Fun with Mod Podge {Part II}

Yep, it's confirmed...totally addicted to Mod Podge!  I just love all the projects you can do with this stuff!  And I really like that it's not too messy to work with.  It cleans up easily and I like that it doesn't leave my hands all sticky. 

This time I decided to tackle making a DIY jewelry holder.  One of my goofy goals that I set for myself when I was turning thirty was accessorizing more...I'm now one year into my thirties and I have to say I have NOT been doing a very good job at it!  But I think this is gonna totally help.  Because now, instead of all my jewelry being tangled up in a box, it will be hanging in front of my face every morning!

I started with a plain wood plaque from JoAnn Fabrics...any hobby store will have them in the unfinished wood section.  I used a small/medium one and chose this rectangle shape, but an oval or scrolly type one would be really cool too!  I painted the edges grey and then mod podged on a piece of scrapbook paper that I had cut to size.

After the mod podge dried I then ran a thin bead of glue along the top and attached a piece of eyelet lace - this is going to be the earring holder!  I wrapped the lace around the back about an inch or so.

Then, using a finishing hammer, I tapped in these nails (also found at JoAnne's) - these are my necklace/bracelet holders.

 

HORRIBLE photo - but you get the idea, right? ;)

And here's the finished product!  SUPER easy (and cheap!) project and totally customizable!  And now I have no excuse for not accessorizing, with everything hanging right there for me to see!

I could get used to this!

What happens when your life of the party/don't want to miss a thing/I don't WANNA go to bed/night owl baby falls asleep at 8:00 and sleeps through the night?  This here list my friends...and I could get used to it!!

• Washed and dried a load of laundry
• Washed, dried, AND straightened my hair (all in one night!)
• Shaped my eyebrows (SO long overdue!)
• Put together hubby's supplements for the week in one of those handy organizers
• Made hubby's lunch
• Got H's quinoa and black bean lunch doled out into containers for the grandmas
• Trimmed photos and cut foam board to size for photo collage
• Installed said photo collage and took photos of the process for a coming post
• Worked on crochet orders

After all this I capped off the night by plunking my butt in the recliner and perusing the various catalogs that I had picked up at the Mother Earth News Fair this weekend - chicken coop designs, flower and vegetable seeds, organic lawn care ideas, all kinds of awesome stuff!

Baby sleep cycles are so funny...and just like they say...as soon as you get used to something one way, they go and change it up on ya!  At least that's been the case with my little guy!  I've found that the best way to handle it for us is to just "go with it" and be flexible.  We've done the sleep training, the "crying it out" (but only to a certain extent), the co-sleeping, etc., etc.  And in the last 15(ish) months that I've been a mom the only certainty I can come up with is that you just gotta roll with it. :)  And I always remind myself that he won't be this little for long and that there will most certainly come a day when I will miss cuddling him back to sleep in the middle of the night...in all honesty, I've come to love it probably as much as he does.

But if he wants to sprinkle in a "fall asleep at 8:00 and sleep through the night" here and there I'm definitely ALL for it! :) 

Fun with Mod Podge {Part One}

Once again, thank you Pinterest for inspiring me to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new...this time with Mod Podge!  Now, I have to admit, when I first started using the stuff I kinda hated it.  But now I think it's safe to say that I'm seriously addicted.

I think there's a definitely learning curve to it and I would recommend doing a couple "practice runs" before tackling something that you actually want to...ya know...turn out presentable?

Not that I (ever) listen to my own advice...my first attempt was a definite learning experience...and I was "learning" on Mother's Day presents!

My first project was fairly simple...I had seen an idea for these on Pinterest and thought they were the COOLEST thing!   A perfect idea for a present.  I printed out the images that I wanted on 3 1/2 x 5 sizes and cut up a 2 x 4 into 3 1/2" chunks.  I wanted them perfectly square and a 2 x 4 is really only 3 1/2" wide...interesting tidbit, huh?  I had to do some trimming on the photos to get them to fit of course...I just cut a little off the top and a little off the bottom.  Now, for those who are really savvy (not me) I think you could probably make the image 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 in Photoshop and then order it on a 3 1/2 x 5 and it would just have extra white space that would need to be trimmed off.  Someday I will probably try this...but for this project I had to get my photo order in STAT!  No time for lollygaggin'.

These actually didn't take a whole lot of Mod Podging...I really just used it to attach the photos...and then, you can't see it here, but I also Mod Podged black & white scrapbook paper on the backs of these.  Other than all that, the only other step was painting the edges of the wood blocks black (which I did before attaching the photos or paper)...pretty easy project!  I'm really excited to keep experimenting with different jazzed up ideas for these - they make the perfect present and they are also way cool for a "take to the office" kinda thang.

My next project was a little more involved.  For this one, I was inspired by these particular photo boards that are available through one of the sources that I print photos with.

I had taken some photos of my nieces and nephews, along with Hunter to surprise my MIL with for Mother's Day - all of her grandkids together!  It was a lot of fun taking the photos and I knew I wanted to do something more with them than just put them in a standard frame.  So I started brainstorming ways to do a version of the photo boards I had seen.  

I had two perfectly square (8 x 8) photos to work with and try as i might I could not find the right size wood at any store.  So we picked up this 1/4" thick wood at Lowe's and my hubby cut the pieces up in a way that I could glue them together in order to get the right size.  So here I am gluing! :)

I absolutely LOVE this type of crafter's glue...so far, I've only been able to find it at WalMart.  It goes on super easily, dries clear, forms a super strong bond...yada yada yada...it's just really nice to work with!

Here is my assembled piece...I then cut a piece of cardstock to size and attached it using spray adhesive and mounted my photo on it the same way - spraying adhesive on the back of the photo and then placing it on the cardstock.

Here's a shot of my mad scientist table..shipping tape, toddler clothes, craft stuff everywhere...yikes.

This photo really has nothing to do with this post, but I think any moms of toddlers can appreciate it.  On the night I was working on this project I was looking everywhere for my keys, convinced I had locked them in the car.  But when I went to check the car with a flashlight through the window, no keys.  I was completely stumped.  Usually I put them back in the exact same spot on the counter...I'm totally a creature of habit.  I knew I wasn't going to have time for looking for them in the morning so "drying time" on the projects was filled with a massive key hunt.  

Then, suddenly I had a lightbulb moment.  "Hmm"...I thought to myself..."I wonder if they could be in the pantry" (which I call the 'treasure trove').  Hunter loves to play in there...take things out, put things in, etc. etc.  The day before I had found the remote in there.  Sure enough, I opened the door, moved a couple things aside and viola!  Little stinker! 

Ok, back to the project...aside from the thin pieces of wood that I used for mounting the photos to I had also bought a 3/4" thick piece of wood that I had my hubby cut down to about 36".  I then painted the edges super dark brown to give it a finished look.  The next step is where the major Mod Podging (and learning) came in.  With my first attempt, I had used glue stick to lightly attach scrapbook paper to the thick piece of wood and thought that by Mod Podging over it I'd be good.  WRONG!  I got horrible bubbles and the next day the paper completely lifted off the wood and I had to start all over again!  So definitely use the Mod Podge for both attaching and finishing.  

Thankfully, I didn't have to redo the photo mounts...and it was super easy to take them off for redoing the big piece because they were only attached with two of those awesome 3M Velcro strips.  I TOTALLY love these strips...not just for picture hanging, but for crafts too!  The other fun thing is that we could always change out the photos at a later date - just get new velcro strips!

So here's my finished product...it definitely didn't turn out perfect, but overall I was pleased with it. And I'm excited to attempt something like it again...it's just fun to think about all the possibilities for displaying photos!

Alrightly then...stay tuned for part II of "Fun with Mod Podge"...'cause like I said...I'm totally addicted now and I think the only cure is to suck others in with me!! ;)

More outside fun...and oh my achin' bones...

Boy am I LOVING spring!!  Getting outside and breathing in that sweet springtime air is so good for the soul!  And this year is especially fun with my little buddy tagging along!  We have a LOOONG list of spring chores to tackle, especially with being pretty much out of commission last year, but I think we're up for the challenge!  Here, Hunter is helping rake up the lawn that we just had dethatched.  

I did the majority of the "real" raking and can I just take a moment to acknowledge how out of shape I still am??  Man, between raking up the dead stuff and then spreading compost over the top that was a good workout!  Kuntry Daddy was out of town during this project, so my mom was super sweet and took Hunter for an afternoon so I could really bang it out.  And bang it out I did.  And the next day I paid for it. ;)  But that is really my favorite type of working out.  I'm horrible about any other type of work out routine, so I say BRING ON THE YARD CHORES! :)
We've been having lots of fun taking pictures of blooming flowers (Native Red Flowering Currant here)...

                                              Visiting with Caspian...Hunter just LOVES him!

And enjoying the springtime sunsets!

The Best Kind of Weekend!

What a great weekend that was! Full of all kinds of fun! Like...

Wagon rides...

Playing in the garden...

Getting a jump on some spring chores...

Pretty April sunsets...

...and Easter fun!!!

Hunter had a super fun Easter Sunday playing with his favorite cousins (whom he adores)...

Playing in the grass...

Stopping to smell the flowers...

And waving at airplanes!

Even though this technically wasn't his first Easter (he was two months old last year) it was definitely a day full of firsts for him! And we had such a blast! We couldn't believe how we lucked out with the weather...usually it's soggy Easter egg hunts 'round these parts! The poor little guy wore himself out playing and missed the egg hunt, but I think it's pretty safe to say that he had a great time nonetheless!

I'm so excited that the weather is finally starting to turn around and can't WAIT to spend some more time outdoors!

Hope y'all had a great weekend as well! :)

Farm Party!

I have to admit that another big reason for wanting to start blogging again was the influence of Pinterest in my life! If ever there was a brilliant idea...I wish I could be an early investor like all those early investors of Facebook! I'd be set! ;)

Anyway, like many of my fellow "Pin heads", I turn to Pinterest for inspiration on just about everything these days...from dinner ideas to decorating to creative teaching/play ideas for my Kuntry Kiddo - I don't think there's anything I haven't been able to find!

Naturally, when I started thinking about Hunter's first birthday party where did I turn for ideas?? Why, Pinterest, of course! We had settled on a farm party theme and while I did have some ideas of my own, I just knew the Pinterest community would come through for me! And they did! I found SO many clever ideas and had an absolute blast putting them all together to come up with one happenin' hoedown!

So, this post is my way of "giving back to Pinterest". ;) He he! Maybe someone will see this post and be inspired by something here! And if so...well, then I've done my part. ;)

Ok, here goes! I'll do my best to link to products I used...


Ordered these straws from this seller on Etsy - they were great quality and held up well! I made my own little flags that said "Saddle up for some barnyard fun...Farmer Hunter just turned ONE!" I just printed them out on white paper...kinda plain, but by this time I was on Farm Party OVERLOAD! ;)

I made the birthday boy this hat using a template from Pinterest. I used heavy cardstock scrapbook paper for the main part and then made a mini circle fan to tie into the banner I had made. Then I trimmed it with (1/2" I think) brown ribbon and made a little ribbon pom pom for the top. As you can tell, he didn't really appreciate it. ;) He's not really a hat guy...although I'm not gonna give up trying!

I borrowed a Cricut machine from one of my friends (thanks Jen!!) and it was SOOO nice for making these little circles and the numbers - not to mention all the letters and the stars for my banner. If I wasn't such a cheapskate I would totally go out and buy one tomorrow! Maybe I'll keep my eyes peeled for a "gently used" one. It sure was nice.



Here's a shot of the dessert table - we had farm animal cupcakes made by my talented sis in law, "dirt", "eggs" and a chocolate milk bar for the kiddos, complete with whipping cream and sprinkles - so much fun!! I got the mini straw bales from Michaels and the crate (turned upside down in the middle of the table) from Joanne's. I draped a bandana over it and it made for the perfect cake stand for the tractor cake! I already had the red checkered table cloth and ordered the bandanas from Oriental Trading (we also had extra bandanas for photo booth props).


The recipe I found for dirt was super yummy, but I wasn't exactly anticipating white dirt! Other than that, I loved it. But if you're going to do it, make sure your ingredients are brown! This one called for cream cheese and vanilla pudding...super yum, but again, not brown.

The milk bottles here are re purposed Starbucks Frappuccino bottles that I had been saving up (it totally justified treating myself)...but you can also order milk bottles like this online for pretty cheap. The little milk labels were from this free printable.


I used mini wood popsicle sticks (from Joanne's) to make a "fence" for the big straw bale and stuck a chalkboard garden marker in it that read "pig pen". I used brads to attach pictures of the little man to the fronts of the mini bales and had a couple framed photos too.

"Fresh Eggs" - these were kind-0f a failure. This is why I don't bake. They were intended to be like cake pops, but I used a recipe for no-bake cake batter truffles - I don't know if that was the best route. But you can see how cute it would be IF I knew how to bake. Or no-bake. Or something. ;)

This was our table in the entrance, which had Hunter Trivia sheets and also a five year time capsule where people could write him a little note. I later put mementos from the party in it, like his cupcake topper and some photos. We'll open it on his 5th birthday and maybe make a new one that he can help with! :) I got the (un-ironed - oops) cowprint fabric from Joanne's, as well as the little mini baskets...

My awesome mother in law was so sweet and made up a bunch of bags of caramel corn for the perfect party favor. Her caramel corn is to DIE for. Melt in your mouth goodness.

This was one of my favorite parts of the party! The photo booth! It was so much fun to look back through the photos that people took (I left my camera on a hay bale with instructions for the self timer). The angle wasn't quite right, though, so I think two bales stacked would have been better. The barn door facade came from Oriental Trading.

Here we are with Hunter's tractor! I made another (smaller) fan circle banner that said "welcome" and strung it with mini clothespins and twine. I got the cow print balloons from Simply Bovine and I loved them. I had originally ordered some in my Oriental Trading order but they were super discolored and smelled HORRIBLE - like chemicals. So I got a refund and the nice people at Simply Bovine got my order out right away.

One other thing that was the hit of the party for the kids was the "straw find". We had been to another barnyard party (the day before ours!) and they had one so I totally swiped the idea. We took two straw bales, busted them open and fluffed it up and hid cheap toys and candy for the kids to search for. So simple and so much fun!

I didn't get any photos of our food, but we had a couple different kinds of chili, cornbread, two type of Mac n' Cheese (including Pioneer Woman's "Not your granny's mac and cheese" - one of my favs!), little smokies in BBQ sauce, chips and guac, a "tomato garden", a green salad and lemonade. Easy and yummy.

So there you have it! We had so much fun with this party and I wouldn't have been able to pull off half of it if not for the help of our friends and family and inspiration from Pinterest!

Life changes

It sure is funny how much life can change in a matter of just three years! I guess I'm no longer a "Kuntry Girl", but rather a real life grown up now with all the responsibilities that go with it! And I'm loving it.

For those of you joining me from my previous blog, "This Kuntry Girl"...welcome!! I really have missed y'all! It was about this time of year three years ago that I first started blogging...isn't it funny how the seasons changing can bring us back to a previous time? Anyway, it's definitely been bringing me back and I decided it was time to jump back on the blogging bandwagon! But, I felt like a change was necessary...after all, I'm not quite the same person that I was back then...mostly because I'm now a Kuntry Mama! And while I still have all the same loves...my husband, my animals, and my hobbies (including blogging) I now have a new love who I have to say has kinda trumped them all! ;)

Introducing...my Kuntry Kiddo!

Now, of course, I wouldn't say that my love for him is necessarily greater than my love for my husband, but it's a different kind of love. One that requires (and deserves) to be absolute #1 on my list of priorities. He's 100% dependent on me (and his daddy of course) and it's my responsibility to make sure he's safe, happy, and nurtured. It's a responsibility like none other and while at times it can be daunting I have to say that it's also pretty darn awesome. The best way I can describe my life now is that it's better with him in it. In every single way. I love it.

He's thirteen months old now (yes, it's true what "they" say about time flying...where have these thirteen months gone??) and I have to say that so far this is my favorite age. I really have loved every single month, but now he's really coming into his personality and he's walking, which means I can do all kinds of fun things with him - like play in the garden! And I finally feel like I can relax a little now that his needs aren't quite so demanding. At one time there was not much room left in my brain, but I now feel like I can dedicate at least a little portion of it to other thoughts and activities.

I've really missed the blogging community - the sharing of ideas, the friendships, and just having the creative outlet. So I'm excited to be back! We'll see how good I am at keeping up on my posting, but I'm hoping to make it a regular part of my routine again! :)

'Till next time! :)