Flea Market Swap: Old Records and a Shower Curtain

Swap it like it's hot! It's here! Today is day 2 of the Flea Market Swap challenge where 33 lovely bloggers (whole list is at the bottom of the post) went out thrift store shopping and sent their finds to other bloggers to transform into something more than neglected nicknacks. I participated last go round and ran into quite the craft fails along the way. I think I pulled it out though in the end. I think. Anyway... this round was much more successful! :) Today the 7 blogs above show off their stuff... come see!

Emily from Two Purple Couches sent me my goods--> 4 old records and a striped shower curtain :) Try as I might, an idea combining the two items just didn't happen. So I tackled the records first.

I had this awesome idea for navy and gold candle holders that in my head was going to get Pinterest aflutter. Seriously. I was going to be famous. So, I hit up the garage and got some metallic gold spray paint and a flat navy that I used in my son's room. Normally I'm a Rust-Oleum fan but they just don't make this shade and finish of blue. Anyway, I crossed the streams and used both.

Turns out records sprayed metallic gold do look amazing. Records sprayed flat blue... not so much. The different records took the color differently and well, they just looked like poo. So, I tossed one that there was no coming back from and sprayed over the other with more gold. 

Then, I got a small pack of round mirrors from Hobby Lobby for like $3 and glued them to the center of the records. I can't decide if I like them better as chargers for my entryway table or if I'm going to stick them to the wall as mirrors. Either way they up the glam in here. (Just look past the play tent and plastic princess heals as you walk in... it's cool).

I got that clock at a garage sale and the vase at Goodwill... both $1! :) It's a thrift extravaganza really.

Now on to the shower curtain! Backstory: A couple weeks ago I chaperoned my daughter's 1st grade field trip to LEGOLAND. They discouraged the kids from bringing their full-sized backpacks on the trip for fear that they'd get sick of carrying them around and end up piled on the poor chaperones all day. (smart teachers) But, they were allowed to bring small bags to carry snacks and little stuff. Anyway, a lot of the kids had mini-sized backpacks. And, my kid did not. So naturally she's been asking for one ever since. Enter shower curtain transformation.

I probably only used 1/4 of the entire curtain and sort of made it up as I went. The entire project took about an hour and she loves it! I'll post the full tutorial later this week should you come across shower curtains that need new life too.

I used a shoelace for the drawstring closure, hot glued some wood beads on the ends, and added a pocket to the outside. It's now ready for juice boxes and squeeze apple sauce. Bring on the next trip.

Now that you've seen what I did with Emily's finds, head over to The Gathered Home to see what Brynne did with the crazy stuff I sent her! I'm going with you since I haven't seen what she did yet either! Let's hold hands.

Day 1

Run to Radiance

Decor Adventures

Year of Serendipity

58 Water Street

Don't Disturb This Groove

Like a Saturday

Artsy Chicks Rule

Day 2

Two Purple Couches

While They Snooze

The Gathered Home

Black and White Obsession

Ciburbanity

Restoration Redoux

Confessions of aSerial Do-it-Yourselfer

Day 3

Primitive & Proper

Queen of Everything

That's My Letter

Finding Silver Pennies

Migonis Home

Windgate Lane

Day 4

I Am a Homemaker

Town and Country Living

Thoughts from Alice

Our Southern Home

Chic Little House

SG Style

Two Thirty~Five Designs

Day 5

Gourley Girl & Guy

The Thinking Closet

The Charming Farmer

2 Little Superheroes

Shades of Blue Interiors

Live Pretty on a Penny

Let's be friends!

{Series Part 4} House Update: Dirt, Slab, and Plumbing

Hey! It's been a while since I gave you a run down of the great decade-long building adventure. Last we left off we were eyeballs deep in dirt. That has since been smoothed out and the actual construction is under way. In between there we also managed to get ourselves a building loan (in October) which is a post I've had in draft for months. It's coming, one day... but honestly, it's boring and what am I going to show you pictures of? Me signing papers? Maybe I can set the post to music and offer prizes and snacks at the end. That should jazz some people up. Anyway.

Here's the plan as a refresher.  Top pic is the front of the house and the bottom is the right side of the house, looking toward the face of the garage.

Soon after closing, our builder gathered up the plans and some other paperwork to submit to the county to get a building permit. And soon after that were were rejected like a pimply teen on prom night. Womp, womp. Seems that our plans were missing tiny things like a handrail for the couple of  stairs in the garage, a carbon monoxide detector, and some outlets were not labeled GFI (you know, the ones with the little red buttons). I mean c'mon! Can't we just pencil those things in? Nope. We had to get all new plans printed from the architect, get them sealed by the engineers, and resubmitted. Translation: delay. 

A few weeks later with new plans in-hand (Christmas happened to fall in-between), we were approved and got our permit. The first order of business was scraping all of the plants off of the pad that had grown up and digging the footers. Here are the kids working on their dance moves in the living room.

When I pulled up this day I was in disbelief. It had been years and years of visiting this property and only ever seeing the same tress and dirt; Never an indication of a house. But this day was different. It was actually happening! A tear almost made its way out. Almost (I'm not a cryer). On top of that, I could for the first time, see the actual size of the house. It's WAY different than staring at it on a piece of paper. My first impression was that the house is much wider than I was anticipating. We're a little closer to the neighbors than I pictured and did I mention one of them has a rooster? I guess we'll get used to that.

The footers get dug down a foot or so into the ground (I'm sure the depth is different depending on where you live) and then lined with rebar. This is essentially the perimeter of our house and what the outside walls will sit on. Once this was done, we had to have an inspection before moving on.

The same week that the footers went in our shallow well did too. This isn't the well that will act as the water source for the house but just a temporary one for the construction guys. You need water to make cement ya'll.

After the rebar part of the footers passed inspection, they filled them up with cement.

Then, once that's dry, a couple layers of cinderblock go on top of that (which I've learned is called a stem wall). There's Kaley running in from what will be the front door and Austin is no doubt burying some treasure (cement chips, rocks, a cigarette package) in what will be the master bedroom.

At this point we're almost ready to pour the slab. This is the garage.

And the kids have found numerous ways to entertain themselves while we visit the house. The all involve getting filthy, lots of laundry, and several wet wipes in the car. I'm also starting quite the cement rock collection. Just check the cup holders in the car. Beautifully curated I tell ya.

We also had to have a few more trees removed. :( Bummer. Once the footers were in place it was clear to see they were way too close to the house. Several people kept referring to them as "lightning rods". Always comforting. This is one of those unexpected things that causes delays and costs more money. I'm starting to understand why people say construction projects take twice as long and cost twice as much as planned. This is what the side yard looked like after tree removal.

And this is what it looks like now after some fancy dirt sculpting.

And finally, any plumbing and electrical that needed to go into the ground was done and inspected. They got the plumbing done in one day which I thought was impressive. How the heck do you look at a pile of dirt and know where to put the toilet? I guess that's why they're professionals. ;) It's fun to see where the kitchen sink and bathrooms will be. I'm expecting the slab to be poured tomorrow but not holding my breath. The theme of this project seems to be "delay" so if they do... I'll be pleasantly surprised and sure to post really thrilling cement photos for you on Facebook. Here's to flowing cement tomorrow!

Let's be friends!

Rustic Chic Oscar Party with Free Printables

This is a sponsored post written by me for Cost Plus World Market... my BFF for new affordable home stuff.

So, are you going to watch the Oscars? Are you a movie lover and vowed to watch all of the Best Picture nominees before the show? Do you not care and just tune in for the clothes and an excuse to drink wine? ;) Whatever your Oscar style, The Academy Awards are a great reason to have some friends over, sip a few libations, and share a bite or ten.

Last year I designed some Oscar Party Printables in sort of a glam gold traditional Oscar style. This year I decided to change things up a bit. Lots of you know I'm in the midst of building a house. In my head, it's going to be a country chic modern farmhouse mixed with a little sparkle. In reality it's a pile of dirt and rebar at the moment... but not for long. In preparation for the day when I can finally paint and bring in the pretty stuff, I've been pinning my butt off and rustic chic is definitely the direction I'm headed. Needless to say, I've been rather inspired by rustic chic modern country design lately and decided to design this year's Oscar party to match.

Click the links ahead to download the invitations (these will print out 2 on a sheet), voting ballots (2 on a sheet also), and drink tags (6 on a sheet).

Once you've got your invites sent (I left space so you could add your par-tay info) head to World Market! For years I've been shopping there for home decor and furniture but they've got a really great selection for entertaining essentials as well. I headed out early on a Saturday morning and practically had the store to myself. Kid-free, coffee in hand, unhampered shopping– this could be what heaven looks like.

The hardest part was not filling my cart. These hand-stamped serving pieces really caught my eye. The imperfect hand-stamped lettering really gives them a rustic feel while still being fancy enough for a party. I put a couple in my cart and took pictures of the rest... because normal people do that.

After picking up a new cheese board, some napkins, and my gorgeous new butler's tray (more on that later) that I moved on to the ginormous food and wine section. I could shop here for hours. I settled on a few quick appetizer bites, like Volpi Prosecco Salami from Italy to pair with my cheese, some specialty chocolates for dessert, and wine.

To keep with the rustic chic theme, I tried to pair sophisticated/glam/sleek items with more textural and natural elements. Here the circular cheese board is paired with the sleek tasting plate and vintage-style serving tongs.

And I framed the pretty invite in a rustic Arabella Vintage Frame.

Serving a sparkling wine with store-bought appetizers always ups the glam factor too. I purchased Risata Moscato d'Asti because I like my bubbly on the sweeter side.

And my Pièce de résistance, the Gold Mirrored Butler Tray. If one item says both chic and rustic at the same time, this is it. The top is an antiqued mirror while the frame is a distressed gold finish.

I love the detail on the little metal frame around the outside and the fact that it's substantial enough to act as a side table also. And the best part?  Drumroll.... 

The tray part comes off the stand! Oh, the possibilities. Seriously, I can't wait for our new dining room to be done just so I can move this in. Also, if you're wondering, the lovely teal chair in the background is also from World Market. I might have treated myself a few months back :)

Last but certainly not least is the assortment of specialty chocolates I got for dessert. There were dozens to choose from. So far the strawberry one is my favorite but I plan to taste test every single one and report back... all for you guys of course.

So are you inspired to throw a rustic chic Oscar get together of your own? It really is the easiest of parties to throw. Late enough that you don't have to serve dinner, the entertainment is on TV, and it's on a weeknight so no one stays too late. It's a win- win- win if you ask me. haha. To help you get in the movie-loving spirit, World Market is hosting the Movie Lovers Sweepstakes. If you head over you can Enter to win one of 4 Weekly Grand Prize Packages:

• Free Movies for a Year (2 tickets per week for 52 weeks)
• $1,000 World Market gift card
• 4 prizes available

Make sure to take pictures at your Oscar shindig and share them using the hashtag #MovieLovers so I can see what you did! :) Happy watching.

Let's be friends!

The Boxtrolls Movie Night with Free Popcarn Box Printable

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Universal Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BoxtrollsFamilyNite http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

Click here to get your free popcorn box printable.

So I feel like my oldest kid is right on that line of thinking I'm the coolest person ever and being totally embarrassed by me. At the ripe old age of 7, my "I love you"s out the car window in the mornings get a stabbing side-eye instead of a loving response in front of classmates. Holding hands? Not if there is a chance someone her age might see her. Heaven forbid they think she is a "baby". But at home I get asked to play school, or dolls, or barbies hourly. She loves to have me read to her, and brush her hair, and snuggle at bedtime. I know little by little, those things too will go in favor of independence and teenage rebellion, but right now I'm hanging on. That's why making time for family activities now is kind of a big deal.

This week, thanks to some chilly weather and seemingly never-ending rain (I thought I lived in The Sunshine State?), we planned a family-tastic movie night at home along with do-it-yourself snacks, and an easy craft to help keep those snacks out of your couch cushions. 

I started at Walmart on my lunch break the other day because I knew that The Boxtrolls came out on DVD this week (plus we needed TP).  I've mastered the whole park at the garden center and run through the back isles technique to make sure I make it back in time for those 1:00pm meetings. So, while gripping TP with my elbow under one arm, and balancing some groceries with the other, I added the DVD and some Pop Secret to my pile then cruised through checkout like a working mom ninja.

Next, I designed a little popcorn box printable in the style of The Boxtrolls to make with the kids before the movie. Click here to download the free PDF.  The box will print out on two pieces of paper. It would be awesome if you had card stock, but no sweat if you don't. We used crappy printer paper and it worked just fine. You'll just need some scissors and a glue stick to assemble. Relatively mess free. Score.

Here's what you do.

Step 1:
Cut out both pieces of the box.

Step 2:
Fold the sides of the box inward (the outside has the printing on it... the inside is white). There are 2 sides on each piece for a total of 4 sides.

Step 3:
Fold all the flaps in.

Step 4:

On each piece, add glue to the flap that's between the two printed squares and stick them together. Don't glue the other flap yet.

Do this for both printouts so you have something that looks like this.

Step 5:
Join both pieces together. It doesn't matter which piece is on top when they slide together. Just add some glue to the other flaps now and between the bottom pieces and you're in business.

Once our boxes were assembled, we filled 'em up with Pop Secret and added a few sweet mixings as a special treat. You can get The Boxtrolls DVD and the same 10-count box of Pop Secret Home-Style Popcorn I got (it's yummy) at Walmart while supplies last. You know you'll be there this week getting TP and shampoo anyway. ;)

We not only had family snuggle time while watching the movie but cracked jokes, talked about school, and laughed a lot while making the boxes and the popcorn too.

There's even a spot on the side to write your name.

I also made up a quick "popcorn" banner too while I was in the design mood. Click here to download the banner.

Now someone lay off the fast forward button because she just can't possibly be this old already.

Let's be friends!