We've Been Busy!! {Ombre Mint Dresser}

Projects. Projects. Projects have been filling most of our weekends. We tackled quite a few since I've been on a nesting kick to get things done before I pop. One such project was our downstairs tv situation. It had become quite a situation...

{the before... all manner of bad.}

We got a tv as a birthday gift a few years ago from my parents. We don't have basic tv but sure enjoy movies and hulu. So, it's been sitting on this small entertainment unit right from the beginning. One of those "temporary solutions that quickly turned permanent" as the years piled on. Enter Theo: our tornado toddler. He would get into the DVDs and fiddle with our player every.single.day. It was getting old. Quickly.

So, W found a great deal on Amazon for a tv wall mount and I hunted craigslist {like it was my part-time job} looking for a dresser that would fit our mini-wall's dimensions without being a road obstacle for foot traffic. Found a dresser, but didn't love its look so I knew immediately when we bought it that I'd be re-doing it. But it had a veneer finish. My quick search online led me to chalk paint.

I'd heard of the stuff but didn't really know much beyond the words "chalk paint" "shabby chic" and "Annie Sloan". So after a mini-lesson {there are a lot of posts out there on it}, I learned about its "chalky" or thicker properties, zero prep-work benefit, and that it adheres to pretty much any surface without hassle. I also learned the price point of AS chalk paint. Yikes! So when I found I {Heart} Naptime's homemade recipe, I figured "why not?" All I had to buy was my normal paint in the colors I wanted + plaster of paris. Easy enough.

4 T Plaster of Paris to 2T HOT water
Mix in container until all the clumps are gone
Mix into 2 cups of paint

At the store, I bought my Plaster of Paris {$6}, my normal gallon of classic white, and then four sample sizes of a paint card I liked: graduating shades of mint. I went with a half batch of chalk paint in each of the five colors because my dresser had so many different colors and not much of each. Worked like a charm.

I did minimal sanding since I didn't really want a distressed look for the dresser. I then covered it in a polyurethane protective coat that we already had on hand. I would love to try the wax finish sometime. Heard it really finishes off the piece nicely. Next time. ;)

We mounted the tv, put the dresser in {after drilling a hole in the back of the top drawer for cords}, and mounted my antler project: ebay antlers + white spray paint + gold craft paint

We are loving the extra storage {currently the bottom two drawers are still empty! So huge for us. ;)}, and the simple fact that T is not creating a mess nor are our movies out for all to see {tacky!!} Definitely one of those "feels so good" projects.

He's Three!

More Advent

We did a few more activities this past week in Advent celebration style! More family traditions embraced. :)

We started with a family breakfast picnic "under" our tree last weekend. All {did you know you can buy adult sized?!} in footed pjs because it was cold!

Then we popped over to a local famous Christmas spot a different night to look at the lights on steriods!

Then we had our sweet {Swenson} family during the week as they were attending a wedding nearby. It feels like it's been forever since we've had guests so it was a delightful treat to host them. Especially so close after Thanksgiving so E clearly remembered them. We made sure to delay our cookie decorating a few days so we could do it with them. It was so fun having more kids to participate and E loved having his cousins: constant playmates. He went through seriously withdrawals after they left!

And to balance the high levels of sugar before 10:30 am, they all gathered round while Aly-berry read a Christmas story!

Looking forward to more Advent activities this week!!

Merry Christmas!

Advent Activities {Christmas Traditions}

Sharing a bit about my love for Advent this year over at Newlywife this morning!!

{DIY} Advent Pocket Calendar

It sure was nice having a whole week between Thanksgiving and the start of December this year. I was actually able to prep a little for advent and be ready to go December 1st. One of the projects that I wanted to add to this year's list was an advent calendar. We had been using mine that I grew up with and loved, but I wanted something bigger that would eventually include all our kids and be more interactive.

I had pinned a ton of ideas over the year for advent calendars: ones shaped like Christmas trees, made from felt, paper envelopes or brown paper bags, etc. Then I stumbled upon this image a few weeks ago and knew this was the one.

 source

Buuuuut it don't come with a tutorial. So I fished around and found a few more images with the same modge-podged, saggy-pocket, rustic look.

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 I bought a ten dollar 6 by 9 drop cloth {canvas tarp that painters use} from Walmart and got to work. {This is waaaay bigger than you'll ever need, but I want to make a tree skirt out of the same material.} All the "extras" I already had in my craft stash: buttons, ribbon trims, pom-poms, doilies, embroidery floss, fabric, felt, sewing machine, sharpie, and paint.

I cut and hemmed a piece of the drop cloth to measure about 36 inches long by 31 inches wide.

We have a little wall between our kitchen and eating are where our thankful tree was so I figured I'd hang this there too. So, I worked off the wall's size. I had several burlap squares leftover from my bubble burlap wreath project that I used for placement and pocket size. Then I just started switching some of them out for fabric and felt squares. And that's where the laborious, time-consuming part came in: decorating each pocket. Oh, the hours spent! And the mess that my kitchen table withstood!

I didn't plan ahead nor really tried to spend too much thought on any one pocket. I wanted it to look slightly messy and non-uniformed.

Once the pockets were decorated, I sewed each one in place. With the burlap ones, I went over them twice just to make sure wee lil' hands wouldn't tear them. I added three tab on top and stuck a wooden dowel through them. The last thing I did was tie some ribbon to each dowel end and hung it up!

Filling them was fun! I've been wanting to purchase a nativity set that the boys could role-play with for awhile. After some hunting, I decided on the Little People's set which has a bazillion pieces {make sure to get the one that has the shepherd!!}! I picked that up at Wally World along with the drop cloth.

I wrapped each nativity piece in some brown kraft paper and washi tape. I mingled the pieces with some chocolate and "activities tags". The tags are basically index cards that I added ribbon and tape to. I looked over this list and picked several that fit our family and the traditions we like to do during this time of year: Christmas lights drive, bake cookies, watch a Christmas movie, do a Christmas/winter related craft, have a picnic next to the Christmas tree, and make this year's ornament. I also tried to include a few "service"/acts of kindness type activities too. I was really inspired by this blogger's kindness project from a few years back. Hoping we can add more of these as the years go on and the kids are more capable!

I half-jokingly told W that this advent better end up as a heirloom after all the time I spent on it. It seriously took 3+ days to complete. Labor of love. But I love how it turned out and know it'll get many more years use out of it in the meantime. Our Christmas count-down has begun!

Handmade Holidays

Don't have the time or the energy to make something and add some newness to your holiday decorations this year?! Pop over to Newlywife to see my latest post on a few of my favorite holiday homemade items to make your place more merry + bright!

Thankful Tree

Thanks to the amazing crafty search engine known as pinterest, I found this idea last year and knew I wanted to start it this year.

First thing, I rolled into my girlfriend's classroom with my roll of kraft paper to create the trunk base. An overhead projector, printed tree clip-art, and a pencil, I set to work outlining and cutting out my tree...while E looted some poor girl's desk and played with her pencil sharpener shavings and T ate random bits off the floor. Family effort involved here. Once home, I taped it up to our small wall space between our kitchen and eating area. It fit just perfectly. 

Then I added the "W+J" carving and thought I was done. E protested, asking, "Where's my letter?" so instead I added his and T's hand prints. Now, it was our family's Thankful Tree.

Next stop was my parents' house to make the leaves. I printed 60 leaves on my mom's cricut, using various colored and printed card stock. I added a piece of tape to the back of each and added the leaves to the bottom. My thinking was that W and I would share one leaf while E would have the other. Thus, having enough room to fit everyone's thanks for the entire 30 days in November. 

 Each dinner time this month, we'll take two leaves, add our gratitude, and put them among the branches of the tree. 

Even though this is such a simple exercise and really one I should be doing every day all year long, I already notice a change in perspective and attitude. I'm looking out for the blessings of every day. I'm appreciating the roles I have, the people I love, and things I already possess. It's been a great reminder that we already have more than enough.