Monogrammed Door Mat

I finally threw away the door mat that we received as a wedding gift almost a decade ago. It was sun-faded and falling apart. Nasty! I did not know those things were so expensive until I tried to replace it. If you want something substantial and cute, it will cost you at least $25. I really liked the monogrammed ones at Bed, Bath and Beyond but was unwilling to spend the money.

I found a plain and inexpensive one at Walmart and decided to dress it up. I have seen lots of painted and spray painted rugs in blogland and decided to give it a try. I had a "W" magnet that I thought would be the perfect size for a monogram on the mat.

I taped off the area around the "W" and sprayed it with some gloss black spray paint. It took about 3 coats to get the coverage that I wanted, though I think that I would have used flat paint if I had had some on hand.



This quick project really helped to make our front door a little more welcoming.

Gone Fishing!

I have wanted to make this magnetic fishing game since I first saw it at Frugal Decor Mom way back in April. On a recent trip to JoAnn's I found three coordinating fabric remnants for less than $5 and knew that they would be perfect! A few days later, while at Walgreen's, I spied several sand buckets on clearance for $0.50 each. You bet your booty I snatched up every last one that they had!

Finding such great deals on the supplies that I needed was the push that I needed to get to work. I immediately looked up the original tutorial here, traced the fish shape off of my computer screen and got to work tracing and cutting. I whipped together about 25 fish and stuffed them. Then I got stuck. I did not have coordinating thread to close up the hole from turning and stuffing the fish. I tried white thread and it looked awful! Also, I needed washers for the magnet to stick to.

The kids were so excited to try out the game and I would not let them play with the fish because I could see fiberfill all over the house! I received the motivation that I needed to get them put together when the neighbor invited the kids and I over and showed them how to cast and reel a fishing pole. This may not seem like much of a motivator, but this activity kept the kids entertained for over an hour! I ran out and bought coordinating thread and begged some washers off Randy's grandpa- he has an abundance of them in his garage and was happy to donate to my project!
Once I had all of my supplies, I spent the kids naptimes stitching the fish closed and adding the washers to their noses. They are so cute!



I was able to make enough fish and acquire enough buckets that I plan to give one to each of my nephews as well!


My kids were so excited to finally be able to play with their fish! Unfortunately they prefer to run around in nothing but underwear while at home (which I am ok with because it saves on laundry!) so I was unable to take any pictures! I plan to give one to my nephew for his birthday this weekend, so hopefully I will get some pictures then!

I have really enjoyed using my sewing machine and have plans to make more fish once I find some more fabric. I would also like to make some like these with the math/counting manipulatives like Counting Coconuts did on her blog. What projects have you finished lately?

Project ADHD- Too much going on to focus on one thing

Though I have not been posting recently, it is definitely not because there is nothing going on as far as crafting or decor. Rather, just the opposite. I am in the middle of several projects right now and not at a point where I am ready to share any of them. I recently showed a reveal of our made over living room. Something just did not look, right, so I have actually made a few more changes in the room. We are still waiting on the arrival of another sofa. As soon as the sofa arrives, I plan to do another reveal.
I have also been slowly adding to my photo gallery wall. It is looking pretty good so far! I recently saw a sconce wall on another blog that I read and have decided to mix in a few sconces for some variety and interest.
My daughter's 4th birthday is coming up in less than a month, so I have also been thinking up ideas for invitations and decor. We recently held a Thomas themed party for my son, and I had a blast putting it all together. I have lots of ideas for The Little Mermaid theme my daughter has chosen and need to get to work crafting!
Finally, my husband and I have spent a lot of time cleaning up the exterior of our home. We cleaned up some oddities in our backyard by moving a randomly placed rock in the middle of our yard and removing several large piles of dirt. We did have a bon fire to burn up the large shrub we removed but have yet to buy the rock to finish off the planter box we put up in it's place. Finally we have hired contractors to roof and side our house. We knew that the house needed it when we moved in, but I never in my wildest dreams imagined that we would be having this work done already. I am so excited for this to be finished and to see the final product!

Project Ideas and Inspiration

It is a vicious cycle. As an aide with the local school district, I am off work for the summer, unpaid. Though it has been great to be at home with my children full time, I have so many things that I want to do to the house right now, but I have no money coming in. Once I start back to work in a few weeks, I should have the money, but not enough time to do the projects. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have been using my free time to read several really great blogs and get a few ideas for projects that I would like to do in the near future. The Thrifty Decor Chick has an obsession with all things moulding and beadboard. You can see her awesome beadboard kitchen backsplash here. I really want to attempt beadboard, chair rail and crown moulding in my main bathroom. I think that these elements would really help to dress up this space.
The contributors over at Better After have done an awesome job of refinishing old furniture to give it new life. I would love to find a chest of drawers that I could refinish to go in my master bedroom.
Finally, Becky at Infarrantly Creative recently reupholstered an old love seat, which you can see here. This got me excited for a project I have been sitting on for about 2 years. I have a chair in my son's room that is in dire need of a reupholster job. You can see the chair in the corner of this picture.
I do have some fabric that I planned on using for this project, I am just getting up the nerve to attempt this on my own. Actually, my mom is coming to visit soon and I am planning to ask her advice on how to do it. Hopefully, I can attempt that project in the three weeks that I have before going back to school!