Perfect Summer Weekend

This weekend we crossed off more items on the bucket list!! The weather was perfect and I was able to spend time with my friends, family and Joe!

Thomas loved Joe!

We started off by making Strawberry Cake Cookies for a cookout at our friend's house. Britney and James' had a few friends over for burgers and Cards Against Humanity. James was deployed today and won't be return until October. It was a great way to see him off.

Boardwalk Art Show 2014

Saturday we hopped on our bikes and went to the Boardwalk Art Show! I've been dying to go over the last few years. While we didn't buy anything, we saw a ton of great pieces to put on our wish list.

Fried food anyone??

I wish I had taken more pictures!!

We picked up Hilltop sandwiches from Taste and went back to the farm to wash the boat in preparation for the summer. We finished off the evening with a dip in the pool and homemade grilled pizzas. Similar to our homemade pizzas last summer, but we put these on Naan and grilled them for about 10 minutes. Delish!!

Father's day was spent on the boat fishing for who knows what with my parents. My sister and her man came later and we indulged in potato salad, burgers, grilled squash and homemade Italian cake made my sister, the baker.

Happy Father's Day!

Crabs!

I returned to the preschool yesterday after taking a month off to obtain my real estate license. I wanted to come back with a super cute art project. I love handprint art! I came across this idea and thought it was perfect for the second day of July. Happy summer!!

You need:

Glue

Sand

Paint Brush

Paint

Googley Eyes

Sharpie Marker

 Red construction paper

More Kid Crafts!

Footprint Butterflies

The antenna balls are their fingerprints! 

Artists at work with the extra paint

Handprint fish 

These were later mounted on a giant fish bowl which was also painted by the kiddos.

Fun with Crayons!

My apartment lacks art work, and we renters lack the money to afford art. Again, this idea came from Pinterest.  The best part was it only cost me $4.00!! Originally I planned on glueing fake flowers to the tips of the melted crayons to mimic a flower garden (hence the greens and earth tones), but this melted differently than expected so I decided to just leave it as is.

You will need:

A few boxes of crayons (I went to the Dollar Store)

Canvas of any size

Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Hair dryer

First pick out the colors from the boxes you wish to use and arrange them however you choose. Then glue the crayons to the bottom of the canvas with the hot glue gun. Next time I would splurge and buy Crayola brand crayons, because their wrappers match the colors. Its creates a better effect. With the Dollar Store ones, I arranged them sunny-side up [Ha Ha].

Once the glue is set, turn the canvas over so the crayons are on the top of the canvas, facing pointed side down. I did this is the bathroom, tile is a much easier clean up than carpet. Use your hair dryer on high heat and blow it over the crayons until they start to melt. Angle the canvas about 15 degrees off the floor so the wax will slowly drip down the canvas. Now you can be creative, focus the hair dryer on a certain area if you want to elongate that particular section. You can also rotate the canvas back and forth so the wax melts in different, crazy directions.

You can then hang your masterpiece with either the crayons on the top, or on the bottom. I chose on the bottom because I think its a neat effect of having the crayons melt into the wrappers. 

Here we are! A super fun, easy and cheap way to decorate your home.  

**For the mothers out there: This would be really cute in a kid's playroom or bedroom!!

Handprint Tu-Tu

The afternoons at the preschool function more as a day care. We do not have a set curriculum and assigned art projects for the children after their naps.  In order to make time go by faster for me, and much more fun for them, I often test out potential art projects with the kids.  This craft was originally found on Pinterest, and I thought it was too cute to pass up.  The parents love projects that incorporate handprints of their little ones.

You will need:

White construction paper or card stock

Pink washable tempura paint 

1 piece of felt

Ribbon or yarn tied in a bow

Elmer's Glue or Tacky Glue

Scissors

Paint your child's hand in the paint, and place a few handprints with the palm remaining relatively in the same position.  Turn the paper upside down so that the palm is facing up.  Cut out a piece of felt to look like the top of a leotard and glue it to the top of the palm on the paper. Then glue your ribbon to the bottom of the felt, but above the handprint. 

I think this would look adorable in a shadow box framed in a little girls room.  It would also look great in a set of three, with three different colored Tu-Tus. Try pink, purple and blue, and cut out ribbon in the coordinating color for the bow.

Burlap and Oysters!

Oyster Roast season is almost over! What ever will you do with all those empty oyster shells?! [The best bet would be to recycle them into the Elizabeth River, but we won't get into that right now.] At the peek of the oyster roast season, I came across the idea of making an oyster shell wreath for my parent's house. The oysters were found off of Cedar Island, VA and were quickly consumed here in Norfolk. My dad always roasts his oysters in a burlap sack, so I thought burlap would be the prefect material for mounting the shells. Unfortunately I made this back in December, so I do not have step by step pictures for the reading impaired. Have fun, the creative freedom on this project is endless!!

Oyster Shell Wreath

Materials:

about a bushel of oyster shells

steamer (optional)

bleach

hardcore scrubbing brushes (such as a willow pad or steel wool)

styrofoam ring (which ever size you want!)

one long piece of burlap (about 4 inches wide)

hot glue gun and glue

fake spanish moss (optional)

First I steamed the shells for about 15 minutes on very high heat.  This process potentially loosens the yucky stuff on the shells.  Now the hard part, scrubbing. I used willow pads and a toothbrush with steel brushes. I scrubbed each individual shell until my fingers bled! But the finish product was worth the hard work.  Next I soaked all the shells in the sink with hot water and bleach for about 2 hours. After draining the shells and allowing them to dry over night, I could begin the wreath! I simply wrapped the styrofoam ring (mine was a 18 inches in diameter) in the burlap and secured it with the hot glue from the glue gun.  Then you can really get those creative juices flowing. I opted to glue my shells with the "shiny side" out in a circle pattern. I love how some shells are piggy-backing others, and the mussels also add a nice touch. 

I also made two smaller wreaths (12 inch diameter) with extra materials and the smaller oyster shells. On top of the burlap I glued a thin layer of spanish moss and patterned the shells, some shiny side out, some rough side out. 

One Dollar Picture Frame

Materials:

Dollar Store frame

acrylic paints

left over burlap

a cute picture!

This was so cheap and extremely easy! I bought a wooden frame (8.5 x 11) at the Dollar Store, globbed on a few coats of paint which I already had, taped a cute picture of my honey and I to some burlap, framed it, and Voila! A beautiful, expensive looking picture frame for just $1.00!

One Dollar Message Board
(picture to come later)


Materials:
Dollar Store frame
left over burlap
dry erase marker

Yet another basically free project! I framed burlap a 8.5 x 11 inch frame. Then I hung it on the wall in our kitchen, and with the dry erase marker I posted our monthly bills and when they are due. This was almost too easy!