Catching up with Blogland

Wow! Where has the time gone?  Between Halloween parties, United Nations Day, Potlucks, Trick-or-treating and a Fundraiser Golf Tournament for the school,  I'm feeling a little tuckered out.

I haven't been crafting all the much lately, but I do have some pictures to share.

Last week, the boys had a wonderful United Nations Day celebration at their school.  It was a fun time for them to dress up and sing songs.  

Here's my "Boo" dressed up in a Canada shirt.

Here's my "Punkin" in his outfit from China.

We were supposed to bring a savory dish from any country we desire.  I am all out of creative juices for the time being, so I just brought pigs in a blanket and ham rolls.  I know it's not much on the savory part, but it was quick and easy to make.

Next we moved into Halloween parties.  I did make a little ghost for the occasion.

This was super easy to make and I'm sure I can figure a way to make something like a Turkey for Thanksgiving out of the leftover cheesecloth.  Guess I'll have to get on that soon.

Materials: Styrofoam ball, Soda bottle, Cheesecloth, Wire,  Tape and Aleene's Stiffen Quik
Drape cheesecloth and spray. It takes about 3-4 spray and dries to get it to stiffen.

Next I decorated with black felt and glue.
All done!

We played games, won prizes, ate super yummy food and shared smiles for the evening.  I made Owl Pellets for one of the prizes.  Martha Stewart gives a great tutorial and label printout here.

Newspaper puree and some dollar store trinkets cut up
and you now have Owl Pellets!

Protectors, Mr. Boba Fett and Mr. Policeman

The Protected, "Miss Bubbles" as Snow White

I hope everyone had a safe and fun-filled weekend! Now it's time to start decorating and dinner planning for Thanksgiving!  My favorite Holiday of all!

All About Me Post

Hi Ya'll!  In celebration for Funky Junk Interiors 3000 Followers post!  

Here's a little about Me.

I first have to say, I'm finding this task difficult to do, but I really want to help celebrate such a tremendous accomplishment! Whoo-Hooo!

Who I am

My name is Jenny or Jen, although I was born with the name Jennifer, but please don't call me that, only if I'm in trouble.  And I don't like to be in trouble.  Even the name "Hey You" works well for me!  I'm a recent Blogaholic.  I'm truly addicted to Funky Junk's adventures and many others!

I am a Mama to 4 children.  3 boys and a girl.  The oldest just turned 14 today! And the other three are 5 and under.  My littlest is a total Girly Girl and I'm hoping that she will teach me how to be more like one! 

(my comfort zone = jeans and cotton t-shirts)  

I'm not going to lie, finding the energy to keep up with them and being consistent in their life training is proving to be a HUGE task for me.  

The name Blueberry Jambalaya Fairy came from my kids.  Jambalaya is cooked weekly in this house and everyone is a fan.  Blueberries are a sheer pleasure to eat and we can never have enough of them!  The Fairy part comes from "Miss Bubbles", (as I fondly call her), my little girl.  She walks on her toes!  

I have a wonderful Husband who supports me and my crazy ideas.  Although He still ask the question, "and why did you bring this into the house".   

What I like

I simply adore taking photos of my Little Blessings.  They crack me up and make life worthwhile.  I like to dabble in anything I can get my hands on, photography, painting, sewing, baking, and finding cheaper ways to get what I want.  I get super excited about recycling old or unwanted items into useful items.  I'm a firm believer that a quilt should be used and not hanged and Laughter IS The Best Medicine.  

Where I live

I live in sunny California.  Born here, but not raised.  I consider myself a Southerner, being raised in Louisiana and Virginia.  I had quite an unusual accent for a super long time.  (Cajun/Southern Bell = Cajun Bell) 

Things that I enjoy in Ca. 

Walking in my backyard and picking fruit right off the trees.

Living in the valley, I love the cool wind in my hair.

Escaping to the beach for the weekend.

Climbing up to the Mountains for some snow.

My Special place is just at home with my Family.

Happy 3000 Followers Funky Junk! And thank you for a super fun post idea!

Thank you for taking the time to read a little about me!

Sick kids and Lazy Projects

I have taken a much needed break from Blogland.  Boy I felt a little out of the loop for a while, but I have to say, it was nice not having to sit in front of the computer staring at the screen.  My kids were sick the majority of last week and just when I thought we were in the clear, my Little Man throws up on Friday evening all over a restaurant.  Poor guy. We don't go out to eat much, and this was supposed to be a SPECIAL Birthday dinner for our oldest.  The restaurant was in the next town over approx. 15 mins. away, and it took us well over an hour to get home, from having to pull over on the side of the road (twice).   Luckily I had a ziplock baggie in the car to catch just about everything.  Sigh.  Here's hoping it doesn't spread. :)

I didn't have enough candles, so the star candle represents age 10.

So, while away from the computer, I did do a little bit of crafting, lazy crafting is what I call it.  Even though it's 100 degrees outside and will continue to be for the week, I finally got down some of the Halloween decorations for the kids to enjoy.  At least it put a smile on their faces. 

Also, if you haven't heard yet, there are a few Super Cool Silhouette giveaways going on right now!  Check 'em out!

How Does She?

The Crafty Crow

Living Locurto

I decided to get out some of the recycled baby jars and have a little fun with them. Here are two examples of what you can use them for!

All I did was cutout and ModgePodge some expressions onto a baby food jar.  I found the middle candle holder at the local Thrift Shop.

This next example took a tad bit more work, but not much.  The kids drew faces onto ConTac paper and we cut them out.  Placed them on clean baby food jars and spray painted the jars black.   Let them dry and peel the stickers off. Fun. Easy. Fast.

I guess these would be much cuter if I had rafia or some fun ribbon to tie around the top.  Unfortunately, I don't have any on hand. 

I took a foam orange pumpkin and spray painted it Antique White.  Somehow it turned out glossy looking and I totally got lucky because it looks like porcelain!

Particle Board Made Pretty

I recently scored a few pieces of particle board from Freecycle.  My Husband looked at me like "What??? You are bringing more junk into our house?" Little did he know that I had plans for him to help me with my "Junk".  I had him cut down the boards into 5x5's.  He was kind enough to not ask questions and just do it for me. I would do it myself, but I think that the thought of me touching his hand tools might make him go into cardiogenic shock.  So he happily agreed to do it for me!  See how ~sweet~!

I love this project because I get an instant result and be sloppy with it!

Get your wood cut to size.

Then grab a hodgepodge of stuff.

Mod Podge, Acrylic paint, Paint brush, Scrapbooking paper, Sand paper, Distressing Ink, Stamps, and vinyl or in my case I used a rub on.

 

Paint the board with your acrylic paint.  No need to get the whole thing just mainly the sides and some of the front and back.  

Place your scrap paper onto the front and back surface of your block and tear off the edges to fit. Paper does not have to be perfect.  Mod Podge it on and squeegee out any bubbles you may have.  

Sand down the edges and corners of the block and paper.

Use the Distressing Ink onto the paper. 

Next, I used a large stamp and a soft pink color to decorate the front of the block. I also used a Rub On in the corner.

I thought it would be nice to hang it so....

I cut a small piece of Multi-Purpose wire (16 guage) with wire cutters and wrapped it around a small screwdriver to get the coil effect.  

Hammered down and pulled out a nail into two places on the top of the block. Equal distance from the sides.  Gorilla glued the Multi-Purpose wire and stuck into hammered holes on the block.  

Used fabric to decorate.  I'm thinking about making some for Halloween.  These would make great personal gifts for someone special!

TwoFer!

Whoo-Hoo! This is a two in one kind of post!

I think I need to go BIGGER! Not enough, right?  I'm doing this old school.  I'm sure if you add up the time it took me to trace and cut everyone of these sweet little birds, it would've been cheaper just to buy them pre-made from the store or from someone with a Cricut machine.  But this was made with some extra love, and I think I named each bird while thoughtfully cutting them out by hand.  My new best friend helped me to adhere them to the wall.

Here's what I did:

I printed out a bird template from the computer.

Cut out the bird and traced it on the side of a used pasta box.  

Used an exacto knife to cut out the bird.  Now you have two sturdy templates to work from.  Trace as many as you wish onto some white cardstock or sturdy paper.  I used leftover blank Thank You note cards as my stock paper.  Cut out each bird AND...


Here's where my New Best Friend comes in!

Ever see these in the store? LOOOVVVVEEE EM!  No mess, no fuss, just stick em up and they do all the work for you!  Leaves no residue on the wall if you need to take them off!  They come in many different sizes and brands!

The canvas art was easy peasy to do as well!  I bought the canvas for $3 at BIG LOTS.

Take it out of the shrinkwrap and paint it!

I just used acrylic paint for this.

I used a cup and a quarter to create circles from scrapbook paper.

Glue stick came in handy for sticking them together. 

Next, just hang on wall!

Labor Day

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day!  I have an updated photo of my last project in it's new home! Yay! After rearranging two rooms just to get this baby up, it finally has a place.   I'm surprised as to how much light it gives off.  I thought it would be a cool night light or mood light, but it's actually much brighter than that.

I totally scored with this cute trunk at TJMAX & More on clearance.  Originally $69 marked down to $49 and then I bargained it down to $30 because I told the manager that the handles were broken.   After paying for it, I quickly got it into the car snickering all the way home.  Who doesn't love a bargain?  I knew that I could do something else with the handles, so I sniped off the faux white leather handles and braided some fabric and tied it through the handle slits.  Good as new!

String Lantern

This project makes me want to bust out in song! "I got no strings to hold me down, to make me fret or make me frown.  I had strings, but now I'm free. I got no strings on me."

I am in the process of fixing up my Toddler's room.  I'm thinking I want to go earthy but chic.  I want it to look a little more grown up but playful.  She's only 16mos, but she's growing up fast. sigh.

This project was super easy, messy and fun!  Unfortunately a giant fun ball was harmed in this project.  Only for a good cause.

Materials:

Fabric Stiffener or Liquid Shaping Medium

Yarn (any color or kind)

A large ball or balloon

Scissors

Bucket or bowl (for soaking the yarn)

Light socket

Light bulb

1.  Place string into the bowl and pour Fabric Stiffener over the string to soak thoroughly.
2.  To start your first string on the ball, wrap the string all the way around and tie it into a knot.  This will prevent your string from slipping and moving around on you.
3.  Keep wrapping your soaked string until you feel it's enough.   As with the first string, tie off the end of your last string in a knot with another wrapped string on your project.
4.  Let it sit to harden. (24hrs)

5.  After it is fully dry and hard, use the back of a pencil and poke and push the ball/balloon away from the string to loosen it up.
6.  Cut a slit into the ball/balloon and let it fully deflate.
7.  With your scissors, cut a small hole, like a trap door into the string sphere.  Hole must be big enough for  a light bulb to fit.
8.  Pull out deflated ball/balloon with tweezers or hand.
9.  Assemble light bulb into light fixture and insert through your trap door.
10.  Pull out the female end of the cord through a large enough hole close to your trap door.  You can use scissors to snip a string here or there to make a hole large enough for your plug.  (This part is on top of your sphere so, it won't be as noticeable once it's hanging)
11.  Plug in and enjoy!

After creating this project, I wanted so badly for my husband to hang it up in Miss Bubbles room, but come to find out, we have to completely rearrange the entire room just to get this baby up.  Funny story, but we actually have to rearrange 2 rooms for this one light.  Needless to say, it's not up yet. :(  Guess I have some rearranging to do.