Guest Project - Make a "Remember Quote Box"

Hello everybody!  I'm Cheri from I Am Momma Hear Me Roar and I am thrilled to be posting on Tatertots and Jello today.  Jen is awesome. 

This is me and my boys. 

Today I'm sharing a super simple idea that will help you remember the good times.  Sometimes kids say the funniest things ever. 

I guess he had heard me talking about product reviews.  No, he doesn't have a blog :)
I always think I'll remember what they've said, but the truth is my memory isn't what it used to be.  So, this simple "Remember" Quote Box will help with that.

You can make one too by finding an old recipe box and giving it a makeover.

Here's what I did: 





My mom had a recipe box she wasn't using, so I spraypainted it pale turquoise.  Then I added a little red vinyl to dress it up.

Next I traced some of the tabbed index cards to make my own new ones.

I bought 4 packs of blank index cards to fill the box.  It's back to school time so you can find them for about 65 cents a pack.  I gave each child a tabbed section and now when they say something funny I can open the box, jot it down, and remember it forever.

The other day my newly four-year old piped up to tell me this.  In case you can't read it, it says, "If you're not good, Santa doesn't bring you many presents.  Like, if you kill someone - that's pretty bad.  Then you only get a yo-yo."  What?  I'm honestly not sure where that came from, but it made me laugh pretty hard.

I wrote down the month, year, and the age he was up in the corner.  You could even fill up the cards with something that isn't a quote, but something else you want to remember.  I always want to remember how my boys make me wait till they are at the garage door before I can open it.  That way they can pretend they are lifting it with their super strength.

A kind lady in my neighborhood told me she did something like this and now that her children have grown they love to pull out the box for fun and read through it together.
I think it'll also be fun to pull out on those hard days when my boys are making me crazy.  It's always nice to remember the good times :)

Thank you SO much for having me Jen!



Cheri - that is such a great idea!! 

Thanks so much for sharing it with us!!

If you don't know I Am Momma Hear Me Roar - you are in for a treat. Cheri can craft, she can sew AND she can DIY. 

Check out these projects:

This SuperHero Room Cheri created is beyond cool!!

Such a good idea -- upcycle old tees into a Cool Dress

Great post about how to make Printable in Picnik. Love this!

And if you have been thinking of painting your cabinets - check out this post!

Be sure to head over to I Am Momma Hear Me Roar - you will love Cheri's ideas!! 

xoxo

PS -- I am sharing my first Halloween project of 2011 at eighteen25 today -- it combines FOUR of my favorite things -- Halloween, Eye Charts, Chevron and Printables!! 

Plus pillows too :) 

I'm so excited about the Halloween Spooktacular!!

xoxo

This post sponsored by

Guest Project -- DIY Porch Swing Makeover!

Hi everyone! 

 I'm Angie from The Cellar Door Stories, and I'm just beyond excited to be here guest posting today!  I love to blog about decorating, crafting, cooking, frugal ideas, family life with my husband and two kiddos, and pretty much any other random thing that comes to mind....some may call it scatter-brained, but I prefer the term "eclectic."  *wink*

Today I'd like to share one of our most recent projects ~ our porch swing makeover!!

Built in 1961 and not kept in the best condition, our home has been a bit of a fixer-upper, porch swing included!  

Here's what we started with when we first moved in....



Fast forward 3 1/2 years, and my little guy has changed quite a bit, but unfortunately the porch swing had not!  Since we were already in the process of repainting our shutters (which were also the country blue color), it made sense to give our porch swing a makeover too!

The first step was to take it down, clean it, sand it, and clean it some more. 

I knew I wanted to cutesy it up a bit by stenciling on a phrase, so we removed two of the slats to be replaced later.  Then it was time to paint!  I had chosen the color "Lincoln Cottage Black" by Valspar.  We used our paint sprayer for a few coats and a foam brush to fix any runs and get all the other nooks and crannies that were hard to reach with the spray.

My handy hubby cut down the new board to fit, and once it was painted, measured out my chipboard letters for me!  

What a great guy ~ he handles any project that involves my arch enemy:  measuring. 

My tendency is to just eyeball everything, so if it actually needs to look good, he measures it all out.  I first traced around the letters with a pencil, then over the pencil with white paint, and then filled each letter in.  I lost count of how many coats it took, but I think it was around seven, so a little time consuming, but not difficult.  (Of course, those of you lucky ducks with a Silhouette could crank that baby out in vinyl in no time!!)

Once the wording was completely dry, and the new board was attached, we could hang the swing back up in it's rightful place on the front porch.  I whipped up some pillows ~ I use the term "whipped up" very lightly...actually my sewing machine and I were at odds for a few hours, but she finally relented, and we are now back on speaking terms.  Anyway, I plan on eventually painting the front door red, so I used a fun outdoor fabric with some red accents and some red burlap for the pillows.  

Since the pillows will be outside, I left the plastic packaging on the pillow forms to protect them from getting wet!  Smart thinking, right?  Well, they make a funny sound when you lean on them, but at least they look good!  Plus, I made the envelope type closure, so I can easily take out the pillow form if I change my mind.

*One quick note ~ I do plan on adding a coat of clear poly over the letters to protect them a little from the elements.  Although if I don't get around to it, we could always just say we were going for the distressed look.

So, there you have it, our porch swing makeover ~ I can't wait until all this rain stops so I can go relax on the swing with a nice tall glass of iced coffee in hand!

Thanks so much for having me, Jen ~ I always love seeing the great ideas here and now I'm so happy to be a part of it!  Hope to see you all over at The Cellar Door Stories!

 

 What a fun project Angie!!!

 Check out how cute Angie's house is! 

{Another favorite -- her Numbered Coat Rack and Laundry Room Reveal}

{How adorable is her Spring Burlap Wreath? Love it!}

{And check out Angie's 101 goals for 2011 - what a great idea!}

 Be sure to stop by The Cellar Door Stories and give Angie a big TT&J hello!!! 

xoxo

PS -- It's Friday!!!! My favorite day of the week. I can't wait to see what YOU are doing!!! The party starts at 6 pm {MST}. I hope you will stop by :) 

Guest Project -- DIY Glazed Mirror Tutorial {with a twist}

Hi, ya’ll!

I am so super, super excited to be here at Tatertots & Jello today!

I love Jen and her fabulous blog and was so thrilled to meet her in person at Blissdom this year!

Thank you, Jen, for letting me share my project with you today. :) 

Let me tell you a little about myself… 

My name is Traci, and I blog at Beneath My Heart.

I am the only girl in a house full of boys.

 

Two years ago, I started my blog as a way to document DIY projects that my husband and I were doing in our 1968 home.

Being a stay-at-home mom, our budget is limited, so I have learned to decorate my home with very little money. I’ve learned quickly that things do not have to be expensive to be beautiful!

For example, I scored this beautiful antique vanity mirror (laying on my kitchen table) at Goodwill for only $7.50!

 

It was a beautiful solid wood and boy was it heavy!!

 

I have a certain painting technique that I use on all my furniture pieces, but this time I wanted to try something a little different.

This mirror was going to be used in my guest house, and I have been wanted to add a little bit of the color blue in the sitting area.

So I decided to give Miss Mustard Seed’s painting technique a try. However, I used Valspar products instead because I have a Lowe’s close to my home.

I had them tint sample containers in Sherwin Williams Georgian Revival Blue and Behr’s Light French Gray.

 

Then I had them tint the glaze in Valspar's Journey (6010-1). (Miss Mustard Seed tints her glaze with Behr’s Expresso Beans, but Lowe’s couldn’t match that one.)

 

After taping the mirror, I lightly sanded the wood with a sanding sponge. Next, I painted one coat of blue with a regular paintbrush.

(I left the lightsaber swords on the table for a touch of reality.) :)

And yes, I am painting in my kitchen. It's been too cold lately to paint anywhere else.

 

After that dried, I painted a layer of french gray over the blue using a dry brush technique. (Not much paint on the brush.)



When that coat was dry, I used my sanding sponge to sand all the high parts of the wood.

 

Lastly, I brushed a layer of the tinted glaze on top making sure in got in all the groves and crevices. I coated the whole mirror with the glaze and then used a paper towel to wipe it off.

 

I used my Silhouette machine to add a famous quote by Henry Van Dyke with their Premium Frosted Vinyl.

 

It wasn’t easy adding the vinyl letters to the mirror, but I did my best. :)

The words are not exactly straight, but good enough!

 

When I was finished, it was time to take the mirror to the guest house.

Here it is!…

 

I really do love the way it turned out.

The quote reads:

Time is too slow for those who wait,

too swift for those who fear,

too long for those who grieve,

too short for those who rejoice,

but for those who love,

time is eternity.

 

The burlap covered chair in the picture below is also a Goodwill find. I got it for $6.50, and you can read about that makeover HERE.

 

A touch of spring makes everything look beautiful...

 

If you would like to take a tour of the rest of my guest house, click HERE.

 

This project gives you a good idea of the type of projects I like to do on my blog. But I also like to sew, craft, and do DIY home improvements!

I would love for you to stop by sometime for a visit!

Just click the button below...

Have a blessed day! 

Traci

-- Beneath My Heart 

twitter: @beneathmyheart 

Wow Traci!

That mirror is just gorgeous!! 

I am so thrilled to have Traci here. 

She has one of my favorite blogs EVER! 

And it was so fun to meet her when we were both at Blissdom. 

Just check out her amazing ideas!! 

{Amazing Goodwill chair transformation -- burlap!!}

{I adore her Cafe Shelves - find out how to make them!}

{You MUST check out her Laundry Room. Gorgeous!!}

{I also love her Closet Pegboard Makeover}

And so much more!!

Be sure to add Beneath My Heart to your Must-Read list!!

xoxo