Ready for Summer!

Is there anyone else out there ready for summer? I am ready for school to be out and all of the year end activities to be over. It is a busy time when you have kids!

This is a funny time of year in Southern California. We locals call it "May Gray" which is followed by "June Gloom." In other words, while the rest of you are warming up and experiencing the best weather ever...we are pretty much having our worst weather. I know, I know...Southern California's worst weather trumps good weather in many places. But for those of us who are lucky enough to call this home, it is pretty dismal at times.

Do you want to see the signs that I am ready for summer? Look what I picked up today at Home Goods...

There is literally a sign that screams summer! Nothing says "I am ready for summer" like a pile of beach cottage home decor! Just look how cute this bedding is...

Now I am on a search for the matching pillow shams. I think it is a genius scheme by Home Goods...don't have the shams for sale with the quilt. I will have to pop into every TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Home Goods I see until I get my hands on those pillow shams! You know I will find something that calls my name when I return. Oh, Home Goods...you are so clever.

**THANKS Mom & Dad for the special Mother's Day Treat! Shopping and such great finds!**

Wonderful Wednesday...Annual Flower Show

One of the great things about living in a small community are the small town events that take place every year. This year was the 87th Annual Flower Show. 87th!! That blows my mind. That means the first Flower Show took place in 1925. Do you know what the world was like in 1925? Calvin Coolidge became the first President to have his inauguration broadcast on radio...not tv, not on the internet...the radio!

This was the first year that both of my kids were able to enter a flower arrangement in the Kids Division. Last year my daughter entered 2 categories and got a 1st and 2nd Place ribbon. She was THRILLED. From the last day of the show in 2011, she knew what she was going to do this year. I knew it was a good idea, actually a GREAT idea. I just hoped it was good enough for the "BIG ribbon" she had been hoping for...you never know.

Each category is divided between age groups. Each piece is scored on a number scale, so there can be numerous 1st Place ribbons. Once those 1st place ribbons are given, those entries are then pooled to find an overall 1st Place in the category...aka a "BIG ribbon." Then the "BIG ribbon" entries are judged against each other for an overall winner who gets a trophy. Here is my daughter's entry:

I was impressed! I am pretty creative. But I would never have come up with this idea! The flowers were her paint pallet. I know I am a bit biased, but I thought it was GENIUS! The judges thought she did a pretty good job too:

The small green ribbon is for 1st Place. The green and yellow ribbon was her coveted "BIG ribbon"...and it was also for 1st Place. The little trophy represents the big one she has her name on at the Library. She was OVER THE MOON with excitement! She had never even thought of winning a trophy! I think I am in big trouble for next year!

She also entered a miniature flower arrangement:

They have to be no larger than 5 inches in all directions, which is a lot more difficult than it sounds. She was pretty pleased with another 1st Place ribbon!

I was pretty surprised that he cared, but the day before the show my little guy decided he wanted to enter too. He is very opinionated and was set on making an arrangement with Bird of Paradise flowers. He literally spent less than 5 minutes creating his arrangement. He dropped the flowers in piece by piece and was done.

A 1st Place ribbon and a "BIG ribbon" for 2nd Place...only behind his sister...not bad for 5 minutes of effort! Of course, there was a bit of envy because she had won a trophy. Lucky me! Despite doing an amazing job, I think he was mainly concerned that she had beat him. Aaah...sibling rivalry at its finest. I'm sure there won't be any sibling rivalry next year!

The Finished Craigslist Desk

It has taken me far to long to show the final reveal of my adorable Craigslist Desk! I wrote about it so long ago, that I didn't even know how far back to go to find the last post. That is sad. To be honest, I just put the finishing touches on it last week..yes, I know that is pathetic. Sometimes that is how life goes.

Just a reminder, this is how the desk started...



Ugly, ugly, ugly...but it was FREE! Now, it looks like this...

I love it! Even better, my daughter LOVES it! Just look at those sweet details...

Can you believe these knobs came from the Dollar Section at Michaels? I pretty much bought them out since they were so cute! And look at the keyhole covers...

I had to special order them online...which took a bit longer than my patience lasted. It wasn't that they were slow in their shipping, I was just impatient. I love how they look, and it saved me from having to patch the holes that were already there. I also think it helps show the piece has some age.

And just look how well it works with the new hinges...

I love the way the desk closes and hides away all of the "treasures" that little girls seem to collect. It makes both of us very happy. She can have a place for all of her things, and I don't have to look at them all of the time!

I couldn't be more pleased with how this piece turned out! The hinges had to be ordered online too, and when they arrived they didn't quite fit into the existing notches from the previous hinges. Luckily for me, my Grandparents came for a visit and my Grandfather was kind enough to carve out the needed space. Thanks Grandpa! It is just another reason this piece is so special...not only did Mom refinish it for her, but her Great Grandpa did too!


I am hooking up to the following:

It's A Great White Shark!!!

This week I need a weekend to recover from my weekend! It feels like we were constantly running from one obligation to another. It is always like that as the school year comes to a close. On top of all the running around, my little guy had his first big school project to complete. Our home has been invaded by a Great White Shark!

I think it is the best Great White Shark Project ever! For sure the best by a Kindergartner! He came up with the plans on his own. From start to finish he knew what he wanted to do and I was happy to let him do it.

He knew he wanted to make the shark out of clay. Being the fabulous Mom that I am, I bought the clay...and said "Here's your clay." Yep...that is it. Honestly, it was good I kept my hands off. His sharks were so cool! Much better than I would have done.

And look what is hidden on top of the back rock, covered by sand...a stingray. The stingray and the hammerhead are part of the Great White's food source that he chose to include.

Of course he insisted that the shark be swimming in the middle of the box. Right. No problem! So the typing and the hanging of the shark were where Mom came in. Although in the process, his tail fin broke off. I told you it was better out of my hands! We had to make a patch repair, which is ok, but it was much cuter before.

Look how proud he is of his work...

This has the most interesting information. We watched a show recently about a group on a whale watching boat that saw an Orca attack a Great White Shark...and the Orca was the predator. He thought this was the COOLEST thing ever!

I would like to think the reports are done for the year at our house, but my daughter has one due next week. Oh, the joy of getting to Summer Vacation!

Teacher Appreciation Week: Teachers Chair

One of the first posts I wrote was about Teacher Appreciation Week. In 1st Grade I had redone a chair for my daughter's Teacher. In 2nd Grade I thought it would be another great gift and something I thought she could really use. This was the chair I gave our Teacher:


I know...it is ugly. Wow...I just got that ridiculous song in my head..."U G L Y you ain't got no alibi." And I am officially a giant dork! No matter how ugly this chair was, I knew it would be perfect.

First I took off the seat pad and gave the chair a light sanding. I taped off the mechanics and sprayed it with a coat of Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover Primer.


Look how great it looks with just primer!


I then added a coat of Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Ultra Cover Heirloom White Satin Finish. I adore this color. I love to change the color in my house with the seasons, but I like my foundation pieces to remain neutral. Heirloom White is an excellent choice. It is a lot warmer than your standard white, which can often feel cold.

Next I needed to fix the scratched up, shiny silver wheel covers. Paired with the plastic black wheels...it just looked cheap. I taped off the wheels and sprayed the metal with a coat of Rust-Oleum Universal Metallic Oil Rubbed Bronze.


I wrapped a piece of damask fabric around the existing chair pad and secured it with staples. It is a practically effortless way to update any chair. I also took out some foam stencils and stenciled the Teachers name on with acrylic paint. Look...


I finished her off with two coats of Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Matte Crystal Clear.

Pottery Barn offers a Swivel Desk Chair that looks very similar to mine: "A schoolhouse antique inspired our swiveling hardwood chair." Sounds great. I love the write up...until I saw the price tag...$399! Wow! Plus another $19 if you want a cushion to sit on. I love the story Pottery Barn tells for each of their products, but let's be honest. Thousands of people walk into Pottery Barn or order this chair online. That is not inspiring. I want something unique, something personalized, something special...just like our Teacher. I think this suits her perfectly!

Check out this Teacher Appreciation Party:



 

Pinterest & Projects

Today has been a very productive day for projects. I am in the middle of painting 7 different projects at one time...and cleaning up my Pinterest while I wait for the paint to dry. Aaah...Pinterest. You make me feel so creative, even when I do nothing at all! So for today...nothing fun for you to see. Just know that cool stuff is happening...not just Pinterest organizing. Happy Wednesday!

Teacher Appreciation Week: Teachers Frame

One of my favorite things to use for children's crafts are the blank wood frames from Michaels. I'm sure you have all seen them. $1 for an art project is a pretty good price. Not to mention...this weekend there is a 25% off coupon for your entire purchase. Your WHOLE purchase...even sale prices! This would be a great time to use a frame for a class project...they will be only 75 cents a kid! Just think what cute Mother's Day frames they could make!

These were frames we made with a small groups of kids for our "Specials" Teachers. Instead of painting the frames and waiting for them to dry, we glued cardstock onto the front of the frame. An adult helped trim off the excess paper with an exacto knife.

Next, the kids used some sand paper to rough of the edges a bit. This gives it a much more finished look. I would have loved to have it sanded more, but this was their project. I left my controlling hands out of it!

The kids glued the Teacher's initial to one edge and tied a piece of ribbon to the other side. Simple details, but they were really cute. I cut the initials out with my Cricut, but they could easily be done with stickers or by hand. Look how they turned out...

I love the embossed dots on this cardstock! It gives it such a pretty extra detail. The other special detail...look closely inside the frame...

I copied a the definition of each Teacher's class from a dictionary. This one was for our Art Teacher. If they wanted to use it as a frame they could, or it could be used as a display piece just as it was. Just think how easy it would be to translate this project to a Mother's Day gift...simple but adorable.