A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
I always love hearing what people pack for trips. I feel like there's a science or formula to it that I just can't figure out. I always seem to pack too many of one thing, and not enough of another. I wanted to share here what I was so glad I had, and things that didn't get much (or any) wear. SWI
I always love hearing what people pack for trips. I feel like there's a science or formula to it that I just can't figure out. I always seem to pack too many of one thing, and not enough of another. I wanted to share here what I was so glad I had, and things that didn't get much (or any) wear. SWI
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
If you’re looking for simple and inexpensive Christmas decor,these snowflakes are the perfect DIY. I hung these from the ceiling all throughout our entry way last year and they made such a huge impact. This year, I decided they’d be perfect hanging above our hot cocoa station. You don’t need a ton of supplies to make these and can have several done in less than an hour. Here’s what you’ll need to get started: -Paper bags (You can use standard size lunch bags or smaller ones in whatever color you prefer.) You’ll need 8 bags per snowflake. -Hot glue gun with extra glue sticks -Sharp pair of scissors -Scotch tape -Single hole punch -Fishing line or clear string -Small command hooks/clips 1. Start by plugging in your glue gun and separating your bags into piles of 8 until you have a stack for each snowflake you plan to make. 2. Arrange each pile with all bags facing the same direction, smooth side facing up. 3. Grab your first stack of bags and make an upside down uppercase T using hot glue. Refer to the picture below. 4. Take the next paper bag and place it on top of the bag with hot glue, smooth side still facing up. Try your best to keep the bags lined up straight as you glue. Continue glueing the T pattern on each bag until all 8 of your bags are glued together. 5. Now, position your stack of bags with the top of the bags pointing up. Using your scissors, cut the tip of the bag into a point. You can choose a perfectly pointed tip or slightly rounded. This will become the tips of the snowflake. 6. Next, cut small notches of any shape from the sides of your bag. Avoid cutting the area where the bottom of the bag naturally folds. It may be a little challenging cutting through so many layers, don’t panic if it doesn’t look perfect after cutting! After I finishing cutting one snowflake, I like cut all the others before unfolding them. 7. Now, starting with one snowflake, very carefully begin opening it by pulling the layers away from each other at the tip. My boys love to watch this step and are amazed at how the bags magically turn into snowflakes. 8. Once you’ve fully opened the snowflake, don’t let go or it will fold back up. Using hot glue, make a glue line down the center of the bag in the opening and press the two loose sides together to secure it. Open and glue the remaining snowflakes. 9. Using a piece of scotch tape, fold tape over one tip of each snowflake and punch a hole in the center. The tape will prevent the fishing line from tearing through the bags while hanging. 10. Attach your fishing line or string to each snowflake. I like to cut mine different lengths to add some interest when they’re all hanging together. Last, attach them to the ceiling using clear command clips…that’s it!
This was my first big quarantine project and I have to be honest it is my FAVORITE! My biggest recommendation I can give before starting any project is making sure you take BEFORE picture. There is nothing more rewarding then seeing your before and after! It is amazing what paint can do ... literally.. The
White Modern Farmhouse Cottage Playhouse Hack
A playset has been on my wish list for a while now, but even the ones at Costco run about $1,000, so when our friends were giving away their well loved set for free, we jumped on the opportunity. Getting it was probably the hardest part. Daniel spent a couple days dissembling it into a few main piec
I’m thrilled to share our latest project we wrapped up just in time for summer fun with the boys. Graham and Harrison have turned into little explorers and have started to really enjoy playing outside and going to the park in recent months. We live in a wonderful community filled with kid friendly spaces, but we had our hearts set on creating a fun space of our own where the boys could run free, play and explore. After checking out several stores and websites, Sean and I both agreed that the Cedar Summit Lookout Lodge Playset from Costco was the most budget friendly option and also the best fit for our little guys. Here’s the before: One of the features that drew us in was the yellow tube slide. Graham is fascinated with this style of slide and the squeals of excitement he let out during our last trip to the park confirmed that this was a must have on whatever playset we purchased. The Cedar Summit playset retails for $1,299.99 and we were lucky to grab it during a sale for only $850.00. I’d say that Sean is super handy and skilled when it comes to assembling and building things. Y’all, we were doubled over laughing with a small amount of fear in our our eyes as we pulled out the LAMINATED instructions and saw what seemed like thousands of small wooden pieces to this set. At that moment, I finally understood why people pay big money to have playsets assembled for them. Unfortunately, that was not in the budget for this project. Thankfully, it was not as overwhelming as it first appeared and the manufacturer included very detailed instructions. Each piece was also numbered into groups making assembly much easier. We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and thought that went into this playset. Sean is not typically an instruction follower but highly recommends following each detail for this build. Full assembly took us about a week, working in the evenings only after the kids went to bed. Sean assembled while I painted. We worked well past sunset several nights and had to break out Sean’s handy work lights. My vision from the beginning was for our playset to have a white modern farmhouse vibe with a black tin roof. This particular playset comes with a shingle roof covering half of the playhouse and a tarp that slopes over the other half. We scrapped the original roof and tarp and Sean constructed a tin roof big enough to cover the entire house. Sean used a paint sprayer to give the roof 2 coats of Sherwin-Williams Tricorn Black. After consulting with a neighborhood painter, we decided to use a solid stain on the house rather than paint for durability and weather resistance. I brushed 3 coats of Benjamin Moore Simply White onto all of the cedar surfaces. I just want to point out that Sean is indeed wearing flip flops while standing on the swing set to mount the roof. I was anxiously standing in the alley while he insisted that this is totally safe practice. Anyone else have a husband who likes to scare you while working on DIY projects? After a little back and fourth, we decided that black windows would help add the farmhouse touch we were going for. I painted each window black with high heat matte black spray paint. We also swapped out the door hardware for a gold cabinet pull purchased from Home Depot and added house numbers spray painted in my favorite gold spray paint. We chose numbers that had meaning to us (the boys birth months). We replaced the original swings and acro bar with these yellow swings. I love the rubber coated chains that prevent little ones from pinching their fingers. Sean also built a cute window box and filled it with these zero maintenance potted plants. During a recent trip to target, I hit up the dollar spot and found the cutest lemonade stand accessories. They’re the perfect touch for summer. We are so excited to be done with this project and have a feeling it will be the source of countless memories for the boys. They’ve already enjoyed several trips down the slide and beg to go play at “their backyard park” every chance they get.
I always love hearing what people pack for trips. I feel like there's a science or formula to it that I just can't figure out. I always seem to pack too many of one thing, and not enough of another. I wanted to share here what I was so glad I had, and things that didn't get much (or any) wear. SWI
