Dare to DIY, Week One

This is week one of The NewlyWoodwards' Dare to Do it Yourself blog party! This week's theme is Dare to Be Thankful....Thanksgiving projects shall ensue!

This is what I did last year for the party.

This year I obviously have less energy. ;-) I needed a project that was quick and made from things I already had...no trips to the big city for me this weekend.

Let's pretend my neverending kitchen project is finished and I'm ready to decorate....

this is a good start. ;-)

Meet Mr. Turkey and his little sign.

This is where it all began. Scrap wood in my basement...a chippy, dirty, nicely aged, painted board.

I cut two pieces off...and a few smaller scrappy boards to nail to the back to hold the two pieces together.


Fine craftsmanship, huh? ;-)




Next I needed a turkey. Making a turkey from wire is easier than you might think.


Here he is....now we need to connect his beak.

Poor broken beak turkey.

Just hold him underneath your tea mug and solder his beak together.

Paint the words on the boards.

Sand the words back off.

Attach Mr. Turkey with a few tiny nails and there you go.

Easy peasy funky Thanksgiving art.

Feeling right at home in my kitchen.

Chicken Napoleon

My little chicken, AKA Chicken Napoleon, is raring to go for Halloween. This was big brother's costume several years ago. Twice actually. The first year I painstackinly sewed those feathers on the costume, ordered the yellow tights, made the chicken hat.....and he wouldn't wear it. Refused, absolutely. He was little...and had no desire to be consumed by a pile of white feathers. The next year he had a change of heart....and a lot of coaching. He made a HAUL in this costume. Ladies were swooning at the door, dumping candy into his little pumpkin. He shared this bit of info with his baby brother. Thus the heightened interest in the costume.

The boy likes his candy.

He flapped.

Checked out his chicken legs.

And roosted.

Spooktacular September

Let's be scared of something fun!! Did you know it's Spooktacular September over at Eighteen25? I love me some Halloween fun!!! My beautiful Clancey Dylan was due on Halloween...October 31. Wouldn't that be a blast? Halloween parties EVERY YEAR!! But he came on October 26...close enough to count. :-)

Tomorrow is September 1...it's officially time to decorate for fall.

(And I couldn't stand looking at that last awful pathetic post at the top of my blog ANYMORE.)

First Day of First Grade

Today was my big guy's first day of first grade. And that happened....uh....how? First grade? Wasn't he just born? I'm pretty sure he was. I only get to have him, full time, for twelve more years. That's just not enough. He's just so great.

He's so fearless now....so independent....a "big kid".

On Monday night we attended the school's "back to school" night...a chance to drop off the armloads of supplies in their classroom, meet their teacher, find their locker. Yes, world, he has a locker now....and a desk.....a tiny, brown desk with his name on it. His teacher gave him this bus to color and bring back. Okay, so I have the most open minded worldly six year old on the planet. I'm just sayin'. Do you see the people on his bus?

Take a closer look. And trust me....we live in Iowa....enough said. White bread capital of the world. Oh how I miss Ames....my college town....diversity. But my little guy gets it...even if he doesn't see it everyday.

And little brother couldn't be outdone. (I'm getting the hang of this mommy gig....I photocopied the bus before Marsh started....I knew Clanc would want to color one too!!) He's equally equal opportunity....blue people, pink people....green dogs...we've got it all.)

So in honor of the first day we baked chocolate chip zucchini bread (and another very not healthy treat not to be mentioned....but oh how delicious....he he he.)

And while I baked my big guy did this....just because he wanted to help mommy, he said. And he did an awesome job.

I gave birth to him, he's all mine....for twelve more years at least.....

and then I'll just beg him to come home from college every weekend. ;-)

Thanksgiving Table...Free, Free, Cheap, Cheap

Week 2...Let's Party! This week we're "Daring to Entertain".....well....we were planning to entertain, but had a change of plans. The table was already set and my creative juices were flowing, so what the heck, I just kept setting and setting until it was done.....to be taken down tomorrow to make way for the CHRISTMAS TIDAL WAVE!! My sweet husband has already put up the "foyer tree" for me...so we have a little holiday overlap in our house right now.

Back to the party!

On a recent trip to the Restore I spotted this little beauty. What is it, you ask? I have no clue. BUT....it instantly shouted to me "I'M YOUR CENTERPIECE!! PUT ME ON TOP OF THAT GIANT TEETERING PILE YOU'RE ALREADY CARRYING!" Yes, it was a demanding piece of cabinetry or whatever it is, so it got it's way. (and yes, things often shout at me when I'm at the Restore or Goodwill......my husband would like me to wear earplugs ;-)

This is what it looked like, AFTER a dusting, PRIOR to a coat of my favorite gloss chocolate brown spray.

And in it's new life as my centerpiece....I think this is what it was meant to be. Worth every penny of the $2 I spent on it. Filled with things from our yard...bittersweet, lilac branches, dried hydrangeas (sprayed gold), Chinese elm, and flowering kale. Gotta love free!!

Darn it....the lighter AND my husband's bike ended up in this shot! But I still like it, so it stays!

Gobble gobble....I have a thing for turkeys this year.

Free, free, cheap, cheap! All the china is hand-me-down or Goodwill. LOVE the crystal...gobbled it all up at Goodwill recently!! 25 cent pumpkins from a "super store". Silverware was a wedding gift. Everything else was gathered in the yard.

See you at the next party!

Check out all the great tablescapes at NewlyWoodwards!

Do It Yourself Thanksgiving Decor

It's a blog party! This is my very first and I'm so excited to post my little projects! Thanks to Kim for getting us all motivated to spruce up for Thanksgiving. So here goes....

I'm more of a "before and after"kind of girl....hope you don't mind there are no "in progress" shots...I just plain stink at taking photos mid-process!

The Goodwill Cornucopia
Found this little cutie on a recent Goodwill spree. It was nice, but just not quite right....until a little spray paint saved the day. Excuse the horrendous photo of this one....just never seems to be the right light in our living room.Before...a perfectly respectable cornucopia....but.....

....that's better.

The Window Seat
For over a year our GORGEOUS...DOUBLE GORGEOUS...LOVE THEM SO MUCH I WOULD EAT THEM IF THEY WEREN'T MADE OF WOOD built in bookcases have been finished. Thanks Dad!!!! At one end is a charming little window seat...but the poor thing never got a cushion or even a single pillow...just a heap of little boy toys. Well that all changed my friends!!


Okay, okay...this shot is a little scary. Looks like some kind of fabric crime scene...I can hear the Law and Order theme song right now....anyway, this pile of...of....well stuff turned into this!! And the great thing about being thrifty is it makes a person ingenuitive...or at least that's the one I'm sticking with. I didn't have enough fabric to cover the entire windowseat cushion, so I covered one side in this yummy cream velvet and the other side in a smooth neutral print, so it's REVERSIBLE! YAY!

And lastly...but not leastly...
The Sign
On the very same overly indulgent day that I rescued the cornucopia from Goodwill I just happened to stop at the REStore as well...it was my lucky day folks. (Not according to my husband... some people, sheesh)
This cabinet door CALLED my name...it did....I really mean it. Along with enough other things that I was teetering a big pile all the way to the checkout...including the piece de resistance that I will debut next week....
Back to the task at hand. The door required a little sanding, a little wood putty, some paint and voila!Before
After...LOVE IT!!!! I painted the door with a satin finish...Cove Blue I think it was called...gotta love the paint at the REStore! The "thankful" part was the result of pouring a little of this and a little of that together, letting it dry, then sanding it down a little for a distressed look.

Be sure to head over to visit Kim at NewlyWoodwards to check out all the great projects!!

Goodbye Fall

Fall is here. Okay, really fall is almost over. Did I just say that? Where did fall go? Is fall hiding under a rock? Behind that tree? Under the bed? No, it's really almost gone. Dare I say, I even saw a commercial the other day for a CHRISTMAS MOVIE! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the holiday season. I would marry the holiday season, but I'm already married, so that's a no go. So anyway, I think Fall gets shortchanged.

We did something about that a weekend ago....a long walk at our local state park with two super fun little boys. A farewell to fall.......here we come Rudolph!

Halloween 2009...so far

"Mummies" for the kindergarten Halloween party today.....I didn't even eat one (should have)

The rockin'ist pirate on the block

Somewhere in uncharted waters the pirate comes upon a tribe of crazy two-year old natives....and parties down with them for a while.

And the crazy two year old changes into a sweet, soft puppy...

My Little Gem

Happy Fall from the VanOorts

After, first (because that's best anyway, isn't it?)


Before.....let us have a moment of silence for the best invention of the 20th century



....spray paint.