Ten Second DIY for Your iphone

Chances are you have about 2-3 of these white cords in your home. Probably more. And if you're anything like me and the hubs, when you go on vacation with family or friends, you inevitably end up not knowing whose is whose and which one or how many you should take home with you. I know, first world problems. But hey, those chargers aren't cheap and I want to steward my money well. Enter the easiest quick fix ever... washi tape.

By simply adding a quick strip of washi tape to my charger, it was easy for us to discern which charger among the many should come home with us after a recent trip to Des Moines.  Why spend extra money for sticker faces (yes, they are cute) when you probably have 3 rolls of tape in your home already?

You can add a strip of tape or cover the whole charger... whatever your heart desires.  And just think, no more arm wrestling your mother-in-law over a simple iphone charger. This could quite possibly end all family feuds. Okay, I've taken it too far. But it is a cute and easy DIY right? xo

Ships Ahoy!

My boys love to play in the tub. And honestly, I love it too. They are in a confined space, playing and getting clean all at the same time. What's not to love? So when I find a quick and easy craft that calls for tub time, I'm all in - especially on hot summer days.  I recently found a quick sailboat DIY on Mama, Papa, Bubba that I knew my boys would love, if modified a bit (no sparkly sails in this house).

Materials:

corks

rubberbands

toothpicks

fabric scraps

stamps

stamp pad

By opting for stamps (to indicate their pirate tribe) instead of sparkles, this DIY thrilled my boys and entertained them for a good hour and a half. I picked up this stamp set at the thrift store for $8.00 knowing that Ford's Warrior theme would be a huge hit with my Ninja Warrior loving boys. I was right. They picked their rubberband colors, their warrior symbol/stamp, and their corks for this easy craft. Once the boats were assembled, they stuck the toothpicks in their corks. Together we cut the fabric scraps (aka sails), stamped them and put the sails onto the toothpicks. Ready to brave the seas...

We added Playmobil figures to increase the fun and longevity in the tub. Eventually my youngest said, "I don't want a sailboat anymore. I want a motorboat." and off went the sails. Ahhh, there is some imagination in that sweet head of his and not just a burning desire to play Wii 24-7. Praise the Lord. 

They stayed in that tub for a little over an hour, came out sparkly clean and a bit pruned. Entertainment, imagination, leadership (my oldest bathed himself and his brother) and cleanliness. Now that is a seriously awesome craft that cost next to nothing. Woot woot.

Have you done any awesome crafts lately that you care to share? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Pocket Pucker

As an avid thrifter, I've become numb to the minor imperfections I find in clothes, accessories and home goods. Most of the time those little imperfections are what make me like the item all the more. But when it comes to jeans... they've gotta fit well.

I've had a pair of Old Navy white slim leg jeans in my closet for years. They have a stretch to the fabric which makes them really comfy (and also promotes the occasional butt crack sighting when not worn with a belt). The down side to this $5.00 steal? Unsightly pocket pucker. Ick. Since Spring is here, I figured I'd finally fix these bad boys and show you how to do it yourself.

 First - press your pockets so that they are really flat

 Next - pin your pockets shut (yeah, shut. you still have your back pockets so it'll be ok - promise)

Tip - find a thread that most closely matches the stitching on your jeans. When I'm at estate sales I grab a bag or two of thread if the price is right. You never know when you'll need that awkward ochre shade.

Next - stitch the pocket down with your machine on top of the pocket topstitch (go slow to get the curve just right)

Lastly - snip your loose thread and enjoy... pucker free! (if you want to remove the inside pocket bulk, you can cut it off since they're really faux pockets now)

Bam! Pocket pucker be gone. I'm so glad I finally did this. They fit great now and it took all of 30 minutes (max). Next week I'll show you how to take a straight leg to a skinny jean.

I know a lot of ladies stay away from the white (shows everything) jean. Do you dare? xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Painted Rocks {again}

let him who is without sin cast the first stone - John 8:7

Sometimes I see something on Pinterest that is so gorgeous it stops me in my tracks. That happened with this diy from giochi di carta. I couldn't stop staring at the images and since it seemed to be a quick and easy diy, I thought, "I can totally do this." Hello - painting rocks is NOT quick or easy. Since my SIL was here last week, I asked if she wanted to paint some rocks with me (we have about 2 billion in our backyard) while my little rocked naptime in her hammock. "Sure" was her simple and prompt response. I'm guessing she too thought, "how hard can it be?" Ha!  Getting those straight lines and an even texture is not for the faint of heart. We painted all afternoon. Not. Kidding. But, I love how they turned out...

What's the latest DIY you tackled? Or are you one of those who pins and pins but never seems to execute? (you are not alone friend - not alone) xo

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Pillowcases

I blame my over-abundance of time spent in bed sick for today's post. I can't stop thinking about sleep. Here are a few ways to take your slumber out of the bedroom...

pillowcase top (I plan on making a few of these for the summer)

no sew laundry hamper

a banner fit for a queen

dresses for the littles

grocery bags/totes

And then there's this lovely little no sew tote from creme de la craft that is perfect for the beach this summer. There are endless options for all those vintage lovelies we score at the thrift stores for $0.99. For now though, I'm going back to bed. zzz...

*amazing confetti pillowcases via you are my fave

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Butcher Block

Earlier in the week I revealed our new kitchen and today I wanted to share a probably well know secret with you... Ikea butcher block counter tops. They're awesome and affordable. We purchased one countertop and were able to cover the top and sides of our island as well as use left over scrap pieces for our open shelving and cutting board gifts (4) for family over the holidays. Only the mitered edge scraps were tossed. How awesome is that?

After trimming and sanding, we used a clear Minwax finish to allow the wood's natural beauty to shine through. (For the cutting boards mineral oil or beeswax polish is recommended.)

Now that is a budget friendly, eco friendly house reno right there my friends!

Do you use beeswax on your cutting boards and wooden kitchen utensils? If so, where do you get yours? (Did you know you're supposed to oil/wax your wooden spoons, etc. to keep them from getting dry and splitting? I just found this out.) xo

Pom Pom Goodness

Winter means hats, because a girl's ears can get cold! Besides that, I love hats. All the time. And lately I've been seeing a lot of cute little pom pom balls adorn many a knitted caps. But here's the deal...I'm fickle. I like to change it up and I get tired of trends pretty quickly. So rather than pay $10.00 (I know that's not a lot, but why spend the money if you don't have to?) for a new hat, why not add a pom pom to an existing one?

I decided to do just that since I already had a glob of yarn on hand in black. Twist, twist, twist. Tie. Snip, snip, snip. Tie. It was that easy.

Oh yeah baby. That hat is triple the fun now. And if I get sick of it next week (because I'll be older then and a pom pom might not be appropriate anymore) then I'll just snip her off and tie that little pom pom to a Christmas gift!

What have you transformed lately? xo

Around the House: The Advent

Every year I find myself having the best of intentions with my littles..."Make this Christmas special!", I say to myself. End result each year is the same old same old or worse, guilt for not having gone the extra mile in effort instead of dollars spent. This year dang it, it WILL be different. We are finally getting on the advent bandwagon!

Using a found branch (thank you neighbors for trimming your trees after bulk trash), some craft paper and an old tissue box I had on hand, I went to work.

On the front of each card, the date. On the backsides, clues for them to decode until we do our activity together. 

Here are a few of the clues and activities we're doing together:

clue: construction zone  activity: create Christmas cards for our neighbors with construction paper
clue: toothpicks (seen on back of triangle in image above)  activity: toothpick towers with marshmallows
clue: Story Keepers  activity: family movie night watching a $0.99 movie I scored at the thrift store called Story Keepers, Christmas Special
clue: star stickers  activity: family walk after dinner to look at Christmas lights

The goal was to keep things pretty simple and doable, yet memorable.

I'm hoping for lots of fun, zero guilt and memories made while filling their hearts with the love of Christ. When I was sharing all of this with my husband he asked, "what is an advent? I mean, what does it mean?" So I looked it up while we were stuck in loads of traffic and found this... Advent Conspiracy. I've got to dig into that site a bit deeper. It's awesome.

How about you? Do you advent? What are some special things you do with your family this time of year? (If you'd like my whole Advent list, email me. xo

PS - If you haven't gone to vote for Sango (labeled as Social Worker on site) yet, here's the link: http://www.drpeppertuition.com/ You can vote daily. Thanks! 

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: No Cost Backyard Revamp

Our old house had a huge backyard with plush grass from corner to corner and a 10 ft. privacy fence. Our new backyard... well, it doesn't. Mostly it's filled with rocks, leaves and acorns. The new yard has a chain-link fence and offers no privacy. But guess what? I wouldn't change it. The lack of fence has provided opportunity after opportunity to meet, greet and chat with our neighbors. Community vs. isolation, and I like that.  We also have a super huge oak that will, one day soon, have an awesome swing.

This is our view from our backyard when we look up. A canopy of leaves... (one word - awesomesauce)

In an effort to make our rock invested backyard a bit more inviting I decided we needed a fire pit. I marked it's location off with a ruler, a stick and what else...rocks. Then I dug and I dug. Then the hubs came into the picture and helped relocate some of those abundant rocks. We now have an extremely cozy and inviting fire pit that has already hosted friends and family. We've rocked the marshmallows, s'mores and hotdogs. Yum. Yum. Yum.

 Total cost of fire pit: $0.00. Yes, I said ZERO dollars spent. I told you we had a lot of rocks.

Now as many of you know, I like my quiet time and my wine. Ha - do those things go hand in hand? In this house they do. So obviously I needed me a cozy patio...

I went dumpster diving the other day (you know how I roll) and found the two big tree stumps that flank the glider. A few days prior, my littles and I scoured neighboring yards for giant acorns and pinecones. I gathered the acorns into a glass jar I had on hand and grabbed an old tea tin and filled it with a candle. To finish off the patio, I used some other odds and ends I had lying around. Done.

Total cost for patio revamp: $.0.00.  Wahoo. That's my kind of revamp. The FREE kind. I love it. It's exactly what I was wanting and spiced up just right for the holidays. Next come the Christmas lights. Ahhh yeeaah. Bring on the wine and the quilts... it's finally starting to get chilly in the Lone Star State.

How about you? Do you use outdoor elements as decor for your home or patio?

PS - If you joined me in fasting and prayer yesterday, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I can't tell you how much that means to me. And WOW - fasting is hard. I had never done it before. I'm pretty glad I jumped out of my daily routine and comfort zone to help out others in need. Thanks again friends. xo