The Life & Times of The FOUR Wheeler's

Projects, projects, projects!

2013-08-19T21:20:00.000-07:00

Wow I suck at blogging. SO instead of "fillling in" everything about the last 4 months in a bazillion posts: I'll summarize: We moved into our new house April 19th- exactly 4 months from today! We've been super busy with lil house projects & outside projects. As far as my scrapbook pages- I've been sorta slackin' on those too, but my gallery is up to date: SCRAPBOOK LAYOUTS HERE

Last week, the kiddos went to my Mom & Stepdad Kenny's house for the entire week!!! It was SO nice to get a little break, sleep in (only one day really!) & get some projects done without "helpers." ;)

Ever since we moved into this house with all the gorgeous dark wood stain/floors- I've wanted to paint Declan's dresser. It was Jeremys as a kid, then was repurposed to a changing table for Hayden when she was born & has been a changing station ever since. Decs is still in diapers- but we're on the downhill at least! I found a green that I loved & complimented the dark trim/walls/carpet well- Valspar's Crocodile Smile. Just sounds like a lil boy's room color huh!? Also- I've been on the lookout for a cheap headboard for Hayden's bed. Right after we moved in, I painted her room- purple & pink stripes on the main wall with accent wall purple, pink & purple glitter. Anywho, The bed against the stripe wall really needed a headboard. A friend found this free (read: ugly!) queen sized headboard that was a perfect paint project!

Dresser before:

Headboard before: (we had to glue the top portion back on)

During: After Primer (Zissner Cover Stain Oil Based Primer = NO SANDING!!!)

After 1st coat of paint

(I used left over purple for the panels of the headboard)

Can't turn that pic for some reason- but you can see the glitter top coat I painted on!

(Disney's Glitter Top Coat- sold at Walmart)

Dresser After with hardware reattached. Sprayed a matte sealer on the top to protect more from scratches (read: little boy play)

Dresser all done & back in his room! :)

Headboard attached & all finished- you can sorta see the glitter in the picture- but it looks super glittery in person! :)

And because those projects weren't enough to spend my quiet week to myself- I started a couple more smaller projects:

I saw in a catalog a growth chart life-sized ruler & loved it! But- it was expensive & I knew I could make it myself. I had Jeremy get me a board from the builder's scrap pile down the road & set to it! It only cost me $7 for the can of stain- everything else we had! I had Jeremy trim the board to about 6'6" (my kids better not get taller than that!!!) & stained it to match our dark wood (Walnut). After it dried (about 4 hrs- since it was 95* outside) I took a measuring tape & ruler & marked off every inch. I started my measurements at 6" so we could hand it up 6" on the wall.

After doing the inch markings, I found a font I liked & printed it out at 200pt

then I traced over the number with a ball point pen hard enough to leave an indent in the wood.

You can just barely see the 4 on the wood- I traced the indent with a fine sharpie, then went over the whole thing in a black paint pen.

With my ruler, I went back over the inch pencil marks

All done! Turned out to be almost 7' (Lord help me if Declan gets that tall!!)

To hang on the wall, we measured 6" up & made mark with a pencil. We used the 3M picture hanging strips (the large size since this board was pretty heavy). Side note- we've used the 3M hanging strips on EVERYTHING in our house! They rock & don't put any holes in our virgin drywall! ;) Anywho- I know why this board was in the scrap pile- it's not exactly flat! But that just adds some character! ;)

I went through the kids' baby books & marked their height at every year- so cute to see the differences between the two!

Shot of where it's located in the house! Look how clean without lil fingerprints & crumbs everywhere!! :)

Whew- last little project! These lil hangers were in the $1 bin at michaels awhile back. One was gray & the other was black. I painted them to mathc the cute lil key holder I also made awhile back :)

Look at those clean floors!!!! :)

So- kids' are back & my house is once again a disaster. It was nice to bust out some projects while they were gone- but I did miss them & the chaos! ;)

Happy Easter Daily Download Day 5!

2013-03-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Daily Download – Day 5

Jen C Designs is re-releasing her Easter kit, Happy Easter as a Freebie Daily Download! The good news is if you missed the previous days, the links will be available until the last day, but since I’m sure you won’t want to miss anything, be sure to check in daily over at

Jen's Blog: http://www.jen-c-designs.com/blog!

You can grab Day 5 right HERE or click the image below!

This is the kit you’ll be collecting each day:

I've also made a Coordinating Quick Page perfect for those Easter Bunny Photos! At least that's what I'm planning to do with it! ;)

Click HERE or photo above

for the Happy Easter Quick Page

Jen is also having some great Spring Sales at both her stores! Check them out at:

GOTTA PIXEL

PICKLEBERRY POP

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Massive update! :)

2013-03-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

I've totally neglected this blog again. It's just something that I think about updating & never really get around to it. Especially lately- we've been busy making decisions for our home being built, the kids' general busy schedule & I've been trying to pick up extra days at work (Momma wants a new dining room table!!) On top of all that- we've caught one sickness after another & just passed around between us all since winter! I had about 2 weeks of wellness before I got hit with another sinus infection today! ARGH! SOOOO ready for Spring! Anywho- Here is the MASS update of my layouts from December, January & February. (don't judge!)

As always- credits can be found at my gallery HERE

My Nanny :(

2013-01-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

I am the oldest grandchild and thus, the reason for her most beloved nickname. When I was born, she decided that she wanted to be called Nanny. Nanny &Poppa. For the longest time, I didn't even know their real names. They were Pop & Nan. I even still address their cards & pictures to Pop & Nan Nicholson. :) And, Thankfully my other grandmas are not present, since I wouldnt want them to know that she was my favorite. My sister Nicole, lil brother Shawn, cousins: Kayla, Jake, Sasha & Jeff, & I will agree that she was the BEST grandma. My sister will agree that she was the BEST Great grandma. I have SO many wonderful memories with her and I'm thankful for that.

When we were kids, Nic & I would spend a month or so down in Arizona during summer break. WE LOVED getting to be there with Pop & Nan. She had such a fun personality. Most days we didn't do anything but hang out with her & had great time! She told the best stories, sang the funniest riddles & was a terrific cook, gardener & artist. I think I may get my craftiness from her. More recently I remember her saying she wanted to be a cute little granny. And she was. She always wore the most adorable hats & jewelry. As kids, Nic & I LOVED playing with her jewelry & dressing up (even decorating Pop a time or two!) The only time I remember her raising her voice to me was the summer I was 12 years old & we were staying with them in Page. I remember it so specifically, because my mother had written us to tell us we were going to be big sisters, that she was going to have a baby. In my pre-teen angst, I was pretty nasty to my mom. Nan put me right in my place & told me what a miracle a new baby was in the family. She LOVED babies & after we were married, kept bugging me that we needed more babies in our family! She was so happy when my children were born. Nothing made me smile bigger than seeing her & Pop down on the floor playing with my kids!

Nan has been present at every milestone in my life. I have pictures with her at my high school & college graduations, my wedding, the birth of my children & all the baby showers/birthdays/family gatherings. I have great pictures of her smiling & playing with my children. I will cherish those memories forever and I cannot imagine future milestones/gatherings without her. As some already know- the same day I got this awful news, we put an offer in on a house that was accepted. I wish that she were here to tell her all about it, and even though I know that she probably wouldn't have been able to travel to see it in person, She would've been so happy for us. She may have even painted me a beautiful picture to hang on the wall. Thankfully, I have other paintings she did just for me- a purple rhododendron because purple is my favorite color & another of a field of daffodils (also my favorite) with a little mouse hidden in the corner (she & pop called me A-mouseky when I was little). I plan to display those where I can see them & think of her every day.

I know that she wouldn't want us to all be sad today, so I encourage each of you to share a funny lil story or memory of her. She was SO very special and a one-of-a-kind, but we all already know that.

HOUSE!!!!!!

2013-01-06T23:30:00.002-08:00

I'm so excited- We put an offer in on a house that is being built & after a few negotiations, IT'S OURS!! :) We've been living in the inlaws basement- far better than it sounds- for about 1 1/2 years so we've been able to save up enough to buy this BEAUTIFUL, HUGE home! This house was out of our budget for awhile... but between cars being paid off and rearranging our insurance premiums- we are confident we could swing it! SOOO excited! We meet with the builder tomorrow (monday) for electrical walk through, then with the designer to pick EVERYTHING out! Stressful!! Stay tuned for more news!!

Here's the link to the flyer- the listing has already been removed! ;)

http://www.mycamdenhome.com/images/stories/available/106_Brookville_Flyer.pdf

Here's the neighborhood: (Kids will go to EXACT same schools as Jeremy & both his parents went to!)

http://www.elkridgeheights.com/

~Amie

Merry Christmas! It's Christmas Time Daily Download Freebie!

2012-12-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

Don’t forget to treat yourself this Christmas! All of Jen's stores are 40% off and bundles are 50% off

And now for the daily download! If you miss a day, don’t worry because a) the links are live through to the end of the month. And b) You can also sign up for Jen's newsletter - and on January 1, 2013, Jen will make a last chance offer for you to grab any days you’ve missed!

For Today's ticket- visit Jen's Blog HERE

You can also grab the free coordinating alphas on Jen C Design's Facebook Fan Page by clicking the image below:

Lastly- Here's the freebie Cluster Frame that I made to coordinate with "It's Christmas Time"

DOWNLOAD HERE at Dropbox

Or HERE on Jen's Blog for direct link! :)

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!!

~Amie

Merry Christmas: Our Card!

2012-12-19T10:53:00.001-08:00

If you didn't get the hard copy in the mail, here ya go! ;)

Dear friends and family,

Well another year has passed, where did the time go?! It seems like just yesterday I was writing this letter for last Christmastime. 2012 has been a busy, stressful year, but one filled with excitement and many great memories.

We started the year off with sadness- we lost our 7 year old Chihuahua Mijo to a tragic hawk accident. He was a little dog that played a big part in our family & is still dearly missed. We are planning to get a new doggy once we are in our own home. Speaking of which- Amie is finally working- but only one day a week. Once she finds one more day permanently, then we'll proceed with our house plans! Until then, we are still crashing in Jeremy's parent's basement. Jeremy was promoted to Branch Manager of the Coeur D'Alene, ID branch for Numerica Credit Union. Hayden started Pre-K at the same preschool she attended last year & thoroughly enjoys her teachers, friends & learning. She also continued with her dance classes this year (ballet, tap & tumbling)! Little Decs is getting so big. He will be two in March & is super busy always running around everywhere & keeping us on our toes with his mischief. He’s turning into quite the little man!

We spent a good amount of our summer playing on Lake Coeur D'Alene & have been resistant to the weather change here! If it's going to be this cold- it might as well snow so the kids have something to do! That about sums up our year- plus the MANY trips back to Chehalis to visit friends & family! We head west about once a month!

Hopefully all is well with you. We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest New Year. Please keep in touch.

Love,

Jeremy, Amie, Hayden & Declan

NOVEMBER Layouts

2012-12-10T21:45:00.001-08:00

And... Here's Novembers layouts- same story as October's- mostly current events with some random oldies (but goodies) thrown in! ;)

Gallery for Credits HERE

Hayden's Christmas Tap Dance Recital 2012

2012-12-10T21:25:00.001-08:00

Hayden's Christmas Ballet Dance Recital 2012

2012-12-10T21:22:00.001-08:00

October (rest of at least) Layouts

2012-12-10T20:32:00.000-08:00

Catch up time! :) I'm such a slacker! ;) So some of these layouts are of recent events/everyday happenings, others are ones I'm just now getting to. I feel like a scrapbooker is perpetually behind! ;) Fourth of July- finally finished! A memory Layout of our lil Mijo-man. Our empty garage pic- only moved a year ago! ;) And, Decs in a pumpkin is OBVIOUSLY from last year- we'd need one H-U-G-E pumpkin to fit that lil monster now! :)

Gallery for credits HERE

Hayden Funny!

2012-10-10T14:31:00.003-07:00

So- since this is sorta a long story- I figured I'd post it here on the blog than my facebook (which my blog gets posted at anyways...) And- since I ~DO~ have a few readers (ahem...sue, christina...) ;)

Anyhow- the other night at dinner...

Hayden says "Mommy, you would never ground me would you?"

Me: "I probably would if you did something that broke the rules and deserved it"

Hayden: "But mommy, you're kidding me right? You'd never ground me?"

Me: "Yes, Hayden I would ground you, and probably will when you are a teenager, since teenagers like to break rules."

Hayden: *WITH HUGE TEARS ABOUT TO FALL FROM HER EYES* "But Mommy....I don't want to be grounded!"

Me: "Hayden, do you know what 'grounded' means?"

Hayden: "Yes, it means you bury me in the back yard!"

Jeremy & I ~DIED~ laughing.

So- despite just leaving it like that and TOTALLY using that shit as a great motivator for her to follow our rules & be good... I owned up & told her what it really meant. Needless to say, she still doesn't want to lose her tv privileges.

And since it makes me physically ill to not post a picture with a post- Here's our lil miss Sassafrass & brother at the apple orchard the other day! :)

~Ame

Rest of September & so far in October layouts!

2012-10-08T16:18:00.001-07:00

See gallery here for credits! :)

Blog Hop! Daybreak Scraps Freebies!!!

2012-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hello! So this is my very first time participating in a blog hop! SOOOO- if there is anything wrong with my links/downloads- please be patient! As you are well aware by now (since I'm on the end of this blog hop) You're getting some beautiful freebies from all the CT members from Dawn's Daybreak Scraps Kit: Indian Summer. It is GORGEOUS!!

You just came from Sondra's Facebook Page

AND....

Here's what I've got for ya today. I made this super cute layout of my daughters face painting- then made the stacked paper & the clustered frame into freebies for you!!

Here's my layout:

Download Stacked Paper & Frame Freebies >>>>HERE<<<<

Next you go to Melly's Scrapmania's for a Template!

Hope you enjoyed our lil blog hop! :)

If you get lost along the way- see Daybreak Scraps by Dawn for the master list!

~ Amie

crazy busy life!

2012-09-19T15:04:00.001-07:00

As usual- this blog is the last thing on my mind! :) We've had a crazy busy September- I've been working at a couple different offices doing maternity leave coverages, plus my one day a week permanent position; Hayden started Pre-K; Traveling to the West Side for weddings after weddings & Trying to squeeze as much lake time in as Summer fades into Fall! Despite all this- I have been able to keep up on my creative team duties- as well as add one more! I was graciously accepted onto Mommyish Graphic Designs creative team! I ~LOVE~ her stuff & am more than excited to show off to all of you in digi-land (and my mom- I swear the only person who reads this blog!) ;)

Without further ado:

Here's a crap-load of layouts:

Gallery HERE for credits/links

Great-Grandma will be 100!!!!!

2012-09-19T13:19:00.000-07:00

I am totally a "I can make that for way cheaper" kinda gal (thus my pinterest ADDICTION!), so when my mom asked me to make an invite for my Great-Grandma Esther's 100th Birthday party- I was all over it. We found this one at www.paperstyle.com that we really liked. After personalizing it (aka- after hours of scouring my external hard drive for a photo of her without a great-great-grandchild on her lap)- I took the easy route & ponied up the cash to just purchase these ones! Seriously- less than $40 for 20 (including envelopes & shipping). The amount of time alone I would spend trying to ~~exactly copy~~ or... design one similar, plus printing then purchasing envelopes would be the same, if not more. So- Friends & Family of my AWESOME STILL BOWLING STRIKES Great Grandma- watch your mailbox! ;) And- if you don't get one in your mailbox (because yes, I am too cheap to buy enough for her ENTIRE HUGEMONGOUS family)- You're invited! See ya there! ;)

August Layouts!

2012-08-21T21:51:00.003-07:00

August 2012 layouts

so far! ;)

See gallery HERE for credits

July 2012 Layouts

2012-08-21T21:49:00.001-07:00

JULY 2012 layouts

See gallery HERE for credits

June 2012 layouts

2012-08-21T21:45:00.000-07:00

JUNE 2012 layouts

See gallery HERE for credits

yikes. May 2012 layouts!

2012-08-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

Yikes- It's been over 3 months since I've updated this lil blog of mine...Sorry! You'd think that with just working here & there, that I'd have plenty of time. But- this little busy boy of mine means that I CANNOT do anything that requires my eyes to be off him for a second!! :)

So- grand slam of the last few month of our lives via digital scrapbook pages! :)

MAY 2012 layouts

See gallery HERE for credits

April Digital Scrapbook Layouts

2012-05-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

As promised- here's the layouts I've made from April 15th - 30th! :)

And, as always, please see my gallery

HERE

for all the credits to the wonderful designers I get to work for!

Without further adoo....

Declan's Crib Bumber Recycle Project!

2012-04-29T19:21:00.001-07:00

Our lil man is such a monkey. He climbs onto everything. The time had come to take his bumpers out of his crib, so they wouldn't become step-ladders! BUT- I love the patterns & colors of them & just didn't want to throw them in the trash or hide them in the closet. After searching the wide world of the web, I found a lot of great uses for them, but none that I really liked. I realized that his room was seriously lacking in wall decor/art. SOOOOO- I decided to frame the fabric that I loved so much!!

Here's the said bumpers BEFORE:

After we (as in Hayden & I- she's such a rock star with scissors for only 4!) cut all the fabric & binding off

I found these frames (10X10 four pack) at Michaels when they had their 50% off all frames sale taking them down to $9.99 a pack- So I got 12 frames for $30! I originally wanted brown to match his fabric, but couldn't find any that werent outrageously expensive. Plus, his other picture in his room has a super dark brown, almost black frame, so I went with it. I contemplated painting them, but decided that'd be too much work! ;)

To trim down the fabric, I just cut out roughly the size then put the frame back on. After the back was on, we trimmed the excess fabric off.

*note- some of the fabric- like the lt blue was really thin, so it was doubled up & still was able to fit fine & trim down in the frame*

Once again- my rock star scissor assistant! :)

AFTER- One frame down (oh yeah- forgot to mention that I took the matting out of the frames to get my 10X10 size)

*Hmm...now what to do with 12 photo mats? ;)

AFTER- the back side of the frame with excess fabric all trimmed

OKAY

Now time to hang on the wall. This was the worst part for me, but actually ended up being pretty simple. I took masking tape (about an inch and a half width) and a level to make a grid on the wall to follow.

I arranged the frames in the order of hanging, so I wouldn't have to worry about it once they were up on the wall! :)

I used these handy lil guys! I love these things- I use them to hang about anything! These frames were super light, not even a pound, so one strip at the top seemed to do it!

First row done- looks crooked in the picture, but it's not I swear! :) My lil helper wanted in on the photo op! :)

All done! Just have to get tape off the wall! :)

FINISHED!! Bed made & nursery all clean! :)

I never really have taken pictures of Decs' nursery, since we are crashing the in-laws basement until I find a job & we can buy a house, so we've sorta "made-do" with decorating! :) But, we have the luxury of all having our own rooms, even with a spare bed in Declan's room. Angela (motherinlaw) painted the walls to coordinate with his nursery at our old house in Olympia, knowing it was going to be his room once our house sold & we moved in! Most of our stuff besides necessities is in storage, so I didn't really do much decorating in his nursery, besides the one jungle picture we brought with us & his "D" that I made. All of the nursery furniture was in Hayden's room first. We repurposed one of Jeremy's old dressers with new hardware for a changing station. The rocking chair was my great-grandma's & has seen MANY miles! The crib was not only Hayden's before Declans, but my little brother Shawn's before that! :) Lastly, the night stand is still pink (gasp!!) & my next project to re-do for his room! ;) Stay tuned!!

Scrapping Fool!!

2012-04-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wow- I've been a BUSY girl! :) With such CUTE kiddos I have a lot to scrapbook! ;) Anywho- I figured I'd try something new. I'll try to post my layouts twice a month so that I don't have one H.U.G.E post with a bazillion pages on it! Sound good!?

Here's my digital scrapbooking layouts that I've completed from April 1st-15th!

PLEASE SEE GALLERY HERE FOR ALL CREDITS & LINKS TO PRODUCTS

Hayden's Dance Pictures!

2012-04-09T20:17:00.003-07:00

Hayden loves her ballet/tap/tumbling dance class.

She has a recital on MAY 12th at 2pm for anyone who wants to attend! :)

On picture day, she threw one of the biggest tantrums yet all about not liking her dress or the color pink (?) Nothing a little bribery can't solve for nice pictures! ;)

(click picture to enlarge)

Her class of 3 & 4 year olds!

I just scrapbooked about this lovely lil tantrum:

HOLY Scrapbooking!!

2012-04-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

I've been terrible about blogging my scrapbook layouts, SO here ya go! LOL! You get the last two months worth in ONE post! They are not in the right order (I usually make two pages that compliment eachother, so their match isn't next to it, but ohwell). And, for the credits- I'm taking the easy way out too: HERE is my gallery with all the links/credits! ;)

Enjoy!