Glitter Ornament Tutorial

Have you seen all the glitter ornaments around blogland lately?  I have and I’ve fallen in love with them. 



As soon as I figured out how to make them, I ran to Michaels for all my supplies and got to work.  I made two dozen the first night.  They are so easy, so fast and they’ll make excellent hostess gifts for all my Christmas parties this year.

Here is what you’ll need:

Pledge Floor Care with Future Shine (this stuff will last forever)
Clear glass ornaments
Envelope – to use as a funnel.  Cut in half and then snip off one corner
Extra Fine Glitter
Two small containers – one for the extra glitter and one for the extra Pledge



1.  Pop out all the metal hooks from the ornaments



2.  Squirt a little bit of the Pledge into the ornament and swirl it around.  Try not to shake it so there won’t be a lot of bubbles.



3.  After the inside of the ornament is completely coated in Pledge pour it into one of your containers.



4.  Pour your glitter into the ornament.



5.  Cover the opening of the ornament with your finger and shake the glitter so that everything is covered.



6.  Pour excess glitter into the 2nd container.



7.  Pop your hooks back on and you’re done!

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Linking to:
Fingerprints on the Fridge, Kojo Designs, My Romantic Home, Sassy Sites
Tatertots and Jello, Tidy Mom, Whipperberry, A Vision to Remember
Funky Junk Interiors, Be Different Act Normal, I Heart Naptime, C.R.A.F.T.,
The DIY Showoff, Created By Cori, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch
The Girl Creative, Skip to my Lou, Keeping it Simple, Embellishing Life
Sugar Bee Crafts, Serenity You

Dining Room Table Redo

I bought a dining table and chairs off Craigslist several months ago and it sat in my dining room taking up space, collecting junk.  I had towels on the chairs because the fabric was dirty, and it was just a mess.  I started working on the chairs a few weeks ago and kept dragging my feet, not really getting it done.  I didn’t really know what I was doing and I was scared to mess it up.

Today we had a housewarming party and I really wanted the table and the chairs to be done so everything would look nice.  So I was outside in the garage every night last week stripping the old stain, sanding, painting, more sanding, more paining and then I put a top coat on the table.  I can’t believe how different everything looks with a little bit of paint and new stain.  I love how it turned out and it was much easier than I expected it to be.

Before:



After:





I’m totally hooked on redoing furniture.  I have a buffet for our TV that’s next on my list of things to do.   Hopefully it won’t sit in my garage until Christmas!

Linking to:
I Heart Naptime, Under the Table and Dreaming, Funky Junk Interiors Tatertots & Jello, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, The Girl Creative The DIY Showoff, Skip to my Lou, Keeping It Simple, CRAFT
Making the World Cuter, Sew Can Do, Embellishing Life

First Soccer Game

Watching four and five year olds play soccer is the most frustrating thing ever!  Yesterday was Madison’s first official soccer game.  We went over everything before the game:  run after the ball even if no one else is, they’ll follow you; try to get the ball into the goal; the goal what the net is called;  try to keep the ball away from the other team; the other team is wearing a different color than your team, etc. 

She seemed to get everything we told her.  Then the game started.  She kind of remembered what to do so she was having fun.  Then at the end of the game she was standing right in front of the goal with the ball all by herself.  She looked down and then looked at us like she didn’t know what to do!  Everyone was screaming for her to kick it in the goal.  By the time she realized what she was supposed to do, the other team had caught up and kicked the ball out of the way.  She didn’t score a goal yesterday, but her team did win. 

I’m also trying to finish up some old projects and get caught up on my scrapbook pages.  I’m really trying to clear out some of the clutter in my craft room so I can figure out what I want to do with it.

Labor Day Weekend

How is your weekend going?  Ours is pretty quiet.  The extra day off just means more time for running errands, cleaning and having a BBQ on Monday instead of Sunday.  Even though we’re not doing a lot, I am getting a lot done and sometimes that’s all I want.

After I ordered my project life album for 2011, I loved it so much I ordered a second album for all my 2010 photos.  I finally finished it last night.  A few of my favorite pages:

Since starting project life I hadn’t done a single traditional scrapbook page until last week.  I forgot how much fun it was to just play around with all the paper and embellishments I have laying around.

I am also working on my first furniture project.  I found a dining table on Craigslist a few weeks after we moved into  our house and it’s been sitting in the garage.  It’s really not a hard project, but just the fear of screwing it up makes me put it off.  Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer.  I had to keep telling myself that the worst that could happen is I mess it up and have to find another one.  Here is a before and after of the chairs:

The chairs are done now and I only have the table to do.  I’m hoping by next weekend everything will be finished.

Update

How about an update on what we’ve been doing lately.  If you remember what our backyard looked like a few months ago, you know it wasn’t pretty.

April:

In June we rented two giant dumpsters and a jackhammer to get rid of all the concrete:

We hired someone to pour new stamped concrete and build a wall around the area where we will be laying sod.  We will bring in dirt so that the grass will be even with the top of the wall:

And the front of the wall:

We still have a lot more work to do but I can finally envision how everything will turn out.  I can’t wait to get some color back there.

When we’re not working in the yard we are going to soccer games:

Playing at the beach:

And taking silly pictures:

Wear Blue: Run To Remember

This weekend was all about “Wear Blue: Run To Remember.”  It’s a group my sister, Lisa, started when her husband died while serving in Afghanistan in 2009.  Friday night was a golf tournament to raise money for her group.  We had a great time trying to win the raffle and auction prizes, listening to her talk about Wear Blue and seeing the kids running around having fun.



Saturday we headed to San Francisco to get ready for the SF Marathon.  We had our pre-race dinner at the hotel.



After dinner I went up to my room to get some sleep before my half marathon while Lisa headed out to San Bruno to start her ultra marathon, 52. 4 miles.  Her and four other runners from Wear Blue: Run To Remember and Team Red White and Blue started at midnight and ran the first 26.2 miles to the start of the San Francisco Marathon.

Before they started they called out the name of the fallen soldier they were running for.

(photo by Joe Dannels)

They took turns carrying the flag throughout the entire race.


(photo by Joe Dannels)

2:18 a.m.  Running past the Cliff House in San Francisco.


(photo by Joe Dannels)

They got to our hotel around 4:30 and met up with all the other runners.



We walked to the start line and waited for the race to start.



We ran over the Golden Gate Bridge and up some brutal hills.



We were all relaxing, drinking our coffee when Lisa and the rest of the ultra runners crossed the finish line.  I don’t know how they did it, but it was amazing watching them step across the finish line holding the flag.



My favorite picture of the entire weekend.  Lisa (on the right) has the craziest happy face I’ve ever seen.  I just love it and laugh every time I look at it.

Julie (on the left) signed up to run the half marathon and then decided she couldn’t leave Lisa at a particularly difficult point in the race and decided to just finish with her.  Who does that?  She signs up for 13 miles, which is hard enough, and then just runs a full 26.  Crazy.



It was a great weekend, and I can’t wait until next year when we do it all again.

New File Cabinet

Can you believe it?  My first post in almost two months!  I have been working on a few things, but most are sitting half finished in the garage. 

When I first saw Miss Mustard Seed's chalkboard cabinet, I knew I had to have one.  I've been searching for a cheap two drawer file cabinet for all my paperwork and scrapbook paper.  I finally found one a couple weeks ago.  Who knew it would be so hard to find.

Here it is before.  Not too bad, just a few chips.  I lightly sanded the entire cabinet and then wiped it down to remove any dust.

After a coat of primer and two coats of chalkboard paint I ended up with this:

I'm still trying to find just the right spot for it, and something cute to put on top, but I like it.  And once I actually file all my paperwork, my office will look so much more organized!

Linking To:
Embellishing Life, The Girl Creative, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Somewhat Simple
Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Romantic Home,
Tidy Mom, Sassy Sites, Simply Sweet Home, Dittle Dattle

Our Disneyland Trip

We had a great trip to Disneyland and I wish I could go back right now.  I had prepared myself for the worst - long bathroom lines, cranky girls, Madison being too scared to go on the rides - but it ended up being so easy! 

We started out slow on It's a Small World, then worked our way up to the bigger rides.

Once Madison got used to it, she wanted to go on everything.   She wanted to ride "Faster than the wind" on the teacups.



While waiting in line to see Tinkerbell, we saw a little area of water filled with coins.  Madison wanted to know why there was money in the water.  I told her you throw a penny in the water and make a wish.  I gave her a penny and asked her what shew as going to wish for.  She said "True Love."  ( in that Duh Mommy voice)

We had lunch with the Princesses.

And took lots of pictures.

We're still working on our house and I'm all up to date on my Project Life album so I'll have some updates soon!