We Went To The Zoo!

March 24, 2016March 23, 20168 Comments

Sorry I missed posting yesterday, but we went to the zoo! Our local zoo just opened up a new area, the African Adventure, and I wanted to check it out before I take my preschool class in May. The girls were up for it, so off we went!

It was very busy when we got there, but we had no trouble seeing the animals. The walkways were wide and there were lots of places to view each area. This is the view of the savanna when you first enter the African Adventure.

It was empty when we first got there, but pretty soon, we saw these cute little gazelles running and jumping and hopping around. They were so cute! Then the wildebeest came out and chased off the birds. It was like they were all so excited to be out in this beautiful place!

We headed over to the giraffe pavilion where they have a giraffe feeding station. The zoo had this before too, but you had to reach up to give the giraffe some leaves. Now you are up on a platform and the giraffes’ head is right next to you. Very up close and personal!

Here are more with a few of their friends.

Next we headed over to the lionesses, where they were busy sunbathing. They are so beautiful!

Here is one of the zebras enjoying a peaceful day of eating all he wants.

Look at this tree! It’s so cool and huge! It is right by the elephants and zebras and you can walk all through it. The kids were having a great time!

That’s just a little part of our zoo. I’m so glad they have made a better habitat for these animals. I know there are plans to keep improving and I can’t wait to see what else they have planned! I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Easter!

Boho Seashell Mobile or What To Do With All Your Seashells

March 21, 2016March 20, 201613 Comments

I’m back today with another seashell project! You can see a couple of my other projects here and here. I still have so many more to use! As I was putting this together, it kind of looked bohemian to me. I guess with the sticks and string. I don’t know, but I like it! I just have to find the perfect spot for it!

I picked up some sticks from my yard. I would have loved to use driftwood, but we just don’t seem to have much at the beaches we frequent, so sticks will have to do. I picked out the shells I wanted to use and brought out a couple different strings and twine. I also had my drill with a 3/32 drill bit. I probably could have used a little bit bigger drill bit because I ended up using the larger string, but it worked out.

I drilled a hole in each of the shells I wanted to use. I put each shell on an old board so the drill would just go into it and not make a hole in my desk!

I cut out my sting in various lengths.

Then tied a string to each shell. I threaded it through the hole and then knotted it in the back.

Before I started hanging the shells on the sticks, I tied the sticks together at different lengths, starting at the top and then adding on. This is the top stick.

After all the shells were hung, I took it outside to find a good spot for it. Unfortunately, this is it for now. I hope to get some cleaning up done outside during spring break and then will find a better spot for it.

And that’s it! This little project didn’t take me very long at all and will add a lot to my summertime patio! Now I just have to figure out what else to make…

Oh! Look what I got on Saturday!!! The ones on top are the ones I am going to use in my laundry room. I love the numbers and the handles. So cool!

Hopefully I will be able to show you soon!

Corner News-March 19, 2016

March 19, 2016March 18, 20166 Comments

Happy Saturday! We are starting our spring break here and I have the next week off! Yeah!! I am hoping to get a few projects done to share with you all! We’ll see how it goes!

Do you remember Zoella? Her nickname is Munch, because she is such a Munchkin! She was adopted by Lauren, but she had to stay at our house for awhile. Wweelll, we became attached, and Rozy became her best friend, so now she is mine. I love this little girl!! Zoella’s baby picture is here and Rozy is here.

I added this box shelf to my craft room wall. Steve had put this together a long time ago and I had it outside. But now I repainted the outside white and gold on the inside. I added some fun little accessories.

I found the adorable puppy picture on clearance at Hobby Lobby. There was no way I would pass this one up!! I added glitter to a wooden ‘S’ for another project and then changed my mind, so now it resides here. I just picked up the little bicycle plate from Goodwill, but it originally came from Target and the jar is part of my button collection.

I love all these things! Bicycles and buttons…

Puppies and letters!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and spring break! I can’t wait to update you on my projects. I hope I can accomplish something!!

From Arabian to Modern-Giving New Life

March 18, 2016March 17, 20166 Comments

Before I go any further in this blog post. To my cousin Sarah-if you are reading this, stop here! Or don’t, it’s up to you.

Okay, moving on.

My roommate Hannah is a giraffe lover. This includes giraffe blankets, giraffe calendars, a giraffe onesie, you get the point. She got a set of giraffe bookends from her family for Christmas, thinking that they would be perfect for her. The only problem was, they weren’t really Hannah’s style.

Now to be honest, I think that these look really cool. I like the colors, all the textures, and the little mirrors lining the bottom and the back. But, these are not Hannah’s style at all. She is much more of a modern girl, not so Arabian.

When she said that she was getting rid of them, I took them. I thought that I could paint them to give them a new look and give them to my cousin Sarah (who isn’t supposed to be reading this but might be anyway) for her birthday.

But what I didn’t realize, what how stubborn these bookends were going to be to paint them. Are giraffes stubborn animals?

My original idea was to keep all of the little mirrors on the edges and the few that are on the giraffes. I thought that it would look really cool to paint them a metallic silver to give them a modern look, but keep the mirrors. So I painstakingly put Vaseline on all of the little mirrors so that way I didn’t have to tape all of them.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out the way I was hoping it would. Once I sprayed the bookends silver and let them dry, I went to take the Vaseline off the mirrors. But, when I was wiping off the the Vaseline, I was taking the paint off as well.

So, I just painted the entire thing anyway. And here is the final product!

I love how they turned out! They now look very modern and much better than the red and gold. I also like how the edges look now that the mirrors are covered.

So, I hope that Sarah likes them! I love how they turned out with the paint and I hope she loves them as much as I do.

Turquoise & White Spring Tablescape

March 14, 2016March 12, 201610 Comments

Just one more week and it is officially spring!! We have definitely been having the ups and downs of spring weather over here. We have one day of rain and then later in the week we are wearing shorts! I am so looking forward to wearing more springlike clothing. I’m getting tired of my winter stuff!

I always have fun coming up with new ways to decorate my table for the seasons. The table we use was my grandparents. We refinished it many years ago, before we had kids, but it really needs another refinishing or painting. Because the top has seen better days, I use a tablecloth over it and it is usually this white one. This way I can do any color scheme I want. Of course, it usually includes turquoise!

I layered a burlap piece with black fleur-de-lis over the tablecloth. This was a piece from Lauren’s stash. I placed a wooden tray in the middle and filled it with springtime goodies.

Hydrangeas in a lace covered jar…

Blue speckled eggs in gold and white bowls…

A white sparkly bunny…

Pretty white bird salt and pepper shakers.

I set the place-settings at the ends of the table a little different than the sides. For the side seats, I just added a turquoise plate with a pretty napkin. I will show you in a bit where the rest of the items are stored.

For the ends, I first placed a rattan place-mat and then added turquoise plates with white polka-dots and a pretty white one on top. The napkin is also turquoise and white polka-dots. A little secret-it’s the same as the other napkin, just the other back side!

Did you notice the flatware? I have had these for quite awhile and don’t use them very often, so I thought I would pull them out and let them be used. I love the little touch of whimsy!

I transformed my hot chocolate bar into a self-service bar. I have more plates, flatware and glasses for easy access. Just add the food and it is all set to go!

I love being able to change things up and I especially love decorating for spring! If you would like to take a look at last years table, here it is. Just beware-the pictures are not very good! Can we say blurry?! Here is Lauren’s table too. Hope you have a spring filled day!!