Thrifting: Duck Bathrobe

I love visiting our local thrift store on their weekly "Half-Off All Items" day and seeing what treasures we can find.

It was love at first sight for both Lucy and Clara when they saw this rubber duck bathrobe. Lucy begged me to take a picture of her with it and Clara wouldn't stop repeating "Duck! Quack!"

Much to both of their disappointment, the glorious duck bathrobe didn't come home with us that day.

Halloween 2014: Russian Nesting Dolls

We had some fun activities planned for October this year.  First, we dressed up like Russian nesting dolls for our church's chili cook off and trunk-or-treat. The dinner was delicious, but our costumes were too hot for that Texas night!

Next, we painted and drew on mini pumpkins for a family night activity. Clara didn't quite get it,  but Lucy really loved painting and drawing on hers, and I was even surprised at all the different drawings Zach did on his. Very nice!

The next adventure we went on was to Six Flags, where we spent an evening checking out their "Fright Fest" decorations and activities. I enjoyed their musical Halloween production we attended, and Lucy always loves going on a few rides with Zach. Poor Clara gets to enjoy her stroller.

On Halloween day we went to Jamba Juice for free kids drinks and Chipotle for $3 "Boooo-ritos" for dinner. To finish the evening off we wore some cooler costumes that we pulled together based on what we had around the house to go trick-or-treating around the block. Since our Russian costumes had been so hot (and somewhat uncomfortable), we thought we might need something a little lighter to wear but it was actually the perfect evening! Not too hot, and not too cold.

Zach wore a French man costume, I wore a Hawaiian dress with shell necklaces and a flower in my hair, Clara wore a "Little Miss Muffet" dress and hat, and Lucy wore all white with a baker's hat, spatula, and the apron from her Russian costume  to be a "baker".

Clara only made it about half way around the block before Zach decided to take her home. Both Lucy and Clara's candy bags were so full, I tried to smush more of Lucy's candy into Clara's bag before they left us to head home. I'm glad I did because by the time Lucy and I made it back to our house, her bag was almost overflowing! There was no way we would have been able to fit all the candy if we hadn't sent some home with Zach.

Next year I will have to remember to give them larger pails, instead of the Russian inspired cloth bags they used this year that went with their costumes.

Ward Trunk-or-treat: Russian Nesting Dolls

My pumpkin back.

My pumpkin front. Used white spray paint, black sharpie, and gold paint to accent.

Lucy's pumpkin.

Zach's front.

Right side.

Left side.

And back of Zach's pumpkin.

Clara's pumpkin with sharpie pens.

At Six Flags "Fright Fest". Lucy wanted a picture, but only made it half way before turning around and coming back. "Too scary!"

Clara sharing her water with her French Daddy.

Dreaming of a Hawaiian vacation. This dress was perfect for walking around the neighborhood. 

Little Miss Muffit sitting on her tuffit, eating her curds and whey. 

I only wish I could have gotten a picture of Lucy too in her bakers costume!


I spent a lot of time and effort making our Russian Nesting Dolls costumes, and was so proud of how they came together. Lucy, Clara, and I made lots of stops to various thrift stores, costume shops, Jo Ann's, Target, and Walmart trying to find all the pieces and elements we needed to make matching costumes. Some of the pieces we already had, but needed to find more for everyone to match.


Things we already had:
- One red head scarf (from last years French costume)
- Lucy's red skirt (needed new elastic), my red skirt
- Clara's white button up
- Black shoes for everyone
- White socks for Lucy and Clara
- Zach's church pants
- Black fur hat from Russia (present from my brother)
- Some felt colors
- Red lipstick for cheeks


Things we had to buy:
- A few additional felt colors
- Lace window valence (3.99)
- Ribbon for apron ties ($1.97)
- Two more red head scarfs ($1.00 each at Hobby Lobby)
- Red skirt for Clara ($1.00) Used a thrifted red dress, cut it up and sewed in elastic to make a skirt
- Elastic for Lucy and Clara's skirts  ($2.99)
- My white button up ($1.50), and Lucy's white button up ($1.00)
- Pirate boot covers for Zach ($10.00) This was the most expensive thing! But figured we can use it for years to come.
- Embroidered Indian shirt for Zach ($5.99)
- Red rick rack to sew around Zach's shirt ($1.47)
- Red fabric to make Zach's sash ($2.99)
- "Russian" hand bags for Lucy and Clara for candy ($1.50, $2.00)


We found a window valence with lace trim on it at a thrift store and I cut and sewed it up to turn it into our aprons. I cut out and glued on colored felt to make the flowers on the aprons. These really made the costumes and looked awesome.

Lucy and Clara's shirts had peter pan collars, so I made one out of felt for my shirt, which had no collar at all. I just used a mini safety pin to make it stay together on my neck.

Zach's shirt was awesome, but needed a little more Russian influence so I hand sewed red rick rack all around the collar to help it lose it's Indian feel.

These were the pictures I used of "traditional Russian outfits" as inspiration for Zach's costume.
Sources: Here and here.


I inherited a used and very simple sewing machine a few years ago, but had never learned how to use it. These projects were the perfect motivation to pull it out, find the manual online, download it and make some costume magic happen!

Lucy and I had so much fun shopping all around and collecting pieces weeks before Halloween, and then putting them all together. I love making homemade costumes! Homemade is the best. I'm already looking forward to next year and hope that Lucy isn't so old that I can't influence her costume choice so that we can all have a family costume again.


To see last years costumes, click here.

Lucy Lately: February

Lucy and I had a lot of fun together in February. Here are some of the things we did. 

Lucy working on her scrapbook project. 

Making Ooey Gooey Rocky Road Cookies with Mom. 

Lucy modeling her "new" tennis shoes.

She "loves them."

Art time.

Writing notes for Grandpa Billy and Bishop D.

Lucy enjoying her treat after her first successful day of potty training.

Mine.

Hers.

Lucy wasn't feeling well and put herself down for a nap. We found out a few days later that she had RSV!

Playing with marbles on foam.

Making Valentine Canadian Bacon Pizza.

Fun at the park.

Chalkboard Art: January

Here it is! My first attempt at chalk lettering. 

Board primed and ready to go.

Staring it off, trying to get spacing and lettering right.

Using my computer for references. 

Chalk and white chalk pencil from my head and figure drawing classes. Is it nupastel?

Taking it's rightful place in our home.

Things I learned:

1. While drawing use a rag in your non-drawing hand to brace against the board, so that your hand/fingers won't leave prints/dark spots.

2. Use references for fonts and drawings- duh.

3. Use a ruler.

4. Plan letter and word spacing better next time.

5. Take a picture and look at it on your computer before deciding if it is really done yet or not. It was easier to see the imperfections in a picture than in real life because it gave me some distance and I could see all of it at once.

How To: Make A Framed Chalkboard

For my list of fun goals for the year I revisited one I never accomplished last year and tweaked it a bit. I was inspired by one of my friends from my college art classes and really look forward to drawing more this year as I loved doing my sketch book 2-day draw last year.

Here is the first step to accomplishing it!

"#2:  Chalkboard frame and drawings:

This is a re-visit of a project I wanted to accomplish last year, my "create a masterpiece". Because I could never decide what to paint over the thrifted painting I bought, I finally decided I want to paint over it with chalkboard paint and do chalkboard drawings on it throughout the year. This also gives me the chance to exercise my drawing skills, which I am excited to do again."

Here are the steps to making your own framed chalkboard!

Materials:

1. Framed thrifted painting

2. Chalkboard paint

3. Foam rollers and tray

4. Butter knife

5. Paint stirrer

6. Chalk and rag for erasing

Buy a large framed art piece at a thrift store.

Use butter knife to bend staples on the back away from the backing so that you will be able to remove the painting.

Set up painting area. Read directions on chalkboard paint can to make sure you are in the correct temperature recommended for painting etc.

First coat of paint

This is the first coat drying. Read directions on paint can to know how long to wait between coats.

Second or third coat. I would recommend using a wider sponge roller than I did so that you can paint each coat quicker and have less areas of texture where the paint started to dry too fast. 

After letting the paint dry for three days (as per directions on can) I conditioned the board by covering it with chalk, using the wide side and then erasing it all off. This leaves a coat of chalk that provided for the best erasability. 

After being conditioned and erased- ready for a drawing!

Frame waiting for it's new chalkboard.

Insert chalkboard face down and use butter knife to press back down the frame staples to hold board in place.

Ready for a drawing!

Things I learned:

1. If the chalkboard paint looks uneven while drying- it is. Repaint it if you want it to look smooth.

2. For smoother paint job, get a bigger sponge roller.

3. Sanding the dried paint with fine grit sandpaper didn't fix the problem of unevenness. But maybe it helped?

4. Once board is conditioned and a drawing is on it, you don't really notice the board imperfections.


I am excited about this project and am really looking forward to doing some drawings!