debor026

Remember that toy lamp I was working on (inspired by this one on Pinterest by Ryan McElhinney)? Well it's all finished up now and in its spot in the front living room (which is mainly the kids' playroom). Here is where we left off with it: And our final lamp: Remember, if you want to give this one a try there are instructions here .

In our house we have so many board games that there is an entire (full) closet dedicated to them. But really I need that closet for blankets so they have to get out of there. I would have mutiny getting rid of any of them so another solution was in order. Here is the game closet in all of its original glory (nice, right? haha). And it got a whole lot worse before it got better... Much worse... That box on the left has no less than the pieces of 5 different games in there all mixed up. Boo for having to sort. But after a couple hours of work it now all fits nicely in the hutch. A few of the boxes now contain only the game boards (and which boards are where is labeled on the side of the boxes) and the pieces for the games are in labeled zip lock baggies in the drawer. The other game pieces are in jars on display ( idea for that from here ) in the top. The kids really like the new solution, mostly because if they can see it they are more likely to remember it's there/play with ...

The completed lamp is now here . What can you make from a $2.99 Goodwill lamp and $8.56 in toys? Why not a lamp!? I saw this really cool lamp a few months back and filed it in my mind under "Wow!". Last night as I was walking around Goodwill I looked at a bag of random toys and thought maybe it was doable. I picked up 3 bags of miscellaneous toys and a cheap ugly lamp (that needed a good scrubbing) and then stopped on the way home for 4 bottles of super glue and a can of primer. The glue I used is Loctite Super Glue Gel Control (4 bottles). I've never used it before but it was recommended by the guy at Home Depot for this project because it wasn't so runny. It was PERFECT! Not runny, didn't cover anywhere I didn't want it to, it's NOT stuck all over my hands and it filled a couple of small gaps to hold it all together nicely. (I do not get any product compensations or anything, I just really love the Gel Control glue they make) To make assembly e...

On the second day of camping my older sister and I took our kids out to the Dee Wright Observatory which is just a short drive from Sisters, Oregon. From there you can see two of the Three Sisters, Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington and several of the major buttes and landmarks. It was a beautiful clear day and perfect for the views. The building was made from the lava rocks at the site and the "castle look" got the kids excited to play Save the Princess and other sword fighting games. They all had a good time playing here. Up on the top there is a dial to tell you which direction to look for each sight, how far and how tall they are. The view for the North and Middle Sisters is always my favorite. In the lower room of the observatory it's also fun to check the patterns of the water stains on the ceiling. It's not exactly one of the attractions but I think it's very cool.

From Wednesday to Sunday the kids and I went camping in Oregon with my sisters and their families. On Thursday morning I took my kids down to Sahalie Falls and followed part of the trail down towards Koosah Falls (which we didn't quite make it to as the kids were wearing out). This is beautiful Sahalie Falls from the viewpoint. There were several lovely rainbows when we got there in the morning. This is from the viewpoint above the falls. This rainbow was actually a double but the second was faint and a little harder to catch. From the waterfall we followed the lower trail towards Koosah Falls for a bit. The boys LOVED this staircase and we spent a little extra time as they went up and down it. Erin stood with me and just watched as she was worried about falling off and into the river. In a nice easy spot I freaked Erin out a bit when I went off the trail for a better picture and she was sure I'd fall in which would somehow make her fall in even though she stayed on the tr...

It's almost done! I bought this baby a couple weeks ago and I've been chipping away at the project in between work, kids, camping, etc. All of one's time seems to disapear in the summer but it gets done eventually. It's still missing two doors that I'm finishing up in the garage and I still haven't decided if I'm going to stencil the back but otherwise it's looking good. If you remember I started with this off of Craigslist. She was $60 and had a few scratches and dings and whatnot needing repairs and some paint. (Awesome quality Craigslist picture here). I started sanding her down in the driveway the same weekend I brought her home (yes it's a girl). I could have tried to sand in the garage but as you can see that's a bit of a tight space in this picture with that never ending project list hiding in there. For the hardware I gave it a good scrub and a few coats of ORB paint to match the ginormous light fixture in my living room (that I sti...

Young House Love had a great idea to use something we had pinned on Pinterest and actually do it. I am a Pinterest addict and have gotten a few things done but this is one of my favorites so far. Inspired by Pinterest , I decided to try melting some crayons. According to Crayola the melting temp is somewhere around 135 Fahrenheit (give or take 10 degrees) but other sources have pointed out that different brands can vary slightly in melting times/temps. The basic process I used is that I bought some foam core board ($2.40) and a box of 48 Crayola crayons ($2.37) and some "extra strong" Elmer's glue (new this year I guess and a little sturdier than regular Elmer's). For the large one I cut the foam board in half and then glued the crayons down along the top. The other half I later cut up into 3 pieces because the girls wanted to try it and we raided the crayon stash. One of theirs is also done with Crayola, 2 with an off brand. I thought a hair dryer might not be...