Preschool Valentines

It's that time of year again! Valentine's Day is almost here - can't you just feel the love in the air {or is that just commercialization in the stores...lol}?

Anyway, when I was growing up we had to constantly remind my mom to take us to the store to pick out those boxed Valentine cards. You know the ones - a piece of 2x3 paper with your favorite cartoon character and a cutesy quote {"Would you be my Valentine?"} written on them. Life was simple then.

My obession with crafting won't let me walk into my neighborhood Walgreens and pick those up for the little prince - what's unique about that{speaks the voice in my head}? So I make something - simple of course - but handmade for him to share with his class.

This year we focused on his love of all things cars. I found a great idea on Pinterest and rolled with it {pun intended}. Check it out....

Using Picnik, I created the Valentine bag topper

The little prince picked out the cars he liked from Party City

I bought some cello bags and heart shaped lollipops and here is what he'll take to school.



I love making special days extra special. I love you my sweet boy!

Pallets, Pallets, Everywhere!

Have you seen the amazing things that can be created using pallets? Until recently I hadn't given much thought to them or their decorative possibilities, but I have come across some amazing crafters who have found uses for them beyond being a temporary bed to transport much needed merchandise to your local Lowes or Home Depot.


Pallet Dandelions Wall Decor by Crissy's Crafts


Nifty Pallet Furniture as shown at Sugar and Spice Designs


Coat Rack as shown at Decor Hacks


Walkway by Funky Junk Interiors

Are you hooked yet? Are you thinking about the many things you would like to make using pallets too? Well, I certainly am! My mind is spinning with ideas and it looks like the possibilities are endless.

Before Meets After: Candle Holder

The Goodwill is a treasure trove of great craft finds -- the trick is to be able to look at an item and envision the possibilities. If you are anything like me, that vision sometimes takes a while to show up {sometimes it's a really long while...lol}but I'm learning that even though I may not know exactly what an item will turn into, I can definitely notice potential in it. Back in August I found these great little wooden boxes with a tray {that I'm sure in a previous life lived in the nursery of some sweet little angel} and as soon as I saw them I knew they would be mine and with a price tag of only $2.99 it was an easy decision to make the purchase.

Lately, I've been looking around our house and noticing that though we've been here three years now we still have lots to do to make this place feel as "home-y" as I would like. As we all know, life happens and sometimes the most basic things get placed on the back burner. Well, it's time to light the fire and I decided I would start with something small - a candle holder for our kitchen island{I have bigger plans for our master bedroom}.

Here is where the 'before' meets 'after'.....



And here is how it came to be the lovely piece that now adorns my kitchen island...

The first thing to do was to remove the little bear, bunny and sheep from the front of each box. This proved to be harder than I thought but with a little elbow grease I was able to get them and the mound of glue that was holding them off

I sanded each one with an 80-grit piece of sand paper to remove some of the paint and give it a more even finish but as you can see, each one of the boxes was left with a little 'scar' after the removal of the wooden animals {what to do about that...hmmm?}

A trip to Hobby Lobby {are you as in love with this store as I am?} and I found these great rustic/antique-ish looking spigot knobs that I immediately fell head over heels for...talk about love at first sight! My vision was becoming clearer.

Back home and it's time to spray paint the pieces. I used a gloss spray paint - almond color

To match the color that runs through my family room, kitchen and even my deck, I chose a wine acrylic paint to use as an accent color on the boxes. Using some painters tape, I taped off the small area at the top of each box that would be painted, then measured and drilled a hole in each box

Originally I wasn't sure what to do about the little 'scars' on each box. I thought about sanding and filling in the area but I didn't want this project to take too long {remember I have a bedroom begging for my attention...lol} so it made more sense to cover it - and I did. Using some wooden circles, I painted a simple design on each and drilled a hole

Adding some clear polycrylic to the wine colored band on each box and covering the designed circles as well, I have a finished project {and in record time I might add...haha}.

I'm happy with it and I think it looks beautiful in our kitchen! But alas, there is no rest for the weary for there are Valentine's to make for the both the little prince's preschool class and a customer, a gift to make for my sister's birthday {I'm so late...again!} and a party to get ready for to celebrate my one year blogiversary! Stick around, there is more great stuff to come including a GIVEAWAY for my anniversary.

A Fresh Face!

Ladies and Gentlemen. Introducing the star of the show, a new and improved blog -- Little Blue's Room!!! {APPLAUSE}

LOL...I'm being a bit silly but the truth is I'm as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning with my new blog! I can't thank my BFF's (Blog Frog Friends)enough for their help. I posted a question in the Mom Loop community asking for suggestions of someone who could help give my little blog a fresh face and sure enough several people offered names/websites/blogs. After checking everyone out, I decided on one and I couldn't be happier with the end result.

Now time to brag on the designer {smile}. If you are looking for a blog makevoer and you are hosted through Blogger, I would HIGHLY recommend Dirt and Lace Designs. Stephanie, the designer, took time to answer several of my questions (and I do mean several...hehe) before I committed to working with her. Once I had a complete understanding as to what was possible, our work began. She is patient and knowledgable but most of all extremely professional. Being new to the blogging world, I'm learning so much of this as I go (talk about trial by fire...hehe) so it was nice to work with someone who didn't find my questions to be a pain in the you know what. {smile}

I am so thrilled to finally have a blog that I think represents me and what I want my blog to be. We are still working to complete the final touches (she's preparing to welcome her third child) and just in time because I am gearing up for my one year blogiversary happening next month....complete with a GIVEAWAY -- YAY!!!!


Stay tuned, this party is just beginning!

A New Year of Change

Happy New Year!

Can't believe another year is gone. I've been musing about all that 2011 had to offer - the successes and failures, the good and bad - and I realized that though things may not have always been as I had wanted them to be, I was extremely blessed and for that I am grateful. So I bid farewell to another year, thankful for the lessons and I welcome a new year with an open heart and desire to make some changes.

One of those 'changes' will be happening right here at Little Blue's Room. Thanks to the help of my wonderful BFF's (Blog Frog Friends), I am on the search to find someone to help me makeover my blog. Next month I will be celebrating one year in the blogsphere (YAY!!) and I would like to have a blog that better reflects who I am but more importantly what I want my blog to be. Since this is my first blog (I say that like I plan to have more than one...LOL), I wasn't quite sure what I wanted - other than a place to showcase some of my crafts. Initially, the thought was that it would keep me "accountable" to the myriad of unfinished craft projects I had laying around -- no finished projects, no blog posts. Simple, right? Well, in my somewhat twisted mind I thought everything would be fine. I could continue to live life, create crafts and blog. Guess what? Reality slapped me in the back of the head all the while screaming "are you insane!" I soon realized that life wasn't going to stop for me as I juggled my family responsibilites, four jobs (yes, four - not a misprint), and tried to crank out a craft a week. I was feeling more than a little overwhelmed, disappointed and frustrated.


It became painfully clear that this journey I was on was going to need some tweaking. It was time for me to decide what kind of blog I wanted and what I needed to do to get it there. I found some inspiration on Pinterest (what a great site!) in the form of an eye catching photograph of a young boy. Clicking on the picture lead me to the blog of a woman named Elizabeth Halford, a very talented photographer. Her blog post Trashing My Best Work made me pause and think. Of course the post was about her profession as a photographer, but the lesson learned is what I could relate to. It's important to be true to ourselves both personally and professionally. This was just what I needed to hear and in a strange way just the motivation I needed to sit down and begin mapping out what I wanted and mustering up the determination to make it happen.

So I begin my New Year with a journey of change and I'm excited to see where it takes me. Thanks for following along and I hope you stick around - the best is yet to come.