Patriotic Subway Art

You all know I’m obsessed with subway art lately. Well, now that Easter is over, I need to replace my Easter art with something summery, which in my mind equals patriotic! There’s just one problem: I couldn’t find one online anywhere! I kept waiting for the girls at Eighteen25 and Tatertots and Jello to come to my rescue, but they never did. Well, I’m not one to wait around. Just ask Derrick…I hang pictures, move furniture, whatever, all by myself because I’m too impatient to wait for someone to be around to help me.

So when I realized there was no patriotic subway art to be found, I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands!! With the help of Photoshop Elements and leftover Easter desserts, I whipped one up in an hour or two. I have to say, I love it!! I’m having it printed tomorrow, and hopefully it comes out as good as I’m hoping it will! (FYI: my Sam’s Club prints it for $5 and some change.)

I even uploaded it so you can download it too if you want! Aren’t I just so awesome? I figure if I was looking for it, maybe someone else is too?

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!!!

It’s sized to print as a 16x20. But I’m sure you could also print it as an 8x10. No guarantees though.

Easter

I just love this picture of my girls! I love their dresses, their smiles, everything. I hope I can always find matching outfits for them!

Easter was really fun this year. It was the first holiday that Summer really “got”. We’d been talking about the Easter Bunny and how he was going to come and bring eggs and surprises, and had FHE’s about Jesus and the real reason we celebrate.

We dyed eggs on Saturday and Summer was so confused as to why there wasn’t candy in them. And then she tried to crack one open like we do when we make cookies. This whole egg business is pretty confusing for a 2 year old!

Sunday morning I hid eggs before we let Summer out of her room so we could straight out and look for them. I only hid a few since we were having a bigger hunt later with our friends. She loved finding the eggs and would exclaim “CANDY!!” every time she found one.

I found these giant eggs at Hobby Lobby that I looooove. We decided to put all of her little presents in these huge eggs. It came with 3 that nest inside of each other. So, so awesome. The biggest one can hold a gallon of milk with room to spare. Check it out:

Look what hatched! (She was not a fan of this, btw!)

After the hunt we came inside and opened all the eggs. She got some chalk, bubbles, a coloring book, stickers, a toothbrush, bubble bath, some Barbie dresses and other little treats and candy.

She couldn’t wait to go outside and play with some of her new toys.

Meanwhile, Hannah found her basket hiding under a chair and containing just a stuffed elephant. She didn’t care, she loved it just the same.

We had 4 families over for a fabulous dinner. My friends are amazing cooks, and my waistline is evidence of that after yesterday! I made these little napkin/utensil carroty bundles that I saw on Our Best Bites. So cute!

We had our annual egg toss and Derrick and I won. Woo! But the prized Easter shaped pasta went to the runners up, the Johnson’s.

At one point I couldn’t find Summer during all the commotion. I finally found her with a bowl of strawberries going to town. Fine with me, considering she’d probably only had sugar the rest of the day. She was literally bouncing off the walls all day long. She was so crazy silly.

We had a great Easter weekend and it was so nice to spend it with our “family” here. Of course, the signs of rebirth and spring only reinforce the true meaning of Easter and the sacrifice made for us! So, so grateful.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Craft room redo

My craft room became the storage room for everything wet and random after our basement flooded last month. Ever since it happened, I’ve been in full on cleaning/purging mode. Closets, rooms, shelves, all of it. I want my entire house to be “binnified”, as my sister in law Kaylynn once called it when we all lived back in Provo. So far all the kids’ clothes are all neatly labeled in matching bins, and all the holiday bins are labeled and purged of old/dated decor. I’ve tossed old soaps and lotions and perfumes I’ll never use again. And finally, I was able to tackle the craft room!

I hung some pegboard that was lying around, bought some new storage containers, and pulled the futon up close. It’s more like a craft lounge! VIP only, baby! I’m sure you don’t really care about my craft room, but it makes me so, so, so happy to just be in there and have everything be so neat and organized and ready for some crafting.

The pegboard is my favorite. I picked up a few hooks at Wal-Mart but I think I need to go to Menards or Home Depot for a bigger selection. The scissors are actually in a thing that is supposed to be for screwdrivers. I put all my glitters in some glass jars I had.

I seriously loved it so much I sewed a quick project just because.

I then moved onto the office, which never was put back together either. Diplomas are now hung and books on shelves.

Now for the rest of the house! If and when we ever do move someday, it should be a piece of cake to get it ready to sell! (And since it snowed today, on APRIL 19th, it may be sooner rather than later! Ridiculous!)

Summer

I haven’t done a post about Miss Summer in awhile. She is definitely becoming her own little person with her own ideas and opinions. It’s crazy that I can carry on a conversation with her. When did my little girl become such a big girl?

This child is obsessed with hair bands. I know she probably gets it from me since I have one permanently on my wrist. She is forever getting into the drawer in the bathroom that holds them all. The other day I found her with about a dozen on not her wrist, but on her ankle. It was turning a little purple by the time I found it!

She likes to channel her inner 80’s child as well. She waltzed into the kitchen and said “Mom! Look at me!!” She had put on my fuzzy socks and one of her headbands. Silly girl. I love this pose, too. Speaking of being silly, that’s one of her favorite phrases. If I ask her a trick question or she asks us one, she’ll say, “no, silly!” And the other day she asked me “What are you talking about?” Haha. Cracked me up.  

She loves slides. She can now climb up the rockwall on our playset all by herself, and the other day at the bouncy house she climbed up to the highest slide all by herself. She was so proud of herself! So was I! Her favorite is to go down the slide on her belly. She loves going to the Children’s Museum, and spends most of her time on this little slide here. She still loves to drink, hitting the sippy as soon as she wakes up. I had to resort to insulated cups to keep her milk cold in between meals. You can see here a typical get-up: necklace, sippy, and balloon animal. (I wanted to learn how to make balloon animals so I did a few weeks ago. Who doesn’t love a balloon animal???)

She’s a big old cheese and wants to be in any picture I take of Hannah. She’s a great big sister and loves to entertain Hannah. She’s also very mothering. The other day we were all in the car and Hannah was fussing a little bit so Derrick said, “It’s ok Hannah. Close you eyes and take a nap.” So now any time we’re in the car and Hannah fusses, Summer says those exact words. It’s cute.

She loves to rock her babies in her arms. But her comforts aren’t limited to just dolls. Yesterday I caught her rocking and shushing a used dryer sheet, a lasagna noodle, and a bottle of shampoo. It’s pretty hilarious the things she wants to mother.  I’m always surprised when she talks in complete sentences. She knows all her colors. She loves to sing and does a pretty good job of carrying a tune and knowing lyrics. She loves having family night. She can put on her own shoes.

She’s at a pretty fun age right now, even though she is pretty sassy and demanding at times. Still, she’s pretty polite and always says please and thank you. Or thanks.

We sure do love her!

8 months!

Another month gone by! Hannah still continues to be our sweet, happy, chill little baby.

She has a new trick! Sitting up! Finally! (She also loves to bite her pacifier. Or anything that doesn't run away, actually.)

But we’re still working on endurance…..

She does this thing where she claws at her face, head, and ears constantly. She pretty much always has scrapes and scratches on her face and in her ears. (But thanks to Photoshop, you will never see them in pictures!) It drives me crazy! I don’t know why she does it…I just hope it’s not because she’s itchy or something.

She and Summer are the cutest little buddies, and can always make each other laugh. Any time I take a picture of Hannah Summer wants in on the action too.  

Here they are modeling their new BYU hats that Dad brought home. Hannah could totally pass for a boy, right?? Gotta make sure I keep a bow in!

She’s still a good eater and in the past couple weeks has been sleeping great. Going to bed between 6-7 depending on naps, and sleeping until 5ish. Then I’ll feed her and she’ll sleep until 7 or 8, depending on how loud Summer is in the morning.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day so we took advantage of it and went on a walk before morning naps and church today. It was Hannah’s first time in the double stroller sitting forward. She loved it. Her little feet were just circling in excitement the whole time. I think she had too much fun, because she slept for over 2 hours and I had to wake her to get ready for church!   We just love our little Hannah B. She really is such a fun little kid to have around!

Easter subway art

It’s starting to warm up around here! Finally!. And lest you be led astray into thinking it’s actually warm, warming up around here just means temps in the 40’s.

But still. The sun has been shining, the snow has been melting, and I have been spray painting! I don’t know what it is about spray painting that is so gratifying. Maybe it’s because I love a good before and after. Makeover shows, home improvement shows, love them all. I don’t think you truly understand the joy of spray painting unless you’ve done it yourself.

Anyway, I’ve had this frame floating around for awhile, waiting for a new life and purpose. Not that I didn’t love the whole Victorian tea party thing. (It always amazes me when I see prints like this at Goodwill. Someone, at sometime, thought that this was appealing enough to purchase and put on their wall. Crazy.)

Subway art is running rampant throughout blogland and of course I’m hopping on for the ride. (Remember my print from St. Patty's Day?) I’ve been looking for something to put on the wall in my entryway for awhile. Enter Eighteen 25. They have an adorable Easter print for free download (amongst many other adorable things!). It’s sized to print out as a 16X20, which is perfect for my frame! They have a birthday one and a St. Patty's one (which I actually like better than the one I printed out) and my plan is to just switch them out for all the holidays. I’ve seen Christmas and Halloween ones floating around, and I just need to find a cute Patriotic one for the summer. 

It was only $5 to print out at Sam’s, although I’m sure you could find it cheaper online somewhere. But I was too impatient. I thought it would be a little more pastel-y, but I still love it. Now to just see if it’s a little too in-your-face when you walk in my front door… 

Cake stand. Not to be confused with a keg stand. They sound the same here in WI.

I love cake stands. They’re not just good for cakes, you know. Cookies, cupcakes, appetizers, decorations, etc. They’re great for adding height and interest to a table. DIY cake stands are all the rage in the craft blogosphere and I’m sure I’m the last one to join the party. I’ve been scouring thrift shops in search of the perfect base and plate. The other day I hit the jackpot. I found a white milk glass candlestick and a great plate. Did I mention I also love milk glass and blue and white???

A little glass and bead glue and voila! A new cake stand for less than $10!! And bonus: check out that awesome matching server! I love, love, love it.

 Now I’m on the hunt for lots of milk glass to fill my china cabinet. My friend Bryn introduced me to the blog Young House Love the other day and I haven’t stopped browsing since. I sooo wish I had the creativeness (and $$$) to make my house something like theirs. So many mismatched things that all work so perfectly together. Only in my dreams, I suppose.

Speaking of dreams, I had a dream I got engaged last night. And everyone I know was at a party to celebrate our engagement but I was so sad because I knew I was going to break it off. Weird! And I know it came from watching the TV show Mobbed last night, which is about flash mobs (which I think are totally nerdy). This guy proposed to his girlfriend using a flash mob. And even though I think they’re a weird, weird phenom, I was totally bawling through it!!

And before I get any accusations of being prego, my most annoying relative Aunt Flo is visiting, so can it!

Happy Friday!