egg hunting...

we had a couple of easter egg hunts...one with our ward, super fun at the park and the other was at our beloved nana and papa's house, but inside because the threat that one or more of them would jump in the pool was great! so i only have pics of the outdoor one. blake loved it but as with his siblings before him, he would get an egg, shake it, and try to open it right then, if it opened, he would want to eat the candy, if not then he would find another egg! that boy has a SWEET tooth, man! i had to put everything Easter away today, if the candy is out, he is "asking" for it (and by that i mean pointing and making "uh uh uhhhhhh" noises) ALL. DAY. LONG.

ethan and avery had a great time with the egg hunts too, ethan was very meticulous to count up to the number we told him he could have and then stop...and then try to make others stop so that no one would have more than anyone else...what a kid he is! Avery was all about getting all she could and i wonder if she has x-ray vision because she got the MOST marshmallows, which are her favorite!

Happy Easter!

hope yours went well today!!!

easter-y

we have a few easter/spring decorations up...i tried some ideas i found online this year, i just love seeing all the inspiration out there!

i showed you our countdown before, it's working out well. here's another one of my embroidery hoop eggs...the other one is on this table....the egg garland was an idea from Eighteen 25, love those creative ladies!

i totally loved these Peeps from Made when i saw them, so i made a garland and some to hang on our banisters. now i am loving those metal eyelets...i want to put them in everything! i am looking for excuses to use them, they are so simple and fun to use:) no fancy equipment needed, the kit provides the pieces you need and then you whack it all with a hammer to close it up. so fun!

eye update...

here is avery...day four of black (or as she calls it, purple) eye (here's day one)...she is a trooper and hasn't mentioned it except proudly to her buddy connor in the store ("look at my owie connor!) tough girl...

what the table looks like now...

BEFORE

AFTER

okay, so here is the table!!! i like how it turned out, the outside is the same storm gray by krylon and the inside is also krylon spray paint in bahama sea (it was on sale!). i primed with gray primer and then went to town....

the curtain is actually part of a sheet that i got while thrifting...i like all the colors in it, especially for spring. it's on a tension rod, so it is easily changed when i get tired of it:) and the best part is, that was a "no-sew" project...i just used the larger hem the sheet already had as the channel and left the edges raw because it's a knit and knits don't ravel:)

we still need to get a shelving unit to put inside it...ikea has one i was eyeing and then there's regular rubbermaid drawers at wally-mart or target...just need to make up my mind:)

the mirror we already had...the subway art is a printable from eighteen 25 i am glad i tried out the 8x10 size, they are sized for 8x10 or 11x14, but to have one printed in the larger size is more than i wanted to pay for a picture:) i just bought a frame at goodwill for $1.99. i originally wanted to make this into an easter egg, but decided it was too big, and lucky for me, one time i was at goodwill, i found some oval hoops for $1 each:) the fabric and ribbons aren't sewn together because i love that Michael Miller ta dot too much to commit to using it permanently in the hoop. i pinned some edges down in the back to help them not stick out....when easter is over, i'll take them out:) sort of a "first draft" for how to organize things on to of the table...it's so deep it poses some interesting issues, i like it for now though!!!!

avery vs. couch...

she had a run in with a couch at a friend's house yesterday...it is purple today...i'll have to get a picture tomorrow, because she is in bed now. they were playing "what time is it, Mr. Fox", kind of a tag game...quite an adventure!

Table Redo (s)

a while ago, i bought this set of 2 benches and table off craigslist...they were in need of some TLC for sure! the benches i finished before Christmas since we were having the big dinner at our house...but i finally finished the table today...i can't believe i don't have a "before" picture of it but i looked in my folders and can't find one...it was pretty scraped up on the legs, i sanded them. i was not up for painting the entire thing. it is going to stay outside for eating or whatever until i need extra seating in the house. i decided to cover the top, initially i wanted to get some oilcloth with a fun, summery pattern on it but i couldn't find any locally that i liked and the prices to buy it and have it shipped were a little off-putting to me. so i looked at good old Big Lots and found a plasticized tablecloth i liked a lot and used that instead. only $3.50:) i know it might rip or whatever, but i am not super worried, since a) the tablecloth was not expensive and b) i got the table and benches for only $10.

I spray painted it with Krylon...i think it was called Storm Gray...i just threw out that trash so i can't check for sure...it's not classic gray i know that. i used a gray primer underneath, also Krylon. The wood of the table was very dark and i wanted to be sure i had good coverage. i like how it turned out. i like the tablecloth, it's bright and cheery and i think it will fit our "occasional" table needs.

another project that is currently in the works is this table...

we were on a family walk sometime last year...maybe novemeber??? it's been a while:) and i saw it in front of a neighbor's house (one of those put it out on the curb so the city can pick it up deals) and we walked past it and i took a long look at it as we passed...and kendall looked at me and said,"you want to come back for that don't you?" i said,"yeah, i do:)" he knows me well people. so good man that he is, he went back in the rain that night and good it for me. and then it sat in our garage for a while, the holidays and life kept happening and finally i decided this week was the week to get it finished up. i stained the top with Minwax Ebony (months ago) it was just plain butcher block...i'm not sure that will stay, we shall see.

this was a "first draft" i was trying to use only paint i had on hand so i tried the yellow...

...whoa i HATED it!

so we went to the store and bought more paint...it's not done yet...hopefully in the next couple of days i'll have it up and running...it's going to go in our entryway, with a shelving unit inside and a curtain to cover it up...

Easter Countdown...

i saw this idea on Lolly Jane....and i just loved it!


i had my eye on these little bunny eggs from the dollar store...so i got a couple packs of them to do this project! i think they are just so cute! They come six to a pack, white and dark pink in one, purple and light pink in another.

i got the cookie sheet i used at the dollar store as well and spray painted it with some leftover spray paint i had..i did green on the bottom so they would be bunnies playing in the grass...and i just love that green:)

(the last pink on there on the bottom was a victim of a tragic farming accident...or just a run in with my children. don't worry, no bunnies or children were harmed during the making of this craft)

they are magnetized onto the cookie sheet, i got these magnets from walmart...

they have a little sticky foam backing so they are super easy to just stick on the eggs! i wrote on the bunnies' ears with my silver paint sharpie to count down 12 days before Easter!

i don't have a magic vinyl machine and i wanted to minimize costs so i printed out a heading and laminated it and put magnets on the back...i want to be able to use the cookie sheet for birthday countdowns for my kids because they LOVE being able to count down to big events!

so fun and simple and i really love looking at the bunnies:) we'll put small candies in them and probably an Easter themed activity we can do together,

spring "wreath"

i am a little bit obsessed with embroidery hoops...i love the ones i see hanging on walls with pretty fabric, i have about 10 sitting upstairs in my sewing space right now! i get them at thrift stores where they are only $1 or less!

i found a large (12X20) oval one a few months ago and it's been crying out for me to do something with it. and my door needed some ornamentation as well, so i thought i'd make something springy...

i don't have a silhouette or cricut (not for lack of trying to win one though:) so i did things the old fashioned way...i used Maiandra GD font in word and made letters the size i wanted (size 280, bolded), cut them out of paper and then cut them out of the fabric i wanted to use (old jeans actually). then i cut pieces of the accent fabric out in shapes, those paisleys and flowers just put me in mind of spring and summer days:) then i hand stitched it all on, because i already had it positioned in the hoop how i wanted and didn't want to have to remove it and chance not getting it centered later. i really like how it turned out!