Two More Reveals {The Door is Done}

In all fairness, a lot really has been going on around the bungalow. Sometimes I get down on myself for not being as productive as I think I should be. Then, I remind myself that I'm a working, single parent who happens to also blog and run an Etsy shop. That's a pretty full plate.

After I process all of that, I sit back, put my feet up and remind myself that it's okay that every one of my projects takes double the anticipated time. It's also okay to post unstaged and imperfect pictures from time to time...

One of my most recent projects was a new storm door. You probably remember the original door post where I mention my little cleaning mishap. Anyway, it's been replaced {thanks to my dad}!

First, the broken door had to come down.

Say "hi" to my parents and Preston. It was a family affair that day!

Next, the old door had to go out to the curb. {Someone actually came and took it in the night.}

Then, we were left with a giant hole in the house. This part was a little nerve wracking!

Dad, was then able to jump into the real work!

Hours later {HOURS}, we had a beautiful new storm door installed! This took some figuring out though, and my typically handy dad seemed to struggle a bit. Let's just say that it was a process... 

Let's take a look back at what it looked like before.

Much better! Yes?

Next, was a necessary change for Preston's room. We don't have central air, and my little guy is very warm blooded, so I decided to get him a ceiling fan before summer really sets in. He started with a dreaded "boob light". {It was here when we bought the house.}

Please, ignore the poor picture quality. I'm still relying on my cell phone for all my photo capturing.

Anyway, I decided to go with the same ceiling fan I already have in my bedroom, and I did that for a few reasons.

First of all, I like the simple style of it. I also love the power it gives out and the overall quality of the fan. Our ceilings are pretty tall, and this fan comes with a handy remote that includes a light dimmer too. Basically, it's the perfect fan, in my bronze finish, for a modest budget. You can't go wrong with that. It's also a special order product from Lowe's, and since I work there now, a discount was taken off this time around. Score!

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Disregard the giant toy mess. I've recently taken care of it with a new toy storage option. A post on that will come later.

I'll leave you tonight with one of my most recent favorite shots of Preston. He just came home from nine days away in Florida with my parents visiting my brother and his family. I didn't get to go, because I had to work {insert sad face}.

This was taken on the beach near Palm City. Isn't he precious?!

Crystal xoxo

"T" is for Tractor {and Two}

This post has been anticipated for awhile. Maybe so long that it's lost it's steam and excitement, but I'm going to put it out there anyway.

Waaayyyy back in February, my baby turned TWO. His current obsession is tractors, and he calls himself "tractor boy", so the theme for his party was pretty obvious!

I decided to go with what I'm calling a "Mod Tractor" theme, and I wanted to get big bang on a budget. I mixed vintage tractors {Johnny Poppers} with chevron and used lime green and school bus yellow accents. I'm also not a big fan of characters {Spider-Man and Batman, SpongeBob, etc}, so I limited the licensed John Deere accents too...

Because we don't have a TON of friends and family near by, I saved money and nixed invites. Everyone just got a text. LAME! I know, but I'm being honest...

I hope you're ready for a picture thick post, because here I go...

I happened to have a cake mix on hand, so I just bought some green frosting and some yellow stuffed Oreos. The idea was to make them look like tractor tires in grass. BIG fail, in my book, but they worked! I bought the yellow number "2" candle for $.60. The yellow and white striped cupcake liners were from  HeyYoYo on Etsy {the green paper straws were from her too}. She's one of my favorite party vendors! Tip: Always add another cupcake liner after baking, so you can see the vibrant colors!

I added height to the cupcake display by turning one of my white square bowls upside down, adding a green plate I had on hand and topping it off with my cupcake stand. I just cut a circle from a yellow and white paper chevron bag and layered it underneath. Not perfect, but you have to be resourceful, and it ALWAYS feels good to save some dough and use what you already have. Open up those cupboards and start playing!

I kept the menu easy and SIMPLE. I preordered a dozen "tractor tire" doughnuts from Walmart {$3.60}. Then, I picked the doughnuts up on party day and grabbed the rest of the supplies. We served up a fruit tray "Harvest" {$5.97 with dip}, a bag of cheddar popcorn "Johnny Popper Corn" {$3.00}, some mini cookies and cream cupcakes {12 for $3.50}, butterscotch candies "Sunshine" {$1/bag and 2 bags filled my apothecary jay}, some lemons and limes and a gallon of lemonade. I also ordered pizza and bread sticks and offered bottled water to anyone who didn't want lemonade. That was it, and it was just enough!

His friends all got to take home a package of tractor shaped sidewalk chalk. Aren't they too cute?! They were $5.75/6, and Christie was great to work with. She even made me a custom order of all green and yellow tractors for the party {each friend got one of each color}. I couldn't resist and just ordered Preston a set for his Easter basket, because mommy was trying to save money and only ordered enough for his friends for the party! Go check Sunshine and Sidewalks out for this summer!

I got the adorable DIY printable favor packaging from chickabug. She created the "Happy Birthday" banner too. I just printed, cut, strung and hung! Easy peasy, and there's no ship time with PDF printable files! I did add yellow Easter grass to all the favor bags. The grass was bought at a dollar store. Don't feel compeled to go all out in the favor department. Sometimes one really cute treat is WAY better than a zillion matchy-matchy, sugar-filled, designer buckets that cost way too much and were way too underappreciated!

I ordered those adorable paper tractors above {4/$3.00} from My Paper Pantry. They were really affordable, and she threw in an extra one! I just asked her to leave off the cupcake sticks, hand wrote on them and taped them to paper straws or that cool yellow chevron ribbon {$2.50} from Endless Inkabilities. These were first time purchases from both shops, and I was thrilled. GREAT customer service and fast delivery!

My Paper Pantry also made this larger tractor {$3.00} and added the number 2 at no cost...

I just hot glued it to this yellow 10" crepe paper fan {$1.92}.

The drink table cost next to nothing. The yellow plastic utensils, green dinner napkins, yellow dinner plates, green dessert plates and yellow cups were $1/package {the green table cloth on the food table was $1 too}. I used my grandma's vintage yellow and white plaid table runner underneath, my drink dispenser and a few other accessories I had on hand. That chevron ribbon and those cute little paper tractors were used over there too as "Tools" {silverware} and "Fuel" {lemonade}. I wrapped the silverware with the green napkins and some green twine I had on hand, and my mom happened to have the perfect straw holder already. She was gracious enough to let me borrow it.

Over at the gift/kids eating table, I tied some helium balloons to a toy tractor Preston already had.

The white tractor balloons were one of my favorite party finds, but they appear to be sold out now. I got the green and yellow "Happy 2nd Birthday" balloons from the same site {$.80/package}. The little white table and chair set was Preston's birthday gift from mommy. I got that at Pottery Barn Kids. Thank goodness for tax returns!

These streamer mobiles were the only real craft project I made for this party. I just bought two packages of crepe paper {one of each color} and two cross stitch hoops. I used the inside wooden hoops and tossed the outside hoops {the ones with the screws}. Then, I hot glued the streamers around the hoops and finished the tops off with the yellow chevron ribbon. Lastly, I hung them from my dining room light fixture with my green twine and trimmed the streamers to my desired length. Tip: If you decide to do this project, make them longer than you think you need and trim once hung.

I'll leave you with some party action shots. I'll warn you. I had a bit of fun playing around with Picnik.com

Note: I did do a 2nd Birthday photo shoot prior to the party. They had a tractor prop, so we snapped a few of my tractor boy, and I used some as party accents {one framed at the drink table and one collage hung on my dining room bulletin/chalk board behind the food table}. We went to Portrait Innovations. They were wonderful with Preston, affordable, and they print your pictures right there. No return pick-up trips! A HUGE plus for this mommy.

P.S.

I still don't have a working camera, so all of these party pictures were captured with my cell. That explains the less than blog perfect shots and poor quality, but that's where Picnik comes in handy. Did I mention I'm REALLY going to miss that site?!

This post has been linked to:

Addicted 2 Decorating

Crystal xoxo

Preston's Toddler Room: As Easy as 1, 2, 3

You might remember this original post showcasing Preston's 3-in-1 easel. I have had so much fun watching him explore his artistic ability and strengthen his fine motor skills with his easel, and it's EASILY my favorite DIY project to date! I mean what's not to love?!

My only issue was finding some way to store his supplies in a handy cute way.

I racked my brain for creative solutions. Then I had an idea. I was going to keep it simple, but I needed three pails. The hunt began, and I looked and relooked everywhere. Nothing was right, or they didn't have enough on hand. I was getting frustrated!

Last week, I finally found the perfect shade of red pails at Hobby Lobby {$1.19/each}, and they had enough! 

Little bronze hooks were easy enough to find, but I actually got them in sets of two at Kmart for around $2.50/set. The finishing touches were the little wooden numbers I've been hanging onto forever.

I can't remember where I actually bought them, but I do remember that they were $.50/each on clearance! I happened to have the perfect shade of blue paint on hand, so I just painted them and hot glued them in place. Some might say they're a little large for the pails, but they don't bother me...

Gosh! Isn't it c-ute?!

And Preston seems to love the easy access. He pulled his stool up to it right away and got to work. Why didn't I think of that?!

Oooohhh! I'm so in love with this entire project, and it really was super easy to do!


This post has been linked to:

Addicted 2 Decorating

Tatertots & Jello
I Heart Nap Time: Sundae Scoop

Preston's Toddler Room {DIY Activity Easel}

I've been at it again. Preston has a NEW activity easel, and we both think it's pretty fantastic!

First, we have to give credit where credit is due, because I have to be completely honest. I didn't come up with the main idea myself.

I first came across this picture on Pinterest, and I immediately knew I had to make one. You can read about the original "Alphabet Board" from Nic and Kate here.

While the original is fantastic, I just HAD to make a few additions and modifications. I started with a $10 oil drip pan from Walmart and spray painted it with chalkboard paint {three coats for extra durability}. It took two cans of spray paint total.

Next, I used 3M Command Medium Picture Hanging Strips {9 strips total} and hung it in place per package instructions. I had to play with it a few times to get it level, but it was relatively easy. My level did fall off in the process and took a small chunk of paint with it. I just touched it up with a black permanent marker though. Easy peasy! {Notice how the stamped words on the pan are almost unnoticeable once painted. The paper roll completely covers them now, since I hung the board with the letters at the top.}

A final trip to Lowe's did the trick. I purchased an ivory screw-in curtain tie back {$5.97} and a roll of floor protector paper from the paint department {$3.97}. Back at the bungalow, I screwed the tie back in place and hung the paper roll on a piece of jute twine.

The final step was to cure the chalkboard {per can instructions} and throw on the wooden alphabet magnets! For now, I hung a bucket of art supplies from a magnetic hook, but I have a few other ideas for easily accessible art supply storage. I just can't decide which direction to go, so we're going to live with it awhile first!

The total project cost was about $28, but that's still A LOT cheaper than any store bought easel!

P.S. You can score the little gnome vinyl decal from Etsy too.

By the way...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

{burlap covered poinsettia}

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