Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all, And to all a Good Night!

Some of my faves from Pinterest tonight-

Three Things

1. I almost shopped til I dropped today. I just wanted to be done. And I almost am. Just a few more things to get. I even WRAPPED them all this afternoon. I am way ahead of the game.

2. Tomorrow will be filled with lots of cookie baking and crochet making.

3. Here are pictures of our basement after putting in about 10 hours (broken up into three different days) of work. We are hoping to hang that puffy Ikea chair in the near future.

Please pray we won't get flooded again this spring. I might lose it.

This is our storage room.

 This is part of the exercise portion of the room. Please excuse the boxes of garbage that I haven't disposed of yet.

 This is the other part.

 This is where the air hockey table will go. (it's in my in-laws garage still)

 Toys.

 And more toys.

 And PING-PONG!

The boys (including Scott) have been loving it down there!

Today's Obsession

Here are pictures of my scarf that I promised. It is keeping my nice and warm in this chilly weather we've been having!

 

This was our basement back in April of this year. Most of our belongings were soaked in three inches of water. I blogged about it here.

 

 

I also shared pictures of what it looked like after it dried out. It was still a disaster and a very long road to get it all cleaned up. This summer I worked on the basement some and tried to get rid of most of the boxes.

But there still were a few. It has been a nagging annoyance to me ever since.

So that is what I worked on today. I was determined to get it all organized and put up our ping-pong table. Well.....I didn't get that far but I am a lot closer. So that is my project for this weekend. One of them. I hope to have it put together as a fun, usable space for us to work out in and the boys to play in.

Pictures coming soon.

Have a great weekend!

Window Chalkboard

I was tired of looking at the blank wall in my dining room. I've had an old window for quite some time. It was given to me by a friend that knows I like that kind of stuff. So, I thought, why not make it into a chalkboard?

I've been loving the different chalkboards around the blogosphere that display Christmas quotes or songs or verses.
So I went to the store and bought some chalkboard spray paint. I decided it would be fun for it to be magnetic too. So I purchased some magnetic primer. I also needed the plywood to insert in my window. I was glad to find they sell it in a small section at Menards since I didn't need much.

 I put on three coats of the magnetic primer. But when it was all dry, I was very disappointed to find it was not very magnetic. A lightweight magnet would stay put. But anything heavier and it would slide right off. I gave up. I guess it will just be a chalkboard and not magnetic at all.

Once it was primed I spray painted it with chalkboard paint down in my basement furnace room. It was too cold out in the garage.

Then I cut the board to fit in the open window and secured it using some mirror clips I had on hand.

 

To hang it on the wall I used this system. I love it. It comes with a little level and can hold up to 100 lbs. One strip goes on the wall and one goes on what you are hanging up.

Any new chalkboard surface needs to be completely covered in chalk before writing on it. Then erase it and it's ready to go!

I got a chalkboard idea off of Pinterest and copied it.

I also made a snowball chain with some white yarn to help decorate it.

I want to do something on the right side where the wood is. I'd like to make something that can hold the Christmas cards that come in the mail. Maybe I can construct something with wire and tack it up. And then in the warmer months put something else there.

Anyone have any ideas for it?

DIY Ornaments

I saw a really cool tutorial on Pinterest for making your own ornaments and thought I would give it a try.
This is what theirs looked like-

via

I didn't use glittered Mod Podge.
And I didn't have twine so I used hemp instead.
I had to buy balloons. Otherwise I had everything on hand to make these.

I taped the hemp string onto the balloon and then wound it around.

Then I doused it in watered down glue and hung it up to dry.

 I stuck feathers on one and dusted another with glitter,

I only wish I would have made more!

I did try another ornament. I found styrofoam balls in my craft supplies. I dunked them into the bowl of glue and tried to stick feathers to them.

Complete fail. I was told that they look like little animals. I haven't attempted to hang them on the tree. I'm not sure what to do with them.

Do you have any diy ornaments on your tree?

New Scarf & 1920s Pictures

I have been churning out crafts like crazy. Something about Christmas make me want to do some homemade things.

I followed instructions from this site and made myself a scarf!

For my scarf- I used size K crochet hook because I didn't have a size P. And I combined white and grey yarn to make it thicker. This is a picture in process. The end project is a lot wider. I will post a finished one soon.

Here are some pictures from the 1920s Murder Mystery we went to this past weekend. I blogged about it here and here.

We had a ton of fun!

Family Pictures

Last minute, before we left for Iowa, I hastily packed some shirts that would kind of coordinate to do family pictures while we were away.

They turned out okay. It probably took a whole 10 minutes to do. The boys (including Scott) weren't really into it. Especially one very unhappy boy. The pictures will tell all.

If I would have had more time, I would have thought to separate the two flannel shirts. And maybe ironed some shirts!

I did pictures of a couple other families but they are for Christmas cards. So, for those that know them, you will see them soon!

We did a big group shot the morning we were leaving to come back to Michigan. Hence the comfy clothes and sweatshirts!

Have a great weekend!