Chalk Board Spray Paint (Obsessed!!)

So last weekend I found some chalk board spray paint and decided that it would be put to perfect use on all of the wine bottles I have been collecting.  I was saving them for a wedding in the distant future to use as center pieces (which is still the plan).  Painting them with the chalk board spray paint left such a nice finish, especially compared to the ones I painted with the regular chalk board paint. I think that they will be great as center pieces- you can easily write table numbers, add a little decoration at the top, etc. 

I thought leaving on the labels would add a nice texture once it was painted.  That was actually a little more trouble than it was worth.  Next time I will definitely soak the labels off first; it took too many coats to try and cover them.  Here is my work in progress:

 Here they are after the first coat.

 and a little wooden box that I also painted.

And here is the paint that I used- Rustoleum, the spray handle was definitely a must for how much spray painting I did.  I bought 2 cans of paint for $4 each and the handle was only $2. 

I used a couple of them for decoration on the newly remodeled table with some fake flowers. 

I have to decide what I want to write on there with the chalk.

And here are some shots of the finished bottles:

Love them! They will be perfect for some wedding off in the distant future... :)

Mosaic Tile Table

It has been a long time since I posted, I have just been very busy with my job, my new obsession (ZUMBA!!), and just having fun living life in general.  I'm getting certified to be a Zumba instructor, and will hopefully have an opportunity to teach at a new location of the studio that I currently go to.  So I am super excited and have thus spent most of my free time doing Zumba or working on choreography.  It has just been such a great experience for me in terms of weight loss (I'm down 30 lbs!!) and in finding something that I truly love to do.  I just really want to share those experiences with others. 

So this weekend Joel and I finally found time for a little DIY project.  We were wandering around Lowes and decided it would be fun to mosaic tile our patio table.  Having done tiling projects before I had a pretty good idea of what we would need and somehow we managed to make it out of there with all the necessary supplies.  We found some really awesome tiles and here is the finished product:

It was fun to do a project again.  I need to keep doing my projects, I realized that I had missed them a lot. 

So next weekend I'm going to be working on some chalkboard paint spray paint bottles and some decorations for our little table here. 

And hopefully at some point I will get around to uploading the pictures of my projects with the kids and get around to writing about those projects and how the kids are progressing.

So till next time, enjoy!

Back to work...

...Except work was not really feeling like work today.  We basically spent the day playing outside- the kids running around being crazy and me taking pictures of it!  It was a beautiful day (gotta love winters in Texas) not too hot, not too cold- juuuust right!

See! Look at that blue sky! Got to love your job when it allows you to enjoy a day as beautiful as this one!  We had fun just running around, swinging, trekking through the woods.  Here's a few shots of my crazy little monsters!

 (see I was being quite literal on this one... haha)

(cuteness monster? maybe for now... haha)

We'll see what kind of activities we get to later in the week but for now this nice winter weather is too nice to pass up in order to do inside projects so we'll see how that goes! more updates later!

New Year, New Resolve!

And you can probably guess what I will say.... I will keep up with my blog!!

I've been very lucky to have had a nice relaxing vacation from work but tomorrow it's back to it!  I'm excited though to see the kids and get to use my new camera with the kids! My dad gave me his old Cannon EOS 40D dslr body and a new lens for Christmas!  It has been so much fun learning how to use it and taking some pretty cool pictures.  And the kids love when I take pictures of them so I am lucky to have such willing subjects!

I have new ideas for projects with the kids, projects for the home and am excited to share them with you!  My first project of the new year is a wintry flower wreath.  I used a basic twig wreath that I got from Jo Ann Fabrics and cut felt to make the flowers.  I did glitter on a few of them to add a little sparkle!  I think it looks pretty good!

On another note, I have been spending a lot of time over my vacation doing Zumba. It is a great way to excercise! It has been so much fun for me and inspired me on my way to my weight loss goals!  If you have never tried a Zumba class I strongly encourage you to.  And if you live anywhere near the Denton area I also encourage you to check out the new Fuego Fitness in the Denton mall; the instructors there are awesome and they have all inspired me on my journey. 

That's all for this post, and there will be more soon! I promise!

Trying to get better!

I really am trying to get better at posting more often starting today!  This weekend has been a lot of fun, celebrating my friend Sarah's birthday.  I got to go out with her for dinner Friday, shop and party on Saturday; it was lots of fun!  I also enjoyed this weekend because I got to be crafty making Sarah's present and bake and decorate some yummy cupcakes!

I decoupaged the box and put some fun little things inside, and I loved it so much that now I have to make one for myself! 

Happy 26th birthday Sarah!!

(more later about some of my nanny projects!)

I love my chalkboard paint!

I really wish I could find the time to blog during the week, but I come home hungry (so we make dinner), and tired (so I take a shower and go to sleep).  Sadly that means that my nanny adventures have not been getting the attention they deserve.  To resolve some of that tomorrow I am planning on writing a post about some of our projects, schedules, and my resources that I have been using to help me.

Today I am sharing my light bulb that went off about what to do with our little kitchen bar.  And yes chalkboard paint was involved- it is my new love :)  I got a really cool bottle from a party last week and I have been trying to decide what to do with it.  It occurred to me that I could use it and some other bottles I had been saving for a little display by painting them with my chalkboard paint.  I also came across a little frame in the closet that was destined for the paint as well and voila....

Le Petite Cafe is born!

Chalkboard paint has become my new go to for all my projects.  I can't wait till I get my own house so I can paint a wall or cabinet or something with it and be able to write lists and doodle on it!  I think it adds some nice cohesion to my display on top of the cabinets as well.  And it's fun because I got to doodle! 

Stay tuned for my nannying adventures tomorrow!

Sunday Funday

I've been pretty lazy today, so continuing that trend I will tell the story of my day mainly in pictures.

I decided to make some cake batter blondies today. Ummm can you say delicious?

They were very yummy and I got the recipe here, thanks to Gracie at GML for the awesomeness!

I started a little project with some canister for the kitchen for the sugar and flour yesterday and finished them today.  Gotta love that chalkboard paint!

And finally a little thrifty find from yesterday- my $7.00 apron from Marshall's.  I love a good clearance find!

The End! :)