and Dillard’s have benefited immensely from my grief.

Stage 3: Annoyance: Annoyed that Derek gets to carry on with life as usual and I am stuck waiting. Waiting to exercise, waiting to have a direction again, waiting to feel normal.

Stage 4: Jealousy: Looking at pregnant woman wishing it were me. This one always makes me feel like such a jerk since I’ve already been blessed three times.

Stage 5: Anger: I’m angry I had to quit my part time job I loved. I’m angry I can only exercise 2 times a week right now because of some complications. I’m angry I got my period. I’m angry I can’t fit into my summer clothes because it’s 85 degrees. I’m angry the daycare can’t seem to clean my daughter’s nose once during the day. Just name it and I can give you my side of it and how to be angry about it.

Stage 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… I don’t know what phase I will go through next but I do feel confident I am moving in the right direction. Writing has truly been cathartic for me. It lets me share at my own pace.

I will be fine. Better than fine. Just not sure when.

Master Calendar/Schedule

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Jennifer

Since we have 5 people in our family we naturally have 673 things going on at any one time. While I have my personal calendar and Derek has his own, somehow we would still each miss recording events. This miscommunication often lead to frustration by both of us so I decided the solution was a master schedule.

We determined the master schedule needed to be in the kitchen so everyone could glance at it or add to it when needed. We placed it above the chalkboard and next to a magnet board we brought from our old house. The magnet board is a great place for the dry erase markers since they have magnets on the back of them.

We used a 38 x 26 frame we had sitting around. Besides the cost of the dry erase markers this was going to be a completely free project. That is…until we broke the glass. Off to the home improvement store Derek went to buy new glass and we were back in business.

I printed off some days of the week labels while Derek stuck two large pieces of paper together. After I glued the days of the week at the top of the blank pages. Derek divided it into appropriate sections. Each day is roughly 5 inches x 4 3/4 inches big.

Here’s an example of a light day: 6:00 soccer for Andrew & 6:00 lacrosse for Alex.It also reminded me of what I needed to bring to Caroline’s school for a teacher luncheon.