Productivity! 05/14/2012
I was off to a great start this weekend before I came down with the worst virus I've ever had! It was intense! I was too weak to do anything on Saturday. In Friday night I had a second wind storm! I began painting Dominic's bathroom. My plan was to paint the room sans the one wall that needs repair. I was going to my repair work on Sunday and then paint Tuesday... Let's say being sick set me back! Here's how it looks in progress!  I had to put up the shower curtain to get the full effect!  The is the wall that needs repair... A month ago I was going to do a small weekend warrior thing and sink the two medicine cabinets into the wall. I quickly learned why the builder did not... Because NONE of the studs in our house make sense! Add Comment Mural for the elementary schools! 05/06/2012
 So I have been working on a mural in the town I teach in. It started as a group effort with the art club and ended with me on a 10ft ladder alone! The kids helped conceptualize the entire design and painted the background colors. They were dazzled by the fun characters and started loosing steam so I said I would come back one day alone to get a head start and then bring them back to finish... As I said alone on a 10ft ladder I was! I'm very proud of the work we did and hope that this is something I can continue with the art club in future years. I want them to give back to the town and schools that gave them their roots! I love iPhone apps!!! 05/06/2012
I am one happy girl this morning! With a little one running at high speeds it's hard to muster up the energy at night to turn on my computer! The email that weebly had created an iPhone app was just what I needed! Yay!! Strides in the right direction... 02/06/2012
Last time I was wrote, I had a million balls in the air and wasn't sure where they would land or how I would catch them all. I have made a few large strides in the correct direction! First: The closet... 
This was not a huge undertaking... I mentally mapped out what I needed to do for days. The hardest part was getting the doors up the steps onto the third floor! With some help from a wonderful neighbor, mission accomplished. Well partially... the doors are up and level, but I need to sheet rock the partial wall. This weekend is looking good for some sheet rocking and patching! Second: Portraits... 
I didn't get to see the girl's reaction because my husband was so excited to give them their surprise, but I did get to see my in-laws reaction. This was nicer than I expected! They do not impress easily, so it was a nice feeling to get the complement! Next on the docket... finishing sheet rocking the closet and then working on the baby's bathroom. I have been staring at the can of oops paint that I scored! It's calling me, but it's telling me to finish the closet first! So much happening on the home front... 01/30/2012
I have about a million projects happening around the house and at work this month! I keep telling myself one of them has to end soon so that I can share it! Slowly but surely we are seeing some improvement. One major change has been the adjustment to my son's using a toddler bed and the adjustment to his easy and cushy sleep schedule. We finally have him staying in it, but not unless I stay in it until he falls asleep! I'm pretty tall, so this has been an interesting adjustment for us all. My poor husband tried to lay down with him in it the other night and the baby was having none of it! We must look like sardines! So here's some ideas of what we have been up to, house-wise at least because I'm sure you have no interest in my lesson planning or midterms! I decided to sink the medicine cabinets into the wall in my son's bathroom. Great plan right? Well we learned (as I should have figured out by now) that studs and pipes are in illogical and surprise places in our house. We also learned that all of the drywall was installed using construction adhesive and not nails! Anyway, one cabinet has a venting pipe blocking the sinking and the other has a random stud! I haven't figured my way around this project yet, so there has been no movement. I did find some oops paint (my favorite) for in there on tonight's trip... so I need to re-motivate and get going! Another project in stand still is our master bathroom. I began painting it a month ago and had a few other things that took priority before I could get to the second coat and now I'm on this crazy sleep adjustment with the baby, so I haven't gotten back to it. I did find a great vanity. (again on tonight's trip) Downside, the vanity may not match the paint, but I'm not sure we need to spend the mullah on the project now anyway... Another project... as if I don't have enough craziness... Dom's closet doors! He had bifold doors that were too big and unsupported for the size of his closet so we bit the bullet and sprung for regular pre-hung double doors. Now this should have been an easy thing, but nothing ever is! The opening was also too wide for even custom doors, so I have to build out the frame to close the opening a bit. This was the trip that I keep referring to... Home Depot! The men were nice enough to cut everything down to size so I don't have to bother my poor hubby! Now I just have to work out the installation between the 3 of our schedules. Oh... you thought I was done right? Well almost at least. I had a crazy brainwave (thanks to Pinterest) to redo our stairwells. I keep seeing these great images of wooden staircases. The previous owners of our home had multiple pets and we cannot seem to completely shake the smell. We clean the carpets constantly, but think we need to replace them. The whole house has carpet with the exception of bathrooms and 2 other areas.... we are not the 1% so staircases are an easy start! I had enough common sense to not start this yet though. I promised myself I could begin as soon as I finished the other impending projects. Now that I shared my craziness with you, I'm sitting here feeling like one of those people they call in about on HGTV! Crazy lady with a million unfinished projects! I also have a few portraits going... these I know I will have finished this week and off to the proud owners! Ground Hog's Day almost over... 12/22/2011
The week before Christmas break in a public high school is very similar to the movie Groundhog Day... each day is a struggle for everyone because we all are looking forward to the time off. It's very much needed this year! As the first half of the school year winds down, I like to sit down and make a list of resolutions for the remainder of the year. I make one right before the school year starts, but lose steam somewhere in October when a thousand new things are thrown at us! So, my goal tomorrow before I leave for the day is to write down my list and leave it in my drawer so when I return, I can read them and continue on with the year! A little side note... 12/20/2011
I'm painting with my advanced art students this week and have been stressing the importance of practicing their techniques... I guess I was having a "do as I say, not as I do" moment. I realized that I had not painted for my own enjoyment in a month! This is HUGE for me... I painted every night before I had my son and have been trying to make time for it again because it's a part of me that I enjoy. So.... I finished a project that I had mapped out originally a few months back, and only finished halfway! Here was the first piece: 
Here is the latest one... 
I would post the picture of them hanging side by side over my bed, but it's definitely not picture ready at the moment! I will snap a shot tomorrow in a pre-nap state! On a side not, I cannot believe that Santa comes in just a few short days! I cannot wait to celebrate Christmas morning with my son! Happy Hanukah to all those celebrating! An exciting weekend ends... 12/11/2011
I have a love/hate relationship with the weekends. I obviously look forward to spending time with family and friends on my few days off, but I also feel that if I don't accomplish at least one thing on my never ending "to do" list, that I'm a failure at life. So what did I do?  My mother and sister "started" my Christmas village collection for me when I was engaged. I say "started" because they got me so many pieces, that most people think it took me years to collect them all. In reality, it took only like 3 holidays. I have the Department 56 Dickens Village... and LOVE it!!! I decided that this may be the last year for a while that my son's playing will allow me to showcase it. He's not really playing in this area yet and can't climb up to it. I didn't go crazy with buffalo snow either because I'm picturing dusting... So here it is... well less than half of it! Let's hope that I find a bigger and safe home for it again next year!  I started painting the master bathroom. We have GRAND plans for this room down the road. Those plans are not a priority, but a new paint job was. I used to be 12 year old boy blue... now it's a slate blue. I have to paint another coat on the walls, then off to the trim, which will be stark white. I have an idea for the vanity, but I'm not in love with it, so it may just stay as is for the time being. I know that may not look like a ton of work, but considering it all happens after 8pm, I'm proud of my accomplishments! =) I also sat and wrote a realistic "To Do" list that I MUST accomplish by New Years Eve. I figured this was a great way of ending on year and starting the next with less stress! We'll give anything a try once right?! SO.... here it is... 1. Dom's Bathroom -Paint walls -Sink medicine cabinets into walls -Replace shower curtain -Somehow address the vanity 2. Kitchen -Paint to match dining room (want rooms to flow into each other) -Sand down and refinish wood strips on doors -Finish curtain project I think these are totally accomplishable in 3 weeks! Since my last postings, I have gotten questions about some of the handmade items both on my tree and in my home. I took progress pictures of the stocking project and am happy to share them...  First I scoured the internet... mostly Pinterest and found some candidate stockings. I decided on the shaped and sketched it out on large drawing paper, then cut it out. I have many random size pieces of canvas floating around my home, so I found a few pieces that fit my pattern and traced it 6 times. Remember, if you want the stockings to be "stuffable," you need 2 pieces to make one stocking.  After all of the tracing happened, there was the tedious task of cutting each piece out. This was one of the longest parts of this project. After the cutting came my next favorite part... the sewing. I began working with a needle and thread to MANY MANY MANY episodes of Golden Girls. I gave up after the first stocking and switched over to my sewing machine.  Next was the fun part... decorating the feet!!! I choose to use craft acrylic paint in "Lipstick Red." Craft acrylic moves a bit easier and was something I had left over from a project I had finished a few months ago. Each stocking got 2 coats on the front and back sides. ***If you will be stuffing these with toys and goodies, you may want to paint the top insode portion as well.  Next I decided to steer away from the inspirational stockings and work with snowflakes. I had a few wooden ones laying around from a past life and decided that they could be used as stamps. This not only made the process move quicker, but added some unique texture to the  I then repurposed some mossy green ribbon that I got in a gift wrapping kit. I was not interested in anymore sewing at this point... you can see my cheat in the picture. The glue gun worked just fine to attach my detailed ribbon.  My last freebie was more of the wooden snowflakes. I had a few different sizes and decided to paint them in white acrylic paint and glue. I wanted a personalized touch to the stockings. I initially wanted our names on them, since my husband has an uncommon name that we can never find in a store. He opted for his to say "Daddy" instead. I hand wrote, "Mommy," "Daddy," and "Dominic" on each snowflake and glued them as well as the loop to hang them from on the corner.  And there you have it... our mantle. The decor other than the stockings is not complete yet. It takes me a while to settle into decorating on work nights. On an inspirational note, check out Lisa Frost on Facebook to see her mantle. It's really whimsical and fun! Christmas Extravaganza 2011 12/04/2011
I have been a busy little elf around here for a few weeks now. Last year I dreamed about my tree, this year other little decor items! One example is my designer inspired stockings... 
No, the mantle is not done quite yet, but the stockings are. The best part about that little project was that it was FREE!!! My favorite kind! I will give more detailed instructions in another posting... Another time consuming (and FREE) project was my wreath.... 
And finally... the tree (which I think needs more balls) I think since I will be home tomorrow, I will have to tweak it a bit more. 
I have a few more things up my sleeve to finish everything off. They are also FREE... can you see a common thread? I will post those as they finish up as well. I am also excited to FINALLY put out my Christmas Village! I have it hermetically sealed in boxes and am thinking it's still too high for Dominic to reach... but not for long! 
Funny Fundraising Note to Leave You On... | Sites That Inspire Us:  AuthorMy name is Jenn. I am an art teacher at a local high school by day and a freelance artist by night. Full time mommy.  ArchivesFebruary 2012 CategoriesAll |
RSS Feed