Boredom Buster

I wanted to share a little activity that will help with anyone suffering from boredom.  My children are usually pretty good with finding things to do during the day. Though sometimes, when there is a little too much arguing and frustration is mounting, it's my job to make peace in the home. 

So here is one solution.  

This is all you need.

Paper, tape, and scissors.

Just roll out the paper onto any surface that you don't mind your children possibly getting dirty. I chose the back side of our island.

I needed two helpers to get the paper cut and taped on. Also, I taped over the edges on the sides of the island, just in case. 

As soon as this was up they went to creating! 

Have fun!

Thrifty Thursday {chair & basket weave stuff?}

I'm back with a Goodwill find. 

This pretty lady was just sitting there begging me to take her home.

So I did.

This chair needs a good scrubbing and a new paint job.
Since the seat is torn (picture above), I plan on cutting a piece of plywood to fit the seat and covering it with some fabric.

Price: $10


My next find.
Not sure what it is called.

I know you need it to weave baskets, and that's about it.
I had another idea in mind for it.


This.

I'm not even sure what this is called either. 
Sphere decorative ball thing??
 Anyway, I just hot glued all the sides that touched each other. 
So simple. 
I am going to make some larger ones with my leftovers.

Price: $3

Happy Thrifting!

How To Curl Extra Long Hair

The Lord has blessed me and my girls with some long hair.  All three of us have really thick, full hair so taking the time to curl it isn't always an option. But when I do, I love the results. It just looks so pretty! (I usually just put our hair up in a bun or braids for the everyday style).  My first choice for curling such long glory is having them sleep in braids. Nothing new and exciting but I have a trick for the ends of the hair that you may have never heard of.

First, braid. 

When you get to the ends wrap it once in a loop around the hair elastic. 

Now, wrap the  remaining ends around that loop and some of the braid, depending on how much hair you have left. 
 Secure it with another elastic or two.

Close up of hair wrapped around the bottom.

Now go to sleep and wake up in the morning.

This is what it will look like.

A mess.

Take out the elastics and braid.

The ends have a nice wavy curl to them. 

This is the easiest way to get loose, wavy curls without using any type of heat. 

The curls generally will stay all day, depending on how long you left the braid in. Keeping them in overnight is the what has worked best for us.

Have a blessed day!

Thrifty Thursday {sentimental ceiling tile}

We have been battling sickness, car repairs, and a furnace going out, needless to say, I haven't been to Goodwill in a few weeks. But, while at my mom's I spotted something and have big plans for it.

It was really hard trying to get a good picture of these.  
They are old ceiling tiles from the building I grew up in. My mom saved some of the best tiles before a drop ceiling was put in over them.
 They hold some sentimental value for me. As a child and into my teenage years, I remember staring at these tiles at night before going to bed.  
My mom said I could paint them. Yippee! I am thinking white paint and a little distressing. We'll see.

Cost: Free 

A Simple Drawer Liner {for the Undecided}

I know it sounds silly, but what if you are afraid to lay down contact paper on a drawer and not like it 3 months from now?

A serious problem for this homemaker. ;) 

So I came up with the perfect solution for my undecidedness. (Just made up that word). 

To start off, if your drawers look like this.....

or this.....

which most of mine do....it's time for a makeover!

Here's what I did.

I bought some plain white poster board and found some pretty drawer liner paper. Everything I bought was under $5.

Measure the inside of your drawer. Cut the excess paper off. Measure the contact paper needed. Apply the contact paper on the poster board and voila!

It's not perfect, and this momma is ok with that. 

Place the finished product in the drawer.

Ahhhhh, so much better!

My pans even look brighter. ;)

The best part of this little project is that I can switch it out whenever I want, without worrying about how to get the super sticky contact paper off.

Happy Wednesday!

DIY curtains using a drop cloth

I've had these curtains up since we did the kitchen remodel a few years ago. I used a table cloth to make them. They held up fine. I'm  just ready for something new. 

   

I found some fabric online that i liked to make the curtains with only, it was well over the amount I wanted to pay. At the price for the fabric I might as well just buy new curtains. 

To make this more cost efficient it meant to get the most bang for my buck. 

Which means, using drop cloths. There is a ton of fabric in one package of drop cloth!

Drop cloth is heavy weight and paintable, obviously. ;) 

I needed something that will hold up because this door gets used the entire day. The only downside to using a drop cloth is that I have read that they are stiff when you hang them. Not a big deal to me.

First, I measured the sliding glass doors and got my measurements. 

I washed the drop cloth before I cut them. VERY important!!!! It will shrink if you don't!

Next, I laid out the drop cloth, measured, and cut.

(Princess Fluffy loves taking pictures.)

Then, I measured out the stripes on the drop cloth. I went with 10-inch stripes. This width worked perfectly with the length I had. I used Scotch Blue tape and had to press firmly for it to hold to the drop cloth.

Before I started painting, I laid out a large plastic table cloth to prevent any paint getting on the floor. Works perfectly!

Next, I rolled the paint on using a 4-inch roller that I had.

When painting a drop cloth, it will soak up A LOT of paint! I used an entire quart on this project, and barely made it.

The tape wasn't cooperating at all while I was painting, so I held it down when I painted near it. 

  

OK, I know this looks bad but it was night time and the paint was still wet. Stay with me. 

After I finished painting the stripes, my sidekick (little mister in above pic), took the tape off. I hung them over doors overnight because they were so long. And because I didn't want to have paw prints all over when I woke up in the morning. ;)

This is what they look like now.

Every picture I take makes the color look differently. 

Kind of annoying.

 The grey I used was leftover from a past project. 

They are a little stiff, but I really don't care.

However, if you are worried about the stiffness, you can add a fabric medium to the paint. This is also useful if you want to wash them. I usually just spot clean if anything gets on the curtains. 

Have a blessed day! 

Snow days

Spring is coming. 

I know it is. 

Even if I look outside and still see snow. ;) 

So, in saying good bye to winter, enjoy some pictures from our snow days!