Scrabble Date Night

Date night.  You know what that is, right?  You and your sweetie talk it over, make plans, find a sitter and off you go to share some much needed time out on the town with one another.  Yeah, I remember when date night actually happened for us - prior to the birth of our son.  I hate to admit it but we don't get out as a couple much these days.  We find it hard to fit it in with work and family obligations.  So how do we keep the spark alive?  Date night at home!

My blogging buddy Denise over at Go Cheap or Go Home hit the nail on the head when she posted her now famous 52 Stay At Home Date Night Ideas.  This list gives you some amazing ideas of how to enjoy a date night without ever leaving your home.  That's right, no need for a sitter because these can happen after you've put the kiddos to bed.  Check out the list for yourself.  Of course the crafter in me was immediately attracted to #18.  A fun night and a craft to boot...what could be better!

I started with the last of the three wood tile boards I purchased at Walmart a while back {the other two were used for my It's Fall and Christmas Countdown boards}.  

Each tile was painted in an antique white acrylic paint.  The best part -- the little prince stopped playing crossing guard to come help me with the painting.  What a good assistant {smile}.

Using a pencil and ruler, I created a grid in each tile to match that of a true scrabble board.

I painted over each pencil line with white acrylic paint.  Note: if I were to do this again, I would use a paint pencil to make the lines.  I hand painted the lines and they are a little wonky...lol.  And speaking of wonky, I should have created the star with my Silhouette using vinyl.  Boy am I awful at hand painting stars.  Aren't all preschool teachers supposed to know how to make those!?!

Fast forward.  The frame is painted blue, I've completed the colored tiles, and added some fun lettering.  This is really coming together.

The letters were printed on regular printer paper.  I cut each letter out carefully and glued them in place.  I needed to make sure that I protected the letters, so I used Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.  This was my first time using the product and I loved it.  Remember that a little goes a long way.  I used a toothpick to spread it around on each little square and let it dry.

The finished product.  I'm so happy with it, little imperfections and all.

What's next?  Put the kids to bed, make a dessert to share, grab the scrabble board and make it a date night -- bringing the 'love in' house.  Not fond of playing board games?  Seriously, there are 52 ideas on the list, I'm sure there is something on it that will fit your fancy.  Go ahead, I dare you.  Date night doesn't have to break the bank and the creativity goes a long way to strengthening your relationship!

Chic Drink Stand

As we prepare to do some renovations on our backyard, I've been thinking about colors and how to decorate our new patio space.  The truth is, I wish that we had the budget to buy all new furniture and accents but I know that's not possible.  Time to think of ways to make a chic, beautiful and relaxing space on a budget.

While we wait for the rain to stop {Is there a monsoon season in the south?} so our concrete contractor can get here to lay the slab for the backyard patio, I've decided to begin our design with some simple accents.  This one has been on my radar for almost a year and I finally got around to getting it done -- my chic drink stand.

I began this project with a trip to Lowes.  I found a 6 x 24 board used for playground equipment - perfect size for what I needed.  From there I headed over to find the tiles that would fit on top.  The tiles are basic kitchen/bathroom tiles {sorry, forgot to take a pic of them}.  The wooden balls I purchased at Hobby Lobby knowing they would make great legs.

I spray painted each piece in a flat black paint.  I love how you can still see the grain of the wood.

At this point, I needed to enlist the help of my knight and shining armor to attach the handles.  He is much better with power tools than I am and his attention to detail would ensure that the handles would be put on properly, something I was a little worried about if left to do this part on my own.

Measuring to make it even and to make the holes line up for drilling

Oh how I love a man with power tools!

Using my Silhouette machine, I found two great flourish designs that I loved.  One of them I also used on the Doll Club Cards.  I cut two of each design using vinyl and placed them on each of the tiles.

Vinyl transfer on each tile

The colors I want for our outdoor space are turquoise, coral and pale yellow.  We tend to shy away from color -- a habit I'm trying to break.  I chose a great turquoise acrylic paint and used a foam stamping brush to "stamp" the paint on each tile.  I wanted the texture and the more 'uneven' look of the paint on each one.

Stamping over the tile and vinyl

Completely covered 

TIP: Remove the vinyl while the paint is still wet to keep it from messing up the design.

Removing the vinyl carefully

I measured {you can see a faint pencil line} to make sure that I put the 'legs' in the right place and attached each one using Gorilla glue.

Remember that tip I just gave?  Well, let me show you what happens if you don't get all of the vinyl off when the paint is still wet...ugh!  I considered redoing the tile but decided against it.  I think it gives it character, so it stays {truth: I was too lazy to do it again...LOL!}.  I attached each tile using Gorilla glue as well.  I didn't measure the space for the tiles, just gave it a good eyeballing {Is that a real word? Guess it is now...lol} to make them even on the board and let them sit for half a day to set before moving the stand.

Dried paint is NOT your friend!

I'm so proud of the way this turned out.  An accent that will not only be cute but functional and of course we all know how important cute is!

Where we like to party!

A Little Note Holder

I have recently been working on making my crafting area the space that I really want {promise to show pics as soon as it's done}.  I began about a month ago organizing the mounds and mounds of craft supplies that I have.  After finding myself in a pile of ribbon, scrapbook paper, rolls of vinyl and about a million other things, I found two little wood plaques that forgot I purchased or even what I purchased them for...lol.

Deciding what to do with them was pretty easy.  I looked around at the supplies I had and quickly picked out some scrapbook paper, spray paint and headed straight to my Silhouette machine.

Look at the fab little note holders I whipped up!

Now, back to craft space renovation.  Stay tuned and in the meantime....

Year End Gift

March is here.  The arrival of this month not only means Spring is just around the corner, but it also means that I only have a couple months left of preschool before the end of the year.

Each year, I challenge myself to come up with the perfect end of the year gift for my class.  Two years ago, each one of my little friends left with a book all about their year in preschool complete with pictures of them having loads of fun.  Last year, my budget was smaller so I had to come up with something that would have meaning for each child but wouldn't break my bank.  I decided to use Pinterest and search through the hundreds of pins I have to come up with an idea and I found something that worked well and cost me roughly about $1.50 per student {score}.

Cute as a button, right??  And it was so simple to make as well.  The list of supplies needed are below:

Unfinished wood board to use as the frame

Ribbon -- thin green organza and a wider white organza

White thumb tacks

Light green acrylic paint

Gray vinyl

Mod Podge {matte}

Clear acrylic spray paint

Picture of your choice in 4x6

Step 1:

Print your picture on matte photo paper {gloss paper will not work for this}.  I found that using a laser printer works better than an inkjet; it's less likely to have the colors run or ruin the picture altogether.

Step 2:

Paint the wood with acrylic paint; let dry for at least an hour

Step 3:

Using Mod Podge, cover the entire back of the photo and place it on the wood frame.  I initially smoothed it out using my fingers but then used my crafting roller to smooth out any additional bubbles.  Let this set for about 30 minutes to an hour.

Step 4:

Once it's dry, cover the front of the picture with Mod Podge.  I covered not only the picture but the frame as well.  I used my crafting roller to smooth out any bumps and bubbles then let it dry.

Step 5:

Once the picture was dry, I spray painted it with a clear acrylic spray paint to give it a nice shine then added the white thumb tacks on the corners.

Step 6:

Time to add a little more flare.  I created the little top-knot bow using both the green and white organza ribbons and attached them to the top with hot glue.

Step 7:

Using my Silhouette, I took my gray vinyl and cut out the year and placed it on the bottom

Viola!!  A finished product that is sweet and was hopefully a beautiful keepsake for each of my families.  Now the pressure is on to figure out what I'll do for them this year.  Stay tuned...this should be good!

Where we like to party!

Christmas Countdown

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year!  I love everything about the holiday - the cooler weather, the decorating, the time with family and friends - simply everything about Christmas makes me happy.  Now that I'm a mom, I love experiencing the holiday through the eyes of my son -- his excitement is contagious!

Anyone who knows my son knows that he has a love for numbers {I see a math whiz in the future}.  Now that he's older and in "big school" I thought a great way to gear up for Santa's arrival would be with a countdown calendar.  There is nothing like the nearly unbearable anticipation as you wait for the big day {and hopefully big presents} counting down to the magical moment when Santa visits.  Here is our countdown to Christmas....

I began this project by using a wood tile board that I bought from Walmart a while back.  I thought these would make great craft projects for the future so I bought three of them, one I used on my It's Fall board.  As it is with many of my crafts, I try to use what I have on hand (if at all possible) so this craft project didn't cost me a thing {dancing a little 'two step'...lol}!

I painted the base red, the frame green and seven of the tiles in a creamy white.  The remaining two tiles I spray painted with black chalkboard paint.

Searching through my craft supplies I found a can of glitter spray paint.  I thought since this is a Christmas craft why not add a little sparkle.  I've never used this product before so I had no idea how it would turn out.  The spray was a little uneven so there are places that are a little more "sparkly" than others, but I think it adds character to the board, don't you?

I wanted to add words to it so I pulled out the vinyl and my Silhouette machine and got to work.   Seriously, buying the Silhouette was the best investment I've ever made in my crafting.  I don't think I could love anything {inanimate that is} more than I do this machine...haha.  I also decided to design one of the squares into a Christmas tree using felt and the other into a gift using ribbon and a button.

With a little hot glue on the back of each well placed square, I have my finished Countdown to Christmas board hanging and ready for use!

Note: I took my son's chalkboard eraser and "erased" over the two chalkboard squares before writing on them in order to keep the numbers from making a permanent mark.

Now we are ready and I for one can't wait for the big day {as it also happens to be my birthday!}  Here's hoping you and your family have a great countdown to Christmas.

Linking up with these great parties:

Homework Station

A trip down Pinterest lane and I found some wonderful inspiration to help me with the organizational wall I wanted to add to my kitchen. With the little prince entering Kindergarten this year, I have been inundated with papers of all sort from his school and the pile was beginning to grow {and he started just over a week ago...lol}. I decided that I needed something to help keep me ahead of the game - enter our 'Homework Station'.

First, let me show you a couple examples that I found on Pinterest that I loved instantly:

This great organizational wall was pinned from One Creative Housewife

Here is another from A Bright Idea {sorry, still trying to find the correct link}


After seeing these, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do to stay organized this year but I needed to find something that would work for the small wall I had in mind. Pinterest wasn't my only inspiration, I found two other ideas flipping through the Pottery Barn Kids magazine.



This idea struck me right away and I knew I wanted to incorporate this into the design


When I saw this, my eye was immediately drawn to the bungy board -- another element that was a "must add"

Of course being the frugal shopper that I am and living on a pretty strict budget, I knew that purchasing the items from Pottery Barn Kids was completely out the question but that didn't mean I couldn't create my own! The art clip board shown above costs $39, I was able to create it for just $8.50 thanks to Michaels -- unfinished wood board for $7.99 with a 50% off coupon and the oversized clothes pins for $1.50 each found in their dollar bin section {the paint I had at home}. The knock-off bungy board {PBK cost ~ $35} was a bargain too thanks to Michael's -- two canvases at BOGO free with a 40% off coupon for a total price of about $5 {antique white grosgrain ribbon I had on hand}.

Love my versions!

A look at the "Before" and "After":

I am simply overjoyed with the way this turned out! All of the design elements that I wanted and the best part - it's functional and cute {and well we all know how important cute is!}.

Linky Parties where we have fun!