We bought a house….

Posted on May 13, 2014 by 24useablehours

Pause for dramatic effect.

I will say all the pleasant things you say when you have bought the type of house we acquired.

It has good bones.

It is in the best neighborhood.

It has so much possibility.

The first week has been challenging to say the least. The reality has now settled in. It needs A LOT of work. Not the little we painted this weekend, rather the we need a dumpster and something called an air chisel to get this kicked off.

So for the few people who follow this blog you are about to embark upon, what I am projecting, as a 2 year experiment. Everyone grab your work gloves and safety goggles, we bought a house.

Halloween Birthday Party

Posted on November 10, 2013 by 24useablehours

So I had promised low-key party this year. However, my daughter made a plea that I could not resist.

“What if we just have a Halloween Birthday Party at the house.”

An innocent statement. I thought we have lots of Halloween decorations already and I am already making your costume. How hard can it be? (Insert echoed voice and ominous music here)

As always we started with the best invitations by Nickel Design.

And we were off.

My little one made my heart swell this year by asking to be a villain. I was so proud, so I set off to find the perfect version. I found a few ideas on Pinterest. I said I can do this with no pattern and off we went to the fabric store we went, for the first time. Now how much tulle could this take, I mean really. Thirty-two yards! Thirty-two yards! So three trips to the store later and more glitter in the house than I care to mention. We had the perfect Queen of Hearts costume.

She loved the costume so much. I was equally proud of it. The absolute best part was half way through the party when she promptly told me she was done wearing the skirt and proceeded to take it off and walk off. Yeah!

I needed fun but not scary food ideas for this year. Here are a few I went with. Amazing food cards by Nickel Design.

The Hummus Octopus was very scary.

Banana Ghosts

Orange Pumpkins – a note on these. The peeling takes some time for all these little clementines and the meticulously cut bell peppers for stems. I was lucky enough this year to have a team of devoted Grandma’s helping.
Mummy Pigs in a blanket complete with mustard eyes.

Fresh fruit for color KettleCorn fresh from the farmers market. The World’s Best Sugar Cookies. I was very proud of the spider webs. I took white frosting and thinned it in the microwave for a few seconds. I dipped the cookies into the frosting and while they were still wet took black frosting and made a spiral on the cookies. Then take a toothpick and drag it out from the center.

I may have gone a bit over-board with the cupcakes. I couldn’t decide if I liked the pumpkins or the owls more so I went with both.
As favors I tried my hand at Carmel Apples.

And as the last person left the house this year I fell onto the couch and looked at my husband and said we were not doing this again.

Then my daughter came up and told me, “I was the bestest mom there ever was and this was the best party ever because she got to spend time with her friends and family.”

Resolve failing. See you again next year.

Epic Lego Party

Posted on March 18, 2013 by 24useablehours

My family and I had the opportunity to go to one of those birthday parties recently where you just stand back and say, “WOW, what the hell am I doing with my time?”

You make recognize the work from previous posts as a very talented friend of mine. So when she invited us to a party for her boys I stood back in amazement, as did every other parent in the room.

Treat boxes for over 50 kids.

Custom water bottle labels.

Yes, she did individually wrap each of the 50 juice boxes she had as Lego bricks. I didn’t pay this much attention to detail for my wedding.

Custom signs with lego holder for the food.

She made yes say it with me MADE chocolate Lego mini-figs and flag for each homemade cupcake she did. The children of course really appreciated the detail as they were cramming them in their mouths.

If the cupcakes were not enough she made marshmallow pops in the shape of the mini-figs heads.

Each of the activities had custom-made signs. Just like the parties that you throw for your kids, right?

As we left and my daughter lovingly appreciated the detailed treat boxes, and by that I mean tore it open in the car. She revealed that she got handmade chocolate Lego bricks and a handmade and packaged necklaces. They were amazing favors!

Needless to say she had made MORE of her 24 useable hours than I can ever imagine. The important part was that her boys were thrilled with the party and it was artfully done. Congrats for an amazing party.

Final Stages

Posted on January 20, 2013 by 24useablehours

The guest room renovation needed a few more things and after a long debate we decided to do a floating bookshelf in the room. This offered us some extra space for the things we couldn’t bear to part with in the ‘great purge of 2012’.

We bought these shelves at the Container Store.

Next came the hard part, Math. There was an easy template for these shelves (bonus) but we wanted them spaced like a real bookshelf. I will not add the pictures of us moving and then removing them when the math was wrong. Then drill and add the hardware. This is where you will figure out that like most things in this house, the wall is not flush. So you might want to take 20 minutes to find something to make the shelves flat. A small suggestion is to add a nickel (your denomination might differ) behind the mount on the bottom. This will stop pesky problems like things rolling off the shelve.

Then slide the shelves onto the mounts.

Stand back and bask in the delight that the room is almost done.

Monkey Bread

Posted on November 26, 2012 by 24useablehours

I was looking for something ‘fun’ to make for Thanksgiving morning breakfast. My first thought, “monkey bread’. My husbands response, “What’s monkey bread?”

Where did I go wrong?

How long have we been together and I have never made Monkey Bread?

This travesty must be righted.

There are several different recipes for Monkey Bread. They all have the same basic set of ingredients so here is the one that I used. I am sure you could class it up and make the bread but come on it’s monkey bread.

You will need:

4 Cans Refrigerated Biscuits (7.5 oz)
1 Cup Sugar
2 – 3 Teaspoons Cinnamon (Depends on how much you like cinnamon)
1 Cup Brown Sugar
3/4 Cup Butter
Chopped Nuts (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Open the biscuits and cut them into fourths.
Combine the cinnamon and granulated sugar into a gallon zip bag.
Put all the biscuits in the bag and shake to evenly coat them all. If you are using nuts add them here.
In a small sauce pan melt the butter and add the brown sugar. Mix until dissolved.
I used a springform pan but a bundt pan would also work. I also sprayed the pan. You might be tricked into thinking all the butter will do it but no.
Put all the biscuits into the pan and pour over the melted butter/brown sugar mixture.
Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes depending on the size and depth of the pan you are using. (Tip – put a cookie sheet under the pan you are using as it is likely to leak a little)
Once done baking let cool for 10 minutes before trying to turn out the pan. It is easiest to put your serving plate on the bottom and turn it over slowly to ensure it releases.

Best served warm or reheated in the microwave for breakfast for the rest of the thanksgiving break.

End is in sight

Posted on November 13, 2012 by 24useablehours

The guest room renovation end is in sight. We managed to clean out the closet and install a closet organizer.

Just a note: Trying to plan a closet system at the Container Store with a 4-year-old was perhaps not the best idea.

After we purchased all the little pieces we were off to read the 23 easy to understand steps.

Overall the process was fairly easy or it will look like that based on the pictures.

For this step you will actually need to determine if there are studs in the wall and then when they are poorly spaced buy a drill bit to put the wall anchors in. And when that doesn’t work you will drill directly into the wall just to be finished with it. Which ultimately, was the correct way.

We installed a few shelves to start and are still working on the spacing. The modular nature of the shelves are great as they can change based on my crafting needs.

With the closet organizer installed I was finally able to start organizing all the crafts stuff and put it all away. Next step finishing the cabinets.

Longest Renovation Ever

Posted on September 28, 2012 by 24useablehours

I feel like the guest room has turned into the longest renovation ever. Our lives keep getting in the way of completing the room and the mess upstairs is starting to look like an episode of Hoarders. So I have been trying to do what we can to keep moving. So I can keep my sanity.

I was extremely happy to start my first painting with my daughter. Our first of what I hope become a lifetime of collaborations.

We uses:

A 48X36 Canvas
Frog Tape
Brushes
Acrylic Paints (as many colors as you want)

I started by painting a base coat over the whole canvas.
It took 2-3 coats to cover to the bright gold I was looking for.
Then take the frog tape and make a pattern. I was going for a “Glam Stained Glass Window” effect. So I taped triangles and selected a few complimenting colors to paint with. Make sure to press down on the tape to ensure you get a good seal on the tape since you will be removing it to create those crisp lines.
Start painting. Each triangle took 2-3 coats of paint depending on the color.
Once the painting is completely dry carefully remove the tape. I had to correct a few lines which I did with a small paintbrush.
Hang and enjoy!

Stand back and enjoy the small victory that I am one small step closer to finishing the room.

Luggage Tags

Posted on July 14, 2012 by 24useablehours

Summer travel season is in full swing. A good rule for travel, whether you are going to day camp, the grandparents or around the world, label everything. So I thought what better way to start getting ready for our upcoming vacation than to make luggage tags. I made these as favors for the guest who traveled to my wedding and they were a huge hit. It also gave my daughter a chance to customize one for her own bag.

You will need:

Self Laminating Pouches
Paper or postcards
Stickers
Hole Punch
Marker
Ribbon or Plastic Tag

Cut the paper or postcards down to the desired size. Make sure to cut it smaller than the pouch so you have room to seal it.
Decorate, Decorate, Decorate. I bought some beach themed stickers for our trip this year. My daughter tried to use them all on one tag. She likes a lot of flare.
Write the relevant information on the opposite side of the tag. She opted to have the tags be different colors on each side. So I taped the two together.
Place them inside the pouch and seal it tight. Remember to go over the edges carefully and get any air pockets out.
Take the hole punch and make a small hole in the end. In the past have used a set of tags that was designed to be luggage tags. These are a bit smaller than the ones I used here. I need more room to decorate.
You can either use ribbon or a plastic strap to attach it to the bag.

Enjoy your trip and Thank You for Playing.

Guest Room Renovation Update

Posted on June 28, 2012 by 24useablehours

The room is finally moving forward.

Finally. Applause, Applause, Applause.

Through the sheer force of will of my sister-in-law I was able to pack up the room in a matter of hours.

I have loaded most of the things into the closet to clear space in the room. Which makes it feel like we have been robbed.

As a bonus I also sold some of the furniture in the room so technically I have made money on this renovation thus far.

I have decided to paint the room all white and bring in the color through a large painting I plan to do and the bed linens. I am installing a fauxdenza, like the one featured on The Brick House, along the far wall in the room. I am also attempting to teach myself a piece of 3D Design Software called SketchUp to do the design for not only this room but the rest of the renovation we want to do on the house. Wish me luck on all accounts.

Felt Boards

Posted on June 27, 2012 by 24useablehours

Summer travel season is upon us. This means countless hours spent in confined spaces doing everything and anything we can to prevent our kid from being “That Kid”. My child much like every child in the world loves stickers. Wait I mean “LUV” stickers. She can never have enough. I mean truly how many stickers can one human need. The answer is infinite…

Here is my answer to the travel sticker question. This is great for your kids to participate in choosing their own shapes and colors to make their board. Even better they are are easily transportable.

You will Need:

Foam Board
Felt (Adhesive Backed)
Felt (Multiple Colors)
Adhesive Velcro (hook side)
Cutting implement(s)
Buttons
PomPoms
Ribbon
Anything else your heart desires

Take the piece of adhesive felt and measure it against the foam board. The foam board will give the felt rigidity.
I used a rotary cutting tool, mat and ruler to measure and cut the foam board.
Remove the adhesive and apply the base felt level to the foam board.
Let your imagination run free. Shapes, Flowers, Buttons, Ribbon, Foam People, Oh my. Cut the items down to desired shapes.
Place a small piece of the hook side velcro on each piece of decoration. A great job for little hands.
Place all the bits in a zip bag for easy travel.
Sit back and enjoy the countless hours or minutes of silence this craft brings. And yes that is a glitter shoe on my table too.

As you can see we went with your basic red glitter house with black glitter roof, a neighborhood staple, and giant flowers that dwarf the people living there. A magical place for sure.

Thanks for playing.

24useablehours

How to make the most out of your 24 useable hours

Tag Archives: DIY