Archive for January 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Valentine's Moustache Pops

We all know that I'm a sucker for a fake moustache, so when Vance requested these (again) for his Valentines I was more than happy. I figure a new school means a new audience, plus I already have the photoshopping done. 

A win-win. 

I broke it down into steps this time around, so here we go. 

Step 1: Grab a picture. (Mine were from a photo shoot with the talented Jen Roh, but a snapshot works just as well.)

Step 2: I used Photoshop to "cut" his head from the picture but any photo editing site will work. Old school works here too - print the picture, cut around it with scissors, then scan it or even take another picture of it against a white piece of paper. Either way your goal is a floating head type of appearance.

Step 3: Slap a moustache on it. Again, there's a ton of free photo editing sites out there. If not you could cut a teeny one from paper, glue it on, and scan it back in. Or draw one one. It's a Valentine for kids. They won't care if it's a little wonky.

Step 4: I copy and pasted his head along with a speech bubble that said, "Happy Valentine's Day" into a blank document so that I could cut them out and glue them onto the sucker. Position them so that you have at least an inch of paper before his head to allow for gluing and wrapping them onto the sucker. I also left enough room so that he could sign his name.

Step 5: Use a moustache stencil (Google them and you'll find a ton of different stencils) and trace onto a sheet of foam (sold near the felt at your craft store). Cut and poke a hole into the center with your scissors. 

Step 6: Poke your sucker through the center of the moustache and glue your tag onto them. 

Viola! Valentine Moustache Suckers!
  

Valentine's Day falls on a Tuesday this year, meaning Vaughn will be at school for it so guess I'll be making some for her too! 


Her 'stache is a bit wonky. Might need to take the time to fix it. Or not. They're kids and more interested in the candy.

****CANDY!****
Valentine's Day will be here before I know it - better get moving!

have a great monday!


Friday, January 27, 2012

Friday Four

1. Painting. 
I'm happy to announce that as of yesterday around 2:56 pm the first coat of paint was complete. This has been the biggest project that we've taken on and it has whooped us. The house is a trimming nightmare with it's high ceilings and weird angles. Here's an action shot of Justin up high:

We had to buy one of these too. It's called a Pivit and it worked great. 

One coat down, one to go. 

 2. Spray painting.
Here's a sad attempt to make these ugly curtain rod finials not-so-ugly. Yes, they're not green any more but no, they're not any prettier. 


3. Oopsey Daisy.
Here I am trying to hide the fact that I got white paint onto my black sweater. Sharpies come in handy for so many different reasons. 


3. Music.
Last week Vance had his school musical debut. Each student was equipped with 2 wooden sticks (to play with one of the songs) and there was never any sword fighting or head bonking. Way to go first grade teachers! I'm sure that's a first grade miracle!


4. Dance
Here's Vaughn warming up her tapity-tap shoes before class the other day.


Have a great weekend! 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Heart Shaped Oreo Truffles



Oreo truffles. 

If you haven't tried them you need to. They're fantastic and unfortunately have become a staple around here. 

Here's what you do:

Crush an entire bag of Oreo's in a food processor then add a brick of cream cheese. Whirl that around until everything is mixed and use a small cookie scoop (or your hands) to make balls. Line them on wax paper or a cookie sheet, freeze them for an hour, then dip into melted bakers chocolate or almond bark. Keep them in an air-tight container in the freezer. Try not to eat all of them in one night. 

While I was making a batch I thought about making heart shaped ones for Valentine's Day. It worked! Instead of balling them, use a cookie cutter or a knife to make the hearts. Freeze and dip like normal. 



After dipping them in chocolate have fun decorating them. I melted white chocolate and the kids helped drizzle it on. We also used food coloring to make pink chocolate to drizzle but those were eaten before I could snap a picture! 

Your Valentine's will love them. Mine sure do!



Friday, January 20, 2012

Does This Make Me the 4th Wise Man?

My kids suffer from motion sickness so I'm always picking up Dramamine. On my last trip I noticed something new. It's a topical treatment that you rub behind the ear that's supposed to help. What's in it? Oils. You know, lavender, chamomile, ylang ylang, peppermint, frankencense, and myrrh. 

Wait a minute...frankencense & myrrh?

Isn't that what the wise men brought baby Jesus?

If it's good enough for the king of kings it's good enough for my two clowns.

...................

It seems to be working for Vaughn. I haven't tried it on Vance yet. The smell is better than what I thought it would be. I first imagined a bottled-hippy scent, but it's really not bad at all. Just tap the bottle 3 times with your finger then rub on the soft spot behind your ear.  


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

It's Friday which means we've survived another week. If you'd peek in my front windows you'd see a mess. We're slowly getting the painting done. Justin had the extension ladder out last night doing some of the high work. We bought office furniture and were able to pick 3 pieces of it up last night but are waiting for the other 3 to come in. But in the office right now is a couch that won't fit into the basement and we have no other place for it to go. (I'll be putting it up on Craig's List today. If you're interested - it's a brown/neutral colored couch from Ashley that has hardly been used. Pet free and smoke free! If you're super interested I also have a matching oversized chair and ottoman that matches. What else? Pedestals for a LG washer and dryer!) I also need to paint the office before we put the furniture in, so you know what that means...I have to find another paint color!

Have a great weekend! 

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Phone is Ringing. Oh My God.

As soon as we had our phone hooked up and had been given our new phone number at our last house it was apparent that the previous owner of the number was a convict. Or soon to be anyways. 


Calls poured in from collection agencies and even the area police office looking for *Miss Emily P. Curtis. Every time I had to explain that we had just been given the number and even though I am a female, I am not Emily P. Curtis. 


We've had our phone connected at the new house for about a month now and nothing. No calls for shady ladies that may or may not be on the lam. Boring. Big time.


*You know I can't use her real name.
..........................


It's Thursday, a school day for both kiddos, and I have 2 quarts of sample paint to roll on. Please let one be the winner. 


Question of the Day: What's your favorite brand of paint to use? Anyone, anyone?  



Monday, January 09, 2012

Weekend Highlights

This weather! We made many trips to a new park that has great walking trails. Unfortunately on our last trip Vaughn tripped and scraped her hand and her knees pretty badly. Oops.


Vance read in a newspaper that Giant Boa Constrictor's are invading Florida and felt it was necessary to call and alert my parents. He didn't want a guilty conscience in case anything happened and he knew such information. As an added bonus he also told them the differences between crocodiles and alligators, just to be on the safe side.


We finished painting Vance's room and rearranged his furniture. While we're still needing shelves, curtains, and may paint some decorative stripes around the top of the room in the future, it feels so good to have one room close to being done


We picked up yet another paint sample. I was for sure it was the one. It's not. But we're getting closer.  


Justin and I watched Inception. Or did I just dream that we watched it?


For Christmas I got a frother that didn't work. I sent it back and the replacement was sent to my parent's house. It worked out nicely as we swooped by and picked it up last night on our way to our nephew's birthday party. Last night, cake. This morning, froth. A win win.


Today? I have to take my scraped up ballerina to ballerina class. Then to pick up more paint samples.


Happy Monday! 


  

Friday, January 06, 2012

I'll share a secret. 


Get yourselves a pair of Juicy velour track pants, turn them inside out, and put them on. 


(I've tried it with other brands and they're not as good.)


So comfy. You'll be glad you did. 


*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*


I turn my clothes inside out when I paint. That's another secret for ya. I figured that out years ago since every house that we move into has required a ton of painting. I'm not a messy painter so this works for me. 


Painting Updates:
First coat is done in Vance's room.


Still working on picking the color for everywhere else. Usually we're fast when it comes to picking colors. Probably too fast. That's why we're taking our time this time around.


If you haven't heard, it's Friday. Yay!

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

I can't help these feelings

I can't wear a scarf without feeling like an asshole thanks to this hilarious piece over at Coolmom: Moms with Scarves


I'm feeling old because I'm so excited to have my birds back. Justin found and hung the bird feeder for me and there are so many birds to look at. Cardinals, finches, woodpeckers, and bluejays. The kids and I had a great time this morning watching all of them. 


I can't help thinking about the Incredible Shrinking Woman every time I put scrambled eggs down the garbage disposal. (I used to have that movie on VHS.) Concepcion! Concepcion!


Source









I can't help laughing out loud at Vaughn lately. She's been insisting on wearing too-small fake glasses around and at times reminds me of Olive from Little Miss Sunshine.


Source





She also has been citing lines from The Grinch at random. In her best Jim Carrey "grinchy" voice she'll yell out, "Max!" or "That is not a chew toy!" here and there. 


.......


I haven't started painting yet. My to-do list and cold got the best of me yesterday, so painting got pushed back a day. I'm feeling better today so after story time at the library and a quick grocery trip I'll hopefully be able to sidetrack Vaughn and get started today. Woo Hoo.


Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Paint your Pretty Picture

We started out with this:

Next up were these:

Which helped pick out the samples:

You know what? Painting on top of yellow makes the true color look  grayer or even more purple than it's supposed to. Hello Primer! 



We've chosen one and picked up a gallon of it so we can paint an entire wall first to make sure it's the one.


 We've been busy in Vance's room too. The pink is so bright and overpowering it makes everything look pinkish.  



We chose the color on the bottom and I'll start painting today. Right after I get Vance on the bus, go to sign up Vaughn for school, find a post office, start some laundry, do some cleaning, and get dinner going. Painting is going to be a long process, but I'm just happy that it's starting!

(After Vance's painting is done next up is how to tackle that corner window. Any suggestions? Guess I'll take it to Pinterest and see what I can find there.) 

It's Tuesday! Have a great one!

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Reasons in which I like 2012 already

We celebrated New Years Eve last night with friends.


Vaughn is tucked in bed. She's excited about her ballet class that starts tomorrow.


Vance is sitting in between Justin and I on the couch reading poems aloud from Where the Sidewalk Ends


My brother and his wife stopped by to see our new house today.


My mom and dad called up and invited themselves over for dinner. They brought dinner and dessert. I set a fancy table and provided the champagne in an attempt to pretend that I equally contributed.


Our family tradition is to eat pork, potatoes, sauerkraut, and black eyed peas for luck. At least one bite of each will cover you for a year. 


What do you do for luck?





 

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