Rays & Roses

Lamp Redo

2014-03-23T15:41:00.001-05:00

Bought these burlap lamps at Menards. They were on clearance 2 pack for only $13! The base is made of a resin material so it was easy to spray paint- which is great because they did not match our bedroom at all. I used Rustoleum's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint. The lamp shade is covered in burlap. I found a couple burlap flowers in the hair accessory area at Hobby Lobby. I used hot glue to secure them after I removed the hair pins from the backside. Here is the before and after...

Lamp redo before

Lamp redo after

DIY Powder Laundry Detergent

2012-07-24T15:23:00.000-05:00

After reading countless Laundry Soap recipes online I found a mix that works for us. I'm posting this mainly for my own reference because I cant seem to find my original recipe... Plus this makes a smaller amount (avg 1/3 of other bulk recipes) than many of the online recipes so it fits in my storage container. I have a long, narrow laundry room leaving little room for a 5 gallon pail.

1 bar Ivory Soap
25 oz Borax
20 oz Washing Soda
20 oz Baking Soda
16 oz Oxy Clean (generic is fine)
1/2 bottle Purex Crystals (optional)

Put Ivory bar in microwave for 2 mins. It will puff up like a marshmallow.

Allow to cool completely. Soap will easily crumble into a fine powder (kids love this part). You can put powder in a food processor (I use my Ninja) to blend finer if needed.

Add & mix all ingredients in a large bucket, transfer into a storage container. I use the Mainstays 1 Gal Canister from Walmart to store all of this in our laundry room. I like the fact that the lid screws on so there less chance of a spill should it drop or fall (plus it is super cheap).

Add 1 heaping Tbsp to your wash & viola! Super soft, clean clothes at a fraction of the cost. You can use Fels-Naptha if you like, I dont really care for the smell. Zote is always an option too. One batch usually lasts us about 4-5 months with five people living in our home. We use vinegar for a fabric softener or deodorizer when needed. Will never go back to expensive detergent.

This mix will not create suds. We have an HE machine and have not had any problems yet.

Cupcake Stand Tutorial

2011-10-25T10:14:00.001-05:00

Finally, the how to DIY your own cupcake stand... Our original inspiration came from The Meckley's, however, we did change several things...

Go to Lowes & purchase the following:

3/4x49x97 piece of MDF (avg. $32). Have this piece cut into 2 each of the following sizes:

32x32
24x24
17x17
12x12

Four pieces of 4" PVC Coupling (avg. $2 each)

Two pieces of 4" x 2' PVC pipe (avg. $5 each)

1/2" x 6' threaded rod (avg. $4 each)

Two 1/2" hex nuts (avg. $.10 each)

Two 1/2" washers (avg. $.10 each)

Four unfinished furniture feet (avg. $5 each)

Paint in a color of your choosing

Krylon Fusion Spray Paint for Plastics in color of your choosing (avg. $3)

2 yards of 44" wide fabric (use Hobby Lobby or Michaels coupons for the best price, cost varies depending on fabric)

Uncut Mat Board (use Hobby Lobby or Michaels coupons for the best price avg. $3)

Elmer's Craft Bond Spray Adhesive (avg. $3.50)

Any misc decorations of your choosing

Using a large drill bit, drill a 1/2" hold in the center of all the boards.
Cut PVC pipe to a length of your choosing, this will be the display area for your cupcakes. We used a 6" length & a power saw. You need to try & cut the PVC as straight as possible. Use a file to even out the ends if necessary.
Using a table saw, cut grooves 1/2" deep near edges of the MDF. These were done 1" from the edges of the MDF. You do not need to cut if you are not using panels. You do not need to do top & bottom, only the sides that need a groove for the panels.
Paint the MDF & furniture feet in a color of your choosing. Sides with grooves only need the edges painted as this is all that will be viewable.
Using Krylon Fusion Spray Paint in a color of your choosing paint the cut PVC pieces.
Attach furniture feet to bottom of a 32x32 piece of MDF.
Starting with a washer & hex nut on the bottom stack layers of cupcake stand beginning with 32x32 MDF with feet, then a 4" coupling, followed by another 32x32 MDF, next a 6" PVC (or whatever length you chose). Continue layering items, MDF smallest to largest, until done & end with another washer & hex nut.
Cut the remaining thread rod. We found the layers easier to manipulate by leaving a few inches of thread rod at the top. We left a 4" rod, but you can cut it flush if you like.
Cut mat board. You will have to measure the length & height of your grooves as I'm sure they will not be the same as ours.
Lay out fabric with mat boards on top for stencils, line up design if desired. Cut fabric large enough to wrap around edges of mat board.
Use Elmers spray adhesive to attach fabric to mat board. Slide mat boards into grooves once dry.
Decorate as you wish! Yay!

Big O's Budweiser Bash!!

2011-06-27T19:17:00.008-05:00

Hey everyone, hope all is well wherever you may be. The summer has been kind of crazy with all of the flooding problems. The current situation in our area is better, but things went bad to worse in a city north of us. Unfortunately it's been a big issue throughout the entire state of North Dakota this year. It sounds like the weather is about to heat up, just in time for the 4th of July weekend! My wife entered my name in a drawing, and I won, thanks Hun. I was picked to host a Budweiser Ultimate Backyard BBQ Bash from Houseparty.com, it should be a blast!

I just received a sweet package in the mail from them, it included several items like; Bud party favors such as can koozies, t-shirts, gift card for $ towards beer and brats and other rebates and coupons for my guests. I plan on hitting up a local distributor, as well as some bars around town for any old decor that's Bud related. Plus it will obviously have a patriotic 4th of July theme as well. I will have some backyard games, beer-pong in the garage and the poker table setup in the basement.

There will be some free beverages and hot food off the grill, but we are asking friends to bring a dish if they can, and some folding chairs and of course when our supply runs out, BYOB!! The wife and I are looking forward to this party with our friends and celebrating Independence Day with our family. Remember all the men and women in our military that make the U.S.A. such a great country to live in. Past, present and future, we thank them for fighting for our freedom so we can live the peaceful life here in America. Happy 4th of July!

Big Sky Adventures, rising waters, and a salute to our troops!

2011-05-30T01:58:00.015-05:00

Well, I must say it has been way too long since I've been on here. We just got back home from Montana. We had a family wedding to attend to and everything was awesome, we had a great time. But at the same time it was bitter sweet, we found out the flood situation was getting worse back home. We decided to come home a couple days early so we can continue where we left off last week and help sandbag, or do whatever needs to be done.

Getting back to our trip... The boys had a blast seeing cousins they have never met in person, and I actually was introduced to even more family on my wife's side! Big family, so many faces and names to remember. I took the boys on a small hike in the mountains. They were excited, kept on saying "were going on a bear hunt, and were going to catch a big one, what a beautiful day, were not scared"... ha, lol it was hilarious! They really enjoyed the old ice cream parlor and carousel, and plus it was a good time filler before we had to be at some historic ranch for the wedding ceremony and dance.

This was the longest road trip the boys have been on, I must say they passed with flying colors.We are home now, the van is unpacked, and now it is time to focus on the task at hand. Our metro area is having major flooding issues with the thanks to high water and too much rain and snow-pack in the mountains heading down stream to us. It's unfortunate, but we all need to work together and help volunteer, filling sandbags and whatever else to help fight this flood! I will keep you all posted, for whatever reason we have yet to make any national news.

Thankfully our house is on a hill away from the water and safe. However, we have many friends and family that are still fighting to protect their homes and property from these high waters. I ask you all to keep all of them and others in your thoughts and prayers.

I would like to thank all of my fellow veterans for their service to our country, and warm thoughts to the family members who may have lost a loved one to the ultimate sacrifice. Semper Fi to all of my Marines out there, Have a great Memorial Day!

Long Time...

2011-02-27T17:09:00.001-06:00

So the holidays happened. The boys had not one but two birthday parties. A new job entered the mix & life just got crazy. Not sure if we will keep this blog or not. He says yes, I say no. Maybe if he blogs a lil more often...
Anyway... The blue truck died on Christmas Eve so we bought a 2009 Town & Country that looks something like this...

We love the extra room but not the extra gas expense. This thing gets terrible gas mileage! Other than the extra $$ things are going good.

Other than that we've just been working on the house. Finally have some wall stuff hanging. They are empty picture frames, but at least they are up! Light fixtures redone, and more wall stuff... It's coming together bit by bit. :)

Valentines day was great! I found misc. Valentines Day stuff on the counter (mug, blanket, candy) and had gotten a dozen roses the week before. Started to make coffee & found a zippy bag buried in the coffee grounds. Pulled the bag out to find tickets to Elton John! While neither of us are huge fans, he will never come back here again.

For his Valentines Day gift I ordered him an MP3 player (so he stops using mine), new ear buds, slippers, and a few other misc. items. Overall, great day. Hope you enjoyed it too.

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti & Monster Cookies...

2010-12-18T16:22:00.000-06:00

Started the holiday baking finally. I made Monster Cookies with the boys. They truly believe that the cookies are for Monsters. It's too funny! Next up was Cranberry Pecan Biscotti drizzled with white chocolate. They are so good I can not wait to make more. Here's the recipes:

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup crushed pecans
White chocolate or almond bark for melting/dipping (optional)

For added flavor you can add orange zest, almond extract, cinnamon, &/or nutmeg depending on your tastes.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Place dough onto cookie sheet & form into a 2 inch log. Bake in oven for 35-40 min, or until it is golden brown. Remove from oven & cool for 10 min. Using a large kitchen knife, slice diagonally into 1 inch slices. Arrange slices onto their sides & place back in oven for 10-20 min (or until desired dryness is achieved) at 275 degrees. Melt chocolate or almond bark & drizzle (or dip) biscotti. Enjoy!

Monster Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1-1/2 cups peanut butter
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking soda
4-1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup M&Ms
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill dough for an hour in fridge (this is optional, I find it less messy when cold). Roll into 2" balls & place on cookie sheet 3 inches apart. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake in oven for 13 min or until golden brown.

Next baking project... Christmas cut-outs (ugh) & something with peanut butter because we have at least 4 jars in the cabinet.

Sick Day...

2010-12-09T15:52:00.000-06:00

The boys have been sick with a stomach bug this past week. Today I had both of them home from school. Most of our day looked something like this...

It's been a day full of lil boy movies & cleaning/disinfecting. Hopefully they will be on the mend soon & no one else gets sick. :)

Elmer's #CanYouTopThis Challenge- Christmas/Birthday Countdown!

2010-11-29T14:45:00.002-06:00

December is a really big deal in our house. Not only is it Christmas time, but the boy's birthday as well. This is the first year the boys understand that Christmas (Dec. 25th) & their birthday (Dec. 26th) are right around the corner. Because of this realization, I am bombarded with questions on a daily basis. Most of those questions are as follows:

Is it Christmas time yet?
Is Santa coming to my house today?
Is Santa coming tomorrow?
Is today my birthday?
Am I 4 now?
Am I still 3?

Since we have twin boys, we get twice the joy along with two times the questions. Every. Day. All. Day. Long. After a month of questions I decided that I would have to make some kind of Christmas/Birthday countdown in order to save my sanity. I figured I could pull out the construction paper & Elmer's glue, making a paper chain with a star or something on top. You know, like the one you made in first grade? I thought that would be simple enough. Then I saw Tonya Staab's Can You Top This Challenge. This provided the perfect opportunity to do something more. So I decided to take the #Canyoutopthis Challenge.

Supplies:

28"x40" Elmer's tri-fold board
Elmer's Repositionable Glue Stick
Elmer's Multipurpose Spray Adhesive
Hot Glue
Elmer's Construction Paper
Fabric of choice to cover tri-fold board
Scrapbook & Card stock of choice
24 Thumb Tacks
Paint of choice (I use Plaid Folk Art)

Somehow between my birthday (I turned 29 again last week), Thanksgiving, tons of Black Friday shopping, & life in general I found the time to create a Christmas/Birthday countdown. It started with purchasing an Elmers 28"x40" Tri-fold board at Walmart.

We made a quick stop at Joann Fabrics where the boys & I picked out a light blue fabric from the remnant bin. When we got home the boys & I pulled out my paper trimmer so I could start cutting out 3"x3" black squares.

Next I got out my Cricut so I could save time (and sanity) cutting out circles. The boys helped me choose some red, green, & white scrapbook/card stock paper. I cut out 3" circles for the calendar & 2" numbers for the dates. So now it was looking like this...

While my kiddos were sleeping I glued the squares, circles & numbers together using my Elmer's Repositionable Glue Stick. I LOVE this stuff! It's the only thing I use on the boy's scrapbooks. It's great because you can fix or change things if you do not like it (or if you goof up a lot like me). No worries about permanent glue.

I also attached the light blue fabric to the tri-fold board so it could dry overnight. I used Elmer's Multipurpose Spray Adhesive, which I had on hand, to glue fabric to front of the board. Then I used some hot glue to attach the fabric along the edges on the back side.

Next was Black Friday shopping... I had to take a break from all the glue fun to go get my shop on... After catching up on some sleep (we stayed up all night) & finding way too many good deals it was time to grab my templates, the Cricut, & get back to work. I used some of our Elmer's Construction Paper that we had on hand for the Christmas tree & balloons. The Cricut cut December out in 4" letters. I glued everything together again using the repositionable glue sticks, even attaching the shapes & letters to the fabric using the same glue. Found some Santa hat photos of the boys & added those to the Birthday side of the board (they love seeing themselves). I painted some thumb tacks red & green so I could easily remove them from the board. This is the final result:

If you are interested in the Can You Top This Challenge there is still time to enter. View any of these blogs for entry rules:

Happy Turkey Day!

2010-11-25T22:00:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone had their fill of food today. We wish you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Now go get your shop on at some Black Friday sales! We have already made purchases at JCP, Kohls, Lowes, & Sears. Next up is the Walmart madness (and Target too).

Wedding Party- Photos!

2010-11-22T00:01:00.008-06:00

Finally got our photo CD from the party in October. Here's several of my fave shots.

Cupcake stand (yes we made this, non-metric tutorial will be posted!)

Candy Buffet (was a huge hit!)

Tables...

FUN!

Oh Christmas Tree...

2010-11-21T22:44:00.000-06:00

Got the tree set up today. The boys have been asking me every day since Halloween if it's 'Christmas time yet?' So we decided to dig things out of storage. It's a little early this year but that's what worked with our schedule as a family. Two very excited little boys helped with everything. I'm sure we will be making cookies for Santa in our near future...

Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies

2010-11-06T08:00:00.005-05:00

The boys finally figured out how to climb on the kitchen counter. They sat on the counter all morning & even ate lunch up there. I figured it was time to put them to work so we made Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies. With all the Hershey Bars we have from Halloween, this seemed like a great way to get rid of them...

C insisted on wearing his goggles (upside down) so he would be safe when we were using the mixer.

Very excited to help open all the candy bars...

Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies (this is doubled):

2 eggs
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flower
2/3 cups rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups semi sweet chocolate, chopped (we used milk chocolate Hershey bars)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients then put in fridge for 1 hr or until dough is no longer sticky. Rolls into balls & place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 min or until cookies begin to brown.

Thank You Cards Mailed!

2010-11-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

200 Thank You's later we are done. We did not hand write our thank you's. Instead we had these printed...

Front:

Back:

Wow Wow Wubbzy!

2010-11-03T22:36:00.000-05:00

The boys both decided to be Wubbzy this year. They got a huge candy haul while trick or treating. I think we have more candy than we can eat. Here's some photos (yes, that is snow on the ground)...

They had fun painting & carving pumpkins...

The boys also got all dressed up in their Wubbzy costumes for the first Moose Kid's Party...

We also took the boys to the corn maze this year. They had so much fun running through the maze with flashlights. We can't wait to do it again next year!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T18:28:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween from our cheerleader Winnie!

Before & Afters...

2010-10-31T18:13:00.001-05:00

We have finally started hanging things on the walls! The only room left to paint is the basement bathroom. Everything is coming together finally. Here are a couple before & after shots. I'll post the family room & others as we finish them.
Playroom before & after (note: this room is only clean on the days I vacuum)

Boys Room before & After (yes I did blur my kids' names for their privacy/safety). They recently moved from toddler beds to twin beds. The room is very crowded with the new beds. I did ask them if they wanted to sleep in separate rooms but it was denied. C told me they would sleep together in one twin bed. Oh well... Better luck next year?

Thank You Parasol Pics...

2010-10-23T09:48:00.001-05:00

We decided to send photo cards for our thank you's. (For those wondering why you haven't received a thank you, it's because they are on order with vistaprint.com.) You can see how I made the thank you parasol here.

I did a photo collage using three of our wedding photos on one side, four photos of the boys on the other side. I got an excellent deal through vistaprint, ordering 200 thank you photo cards & envelopes for around $50. Here's our Thank You shots we had to choose from, one may be coming to a mailbox near you...

Some of My Fave Photos. Finally!

2010-10-22T09:47:00.001-05:00

These pics are just some of my faves from the South Dakota wedding. We are still waiting on pics from our Oct. 2nd photographer. I'll post them when I can...

Busy & My Computer is Down!

2010-10-10T16:24:00.000-05:00

Well the social/dance went extremely well. I'd love to post pics but my computer is down & Jamie's isn't the best... So we all must wait for a better update on the party.

For now we have had a busy week. We are working on the basement again... This is the current status:

Will post finished photos when my new power cord arrives from China... Taking forever.

10 days to go before the big bash!

2010-09-21T22:09:00.005-05:00

I just wanted to say thank you to the small group of friends and family that made the trip to South Dakota for our private wedding ceremony. It was a great weekend, the weather was perfect, and everyone enjoyed the awesome dinner that followed at Roma's Italian Restaurant. We had a party into the night with friends in Deadwood, that was fun! Nicole, the boys, and I bounced around the Black Hills for a few days after the wedding, and had some fun family time, as you can see by some of the more recent posts and pics that my wife added to our blog. We all had a really great time!

Now that the ceremony is out of the way, its time to prepare for the big wedding celebration. It's been a work in progress, as you can imagine, a lot more DIY stuff, like the cupcake stand and the candy bar decor. We have some really good ideas for our table setups, it's going to look awesome! With only 10 days to go we still have a fair amount of things to get done, but like always we will knock it out of the park like rock stars!

Guest Book & Card Table...

2010-09-21T19:04:00.001-05:00

Here's a quick look at the guest book & card table. I still need to add ribbon to the guest book (when I buy another roll). We did not forget the pen, it's at my parents house. The picture frame will have a photo of us on our wedding day (if I ever hear from our photographer). I was thinking of adding a 'Wish Bowl' where guests can write lil wishes or congrats on slips of paper.

Candy Buffet...

2010-09-21T12:44:00.002-05:00

Well here's the general idea of what the candy table will look like. We bought red bead garland at Hobby Lobby to fill the centerpiece. That's my wedding bouquet. I have one more container to wrap with ribbon (ran out of the print ribbon). Each container will have a sign attached to the ribbon once those are done. Excited to have at least one table done. Next... Guest book/card table.

Candy Buffet Sign...

2010-09-20T12:54:00.000-05:00

Time to start working on all those DIY projects. We have two weeks & I'm super busy. Here's the sign I made for our candy table. I started with a 12x12 piece of MDF. The people at Lowes are nice & cut it down for me. Also need a plate holder. I stole this one from my parents house.

I bought a can of black spray paint that I am also using on the cupcake stand (still in progress, post to come later). I painted the MDF with some black acrylic paint I had on hand. The plastic plate holder was painted black with spray paint.

I used my Cricut to cut out the letters & Mod Podge to glue them to the MDF. The final result looks like this:

Misc. Pics...

2010-09-19T13:53:00.000-05:00

Some of you may have seen this while driving around town. Special thanks to Butch at The Shop for the sign, we love it!

We drove through Custer Park in the Black Hills where we met this guy... He was very friendly

Well almost a lil too friendly...

We took the boys down Needles Highway. They loved the tunnels & climbing on the rocks...

The boys enjoyed playing the piano in Deadwood...

We went through Spearfish Canyon & stopped to see Roughlock Falls...

Also took the boys to a mini cave at Thunderhead Falls. We wanted to test the waters & see how they would do on a longer tour... Maybe in a couple years, we were told it was 'too dark' over & over again...