Give A Dog A Bone

Do you ever have those projects that you store in the back of your mind, meaning to get it done but never do? Well this is one of those, and the great news is that I finished it! I hand painted shower curtain for Con-Man's bathroom.

Hittin the Road

I've been wanting to do something a little special for the Con-Man lately. He has a new baby brother who's commanding a lot of my time and he's been handling it really well. He loves being a big brother and has been helping me out a lot but I know he misses being the center of attention. 

We've established that Con-Man loves cars. His room had a transportation theme, everything he got for his birthday was car related, and he has more MatchBox cars than he knows what to do with.

One for The Kiddos

Woo Hoo it's Wednesday! Poor Wednesday often gets a bad rap sometimes because it's in the middle of the week. But just think, after Wednesday comes Thursday, then Friday (Friday's are awesome) then comes the weekend!! So actually Wednesday isn't all that bad since it's the kind of the precursor to the weekend.


And~ today Con-Man's Big Boy Room is being featured over at Remodelaholic this evening. Go check it out!

But Anyway....


Since I finally finished Sawyer's nursery, and my due date is coming up- I have kids on the brain. I thought sharing a few cool kid worthy design ideas would be fun for today.


Have you seen Todd Oldman's collection of Modern Art Supplies for Kids at Target? I wish wish wish there was a Target near me so I could stock up (for the Con-Man of course). But for now online viewing is the best I have!

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If you've been looking for fun wall decals that are different than the norm and haven't had much luck you need to check out 2Modern's line called WallCandy. They have lots of fun decals to fit any decor including chalk decals, balloon animals, and temporary wallpaper.

What better way to make a kid feel like their room is really their own than with using their initial in the decor? I've been on the lookout for a big letter S or C for my boys. Maybe one of these options will work?

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Have you seen the new Fall Collection at Land Of Nod? There is some seriously cool stuff! There are 3 collections with 3 distinct styles. I wish I was a kid again!! Maybe I could work some of this in to our home decor? Why should the kids have all the fun?

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If your looking for some Kid Friendly DIY projects check out Lowes Creative Ideas for some fun projects.

Does this one look familiar?

Hopefully these ideas will get your creative juices flowing for the little guys and gals in your life; or for yourself!

DIY Play Kitchen

There are lots of fantastic play kitchens floating around Blog-land these days. I never thought I'd have to make one since I have a son and all. I thought if I'd have to make anything it would be a tool bench.


But lately the Con-Man has been "cooking" a lot. We'll be sitting outside and he takes his shovel, fills it with rocks and tells me he's cooking hot dogs. Then proceeds to give me some and tells me to eat it. And he has been really interesting in my cooking dinner and such.


I'm glad he's using his imagination but how can I deny my poor little guy a play kitchen? And since his birthday is coming up I thought it would make a great present.


So for the past few weeks I've been keeping my eyes peeling for a piece of furniture I can use for a play kitchen. It's not like there are tons of "boy friendly"play kitchens on the market; especially where we live. About a week ago I finally found what I was looking for!

It has several shelves and wheels for easy mobility. I painted it white with a primer/ paint combo and thought about leaving it that color. I didn't want anything to girly looking. But in the end I went with some leftover blue spray paint I had on hand.

I added a back to it by cutting down some extra plywood I had lying around. Something heavier and smoother like MDF might have been better but the plywood works well.

I used cup hooks to hang the utensils and leftover handles I bought from Ikea for Con-Man's bed for the towel bars. 

I bought some inexpensive towels from Wal-Mart and used Stitch Witchery to add the fabric; the same fabric I used to recover the pot holder that came with the play kitchen set.  

Before

We gave it to him early and he has been excited about it. He's been cooking me hot dogs and hamburgers all day!

A few more detail shots:

And one more before and after:

I'd still like to find some baskets to put the play food and plates in- attempt to keep everything organized. But for now he's having fun with it. 

In fact when I tried setting up his pots and pans for the pictures he waved me away telling my I was messing everything up. Oops- guess I should mess around in his kitchen anymore!!

Con-Man's Birthday Preparations

The Con-Man is turning 3 in a few weeks! We're having his party this weekend; early, just in case Tiny Falcon #2 makes an early appearance. I've been busy with preparations for his party. I thought I could whip up a few things for the party but being pregnant seems to make everything take twice as long!


I sent out the invitations a few weeks ago. I hand stenciled them with stencils from Hobby Lobby. We're doing a water party since the temps have been in the 100's here. I got the inspiration for them here- I liked that they were a "water" theme but not to literal.

The big thing I've been working on is a PVC Pipe Car Wash (Or Kid Wash I guess). I tried to finish it today but realized I bought some wrong connectors. Always shooting myself in the foot!

Lots of water balloons will be on hand.

We have a pretty big Kiddie Pool I'll fill up and stuff it with water toys. Like I've been seeing these Sponge Bombs all over Pinterest and it's about time I make some! And some water guns and anything else I can find that might be fun for the kids.

As for snacks we'll have the usual chips and such but I thought some fruit and other frozen goodies would be refreshing to have on hand.

And of course cake and ice cream. Though it's a water party I'm not doing a water themed cake. Con-Man's favorite character is Lighting McQueen. I've been looking at McQueen cakes online for ideas. I'm not an amazing cake decorator but I like to make his cakes myself so we'll see how this one turns out! Not sure which I'll go with yet~

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For Party Favors one of the things I'm giving are these Giant Gummi Bears! They have nothing to do with "water" theme but they were so cool and on sale. I couldn't pass them up.

The final countdown has begun and I have lots to do! Will share pics after the weekend.

What sorts of things have you done for your child's birthday? Do you like to do a lot of it yourself or do you like to dole out the tasks?