Dining Room Update

Several months ago I posted a picture of an inspiration piece that I wanted to copy recreate for our dining room.  I had the pictures painted and the frames finished months ago, but it took me much longer to have someone hang them (we have plaster walls and I don't want the walls to crumble from my ignorance) and to photograph the finished shots.  
After doing this project and a few other art-related projects around the house, I found this is a passion of mine.  I love to be crafty and creative.  I like to use paints, papers, and any other art supplies I can get my hands on.  I love seeing the transformation and I love the sense of pride and accomplishment when I look at the finished product.  I've definitely learned I need to do more of it because it truly makes me happy.

For a refresher, here was the inspiration:

After I painted the prints, I had to apply gold leafing to the natural picture frames.  My fingers were gold for days!  I used a piece of cheesecloth to apply it.  

And now for the big reveal...

I painted a total of 4 different designs, 2 for each side of a window in my dining room.  

To show how the gold blends with the room, here's one of the other walls.

Now I just need to finish out that wall with some simple drapes and that room will be finished.  We've only lived in this house for a year and a half now!
Have you tackled any art projects lately?  

TMNT Valentine Box

There are 2 things you should know about me:  1)  I love to craft and 2) I don't do anything halfway.  So when you combine the 2, you get something like this.

When Colin's class list came home for the Valentines, there was a sheet attached with instructions for a Valentine's box.  I could feel the smile form from ear to ear.  I had dreamed of this day since I was about 8-years old, playing house (or school) with my Cabbage Patch dolls.  I loved crafting my Valentine's boxes each year and was sad when I outgrew it.  I hoped that one day I'd get to do it all over again.  What I didn't bank on was creating one for a boy!  

I gave Colin several choices and he ultimately decided on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle van.  I thought it would be easy enough.  It was, just time consuming.  I started Sunday morning and within an hour, he was asking if I was finished yet?!

Yet?!  Crafting takes time!  You can't rush a good thing.  After 3 days, 2 trips to Michael's, I finally finished my masterpiece.  For those of you not privy to all things Turtle, here's the real thing next to my replica.

I knew it was all worth it when he looked at me and said, "I LOVE it!"  Now if we can just preserve it for a few years until Sawyer can use it!

In case you want to replicate it yourself, here are some tips of what I used and how I made it work.  The wheels were my first obstacle.  I ended up cutting the bottoms off paper party cups and painting them black. Then, I fretted about how I was going to adhere them.  I ended up threading 2 wooden dowel rods through the box, leaving about an 1-inch on each side for the wheel to rest on.  I hot glued the wheel to the rod and then also glued the edge of the wheel to the van. The headlights were made from rhinestones.  The end headlights were painted ribbon spools.  The warning labels were printed from the web, as was his nameplate - I just added that with Publisher.  The top rails were painted popsicle sticks and were adhered using 2-sided foam tape to give them some dimension.  Lastly, the tanks on the end, as well as the red tank on the side were made from cardstock.   My "wheels" are already turning for what I can make next year!  Let the crafts begin!    

Homemade Superhero Valentines

As a friend of mine noted, the kids Valentines selection stinks.  They are so cheap - both in looks and quality - and they don't even come with an envelope anymore!  I'm pretty sure the cost has doubled, if not tripled since we were kids, but the product has diminished greatly.  After buying these for a couple years during the preschool phase, I vowed to do better this year.  

Please keep in mind, I do not have a lot of spare time on my hands.  I say that not to invite a pity party, but to emphasize how quick and easy homemade Valentines can be.  From start to finish, the entire project took about an hour.  A small sacrifice for a much cute Valentine!  

Colin is huge superhero fan, so it was no surprise he chose the Super Friends theme over "Owl always love you!"  Probably a wise decision.  I'm not ready for any kind of love triangle scenario just yet.

Here's a quick tutorial.  First you cut out the capes from a heavy cardstock - I used scrapbook paper.  Then find some logos online and print and cut them out.  Affix them to the back of each cape with a small piece of double-sided foam tape.  

Then type and print your selected message.  Cut to fit on the reverse side of the cape.

If you're feeling extra generous, you can add a sucker before adhering the message to the cardstock.

The finished product!  Colin can't wait to pass them out to his friends and that makes my little heart smile.

I might have had a little assistance in the process.

   

Colin's Superhero Pary

I'm not sure who looks more forward to Colin's birthday party each year, me, Wes, or the birthday boy himself.  After some back-and-forth on the theme, he ultimately decided on Superhero (despite my best efforts to sway him towards a pirate theme - walk the plank anyone?!).  Somewhere along the lines, the 2 of them had to go to Toys R Us for something and they came home with a Wolverine mask and an announcement that I had to get Colin a costume for his party.  I live with some demanding children.  I'm sure none of you can relate.  Not only was Colin to wear a costume, Wes was too.  He would be the bad guy.  Thankfully, I was left out of the costume equation!  I just got the fun job of orchestrating the entire adventure!
Being the thrifty, wannabe crafter, resourceful person that I am, I wanted to make as much of the goodies as I could.  I can't take credit for the creative mastermind but I did do the labor.  The bunting was made with old comic books and awesome superhero printables from Kiki and Company (Father's Day 2012).  I also used the printables for the food tags and award certificates.  I found all the various logos online and then used cardstock to support them for the centerpiece.  For the Gotham City backdrop, I just used black posterboard and glued on some white windows.  I picked up most of the favors at Target in either their $1 bins or their party favor aisle.  
The fellow superheroes were greeted with a Superman shield that I personalized for Colin.  Alongside the shield were their favors.  

Since not all of the kids were coming in costume, I didn't want them to be left out.  I cut out masks for them to decorate and had red capes on each of their chairs for each of them to put on to complete the look.

The kids loved making their masks and were instantly transformed into real life superheroes!

The youngest superhero in training.

After they were sufficiently dressed as superheroes, they had some snacks to power up for the obstacle course.

I lined the kids up to give them instructions on how to complete the obstacle course.  As I began to give directions, Wes was busy stealing the presents and taking them to the clubhouse outside.  After he was secure, I told the kids that I noticed the presents had been stolen.  It must have been a villain!  The kids darted out the door to start the course.  They ran in and out of cones "quick as a flash", rescued a puppy from a burning tent, leaped tall building with a single bounds, and defeated the villain to return their gift to Colin!  

Colin couldn't wait to open his gifts after all the excitement!  We are now overflowing with more superhero gear than I thought was possible!

As if the kids needed anything to make them more hyper, cupcakes were served after presents.  

At the end of the party, each superhero was given a certificate from the "Superhero Academy" proclaiming them to be a real superhero!

After the party, Colin gave me the best compliment he could, "Mama, I want this exact same party again next year!"  

**I'm linking up to Bird's Party Blog Monthly Link Party, Bloom, and The Purple Pumpkin Blog.  

Bloom