Box Fort

In my quest for activities for the boys combined with blog stalking I had an epiphany.

Instead of  just having the boys use sheets and pillows for forts why not boxes?

The grocery store produce department has tons of boxes and they will give them to you for free.

So I asked and I got over 30 boxes.

A good start

Fort with boxes

Do you remember that vinyl shower curtain from the dollar store?

Time to color

And now to let them construct…

Fort with shower curtain and boxes

A giant fort with boxes and the shower curtain for the roof.

After they are done with the boxes we store them in a spare room and when they are destroyed they can be recycled.

This afternoon of imagination cost us a dollar.

Perfect!

Glow in the dark Easter Eggs

Glow in the dark Easter eggs for a night time Egg hunt
Easter festivities usually have a familiar rhythm to them. Church, Egg hunt, Easter baskets, and lots of food.  At least this is what I have seen and heard.  We have not been able to get an Easter rhythm down in the last eight years. I am not good at planning them and we don’t do the whole Easter bunny thing.

This Easter I decided to actually attempt something new and change our habit of doing absolutely nothing.

A glow in the dark Easter egg hunt.  I got the idea off  Pinterest but I have had so many people asking how I did it I am going to post the directions here.

Glow in the Dark Easter Eggs

Purchase the bigger selection of plastic Easter Eggs.  I found mine at Walmart for 50 cents a piece. (6 in a bag and I bought 4)

Find the glow bracelets – You can usually find these in the Dollar section at Target or at the Dollar Tree

Scotch Tape

When you are almost ready to begin your hunt break the bracelets to get the glow.  Bend them enough to fit in the egg and then tape the crack to ensure they don’t pop open.

Then hide them!

Your kiddos will love them and instead of getting a ton of candy they will get the glow bracelets instead!

Here is a little glimpse from our nighttime egg hunters

Kids hunting for Glow in the dark eggs for Easter

Happy Hunting!

DIY Black Lantern

I love lanterns.  I have been eyeing the lanterns in Pottery Barn for years and whenever I see one on sale it takes a long time to walk away.

Imagine my joy when I discovered a lantern at my local Michaels that was on clearance for 3.99 !!  80% off!!!  The only reason it hadn’t sold is because someone hot glued really ugly flowers on the top.  I grabbed it immediately and by the time I reached the registered all six of the flowers had been removed.

Before

Brown Lantern that needs a makeover

It’s not ugly. I really debated about changing it. But I decided to do it anyways

I took all the glass out but the piece in the door wouldn’t budge. I taped it off with painters tape.

Use painters tape to protect what you don't want painted.

Now it is ready to go!

These first two photos were taken in the evening and with my phone.  Hence the horrible quality and poor lighting.

Black hammered Rust-oleum

I applied about 3 coats of the Black hammered Rust-oleum. You can find this at Wal-mart for a little over 5 dollars.

Lantern drying after a few coats of Rust-oleum

I love it so far! I was so glad I decided to paint it.

As it was drying I needed to clean all the glass pieces that I pulled out. They were held inside the lantern with small white adhesive strips and they were a pain to remove. I used adhesive remover to get rid of the remnants of the strips.
Adhesive Remover helps remove the sticky stuff

After everything was dry I used a clear sealant to make the glass pieces stay in place. Looking back, hot glue would of worked just as well.

Here is the final product!
Homemade Black Lantern

I love it!!

The entire thing cost me about 10 dollars! I think it really goes great with the fall decor that I have pulled out!

Is there something that you just can’t stand?

Is there something that your husband has brought home or has owned that you are not too fond of?  Maybe it is something that really grates on your nerves of perhaps it is easily looked over but it isn’t something you would have thought of as decoration…..

When my husband and I got married over six years ago he had two “decoration” pieces that I hated!  I mean loathed from the very depth of my being.  The first was a cityscape that was made out of metal and it hung on the wall.  It was heavy and ugly.  It reminded me of one of those tacky pieces that Joey, from Friends, decorated his apartment with.  My husband of course loved it and thought it was very “metro-sexual.”….Yes, you read that right.  The other items (plural) that I couldn’t handle were the swords/daggers.  I don’t know when men, in today’s society, thought that swords from the local Renaissance fair would make handsome art pieces but it needs to stop.  ESPECIALLY when there is NOTHING else in the home that even resembles a Renaissance theme. (Just a little tip from me to you…They aren’t even historically accurate!  AAAAHHHH! Come on!)

UGH, I really hated these things. I still do.  Maybe it is my background in Art History or simple good taste but those two bits of decor quickly were taken down and stored under the bed, never to be heard of again.

I bring this up because my husband frequently brings displays home for my kids and the play room.  I typically don’t have a problem with it because the boys love it and it is never a permanent addition.  Well, we are now the proud owners of four Iron Man cutouts…FOUR.  I don’t think all four are intended for the five and three year old….One is currently in my kitchen for some reason….

In good sport, I did not band the cutouts. In fact, I hung two of them up in the boys room. That’s right, I’m an awesome mom.

They love them and my husband thinks it looks pretty cool. I, however, will nod and smile, give them all kisses, and silently count the days until they go and live in the trash….

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