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(Thanks, Grandmother, for the new vocabulary word this week.  )
We've had some busy going on around here, but in the midst some play too.
Saturday the burn ban was finally lifted from the area and we had quite a pile to burn. Shelton was nominated watch out fireman as Robert and Scott hauled brush onto the fire. He took his job seriously of course... drenching everyone.
Mom and dad hosted the kid's open house for the end of the year school displays~
The older kiddos put on a wonderful performance of their history units my mom has been teaching them. The boys had great fun helping me design their costumes for the evening:
  
(Martin Luther, Charlemagne, and Christopher Columbus.)
They displayed the crafts they did with each study unit as well. This one was my favorite - their castle made of all sorts of food boxes, rolls, cardboard, etc. and then painted. They LOVED making it.
The boys read (Scott memorized) the important facts about the men they dressed up as - this was Christian's paper he read to the rest of us -- he said he cut it up to make it look "old."
Monday afternoon, one son made bubbles his favorite past-time - from the roof of the car. The wind was nice and he sat for a long time just blowing away.
Little Bro joined him for side by side silent fellowship:
(aperture f'/4, shutter speed 1/1600, ISO 100, Lens 85.0mm manual mode.)
The last few weeks I've worked a little project here and there 'round the house - making things out of nothing, Morgan always by my side, joining in. Here are a few of the most recent creations on a penny budget:
This is a little long narrow box made out of old wood - spray painted just lightly black and then white heavier on the over coat - rubbing the white off before totally dry to show through a little wood and black. Then "W" stamped on...
Inside the box are little candles (tea lights) that we found at Hobby Lobby on sale (something like 12 for a few dollars!) It is now home in my kitchen near the sink and I love it:
 
(I took some old work string from the shed to add the detail on the side of the long wooden box.)
I found this little steal of a deal at the Goodwill a few weeks ago - under a dollar. I had several small lose books sitting on the chair by the bed that kept falling off or papers falling out of. Now they all fit perfectly into this little metal basket on the chair and stay put:
I love indoor plants that are easy care and add some green and life to the decor. Morgan and I bought these little tropics at the grocery store the other day for 99 cents and then went to the thrift store and bought used white deep cereal bowls for 29 cents a piece to plant our little plants in:
Morgan waters them for me every other day and I love my little "bowl palm trees" that remind me of the beach.
We've also been planting herbs in the kitchen - they are growing wonderfully! And the boys are so curious about how I can cook with these "plants" and how a leaf of mint can be put in their water and it taste yummy.
I love lettering - especially labeling things that are special. I put my photo albums of Robert and I in this $5. metal basket and titled it accordingly - though wasn't bought at the Goodwill, it nearly matches the small one I bought for my little books:
Here's a fun little way we created to display pictures ~ paper clips and tacs! Yep, stuff you most likely already have around! So fun when that happens. Anyway, we took metal and black paper clips and tacs and put the tacs around the paper clips and nailed them in the wall in a line - then you can hang pictures, switch them out whenever!
(Plain tacs would have been fine, but I saw these a month or so back at an office store when out with Robert and they were so pretty and cheap too!)
At the other end of the house we discovered another way to display pictures - a wood frame I built out of old wood, covered with vintage fabrics glue gunned on, and then a grill the boys found in the woods nailed onto the frame. Again, the pictures can always be easily switched out - or something like this would work nicely for papers or reminders and such in a kitchen or laundry room:
Besides just pictures I love to put up sweet reminders around the house. I found two matching white washed wood frames at the thrift store for 99 cents each. They didn't have glass in them - there were some old paintings I wasn't so fond of in the frames.
I tossed the paintings and used crate paper (I love to gift wrap with this stuff!), old work string, canvas material and some black paint (Shelton helped me paint the lettering.)
(One of the frames now says, "LOVE" and the other "LIVE.")
Another fun decoration and display to do with frames beyond pictures is nature ~ I love the beautiful whites of shells and sand dollars particularly. Here I took some old frames I bought years ago at Ross for about $5.99 each. They already had the double matte in them. I removed the glass and took an old bamboo placemat Robert brought home a long time ago he found somewhere... I cut that up in the size of the opening and then glued on the sand dollar in the center. I love the way they turned out - there is a pair of them now framed in my living room:
I think this idea would work nice with a set of four frames as well - using different types of shells, wording/quotes, or even leaves. You can purchase bamboo placemats right now at Target I noticed in the dollar section - they come in a pack of four rolled together and I think if I remember right were about $2. or $3. dollars for four.)
Some other shell creations we put together that take just minutes: shells, hot glue, spray paint, and old work string.
As the fad of glass blocks in construction moves out, there are plenty of these lying around now up for grabs. Robert bought these home to me that were taken out and replaced with windows - The kids and I cleaned them up and now they are stacked in a fun way on the coffee table in the living room:
Who says only second hand shops have the deals~ ? My sister and I were out a few weeks back and I found this fun little square thing for TWENTY-FIVE cents at Burlington Coat Factory. Yes, there were a few dents and such - but I like that look anyway and it's perfect for the books I wanted to put by the chair in the living room for the children to be able to look at and read:
Same store had some wonderful decor pillows - a huge pile of them for under $10. - I got mine for $4.99. They are super fun and match my living room nicely... and what else is fun is that I saw some very much like them in a Pottery Barn magazine for about 10 times the price!
(wood beads and netting with a warm tone and beachy feel.)
A client of my husband's was cleaning out and was tossing this fun canvas container - it's old and has a great look to it and lettering too. The boys sprayed it out with soap and water and out in the sun to dry - it works great for my photo scrap books I did back in the day when I only had a few kiddos!
Along with the "Walgreen Houston" container he brought home to me a few weeks ago were some other old wood boxes of sorts with lettering and old labels like this one at the top of the book case.
I was really needing a book case in the living area for all of Robert's books. This one was pulled out of a closet of another client that was ridding of stuff and throwing it away. The cheapest book case I'd seen until this one was one on Craig's List for $15 - but I didn't have $15 to spare that week so... I waited and prayed God would provide one! It was white and in need of some extra screws. Scott fixed it up great and I painted it one afternoon on the back porch while the children were playing outdoors. I took steel wool and ran over the edges several times before letting it dry.
It is sturdy and works great for the books that were once all over the floor in stacks:
(the modern lap is another trashcan find - Robert is great at re-wiring and fixing lamps for me!)
One thing I really like a lot is small little chairs for small little people - over the last ten years I've picked ones up here and there - never paying much at all - thrift stores, and garage sales and flea markets mostly. Last week I found this one at a kid's consignment shop that I had credit at from selling them some of my kid's clothes!
Morgan and Brighton especially like it!
So the rest of the once realty company building we are renting is slowly coming together, a penny here, a penny there and with some creativity and brainstorming and hands on activities that the children can enjoy along with me ~ hopefully will be able to show the living room soon.
Another new little creation around here:
River afternoons have produced some fun little friends brought home. Two little river cooter turtles now live in an old metal tub in the back yard by a tree. The kids are especially fond of the baby one. It has done everything from sliding down slides to rolling upside down to eating garlic and carrots.
We've two other new members of the family that arrived yesterday - but that is a whole post in and of itself. Their names are Humphrey and Clover. Have any guesses what they are?
The tire swing continues to be a fav around here with the children - having to time their turns isn't always easy though, since they typically seem to all want to swing at the same time! - we could use about five more hanging from trees. But that might be a bit of an overkill for the yard...
"Shot" my last portrait session clients this evening scheduled before the baby comes. I made this week my cut off week for scheduling work so those of you messaging about a session, please try me in the month of July. I will be back to scheduling sessions about that time...
That's all the "Olio" for now...
a. ann~ |
| | Posted 5/13/2009 7:22 PM - 7890 Views - 66 eProps - 42 comments
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So, Humphrey and Clover ~ are you rabbits?
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