Budget Birthday gift

represent!

Stash busting birthday apron for a cousin's kid who is turning 3 =D I hope it fits, I don't have a local 3 year old to try it on =(

That pink stuff is mighty stretchy, and the polka dotted is not. I had a few issues (don't look too close at the heart shaped top lol)
the D rings are off the trampoline mat which the dogs tore up, I thought they'd be easier to handle for a kid than trying to tie it.

now if only I had access to a pink feather duster or something to go with it. I thought about making some felt cookies (because I only have cream and greys in felt right now) but my animals never left felt food alone, and I suspect birthday girls myriad of pets would behave similarly.

I based it loosely on http://gluesticksblog.com/6-in-1-apron  you know, without actually making a pattern or measuring much. I don't think I attached the bib part to the skirt correctly, but I used the iron and that's what counts :P

Painting a girl's TV stand

So I started a new project. I need some oomph to see it through, but I'm going to have all the youth group boys at my house this weekend, so I'm not going to be any time soon :(

Yard Sale Beauty

I got this tv stand thingy for $10 at a yard sale,and it is SOLID. That bugger weighs like 800 pounds. well, perhaps not quite that much, I can't give an accurate assessment because I cannot lift it on my own at all!

So I decided this would be perfect for my daughter's room. Splash some paint on it and life would be great, but then...pinterest happened.

So did you know you can tape off a chevron design without a whole lot of trouble? It's just measuring all 4 sides and making equal marks across the parallel ones, then cutting off the excess tape.

My visualizer

Actually, I  needed help cutting off the excess tape, this kid had to keep pointing out to me which lines I was following and which I was removing. She did an awesome job, and she has nails so she peeled off the tape bits that I cut!

So then we painted

and painted

and painted

and painted

Woohoo! Now the backboard is done!   That was a lot of work :(

Here's the drawers! and the kid to whom this color explosion will belong.

and the drawer handles!

Um, apparently I didn't get a finished shot of those, though they need a coat of clear nail polish on them still.

and here's where I am currently stuck.
It's too heavy to bring inside by myself! I need several more coats of the blue and pink, the removable shelf is orange, but I'm pondering what color the sides and fronting parts should be. I like the idea of blue because it only takes 2 coats of paint instead of 5 lol, but I might go with the purple that is in the skinny stripes. She doesn't want black or white.  And I can't get working on  it till Monday. *sigh*

*******FINISHED*******

But umm...her TV doesn't fit on it. *sigh*

Pulling my hair out!

My son turns 13 tomorrow, and he asked for a headcrab cake. Except he doesn't like cake, and I had no clue what a headcrab was. So I looked it up.

Isn't that appetizing?

So, always up for a challenge, I attempted it. To start off with, my marshmallow fondant never stopped being sticky, ever. I've added like 3 pounds of powdered sugar to the stuff and it's still a pain.

The no cake thing is easy, the boy loves rice krispy treats.

So this is what I have so far.

it's not bread dough!

I think I'm going to go to bed and see if the birthday fairies come fix it during the night. Or maybe I'll have a brilliant idea to make this work.  The fondant isn't holding it's shape enough to mold the fangs and legs and stuff, and boy those rice krispies bumps really show through.  /sigh

This friends, is what failure looks like.

Done! I think....

So today was payday, and I carted my happy butt to home depot and purchased some paint! and some wax! so I could finally finish!

Last chair is in Behr Straw Hat

After much debating (vote was 9 for 3 against) I painted the table, but did NOT paint over the laminate. If I did I would have had to make another trip to the depot for polyurethane, and I am not an accomplished applier of such stuff. The table is not in Behr Cozumel, because as I was standing at the paint counter with my chips in hand I decided I liked the color above that better, whatever it was called.

So here is my finished dining room set in all it's glory!

Tada!

 Like the way I arranged that rainbow around the table? I'll probably change that at some point, and maybe paint that blue chair a darker hue. I like it, but it blends with the table a little too close for my taste.


I'm pretty sure I like it, but I do still have another sample jar of paint to finish the top of the table with if I decide it needs to be done. I'll just have to wait till next payday to buy the protective finish...and with this family, I will NEED a protective finish.  The wax finish was very easy to apply. Almost too easy, I hope it holds up =)

Dining set redo

So my family is notoriously hard on furniture. We went through two dining sets in the first 6 years of marriage. I asked my mom to be on the lookout for a sturdy set when she went yard saling, and boy did she ever! She found a very sturdy set that had been residing in someone's barn for a decade or two.  I had every plan to refinish it at some point. And that point has finally come, 8 years later lol.

Years of daily use!

Before pic, notice the chipped polyurethane on the seat? All of them look like that, and have paint dribbles and whatnot.

So I asked some friends how hard it would be to refinish, and one said chalk paint was the perfect answer! It adheres to almost anything, dries quickly and most importantly - you don't have to strip the old varnish and stain off! I LOVE the lazy way out =D  So I asked around and got a homemade chalk paint recipe from a friend who refinishes furniture. (much cheaper than the $30+ per can for the premade stuff)  I started my little wheels turning on what colors I'd like my set to be. And decided on lots of colors!

These are the paint chips I finally settled on.

So I picked my colors and waited for payday. And waited, and waited, and waited. I decided waiting isn't my strong suit, and jumped in with the paints I had on hand!

1st chair!

This is the color of my son's bedroom. First coat of paint applied!

I called in the reinforcements.

Started the second chair!

I feel the need to inform you that orange does not cover as well as green. Green took 2 coats and a couple touchups. Orange took 4, plus the touch ups.

And this is where we stand today. Now I really have to wait for payday. I want to paint the table turquoise and the last chair yellow, and I don't own either of those colors. I also need to buy wax to give them a protective finish. I've read that waxing it makes the colors darker, but I'm wondering if I should buy a colored wax to tone down those bright colors just a bit.  I'll have that figured out by friday!

Vegetative rambles

My fluffy tomato plant

my pruned tomato plant

I have no clue what the heck this is.

So I'm attempting a garden! I made a keyhole garden. It's supposedly drought resistant, and includes it's own compost pile which should be feeding the plants and assisting in the watering.  My tomato is confounding me.

I was advised to prune it, and prune it I did! there's only half of the plant left. I'm rather zealous in my endeavors.  But now the leaves are all curly and this weird egg pile was on one of the leaves.

So how long do you think till the whole plant is dead? I'm gonna give her two weeks I think.  It's a long slow drawn out death. I'll be the tomato hospice worker, and I will bury my sorrow in my squash yield.

Speaking of, it's squash for dinner again! I should go cook it.


Pinterest don't fail me now!

Zoodles!

 

First

I wonder...
Say you walk into a room, on a table is a beautiful delicious looking cupcake. Nobody is around. What keeps you from eating it? Is it fear of punishment? Someone is going to catch you and punish you for eating it?

I have a healthy fear of punishment, which started me stealing sweets oddly enough. At some point in my young life someone had eaten the icing my mom was planning on using to frost a cake. No child would admit to having eaten it. So my dad lined us up and started swatting us. I was the oldest so I went first. I was outraged! My siblings both got whacked in turn, then it was my turn again. I was shaking with anger and crying, and it was decided that since I had the strongest reaction I must have been the one to do it.  I wasn't allowed to express anger, that was disrespectful. But guess who started snitching icing after that? If I was going to be punished for something I was darn well determined to do that thing before I paid the price.

 I still refrain from eating someone else's cupcake. But it's not because I think my butt will burn if I do. So what's my motivation?