I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar

Sunshine Sunday - two wheelers and fancy dates

2013-05-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

This week was kind of a long one, but full of little great moments.

Baden is now riding a two-wheeler! Seeing his little body peddling his little bike just makes me crazy happy.

My husband and I each took one of our boys out on a date Friday night. My very favorite restaurant is the Roof in Salt Lake, but it's pretty darn pricey so we go maybe once a year. Well, Rex has heard me talk this place up for a long time and he's begged and begged to go. We happened to have a gift card from someone, which wouldn't have been enough to cover my husband and I eating there, but it was perfect for Rex and I since he's the little kid's price. So, he won and we went on a fancy date.

On the way there he asked me non-stop questions about the place. "Is it tile or carpet? What do the servers dress like? Can I eat dessert first? How big is it? How many tables of dessert are there?"

It's a fancy buffet and I did let him hit the dessert table first. He was in heaven....and so was I. It was so much fun.

It's right next to the Salt Lake temple.

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5 Ways to Use an Engineer Blueprint

2013-05-17T06:00:00.000-06:00

As you've probably seen in blogland, Engineer Blueprints from Staples have become a big thing. Why? Because you can print a huge 2'x3' poster (black and white only) for only $3. Mostly, it seems that people use them for family photos but there are a LOT of ways to make use of them. Here are a few uses you might not have thought of.

1) School Elections. My niece is running for vice president at her middle school. Why not go big with a few posters? I figured she could use markers to fill in the stars or banner if she wanted to spice it up with a little color.

2) Toy room/bedroom art. These Lego posters have been a hit in our playroom. Read the details about them HERE.

3) Events. I was asked to do a booth at a Women's Conference this year about dating your spouse. My mom and sister came and helped. For the booth decor we kept it simple and did a poster of each couple. Booth decor price? $9. Nice.

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The Nursery Closet - vinyl clouds

2013-05-16T06:00:00.000-06:00

I think this is the last nursery project and then next week I'll show you the whole finished look. It's actually all done and I can't wait to show you!

For the closet, I liked the idea of removing the doors and making the closet itself look cute. The walls inside it were already white, but I wanted to add something fun to them. I was inspired by Destiny's walls that I mentioned HERE on a Five Finds Friday. However, I wanted to use clouds and make it look like wallpaper.

I used my Silhouette to cut out about 9 feet of vinyl clouds. I squeezed as many as I could onto the page.

To apply them I came up with an easy system. I got out a piece of painter's tape and applied is to the wall, making sure it was level. Then I made stars to indicate where I wanted the clouds to go in that row and dots where the clouds go on the next row (since they are staggered). I used a small piece of tape to measure the distance between each line. So after I completed a row I would move the short tape, move the long tape, and make sure it was level. Then all I had to do was quickly apply that row.

It was a lot faster to do than I thought it would be and it was a billion times faster than stenciling.

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What I Love Wednesday - Happy Lists

2013-05-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Back when I was in college I had a blank poster I taped on my wall. I added the words, "Things that make Cheri happy" and every day I would add something to it along with a little picture I'd draw. I wish I still had that poster. It made me smile just to look at it and read through the things.

I think gratitude is so important to our happiness and I don't feel like I've been keeping tack of the things I'm grateful for as much lately. So, I thought I'd make a little list here to get me started and then start a list by my bed again that I can write on at night.

So here are 5 things that make me really happy.

1) Green Turn Left Arrows. What's not to love?

2) How when one of my kids is being a total punk, the other seems to notice and becomes so kind and helpful to me. The boys were fighting today and Rex was driving me crazy. Baden came over and said, "I'm going to try really hard not to be mean, Mom." Thank you. You can have all the inheritance, son. :)

3) Popsicles. I'm sensing an addiction for the summer. We are going to be making a LOT of popsicles. I just can't get enough of them. Plus, it's nice that you can make them pretty healthy, too.

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DIY Dipped Glitter Vase

2013-05-14T06:00:00.000-06:00

Every so often it's awesome to find a project you can do in just a few minutes. Here's one I'm sharing HERE at the I Love to Create Blog.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mommy School - Summer School Plan 6

2013-05-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

I want to do a week on American history with the boys. It'll even give me a chance to brush up on American history myself. We'll take a day to cover each big event.

1) On day 1 we'll talk about Columbus. I scoured the internet for ideas on how to explain this to them, but I just didn't find anything that I really liked. So, I'm going to do something that always works really well with the kids at church. I will have a box with different items in it that each represent part of the story. As I tell the story I'll pull the items out. This always helps keep their attention because they're wondering what's in this mystery box.

For example, I'll talk about how Columbus met with the king and queen of Spain and pull out a crown. I'll talk about the three ships and pull out three little boats. I'll talk about the Native Americans and find a prop to pull out for them....and so on.

For a little activity to go with it we'll make little origami boats like these. (Nothing fancy, but my boys have taken a recent interest in origami.)

2) On the next day we'll talk about how we gained our independence. I might have to switch around the order of the weeks because it would be great to do this unit over the 4th of July week. We'll talk about Revolutionary War and George Washington. We'll do THIS little craft of our first President.

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Sunshine Sunday - Mother's Day

2013-05-12T06:00:00.000-06:00

Mother's day isn't really my favorite holiday, to be honest. It often ends up being the day my kids fight the most and my visions of being showered with gifts and praise come crashing down. So, I decided that instead of thinking of today as a day that I should be praised and appreciated, I would think of it as a day to express my gratitude for the chance to even be a mother.

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am pregnant and you probably read Our Fertility Story. I just read it again as I was writing this post because it helps me step back and recognize what a gift it all is.

I don't need my kids to behave perfectly to have a perfect Mother's day. I don't need an amazing present from my husband and breakfast in bed to make the day just right. I just need to remember what I've been given. I know those two little boys were meant to be mine and I can't wait to meet this little girl and get to know her.

I chose the name Elsa a long time ago. I've loved it for many years. It derived from Elizabeth, so the meaning is "consecrated by God." She is our gift from God and I always want her name to remind me of that.

So if your day isn't picture perfect today, I hope you mothers can have a happy moment today just knowing that you've been given such an incredible privilege. Someone calls you mom.

Magic Fort Winner

2013-05-11T07:47:00.003-06:00

And our random winner for the Fort Magic is....

Congrats! We'll be in touch!

Feature Friday - Homemade Popsicles

2013-05-10T06:00:00.000-06:00

I've been on the hunt for some fun popsicle recipes that the boys and I could make together this summer. My sister pinned THIS one for me and we tried it out today.

I liked that there were few ingredients, all of which were healthy. However, the popsicles weren't incredible and the milk and the orange juice separated a bit when we tried to mix it all together.

The boys still liked them anyway.

I thought I'd ask you guys if you have any good popsicle recipes. We really want to try some creamy ones with Greek yogurt and we're aiming for some healthier ones (fruit, honey, but not straight sugar).

If you have a recipe to share, please leave it in the comments section. We'd love to try it out.

Thanks for reading.

The Master Bathroom Final Reveal

2013-05-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

So along the last few months I've been taking pictures of my prego belly and the bathroom renovation, guessing which one would be done first. I am happy to report that the bathroom beat me. It's DONE!!! And I couldn't be happier about that. So, here's a whole lot of pictures and a whole lot of info on what went down around here.

If you recall, this wasn't a project we "picked."

Our shower was leaking, so we started to peel up the tile, only to reveal that the previous owners had tiled over existing tile and there was moisture and mold all over. I was pretty devastated.

We ripped out more....

...and more and more until we realized that the shower and the floor had to go.

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What I Love Wednesday - Our New Car

2013-05-08T06:00:00.000-06:00

Several weeks ago I mentioned that we needed to get a bigger car to accommodate our growing family. You guys were really helpful and shared what you knew about the cars we were looking into. Thanks again! Here's what went down and how it all ended.

After reading everything you said, I wanted to look into the Acadia more and I also wanted to push the minivan issue with my husband a bit. After ~~quite a bit of disagreeing~~ a lovely discussion, he okayed the minivan idea. So I looked into both a minivan and the Acadia.

Now I know a lot of you say that you get way more bang for your buck with a minivan, but that's not at all what I found. In the neighborhood we live in, AWD is a must. I could hardly find any used vans with AWD and when I did the price was crazy high. When I priced out a new minivan with AWD and leather (not a necessity, but a bonus) it started at $45,000! Yikes. Bye, bye minivan.

So there were two dealerships fairly close that had both received 15 Acadias. They were all a year old with 10,000 - 25,000 miles on them. We figured with them having that many on the lot and by coming in at the end of the month that we could get a great deal. We were pretty set on this car. We test drove it and liked it, but when we went in to negotiate we were really turned off by the guy there. They had a huge extra hidden fee and they weren't very personable. Out we went.

Then my mom kept mentioning that she had a couple of friends who loved Hyundai cars and one that had a Santa Fe. I went back through all the comments and saw that one of you had also pointed out the the Hyundai Santa Fe was now available with three rows. We figured it was worth looking into. I don't think it's an option most people are aware of, since the 3 row thing is new this year. Hyundai has also come a long way in the last few years.

My husband and I looked online and were really surprised by the pricing. For a little more than what we would have spent on a year-old Acadia, we could get a brand new Santa Fe WITH a 5 year warranty. I love a good warranty. We originally hadn't planned on buying a brand new vehicle, but the price on this made it doable.

So we headed to our nearest Hyundai dealership (Ken Garff Hyundai in Salt Lake) and checked it out. We were really happy with it and extremely happy with how we were treated there. (Ask for Jordan there if you need a car. He was awesome.) And we ended up buying a brand new Santa Fe that looks just like this, but black.

I am in love with this car. We actually got the nicer package, which included a back-up camera and the biggest sunroof I've ever seen. It goes all the way to the back so it feels like we're in a convertible. This picture doesn't do it justice.

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Child-drawn Baby Blanket

2013-05-07T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today my post is over at the I Love to Create blog. I let Rex make a personalized blanket for the baby and we were pretty excited with how it turned out. You can read the details of it all right HERE.

Tomorrow I'll give you our car news and Thursday I'll show you the finished bathroom! Thanks for stopping by.

Mommy School - Summer School Plan 5

2013-05-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

Week 5 of Mommy Summer School will be all about water. We'll talk about the three forms - solid, liquid, and gas (ice, water, and steam). We will then spend a day on each one.

1) For ice day we will play a few games. We haven't done a Superhero Scavenger Hunt this year yet and Rex goes crazy over that one. You can find the details HERE.

We'll also play the melting ice game that I blogged about HERE. (Just go down to #3 in that post.) It teaches the kids what melts ice quickly and what melts it slowly. It's a fun one, too.

Maybe we'll top off that day by letting the boys get a slush somewhere.

2) For the water day we will redo THIS experiment and talk about how water can move upward by using capillary action. There's a good explanation of capillary action HERE.

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Sunshine Sunday - my mother-in-law, sweet moves, and boys in buckets

2013-05-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

We had a big week around here with lots of reasons to be thankful.

First off, we bought a car and I'm thrilled about it! We are ready for another little one in our family and our car now. I'll tell you more about it on Wednesday.

My husband was out of town for a few days and I had been asked to run a booth at BYU Women's conference, which meant my husband's parents watched the boys for two days. They are really amazing, thoughtful people. My mother-in-law wins the prize of the year for watching them because Baden got the flu, throwing up many times, none of which were in the toilet. I felt horrible! She was so kind about it.

The boys have been learning some sweet moves on the rope ladder and rings we put up a few weeks ago. They like to have a spectator to watch their sweet moves, which gives me time to just sit on a bean bag and relax for a little while.

And man are they growing. I kind of have a weird thing for taking pictures of my boys in Costco carts. Here's two years ago...

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Soapbox Saturday - Fort Magic and a GIVEAWAY

2013-05-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

Today I'm really excited to tell you about a product that you and your kids will love - Fort Magic. Of all the things I've reviewed in the past few years, this is definitely one of my very, very favorites. Fort Magic is an amazing kit to help you build all sorts of forts, playhouses, and more.

It comes with TONS of pieces and lots of plans/ideas for building your own forts.

When the box arrived we dropped everything to try making our first fort. We tried the pirate ship. It was huge! I didn't realize the size of the forts you could make with this kit. The boys had fun playing in this for quite a while.

The next day we built a secret fort, which only superheroes were allowed into.

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Five Finds Friday

2013-05-03T06:00:00.000-06:00

It's time for a 5 finds Friday! Here are 5 things I found in blogland this week that I thought were awesome.

1) The girls at Eighteen25 are so stinkin' clever. Their projects are always simple to reproduce and flawless to look at. I thought these Painted Photo Bottles found HERE were so cute.

2) I'm in love with this storage unit my sister pinned the other day. (Thanks, Cass.) The lady took 3 file cabinets and topped them off with wood. You can find it HERE at Country Living. I'm crossing my fingers that I can find 2 file cabinets at the thrift store because I need something like this for a little more storage in the baby's room. Please, please, please!

3) My niece and her husband happen to be very crafty (and ridiculously good-looking). She posted a project on her blog that I thought was so clever. You know those really cool vintage chairs with the holes in them? They just took regular chairs and drilled holes in them themselves. So clever. See more details on it HERE. (Her husband also make the table shown.)

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DIY Bath Mats

2013-05-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

While finishing our master bathroom, I've been hunting for bath mats. We needed 4, which adds up really fast. I found some I liked, but they were $20 and I wasn't about to spend $80 on just bathmats. Previously we had the memory foam ones from Costco, which I loved in the beginning. However, when it came time to wash them they drove me crazy. I could only fit 2 in my washer and the edging came off one of them. They were so bulky.

So I decided to find a way to make my own. The criteria was that they had to be able to all fit in the washing machine at once, I didn't want to spend too much on them, and they had to work with the color scheme of the new bathroom. Here's what I came up with.

I purchased all the fabric at JoAnn's, but I also waited for all of it to go on sale. You can also bring your coupons. The bottom layer is terrycloth - just like a towel. The top fabric is outdoor canvas. They are joined with bias tape.

Here's a better look at the process. I was sure to pre-wash the fabrics, because I figured the terrycloth would shrink a bit.

I cut both fabrics to be 22"x32". Why? Because I didn't want to have use more than one package of bias tape. I did the math to be sure I wouldn't have too use two packs and have more seams.

To make 4 mats, I only needed 2 yards of each fabric. I cut the fabric lengthwise first and then in half. The terrycloth wasn't as wide on the bolt as the canvas, but it was wide enough for the measurements I just gave you.

I used a CD to help me cut nicely-rounded corners.

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What I Love Wednesday - Our Food Journey Part 2

2013-05-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

So we've been on our new food journey for 3 months now and it's going really well. (If you missed the other posts they are HERE, HERE, and HERE.) There are moments when I run out of recipes and I am still spending a lot of time on Pinterest finding new ones. I linked up a few at the end of this post that we've loved.

However, the boys are eating more veggies - even Baden. They are getting really used to it. We have explained why we are choosing certain foods and not others and Rex especially gets it. He could actually probably give a pretty good lecture series on it all. Both boys still like candy and they get a little here and there, but overall I feel like we're winning with them.

Baden with a carrot juice mustache.

I thought it would be interesting to reference my goals/wishes that I listed in my first post.

"I want to have more energy and a clearer complexion."

I do feel like I'm breaking out a lot less. This one's a little hard to judge with the pregnancy, as my hormones are all over the place. However, I really do feel like it's improving and that makes me happy.

"I want the boys to need snacks less often, since they'll be eating foods that actually fill them. (I don't starve my kids. They just think they need snacks every ten minutes.)"

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Nursery Sign - Dream Big

2013-04-30T06:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I just finished the big sign that will go over the baby's crib. Here it is!

I had originally designed the whole thing to be a big vinyl sticker, but the vinyl and I had a fight and I lost. So, plan B was started. I purchased this large sheet of MDF for about $6. It's not the thinnest kind they sell, but the second thinnest. I sketched out a cloud and my rockstar dad cut it out for me.

I took the cloud and spray painted it white first. It took a fair amount of coats because MDF really sucks in the paint.

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Mommy School - Summer School Plan 4

2013-04-29T06:00:00.000-06:00

My boys love, love, love art. As much as Rex likes superheroes, he's torn between his loves. He says he either wants to be a policeman (which I figure is the closest he can think of to being a superhero) or an artist. So, I want to spend a week of the summer on just art.

I figured we'll pick an artist a day. We can learn about the artist and try out his or her "style."

1) First up is Eric Carle. Baden is obsessed with him. It's funny that he has a favorite author when he's only 3, but he'll sit and listen to any Eric Carle book. I think it's the bright, bold art he loves. And honestly, I love Eric Carle too. I found a great short video to start with HERE. It shows him working on his art and explaining his love of color. It's less than 3 minutes, so it won't be hard for the boys to sit through.

Then I think we'll paint papers in different bright colors like he does. We'll cut them into shapes to create our own pictures. Here are a couple examples of kids attempting his art that I found.

[Source]

2) Next up we'll talk about Vincent Van Gough. We'll read the main summary about him HERE. However, I want to emphasize to the boys that he wasn't very successful or accepted in his lifetime and only sold one painting. I think it's neat for them to understand that we can follow our hearts and passions - even if others don't always understand us.

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Sunshine Sunday - muscles, crowns, and self portraits

2013-04-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

First off, thank you all SO, SO, SO much for your kind comments on Friday's post. Your comments really buoyed me up and I appreciate how kind and understanding you all are. Thank you.

If you follow me on IG you've seen most of these pictures, but I didn't get out my big camera this week.

Baden has been getting better about eating his veggies and I always stress how they make our bodies strong. He had to stop and show my after every single bit of veggie soup how much bigger his muscles were because of the bite he just ate. I think he looks like his eyes are going to pop out of his head if he flexes any harder.

Both boys have been doing a lot of creating lately, which I love to see. They'll see a box or a basket around the house and tell me that they could use it to make something really cool. It makes me proud of them to see them stretching their minds and re-using things. Baden made his own crown the other day and wore it everywhere we went - even to the doctor's office.

Some of you asked how Baden does at dressing himself now that he can reach all his clothes. Well, we have a bit to learn about matching still, but he's pretty proud of doing it all by himself.

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Something's Gotta Give.....

2013-04-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted to you you readers a quick heads up about something. I've been thinking about my life and blog a lot lately and where I want things to go. And I've made some decisions.

You see, I feel like I've been spreading myself way too thin in the past couple of months. I've allowed too many things to be put on my plate and I'm not doing any of them as well as I'd like to. That means something has to give.

I heard a phrase years ago that stuck with me. It said, "A good woman knows her limits." I know that I can't handle everything right now. I'm exhausted from the pregnancy. I'm trying to blog. I have a lot of responsibilities at church. I'm trying to cook whole foods and make pretty much everything from scratch for our family. I'm trying to be a good wife and mom and......I had a real breakdown about it all this morning.

So? What does all this blabbering mean? I've decided that I'm going to take the summer off of blogging. June through August you won't find a new post here. I want to really appreciate and savor the birth of what will probably be our last child. I want to be a good mom to my two boys and not feel like I'm going to snap any second. I want to sit in the backyard and watch my boys play. I want to just take more time to appreciate all I've been given rather than worrying about all I have to do.

While the blogging has been a huge blessing in my life, it also can be kind of stressful. I have hundreds of unanswered emails in my inbox right now and that truly weighs on me. I read about how to promote my blog through all the social media channels and it makes me feel like there is no possible way to keep up with that. I don't have that to give. There are more important things in my life. In 2012 I started to run ads on here and make some money. It was really helpful to our family during some hard times. While it was helpful to have made some money blogging, I don't want that to govern the way I spend my time. I don't want to worry about page views. I want to worry about being more patient with my boys.

I thought about different ways to keep things going here, like guest posts or contributors but every time I've tried to conceive a way for blogging to take less time it takes more. And the idea of taking off the summer makes me feel a huge release. I don't do things half way. It's not in my nature. I tried slowing down my blogging speed, but it just doesn't work for me. I'm kind of all or nothing.

At the end of the summer I figure I'll reevaluate things and decide if I'm ready to come back or if I'm just done. For now I plan on posting through May and I have some fun projects to share, but that's all I can promise for now.

If you want to have updates on regular life, I'll still be on Instagram (@mommaroars) through the summer but that's about it. I just wanted to give you all a heads up so that I'm not randomly leaving you hanging come the end of May.

Thank you for your kindness and support and your understanding. I have been so lucky to have you visit here for so long. See you tomorrow.

Painted Bins and a Bathroom Update

2013-04-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

This is the last bathroom update and the next post I do on it will be the big reveal. Hallelujah! I'm so excited that it's almost done.

So in the area that has the throne....

...there's some shelving to the left. I want it to look nice enough that I don't feel it has to be covered up. I had some of these bins there, but they were an almond color and didn't match the new look.

So? My mom always taught me you can paint anything. So I took these babies through a spray paint car wash. Then I came back and painted the handles gray. Much better. I found the little bins above on clearance and I think I'll painted some other baskets I already have to fill up the other shelves.

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What I Love Wednesday - the Honest Company

2013-04-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

After totally changing the way we eat in our home and going totally "clean," it made me start to look at other things in our home. Ideally, I'd like to use the most natural products I can. I want to clean up what I use for makeup, cleaning products, and more. So, when I got the chance to review laundry products from the Honest Company I jumped at the chance.

First let me tell you about the company. The Honest company was started by a mom and dad who were getting a little worried about questionable ingredients in the products they used at home. They wanted to create an honest company, that would offer effective, affordable, safe, and eco-friendly products.

The Honest company now sells a lot of different products - diapers and wipes, cleaning products, laundry products, and even personal care products. I love the idea of having products that you don't have to hide from your kids.

The dryer clothes were the product I was most anxious to try. I don't like regular dryer sheets. Then I switched to one that was a spray, but it didn't remove any static from my laundry. These dryer clothes were great. They pull out and look like a wet wipe. They were fully effective. I had no static in the laundry. There's very little scent to them - which I like.

The laundry detergent was also great. It cleaned all my loads of laundry well and my clothes came out smelling fresh, but not overly scented.

I wanted to really put the stain remover to the test. When switching to natural products I think there's always a worry that they won't be as effective. I had a lot of laundry from one of my son's bloody noses. (Maybe that's gross to talk about, but that's the toughest stain I ever have.) I tried out the stain remover on a sheet where the blood had dried for many days.

I had to search the sheet to find the stain after washing it. If you look really hard you can just barely see it, but I also didn't let the stain remover soak very long. I threw it right into the washer. It did a lot better than what I have used in the past.

Do you want to start making your home an Honest home? Here are a few ways to make the transition or learn more.

- Sign up for their emails HERE.

- Try out a free sample of their diapers HERE. (They are the cutest diapers I've ever seen.)

- Get a free trial of their cleaning products HERE.

It's so nice to be able to try things out before you commit.

And here's a great coupon code to use. Get $10 off of your $40 order by using the code: 10off40Pollinate.

(Limited to first-time customers and one use per customer. Expires May 8, 2013.)

You can find the Honest company on Facebook, Twitter, or their blog.

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and The Honest Company but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #NaturallyHonest http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”

Nursery Art - printing on vintage pages

2013-04-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm working on a small gallery wall for the nursery and I wanted to add a little art to a clipboard I have hung on the wall. So, I brainstormed some ideas and here's what I ended up with. It was really easy to do. It's not free-handed or anything. I'll show you. I'll probably put another patterned paper around it to frame it.

First off I googled "hot air balloon picture" and found a simple sketch that worked. I printed it on an old dictionary page, just by taping the page lightly in the middle of the regular piece of paper. My printer is not friendly and it still worked.

Then I got out the kids' watercolors and started to paint the balloon. I like how you can still see and read the page. I picked the page that said "sweet" at the top. Yes, my fingers are crossed that that's what's she'll be :) (Though I'm thinking it'll probably be feisty.)

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