Wedding Signs

A bride-to-be contacted me about making one of my “Happily Ever After” signs for her December wedding, and I was happy to oblige.

She wanted it to look really old and rustic, so for the first time I did not use an old cupboard door for this sign.  Instead, I bought a piece of rough plywood that was knotty, uneven, and splinter-y! (I sanded the splinters off.  Or they came off in my fingers.  A little of both happened.)

I also made a “coordinating” sign for a display of family wedding pictures (what a fun idea!)…

…plus one for the hot chocolate table…

…and a couple more for other “stations” at the reception. (I love the big knothole in the middle of the “Gifts” sign.)

It was my first time making a whole wedding collection!

I guess it’s good practice for when my children start getting married off…hopefully that’s a few years away for me!

*********************************

Linking up here:

Center of Attention Deficit Disorder	The DIY Show Off
Sassafras Salvation

Office Concept

Believe it or not, it’s been at least two weeks now, and I have changed my mind about turning the front room to an “office” space.  I showed you a collection of my inspiration photos here, with this picture being my favorite (I think).

With your understanding that I have NO technical drawing skills, here’s a sketch of what I envision our “office wall” to look like:

Yes, even with graph paper I can’t draw a straight line!  You get the general idea.

Since this desk will be the first thing you see upon entering our home, I so want it to be pretty.  I can deal with the monitor on display—I guess that’s really no different than a television.  But I really want the CPU, router, and printer to all be tucked away behind doors.

The bookshelves on either side will hold books that meet my requirements of both functional and “pretty.”  I’d love for the area above the desk space to hold some vintage-y treasures, but I’m thinking if I spring for seeded glass, they could disguise more practical items!

This is the wall where the desk would go.  I took this picture early last fall, standing at the front door.  The left side doesn’t look like that anymore—the white entry table is gone (that’s where the suitcase wall is), and the staircase (farther to the left) has been totally remodeled. 

Slowly…ever so slowly…I will get this room done!

…assuming I don’t change my mind again.

Chippy Enamel Flower Bucket

After making the faux enameled stencils, I wanted to try enamel-i-fying something else, just for fun!

I came across this cute little metal bucket at Target for $2.50, and it had to come home with me.

I primed it, and then painted it with Rustoleum spray paint in gloss white.

It took me the longest time to decide how to embellish my little bucket.  I turned to my French typography inspiration board, and this image from The Graphics Fairy caught my eye:

(click on the image to be taken to the source)

I saved the image to my computer, and then uploaded it into my Silhouette software.  After some manipulations, I was able to cut out the words in vinyl.

I applied the vinyl directly to my bucket…

…and then I used acrylic paint to randomly paint on “chipped” areas on my “enamel” bucket.  I sprayed the whole thing with a protective coat in a glossy finish.

And now I have an old, chipped, enamel flower bucket!

I kept thinking of that old commercial that said something like: 

“Is it real?? Or is it…Clairol?”

What do you think?

Would it fool YOU?

Note:  The “green tree” sign project may be found here.

*********************************

Linking up here:

Coastal Charm’s Nifty Thrifty Tuesday	Elizabeth & Co.
Center of Attention Deficit Disorder	The Graphics Fairy
Someday Crafts	No Minimalist Here’s Open House Thursday
Friday Remodelaholic	2805
My Simple Home Life’s Simple Creations Friday	Mod Vintage Life
Funky Junk’s Saturday Night Special	Domestically Speaking
Beyond the Picket Fence’s Under $100 Party	My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Perfectly Imperfect	{Primp}
Simply Klassic Sundays	My Repurposed Life
Thrifty Décor Chick	It’s So Very Cheri
Common Ground	{aka} design

Cleaning with Kids

This post is sponsored by Pine-Sol® Clean & Disinfect with Pine-Sol®: The Powerful Scent of Clean." I was compensated for this post as a member of Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all my own.

When people find out that I have six children, I am usually met with incredulous looks and questions like, “How do you do it all?”

Well, it’s not a secret, folks.

I don’t!

I have seriously laughingly remarked to my friends that I can:

• read books
• OR cook
• OR knit
• OR re-do furniture
• OR keep my house clean.

But never all at the same time.

I tend to be a little obsessive about my hobbies.  I can do one of those things really well, or a few of them moderately well.

In order to keep the household in the moderately-well category, I need AND require my children to help me.  I think parents do a disservice to their children by NOT expecting them to help with the household chores. I have mentioned before that I expect my children to be USEFUL as well as decorative!  And my children do not get paid for chores.  I maintain that there are things we do because they are for the good of the family, and not because we gain an immediate reward.

So here’s how we do it—or try to!  I keep a chore chart on the refrigerator, and these daily chores are expected to be done starting at 5 p.m. each day.  Younger dwarfs rotate through smaller jobs (You’ll notice that Dopey is only responsible for the back entry and the shoes.  It even gets done.  Sometimes.)  Older dwarfs have larger responsibilities.  It isn’t a perfectly regular rotation, as the schedule is adjusted depending on who has piano lessons or dance or play practice or cub scouts or track practice… you get the idea!  I rarely do.

If you’d like a copy of my chore rotation (MS Excel file), e-mail RedHenHome@gmail.com

“Deeper” cleaning happens on the weekends.  Once upon a time I would give one dwarf responsibility for all the sinks, another for all the garbages, etc.  Unfortunately, that led to instances where, for example, the bathroom counters would not be wiped off, and I would hear a chorus of “It’s not my job!” ringing through the house.  Ugh.

So, borrowing heavily from the chore checklists created by Mads Memories, I created my own chore checklists for the weekend jobs.

Checking for dirty socks is one of my personal additions.

The “wall to wall, corner to corner” bit is one of my additions, too.  Otherwise, we end up with a really clean 10 sq. ft. area in the middle of the floor.  Please avert your eyes from the edges!

If you’d like a copy of my chore checklists (MS Word file), e-mail RedHenHome@gmail.com

Cut apart and laminated, these lists serve as reusable reminders of what REALLY goes in to cleaning a room!   For our personal use, I have separate checklists for each bathroom and each bedroom.

Believe it or not, this is really NOT how our house looks most evenings…

No matter what the children may tell you…

Just a little paraphrase from Ben-Hur there.

…but I do believe that working together to maintain a home saves time and sanity (sometimes—although the whip may indicate otherwise) and teaches children skills they need to become productive, happy, healthy adults! 

Are you a little extreme when it comes to cleaning? Win the Pine-Sol® Deep Clean Diva Crown and $5000. Enter Now!

So do you have any tips for me on keeping a busy household clean?  What has worked for you??

Please note:  No dwarfs were harmed in the making of this blog post.

************************

Visiting at “Remodelaholic”

My Giani Granite countertop makeover is being featured at Remodelaholic today!

After three months with my “new” countertops, I am still happy with them.  I have noticed a few chips in the finish, but the nice part is that the multi-colored granite look and texture hides them very well—I don’t think anyone would notice them but me!  I also recognize that my countertops get heavy use, so chipping was inevitable. 

Would I still like real granite someday?  Absolutely!  But this kit is a very inexpensive way to “buy time” while I save for them!

See the makeover saga at Remodelaholic!