Smile And Wave

Acrylic Message Board DIY

I've been wanting to make a message board for a few months but it just wasn't coming together as easily as I wanted it to. Thankfully, I finally found the right supplies and was able to knock one out and get one corner of my studio space reorganized to show it off. Make your own and use it as a calendar or a mini pep talk. See the full tutorial over at A Beautiful Mess.

Oh, and for those who have asked in the comments over there, the shelving system is from IKEA. I'm wishing I'd purchased a few more to keep more out of reach of Smith's eager little fists. That boy is into everything these days! He likes to keep his mama busy. I kind of love it.

-Rachel

The Snowiest Week So Far

We've had a few days of snow with freezing temps that have kept it around. It's beautiful on a sunny afternoon but today has been grey and frigid with more of the same in the forecast. While it's no Boston snowpack and we're not technically snowed in, it's made me us all a little stir crazy. After almost a week of missed school and then President's day off, we also had two extra snow days so we basically had another winter break without the thrill of Christmas to distract us from cold toes and twenty minute outfit changes every time we step out into the weather. It's made me cranky, folks. 

The first afternoon was pretty fun, though! The kids thought they'd introduce their bunnies to their first snow day and took them out in the fluffy stuff for a total of five minutes before everyone was ready to go in. They seemed curious and probably enjoyed a change of scenery since they're only in the house all the time but we didn't want any bunnies getting sick or lost, either. 

Sebastian was eager to earn some spending money so I let him shovel the walk and scrape off the layers of snow on the cars. He impressed me with how long he stayed outside. It's funny what you're willing to do when money is on the line! 

The big kids have recovered from their colds but Smith has been working on his the last two days. I thought we had dodged a bullet and got lazy with using OnGuard on everyone and then suddenly the sniffles started and then the cough and an extra nap here and there. With it has come the new habit of hugging us on purpose so I'll take it! 

I'm about ready to throw in the towel on below freezing temperatures but I'm so thankful that spring will be here sooner than we know it. This time last year we were still a good two months away from thawing out up in Colorado Springs!

Stay warm, friends. And if you've actually had to turn on your AC already, don't tell me. 

-Rachel

Gallery Wall Favorites from Minted

Find the Artist: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

I recently spent some time browsing through Minted's art selection and was so impressed with the artists and prints they offer. With every move there are a few blank walls that need something special but it can be overwhelming trying to decide on what to add.

I did a little exercise in figuring out what I was drawn to by scrolling through and favoriting everything that gave me pause that I knew could work in at least two rooms in our house. Whatever comes to live with us needs to be flexible on where it lands! I then went back to my favorites page to see if there was a strong theme to the kind of art I had clicked on. Sure enough there was a strong black, white, neutral theme along with a LOT of pink. Thank goodness I'm married to a man who isn't afraid of a little pink. Ha! 

Speaking of being married to a high caliber hunk of a man, I wish Minted had been around way back when we were figuring out our wedding invitations. I have fond memories of half of my dorm helping me emboss my hand stamped invitations into the wee hours of the night with their hair dryers. It was all lilac and sage green as far as the eye could see!

Here are three of my favorites that they currently offer:  One, Two, Three

Where do you turn when you're searching for new art for your home? Does it feel easy to settle on something or does it take you forever to decide?

-Rachel

P.S. I plan on sharing exactly what I picked out from Minted's lovely selection soon! Which one would you choose?

*This post was in collaboration with Minted but all opinions, nostalgic throwbacks, and favorite colors are my own. 

Valentine's Day Forever

I love when a fun holiday lands on a weekend so that it can be fully enjoyed by all members of the family at the same time. This Valentine's Day we celebrated at home with some special touches to make it feel more festive. Cake is always requested for holidays at home and I'm always happy to oblige. This year it meant a boxed red velvet cake (it'd been a long week) with homemade cream cheese frosting (because duh, not that long) and their favorite root beer from our local natural food grocer. 

I pulled out all of the pink and red decorations from holidays past and then added my new macrame yarn garland and finger knit one in pink. I have a feeling they'll be used for the next few November birthday parties unless Ruby stops loving pink as much as I do. She helped decorate with plenty of handmade hearts to make sure our walls weren't bare and made sure she was around to taste test the cake mix and frosting. 

The kids got Valentines from their great grandparents in the mail that afternoon with a little fun money inside so Brett volunteered to take all three of them to Target to pick something out and run a few errands while I finished the cake and enjoyed a quiet house for the first time in weeks. It was one of those gifts of time alone doing something I enjoyed that was worth more than any store bought gift I could've received and made all the more valuable after about six weeks of having all three kids mostly to myself. 

It was so fun having both arms free to add sprinkles to the cake in the shape of a heart, decorate the top of the piano, fashion a quick little photo holder for a cake topper, pick out my favorite InstaThis print of the three kids, fuss with party straws, and take pictures of everything to help remember Smith's first Valentine's Day celebration before reminding fingers to stay out of the frosting or helping clean up a spilled drink.

The kids' school doesn't allow sugary treats or food items to be passed out with Valentines but they did have a designated time in the school day on Thursday to trade them so we used some of what we had on hand to make Valentines for each of the kids in their classes. Sebastian has fewer kids so we used clay to make oven bake hearts that he painted and wrote his name on the back of. Ruby has a lot more kids so she colored on paper cards that she made a few of everyday leading up to the party. She then painted two clay hearts for her teachers because she didn't want to miss out on painting something. 

I decorated the top of the cake but then thought it needed something else so I added a photo that InstaThis sent over. It didn't get any frosting on it, thank goodness, so it can be used in another project later or framed. 

Brett picked up some cards for the kids and myself while he was at Target and wrote them a sweet message in each of them. Then we had pizza and cake and root beer (their favorite treats) and talked about silly things in between sharing one thing we loved about each member of the family. It's a tradition I hope we can keep going for as long as we get to share our Valentine's Day together at home. 

Later that evening Brett and I enjoyed catching up on some quality time after the kids were asleep. We will get our turn to have a fun night out on the town soon but this particular weekend called for a night in by the fire cuddling while we caught up on a favorite show and reminisced over this time last year when we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Smith and I was too full of child to do much of anything! Oh how things have changed in one year's time.

I hope your Valentine's Day held a little love in it from someone. I hope you got some cake, too!

-Rachel

Statement Shower Curtain Tutorial and Macrame Yarn Garlands for A Beautiful Mess

Sharing details for how to make your own statement shower curtain with some freezer paper and a store bought shower curtain over at A Beautiful Mess. You can also find the full tutorial for creating your own macrame yarn garland for your next party. We used the pink one to decorate for Valentine's Day but Ruby's claimed it for her room. 

Isn't that touch of gold sequin trim kind of fun?! Reminds me of mermaids for some reason. If you've got some yarn laying around this is the perfect project for using it up without feeling like you'll never finish what you started. Each one took me about 20 minutes and cover a lot of wall space. The hardest part is choosing your colors!

-Rachel

 

This Week Looked Like...

Experiments in weaving with wire warp. Working out the kinks with this tricky little bugger but loving the way it looks. 

Two sick kids. This guy had a fever but we got on top of things with a flu bomb mix of essential oils (Melaleuca, Oregano, OnGuard in a roller bottle with fractionated coconut oil) and diffused OnGuard in his room and he's as good as new 24 hours later. We kept him home from school due to their policy of staying home 24 hours after a fever but he'll make it in time for the school Valentine exchange this year! Poor kid was sick for the last two years during school Valentine parties so we are finally breaking our streak!

Ruby never got what he had but did share some sort of cold from one of her friends at school. We have made it through all of the sick season with minimal recovery time from anything that has come home from school thanks to knowing how to use essential oils. Life savers, guys.

A plant that I thought was going to die on me that is finally growing in size and will hopefully unroll it's lovely leaves soon. 

One of two of my new favorite candles c/o The Burlap Bag. This one has a musky, snuggle with your guy under the covers kind of scent and the other one I got, La-La Land smells like walking into Anthro.

Also, I've been knocking out a few projects for A Beautiful Mess and InstaThis thanks to great naps from Smith while the big kids were at school but the studio is looking pretty insane. Also, Smith has always been a free range baby which has meant only showering during naps when I was home alone with him. Recently, I've set up our 4Moms play yard in the studio and master bath area and set him in there with some of his favorite toys while I get cleaned up and it's made my days so much more productive. He doesn't always love it but he's figured out that it's more fun to sit and enjoy a toy instead of cry for me for the ten minutes I'm in the shower. Progress for both of us, I'd say!

How's your week been? Can we all sign a petition vetoing the extra six or so weeks of winter? I am ready for more sunshine and getting my hands in the dirt!

-Rachel

Details: Breeze play yard c/o 4Moms. Candle c/o The Burlap Bag.

Wood Burned Photo Frames DIY for ABM

I've shared an easy way to customize those inexpensive, unfinished wood frames you can find at most craft stores over at A Beautiful Mess today. I've added family photos that I printed out and cut to fit these frames but you could also fill them with your favorite inspirational quote or use them to frame a 3-D object in a gallery wall. 

I did have someone ask if they came with a glass insert or hanger and wanted to clarify that these are about as inexpensive of an option as you can get but they did come with a way for them to stand up on a flat surface. I think attaching a crocodile hook to the back with a hammer would work well for hanging on a wall since they are so light. 

I've got a few more fun projects making their debut soon so stay tuned! 

-Rachel

 

You're a Gem Clay Photo Holder

I've been missing my sweetheart this week as he's been out of town again for a business conference but absence has made this heart grow fonder and fonder. I had the clay out for the kids to make Valentine's for their classmates when I realized we had a lot left over so I decided to make a little Valentine's Day inspired photo holder to display in our room. It was incredibly easy to make and a great reminder to focus on each other no matter how many miles apart we might be.

Supplies

- soft modeling clay. Either four of the smaller packs of one of the large packs. You can make two from the larger one. 

- large gauge metallic wire 

- acrylic paint (optional)

- access to an oven and cookie sheet

First, cut your large block of clay in half and begin to soften it up by rolling it into a ball. You want it to be about the size of your fist. 

Once you've got a solid and smooth surface, use your knife to cut pieces off of your circle as shown. You may need to smooth things over with the flat side of your knife or your fingers as you go. There's no need for a perfect looking gemstone so work with it until you're happy but don't stress about equal sides. Safe your excess clay for another project.

Once you're done with your clay base, make a heart shape and stem out of your metallic wire. I just used my fingers to shape two hearts and then added a little twist to the end to hide the sharp end. Whether you do a heart shape or something else, you need two shapes for your photo to get tucked between. Gently push the stem of your wire holder into the top of your clay and then remove it. 

Bake your clay according to manufacturer's instructions. Mine always needs a little bit longer than that but all ovens are a little different. I usually use a cookie tray to set mine on. Once your gem has hardened in the oven, you can decide if you want to leave it the color of your clay or paint it. We've got a pretty neutral pallette going on in our room so I stuck with white but I may make one for Ruby's room and paint it red.

Once your paint is dry, insert your favorite photo and enjoy your new bedside accessory. Better yet, wrap one up as a gift to a friend and let them know you think they're 'a gem'. 

I'm pretty lucky to have my Valentine home soon. I can't wait.

-Rachel

P.S. Rebecca Caridad took this photo of Brett and I. It's one of my favorites.

Ruby's Room Sneak Peek

One of Smith's favorite places in our house is Ruby's room. It's so cheerful and sunny up there on the second floor with three large windows and so many things within reach for him to play with. It's one of the few places he'll sit still for more than thirty seconds and I usually don't have to worry about him getting hurt unless it's trying to climb the bunkbed ladder or pull all of the books down on his toes. He can climb our stairs all by himself and attempts to at least once an hour so I usually just allow him to while following close behind in case he missteps.

How about you pretend you don't see all of the dust bunnies collecting on my stairs, okay?

Ruby's room is probably 75% in place. I've still got curtains to make and put up, her bunk bed needs repainting as well as another mattress (Sebastian's is in his room), and she has a fun cubby hole in one wall that is begging for some fun attention. The art wall is taking shape with the addition of a few of the collaborative pieces I mentioned last week. The rainbow painting is one I painted and hung above her crib when she was brand new and shared a room with Sebastian. I still love these colors but she's trying to convince me rainbows don't really look like that.

I honestly don't mind following this boy upstairs a few times a day to hang out in his sister's room because it's such a happy, cheerful space. It gets great light and we have a front row seat to the goings on between the squirrels and the birds high up in the trees in the front yard. We spotted a hawk perched in one of the branches of the magnolia tree last week!

The previous owner was an artist and shared with us that Ruby's room used to be where he kept his studio. I think he must've been drawn to it for the same reasons we are.

More on this space soon, I hope.

-Rachel 

What I Wore: Gypsy Threads

I was able to sneak out for a coffee date with Elsie over the weekend to catch up on life and have some lady time at Kingdom Coffee. I came back feeling so thankful we get to live in the same town again. I left this little heartbreaker at home but had to sneak him in these photos. 

My top and boots are both from Gypsy Threads, a fun little online boutique that is having a major sale right now. Brittany is closing up shop for a bit to help focus on her pregnancy so she's ready to part with some inventory. Head over and see what might need to find it's way to your closet! 

Coffee dates with friends that have known you through at least four different hair styles are worth their weight in gold, aren't they. I vote for more coffee dates this year.

-Rachel

Outfit Details: Top and boots c/o Gypsy Threads. Jeans, Old Navy. Denim jacket, Gap (circa 2002 baby!). Bag c/o JoTotes.