Happy Birthday Reminder Plaque

From The Mom.  (Daughter not present for this one...she has to go to school or something like that...:(  )

So, I've pinned this on about six different boards.

I guess that means I should give it a try, right?

Right.

I apologize I didn't take pictures of the process, to be honest it was so easy to do, that of course I had to goof up at least one step.

*sigh*

Anyway, I purchased the wooden plaque and paints from Wal-Mart, along with a cabinet pull all for about 8 dollars.  I used my Cricut to cut vinyl lettering and after applying a base coat color, I applied the letters to the plaque then painted the entire thing with a second color (in this case, navy blue). One it was dry, I lightly sanded over the vinyl and the edges to give it a distressed look...this is actually where I screwed up.  I didn't sand the first time, and just tried to pull the letters off. They brought some of the paint up with them causing me to have to sand and redo that letter...so as I was saying - SAND LIGHTLY - ahem - and then carefully pull off the vinyl lettering.

*note - if your vinyl is as aggressive as mine was with the adhesive, you may need to rub a little goo gone or lemon oil on it to get rid of the sticky goo left over.  Trust me, this is important...*

Finally, I drilled a hole where I wanted the 'hook' to be, and hung from it some pre-made tags (also cut with my cricut, but you can get them pre-cut from the craft store) with everyone's name and birthday.  I will eventually add a hangar on the back, but for now,it's resting nicely on my piano in a photo easel.

Why did I want this so badly?

In our house we play the game : "Who's birthday is next mom?"  "When is MY birthday mom?"  "Mom, how many more people have their birthday before I do?" - yea, it's lots of fun.

I like how this turned out, and now I am thinking I may just make one for everyone in my family for Christmas.

Or not.

Banana Peanut Butter Nilla Wafer Sammiches (With Sprinkles)

Original Pin Here.

From the Mother (who did this pin all by herself, without the knowledge of the daughter because she was hungry, these looked good, and apparently teenagers sleep until like noon in the summer time.):

Who doesn't like Nilla Wafers?  These things have got to be on the list of the top ten most perfect inventions ever.  Seriously, right up there with the telephone and sliced bread.

I saw these today on Pinterest while I was waiting at the car wash for my car to be finished (entirely different story there).  Even with three televisions broadcasting the 2012 Olympics from London and one showing whatever crime drama shows at 10 AM on A&E, I still decided Pinterest was a much better use of my time.  

The Master Bedroom (totally just from Mom.)

The Cat approves.

We haven't forgotten about our project, promise.  It's just that the daughter has left me and gone on vacation for two weeks, and it just isn't as much fun without her. :(  BUT...I did get something done I've been meaning to do for a while...

Inspired by THIS pin, (and admittedly, several others...) I wanted to do over my master bedroom.  Keep in mind the budget is very tight, so I had to get creative, and I'm pretty sure that some of this will evolve over the next few weeks as I find what I want in the right stores...but so far, I can see the bedroom floor, and I'm LOVING the black and white with splashes of yellow. It just feels - well, bright and new.

Dollar Store Cake Stands

Original Pin Here.

From the Mother:

This pin was totally for me.  100% no questions asked.  What would a teenager do with cuppycake stands anyway? Since I have a cuppycake business, and since we have a few events where we will be catering in the near future, I was looking for inexpensive ways to display our creations.  This. Was. Perfect.

The teenager definitely helped. She took pictures and mocked me openly while I struggled with centering the candlesticks on the plates.  Teenagers are so helpful, aren't they?