Finally!!!

I've been working on this dresser for Little Miss...I had the perfect vision of what I wanted it to look like/function as. And it 75% turned out. But the last 25% that DIDN'T turn out is driving me CRAZY!!!
I can't seem to paint smoothly, choose the right colors, or mod podge to save my life!!! What is wrong with me?! Seriously, is there a trick to mod podging or am I just a retard?

Anyway...since I'm NOT ready (or wonder if I'll ever be ready) to publicly display Little Miss' new/refurbished dresser I really needed a CUTE craft that I could actually feel good about.
Anyway.,..

So I was at Robert's Craft a few months ago and saw those cool framed glass calendars. I couldn't believe they ran about $50!!! I realized how brilliant it was to use glass as an erasable surface and figured I could make something similar for a fraction of the price. But I never got around to it.

Then I started seeing the similar concept popping up on craft blogs. Well, I may be on the late side, but I finally made something that is so cute, cheap, and totally works for my needs!
It's pretty obvious what I did. I bought a cheap frame ($5) from Wal-Mart. Did a little math to see how wide 7 equal strips would need to be. Found scrapbook paper that I liked. Cut and gluesticked the paper to the cardboard back. Added a bottom strip of paper for the menu section, separated by a little rickrack. Added some alpha initials to the top and stuck it all back together. I thought about adding some buttons or rub-ons or something, but I've been learning that simple it good...sometimes simple is better than fluffy. So I kept it simple.

This way, at a glance I can see what my week looks like and what meals I have planned for the week. I have my planner for monthly things, but it is so nice to have a weekly visual reminder for me. I use a white board marker and can erase and rewrite my week the next week!

I am simply in love with it!!! And yes, it DID make me feel better about turning out such an awful dresser...temporarily. Until I finally conceded to another home decor problem I've been having...which I will talk about in my next post. Now I'm a little distraught and feel the need to once again revamp.

REAL MOM'S DINNER: Turkey steak, french fries, mixed veggies, and watermelon.

Fireplace T.V.

While I'm on the subject of mantels...I thought I would show off one of Hubby's pride and joys.

Our t.v.

Ever since we moved into our house he had wanted to put the t.v. above the fireplace. I kept saying no as I didn't know how he would do it without cords showing.
Finally last Christmas, I caved and told him if he could promise he would a) not let any cords show and b) finish it in a relatively quick amount of time and c) have it not cost more than $150 he could do it.He met all my conditions and we couldn't be happier with having our t.v. up on the wall. There is no t.v. stand for little boys to get their hands into, no ugly cords hanging down, and actually a great viewing area!
We found a great deal on this swivel wall mount. Hubby (along with his brother's help) figured out how to pull up electricity and cable to the wall. He made a box to fit the dvd player (and it will fit a WII also...whenever we get one.)
He said the scariest part was cutting into the wall to insert the box. Ha Ha! But it worked out beautifully!

Anyway, enough about a silly t.v.

REAL MOM's Dinner: Broccoli and Beef (click here for the recipe.)

Fall Pick-Me Up

I was looking at my favorite magazine, Scrapbooks, etc. and saw the CUTEST "BOO" banner. Something similar to this (courtesy of the Scrabooks Etc. com)...I decided it was too early for a Boo banner and thought a HARVEST banner would be fun and cute! Besides, I was really needing something crafty to do since I've been a little lackadaisical lately!
I wanted to try circles instead of pendant shapes for my banner. I simply traced a bowl and cut out circles from a couple of cereal boxes. Then I glued some harvest-y looking paper down. Next, I used my poor man's Cricut technique and printed out the letters HARVEST on my computer, cut out, glued more cute paper on top of those trimmed up, and glued on the circles. I used scraps and stickers to add a little texture and depth (I used hot glue to adhere those.) I then hot glued the circles onto some twine and added little flowers in the middle. And hung it up on my banister.

The HARVEST doesn't stand out as much as I wanted, but I love the splash of fall it gives the mantel! Hubby saw me hang it up and laughed and said, "Good luck keeping the boys from ripping that apart!" But to my delight they actually HAVE left it alone for the last 2 weeks!

REAL Mom's Dinner: Grilled Hot Dogs, chips, corn on the cob, fruit salad and rice crispy treats. Can you tell it's the end of summer?!!!