100 Things: Part 7

This is a list of 100 Things that make me happy... more details here.

31. Green Juice

32. Sunglasses

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33. Eiffel Chairs

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34. Rubber Boots

35. Vacation

Vintage Suitcases

This is me today…

Except that it’s not me at all because I’m trying to fit everything into a carry-on.  Crazy, I know.  Guess who’s idea THAT was.  (If you guessed me, then your wrong.)  I’m pretty sure that I’ll be buying a bag to bring things home in.  A carry-on just doesn’t leave adequate room for purchases.
Anyways… I’m totally side-tracked from packing (and cleaning my house to a level that is acceptable for hosting Grandma & Grandpa.)  But look at these displays of vintage suitcases that I found!  I want some!
***WARNING… this post is photo overload… didn’t have time to edit… need to get back to packing… but make sure you scroll to the end because the last photo is awesomesauce***
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All photos found on Pinterest

Freebies

Came across a couple of pretty fabulous freebies this week:

1.  Free Art Prints by Leanne at Make it Perfect.  This one is my favourite, but there are a bunch of cute ones to choose from. 

2.  Free iPad / iPhone / desktop wallpaper from Red Stamp.

House Rules

I thought that it would be fun to make a big graphic subway-style sign with some 'house rules' for our kitchen. So I came up with what I thought was an all-encompassing list of rules.  I typed it out, had it printed on glossy poster paper (18" x 36"), and stapled it onto an inexpensive stretcher frame.  I thought it turned out great!

Then Jack came home from school.

He read the list, and (in his trademark intense and serious way) started to point out all of the rules that I apparently missed.  "But Mom... what about...
- "no contact" (I say this every single day at school when the boys are pushing and shoving their way down the hallway).
- "no mouth noises". (I can't stand 'mouth noises' of any kind... clicking, slurping, whistling, wheezing, hiccoughing... Just NO.)
- "no tickling". (I hate tickling. Does anyone actually like to be tickled? NO.)
- "no sassy talking". (I don't think this one requires much explanation.)
- "no baby talk".  (Super annoying.)

So now I'm kind of embarrassed by my list. I guess they are the rules I'd like to aspire to. Jack's list of rules are closer to reality. Trust the 5 year old to point out the obvious. (He also made it abundantly clear that he would NOT be following the 'give hugs and kisses' rule... hahahaha... Seriously, what was I thinking with that one anyway???  I told him that rule could just be for the Moms and Dads.)

I think I need to make another sign with our 'real' family rules.

Calling All Superheros! {Beckett's 4th Birthday}

I've never been one to go all out for my kids birthday parties.   My boys still think that balloons are an exciting treat, so that's usually the extent of the party decor for any given occasion.

But guess what? The blog world got me all inspired this year, so I decided to have a theme for Beckett's party. We went with 'superheros' because it gave the boys another chance to wear their Halloween costumes, which they love. I asked my blog friend Rachie of A Chi Chi Affair to help me out. She put together a ton of fabulous ideas and resources. I wouldn't have known where to start on my own, so thank you Rachie!

The kids started out by making super hero masks.  I downloaded templates here.  I'm pretty sure the masks are STILL not dry because of the excessive use of glitter glue. Next time we'll stick with stickers.

For party decor, I downloaded some cute printables from here. The kit included invitations as well as decorations for treat bags and juice boxes, and cupcake toppers.

After one failed batch of cupcakes (stupid cake mix) I learned how to make cake balls.  They turned out pretty cute (in a very home-made-looking way.)  I stuck them on a stick and added printable superhero gear from here.

I knew that we would still need something to stick candles in, so I made a rice krispie cake and decorated it with the cupcake toppers from the printable kit, and some blue icing.  It's not the most professional looking cake, but it worked.

Here's the birthday boy around noon:

BAM!  ZAP!  POW!  

Here he is by 3pm:

KONK.

Long day for a 4-year-old superhero.

Happy Birthday Beckett!

diy details: globe pendant

I was tired of the chandelier-under-a-drum-shade fixture above my kitchen table.  But it was still a nice fixture, so I couldn’t really justify replacing it.  Then I had this idea that I might be able to transform it into some kind of cool globe pendant.  It worked!  Here’s how I did it:
1.  Take off the drum shade.  There is a little nut (heh heh heh – I’m so immature) holding on the shade.  Take it off and remove the shade.

2.  The drum shade was approximately 18” in diameter, so I purchased 2 quilting hoops of that size.  They are a bit bigger and sturdier than embroidery hoops, but I think embroidery hoops would work just as well.  Carefully pry the hardware off of the hoops.  I pretty much destroyed mine in the process.  Blurg.  Don’t worry, it’s fixable.


3.  Glue the ends together to close up the circle on three of the hoops.  Leave the fourth one open.  You need to use glue that will hold really well because there will be pressure on these joints.  I found that epoxy worked the best.  Use wood filler to fix the damage from step 2.

4.  Assemble three of the hoops as shown.  Clamp.  Drill a small hole through all three hoops on one side of the globe.  (This is where I needed an assistant… my Dad.)  I would recommend separating the hoops again.  Measure and mark each hoop where you want the hole to be drilled on the opposite side.  The holes need to be equidistant from each other on each hoop.  You will need to measure.  If you don’t get them lined up, it looks wonky when you put it all together, and you will have to re-drill new holes.  Take my word for it.  Eye-balling it won’t work.


*** Side Note: Check out my Mom & Dad’s fabulous kitchen!!!  You’ll get the full tour one of these days!  Stay tuned. ***
5.  Paint.  I mixed some glossy exterior black latex with some metallic gunmetal grey to get as close as possible to the existing finish on my light.  Alternatively, you could just spray paint everything (including the fixture) to make it match.

6.  Use a small bolt on each side to hold it all together.  Don’t tighten the bolts completely… it is easier to get the globe around the light fixture if you can move the hoops around, and then re-position them again once it is in place.  

7.  I attached the globe to the existing fixture with a piece of picture-hanging wire looped around each bolt and through the center of the fixture.  Hold it in place with the drum shade nut (hahaha).  It looks kind of tickety-tack this close up, but it pretty much disappears once the hoops are all positioned.  If you measured before you drilled, the globe will balance quite nicely.


8.  Add the final circle vertically.  (This is the one that I did not glue together.)  I threaded it through the inside of the horizontal circle and left it on the outsides of the other two.  Once this piece is on, it all holds itself together fairly solidly. 

Voila!  That’s it!  I think I could even adapt it to a different light if I wanted to switch things up.  

Success!!! Globe Pendant diy

It’s done, and it looks pretty cool!


I’ll post the detailed tutorial tomorrow!