The Magic of Spray Paint!

I'm pretty convinced that spray paint is the grown up equivalent of "magic in a can!" For less than $4, you can transform practically any ole object from trash to treasure in like ten minutes. Ok, ok, maybe more like fifteen minutes.

Years ago, like six or seven of them, we were expecting family for our first Easter and I went to dust off the dining room chandelier. I barely touched it and the thing crashed onto the table! Yes, that actually happened. In tears, I convinced my not-so-much-a-fan-of-electrical-projects-husband that he HAD to quickly hang another chandelier before family arrived to our new house for Easter. At the same time, since I am also part pack-rat, I had him save the old chandelier, convinced I would find the perfect something for it someday.

Today, the time had finally come for that old chandelier to serve a new purpose! I cut all of the old electrical wires and lightbulb holders out of that thing, rubbed it down with a little steel wool, and painted it the perfect shade of red. 

Then, I hung it from the magnolia tree in our backyard. I stuck the children's little plastic table underneath it and have visions of the cutest Fancy Nancy-style tea parties and play-doh formation creating taking place there. And there will be candles, oh yes, there will be little candles in that chandelier. Maybe even the faux-candles (you know the little battery-powered ones). I'm really going to have to do something about the old table though...hmm...project!!!

Happy Creating!

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Tips (aka, what I learned today):

1. Hang the chandelier from something to paint it. I used a ladder so that I could get to it from all sides. Note, you will probably get overspray on to your ladder. I did.

2. Hang the chandelier upside down to paint it first. You sit under a chandelier, and very rarely see it from the top. So, by painting it upside down first, you get better coverage and don't miss the visible spots. (I didn't do this and was a little upset that I hadn't thought about this first.)

Pillows: You can do this!

Yesterday afternoon I sewed my first real thing this year- pillows! Actually, I have only sewn a couple of things since Halloween when we closed on the new house, which was months ago. It sure was nice to be back at the machine.

Here was the basic chain of events:

1. Realization that the pillows on the front bench look like this:

Yuck! (In case you can't tell, they are very badly faded and damaged from being outside.)

2. Made decision that these pillows need to be fixed RIGHT NOW. (Sadly, this was actually on Monday evening, after dark. I have a pretty strict rule of not going outside in the dark alone. It has to be a pretty big reason to break this rule OR the hubs has to be home to protect me. I may be too old to be afraid of the dark, but I am anyway, so there. Instead of getting the old pillows, I decided to rummage through my gobs of fabric for options.)

3. Daylight= access to pillows. Got them. Measured width and length.

4. Cut fabric and inch longer on each side than the measurement I got in step 3.

5. Sew. Stuff. Sew.

6. Run out to porch and place pillows. Step back and admire.

For these pillows, I basically used the old pillows as a pattern and reused their filling, so the whole project has cost me less than the price of a yard of material (which I probably paid about $6 for). I have four more outside pillows to recover, and next time I should take some pictures so you can repurpose your old pillows too. Would you be interested in seeing those?

I probably spent less than an hour from choosing the fabric to actual sew time, if you ignore that I had to wait for the sun to come up. You can do this project too and spruce up your outside spaces with minimal cost.

For you experienced in the art of sewing, you know that the basic pillow is not to be feared. In fact, I probably have 10 yards of fabric waiting to be transformed into new pillows and valences for the new house. They just require time and patience.

If you are new to sewing, pillows are a great place to start! There are a few simple tips and techniques you need to know, and you will be creating your own pillows in no time. 

Are you interested in a tutorial on making these pillows? 

-Carrie

Sundays are Fun-days

Over the last few months, we have been so crazy busy with the move and pregnancy and holidays and... and... and...that we have spent a lot of time together, but it wasn't necessarily time spent just enjoying ourselves. We have resolved to spend more quality time together just as a family. As a start, the past couple of Sunday afternoons have been spent at home with a laid back kindof feel. Two weekends ago, we made a big brunch, set the table all cutesy on the back porch, and just hung out together.  It was wonderful!

This past weekend, the kids and I set out to fill the new outside "toy box"with their favorite backyard belongings. Although this was a little bit "work," it was an activity we could do together and they were excited to have all of their toys together. Halfway through, my daughter started in on how hot it was outside and how they should be able to play with water! Water play in January, I have to be kidding, right?!? I wish I was kidding. However, it was hot.

The kids ran inside for their swimsuits and I collected the toy sink, old sandbox, and a random tote box.

They played for a good hour in the water. We had some old paintbrushes that they used to "draw" on the deck with water, too.  The tote box filled with water was the biggest hit. Afterall, why would a child play with the water sink or ladybug that are designed for children to play with outside when a $15 bucket is available???

Maybe the next time they ask for water play, I'll bring out the Water Pipes Set we put together last summer!

Getting Back in the Swing of Things!

To say that we have been busy around our house may be more than an understatement. Our family activities left me little time to devote to HappyLittleMonkey and blogging, however, the dust is starting to settle and I'm looking forward to blogging about our adventures and updating the shops!

Since my last post in August, there have been quite a few changes in our little world, including that we

Found out we were pregnant with baby #3, 

Started both kids in new schools (kindergarten and preschool), 

Decided to make an offer on a new house, 

Celebrated our son's fourth birthday (which was a monumental birthday to him!), 

Announced that our pumpkin patch is growing, 

Closed on the new house on Halloween and then... 

...went Trick-or-Treating, 

Began a few renovations at the new house and moved in,

Welcomed our families to the new house for Thanksgiving (two weeks after we moved in), 

Learned baby #3 is a Girl, 

and Celebrated Christmas!

We also lost a dear friend to cancer, showing us all too closely how precious life is and teaching us to focus on what is truly important.

As we look forward to 2013, we are thankful for the opportunities it will bring as we welcome our second daughter, transform our new house into a home, and even more importantly, concentrate on spending more time with those we love and celebrating the life we get to live.