My little Anthro Knock-Off

This little project turned out too cute and was too easy not to share!

I recently came across this Anthropologie Chalkboard Spice Jar when I was searching for something else!

via

Does that ever happen to you? 

Lucky for me I did find what I was looking for for another little project I've got up my sleeves and will share that on another day.

When I saw this I immediately thought "jar, spray paint and chalkboard label....I can do that!"

A few days later I felt like an even bigger genius when I came up with the idea to turn little jelly jars into the most adorable "piggy banks" ever for my kiddos. 

We recently assigned our four oldest a few chores each that they are expected to do every day. It's nothing major as they are all ages 7 and under but it is a start. We didn't plan on ever paying them to do these chores until my husband came home telling me about an allowance system that a co-worker of his told him about. It is sort of a backwards or reverse way of paying your kids. ha!

Basically, each kiddo has their set of chores assigned to them and each chore has a value or price assigned to it. On any given day if the kiddo decides not to do a specific chore, they pay YOU from their weekly allowance. 

There are a few rules though: 

1. 10% of their weekly allowance goes to the collection basket at church

2. 30% of their weekly allowance goes into savings

3. No borrowing money if they don't have enough in their jar for what ever it is they want to buy.

We are still getting our ducks in a row before trying this out but have very high hopes!

I love that this system teaches charity, savings and the value of money.

How to make an Anthro Knock-Off Spice Jar

1. Spray paint your jar white and use a clear top coat if desired.

2. Paint the lid and band of your jar (if it is a 2 part jar) any color you want.

3. Let dry at least a day or two to let the paint cure.

4. Using chalkboard paint, paint a label on your jar or use a vinyl label.

**Spray paint on glass can chip off- that is why I did the top coat in hopes that it won't. If it does, cover your label with some painters tape and re-spray your jar as needed or embrace the natural "worn" look!**

Happy Friday! 

Now Go Paint Something!

when life happens

This past week I went to the Dr. for a cyst thinking I'd need surgery. Since the antibiotic had cleared up the infection to the point it was impossible to see where the cyst had been, I was told to wait until it came back again. These type of cyst come back. The only way to get rid of them are by removing them.
I left the office and thought I was good for another year since I was only getting them about once year since the first one 3 years ago.

Two days later, yeah, guess what was coming back already!
Back to the surgeon I went.
Since it was in the early stages, there wasn't much to see except the fact that I had a tender spot.
They had an opening for surgery the next day, which I figured was better than waiting through the weekend and would  give me the weekend to recover.
Thursday ended up being a mad dash to clean house and prepare for not being able to do much for the next week or so.

These sweet little lunch bags were one of the last minute things I pulled together to remind the kids that I love them and will be missing them.
Since I've been working on filling a jar of little cards to have on hand, I was able to pull this little act of love off fast and easy.
I packed them a lunch, stamped their names on the bags, tied it up with twine and attached a little card.
All pulled off reeeeaaallly late at night but so worth the time and effort it took to remind them how much they are loved.

My shop is currently closed right now but I think in a day or so I will be up to re-opening with a small sample of my line of handmade pretties until I'm really back into the swing of things.

Please keep me in your prayers. Infections are common with where the incision is so that worries me. I'm hoping I can breeze right though it without any problems!
And hey, I am sitting up in a chair right now typing this post!
That's a good thing!

Have a Restful Sunday!

P.S. I do have a post scheduled for Wednesday, another 3"x3" card (can you tell I'm lovin' those right now?) but other than that, I probably won't be around much, if at all, this week. :)

Celabrating 90 Years!

While I finish up my coffee and before educating the kids today, I thought I'd share a fun little DIY cake topper that I made. This past Saturday all 7 of us and an Auntie loaded up in our Suburban and headed to Houston to give my Grandfather one heck of a surprise party. About a week ago he turned 90! What a milestone birthday that is. Food was pretty much covered with everyone bringing sides and appetizers so being the crafty one in the family I asked if I could bring a special cake topper for the hummingbird cake my mom was baking. (I'll have to get the recipe to share sometime, it was amazing- I now weigh 400 lbs and don't even care!)

 I started searching pinterest and found a couple of ideas but nothing that really spoke to me. So then I started browsing Martha Stewart's website and inspiration struck!

 So between this:

 

and this:

 I CAME UP WITH THIS:

card stock, die cut machine, photos and bamboo skewers hot glued on the back

 I loved the idea of the pictures, thinking I could use some old childhood pictures of him but I also loved the pinwheels all at multiply heights- so why not do a little combo?

Happy 90th Grandaddy!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and made some fun memories!

Happy Fall Y'all

When I first saw this cute owl on Pinterest, I knew I had to make it. I wanted it to be a 1st day of school gift bag for my kiddos but when that didn't happen, I decided it would be a perfect way to do a little something special to welcome Fall for my kids.

Let's get started shall we?

First things first, gather up your supplies:

 I used a 3/4" punch for the black part of the eye and a 1-3/4" punch for the white part of the eye. Since the 1-3/4" punch is my largest, I traced a salsa jar lid for the largest size circle, which happened to be about 2-1/2" in diameter.

 Gather up some pretty scrapbook paper and an old dictionary page along with orange and mustard card stock, adhesive, a paper cutter and scissors.

And an alphabet stamp set to stamp a greeting. If you don't have an alphabet stamp set, a black marker and your prettiest handwriting works great, too!

Cut the top of the brown paper sack  so it comes to a point like in the picture.

Cut a long oval shape out of your dictionary page leaving one end of the oval flat and adhere that to the bag.

 Now just start layering all of those circles starting with the scrapbook paper...

 Then the 1-3/4" white circle...

 Followed by the 3/4" black circle...

 Cut a little diamond out of the orange card stock...

 Stamp (or hand write) a greeting. Mine says "Happy Fall Y'all."

Once the bags are filled, just staple the to closed!

And that is it! Simple, huh?! I don't know exactly what I will fill the bags with but I'm thinking bubbles, a little candy, maybe some play dough stuff like that!

The first day of Fall is this Saturday!!! Are you ready?