Phases

I’ve been searching for *something* to go behind my couch for well over a year now. One time I came close. I found a cabinet, but it had a “HOLD” tag on it. And the hold until date had passed. But they still wouldn’t sell it to me.

I was thrifting last month and found this buffet. It was obviously way too big (note my 4’ 10” child laying on top to demonstrate just how big), but the price was right.

Phase 1:

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I called my dad and said “bring a saw”. He gets scared when I do that. We hacked 10” off the legs and then reattached the feet.

Phase 2:

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Just yesterday I finished Phase 3:

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I KNOW I’ll be hearing from you wood purists, but you didn’t think someone with an aqua piano could leave it alone, did you?

I’m still going to rough it up a bit and glaze it, I think.

Man I love orange!

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Flakey

I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t get my crap together as of late.

Do you ever feel like you’re just doing a haphazard (totally just used the thesaurus to find something that meant half @$$ed but was more family friendly) job of everything and a good job at nothing?

That’s me.

Campbell started preschool today.

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If you’re his mom (and I realize none of you are), you can see the anxiety all over his face.

This time of year is hard for him. I wonder if he needs more sunlight or vitamins or sleep or something. Or, maybe that’s just how Asperger’s rolls.

Lucky for me, this guy takes a nap during preschool.

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I’m thinking 2 hours of peace and quiet 3 times a week could be just what I need to undo my flakey funk.

I’ve got BIG plans to answer emails tomorrow.

Today?

I’m going to take a nap.

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Lap Desk Makeover

Macy’s developed a recent bizarre obsession with lap desks.

I blame Pottery Barn Teen. Theirs are SEVENTY NINE dollars. SEVENTY NINE!!!

We have an outlet near here that sells Pottery Barn stuff that’s damaged or mis-monogrammed. We picked up this one for $10.

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(Hey Matti…I have your desk!)

I removed the screws and took the lid off its hinges.

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Then I sanded the top. The letters were painted on, so I need to make sure to get rid of any ridges. I also wanted to rough up the old finish a bit.

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Then I wiped it down well with a damp cloth. I don’t really think this next step is necessary, but I did it. So, I’m including it.

I taped off the bottom, just so I wouldn’t get any overspray.

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And then I went outside and sprayed.

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I used spray chalkboard paint. I’ll be honest with you…I didn’t love it. If I wanted a chalkboard finish again, I’d use the brush on kind and just do a couple of light coats with a sponge roller. If you don’t care about it chalkboard-ness of it all, just go ahead and use regular spray paint.

And then I reattached the lid.

Finished product?

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Now we’re both happy…for way way WAY less than SEVENTY NINE dollars. ;)

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A few more things you can do with a Silhouette

(And poorly photograph, too!)

You can entertain a couple of 10-11 year olds with a certain meat obsession.

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Or, you can have a Saved By The Bell marathon with a couple of your favorite teenagers and make these:

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The lettering is heat transfer from Silhouette. The font is Keep On Truckin’. The technique for the glittery heart came from the cover of this month’s Family Fun magazine. Go here to see how!

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Fabric Covered Composition Book

One of the activities that each girl I took to camp is supposed to do daily is write in her journal. We decided to make it a little more fun by giving them a specific camp journal. We were also on a tight budget, so we needed to keep it cheap.

This time of year, you can often find composition books for next to nothing (my camp assistant picked ours up for 11 cents each!!!), and we needed 25. So, fancying up a composition book seemed like our best option.

I sat down and searched online, but everything I found was either paper covered or involved sewing. I wanted fabric and I wanted no-sew (geez I’m picky). After a little trial and error, here’s what I came up with.

Supplies:

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Composition book
Fabric (cotton works best for Mod Podge-ing)
Mod Podge
Glue stick
Foam brush
Cardstock

Cut/rip/whatever 2 pieces of fabric 1-2” bigger than your composition book. My pieces were 7.5” X 11.5”. You’re going to “hem” one of the long edges (that will butt up against the black spine of the book) using a glue stick.

Run the glue stick along your edge on the wrong side. I did the bottom one.

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Fold up approximately 1/4” along the edge and press down to glue in place.

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Do this to both pieces of fabric.

Brush some Mod Podge on the front of the composition book, right up next to the black spine.

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Position your fabric evenly and push your glue hemmed edge right up next to the black spine. Smooth the fabric out on the Mod Podge.

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Flip the fabric back and spread Mod Podge on the rest of the composition book.

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Smooth and press in place.

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I put a piece of wax paper between my cover and the pages. Mod Podge doesn’t stick to wax paper. Then I flipped it over and did the same thing to the back of the composition book.

Open the cover and glue down the outside edge.

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I found it worked best to glue down a small angled corner section next, like this:

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And then finish up with the top and the bottom.

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Leave the wax paper inside and flip the book over and do the same to the back cover.

Once it’s dry, take 2 pieces of cardstock and cut them slightly smaller than your composition book.

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I tried Mod Podge to glue the cardstock down but it was bubbly and messy. I used some Terrifically Tacky Tape and it was fabulous, but also expensive. If I were making one or 2 journals, this would be my adhesive of choice. For 25? I used a tape roller.

I ran some tape down the edges of the cardstock and then placed it inside of the cover. I smoothed down the edges with a bone folder because Martha Stewart told me to use one. ;)

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Do the same to the back cover.

You can stop there:

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(You should probably wait for the glue to dry before you take pictures…)

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(See? That looks awful!)

Or, you might want to embellish. The journals I did for camp were all the same boring off-white.

AccuQuilt GO! to the rescue! I cut out dozens and dozens of flower shapes using my Funky Flowers die. If you don’t have a GO! Cutter, you could easily cut out flower (or other) shapes by hand. And provided you’re not making 25 journals, it might even be sort of relaxing. ;)

Once we got to camp, we let each girl personalize her journal by Mod Podge-ing flowers to the cover.

Here’s my example:

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And here are a few of the ones the girls did:

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If you make one, I’d love to have you add it to the Flickr group!

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September

How’d you get here already?

September’s my favorite month of the entire year…it’s my anniversary and my birthday, but I don’t think that’s why.

I love that it’s cool enough to sleep with the windows open and lots of covers on.

I love the produce stands.

I love that yard work season is almost over.

I love the sense of normalcy and routine that returns.

These guys went back to school last week:

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(Yes…she really wore a shirt that said “proud 2B nerdy” to her first day of school.  She is SO her mother’s child.)

My house was cleaner 2 days in than it had been all summer.

Last weekend, whilst I was napping, this happened:

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(Oh the irony of one kid wearing a helmet and the other 2 running barefoot in the middle of the road !)

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He TOLD us he could ride a bike without training wheels.  Silly mom for doubting a 4 year old!

And in one week, we get to see 3 of our very favorite people.

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September’s shaping up quite nicely.

 

What are you looking forward to this month?

 

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