High Chair With 9 Lives (or at least 3)

A long, long time ago, on a Wordpress blog far, far away, I blogged about this old wooden high chair I refinished. Back in 2009, my in-laws had found it second hand for me, because I really wanted one.  (I have really awesome in-laws.) At the time, I sanded it down and painted it black. Those were the dark ages before I discovered the magic of spray paint (I have no idea why this blog is starting to sound like a medieval fairy tale, its totally unintentional), and I painted it with some cheap basic black paint and a brush.


 It took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. All those little nooks and crannies, ugh! 

I really liked it when it was done! 


But it was weirdly sticky. The thing never dried! It stayed sticky for the next year or so that I used it. Everything stuck to it, it never looked clean, it was awful. I was happy to put it in the shed. 


Fast forward to 2012. I have another little guy who is outgrowing his bumbo thing and needs a high chair! (No worries, the bumbo thing is strapped to the chair very securely.)
So I dragged the high chair out of the shed and looked it over. Lookin’ kinda sad, huh?  
So I bought $3 worth of black spray paint from Walmart. I still had lacquer left over from the porch project we’re working on.
After scrubbing it with Dawn dish soap and roughing it up with a sanding block, 20 minutes later I had a freshly spray-painted high chair. Have I mentioned that I love spray paint? SO FAST!!! 


I got a little nervous though, because after letting it dry for a good hour, it was STILL STICKY! NOOOO!!! Thankfully, after a coat of lacquer, and letting that dry, it was no longer sticky. Phew! You can heave a sigh of relief now.


Now it looked better, but… I still wasn’t happy with it.
The finish seemed kind of dull, and I could see drops of Lacquer. (I love spray paint, but I’m not crazy about spray lacquer.)


SO I stared at it awhile. Because that’s what I do. I stare until an idea pops into my head. And its a good thing an idea DID come, because that poor high chair, through no fault of its own, was about to get the ol' heave ho. 


 If you’re still reading, its about to get good, so hang onto your hats. Or seats. Or whatever.


I wanted to hide those dull spotty spots, or at least distract from them. So I grabbed this fabric I bought recently for the porch project. Its vinyl outdoor fabric for 2.97/yard at Walmart, (and easy to clean I'm thinking.)
I also grabbed some scissors, tissue paper, a pen, and my Elmer’s spray adhesive.
Placing the tissue paper over the tray, I traced an outline of the tray.

I cut it out, and using it as a pattern, traced the same shape on my fabric.


I cut that out, then sprayed it generously with one of my favorite things:

Elmer’s Spray Adhesive. I let it sit for about 30 seconds, then carefully adhered it to the tray, rubbing out any air bubbles and making sure it was nice and smooth.
Since this particular fabric was vinyl outdoor fabric, the fuzzy cotton backing left me with a problem:

It turned out to be an easy fix though. I just took the edge of my scissors and traced around the edges, and the fray came right off.

I repeated these steps for the seat of the high chair, coated the whole thing once more with another layer of lacquer and:

Can you hear it? Those angels singing the Hallelujah Chorus??? Oh wait, that’s me. Because I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love it!






This project only took me about an hour and a half, not counting the work I did on it back in 2009. Does this make you want to go spray paint something or what? If I can pull this project off, believe me, you can too!


This post is linked up with The Homemaker's Challenge!

Pinned & Did–The MONSTER Edition

This year we’ve been working on improving our health, being good stewards of our children’s health, gaining more energy, etc, etc. In searching Pinterest for healthy recipes, I came across many of these Green Monster smoothie recipes, like this one I pinned about 6 months ago from lindawagner.net. 


Either you think that looks really cool, or you think that looks really gross. I personally thought it looked…intriguing. Could that possibly taste good? A fruit smoothie stuffed with spinach or kale that looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book? Really? Everyone in blogland was raving about how delicious and awesome they were, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I mean, sometimes the emperor really isn’t wearing any clothes, if you know what I mean. Anyway.
I tried several different recipes that I pinned. Most of them seemed to involve these basics: a banana, greek yogurt (which we did NOT like, and that’s probably a good thing, because that stuff is EXPENSIVE, hello!), frozen fruit, a green leafy vegetable, a liquid of some sort, and often ice. They usually didn’t turn out the pretty bright green that you see in the above photo. More like a muddy, brownish, swamp color.
They were pretty tasty, definitely energizing, and definitely healthy! And bonus: the kids LOVED them! But honestly, Adam & I didn’t LOVE them. Until we invented our own recipe. Now we LOVE them too. Here’s how we make ours. You might LOVE our recipe too, or you might say “Ehhh” and come up with your own. But you should definitely try it!
We have 2 variations of the same recipe: one is strawberry, the other is peach.








Peach or Strawberry Green Smoothie:
1 Banana (its helpful to freeze these ahead, since bananas spoil so quickly)


1 container Strawberry or Peach Yogurt (don’t buy sugar-free unless you want something loaded with aspartame and food coloring.)


1-2 cups frozen strawberries or peaches


1 cup ice 


1/2 cup liquid (water works fine, or you can use apple juice, we just use water; for the peach we used orange peach mango juice which was really good)


Stuff the rest of the blender with Spinach or Kale or something similar. (We prefer Spinach over Kale. It blends up really smooth, you can’t taste it, and there are no little leaf particles in the smoothie.)


Blend. Blend. Blend. If it doesn’t blend easily, add a little more liquid.
Serves 2-4. When finished, this fills our blender about 1/2 full, which we split 4 ways.


The peach one comes out a nice,  Dr. Seuss-y green.
We’ve been having them for lunch. I usually have a hard boiled egg with it, for some extra protein, and honestly, it really fills me up. And makes me feel so healthy.


And yes, that is a box of donut holes sitting next to the blender.


Try to pretend you didn’t see that.


Things we have learned while making Monster Smoothies:
1. Greek Yogurt has a strong aftertaste that gives me the shivers. I know, I am so un-trendy.


2. Milk in any form dilutes the fruity flavor, making it bland.


3. Adding Peanut Butter makes it taste like a PB&J sandwhich…I wasn’t a fan.


4. Baby Max does not like the blender and will cry hysterically until its done.
Long story short: these are worth the effort, so try one and see if you don’t like it.

My Pinned & Did grade for Green Monster Smoothies: A+

Springy Stuff

We've had a gorgeous Spring this year. Lots of rain, but not an unbearable amount like previous years. After 7 years of little to no yard, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate having a pretty backyard for my kids to play in!!! I love to go sit out on the porch and watch them play. Jackson gathers me beautiful little weed bouquets, Lily runs around trying to catch butterflies, Max bounces in the exersaucer, the birds sing, the grass grows, the ice melts in my glass...you get the idea. Life is good. :)

The porch does need a little TLC, so I'm excited to have a project to work on this summer while we're outside.
 I started a couple of weeks ago, by painting our existing outdoor furniture. By furniture I mean plastic chairs we've picked up at yard sales. We also had a small round table and chairs that aren't technically outdoor furniture, but I figured with paint and some good coats of sealant they'd work. I wanted something bright and fun, and decided on a color palette of Leafy Green, Black, White and a little Fuchsia. The fuchsia is really an afterthought, after finding these gorgeous fuchsia peonies blooming in the yard yesterday. 

So far, all I've done is spray paint the chairs and table. The chairs were painted with Rustoleum Satin paint in "Eden". Each chair took approx. 15 minutes, and 1 1/2 cans of paint, give or take. I also ended up looking like Shrek by the time I was done.  (And may I also just say right now how incredibly ANNOYING it is to try and format the images into these blogger blog posts????)

Anyway. I LOVE the color. You can't quite tell in the pics, but it is the exact shade of the leaves on the trees. 
The table and a loveseat type bench were sprayed black. I sprayed several coats of lacquer on the wood furniture, and to be honest, I'm not crazy how that turned out. Its fine on everything but the black tabletop. It came out all blotchy and uneven. See how it looks kind of wet in the last picture? It isn't supposed to look like that. :/   I'm going to have to brush on regular lacquer to make it look nice. Other than that, I'm very happy with it. At any rate, its much more fun to sit in and look at now! I plan on sewing chair pads and a few throw pillows out of this black and white damask fabric,
and somehow working in the fuchsia color...maybe with piping or something, I don't know.

Next up: fix the splotchy table top, make cushions, paint the porch white,  and put in new screens!

 I'll be posting pics when its all done. In my imagination, it looks awesome. We'll see. And hopefully it won't take all summer. :)

Pinned & Did -- Heatless Curls

Over the last few months I have pinned several heat-less hair curling methods on my Pinterest boards. I've tried three different methods on my daughter's hair, and I thought it might be helpful to someone if I posted the results of each of these methods. My daughter's hair is pretty thick and heavy, medium texture with a slight wave to it. It does not hold curl well at all. In two methods her hair was very long, in one method it was about 3 inches past her shoulders. 

1. Sock Bun Curls -- I really had high hopes for this one. You can find the tutorial here. It seems to work great for a lot of people. Basically you roll the slightly damp hair up in a bun with a sock, and sleep on it over night. In the morning you should have wonderful curls that last for 2 days. This only takes about 3 minutes once you get the hang of it. On Lily's hair, though, it basically curled her hair under. It did give her a lot of extra body, and I really liked that she didn't have that bed head part in the back of her hair. Plus, the bun looked super cute! I've tried this a few times, with variations like leaving her hair wetter, putting gel in it, putting mousse in it, and the results are always the same. Maybe her hair is just the wrong texture for it or maybe it isn't layered enough. Oh well. I will probably still do this in her hair when I want to avoid the bed head look. 


My Pinned & Did Grade for the Sock Bun: C+ due to lack of curl.

2. Headband Curls -- this one works by wrapping the hair around a headband and sleeping on it over night. You can find the tutorial here. I had a little trouble at the end, when wrapping her hair (which was shorter in this one) around in the middle. It just didn't want to stay in and kept popping out. I finally secured the ends with a ponytail holder and that held it. It took about 5 minutes. The next morning, it was frizzy-straight on top and quite curly underneath. I think maybe the top layers or her hair were not damp enough. After a couple of minutes touching up the top layer with a curling iron, it looked pretty cute. Also, the curls stayed in for most of the day, which is VERY unusual for her! The next day her hair was  wavy with a slight curl at the ends. Overall, I liked this, and it didn't take very long, which was nice. Next time I'll try it when her hair is a little more damp. 


My Pinned & Did grade for Headband Curls: B+

3. Twisty Bun Curls -- I can never remember what these are actually called, so I just call them twisty buns. ;)  For this one, I twisted her slightly damp hair into 5 or 6 super tight little buns, taking care to place them high enough up on her head that it wasn't uncomfortable to sleep in. I also made sure I did not have a part on the back of her head. You can find the tutorial here. I LOVED how these turned out! Super curly, all I had to do was a little bit of de-tangling with my fingers, and the TEENIEST amount of touch up with a curling iron (like 1 minute) and it looked beautiful! This was my favorite look of all the methods I've tried, although it did take the longest to do--about 15 minutes plus the touching up the next day. The curls stayed in for about 2 days. 


My Pinned & Did grade for Twisty Bun curls: A+

That's it for today, thanks for stopping by!

Lily's Room Rearranged and Almost Done

I finally got Lily's room re-arranged in a way that fits the room and everything we wanted in it. We had to move the vanity out because I needed to use it in the Master Bedroom, (no counter space in the bathroom, oh well). I did have to promise her though that she could have the vanity back someday, and we came up with an idea that worked a little better for her age anyway. Here are some pictures of what it looks like now. There are a few things that would be nice to add, like a bed skirt, a rug, and maybe a pillow on the little toy box seat. I'm trying to decide about the collage wall, do I want to add to it, to fill up the whole wall, or leave it the way it is? What do you think? Enjoy the pics!

 (Pardon the crooked bed. The frame is a little warped and needs fixed!)

To learn how I made this hanging fabric lamp, go HERE. The butterflies I found at Meijer, I think they still have them. I found the cute little paper mache birds at Michael's and just spray painted them yellow. Oh, and the little dresser used be to 70's orange wood, but after 30 minutes and 2 cans of white spray paint, I think it looks a lot better. Maybe I'll switch out the knobs, if I get around to it someday.

 The Princess Silhouette is a silhouette of Lily that I made inspired by this vinyl decal on Etsy. It just reminded me so much of Lily, and I thought it would be neat to have her face be the silhouette. I love it! 

These magnet trays were made by spray painting Dollar Tree serving trays. I hung them by gluing loops of ribbon on the back with E6000 glue. They are really a handy place to hold her dress-up dolls, and she also uses them for tea parties! And of course the yarn wreath was inspired by my ever-growing  Pinterest Wreath Board.

The banner was made by hot gluing scrapbook paper to ribbon. The paper tray and basket were both spray-painted, they used to be black. The pink mirror was taken off an old orange hand-me down dresser and spray painted. That funny looking jar is home to "Rainbow", Lily's betta. Looks like Rainbow's bowl could use a cleaning...that mirror too...someone should really do that...

Before putting these cheapo shelves from Walmart together, I used spray adhesive to glue Michael Miller Dandy Damask fabric to the back board. They still look like cheapo shelves, but now they are CUTE cheapo shelves. To hold coloring books, pencils and crayons,  I mod-podged scrapbook paper over formula cans and a cereal box. I'm glad I could use those pricey formula cans for something!

                          That smudgy mirror is just embarrassing. What do you think about this collage wall...should I add to it, or leave as is? I plan on putting Lily's name in the large oval hoop somehow, and probably putting something in those empty frames too. 

Overall, Lily and I both love the room, and it makes me happy just to look at it! When its clean. Which it isn't right now. So I guess I'll just look at these pics instead...

Have a great day everyone! :)

Scrappy Lampshade DIY

My 3rd trimester I kind of went into a "nesting" craze, fueled by Pinterest and moving into a new canvas house with all kinds of new rooms and empty walls to decorate. I do not recommend moving while pregnant. If it doesn't drive you insane, it will likely drive your husband insane.

The kids rooms were my main focus this summer, and Lily's room especially. 

After painting and curtains and everything, the room still needed something, some *bam* object that would tie in all the colors: aqua, pink, and white with pops of yellow and green and make them all make sense.

When I saw this lamp over at The Pleated Poppy, I knew it was perfect,  since I had a ton of scraps leftover from the throw quilt I made for her bed. 

So, I found a shade at St. Vincent's for a couple of bucks.  

I ripped it apart, much to the shock and dismay of my husband, who didn't know what I had planned. (You'd think he'd be used to me by now!) 

Then I tied and tied and tied and tied. And tied. I used all my scraps and it took forever.

But I love it! 

Cost of this Project: Approx $15

Shade: $4

Fabric for Shade: $0 (scraps)

Swag Lamp Kit: $10 at Home Depot

Fabric to cover the chain: $1 at Walmart

Go to The Pleated Poppy (linked above) for a full tutorial!

Beauty and the Box

At some point in their lives, usually at a young age, most women are given a pretty little box.  The box can come from many different sources. A mother or grandmother. A father. A boyfriend. A circle of girlfriends. A TV show, magazine, or music video. Some boxes are bigger than others, but usually, they are pretty small. You may keep yours on the bathroom vanity, or carry it around with you everywhere you go.


Contained in the box is its owner's personal ideal of beauty. The box is small, because usually it consists of  only one thing, one tiny detail...a number. Maybe a dress size, measurements, or the numbers on a scale. And every day, or even several times a day, the box is opened. Every time the person looks in the mirror, goes shopping, or finds themselves in a crowded place, they take the box out and compare themselves to what's inside.


"How do I measure up today?" they wonder. "How long before I reach this level of beauty that will make me happy with myself?" They may feel a twinge of guilt, disappointment, frustration, or envy before they put the box away.


And so it goes, every day. A constant struggle to find the personal happiness that can only be found in the perfect dress size.

As I raise my daughter in a society that revolves around image, I can't help but want better for her. I want her to know that personal beauty is so much more what than can be stuffed into a tiny box. It isn't about how small her waist is or isn't, or how flat her tummy is or isn't. It bothers me to hear teenage girls talk about how many calories they ate that day, or how they need to go on a diet, always with this self-loathing in their voices as they stare at their image in the mirror, hating what they see and wishing they could just measure up to some shallow ideal of beauty.


Who teaches them this? These are girls that grow up in church, in Christian homes. Shouldn't they be learning that they are "fearfully and wonderfully made"? Shouldn't they know that the image they are staring at with such disgust is a work of art, created with care by Someone who thinks they are beautiful? Shouldn't they know that happiness comes not from a constant focus on self, but a forgetting of self?


It makes me sad to hear little girls worry so much about their appearance. It bothers me to hear ladies my own age, who are all so pretty just the way they are, talking about "just 5 more pounds" or how much better they looked before they had kids. It drive me nuts to hear grandmothers and great-grandmothers talk about how they "really shouldn't" eat dessert because they want to slim down! I'm all for being healthy, but if you haven't accepted yourself by the age of 70, you never will! And moms, if babies gave you a bigger tummy or hips, hey, don't be embarrassed, you worked hard for those! There's nothing wrong with looking like a mom, you are one! ;)


Health is important, yes. Eating nutritious foods, getting adequate exercise and fresh air, these are all good things. But diet and exercise for the sake of...what? Being skinny? Measuring up to some lame standard of beauty that the fashion and diet industry says we have to look like? (((Who made them so smart anyway? Maybe it has to do with the fact that the more money you spend on their weight loss products, the more money they make off of you?))) That's not healthy or good. It's wrong! When it comes right down to it, it's nothing but pride. Pride is not beautiful.


These are just my thoughts on things I'm working on personally. It isn't easy, I would be a hypocrite to say that I don't struggle with all of these things. I'm no supermodel, it's HARD to look in the mirror and be happy with what I see. I was raised in the same society as everyone else. But the longer I am a mom, the more mindful I am of what I'm teaching my daughter. Every time I look in the mirror discontentedly, comparing myself to a number, every time I say "Ughhh, I'm so fat!" or "I'm so ugly!" my daughter is learning. I'm shaping her ideal of beauty. She's taking away from me the idea that the worth of a woman is measured by nothing more than a reflection in the mirror. I think she's worth more than that. A lot more.


Maybe we should think outside of the box. Throw the box away. Broaden our perspective. Teach our girls that they are beautiful the way they are! It takes more than words to teach. If I tell my daughter "You are so pretty just the way you are" and then turn around and say "If I could just lose 10 pounds I would look so much better" what have I taught her? I've taught her that everyone else is fine the way they are, but not me. I can do better. I can improve on what God made. Wow, if that isn't nasty pride rearing its ugly head in my mirror, I don't know what is. And pride does not look good on anybody.

Psalm 139:14-15 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

 Linking up with Life in Bloom today!