CRICUT Project 2: Custom T-Shirts

My kids think the Geico Camel is HYSTERICAL and well Christmas just happens to be on HUMP DAAY this year. So months ago I started looking for t-shirts for them to use as their Christmas PJ's this year. I was about to order them this week when I remembered I could cut transfers on the CRICUT. I went from idea, to design to execution in two days! The hardest part was getting the image from Cricut online today. Something about my computer and the website are not working right together this weekend. Anyway here is the finished product my kids are going to love them. :) Just going to put them with some crazy Christmas print pj pants and TA DA Christmas Eve present DONE!   FYI: You just type what you want in the CRICUT DESIGN STUDIO and hit the FLIP side to side button at the top of the screen. This gives you the mirror image needed to cut the transfer correctly. A bunch of websites and other blogs are making it harder then it is, this was SIMPLE. Took me no time at all. 

 

CRICUT I LOVE IT!!!!! Project 1 - Teacher Ornaments

Christmas ornaments for the kids teachers. This was super easy. I used the glitter ornament tutorial found here http://theornamentgirl.com/blog/being-crafty/how-to-make-glitter-christmas-ornaments-diy/. I had done this about two years ago as gifts too and used pre cut stickers for the initials on them all. But this year I have a CRICUT!!! I created the names I wanted in the Design Studio and cut them out of vinyl, this is actually chalkboard vinyl. I bought it by accident, this was my first time trying the vinyl, I just got my Cricut the week after Thanksgiving. Anyway it WORKS! I would have likes to use white on the white glitter but I was going with what I had, the kids picked out the glitter colors.

 These and a gift card will be going to the teachers this year :)

Home

The realization that I (we) are so far from the people we shared so much of our lives with has become glaring to me recently. I do not mean far in distance although that is the reason why, we have been in TX for four years now. Its been four years since we have shared any experiences with them, four years since we have seen each others kids, hell there are kids we haven't even met and these people were so important to us that they were in our wedding, were at the hospital for the birth of our first child, helped us move, shared countless dinners and vacations. We went to or were a part of many weddings some have dissolved into divorce in the past four years. :(

It seems like so much has changed about the people that meant so much to me and I can no longer relate. It feels like a loss, like someone has died. :(

Maybe its because I finally feel at home in TX after feeling lost for the past four years...

Or maybe I finally feel at home here because I know I do not have a place there anymore. I KNOW home is where ever Eric and the kids are but I felt like we were out of place until just the past couple of months.

 

 

Super Hero Bedroom

When we moved into the new house I knew I wanted to do Pierce's room first. Since he is a boy, the 2nd child  and we have been renting for 4 years, he sometimes gets shafted when it comes to the effort put into his room. I also had a very clear vision of what I wanted it to be. Both of the kids are all about some Super Hero's right now and I figure he will be into some sort of super hero for a while. So he we go.... I found skyline clip art online and printed a bunch out. Then I went and bought an art projector from Joann's I had a 40% off coupon (40% off $60.00 so it was worth it) I projected the skyline onto the wall and traced it on with a pencil. Then Eric and I taped off every single line...it was tedious to say the least. I also forgot to mention that Eric spent a week at least resurfacing the walls in this room and painting the base color.The walls in our 1973 house are some sort of textured stucco and well this would not have worked on any other surface but SMOOTH. The base color is a pale blue gray in eggshell.

 

Then we started painting the skyline :)

This is the Atlanta skyline.

New York inspired plus Stark Tower...

Hall of Justice..

I really wanted to have a bridge and it was a HUGE pain in the ass. Eric worked on it a lot...when you cut tape with a razor blade its very easy to cut thru the base paint color and some peeled off when we took the tape off :( It needed some touch up but I was very happy with it. The skyline color is called Gotham Gray...I knew it was meant to be when I came across it in Lowes. Its a dark blue gray, almost black.

Then it was time for some color to be added somewhere...I turned these into....

these :) Canvas on sale at Michaels I think they are 20x20, I paid $6.00 each for them. I painted each with acrylic paints and then used my awesome art projector again to trace the Super Hero symbols on. Then I used a black Sharpie to color the images in. The Sharpie worked great and gave me WAY more control then paint since I am not a painter :/ They look like vinyl decals now that they are done.

 

I had to do the telephone booth closet door. I wanted it to add more color to the room and well b/c I think its awesome. Pierce won't even get it still for a few years but when he does...He will know I am an awesome mom ;) This closet door was a pain in the ass...every part of it...just FYI.

 

That Batman is my husbands favorite part of the room :) I had this little piece of wall and I was sick of square buildings at this point it was the last section I had to go...so I found a really artsy adult looking poster of Batman and projected it onto the wall. No I did not create him that would have been awesome but I am not talented in that way at all.

 

I did a couple other DIY things in this room...I used glow in the dark Batman Duck Tape :D To cover the light switch cover and sides of his toy bins...love that stuff its AWESOME!!

I added some puff paint in yellow for windows at random places in the room...I also used to glow in the dark RUSTOLEUM but you can't tell in pics.

 

Then I needed to get him something for his clothes since we were getting rid of the baby changing table he had been using for a dresser...I found these at a garage sale this summer($30.00) and they fit perfectly. They kind of look like buildings :)  thought I would try that Pinterest thing I pinned about painting laminate furniture...well it totally works!!

http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/08/the-boys-dresser/

 

That was pretty much what I spent my summer doing and I loved every minute of it. :) This is pretty much all we did, I hung a new blind and a curtain topper I found at Wal-mart on clearance.

He still needs a new bed...but he did get Super Hero bedding from Grammy already...will post a pic next time his bed is made :P

 

 

 

NURSERY FLIP: GIRL TO BOY

This was the first complete room that I had a vision for and was able to execute exactly as I had pictured. This was before Pinterest so you are witnessing a completely original design :) I am not sure if it was the pregnancy hormones or the fact that maybe I had extra brain power, since my only job at the time this brilliant plan came to me was growing a baby. I hope I get a shock of this awesomeness again soon because this baby is almost 6 now and requires a big girl room in our new house.

I knew I wanted pink and green that was the new thing for girls at that time.
I found the bedding on Ebay,$50.00 it was Pottery Barn Kids regular price like $200.00.
The furniture was a gift from my mom and grandma. They found it at a yard sale for $250.00 regular price like $1500.00 from Babies R US.
Shelf was a yard sale find $10.00.
Curtin rod: Target, I registered for it and got it at my baby shower.
curtain white tie up @Target or Wal-Mart $10.00

The square frames are wooden from Michaels, they were $1.00 each and I had 25 of them. I then bought 25 different scrapbook papers in all different colors and prints and acrylic paint in hot pink and bright green. I designed and my husband painted :) I still LOVE this room to this day. My daughter wasn't in this room long b/c SURPRISE I was pregnant again when she was 6 months old.

We were trying to sell our house now and didn't want to spend the money to redo the entire room but I also didn't want my son to be in a pink room. Not that was going to care, we moved when he was 6months old but still I felt bad putting so much into the room for baby #1 I felt like he needed to have just as much effort put into his arrival.

TA DA: Pink and Green to Blue and Green
Bedding Wal-Mart online :$25.00
New Scrapbook paper and brown and blue acrylic paint.
Tan painted over the pink and here is a super cute baby boys room. Again I LOVE this room really in any colors possible.

I still have the squares and I am planning on using them in our master bedroom this time, I am thinking Navy and Coral :D

REGULAR ASS BABY TABLE - $150 (Bedford)

http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/bab/3972860171.html

CONGRATULATIONS you are having a baby! This is the only time in your life you will require a designated poop station. So look up, I promise there is an end to the insanity of wiping, diapering and powdering..no wait no powder that is a HUGE misconception...baby power is actually not good for babies so why is it called baby powder then? Must be made from some fairy dusting, magical powder shitting babies, like the ones that walk at 6 months, potty train at 12 months and READ Charlottes Web while taking a crap on their royal pottychair throne... If you are thinking "Oh well maybe I don't need this, maybe I'll get a powder shitting baby. I can pay for college with all the $$ baby can make me selling magical baby ass powder to Johnson & Johnson"

HA HA think again bitches!!!

You are getting a regular ass baby just like me..no sleeping, bottle rejecting, POOP FACTORY. So you need this heavy ass piece of furniture that your husband/partner/baby daddy will BITCH about for years to come when having to move it five feet or five states away. Seriously its the heaviest piece of furniture we have ever owned.

Its in FAIR to GOOD condition...the drawers roll like it was new, the door latches its fully functional just some average wear and tear...don't judge after years of having multiple REGULAR baby asses on you, you will only be in FAIR condition as well.

 

Pinterest Project - Laundry Soap Container

I can't find the original pin with this idea but you have all seen the pretty laundry soap containers...well here's mine

Came out pretty good, cute right :)  you have to walk thru the laundry room to go in and out of the house everyday so I do want it to look nice, paint and shelves will come later....

Here is the other side :)

No man is an island....my ass!!!!

Maybe no man is an island but this woman is.....and there are 2 little spear chucking natives on it and one big one. When I decided to have children, (those of you who really know me and are going "Decide my ass! I was there for the month of tears!") I did not decide to get knocked up but I did decide to have them. I had no idea how isolating it was going to be.
3.5 years later the island just keeps getting smaller, I thought it would have been the opposite. But we moved so that just made matters worse. I was part of a moms group for a while which was great, it got us out and kept me from burning the house down. I did meet a few mom's that if I really had the time I could be friends with. There just isn't any time to cultivate adult relationships while you are chasing an 18 month old, who puts everything in his mouth, around the play ground. I am sure if I had stayed with the group I would have bonded more with the other moms. ***Moments of being thrown under a blanket with another girl and tricked into stripping by a roomful of teenage boys just don't happen in adulthood (thank God for that) but this was the instant I became BFF's with that other girl under the blanket. (Sheri Orr Baldwin)
But then I became a "working" mom, you know with a job that I have to get dressed for everyday and take a shower and put on makeup for....its really not all its cracked up to be. The only good part is not being trailer park broke anymore. So now I  really have no time to cultivate the minor relationships I did start to make w/ some moms I met, I  still try but it's hard and slow going.
How can you be isolated at work all day?  B/c the people I work with do not have small children. Even if I were to go to happy hour after work to try and get to know my co -workers I can't have a conversation with adults without kids. I have nothing to talk about that doesn't involve my children!
I was not prepared for this, why wasn't it in the "What to Expect" book? WTF people, I can't be the only one!
Chapter 1005: Expect to no longer have any friends.
1006: Expect your husband to be the only adult relationship you have. (You better actually like that Mother F*#$er. see chp. 1009)
1007: Expect to NEVER make any new friends. (So don't piss any of your current ones off. see chp. 1008)
1008: How to take the social hiatus required of parenthood and come back from the edge of solitary confinement.
1009: How to not murder your "soul mate" through child bearing. (If you skip this chapter you will need a whole different book)
The people I work with who have older kids do give me hope that one day I will have something to contribute again other than, potty training stories, funny things Alex says (which they could care less about b/c they don't know my kids) and the journey of finding a new pre-school.

Moment #2 of No Going Back....

LADIES ONLY POST:SERIOUSLY DUDES WILL NOT WANT TO READ THIS!!!!

Okay you definitely have to be a mom (or my friend) to think this is funny... and if you don't well get the stick out of your ass... ;)
So today I find myself in the ladies room at work and cannot find any variation of the one item I NEED. (And I mean NEED like I should probably have a blood transfusion tomorrow :P ) Whats ridiculous is I carry a Coach Poppy bag on a daily basis, its fairly large. On any given day you could find multiple items to feed a toddler, clean them, entertain them and sometimes dress them.
Guess what I did??? Yep...I did it and I am admitting it to you all for your amusement b/c its fucking HI-LARRY-OUS I wore a diaper today....I origami-ed the shit out of a size 6 (my son is 35lbs @ 2.5) diaper and went right back to work.
Another moment that just stresses the fact that my life has forever been changed. WELCOME TO MOTHERHOOD BITCHES!
(If you missed it Moment #1: was fishing poop out of the bath tub, bare handed without even a moments hesitation.)