Hunger Games Themed Party (kid version)

6 months from today, I turn 40... so it seems fitting on the day we have Sam's "kid" party (Hunger Games Theme, of course) - I spend the morning getting my hair braided to look like Katniss.  I'm all for themes as much I am all for embarrassing my kids, hence the costume.  Needless to say, I did not embarrass Sam (he thought it was cool) BUT the party theme went just as I thought - awesome! 

Here is what I did to turn Zoink's Fun Factory into The Hunger Games - with the help of my amazing hubbie and sons and Etsy :)

Favor Bags:
Black paper bags filled with...
Bow and Arrow Bracelets: using charms from Bohemian Findings and cord from Supplies Plus - Sam and I put these together in 1 night - the stickers I made and printed using Publisher
District 12 "Coal" Soap: using "coal" soap from Burnt Mill and arrow stickers from Banana Splits Boutique - the tags were again made on Publisher
Training Tattoos: Tattoos from Draw Abiding Citizen and washi tape from Banana Splits Boutique put on cards I made on Publisher
Straw arrows: Straws came from Michaels  and topped with craft paper point and leftover feathers from my wedding.  The tag was made on Publisher

Arrow Bracelets

Favor Bags

Favors

The cake was designed by Sam and I using inspiration from the movies.  Huge thanks to hubbie for once again helping roll out the fondant!

A last minute tablecloth transformation happened this morning.  Thanks to a Dollar Store gold tablecloth and some black craft paint, the party table fit the theme!

  

And if this smile doesn't sum up how he felt about the party, I don't know what does.  The odds were DEFINITELY in our favor!

Don't fret, you get to see the Katniss "costume"

Rock Wall = Reaping (in my opinion - ouch!)

Storage of my life

My boys do NOT like One Direction.  I couldn't even tell you what they look like, but I do know every time their song "Story of My Life" comes on the radio, it has to be changed.  So, while hubbie installed our stair storage, I came up with lyrics of my own - just to annoy the kiddos (extra awesome parental unit points for me).

This stair storage project was all hubbie's idea - cuz, well, he's a genius in my opinion.  I said (in typical fashion) "I have an idea... let's add shelves to the wall going to the cellar".  He said (in his typical fashion) "I think we should add a faux ceiling, drywall it, add shelves, install a new light fixture, frame out and paint the breaker box, put molding up to cover all the wires and paint the whole thing."  I then said "my ass will be on the couch with a glass of wine, let me know how I can assist from there."

Here you catch a glimpse of the exposed wiring, the before of the breaker box, the ceiling and drywall.  I will point out that I did get off the couch to use the power drill on some screws, so I wasn't THAT lazy.

Pretty breaker box, super cute hubbie

And with that, I have 4 shelves for extra storage!  Look at them fill up!!  My case of seltzer has a home!  It's been empty like this for a week!!  I feel like running to BJ's so I can buy in bulk... but instead, I'll just sing my altered One Direction lyrics:

Written on these walls is the storage that I can't explain
All this space open but it stays right here empty for days

The storage of my life
Is in my home
I drive all night
To fill them more and I'm
Shopping

Controlled Mess

Remember when I told you we needed more kitchen storage and then that turned into a kitchen renovation? Well, it turns out, we didn't need more storage, we just needed to reorganize and donate items.  But since I hate admitting I'm wrong in moments like these (aka: it would make me sound like a hoarder/disheveled person), I just kept to the new storage concept.  So while hubbie tackles turning our cellar stairway into a mini pantry - keep up the great work honey! - I'm going to share a fun and quick storage DIY project.  Don't fret, his hard work on the pantry will be featured soon.

Project time:  5 min per box.  Unless you are watching an episode of Castle while doing it - it was a good one!

So here are the storage bins I grabbed from my local box store for about $5/each:

Next I grabbed my favorite stencils that I bought at an antique store.  You can find letter stencils at any craft store/aisle - just pick the font you like.  Instead of using paint, I pulled out my handy dandy paint PENS (I love these things)!  No mess and better control (which really should be the tag line for these pens AND our kitchen project).

Then I stenciled on what I wanted the bin to say/hold.  Sky's the limit on this one!  I bet you'll never guess what I put in this bin...

I bought 4 bins to store food items in our snack cabinet.  This is where measuring first would have helped me.  Only the "Chips" and (also creatively named) "Crackers" bin fit on the shelf.  So again, instead of admitting my mistake, I searched for other cluttered cabinets.  I found that we had boxes of oatmeal and pancake mix just hanging willy nilly - I thought they should be friends and I named their box "YUM!" (oh, I'm on a roll now).  Under the sink, cleaning supplies were in a see-through bin - OH THE SHAME!  "Give us a private bin!" they cried, so I obliged with a title that is also a reminder for the kids...

PRO: I've used these bins in different rooms of the house and find they fit a ton of stuff
CON: That "ton of stuff" is now hidden and, therefore, forgotten... and now I sound like a hoarder/disheveled person.  Full circle people, full circle.

Modern Vintage Industrial Kitchen

I think I've held you in suspense long enough.  I wasn't trying to be mean, I was just tweaking the decor.  I still am, to be honest, so I'll be posting our "accent wall" soon... or, once I am happy with it, which could take a while.

Our kitchen went from ok to awesome (in our opinion)!  New wall and cabinet paint, new hardware, new floor rugs (and coming soon: new table and chairs) was what it took for us to achieve the look we wanted:  Modern Vintage Industrial.  Is that a style?  If not, I'm making it one now!

If you want to recall the process with me, look here

And no room re-do is complete in our house without a panoramic shot (courtesy of hubbie)

Put a cork in it

We just completed a kitchen re-do at our house which began with the need for more storage - makes sense right?  In the process of painting, adding new hardware and several trips to the donation pile, we managed to free up some storage space and make the cabinet interiors look neat and clean.  Today, I am showing you how we freshened up our kitchen drawers!

Project time:  1/2 hour (longer for me since I have project ADD) for 5 drawers.

While you can't fully grasp the insides of the drawers from below, believe me when I say they were tired, sad slabs of particle board.  Sure we could have just painted them but between utensils and "junk", they were bound to get scratched (and, helloooo, we needed to cover up paint drips).

Solution?  Cork... self-adhesive cork (heaven!!)  Purchased at our local Home Depot - 2 rolls were more than enough to do our 5 drawers.

Supplies:
Self-adhesive cork (around $15/roll)
Measuring tape
Ruler/level
Scissors


1. Measure depth and width of your drawer and cut cork to size - scissors are all that you need for this stuff (super easy)
2. Peel back a bit of the contact backing and set into corners.  Continue to peel it back slowly as you press the cork into the drawer.
3. DONE!

The cork gives it an updated, clean look while also giving contact paper a good name!  Now, where else can I stick this stuff??