No school? Reuse a summer break project!

Just before summer break this year I followed a tutorial here that included easy printables for an "I'm Bored" jar. It has slips of paper that include some fun (and not so fun) activities for kids to do. A fun one like "watch a movie and have popcorn" my kids are enjoying while I write this post. I also customized quite a few to our particular set up, like "climb the wall" in our playroom and "look through photo books" since we make many that just sit on the shelves. Some not so fun ones like, "do a chore of mom's choice" and "organize your toys" are in there too. The trick is they HAVE to do whatever is on the paper. Sometimes that is great break for mom, sometimes I have to pull a craft project out of nowhere. With many no-school days coming up this is a perfect time to pull this project back out again. Especially if you're elbow deep in a turkey about now!

Creating a Craft Studio

I finally got around to creating a craft studio where I can start a project, close the door and come back to it later. Many times I never finish a project because it needed to be cleared off the dining table and I never got back to it. So far having a dedicated work space means I've finally tackled our entire mending pile and completed 3 projects (and have one in the works).

One of my favorite projects in the studio was the bunting window treatment. I made it using my late mother's quilting scraps. I don't quilt so the little strips we're just waiting for the right project and this one is so bright and happy. It makes me smile every time I see it.

Newest project in progress

My newest project in progress is training a cute 10 week old Goldendoodle to be a service dog for my daughter. She won't actually start service training for a few months but I already have my hands full training basic puppy obedience. It's been a long time since I've had a puppy, so far the sleep deprivation of overnight potty training is a lot like having a newborn. Good thing she's cute!

Project: Passing on Traditions

My mother was raised in the south, during the depression era. She taught me many things that these days are considered "homestead" or "sustainability" skills. One of them was catching wild food. She loved fishing. As a kid I never had the patience to sit so still. I was off and exploring and typically catching all kinds of creatures: river clams, crawdads, minnows & frogs. Some she would use as bait, others she would cook up for me. Catching crawdads was my favorite though. This summer my daughter, who is a natural scientist, has been learning some of my mother& grandmother's southern traditions. We had our first crawfish boil this weekend. Just two because I wasn't sure anyone would actually eat them. Now I know next time can be a full on meal. Here's to passing on traditions.

Harry Potter Powder Room

I've been working on a few projects here and there, just puttering around in between summer fun. We took a trip to the California redwoods, the Southern Oregon coast, went camping, kayaking and have picked lots of berries for canning later.

I've recently started a new project that I'm excited about though, a Harry Potter powder room. To start off with I found some book and potion printables online:

I also found some lettering I could use for a Hogwarts Express sign. I wanted it to be just like the one in the movies. This is my first time using homemade Modge Podge (half school glue, half water) and was happy with the results. 

I ordered some decals off of Ebay for the lightswitches and the "entrance" to the MoM. 

I still have more to do and lots of ideas but, I'm happy with how it's turning out so far. Even if the muggles in my house don't understand. 

The pressure of a deadline

Our wedding momentos have been sitting in a box for almost ten years. They've been moved to three different houses. Our ten year anniversary party is this weekend. Nothing like the pressure of a deadline to finally turn a box into a scrapbook that tells a story.

More Fence Recycling

I finished another project this week with some of our old fence wood. We have quite a large pile of this beautiful old weathered wood so I'm just itching to use it. I've wanted to put up something to display photos, artwork, homework or the many various "projects" the kids have done. Two houses ago (my first home I ever purchased) I had a curtain rod in the hallway with clips attached that I regularly changed out artwork and photos. At one point it even held our certificates of completion for our foster care training. That was B.C. , what we call Before Children.

For this project I lightly painted a piece of the wood, I didn't even pre-sand. I purchased some clips at an office supply store and screwed them directly to the wood. I printed an outline of the letters and traced them onto the wood. Normally I would use transfer paper but since this wood is so soft I just outlined the letters and it transferred to the surface. I colored in the letters and then sanded a little to make it look worn. Hopefully you can see in the close up the beautiful indentions, surface weathering and texture of the wood. I hung it on the wall at kid height so I can let them hang up their own work.