This Week // 2.22.14

The last few weeks have been a flurry of games (baseball and basketball), parties (team and birthday), school events and moving. Yes moving, but probably not what you're thinking. I haven't had much time to really reflect upon anything, but I thought I'd share some photos.

My 5 year old's first baseball practice. In that gear, he looks exactly like my 7 year old. Now I get why everyone confuses them… although c'mon, they don't really look THAT much alike. Okay fine. Maybe they do...

Our school's bowling night. I set up the dessert table. Right up my alley… Ha!

My youngest's Kindergarten play. He recited a passage from The Little Engine That Could and segued into a dance routine. This kid loves to dance!

The boys' last basketball games. They both improved and got a lot of cardio. Always a plus in my book.

Tonight is my oldest's team party for his travel ball team. He's been playing ball continuously since September and is now rolling into Spring ball… which in California really begins in the Winter. Ah, hello? Mama needs a break! Anyhow, I had fun helping put together the party. I applied some of the same techniques used for the bowling party. When it works, you stick with it!

This week we did a turn-around trip to San Diego to clear out the condo that we've had for the past seven years. It wasn't our full-time home, but we had a lot of wonderful memories there. In fact, it's where my now almost 8 year old first learned how to crawl and where the boys spent countless hours playing hoops (in the hallway) and playing impromptu nerf football games. It's been harder and harder to get down there, so we decided to rent it out fully furnished… dishes and all. I know it won't be quite the same if we ever decide to use it again, so I took a bunch of photos… If anything to capture the "before". Hope the renters treat it well!

When we cleared out the condo, it was 75% toys! The back of my car was stuffed to the max with baby toys (Little People and tons of hot wheels) and even infant seats and ride-on toys. Now all of that "junk" is sitting in my living room. Boo! So you know what I'll be doing next week...

Have a good rest of the weekend!

Make // DIY Handwriting Chart… For Under $20!

Last year I bought an awesome penmanship print when my then first grader was learning to write in cursive. I thought it'd be a good tool for him and it doesn't hurt that it's on-trend too. And the amazing thing? It only put me out $4! But it gets better….

So I never got around to hanging it up.  At first I was going to frame it, but that just seemed too formal and was more than I wanted to spend. Then I saw several diy botanical charts that were hung in a clean and simple fashion and I was smitten.

So what IS the best part about this project? It cost me less than $20. Total. Actually, it really just cost me $7 since I already had the stain, miter and twine from previous projects. And it took me just a few minutes to assemble. Seriously, for DIY, it doesn't get much better than that!

Here's the cost breakdown...
artwork - $4
wood - $3
stain - $2
craft miter box - $7 (with 50% off coupon)
twine - $3

Click "Read more" for all the details!

Make // Marbleized Glass Hearts

I saw this technique used for fingernails a few years ago and tucked the idea away for a future project. I'm not one for painting my nails, so I found this to be the perfect way to use some of the nail polish that I have stockpiled in my vanity. Why do I have so much polish when I hardly ever paint my nails? Who knows?! I guess I'm attracted to all those pretty colors, but when it comes down to it, only my toe nails get gussied up…. And that's only during sandal-wearing season.

Anyhow… This project is easy. It's messy. There are fumes involved. That about sums it up. Luckily, if you have nail polish remover on-hand and you work in a well-ventilated area, it's not too bad. I think the end results are pretty eye-catching!

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Make // Turn Kid's Art into a Card

Have you ever wanted to create a card using your child's artwork? Or perhaps your own? Here's how!

Before I get too far into it, you'll need a scanner (or camera phone, camera with wifi, etc.) and Photoshop or other photo editing software for this project-- I have Photoshop Elements 9.

This project came about when my 5 year old spent some time coloring a picture and wanted to share it with a bunch of people-- grandma, nana, friend, teacher, etc. I tried to persuade him to color more pictures, but he was determined that THIS was his "masterpiece" and nothing could convince him otherwise.

So, with a little help from our scanner/printer and Photoshop, we were able to give all of the peeps on his list a custom, Made by L card. You can add a background or not. Since it's almost VDay, we added a heart background and turned it into a Valentine's Day Card. I also did a couple with a chalkboard background and font.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

Wear It // Valentine's Day and Beyond

How do you do Valentine's Day? Do you dress up for the day? Do you plan an elaborate night out-- with either your girlfriends or significant other? Or do you get in your comfy clothes and call it a night?

I've done a combination of things over the years. I've done the wearing all-black and going out with my girlfriends when I was single. That was actually a lot of fun! We've done the prix fixe meal thing where a trendy restaurant tries to squeeze in as many couples into a space as possible. So really, your date has turned into a group meal with strangers. We don't do that anymore. And lately, we just skip the day altogether and go out to a nice dinner, sans kids on a less crazy, less busy night. Man, we're practical! 

I'm not sure what we're doing for V-Day just yet, but I'm betting that I'll be dressed something like comfy-girl.

Click "Read more" for the full post

From the Archives // Handmade Valentine Projects

Itchin' for a Valentine's Day DIY Project? Here are a few that I pulled from the archives. Some can go beyond V-Day… I have that Instagram Heart hanging up in my house year-round. There's a little something for everyone-- from decorating the mantel, to making a crafty wreath, to designing a fashionable heart top. Happy creating!

Click "Read more" for the Tutorial Links 

Happy Chinese New Year!

free dragon printable via craft jr.

Do you believe in horoscopes? I don't really, but when last year's prediction included stuff like-- watch out for your health, lay low and hunker down, and don't invest in anything because you'll probably lose your shirt (not in exactly those words, but you get the drift)-- it's not a big surprise that I was kinda happy to see the Year of the Snake end. And Snake… really?? I mean, you may as well just call it Year of the Big Hairy Spider… Bleh. So I'm happy to usher in the Year of the Horse!

Since my MIL is Chinese-- via Hong Kong and Peking (Beijing), we rang in the New Year with a family dinner and some good Chinese grub. According to my MIL, it is Chinese tradition to celebrate New Year's Eve with family over a lot of good food. Or as she puts it… The family that eats together, stays together. True that. I'm not sure if we ate all of the "traditional" foods, but there was a lot of seafood, noodles and some of the stuff that you typically see at Chinese banquets. Yum, yum and yum.

I'm still stuffed. My New Year's resolutions, Part II starts tomorrow.  :)

Have a great weekend!!!

From the Archives // Valentine's Day Projects for Kids

Over the past few years I've made Valentine's Day Cards for my kids to hand out to their classmates. It started out as something fun to do… Remember when those 3D photo cards came out? I think I first saw them in 2009. Then I started to get a little more creative and personalize the cards to what my kids were into at the time. The last couple of years it's all about sugar-free Valentine treats. Our school has all the kids from the same grade exchange Valentines… When everyone gives candy, it seriously feels like Halloween in February. Our little sugar-free treats just balance out all the candy, or in the case of the party blower, probably enhance the sugar high!  ;)

It was fun to look at all of these again… Like a walk down memory lane! 

Click "Read more" for the full post

Make // Party Blower Valentine's Day Cards- Free Printable

Last week I shared my 7-year old's Mustache Valentine's Day cards for his 2nd grade class. Today, I'm sharing my 5-year old's cards for his Kindergarten class--

To know my 5-year old is to love him. In our family, he's the life of the party. We'll probably have to worry about that more later on, but right now he's all about squawking loud noises, confetti and dancing around like a lunatic basically having a good time. So Party Blower Valentines are not only apropos, but kind of necessary.

 Click "Read more" for the Free Printable & Tutorial

Make // Bath Accessories with Mod Podge Sheer Colors

I'm a sucker for transparent, beautiful colors and, if you've been following this blog for a bit, you've probably noticed that I also enjoy working with glass. So when the opportunity came up to work with the new Mod Podge Sheer Colors, my mind was bouncing around with the endless possibilities. Over the past year or so, you've probably seen a lot of techniques for coloring glass-- colored mason jars, anyone? Some techniques are more effective than others and many have a learning curve. Well, Mod Podge Sheer Colors takes out the guess work and makes coloring glass simple and easy.

After tossing around several project ideas, I decided to go with one that is not only visually pretty, but will also tackle one of the organizational projects that I have planned for this year.

The Project: Organize My Vanity

While this may not seem like a big "task"… For me, it is. For the last several years I've kept all of my cosmetics, including brushes, eyeliners, and lipsticks in a deep, bottomless travel case. While this is great for when we actually do travel (since I don't have to pack anything up), it's a bit of a mess when it comes to my daily routine. shuffle, shuffle... Lipstick, where are you? dump, dump… Where did my blush brush go? shuffle, ouch! darn you tweezers! I know there's eyeliner in there somewhere… So, procrastinator that I am, getting my vanity organized is a big deal.  :)

After a trip to the store to peruse some inexpensive vases, I decided to use stemless wine glasses. They're wide enough to hold a lot of supplies, but short enough so that items can easily be identified, pulled out and put back. Next up was choosing a color. Mod Podge Sheer Colors has nine very pretty, translucent options. I decided to go with sheer purple, which I think is reminiscent of radiant orchid, Pantone's 2014 color of the year. Our master bath is a very boring white and cream, so really, any pop of color is a welcome addition.

Click HERE for the Tutorial

Make // Mustache Valentine's Day Cards - Free Printable

We're no strangers to mustaches around here-- see our funny lil' man party  and cowboy party. Since they are fun and also a sugar-free option, I thought we'd incorporate them into my 7-year old's class Valentine's Day cards. I made a couple of versions.

One that's a straightforward declaration…

And another that's more for the faint of heart (aka, one that won't embarrass a 2nd grade boy)...

Click "Read more" for the free printable cards

Noteworthy // 1.17.2014

I'm not sure what happened to this week. I worked on a few projects, handled a few duties for school,  and suddenly it's Friday again. It's one of those weeks where I've been productive, and yet, I have nothing to show for it. So you'll have to trust me when I say that there will be some new projects up on the blog next week.

One of the projects that I'm working on is for an exciting new craft product that will be launching at the end of the month. I'm not going to give away too much (boo! I know…) but I'm pretty sure it'll catch your fancy. Watch out for the post next week.

I've also put together the boys' Valentine's Day cards. Like last year's versions, they're candy-free and fun. I'm still tweaking things here and there, but I'll be sharing them next week as well. 

In the meantime, here are a few things that caught my eye this week...

Click "Read more" for the full post

Noteworthy // 1.10.14

I'm still trying to shoo away the last remnants of holiday decor. Christmas tree... I'm talking to you. However, although it may not seem like it, I'm mentally prepared to take on the new year. While the holidays are fun and hectic, January is like a sigh of relief for me. Aside from a couple of events that I'm responsible for towards the end of the month and keeping up with the kids' sports schedule, the rest of January is time for me to restart again on my own terms. Restarting includes setting some realistic goals for 2014. I want to think these through, so that there's actually a chance that I may fulfill some of them by the end of the year.

How about you? Are you ready for a new year? And are you setting any goals?

Here are some smart ways to kick off 2014.

Click "Read more" for the full post