4th of July Tin Can Windsocks

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through an awesome post {at Under the Table and Dreaming} that included a ton of Flag Day/4th of July inspiration. The one project that really caught my eye was Stephanie Lynn's Tin Can Flag Windsock. It looked like such a fun project to try with the boys and I knew that I had almost everything I would need for the project already in my craft stash...lucky for me I've been hanging on to some old formula cans for more than a few years:) I headed to the store for some red and white ribbon and then gathered up all my other supplies {old formula cans, blue spray paint, some twine, and white contact paper stars cut out using my Silhouette} at home.

The first step for us was to take all the paper off the outside of the cans. I love letting the kiddos help along the way and pulling off the paper was fun for them and made them feel more involved.

Then we used some old rags and the water hose to clean out any of the old formula powder that was stuck to the inside of the can.

We gave each can a quick coat of blue spray paint and waited for them to dry.

After the paint was dry, we took our projects inside to add our stars and stripes. To keep the blue paint from getting on the table, I gave each kid a paper plate to place under their can. Then they got busy peeling the backs off their sticks and adding them to the cans however they wanted. I added my stars evenly around the can and Grant did a pretty good job of that too, but Eli's were kind of all on the same side and Henry made a three by three square of stars:)

While the boys were adding their stars, I cut the ribbon into strips about 15 inches long. I used a 30 foot roll of each color and that was just enough to cover our four cans.

Using my hot glue gun I added the strips of ribbon to the open end of the can alternating red and white. Unless you have a low temp glue gun or a kiddo who already knows how to use a glue gun, this should be a grown ups job:)

After all the ribbon was added, I used a screwdriver and a hammer to make two holes in the bottom of the can. Then I poked some twine through the holes and tied them on the inside. Stephanie used a different technique for her hanger so you might want to check out her way and decided which would work better for you.

After you  make sure you hanger is secure, they are ready to decorate your yard. This is what they look like hung on our front porch in celebration of the 4th of July....very patriotic I must say:)

Do you decorate your yard of the 4th of July?

A Litte About OCD and a Sewing Tip

Hi my name is Kelli and I have OCD:) Well it is actually self diagnosed, first born, rule follower, lover of straight lines OCD, but I'm sure a lot of you understand. And let me just say that the need for perfection and crafting don't always go very well together. I have learned that crafts {or at least my crafts} are far from perfect in most cases....and that is something that can be hard for my straight line loving self to accept.

Sewing has been a crafting Achilles heel for me, mostly because I'm not very good at it and that leads to small imperfections that drive me a little bonkers. I have issues with cutting and sewing straight lines...and lets not even talk about trying to sew in a circle:) As I was working on a project that required me to cut really long straight lines I had an idea...a genius idea that made my straight line loving OCD self very happy!

 I borrowed my hubby's chalk line popper thing that you use for making lines on wood. He assisted me in popping a few lines onto the back side of my fabric...

 ....and look what I ended up with! Perfectly straight lines! I couldn't have been happier wth how straight those lines turned out...or how easy they were to achieve! Now if I could just manage to sew these pieces together in a straight line I will be doing good:)

 And just because he is too cute, here is Eli showing off a little bit of what we have been working on in the back yard for the last few weeks. I'm hoping to finish up this weekend and maybe have a full post about our new patio to share with you next week.

Have a great day and paint something bright yellow this weekend:)

Summer Door Decor

After taking down my Easter decorations, my front doors were screaming for a fun summer makeover. It took me more than a month to decide what I wanted to do, but when I found some really fun yellow and white chevron fabric on sale a few weeks ago, I knew it was perfect for some sort of summer door decor. I paired the yellow chevron fabric with some fun red and white polka dot ribbon and some turquoise lettering and ended up with two bright and summery front door canvases.

I bought two canvases at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago....they were $5.99 for 2 and then 40% off.

I started by wrapping the canvases with the chevron fabric and attaching the fabric to the back of the canvases with my staple gun. Then I added the polka dot ribbon with a little hot glue. The last step was to add a great summer quote to the front of the canvas...and that is where my new Silhouette comes in:)

This was my very first project using my Silhouette, and I have to say it is SO much better than my Cricut. Seriously check out that cute font that I used for the quote!

I already had some turquoise on my front porch in the form of my placemat pillows, so I decided to add in a little bit of red and yellow to make everything match:) I'm loving all the fun bright summer colors and they are even taking over my back patio too...but that is a post for another day!

What kind of fun summer things are you decorating with this year?

Rustic Frame Makeover

Summer is officially here. We've had an interesting few days to say the least!
*all three boys went to my parents' for a visit*
*a business trip cancelled after we were already headed out of town*
*shopping instead of tripping*
*first movie of the summer*
*last tennis lesson until fall*
*running 2 miles*
Needless to say I am more than tired which I'm using as an excuse to avoid my blog for a few days:) Instead of posting something new for you today, I am reposting a guest post that I did last week for Yanet over at 3 Sunkissed Boys.
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Today I am sharing a simple spray paint project that is part of my bigger Master Bedroom Redo.

I started with these really cute frames that I bought a few years ago. I loved them because the colors were perfect for our room and they had that rustic yet tropical feel that I was going for at the time.

Since I decided to add red into the decor, the two tones of blue just weren't working in the room anymore. The easiest solution for that problem is a little bit of red spray paint, some newspaper, and some painters tape.

I used the painters tape to mask off just the darker color blue and then I used the newspaper to protect the rest of the frame that I didn't want the red spray paint to get on.

After the paint dried overnight, I used a piece of sandpaper to rough up the red a little bit just to make it match the rustic-ness of the rest of the frame.

I added in some new black and white pictures, and now my frames are ready to go into my {still in progress} master bedroom.

Thanks, Smiles, & Fabric

Today is the last day of school. Somehow this school year has flown by....and it has been a great one! We were blessed with amazing teachers for both Henry and Grant this year, and I just couldn't finish out the year without showing them our appreciation one more time.

I sent these really cute canvas bags for each of their teachers filled with a few happies and a gift card to Target:) The bags are monogrammed with an iron on initial that I cut out with my Cricut. Then I added a little tie to the handle for a little extra flair!

 Yesterday Eli and I went to eat lunch with our Kindergartner and 1st grader for the last time this year. It was kind of sad, but the boys are already saying they will be a 1st grader and a 2nd grader after today:) I think Eli is most excited because he will finally have someone to play with during the day!

 I've been working hard to finish up a few projects around the house before summer break starts. This bolt of fabric has been measured and cut and my re-upholstery project is about halfway finished...now I have less than 2 hours to get done before the madness begins:) Hopefully I can share the finished product with you one day next week...that is if we aren't already spending our days at the pool by then!

We have a birthday party on Saturday and a little trip planned for Sunday, but inbetween I hope to work on some new summer door decorations! Have a great one....and spend a little time working on a fun craft this weekend:)

Sidewalk Chalk Paint!

This SUPER fun project {Sidewalk Chalk Paint}was orginally posted over at Postively Splendid as part of Amy's Summer Survival Guide. I am reposting just in case you missed it, but please go over and check out all the other awesome summer ideas that have been {and will be} posted throughout the month of May!

We love regular chalk at our house. It's relatively cheap, not too messy, and it is the perfect outdoor activity! Basically the kids love chalk because it's fun and I love chalk because they are making a mess outside and not inside:) What I don't love about chalk are all the little broken pieces that pile up after a few weeks of use. I hate to throw them away, but they are just too small to use without scraping your fingers on the concrete!

Instead of throwing them out, we are going to turn those broken piece of chalk into paint! Start by sorting your chalk by color. This is a great teaching activity for any kiddo who is working on learning their colors.

Put each individual color into a zippered bag.

Seal up the bag and then break up the chalk using a small hammer. This should be done by an adult or a {very} well supervised child. Try and break the chalk into a fine powder to make you paint as smooth as possible.

One you have your powdered chalk, pour each color into small plastic cups.

Add a little water.

And stir around with a paint brush to dissolve the chalk powder. We used some inexpensive art brushes that are now our chalk paint brushes:) All of the chalk powder may not dissolve, but your paint should still work fine. Use a different brush for each color and then let the kiddos get busy making art on your sidewalk. The colors may be hard to see at first, but as soon as they start to dry the individual colors will show up well!

The best part about chalk paint is that if someones spills it, it isn't a big deal because all you need is a water hose to clean up the mess!

And that is how you turn broken chalk pieces into a ton of summer fun!

A, B, C

A is for apples.

 I saw the tutorial for these Apple Gift Sacks at Skip to My Lou, and I knew they would be the perfect gift to end Teacher Appreciation Week. All I need was some brown lunch bags, red spray paint, and raffia and in less than an hour I had 10 SUPER cute teacher's gifts! Head over to Skip to My Lou for the tutorial.

 B is for baby birds.

I first shared pics of our newly discovered bird's nest here....now a few weeks later the eggs have hatched and the nest if full of fluffy little baby birds {who refused to cooperate for the camera}.

 C is for certificate.

Yesterday we went to the award ceremony at Henry's school. They gave out awards for perfect attendance, math, reading, and even positive attitude. It was nice to see all the hard work the kids put into school being acknowledged. Henry got the award for highest grade point average in his class, and we couldn't be more proud of him!

After the busy week we had, I am going to try and relax a little and maybe I will even get a little pampering for Mother's Day:) I hope you all have a great weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all you moms!

Countdown to Summer Board

Yesterday I shared with you how I won a great giveaway full of fun Elmer's craft supplies, and I also gave you a sneak peek of the project I created with them. Today I have the full step by step for you just in case you want to create your own Countdown to Summer Board....and if you enter the Craft and Tell Giveaway {you still have a few more days to enter}, you may be the lucky winner and get some of the same crafty goodies that I used:)

I started my Countdown to Summer project with the Elmer's Bi-Fold Foam Board and some fun summer fabric. I sprayed one side of the foam board with spray adhesive and attached my fabric to it.

To hold down the edges of the fabric on the backside of the board, I used the Elmer's Glue Dot Runner.

I used my hot glue gun to add some decorative trim, ribbon, and a fun polka dot paper clip to hold the countdown numbers.

I printed out my countdown numbers on blank 3X5 notecards. I used a fun font {Summer Funkyness from Kevin & Amanda} to give the board a little bit of whimsy:)

I used my Cricut to cut out letters that say "Days til Summer".  If you don't have a Cricut, you could easily write this by hand or print it out in a fun font that matches your numbers. I attached the letters to a piece of colored cardstock and then I attached the cardstock to the fabric covered board with the Elmer's glue dot runner.

 I used my X-ACTO knife to cut two small X's in the top of the foam board for my ribbon hanger.

For the ribbon hanger, I simple pulled a piece of ribbon through the board and then tied a knot on the front to hold it in place. To finish off the project I added a cute fabric flower and a little more ribbon.

And now we are ready to Countdown to Summer!

The boys last day of school is on May 20th so I'm thinking our countdown is going to start May 1st and we will countdown to the last day of school!