Front Porch Bench

I am so proud of myself! I pulled off a woodworking project on my own last weekend. I built a bench for my front porch! I ripped all the wood on the table saw, I cut the boards to length on the miter saw and I even used the band saw to cut out a portion of the arm rests. I think the only help from Dan was helping me pull through 4 of my boards on the table saw since the blade was a bit dull. I then used the cordless drill and pre-drilled all the holes for my screws to go in. (I figured that one out after cracking 4 of my boards!)

Now I am just waiting for some warmer weather so I can do the finish work on it. I haven't decided exactly how I am going to finish it but I am thinking about staining it the charcoal color that I will be using on the back deck later this summer. I used the plans from Ana White and modified it using some left over 2X10 boards we had laying around from a past project. I ripped them down so they would work as the 2X3's the plans called for. I then used a couple ripped 1X10's for the seat slats. I figure they are strong enough especially with the support beams on the bottom.

So we're just waiting for the weather to get in gear and warm up already! It was beautiful last weekend. I don't know what happen. It especially stinks because our furnace's hot surface ignitor burnt out last night and I have had to resort to space heaters and the fireplace to keep everything warm in here. Emma is still in her footed pj's and the kids are cuddled under a blanket while watching a movie. 63 degrees inside is not cutting it for me.

I went and picked up the part we need at a heating supply store today and am hoping my handy man of a husband can figure it out. I've found some really awesome tutorial videos on You Tube so I don't think it will be a problem, its just annoying.

Speaking of annoying... this cold/cough I have picked up. I was down for the count yesterday. I still went to Zumba that night (call me CRAZY) thinking I could sweat it out and today I am feeling a little better but I sound horrible. I better get over it quick since next week is my birthday trip to Portland to see 'Wicked' with the hubs while grandma and grandpa watch the kiddos overnight. So excited!

Bunny Mask

Ethan was really bummed that Kiera got to go to school today and not him. Preschool was cancelled all this week so he was feeling a little left out. So to make him feel better we did our own craft time. We made a bunny mask out of a paper plate and some construction paper.

What you need:
-A paper plate
-pink construction paper
-marker
-scissors
-glue stick
-cotton balls
-yarn or thick elastic thread
-a hole punch (or in my case a staple remover)
-Optional: pipe cleaners for some fun whiskers

Cut out some bunny ears from some pink construction paper and glue on some cotton balls that have been torn in half. Then hold up the plate to your childs face to see where the eyes and nose should be. Cut out the nose and eye holes. Next draw the rest of your bunnies face. Hold punch a couple holes on the sides for your string to go through and size and tie on to your childs head. And wha la! A cute little bunny. Now watch him jump around like a little bunny rabbit and feed him a carrot snack. 

RN Party Cake FINISHED and FANTASTIC

 I am so excited the cake turned out just as I had hoped! It is a two layer sheet cake. The bottom layer is chocolate and the top layer is vanilla with chocolate marbled into it. The frosting is a buttercream with a hint of mint. It smells delish! All the decorations are out of marshmallow fondant except for the "pills" that are M&M's. Can't wait to show the guest of honor!

 Here are some close ups of the fondant decorations.

Now the trick will be to keep little fingers out of it until the party this weekend.

In The Middle of Something Grand

I am in the middle of doing a cake for a friend. She just graduated and got her nursing degree. So, I am making a RN cake for her and can't wait to show you when it is all done! Check back soon. Her party is this weekend.

Emma's Easter Dress And The Two Together

Emma's Easter Dress is finished! I am so happy I decided to go ahead and make the girl's dresses this year. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, and I think they turned out pretty darn cute. I haven't tried Emma's on her yet since she was sleeping at the time but I wanted to show you the end result.
Emma's was a bit more involved since she didn't have a t-shirt that I could use for the top half. I ended up using one of Ethan's 4T shirts that he had grown out of. I cut it to slim it down and made new sleeves with elastic. I love how it ties the skirt into the top.

 Here's the Front

And the Back

 

And here are the two dresses together

 Now I need to figure out how to make a little boys tie with some of the material so Ethan isn't left out. And Maybe I'll make something for myself but realistically that more than likely won't happen.

Kiera's Easter Dress

Last night was a little rough for me. So to get my mind off of things I decided to hang out in my craft room and make something.  So, on a whim I made Kiera an Easter dress. I had been thinking about the possibility of making one but was pretty sure it wasn't going to happen this year. But after staying up til midnight and working on it for an hour this afternoon It is done! Mind you it would have gone a lot faster if my model wasn't asleep and I could try things on her and check to see if they fit. I had to pick out stitches today and change a few things after I had her try it on.

I got the instructions on how to make it from the blog Make It And Love It under her tutorials section. It was pretty easy and didn't cost me a thing since I just used what I had. And the best part is that she loves it too.

After making the dress Ethan asked me if I would make him a Spider Man one. Not sure exactly what he wants but I will probably end up making him a tie or something so he doesn't feel left out.

Here's the dress...

Where I've been

 I thought this was sort of fun.

This is a map of the places I've been. 

Looks like I have a few empty spots to fill.

Just go to http://www.visitedstatesmap.com/ it's really easy.