DIY Chalk Board

It's Back-to-School time...I absolutely love this time of year!  Even when I was in school it was fun, mostly because I love buying school supplies.  Anyway..I thought it would be fun to post this chalk board we made a while back.  My kids have absolutely loved this thing for playing school, my oldest pretends to be the teacher and my two younger kids have learned a lot from her.  I use it when we do preschool with my three and five year old, it makes it fun and a little bit more official.

 I found this cute little bucket in Target's dollar bins...when I saw it I knew it had to be mine but I didn't know why.  It works perfectly for keeping the chalk and eraser...see I really did need it ;)

I think the teacher has been having trouble with a certain boy in her class...he tends to be very wiggly and likes to bring food to class..like that huge bag of chips he's holding.

It ties in nicely with our Airplane Hanger we made last year for hanging artwork on.

These little airplanes go with the airplane hanger I just mentioned, they are a great project for preschoolers.  You can find the tutorial here.

Written Tutorial

Sorry if you are a visual learner but I didn't take any pictures while we were making this, but it is quite simple.

We used an old piece of scrap bead board that was about the right size (1/4" MDF board).  Paint it with chalkboard spray paint, I got mine at home depot. We also had some scrap trim leftover from another project and cut our pieces with straight cuts. Sand any rough edges then glue down to your chalkboard piece with construction adhesive.

Secure with staples from the back (make sure they are short enough to not go through to other side).

I painted my trim pieces afterwards but you could easily do it before, whatever works for you.  I used an acrylic craft paint and did a couple of coats.

Super cheap and easy...or free if you hoard scrap wood like we do!

Shirred Sundress with Bow

Wow summer is so so busy and flying right by, we have a summer bucket list going.  One of the things on my list was to make some matching sundresses for my girls,  yep I am one of those people that doesn't mind being matchy, matchy.  In fact on little girls it is probably one of my most favorite things and  I have to take advantage of this time when they aren't embarrassed so....
 

I saw these dresses on Ashley's blog over at www.makeit-loveit.com, she is amazing. These little dresses went together so quickly and didn't overwhelm me at all and that's saying somethin cause I have four kids eight and under...yeah these dresses are super easy!

The bow in the back is nice and fluffy and also serves a purpose in keeping the dress right where it needs to be.

Awww they look so pleasant and they actually didn't fight at all during their photo shoot...major accomplishment! 

Like I mentioned before something about the matchy, matchy dresses just makes me giddy.

They are also very functional...play dresses, church dresses, swimsuit cover ups...whatever you want dresses.

If you're interested in making some for yourself click on read more for the tutorial

Little Boy Work Coveralls

My little boy loves to go outside with his Dad and do what they like to call "Man Work" they water the plants, mow the lawn, change the oil etc.  The other day after they came back in from changing the oil out in the shop my little boy so sweetly asked if I could make him some coveralls like just like his Dad's.  Did I have any idea how to do this?...nope. Could I say no to his sweet little face?...big nope.  I looked on line and found some for way out of my price range, so I got to work and kinda learned as I went along.

 Sometimes Super Heroes wear coveralls.



 "Hey mom I don't have time for pictures I'm off to do some man work!"
 But would ya look at that collar...so dang proud that it actually worked.

 Tutorial coming soon...

Linking up with www.somewhatsimple.com

Banana Bread

I wasn't really a big fan of banana bread until I tried a slice at my Mother-in-laws shortly after we were married...I was smitten.  I immediately copied down her recipe and it has been a family favorite ever since.  My Mother-in-law's secret ingredient in pretty much anything is a "little bit of sugar" (we both have a sweet tooth).  I think what won me over was the little sprinkling of brown sugar and chocolate chips on the top.

Recipe

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup oil

3 eggs

Blend well and add:

2 1/2 cups mashed bananas

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

Fill pans to 1/2 to 3/4 full, sprinkle with brown sugar and chocolate chips.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr.

Patriotic Ruffled Flag Tee Shirt

 It's a little bit late for a Fourth of July tee shirt tutorial but I figure you can where a patriotic shirt all year long so I am posting anyway.  I have been seeing some adorable flag shirts around and I love the idea of a homemade shirt...ok obviously I love the idea of homemade anything! 

 Look at all that ruffly goodness...ahhh.

She is happy with it and feels extra special that I made it just for her!

 

I made these shirts just before we headed off for our family reunion camping trip for a few days and right before our friends came to stay the night with us so I was making shirts and cleaning my house and packing so it could be a little bit scatter brained...sorry!

First off we had a shirt from last year from Wal Mart...you know the ones with the year right underneath the flag so everyone knows how old it is..I don't know why they do that?  Anyway I made a heart template out of paper and placed it on my shirt then traced around the template with disappearing marker.

  Cut out your shape, you now have a really weird shirt.

 I had a bit of Pelon laying around, it is a stiff backing fabric you can use for all kinds of projects.  You can find it at most fabric stores.  Trace around your template on to the Pelon but make it about a 1/4" inch bigger than before.

I have been saving up old tee shirts for a while now and was excited to put them to use finally...I was beginning to look like a tee shirt hoarder.  Cut out one inch strips of red white and blue tee shirt fabric and gather, I have a tutorial for this here.

Now lay your gathered pieces across your heart shaped Pelon and pin them down.  Sew them down to the Pelon with matching thread.

Ok this is where I forgot to take a picture luckily Ashley from www.makeit-loveit.com had a similar project.  Pin your ruffle covered pelon to the back of the tee shirt now carefully sew around the edge...I went around twice for good measure.

 

That's it...enjoy your new ruffled flag shirt!

DIY Strider Bike

 

Last summer some friends of ours had us over and their little boy who was just barely two at the time was zoomin around on a little bike without pedals...I was curious.  They told us all about the strider bike..it helps kids develop balance rather than relying on training wheels and then hopefully they can go right to a pedal bike.  I was skeptical and definitely not willing to fork over the cash for one..then the thought came to me why couldn't I just take the pedals off a regular little bike?  This is where You Tube comes in...

 How To Video

I did mine all by myself fairly quickly and easily..am  I proud of this? umm YES!

  My husband cut off the bolts that stuck out either side of the back tire and sanded them down... little bare legs and bolts are a bad idea.

 He loves his new "bite" (bike) and feels so proud that he can go on the gravel as fast as his big sisters.

  It did take him a little while to get used to the idea but after about a week he is lovin it and has left his little tricycle in the dust...kinda sad for Mom :(

Check out this little guy!

Summer Fun and A Blogger Parade of Homes

Summer is soooo busy and soooo much fun we have been partyin it up camping in Montana, where we visited Elk Horn Hot Springs, explored the old Coolidge Ghost Town and our most favorite of all searched for Crystals at Crystal State Park...my kids and I and even my husband loved it, we were addicted!

 If you're near Dillon, Montana I would highly recommend.

Coolidge Ghost Town

 

We found lots and lots of crystals

 

The next week we were off to Naples, Florida where the water felt like a bathtub and the white sand felt like flour ooooh I was in heaven!

I have been sooo busy doing laundry from our galavanting that I have no finished projects to share, but three that are close.  So in the mean time enjoy some of these homes on the blogger home tour I stumbled upon....I love browsing other people's homes...kinda weird. 

Here is one of my favorite's from www.notjustahousewife.net

 

Here is a full listing of the homes on the tour.

www.huntedinterior.com