Toy Garage

With three kids and a huge backyard, we have tons of outdoor toys which are usually all over the place. In order to protect and organize them, Dan built us a toy garage. It is awesome. He made sure the shingles match the ones on our house, and I added a brightly colored bunting. We decided to use drop cloth for the front, so the kids don't have to move a heavy door. Miraculously, they have been helping park their toys at the end of the day, so we are happy parents!

Sew Crafty Saturday: It's Coming Along

The front yard has been getting a make over for quite some time now, so I thought I'd give you an update with some pictures. We put in many flowering plants that are said to attract butterflies and humming birds. The girls love to sit in their little chairs and touch the fountain. They even throw pennies into it. Sorry, Dad. We still want to put an old ladder by the window hung on the gate and I'd love to get my hands on an old bicycle and use its flower basket as a permanent planter. Any one have a bike they are throwing out?

Misc. Monday: Aw, Summer!

You didn't think we forgot the garden did you? It's definitely not as extensive as last year's, but we have had a playhouse to work on! I can't wait to make a caprese salad, and can you see how many strawberries are about to ripen up? Yum yum...
P.S. Can you believe that picture of Iris from last year? She was bald!

Sew Crafty Saturday: Playhouse Part 4 & Such

The play house is officially finished! The deck has been built, the mailbox has been hung, plants have moved in, and the address is up. You can see the progression by visiting the previous posts: playhouse part 1, part 2, and part three. Part 2 is by far the cutest! This has become our favorite place to play. Lilly waters her pots daily and has her own little dust pan to sweep up. I am so glad we decided the put the chalkboard wall on the door. Can you see all the dust on the deck? The playhouse would have been such a mess if the chalkboard was inside.
I also wanted to share our new little, backyard seating area with you. This set is from Ikea. Dan cut down the legs of the table to make it more of a coffee table. We already have an outdoor dining area, and it didn't fit the space right when it was tall. I made the pillows out of oil cloth, and Dan found the pie plate for the little succulent center piece while I was looking at clothes at Anthropologie. He also bought me the vintage quail family at an estate sale. He is so good.

Sew Crafty Saturday: Playhouse Part 3

I glued clothes pins to the wall, so the girls could
hang up their art work.

You didn't think a Kindergarten teacher would forget books did you?
Dan's grandfather built this bookcase, so it's pretty special to see it get some use.

We originally planned to have the chalk board wall inside the play house, but then realized it would get very dusty very quickly!

Here's some curtains for the play window.

I know, I know I keep posting pictures of the playhouse, but it's really the only crafting I've done all week!

Misc. Monday: Playhouse Part 2



This is the view from the front door of our new playhouse. I used Velspar paint samples to paint some of the beams and fabric from my stash. The curtain came with Iris' crib bedding set (We never used it). We spent no more than $50 on this shed conversion. I'm amazed at how nicely everything came together!

This frame housed a different picture in our bedroom that I had grown tired of, so I used it to frame this stamped piece of scrapbook paper instead.

This is a "Land of Nod" craft table that Grammy and Papa picked up for us at a thrift store. The # buckets and stools are new from Ikea. I wasn't thrilled with the color of the stools, but once I went through my fabric stash, I realized that the green was a perfect color to go with the pink florals I had on hand.

The girls really enjoy the loft. It is quite cozy filled with blankets, stuffed animals and books. Dan picked up the little doggies on the back wall at an estate sale a while back.

Fresh paint, fake flowers from the Dollar Tree, and pinwheels give the window boxes a new, cheerful look.

This little quiet corner is located behind the craft table.

These name canvases are my favorite craft project in the playhouse. All I did was cut the letters out of left over fabric from the bunting and hot glued them to the canvases. The girls had a blast putting their hand in pink paint!  I got the doilies at Joann's with a coupon, and used a coupon at Michael's for the canvases.

I nailed up yard sticks and used a hot glue gun to attach the clothes pins. These ABC cards were in Lilly's room and are now located right under the loft.

I'm not sure this is what Tuff Shed had in mind!

Working on this playhouse has brought me so much joy. It's 70-80% done and the girls are already playing in it everyday. I still have to make curtains for the front door, a ladder needs to be built, and I'm talking Dan into building a little deck out front to make a porch complete with a free standing mailbox.

Sew Crafty Saturday: Playhouse Part 1

Summer is in full swing over here and we have big plans. One of them is to turn our Tuff Shed into a playhouse. The hardest part was finding places for all the stuff it was housing. Once that was done, Dan used leftover tiles from our kitchen to lay  the floor. A reading loft has been built. A ladder needs to me made, a chalkboard door needs to be painted, then the fun of decorating and playing begins. I can not wait to show it to you when it is done!

Misc. Monday: Spring Sprucing Up

Boring Before.



Dan built the trellis' and stained them himself for 1/2 the price and  much better quality than we saw at
Home Depot. Gotta love a handy man!




I moved all the succulents from the front yard to these pots from Home Goods. The front yard got some traditional boxwood plants.




Beautiful After.



Misc. Monday: Curb Appeal

I cannot tell you how excited this makes me!

Sew Crafty Saturday: Harvest Time

Sew Crafty Saturday: Productivity

We have been busy. I just got back from scrapbooking in Big Bear with 3 friends (I'm still behind, but did a lot) and I finished the kitchen curtains. The house was spotless and completely picked up when I got home. The dishwasher was empty and Dan took the girls to their swim lessons for the two days I was gone. He is also replacing the horrible chain link gate that we've had to look at for the past five years. It looks so pretty now! He works so hard. Right now, He's assembling chairs that I just bought for our 4th of July party tomorrow. I love my husband!

Miscellaneous Monday: Backyard Bliss

Have I told you how much we love summer? I know, it's not official yet... but in So. California, this is close enough! We spend all of our afternoons outside: riding bikes, grilling, wading in the pool, bouncing, sidewalk chalking, and hop scotching. We are getting about 5 strawberries a day in the garden. The tomatoes are flowering, sunflowers are as tall as me, carrots are getting bigger, and we've eaten two batches of home grown broccoli! I think we are going to be able to put in a second crop mid-summer. I know this is going to be a great summer... I can feel it!