Thrift Store Thursday!

I found some super neato speedo stuff at the local Mahaska County Outreach the other day!  Thought you all might like to check out what I scored.... can you say "Shopping Spree"!!!!!  LOL...Always makes me chuckle... my spree cost me all of $5.00 - can you say Big Balla Spender!?!?!?

1.) this orangish/pink satin pillow for .50  - I have MAD plans for this bad boy...  a flower pillow in fact... In greys I hope.....  I need to see my fabric choices at WalMart... I would like to do a dark grey flower and light grey slipcover....  This pillow... with this fabric.. screams weird sexy 70's ~ick~  but for .50 it beats paying $7.00 for an actual pillow insert/form at WalMart.

2.) this mirrored tray for $1.99 - I think this will look awesome as a layer tray/item in displays or on my nightstand - now to keep it metallic "gold" or should I paint it another metal???  What do you think?  Gold, Silver, Copper?

3.) this heart pillow was also .50  - I would like to cut the word LOVE out of white felt and sew them onto this pillow....

 

4.) these seesucker pants for Finley for .50  - this spring the big thing is Stripes and Nautical.... these will fit in for sure!

 5.) this cute little white bunny will be the perfect addition to any spring décor for only $1.99  - this is FANTASTICALLY wonderous!!

 

6.) These leopard print clip on earrings were $1.00 - I have some plans for these, I am just sure of it... I just don't know what they are yet!  LOL

 They will be great embellishments somewhere along the way...  I am sure of it... just sure of it!

 

I think I found some really great bargins for very affordable prices.  The best thing about shopping at the Mahaska County Outreach... all the proceeds help and stay in Oskaloosa.  I love that they help the local community, while helping me with affordable items so I can repurpose items.

 

How about you guys?  Any of you have any fun finds from your local thrift stores?

Back to the Basics.... Noodle Necklace

All of us as kiddies have made a noodle necklace, especially if you have spent any time at a local Vacation Bible School or a Summer Art Camp...
The pride my daughter has for her noodle necklace is outstanding, and just way too cute to pass on sharing with you all!

 

 

We purchased a bag of Rigatoni noodles from The Dollar Tree.  Pretty affordable for a toddler activity - $1.00!

Finley colored several noodles with her Crayola Magic Markers.  She had to color in the grooves of the noodles, and try to get the noodle fully covered.  This was an activity in patience and focusing our attention.  She did great!

Then she strung the colored noodles on yarn...
great activity for hand eye coordination!











Here is an up close of her colored and strung noodles....
















This activity took part of an afternoon, and a little time in an evening.  It was a great little project for her confidence and it was great for her to do while I was cooking dinner or folding laundry .  She could do this project with little guidance and she really enjoyed being able to do a project on her own.  CONFIDENCE BUILDER!

Pretty simple project, very affordable price tag, and it helped her confidence and she was rewarded with an accessory that is like none other! 

Valentine, Whoooooooooo loves you? Me!

I was shopping at WalMart the other day in the craft section... I was actually looking for grey felt for another project... (didn't find that... ) but I sure did find something else... that is DOWNRIGHT adorable!   Love it when things just "happen" like that!!!!

Hello felt owl!!!!   ~lightbulb!~ ( if your kiddies love Despicable Me you will totally get that reference)  LOL - FREAKING ADORBS!!!!!

My daughter loves the knock knock joke:
Knock Knock.
Who's There?
WHO
Who Who?
What are you an owl? 

She walks away just laughing hysterically... I basically fell like the comedian of the year.... (is there a medal for that?)

 

 

 

Supplies needed for this uber cuteness....

1 felt owl

2 googly eyes

Elmers Craft & Hobby Glue

Poster Board

Black Paint Pen

Letters (I used the brand Stackers)

 

The how to steps are pretty easy...

 

Glue the googly eyes to the owl...

Sketch out a convo bubble out of poster board... My hubby is a talented artist... so he sketched up this little diddy for me while my sweet baby watched him.  She also wanted to color on the poster board when he was done LOL. 

                                       

I cut the convo bubble out, traced it with the black paint pen... and Finley helped me pick the letters out for the owl's utter cute lovebug question...

 

I glued the convo bubble to the owl using Elmer's Craft & Hobby glue - this is awesome glue for a permanent and quick setting glue.  With low fumes at that!  Double Whammy of wonderfulness!

 

 

After the glue set and dried, I placed this whimsical forest creature on our mantel!  He is seriously a handsome addition to our Valentine's Décor. 

I loved that my family all helped out with part of this project, so we all spent some time together.  I also love that we made another one (in lime green) for some dear friends, and Finley loved giving it to them for the Valentine's gift. 

What kind of cuteness are you adding to your home this month?

 

 

Be Mine Valentine - Mantel of Looooooove....

Everyone's all decorating their mantels for Valentines Day... and I'm over here like "what's a mantel?"  KIDDING!!!!

Here's the view...  that we look at while watching some TV in the ole Living Room....

I whipped a quick banner for our mantle out of teal and white chevron material (picked up a yard of that at Wal-Mart for around $3 or $4 - and went to town making some bunting up for our mantle and for our entry way.   I cut triangles out of the material using my pinking shears and then glued the material to the ribbon using my Welder Adhesive (LOOOOOVE this stuff!!!!).  I then punched out hearts from my heart punch and glued them on as well. 

 

I made one for our entryway that states  "LOVE"

 

 

 

and

the one on our mantel states "Be Mine"

 

 

Then I got really ambitious.. and starting doing other stuff to the entry way and to our mantel... and well... here we are...

I have a couple of items on here from previous blog posts, the pink heart is from our local goodwill and I spray painted it with Watermelon by Krylon.
You can see my other treasures from Thriftstore Thursday's finds here
I picked up the heart for $1.99 and the white candle came from Dollar General for, well a $1.00.

 

I purchased this LOVE at a local Dollar General for $1.00.  It was initially orange, and I painted it this beautiful teal by Valspar.  First time using this paint, and I am a big fan, covered quite nicely, and in cold weather to boot!

 

I partnered these great and affordable finds up with the "We not Me"canvas project that I shared with you all last week.

 

For the final touch I added the banner "Be Mine" for a little swag....

 

 

 

Skeletons in the Closet... J/K it's just junk

Our hallway closet is OUT OF CONTROL!!!!  aggahhhhh!!! 

I say silent cuss words in my head EVERY morning I dig thru it to find my daughters hat and mittens...  heaven forbid I forget those babies and she gets frostbite... we live in IOWA... everyone wears 27 layers of clothes here in the winter... my sweet baby girl NEEDS that hat and mittens! 

Same song and dance... morning after morning... pick out which coat we want to wear that day... dig thru the shelf that I cannot see because I am too short.... so I stand on my tippy toes and grab at whatever looks feels like the correct hat and glove combination...  hence where the silent cussing comes into play....

Hope its not too early for a mathematical equation...
(stress to get out the door on time + inability to locate said hat and mittens  = cussing and anxiety)
 - I have never admitted to being the perfect mommy, therefore my silent cussing should not be judged all that heavily... either that or keep the judging to a minimum please.  :)

Okay... so I got off track.. (a little)

I took stock of what we had in the closet... obviously a lot of stuff...made mental list of stations for each type of "stuff" i.e.

•  3 peoples mittens, hats, scarves
• coats - WAY TO MANY in here... and I found a HUGE pile of vests in here as well...
• shoes
• fur person leashes - yes plural.... I found 4 of them in here....
• Vacuum/ Step Ladder
• diaper bag
• bag of bags and other rando crap - umbrellas, bags, rain ponchos, etc.

Soooo...
we went thru and removed coats and vests that are for other seasons of the year...

See exhibit A of the pile of material removed from said closet....

Finley and I sorted all the mittens, hats, and scarves into 3 blue bins I purchased from Dollar General for $5.00 a piece.

This photo shows everything back in its place,

 

 

however now we have all 3 bins in a row on our shelf and each one has the person's name tag on it.... we moved the Thirty One bags to the end of the shelf and they are sitting the long direction on the shelf instead of the wide direction, allowing more space for the crates.  Come spring time, these blue crates can be stacked on top of each other in the closet - clearing up space for our outdoor stuff.

Cleaned and scrubbed floor in the closet... and we are good to go!  Now each morning...I go to my daughter's crate... her hat and mittens are right on top... no more stress and anxiety, no more groping around trying to find the mate to her mitten... WHEW!

Living Room Conversion.... Making an "Office" for myself

Problem #1.  we have 2 cubbies/nooks in our living room on either side of our fireplace - what to do with that dead space?

Problem #2.  I would like to have an office area where I can write my blog posts, instead of sitting in my pub chair where I have the tendency to get distracted by my fur person, the tv, etc.

Well... I may have a temporary fix for my 2 problems!  Not saying this is permanent... nothing is safe in our house :)  (insert maniacal laugh here) waaahahahaha.... 

Here is the cubbie space that I speak of in problem #1... 

 

sidebar: (my dawg has a seriously ROUGH life...)
Look at him, he's seriously the cutest little muppet faced dog EVER!  LOVE HIM!  He seriously sleeps ALL day, and is a wonderous feet warmer upper...  cute and practical! 

We have a desk that was in my daughter's room being used for other purposes than a desk... aka - the TV holder upper... (I know.. parents of the year... blah blah blah)

Soooo... I totally had my hubby (aka the muscle) move some furniture around for me and I confiscated the desk and moved it to the living room.... (please ignore the dust - dusting is not my forte)
I also used this yellow chair that I had painted as a prop for our Family Photo Session back in the fall.

 

I did bust out the Endust and cleaned that bad boy up as well as the chair...

and I started to layer the décor up...

again... this is all subject to change, nothing is sacred in our house...

 

 

Put a little art in the background for a POP! of color and something creative to stimulate my mind... a cork board to hold my break thru AH HA! moments on post its, a plant to green up the space, along with SHARPIES!!!!  (seriously... what office doesn't run on coffee and sharpies?)  HELLO????!?!?!?!

oh and speaking of coffee... a coaster (its an antique tile of a rooster) to hold my hot java

a Willow Tree figurine of a Grandma and her Grand daughter spending time together.  It's titled "Tell Me a Story Grandma" - this was a gift to me from my Mother in Law as my Memaw was SUPER COOL about sharing stories and her time with me - ALWAYS!  She and I spent a lot of time together crafting, painting, and creating all kinds of stuff, its only fitting that this sits with me as I blog.

 

Well that wraps up my quick fix.... Hopefully this becomes a space that is useful, stimulating and continues to be practical, while fitting in our living room/family life.  

 

Any re-claiming of items in your house?  Making/Organizing new areas to help your life out? 

 

 

 

 

Toddler Tuesday! Chores Galore!

Our 3 year old daughter is at a stage where she LOVES to help out with EVERYTHING!   Her level of enthusiasm is outstanding when it comes to helping out with chores around the house. 

If your doing it... she wants to help you out....

This does slow down this fast moving mom.... which IS a good thing for me... because it really teaches me to SLOOOOOOOW down along the way and take the time, savor the moment with her and give guidance in a loving and patient way.

My memaw was always so patient with me, she always had time to show me how to make things, any range of things from sewing to baking treats.  She always had the time.  There was no agenda... no hurry to complete something before the end of the day... that was the beauty of time with Grandma.  There was always time..... that is what I constantly remind myself when I feel my "hurry up!" attitude coming on when trying to complete a task with my daughter.... 

I can only hope to be that kind of a role model for my daughter...  I just need to remember....

Take the time to teach her. 

My husband and I have been participating in the Dave Ramsey financial plan of paying our debt off - which is going great might I add!  In the spirit of managing money, we wanted to start teaching our daughter the benefits of money; how to earn it, save it, and to spend it. 

To start we came up with a list of chores that Finley helps around the house with....

• feed Oscar LaRoo (our fur person) aka -the dog in the evening.  Mommy/Daddy will give him water 
• water the plants once a week - Mommy will get the water for her.
• clean out the dryer lint in the dyer between loads of laundry
• help Mommy sort laundry into correct piles/colors
• pick up toys in living room at the end of each day
• Help Mommy put away Finley's laundry for the week.

 

Now she does do other things like "Swiffer" the floors on the main level - she wants to help out so badly that I let her at it... and then clean up behind her.  She's learning though!  She also "dusts" with me occasionally - not going to lie.... this is not my forte....
These are both tasks that we can add to her list soon!
Now to teach her how to iron.... (a girl can dream right?!?!)

After each chore that she completes she gets a coin to feed the pig. 

We ask her... do you know why you are getting this money? 

She recites back to us what task she did to earn the money.  

She LOVES to feed the pig!

        

When her pig is full we are going to let her take it to the bank, count the saved coins.  Then she can save half and spend the other half... on whatever she can purchase with her earnings.  She gets to pick what she wants!  She's looking forward to picking something out!  I am putting money on either princess stuff or markers... that girl can tear thru art supplies like her mother! 


How about you and your family?  What chores do your tykes help out with around the house?  Are there tasks that you would like for them to do? 

I hope that she keeps up her helpful attitude and does her tasks with a joyful heart :)