February: Activity and Service Advent Calendar

Since Lucy and I had so much fun our December Advent Calender, I decided to make one for February too.

Unfortunately, so far we have had to rearrange most of the activities because Lucy got RSV and we have all been under the weather.

I made a simple paper chain again and if we don't get to the activities on that days link we just set it aside and eventually we accomplish it and throw it away once we have. 


Here is the list of fun activities and acts of service for the month of February!

		Activity	Service
Fri.	Feb. 1	XOX necklace	Give dad a massage
Sat	Feb. 2	Make popcorn- watch movie	Put clean clothes away
Sun	Feb. 3	Make cards- TP roll heart stamps	Sing Lucy a song
Mon	Feb. 4	Write love letters	Sing dad a song
Tue	Feb. 5	Make heart apples	Switch linen and game closets
Wed	Feb. 6	Make heart hair clips	Make all the beds
Thu	Feb. 7	Homemade Heart Pizza	Put away dishes
Fri	Feb. 8	Cupid's Floats	Organize Lucy's bathroom
Sat	Feb. 9	Family Dance Party	Dust the living room
Sun	Feb. 10	Play a game with dad	Give dad a kiss
Mon	Feb. 11	Hot Apple Cider Tea Party	Wash glass door windows
Tue	Feb. 12	LOVE: Large Artwork	Sing mom a song
Wed	Feb. 13	Paint Nails	Put away games
Thu	Feb. 14	Have breakfast for dinner	Give mom a massage
Fri	Feb. 15	Blanket Fort	Clean the fridge, oven, etc.
Sat	Feb. 16	Go on a picnic!	Clean side of bed
Sun	Feb. 17	Sing Primary songs	Give mom a kiss
Mon	Feb. 18	Make chore chart	Clean out car
Tue	Feb. 19	Plant a garden!	Organize shoe rack
Wed	Feb. 20	Decorate marshmellows	Put away shoes
Thu	Feb. 21	Sidewalk chalk	Wipe down toilets
Fri	Feb. 22	Scrapbook	Organize coat closet
Sat	Feb. 23	Go to the park	Empty trashes
Sun	Feb. 24	Hide and Seek	Give Lucy a kiss
Mon	Feb. 25	ABC Blocks	Clean bathroom
Tue	Feb. 26	Make homemade bread	Give Lucy a massage
Wed	Feb. 27	Butterfly Dome	Wipe down door handles
Thu	Feb. 28	Donation Drop Off	Clean kitchen chairs

Snow Day!

It seems like it has snowed at least once every winter since we have moved to west Texas, and I love it! 

This was our annual snowfall for this year. I love how much brighter it makes the inside of our home with all the light reflecting off the white outside. 

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!

New Years Eve 2013

New Years eve was always a highlight of the year when I was a teenager. I loved dressing up and going to the church dance with my best friends and brother and dancing the night away. 

At my dad's house before the dance we would have king crab legs, steamed clams with melted butter, reindeer sausage with crackers, and pot stickers. Yum! 

Scotty and I partying like it was 1999/2000!

Since moving to Texas we have celebrated New Years by having yummy food and hanging out.  

2008/2009!

2009/2010

The past couple years we have gone out for sushi- my favorite! 

2010/2011

We invited several of our friends from church to join us this year and we had a good time celebrating the end of the year. 

What New Years Eve traditions do you celebrate?

PS. If anyone wants to send me Alaskan King Crab for next year, I would graciously accept it. :)

Cookie Decorating

For this Advent Calendar activity, Lucy and I decorated cookies. She enjoyed it. Especially the eating part. 

DIY: Scrabble Tile Necklaces

For one of our Christmas Advent Calendar activities Lucy and I made Scrabble tile necklace charms. I have had the supplies for this project for a very long time and was glad to finally get to use them!

Dated the bottom with the date made. 12/12/12!

Let Lucy "draw" on the back of each with a superfine tip Sharpie pen.

Added a heart with felt marker and Lucy's name with the Sharpie.

Glued bails on each and let dry overnight.

After drying we packaged them up and mailed them off! Lucy really enjoys sending mail to people, and activities like this help her memorize family members names. Plus, Scrabble tiles are always great for reviewing the ABC's!