How is August almost over?? Here are some of the photos I’ve posted to Instagram (username @iolstephanie) this month. (And, did you check out my photo magnet tutorial?)
Life via Instagram
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Link-o-rama!
Happy Friday! We “survived” an earthquake, and now there is a hurricane heading towards the east coast, including our beloved Outer Banks. Please stay safe, everyone!
Here are some links I’ve come across this week:
- I just joined Pinterest as a way to save links and ideas. Are you on Pinterest? What do you think of it?
- I love the look of these light-sensitive fabric dyes. It is like sun prints, but in make fun colors.
- Look at these colorful knit pouches filled with succulents!
- A great idea: embellish a plain shirt with an old neck tie!
- Super sweet printable freebie from Eat Drink Chic – popsicle memory game!
- Summer isn’t quite over… Why not make 15 minute ice cream in a zip-lock bag?
- I plan to collect leaves with Jax this fall – something he already loves to do. Martha Stewart shows you how to make cute alphabet cards with them.
Thrift Store Play Kitchen Makeover
After a weekend of working hard, Jax has his shiny, new custom “retro” play kitchen! I was so lucky to find a wooden kitchen with great “bones” at our local thrift store. It had a lot of water damage, a broken shelf and faucet and a missing door, but the clean, simple lines were perfect. (To see more before pictures, view this post.)
I started the makeover by deciding what I wanted the kitchen to look like. I had already used apple red spray paint when I created Jax’s chalkboard, so I chose that for the main body. His table and chairs are aqua and lime (as well and the shelves I recently put in), so those became the accent colors. I had some leftover glitter paint from a Christmas ornament project, and I knew that would be perfect for hiding any water damage I couldn’t sand out. Here is my color plan.
I started by scrubbing out the dirt and mulch in the cabinets then cleaning, sanding and priming the whole thing. I took the back two pieces off, as well as two knobs, but many screws were stripped on the rest of it. I ended up breaking off the knob discs to paint them separately from the dowels they were attached on. They were glued on crooked anyway, so I was able to fix that too.
I used a wooden J to replace the faucet
I used 2.5 cans of apple red glossy spray paint (and I ended up needing to get a mini can for a little more coverage where the clock had been.) For all the silver parts I used a mini can of silver spray paint, then a coat of silver craft paint and glossy varnish. The knobs got several coats of craft paint and glossy varnish.
I needed to replace the broken faucet, so I bought a large wooden J and attached it with a wood screw and E-6000 glue. Looks perfect! For the backsplash, I bought smaller letters to spell out his name. Those were attached with the E-6000 glue. My husband glued a small chalkboard I’d painted to the side with Gorilla glue.
The shelf was detached when I bought it, and it wasn’t hard to see why… It just had 3 tiny screw holes. A super nice Home Depot employee helped me pick out the right size screws, as well as which L brackets would work best to fortify the shelf. I chose to leave the brackets unpainted to match the rest of the silver.
The counter top got two coats of aqua craft paint, then 10,000 (or so) coats of my favorite glitter paint (which is more of a glue with lots of glitter). The burners were painted black, then got a very thick coat of black glittery paint (and a clear coat.)
I adore it! It looks perfect in the room, and Jax loves it already. I started him off with Melissa & Doug Wooden Pantry Products
This was such a fun project! I’m already looking ahead to the next playroom DIY… a reading nook!
Earthquake!
We had an earthquake today! No, we don’t live in California. We live in VA! It was definitely a surprise to be making a late lunch for the toddler when the whole house started shaking. Turns out it was a 5.8! I really didn’t expect to ever feel something past a 3 here on the east coast, but I guess anything is possible!
Jax didn’t seem to notice. I picked him up and got away from the windows and the hanging wine glasses that were rattling and shaking. The dogs seemed fine too. I didn’t see any damage to the house and nothing fell.
The US Geological Society has a website for kids about earthquakes, though Jax is to young still to need explanations.
Have you been in an earthquake? What was it like?
Unique Handmade iPad Cases
I have a hand-me-down iPad 1st gen that I love! I named it “Stephanie & Jax’s iPad” because half of its purpose it to have games and ebooks for Jax during car rides and trips. The other reason I have it is because it’s great to use while I’m nursing Jax. Beats playing solitaire on my phone (I put in many hours of this when he was newborn!)
I just have a plain Apple case on mine, but one day I’d love something more unique. I’d also like something that stands up better on its own. I’ve been having fun browsing Etsy lately. So many fun cases!
This case is made out of a real book. I love the Beatles, so of course I love this amazing Beatles album case! Here’s a case that looks like a giant 80’s cassette tape. Panda! And he hugs your ear buds! This one is really pretty and has a strap like a purse.
And some non-Etsy cases… This one has a bluetooth keyboard. I like the different angles you can have with this green one. This one has great pockets inside. Gorgeous bamboo case!
Do you have an iPad? If so, what case do you recommend?
Sunday Souvenir: Back to School
I’m a little late posting this week because I’ve been away from my computer working on Jax’s kitchen all weekend. In fact, I’m trying to write this on the iPad from bed with a toddler asleep on my arm!
In honor of everyone heading back to school, this is a photo of me in kindergarten, presenting the month of June. Yes, I’m old. Let’s just not do the math to figure out just how old! I loved my kindergarten teacher, Mrs Jackson! I remember being confused as to where to go my first day of 1st grade and she helped me and gave me a Snoopy folder, which I still have.
In middle school, I took a class that let me do a “job” for the last period of the day. I got permission to walk all the way to my old elementary school to be a teachers aide for Mrs Jackson. It was so rewarding and the kids would rush over to hug me hello in one huge bear hug.
Leave a comment if you’d like to be added!
Kitchen Progress
Here is where I am after a day of working on Jax’s kitchen. I ran out of red spray paint and still need to do more coats to cover where the clock was. I need to touch of the silver and attach the faucet and knobs. The sink tub is all done. I have to do a few more coats of the blue on the counter and then paint the burners black. Looking good so far!
Necklace Giveaway Winner!
And the winner is (chosen by Random.org)…
Sheila!
Send me a message on Facebook with the address you’d like it sent to, and I’ll drop it in the mail on Tuesday! Congrats!
Friday Follow-up
Don’t forget to enter our necklace giveaway by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter, then commenting here by 12 noon EST tomorrow!
Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a great week! I’ve been super busy between work, rebraiding my hair and two large craft projects. Oh, yeah, and a toddler!
Jax had a spill yesterday while playing with sidewalk chalks with the sitter yesterday. He’s at that age where he thinks he is invincible (maybe that never ends for boys?) He took a few layers of skin off his forehead, but didn’t fuss about it.
Jax’s baby apple tree is doing great! So well that the roots were popping out the top and bottom of its little pot. So we went to the store yesterday and bought it a larger pot and some soil. It looks much happier!
I decided on my color scheme for Jax’s refurbished toy kitchen. I had thought about doing the tall cabinet as a magnetic fridge door when I got an amazing price on magnetic primer, but then I couldn’t get the door off! In the end, I decided I’d much rather save the primer for when I refresh his chalkboard. Then he can play with magnets on it! (I like these…) So the main body with be the same apple red as his chalkboard frame. the sink, door handle and shelf will get sprayed silver. The knobs are going lime and aqua to match his table. And the counter will be aqua. Because there was a lot of water damage on the counter, I will have to do some camouflaging there. I have aqua glitter paint if I want to do a retro glittery look then clear coat it. Or I can try a more speckled look. The glitter is certainly the easy route.
My quickly Photoshopped color plan (minus the clock)
So far the kitchen has been scrubbed, partially disassembled, sanded, and partially primed. I can’t take the clock hand off because they are on there with a strange brad. I’ll have to hand paint that area. My next step is to test the silver spray paint. If that works (I got a very small can) I will get it in aqua and lime for the knobs and counter.
Threadless $10 Sale!
Time for another sale over at Threadless! $10 tees through Tuesday 8/23! If you plan to order, you can use my links so they know I referred you. Oh, and hoodies are 20% off as well!
Here are some I’d pick for Jax and I if clothes were in the budget right now (and yes, I’m a bit of a hippie!):
Thrift Store Gems
We hit the motherload at the kids’ thrift store today!
Jax has been having trouble sleeping due to teething, so we were up and ready for our day a little late. The local kid’s thrift store opens at 10 am, so we had breakfast to waste a little time before heading over. I was hoping for some board books and was keeping my eyes out for a wooden kitchen to refurbish. I didn’t expect to find one (they always had small, ugly plastic ones) so I planned to drive over to the adult thrift store after to check for small hutches I could convert.
But, what did I see when I walked in the door? A 100% wooden (be it mostly MDF) kitchen for $12.25! It is missing the large door (the shopkeeper offered to hold it for me if it turns up), but I think I’ll leave it open and put wire baskets on the shelves. The backsplash shelf is broken off but intact. The faucet needs to be reattached and some of the knobs are glued together a little wonky. All-in-all it just needs a good scrub (there is dirt and mulch inside it), a sanding, several coats of paint and some nails and screws.
I’ll have to get some number decals for the clock as it will get painted over. I’m thinking bright red for the whole thing, with all the door and accents in silver. Maybe a magnetic primer under the “fridge” door for magnets. Should I do something special to the backsplash? It will have its shelf halfway down. I love that the sink is wood so I can paint that too! If any of you hardware-inclined friends have suggestions on reattaching the shelf and faucet, let me know – L brackets under the shelf? This is going to be a fun, quick project now that I only have to paint!
We got lucky in other ways at the store too. I found 4 great board books for Jax. He is BIG into being read to now, and I have to read him at least a dozen books every night (or the same one 10 times!) The thrift store is great for books because they sell them for 10% of the cover price – meaning they were all 59 – 79 cents each! We found: Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book
I also got a Melissa & Doug Rainbow Stacker
Do you thrift shop? I used to in college and only recently started up again. Reusing is great for the environment AND your wallet!
Necklace Giveaway!
Time for a giveaway! The prize is a necklace handmade by me and perfect for fall. It would look great with both work and casual clothes. The necklace is made of beautiful green-blue stone beads with hints of yellow, round wood beads, small glass seed beads and a wooden pendant. The clasp is magnetic, so it’s easy to put on and off.
To enter, like us on Facebook (if you haven’t already). For a second entry, follow me on Twitter (if you haven’t already). Then come back here and leave a comment letting me know which of the two you completed. Make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if win.
The contest will run until noon on Saturday. I almost want to keep the prize for myself, but I have one more pendant to make my own.
Good luck!