Crimes against humanity...

(...well not really.  They're totally champagne problems).  A crime has been occurring in my house for 5+ years.  Call the sheriff.

My mom has been losing sleep over this.  Literally.  

84" drapes.  She finally could stand it no longer and showed up on my doorstep pleading with me to stop the horror.

She let me off on parole with strict instructions to install these 96" West Elm Scribble drapes in midnight blue.

I went with West Elm Woodland drapes in our dining room and was happy with how they turned out so I'll get these hemmed to 92" and install a beefier rod (that's what she said), closer to the ceiling.

These should add some pattern, interest and freshness to the living room.  Off to the seamstress to have these suckers hemmed!

Superhero Birthday Party

Our1st born is 5.  FIVE.  Amazing.  Like most five-year olds he's very into superheroes so the theme for his birthday party was easy and fun (and since his birthday always lands on one of the hottest days of the years it was a superhero pool party).  I won't pretend I came up with all these ideas myself (isn't that what Pinterest is for??).  

 

The decorations were really fun to put together.  I had some regular old balloons on hand and some left over white sticker paper.  A quick google image search and I found superhero labels and printed and applied them to the balloons.  I waited for a 40% off coupon to Michaels and bought a disposable helium tank.

Using some black poster board, a blue disposable plastic table cloth and some construction paper I freehand drew a city scape to be a backdrop for some photo op's.

Superhero toys the boys already had on hand made for some free decoration.

I found a newspaper template online and made up a superhero story about Matthew and printed as an engineer print at Staples.  I glued it to some leftover MDF from our living room project.  $3 project and it now lives in Matthew's bedroom.

I topped regular box cake cupcakes with Superman and Batman rings I found at amazon.

I don't cook.  Like at all.  I'm terrible at it, it stresses me out so I let Wegmans do it for me.  I didn't want to be running around during the party fussing with food so we kept it easy with watermelon (super strength!), veggies (x-ray vision!) and sandwich trays (hero sandwiches!). Everything was served cold and could be grabbed quickly by 5 year olds who didn't want to leave the pool to eat lunch.

We set up an activity table using DIY superhero masks from Oriental Trading and superhero markers I found on clearance at Michael's.

Even the juice boxes got a superhero touch.  I cut out capes freehand from leftover card stock I had on hand.  Another free project.

The favors were the DIY superhero capes I told you about.  They doubled as decoration when lining the fence with them.  I'm not going to lie they were pretty time consuming but so far they're washing well and the boys love them so it was worth it.

All in all the party was a success and fun was had by all!

Engineer Print

$3.79 project.  Did I have you at $3.79?

This is one of my favorite images of my boys because it showcases their personalities perfectly.  It was Easter so obviously my jokester Matthew was making bunny ears while the other 2 were yelling “AHHHHH” and "CHEEEEEESE" at the top of their lungs.  

You can get any image blown up to 24'x36” as an engineer print in black and white at Staples.  I logged into their website, uploaded the image, selected my local Staples location and the order was in.  10 minutes max.  

$3.79 later this is what I see each time I walk down our basement stairs:

DIY Towel Superhero Capes

My oldest is turning 5 soon.  FIVE.  How did that happen?  Like most little boys he's currently into all things superheroes and has requested a superhero birthday party.  Because his birthday is in July and because it is usually 100 degrees it will be a superhero pool party.

What is a superhero without his cape?  Just a newspaper reporter named Clark and last time I checked there is not a big demand for newspaper reporter birthday parties in the 5 year old circuit.  I searched for superhero towel capes but because they run upwards of $20 each I decided to try to DIY them.

Materials (I bought everything off Amazon):
-Towels - I bought a 24 pack of towels that look like they're marketed towards spas.  The smaller size is much better for 5 year olds and the real estate in my dryer. Or go the free route and use a towel you already have (affiliate).
-fabric paint (affiliate) and a cheap brush,
-freezer paper (affiliate)
-Iron on velcro strips (affiliate)
-Iron & ironing board
-An old rag, towel, t-shirt that you don't mind getting ruined

Steps:

1. Wash and dry the towels to get rid of the loose lint
2. Determine where you want the velcro strips.  The towels are as tall as my children so I folded the top under and then ironed on the strips so they don't trip on them.  Place a rag or old t-shirt you don't mind ruining between the iron and the towel to prevent any discoloration.  Be patient.  You must hold iron for the full 90 seconds.  60 will result in velcro that rips off.
3. Do a google images search for the logo or image you want on your towel.  I chose Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern and some generic lightning bolts and stars.  Copy and paste the image into a Word doc and print on the freezer paper following the instructions on the package.
4. Cut the image (leaving the white space, removing the ink space).  This is very tough with the  Superman logo.
5. Iron the template (glossy side down) onto the towel (5-10 seconds max).
6. Paint the open spaces.  Be careful of the surfaces around you (the paint is permanent)
7. Carefully remove the freezer paper and let dry according to the instructions. 

The templates can be reused but I'd alternate stencils giving each a chance to dry before you placed it on another clean towel to avoid a messy towel and a ruined iron.

I let the 3 boys use their towels before the party to see how everything held up and so far so good!  Seriously why don't all beach towels come with velcro strips to wrap?!

        

      

Friday odds and ends...

We have been experiencing a drenching rain for about 24 hours now.  Great for the lawn, not great for little boys' cabin fever.  Deciding that these are exactly the moments washing machines were invented for I decided that if we couldn't beat the rain we'd join it.

So we put on our boots and went puddle hunting. I won't remember the load of laundry in 20 years but we'll remember that fun afternoon :)

When we got back I found that a fairy godmother had left a very heavy package on our front porch.  It was heavier than a 2 year old with a soggy diaper after a puddle jumping.

It was the shell I've been eying for YEARS!  This thing has endless options as far as what to do with it.  For now I have it in the fireplace with some fake Ikea plants.  It really adds a nice summer lightness to the fireplace.  Love it fairy godmother!

Speaking of plants we've made some tweaks to the living room.  We added a plant to the corner.  I have a black thumb so here's hoping I don't kill it.  In fact as I was taking this picture I was wondering when the last time I watered it was.  Now that I'm typing that I'm thinking that same thought...and this is why my plants die.

Also to fill the empty wall space next to the TV we added a sunburst mirror from HomeGoods.  Placing a mirror on a wall opposite a window reflects natural light.  

Photobombed by Superman Brady.

Time to go water that plant :)

Dinosaur Birthday Party

We celebrated our baby's 2nd birthday last weekend.  He is very spunky 2 year old.  We call him Baby T-Rex so we thought a dinosaur themed birthday celebration with family would be fitting.

Using box cake, a can of frosting and a handful of toy dinosaurs I made dinosaur cupcakes.  Really inexpensive - couldn't have been much more than $5 for the batch and he loved them.

Using some of the items purchased from my Outdoor Love post we set up the party outdoors.  I hang lanterns from the pergola so little curious people can't get to the candles.

$24.99 basket filled with pool towels topped with a large platter, both from HomeGoods, doubles as an end table.

The birthday boy discovered he loves the pool this weekend.  That should certainly keep me on my toes.

A T-Rex piñata for my Baby T-Rex.

This was as much of his cupcake as he actually ate...

...because a little while later he puked everywhere.  #stomachviruspartyfavorsforall!

DIY Chalkboard Labels

Remember on my Outdoor Love post I mentioned that I wanted to DIY those chalkboard labels?  The ones from the post were only $25 but I thought I could do better than $25 for 4.  This weekend I got 'er done and it was really easy and inexpensive.

Start with any sized and any shaped piece of wood (seriously whatever floats your boat...heck use a boat shape).

Drill a hole.

Paint with chalk board paint.

Bam - DIY Chalkboard labels!

I made 50 of them for $10 (I already had the paint on hand).  Now what in the world am I going to do with 50 drink dispenser labels?  Par-tay - drink up!

Shared at: House of Hepworths, Between Naps On The Porch