Greetings!

A couple of weeks ago I was introduced to a company named “Treat”, a company I had never heard of, a company by Shutterfly.  Right after surfing over to their website, I immediately fell in love.  Treat (now Shutterfly as of 2015) is one of those companies that you see and think “I wish I would’ve thought of that.”  On top of having an ingenious idea, their products and services are right up my alley…like right up there.  They sell greeting cards.  But not just any greeting cards.  Customizable greeting cards that they send out for you (you can even schedule them months in advance!!!!)  I don’t know about you but we are theee worst at sending out birthday cards, anniversary cards, wedding cards, you name it, we just don’t (but we do call!).  1) We forget, 2) we forget and then the thought of loading the kids up to make a “quick” trip to a card aisle ain’t happenin’, and 3) we’re awful jerks who are horrible at making thoughts count.

Anyway, Treat handed me an extra large glass of creative juice as I got to thinking about how to display the greeting cards you get whether it be for your birthday, anniversary, get well wishes, etc…  I jumped at the opportunity to work with them and am so excited to share my ideas with you all because not only are we bad at sending out cards but when we do get cards for different occasions, they’re read and set in a neat pile on the kitchen countertop.  Boring.  Not anymore though because I’ve been brainstorming… 

 

 

1.  Clip ‘Em

Clipboards used as wall art have been popping up all over the design sphere and so I thought I’d try my hand at using them.  All I did was hang some Easter cards I sent to the kiddos by one corner so that you could see both the cover and the heartfelt, warm & fuzzies on the inside.

 

Oh and the clipboards?  Cute cards deserve cute clipboards, right?  I snagged some old clipboards, spray painted the stained silver clip gold, and cleaned the boards as well as I could so that I could freehand some lines with white acrylic paint.  After I had the thin lines on they seemed a little too psychedelic so I filled them in to make them thicker and then I dabbed some coral paint (leftover from this desk) on the outer edges of the board for a little surprise o’ color.

2.  Stick ‘Em
 

I think this idea is my fave and will probably be the way we display our greeting cards from here on out. First, I grabbed a vase and filled it with dried peas (my sister Farrah’s genius idea).  You could also use rice, rocks, glass pieces, etc…

Next I grabbed a bamboo skewer (I have tons leftover from this mirror project but you can find them in almost any grocery store) and threaded it through a card like so:

Then I simply stuck my card “flowers” into my pea-filled vase, arranged them a wee bit, and wa-la –> a card bouquet. 

You could also add some pretty silk flowers to the mix for more volume.  :)

3.  Hang ‘Em
There are lots of ways you can hang cards and even more places.  Using suction cups (like these on Amazon), I thought it’d be cool to display the cards by hanging them on a window. 
How cool would it be have all the windows in one room of your house sporting greeting cards?  Nobody would forget it’s YOUR birthday then, right?  ;)

Also using the suction cups, I stuck the cards to the mirror in our entry way.  It’s in a prime location as far as passing by is concerned and so you can’t miss the occasion by sticking it to this mirror. 

I also enlisted the help of some magnetic hooks (like these on Amazon) we had laying around to hang the cards from our fridge.

[I mean, Sebastian as the Easter bunny?  So cute, no?]

 

4.  Frame ‘Em
So, here’s what happened.  I ordered the Easter cards for the kids and then I got sucked into Treat again (it’s inevitable, trust me) when I discovered some blank cards that would make awesome wall art.  Behold:
So I framed them and hung them in our office.  I can’t get enough of them.  I mean, wall art these days, even printable downloads can range anywhere from $10 to $50 or more which is great and all except that I’d rather spend that on a coffee date or five.  These two cards cost $3.49 each and they instantly added a dose of happy to our space.

But, instead of leaving them blank and hanging them (which is totally cool), I used them to create a sort of time capsule.  I had the girls scribble in one and I wrote down a bunch of family facts in the other like how many kids we have right now, where we live, what we do for a living, etc… 

I think it’ll be really fun to take them out of their frames in a few years and look back on what was and see how it’s changed. 

Here are some more cards from Treat that I think would look great paired with a frame and a wall:

Sending these out with a frame to a special someone would also make a great gift, not only your words within, but the added fun of framing the card and showcasing a keepsake, don’t you think?

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So, how do you display cards when they arrive for a certain someone for a certain special occasion?  Are you like us and store them in a pile or stack or do you set them out for all to see?  I’ll admit writing this post turned me into a believer that cards should be seen and not stashed.  They’re a reminder of a celebration and usually a someone who probably deserves some visual love.  :)

Head on over to Treat (now Shutterfly) and check them out!  Here are some of my favorite cards: 

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A huge thank you to Treat for providing the cards I needed to make our displays come to life!  They were truly a pleasure to work with!  :)
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Bonus behind-the-scenes picture:

I had fun one day during nap time one day.  Only a third of a table set instead of the whole thing because you know the twins would have it all crashing down before you can say “Peter Cottontail”.  Hah!  :)

Sebastian: Three Months

[Do you have a name or can I just call you mine?]

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Male.  Three months young.  Thirteen pounds, give or take an ounce or two (what his sisters weighed at six months!!!!)  Enjoys long walks in the Bjorn, warm baths, blowing spit bubbles, cooing with the handsome little man in the mirror, very intent studying of own hands, and spitting up whenever the stuff rises.  Aka –> lots of carrying, lots of spit, lots of talking, lots of staring, and lots of laundry.

Seeking food.  More food.

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Some outtakes:

[I can see the future and I see me in your arms.]

[Forget Sebastian.  Just call me Rico…Rico Suave.]

>>><<<
P.S.  Sebastian:  Months One & Two
The twins:  Month Three

Check It

Everyday I ask myself the same question, “should we leave the house today?” and everyday the answer is “yes, we definitely need to get OUT!” and then everyday I chicken out and we end up staying home because I’d rather come down with a hearty case of cabin fever than brave the public with all three kids in tow (plus, Sebastian has something against his car seat which makes even two minute drives so much fun, as you can imagine).  So, because we don’t leave the premises I’ve succeeded (most days) in getting all three chicks to nap at the same time which means that this mom’s been busy which also means that there are lots of fun posts coming your way in the next few weeks as soon as I can lick up what’s on the plate at the moment and get it all into words.  Until then, feast on these:

In only a few short paragraphs, Tracy at Making the Trek put the most emotion, truth, and profound meaning into one post.    

If you love Target (who doesn’t?), then you have to read this.  If you love Target and you go there just to “get away for a little bit”, then you have to read this.  If you love Target and your wallet cringes every time you walk in, then you have to read this.  Just read it, man or woman, read it and relate.  (Thanks Callie!)

My friend Jesse just finished painting her kitchen countertops and, seriously, she did thee most amazing job I’ve ever seen of all the painted countertops in the world.  She doesn’t have a blog to share all her excellent DIY-ventures but I coerced her into letting me post pictures of them here:

Ummm, like, she totally painted those streaks and striations by hand!!!  Impressive or what?

She’s in the middle of a kitchen reno, as you can probably tell from the pictures, but how amazing do her counters look?!  I also coerced her into letting me write all about them, the what’s, why’s, where’s, and how-to’s when she’s all done with the reno so stay tuned!

My friends Lauren and Ana have a series called “Belly Buds” going on at their web homes.  They’re both pregnant and due close to each other and they talk all things pregnancy so if you can’t get enough of pregnancy and allllll that goes with it, you should follow along with them.

It’s Lent, a time to give (and give up) until it’s uncomfortable.  If you’re looking for a worthy cause to give to, please consider donating to our friends Jessi and Matt.  I’ve mentioned their situation before but their sweet two-year old daughter Madison was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor and is currently undergoing chemo.  As you can imagine, this costs money.  Donate here and keep updated on Madison’s progress.

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P.S.  We finished constructing and hanging a new chandelier in our entry way!  I posted a sneak photo of it on our Facebook page especially for our sweet fans!  Head on over and ‘like’ us if you’d like to see it!  Spoiler alert:  It’s freaking amazing!!

P.P.S.  These are my five favorites for the week!  I’m linking up with Hallie at Moxie Wife to share them.  Click over there to read more favorites!

Entry Way Mirror

There’s been more progress in the entry way…a drop in the bucket but progress is progress and I’ll take it.  We hung a mirror.  Woop de doo, I know.  It’s a vintage mirror I bought at a thrift store a few weeks after we moved here for $15 and it’s been taking up residence in different closets and until recently, in the girls room behind their door. 

The only ones not impressed with the progress are the girls, who have been using the mirror since they’ve been able to crawl.

The reason I’m writing about hanging the mirror is because it’s not your typical pop-a-nail-in-and-call-it-a-day type of job.  You see, the small expanse of wall I wanted this mirror on (the wall across from the hook wall) had a couple of studs behind it, none of them dab smack in the middle of the wall.  Great, well use a drywall plug then, right?  Riiiight…except that this mirror is super heavy and with the girls running past this spot a thousand times a day, I didn’t trust one little dry wall plug (as super duty as it might be) to keep the mirror mirror on the wall and not crashing into the fairest of them all.  Got it?

So, what we did was install two screws – one in the closest stud and one in a heavy-duty drywall plug about six inches away.  The tiny crosses in the picture below indicate where the screws would be placed.
The mirror is hung by a thick string strung along the back so to hang it all I did was make sure it was tethered over both screws which allowed it to hang centered.  Does that make sense?  If we had hung it solely on the screw that caught the stud, it’d be off center but by putting in another screw, we could utilize both and get the mirror centered.  It’s a fairly simple solution to get something hung where you want it when the studs behind the wall aren’t in the spots you want them to be.

Silly me didn’t talk a picture showing how centered it was on the little wall but once I get the rest of the entry way done, I’ll give ya a nice big ‘reveal’ picture and you’ll be able to see it.  Isn’t it pretty though?  I’ve been on the fence about whether or not to paint it but for now I’m going to live with it as is.  I like the gold but I wish it was a little brighter.  Whatever becomes of it, you know I’ll blog it.  :)

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So now that that’s up and done, we’re moving on to installing a new light fixture.  It involves this… 

…but it’s probably not what you’re thinking.  Stay tuned.

Oh and yesterday I peeked into Goodwill on the way to buy groceries and laid my eyes on these chairs:
I had to have them, two of them to be exact.  However, they were sold as a set of four so I bought all four for a total of $40.  I’m going to sell the extra two after I gussy them up and the other two are going…well, you’ll have to just wait and see.  :)

Have a great Monday!

No-Sew Changing Liner

When it comes to changing diapers in this casa, we ran into a minor problemo after we added another kid to the mix.  That is, there’s only one changing table/pad to serve all diaper-wearing folk and it’s in the girls’ room so when the girls are sleeping it become inconvenient to change Sebastian. 

Of course I could go find the diaper bag and pull out the diaper changing liner, bring it into our/his room where most of his diaper paraphernalia is anyway (aside from the few diapers in the girls’ room), and change him there, making sure to remember to put the liner back into the diaper bag for when we decide to venture out of the house.  However, the easiest thing to do would be to change Seb where most of his diapers are without having to have a small treasure hunt first and that happens to be on his co-sleeper.  But, and if you have boys or have ever changed a boy you know this, baby males have this thing not unlike a small, powerful fire hose attached to them that can release at any given time, dousing anything and everything around with pee.  It creates many an opportunity for patience...and more laundry.  Therefore, so that I could change Sebastian on his bed without having to worry about his bedding getting sprayed, I whipped up a quick and easy changing liner just for his space using some laminated fabric I found at Hobby Lobby.
 

All I did was cut it to fit perfectly inside his co-sleeper and that’s it.  (When I first cut the liner, I had planned to hem the ends but realized there’d be no point since they didn’t fray at all, not even when I pulled on them.) 

It gets folded up and placed in the basket underneath his co-sleeper with his diapers and wipes when done, unless it needs to be wiped off quickly.  Quick and easy, perfect for any mom with more than zero kids because we all know quick and easy are key words in those kinds of households.  Of course it would also work to use on couches, floors, tables, the gross changing stations you find in public outhouses where it protects the surroundings from overspray and the babe from germs.  #winwin

The fabric itself is really lightweight so it can shift a little with little bare-footed kicking so to eliminate that you could glue or sew a heavier fabric to the back.  If I ever get a few thumb-twiddling moments of time in the future I might do that…read: I’ll never get around to that.  But, just sayin’. 

Speaking of diapering, there’s three wet ones waiting for me.  Sayonara!