Breakin' For Spring

Today officially starts Spring Break here in Indy (why it starts on a Friday is beyond me, but it does so we'll go with it...). The hubby and I have both taken some time off from work so that we can spend the week with the girls and our family. With our new little one arriving this summer this will be the last vacation time when it's just the four of us. We've decided to unplug for the week and focus on family, fun and friends. The hubby has vowed to not check-in at work and I've decided that I'm taking the week off from blogging for some much needed bonding time. Have a wonderful week and I can't wait to share all our adventures with you we when return!

M-I-C...See You REAL Soon!

In the near future we will be visiting Mickey, Minnie and all their friends. I made these adorable matching shirts for the girls to wear. I can't wait to surprise the girls with them!!!

Tutorial coming soon.

Little Grow Peep Revisited

With Easter just around the corner I wanted to revisit another fabulous Peep craft. It's great one to have the kids help you with...just make sure you have extra Peeps for snacking on!

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When I saw this adorable craft in the latest issue of Woman's Day I knew it would be at the top of our "To Do" list.

How could we not love it??? It had painting, gluing, messy grass and Peeps! Really Peeps! Those squishy, sugary, marshmallowly Peeps that come around every Easter.

Here is what you need to make 3 flowers (everything but the Peeps was purchased at Jo-ann's):

• 4 packages of 5-count yellow chick Peep marshmallow (4 will give you extra incase you have a gap AND give the kids some to snack on while being crafty)
• Decorative grass
• Three 6" embroidery hoops (I couldn't find 3 of the same kind so I used two wooden and painted them yellow and one yellow plastic, both worked equally well)
• Green flower foam
• Mini hot-glue gun and glue sticks (I would discourage using the larger hot-glue guns b/c they will just melt the Peeps instead of gluing them)
• Wooden dowels
• Paint 
• Mini flower pots. (I used terra cotta pots so that we could paint them the colors we wanted. You could easily use Easter-colored metal ones that are fairly easy to find this time of year)

First we painted our dowels green and our wooden hoops yellow.

We each picked out colors for the pots and I painted them with three coats of paint. Once dry, you need to glue the dowels to the hoops. This was the tricky part. For the wooden ones I removed the screws and hot glued the dowel in between the metal clasps.

The pins in the plastic hoop did not come out all the way so I glued the top of the dowel to the screw at the opening of the hoop. Don't worry if you use lots of glue, it will all be hidden by the Peeps. I was really surprised by how stable they were. Just use LOTS of glue.

While the hoops are drying you can put the green flower foam in each pot.

Now it's time to glue the Peeps to the hoops. Remove the Peeps from the package but do not separate them. Apply a thick line of glue to 1/3 of the front of the embroidery hoop. Gently press one group of five Peeps onto the glue with their beaks facing the center of the hoop, slightly bending them to cover the ring. Repeat with other two groups. Use your extra Peeps to fill in any gaps that you may have.

*Make sure to center the Peeps on the hoops so they don't flop around. My first hoop looked like this:

See how they are glued to close too the edge? I needed to pull them off and make them look more like this:

See the difference? This hoop was much more stable.

Finish gluing the Peeps to the remaining hoops.

Once all the glue is dry it is time to put the flowers together. First gently poke the sticking into the green flower foam. We wanted our flowers to be different heights so we varied how far we poked them down.

Next I removed the sticks so that I could put hot-glue down each hole. We also tucked grass around the sides of the green flower foam.

Put the sticks back in the hole and then put more hot glue on the top of the flower foam and place grass on top. You can spray the peeps lightly with a craft sealer to preserve them.

Display your beautiful garden for all to see!

Sock Hop and Circle Skirt

Last week my baby went to her very first drop-off dance at school. I've never been so proud and so emotional at the same time! Her school is very good about having extra evening activities that the kids can participate in. This was our first experience with an after-school activity. They were having a Sock Hop fundraiser for The Make a Wish Foundation in honor of one of their students who died last year. Such a fun idea for a WONDERFUL cause. When I asked Lo if she wanted to go she wasn't sure what a "50s girl looked liked," but when she saw a picture of a poodle skirt she was instantly hooked. I was a little surprised by how eager she was. She didn't even want me to see if any of her friends were going. I'm not that brave! I would have called at least 3 other people (it's always good to have back-up) AND I would have offered to drive so that we all could arrive at the same time. She didn't blink an eye when I told her it was drop-off....that was until the night before the dance...but we'll get there...

So the most important thing we needed was a poodle skirt. Lucky for us I had an adorable pink poodle applique already, complete with fluffy tail. I actually have 3 of them which is proof that I have a crafty addiction. I bought them several years ago when Wal-mart decided to get rid of all their sewing items. I think I picked up each one for  a few dollars. 

One of my favorite, and easiest, skirts to make is the circle skirt from MADE. It would be the perfect twirly skirt for my little 50s girl. Of course Lo wanted a pink skirt (coincidentally so did ALL the other Sock Hop attendees which make it near impossible to find her at pick-up!) I had some cheap pink fabric and black elastic on hand. It's always nice when you don't have to drag everyone to the crafty store! 

It literally only takes a few minutes to make the skirt once you have your pattern drawn. If you have a serger it's even quicker! You can leave the serged hem exposed for an even quicker project, or just fold over and top stitch which is what I chose for this skirt.

The waist band is 2-inch elastic. It's a little tricky attaching it, but once you get it started it goes quickly.

Poodle's leash is sequin ribbon. Honestly I had never used it before and I wasn't sure how to attach it. I was under a time crunch so I used fabric tack and it held on really well. I love how it gives the skirt a little bling!

So after getting this cute little outfit together and gluing my fingers shut the night before the dance Lo ends up in a full-blown panic attack and decides she's not going. I think most of her anxiety was exhaustion induced. She was crying that she wouldn't have anyone to dance with and what if she had to go to the bathroom and didn't know where it was. She was a mess of tears! I reminded her that it was at school and only people who go to school could go, so she'd know LOTS of people there and the bathrooms would be right where they always were. We made a deal. We'd go to the dance and see how it was. If she didn't want to stay she didn't have to, but she had to at least check it out. We were there for exactly two seconds before she was whisked away by three of her friends. I had to actually go hunt her down to make sure it was okay for me to leave, which of course it was. She had a wonderful time! They hula-hooped, did the limbo and ate lots of treats. She and her friends didn't have enough money for all they wanted so they pooled their money together and shared their treats-so cute! 

It was also a great learning experience. We talked a lot about giving things a try because you could miss out on something super fun! I was very proud of her bravery and had lots of tears on the inside when I dropped her off and saw her run off with her friends. She is growing up so fast and it just gave me a glimpse into the future where I hope she'll always let me kiss and hug her good-bye!

Make Over Your Monday

Happy Monday! It's hard to believe that it's the last Monday of March...time is flying by around here!!! I got a lot of things done for the lil' one we're expecting this summer. I did 5 loads of laundry. I kind of forgot how much the tiny ones can accumulate. At least we have lots of onsies, burp cloths and swaddling blankets clean, folded and put away. My next step is to wash all our cloth diapers. That'll probably be another 5 loads! Again, I forgot how much we had!!! Lo and I also put together the crib. It was a great bonding experience for the two of us. She is going to be such a big help when the baby gets here. She is taking her new role as the "biggest sister" very seriously!

How did you do on last week's challenge? I certainly hope you received as many handwritten notes as you sent! 

This week's challenge is one we've used before. I think there are lots of things that we need to be reminded of throughout the year. This week the challenge is to "let it go."

"Letting it go" can mean so many different things...letting the cleaning go for a day and instead taking you kids to the park...letting go of the stress that is weighing on your shoulders...letting your children work out their "problems" on their own before trying to help them...letting go of the need to first, right or perfect.

Have a wonderful last week of March. I know so many of you are on Spring Break or getting ready for it. I hope you have a wonderful time!

It's Plantin' Time!!!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

You all know I'm itching to get my garden going this season. I'm dreaming of caprese salad with my homegrown tomatoes and a freezer full of pesto made from my very own basil. I get giddy just thinking about it!

I'm really excited about Miracle-Gro's newest product. Their Expand n' Gro Concentrated Potting Mix

I've always been a HUGE fan of Miracle-Gro, it's always been my go-to product so I can't wait to try the Expand n' Gro. It can be used in my box gardens or in my potted plants. I love that it expands up to 3xs its size when water is added. Perfect for this pregnant mama who shouldn't lift heavy bags of potting soil! Another huge bonus? It feeds your plants for up to 6 months. That is A-MAZ-ING! That means more time enjoying my garden instead of working in my garden this spring!

So why should you try Expand n' Gro over your usual potting soil?

• It gives you up to 3xs the plants and veggies (versus your native soil) and who doesn't want bigger and more beautiful veggies and plants!
• It improves your soil for years to come
• It holds up to 50% more water than your standard potting soil
• It feeds for up to 6 months

Need some more encouragement???

So do you want to try it out for yourself? Of course you do!!! Check out the Expand ‘n Gro™ website for a discount coupon and try it out for yourself! It's a great way to get your garden ready for spring and summer!

The Yellow Room Breakdown Day 6-Desk, Chair and Art Wall

So we've finally reached the end of our journey. Coincidentally the last part of the breakdown is the area that I finished last. 

I had quite a hard time finding a desk for the room, but after searching for several months I found the perfect fit. It just happened to be the first Saturday of the month which meant it was 50%-SCORE! A new desk for $12. That was just my price range. 

 Noa loved the cute little mirror.

As usual, the whole piece got primed with Zinsser and then a few coats of Behr's Fairest Of Them All.

Because the base color was white it was a little bit more difficult to distress. When I sanded down the edges you couldn't even tell. No worries! I used my Myland's antique wax on the sanded areas which made it easier to see.

The drawer pulls were purchased at Hobby Lobby for $2 each (at 50% off). I had originally bought them to use on Lo's desk, but they matched perfectly. I guess I'll be making another trip!

The base of the desk was sealed with Annie Sloan clear wax. The top of the desk got a few coats of Minwax Polycrylic. I wanted to make sure that it could be wiped down and not get all scratched.

I love the chair. You may remember that I found it for FREE months and months ago on Craigslist. It is a nice solid piece. Of course the seat was gross, but that's an easy fix!

I used my new favorite no-name mistake paint from Home Depot and sanded down the edges and spindles. I used home decor weight fabric for the seat. It's a heavier fabric which will withstand the activity level of a four-year-old. 

Originally I had planned on putting several different mirrors above the desk area. I had spray painted a few, but I wasn't too happy with the final result. My neighbor suggested the art wall and as soon as she did I knew it was the perfect solution. My girls spend HOURS drawing and creating. My fridge was quickly running out of room. I LOVE that now she has her own place to display her masterpieces. I plan on doing something similar in Lo's room too. The frames are all courtesy of Goodwill (you can get them pretty cheap if you find ones without glass in them). I bought the clips at Mejier. They have a tiny hole in the middle and are hanging on a nail.

The long shelf was only $4 at Goodwill. It was primed, painted, distressed and waxed. It will hold all Noa's art supplies. There is plenty of room for everything she needs leaving her plenty of room on her desk to be creative.

The long board was originally a decorative growth chart from Lo's nursery. 

I taped it off, painted it and added more clips. It's the perfect piece to hang photographs of Noa and her sister.

I still need something for the upper left area, but I need more time for inspiration to hit. I know it'll come to me, but for now the wall make me smile and I am more than pleased with how it all came together.

Thank you so much for joining me on our Yellow Room journey! It was by far one of my most favorite crafty adventures. If you ever have the opportunity to decorate an entire room at once I highly recommend it. It was more fun that I could have ever imagined. So what's next on our list? Once we get the nursery in order we'll be working on transforming the playroom into a family office. More fun for me!

Have a wonderful Friday and a fab-u-lous weekend!