Mommy Corner: Puzzle Solution

Merry Christmas, the holidays are in full swing and the dust has settled on our present unwrapping adventures.  I have a quick little mommy post for you. 

This is a cute little puzzle that Santa brought to my house for Christmas.  Wouldn’t you know it, there were no pictures under the pieces and the nearly 2 year old was a bit frustrated by the lack of direction when putting the pieces where they belong.

 

No worries, mommy had a quick fix and he was back to puzzle playing in under 15 minutes.  I placed the pieces on the HP All-In-One and ran a quick color copy.

 

I then cut the copies out and used Modge Podge to glue them into the blank spaces.  Once secure I gave them another coat of glue on top and dried the completed puzzle with my blow dryer. 

 

See nothing major, a quick fix that made my littlest one very happy. 

 

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas, and may you have a Happy and Safe New Year.

Pirate Room Done: I Don't Have To Walk The Plank

You know I was thinking if this blog was a teenager it would be on a shrink’s couch right now complaining about how neglected it is, and how I don’t pay it any attention.  Good for me it is an inanimate object that comes from my own little brain otherwise I would be in big trouble. 

The entire month of August got away from me before I realized it. I have been crazy busy with life, work, a last minute vacation, and the start of a new school year.  I know that a lot of moms were fired up about school starting, but for me it just means homework in the evenings.  Okay I confess, I purchased the summer bridge activity workbooks, but the atmosphere for those is quite a bit more relaxed than homework.  Any who…on with today’s post.   

The “Pirate Bedroom” is finally finished.  Well, finished in the sense that my part is complete.  I am sure things will be added, subtracted or just generally tweaked by the kindergartner as his taste and interest change.  So without further ado her you go. 

 

A few things have been added since the last update, I made some books ledges, and my sister put a few decorative pillows on the floor to create and reading area for him to lounge around and read. The side table painted and topped in this post.

Some items were placed on shelf I installed previously, a few more treasures that he picked out.

The art holding octopus and some metal palm trees. He was kind enough to provide me with some of his favorite art from this summer. 

I added an upcycled toy box on which I painted some treasure chest artwork.  I don’t think I will be quitting my day job to become a trompe l'oeil painter, but he loved it.  There is the chalk board fashioned from a mirror frame found here.

I added a mirror that I purchased from the ReStore.  It was green of all things, and I painted it the same white I used to whitewash the night stand and book ledges. 

Last but not least, my favorite, a lamp that I purchased at the Good Will and refinished.  I searched high and low for this one and the thrift store gods shined down on me one Saturday afternoon.  I so wanted to keep this one but alas I have no nautical themed room in which to put it. 

I could have kept going with, silk palm trees, sea shell curtain tie backs…and on and on.  But I put my hands up and backed away from the kid’s room.  I needed to quit while I was ahead and remember that kid friendly was what I was going for, not the cover of BHG.  Insert a chuckle here.

So there you have it finally.  My nephew was so excited with each new item that I put in; he couldn’t wait for me to finish up so he could hang out in his cool room.  Come back soon, I will be showing you all the major happenings in the front yard. 

What Has Eight Legs & Holds Art?

Why an octopus of course! I know I haven’t shown y’all this pirate bedroom I’m always going on about, but the fact of the matter is I'm not quite finished with it.  Any normal person would be done by now, but the truth is I keep thinking of other things that would go well in there and I want to wait until it's all done.  It is so close to being finished.   
I got to thinking that my nephew needed a place to hang his art work and there are so many wonderful ideas out there, however I came up with this idea out of my own crafty little brain.  Mostly because I needed an excuse to play with my new overhead projector that I purchased off of craigslist, also because I wanted something to take up plenty of space on those red walls.

I began by finding a silhouette of an octopus on line and tracing is onto a transparency. 

I turned a half sheet of bead board paneling to the wrong side and traced the silhouette using my handy dandy overhead projector.  

Next I drilled several holes at different places on the board to accommodate the sharp angles. A skill saw can't make those sharp turns and drilling the pilot holes at the onset kept me from stopping during the cutting.

I cut out the octopus with a skill saw and sanded the edges with a detail sander. 

I painted the octopus with a blue sample I picked up at the Lowes’s that I watered down to achieve a more transparent wash than a solid paint job.  I dry brushed over the blue paint with a bit of off white. 

Lastly I used small screws to attach silver bulldog clips.  I had to use a split washer to keep the screws from coming out the back, plus it keeps the clips from spinning. 

I had to search the store room for the smallest screwdriver I could find, so it would fit through the clip itself.  Luckily I had one on hand.  I secured one clip for each of the legs and I was done. 

Major cuteness I think and I can’t wait to show you guys how it looks on the wall. 

Come back for the last pirate room project and the big reveal.  I promise it is almost finished, and if I’m lying y’all can make me walk the plank. 

UPDATE: Here is the finished product up in the finished room, what fun this was.