One year later.

Is anyone still out there interested in my adventures in learning new things? If you're reading this, I'll take it as a "yes" from at least YOU.

It's literally been one year since I last posted about the DIY Play Kitchen I made my 2 year old daughter (who is now 3 years old). So much has happened since then, but I've had little time to sit and type it out.

I've, of course, been trying new recipes, throwing together quick crafts I see on Pinterest, launched a passion project of making custom wood signs.. oh, and I grew a whole new baby who was born in September. NBD!

Adjusting to life with two kiddos has been an adventure, but it's so fulfilling I can't complain much. In the name of "trying new things" as I boast on this ole blog of mine, I will say it's been a huge learning experience. It's so new - having two living beings (plus a hubby) to keep happy 24/7. One thing that rings true: I'm so tired, guys. HAPPY & FULFILLED, BUT TIRED...

#LifeWithABaby #GiveMeAllTheCoffees

Anyway, when I find a few hours here and there I've been hitting the garage cutting wood, staining, paint and designing fun signage and wall art. I've got a fun hobby going and it's meshing my graphic design love/skill/passion with my eagerness to learn new things with my obsession with all things power tools with my giddy love of building things from wood.

See examples below:

I literally have a waiting list of custom jobs that I have to complete. [insert kid cheering: "They like me! They really like me!" - or at least they like my style]

This new adventure really is a perfect marriage of all my creative loves.

So, no, I haven't completely abandoned my blog. I think about it often and then the thought is gone and I'm back to feeding a baby, wiping bottoms, going for walks and making lunch. I hope you enjoy my new adventure in signs. Any ideas for a business name if this thing catches on?

Happy Spring!

DIY Play Kitchen.

This is going to be one of my favorite posts. A project that I've dreamt about for years, waiting for my daughter to be big enough to appreciate it. The day finally came and we finally got to shop for her play kitchen that mommy planned in her head.

I'm pretty proud of my frugality on this one. I couldn't bear paying over $150 for a wood toy kitchen. Plus I know I'm resourseful, crafty, etc. I knew I could make one myself on the cheap!

Caraline helped me shop for the perfect cabinet at our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and then it was my job to make my mental concept a reality. The best part of this whole thing is how much money I DIDN'T spend. The entire unit cost me less than $25 to make (not including the stain I purchased at Lowe's to replace a dark stain that I ran out of - $10).

Cabinet: $10
Faucet, fixtures, chain, knobs: $10
"Backsplash" - $5
Legs: scrap from old footboard (free)
Wood: on hand (free)
Paint: on hand (free)
Nails/Screws: on hand (free)

 
I'll share in photos the final product as I did not take any progress photos (my apologies).

The wood I used for the countertops is wood that was just laying around our garage, some from pallets, others scraps from my dad's barn wood (that I used on an earlier storage project in our garage). So, basically it was FREE.

The sink was the trickiest part - finding a bowl the right size and shape for the space I had to work with... and figuring out a way to secure the knobs and faucet into the wood. But thanks to my dad and a HUGE drill bit, we solved the problem and wedged those babies in there nice and secure.

The moment I knew she loved her new kitchen? When we brought it into the house from the garage where it had been living for a couple weeks and she went "Oooooh!" and ran to her room to grab her play food and silverware/plates.

She began "washing" her hands and putting it to good use immediately.

When we started fixing our current home up (see: making it look less "builder grade" and more personal) I removed the towel bars from both bathrooms and replaced with hooks. All I did for the play kitchen towel bar was cut the old one down and screw it to the new play kitchen. BOOM.

I hope you love it. I do! My husband is impressed. And my daughter has played with it quite a bit in just the 24 hours it's been in place in our dining room. I call that a success!

Happy DIY'ing!

Make a Treasure Tray.

It's been a while since I posted a craft.

Crap.

That last part wasn't necessary.

It's been a while since I posted. Period.

I'll skip the assumed reasons and get down to business. I'm frugal. And when I see something crafty being sold at an amount I'm not willing to pay (calculating time spent + materials = worth it?), I immediately think "How can I make that for cheaper?"

Such is this story about a cute "treasure tray" being sold by an awesome company a friend recently introduced to me at a home party. The concept is great! A unique way to display photos or notes. While I love most the products and what their origins represent with this company, I'm still not willing to overpay for a simple project.

[And when I say simple I mean I literally made this in 10 minutes. But more on that later...]

That price, though!

I saw this tray in the catalog and just loved it. Even more, my older sister loved it, too. But neither of us loved the price (darn it). And you know how you know when someone is thinking of buying something, but doesn't want to spend the money so she ponders it out loud? My sister did that. And I told her, "Don't buy it. I'll make you one." She replied with "Seriously?" and I was like "Uh, yea." Cuz I knew I had all the materials at my house to duplicate it. So, I added it to my forever growing craft to-do list.

About a week after attending the party, I grabbed everything I needed. And in about 10 minutes I had a finished treasure tray of my own ::cough:: for my sister! And it cost me NOTHING (sort of) since I already had all the supplies, even the shallow basket which was not being used. I recommend, if you plan to do this, using a loosely woven basket so the big needle can get through with the twine.

Look at that cutie. She's not a baby anymore...

The steps are simple and easy if you have a good sturdy needle. It's a matter of weaving the twine criss cross one way, then criss cross back the opposite way. You can make more or less rows than I did. And use any sort of clips you like. I happen to have some mini clothes pins in my craft supplies, so those were perfect!

I texted my sister a picture of the final product with something to the effect of "come and get it." And if I remember correctly, she was at my house in about 5 minutes. And she loves it.

If you try this craft, feel free to post pics or links to your projects in the comments here. I'd love to see them!

Did you know I'm on Facebook? Well - now you do! Please, show me some love and "like" me at www.Facebook.com/dwbhkl

Happy Crafting!

Spice up your lamp shade.

I came across an idea on Pinterest to put wording inside lamp shades to create a shadow and interest. I decided to put my own twist on it and use a large Monogram and insert it behind our square lamp shade shelf thing in our living room.

The "D" I happen to have was like $2 at Michaels and it fit perfectly in the space of the shade, so no fixtures were needed. It's just snug in there.

So now when our lamp is on there is a shadow of a "D" that can be seen.

I like it!

Happy lighting!

Make a life-size ruler.

Hello?

Can you hear me?

Is anyone still reading? No? Well I don't blame you. I sort of disappeared for a while.

I blame it on that cute little 1 year old I've got stealing my attention.

And I'm perfectly OK with that!

Last weekend I finally finished a project I've had on my list for about 6 months. I made our life-sized ruler that will be used as a growth chart for Caraline and any child(ren) that may follow.

This way, when we move we can take the markings with us and not have to leave those memories behind on a wall!

It was really simple to make. I stained a 1x6 plank of wood then painted it. I used a stencil for the numbers and VOILA!

I know I say this a lot after my projects, but seriously, I'm so happy with how it turned out! I've already added Caraline's 1st height at 28 inches. Our little lady is short, but her personality is HUGE.

Happy measuring!

Create a wall display.

Hello! Yes I'm still alive! Priorities change, blogging hasn't been one of those. So sorry.

Slowly I'm getting decorating projects done around our house. Between working full time and enjoying Caraline every single minute I can, crafts don't get completed like they used to. But I'm okay with that.

This arrangement was a long time coming. I've wanted to display family photos on our wall for quite some time. Finally I got around to cutting the cardboard, deciding which photos and wall art I wanted to use and I got to work. I mapped out everything to size using cardboard scraps to get an idea of where on the wall I liked it. This method proved to be awesome. It was easy to cut the cardboard and shifting and changing was a snap using painter's tape. Once I had everything where I liked it, I worked top to bottom and secured nails into the wall.

I love how it turned out.

Eventually, we will have a piano sitting below this collage, but until then we enjoy seeing our family every day.

It makes me happy.

It makes me smile.

I hope you enjoy it.

Happy arranging!!

Six months.

Miss Caraline Grace is 6 months old! Wowza! She is such a ball of joy and we love seeing what we can do to get her to flash her gummy smile!

Starting on solid food has been a fun adventure. I've been putting veggies and fruits in a blender and making her different foods. She does pretty good so far!

I also thought it'd be fun to get a picture of her with all her stuffed animals. She just loves telling stories (bah bah bah, gah gah gah, etc.) and here she was doing just that! So funny!

The photo was taken in our living room against one of the walls. I had to do some tweaking to get it to look how I wanted it. Here's the before & after. It's not perfect, but it's better than what it started looking like!

Happy 6 months!

Three months.

I'm baaaaack!

You know that thing "they" say about babies changing everything? Well, I'll tell ya, "they" are right. For the most part, all the changes are awesome. We are so blessed.

One of the negative changes is how little free time I have now. Every second I am home with Caraline, I want to be looking at her and singing with her and cuddling with her. So, blogging isn't exactly high on the priority list. But this morning I am making a point of getting some writing in! Lucky you!

There have been a few projects I've documented the last couple months, so I'm hoping to get those into posts soon! One thing I'm very proud of that we've been doing is documenting Caraline's growth each month. I've seen many ideas online of how to do this, and I made a version of my own. Each month on the 4th, I will be photographing her in her monthly onesie in a basket with her friend Leaper. It'll be fun to see how she grows and eventually is bigger than Leaper, too! (hard to imagine now).

Here are the last three months.

I look forward to doing this each month. Next week we will already have a FOUR MONTH OLD! Time has gone so quickly. And we love her so much.

Happy Saturday!

Come on, baby!

Today is my due date. My EDD (estimated date of delivery). The day we've burnt into our brains for the last 9 or so months. Today, January, 28th.

Am I still pregnant?
Yep! 

Am I mad about it?
Nah. As long as she's healthy, I'll be happy. 

BUT . . .  am I anxious?
Uh,  you betcha! 

We have her room ready. Diapers stocked. Bags packed.

Our parents, grandparents and siblings are on alert. All in the name of waiting.

By the way, I'm not a patient person.

In the meantime, I find myself wandering into her room from time to time and sitting in the rocker. I think about how chaotic my life will be in a day, a week, whenever, and beyond. And I think about how blessed we are to be parents of this angel that we will so soon meet.

I'm so ready to introduce her to her room. Yea, I'm sure she won't care what color the walls are or which stuffed animals she has waiting for her to play with.

I know she doesn't care which bedsheets we picked out for her.

Or if those bedsheets match her curtains or not.

But I love knowing she will soon invade this room of hers. And our hearts. Our life.

I'm so ready to be a mom.

Happy due date!!