Laundry Room Sign

I found this collage frame at a garage sale for $1.00. I really liked the frame itself. The yellow collage matting...not so much. I purchased a vinyl wall saying several months ago for my laundry room and have been waiting to put it up. I am still toying with the idea of painting the laundry room at some point and I didn't want to waste my vinyl saying. SO, I decided to use this frame to help solve my dilemma.

The first thing I did was remove the matting and white paper that was inside the frame. I then adhered the vinyl saying to the GLASS of the frame. Now, I needed to create a new background. I went through my fabric and scrapbooking paper, but didn't find what I was looking for. Then it hit me, why not use wrapping paper!!?? It was CHEAP and AVAILABLE!!

So I cut the wrapping paper to the size needed to wrap the backboard of the picture frame.

Remember this doesn't have to look pretty...no one is going to see the back.

The final step was putting it all back together. So simple and easy. It took me about 1o minutes...most of which was spent rubbing on the vinyl saying. I like the paper. Seems fitting for the laundry room, don't you think!? AND the best part is, if I want to change colors or get tired of this, I can just take out the blue wrapping paper and change the background to something else!!! Side note: This isn't the greatest picture due to the glare. Looks much better in person AND you can't tell it's wrapping paper at all!!!

My plan is to frame pictures of my kiddos, all nice and DIRTY, having "loads of fun" all around it. I think this one qualifies, don't you!!??

SUMMER FUN

If you've ever met me, you know that I love Meg!!! She's full of the greatest ideas and has to be the coolest mom EVER!! She had this post about her Summer Fun List, so we decided to give it a try. I just let the kids shout out anything that came to mind. There was no right or wrong answers, nothing too big or too small. I DID tell them that we would try our best to do as many as we could, but NO PROMISES on EVERYTHING (ummm...Disney World!??).

Here's a sampling of our Summer! It became a quest to do everything (or ALMOST everything) on our list. Thank you Meg for helping us form some great Summer memories!! You guys should try this...REALLY!!


Geocaching....CHECK!!! This is a great family activity. It's a treasure hunt AND they are located all over the country, so you can do this on any family vacation or day outing or just because you have some time to kill.

Paint seashells...CHECK!! I know, the original list says "Paint Rocks", but we all agreed this counted!

Put flowers on someone's grave...CHECK!

Make Rainbow Cake...CHECK!! We made this on the first day of SUMMER to CELEBRATE!! Invited the neighbor kids over, ate outside, lots of laughs...may have started a tradition.

Visit Ducks...CHECK!! Run from them when they start attacking you...CHECK!!!

Catch a toad...CHECK!! I think I prefer this little guy...

Lemonade Stand...CHECK!!!


Fireworks...CHECK!!!

Kind of makes you wish it was Summer again, doesn't it!!??

New friends at Maple Memories

We have two new dress forms at Maple Memories for those of you that sew.

And, if you DON'T sew...feel free to take a photo with our new "friends"!! HA!

LAYOUT PARTY

We're having a "Layout Party" at Maple Memories!! No, that doesn't mean that we're all grabbing our swimsuits and lawn chairs and basking under the sun all day. That would certainly get the neighbors attention wouldn't it!!?? :)

We want to see your SCRAPBOOK layouts!! So, add your link to MrLinky below. Remember to insert the link to your POST showing the layout, and not to the main blog. Send your blog viewers over to see others work for inspiration!

"MOM, can we please play with the rice buckets?"

Ribbons and Stickles have become some of my favorite embellishments. What are yours?

"it all leads to a TICKLE FIGHT!"

There was such an odd combination of colors in what the people were wearing and the carpet they were on. A multicolored patterned paper tied it all together.

Don't forget to add your link so that we can see what you've been up too!!

Home Office Makeover

Sarah, over at Thrifty Decor Chick, is having a Before and After Party!! I love looking at the projects that people are working on and are continually amazed by the transformations. Head on over to her blog and be prepared to be inspired!! Keep reading to see our addition to her party!!!

Here's our home office BEFORE picture.

My husband works from home and I was feeling guilty that he had to work under these conditions. When we moved, we spent all our time getting the kids' and their rooms settled that the adults were kind of neglected. His office became the room to throw all the stuff we weren't ready to deal with. So, one weekend when he went on a hunting trip, I enlisted the help of my Dad....24 hours later my husband's office went from THAT to THIS...

"Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life."

When my husband returned home, he was so surprised (we had kept the whole thing a secret)!!!

Friday Feature - McPherson Water Park

After spending a majority of the Summer at the McPherson Water Park, I just can't say enough good things about it. I mean where else can you still get in for the day for $1.00 and get candy at the concession stand for 10 CENTS!!??? No, I'm not kidding!!

The McPherson Water Park offers fun for all ages. There is a 500 foot lazy river, Giant Water Slide, deep diving area, and an 8 lane 50 meter pool. There is a zero depth entry pool, Bulldog slide, and the children's spray area for the little ones.

Zero Depth entry pool. The colored lines underwater indicate a depth change. It's great because you can figure out where your child STOPS being able to reach and let them know that they shouldn't go past the blue line or the red line.

Kids Squirt Park area. They love the anticipation of waiting for the buckets to fill and dump on their little heads!!

Don't the colors just make you happy!!?? Yes, I've seen many an adult stand under them with the giddy anticipation as well!!

Lazy River. They also offer Water Walking in the Lazy River two times a day. You can walk AGAINST the current. I'm telling you, it's more of a workout than one might think!! If you need to stretch your legs while staying at Maple Memories, this would be a great activity for your group!! I think it's just a dollar a person if you come just for Water Walking. Check it out!!

Last, but not least, BIRTHDAY PARTIES!!! You can rent the party shelter for 2 hours for only $10.00. My daughter wanted her birthday there this year...it was a blast!! She wanted a "Water Park Cake" with the water slide and Squirt Park and diving boards and swimmers and lifeguards...OH MY!!! I did my best...

and had LOTS of fun being creative, and eating candy, while making it!! ENJOY SOME FUN AT MCPHERSON WATER PARK!!! Come on Family Night (Fridays) and the WHOLE family gets in for $5.00!!!

McPherson Water Park, 511 Lakeside Dr, McPherson, KS 620-245-2578

Drab to Fab

This spot in the master bathroom has been looking a little drab. It was missing something.


That is when I remembered this...


A plain brown frame, with no glass, that I had purchased for 50 cents at a garage sale. Painted it with a little black spray paint (2 coats). Discovered that Kansas wind makes spray painting...ummm...interesting!!??


Let it dry (this is my LEAST favorite part...I get antsy!) and then distressed it just a bit with sandpaper. The cross is brown with a little black showing through, so I decided to show the opposite affect on the frame. It's painted black with the brown wood of the original frame peaking through.

I am so excited about the way that it turned out!!! Amazing how the cross suddenly seems bigger and is no longer "lost" against the wall. Not bad for a $2.00 Hobby Lobby cross and a 50 cent garage sale frame!

Now for some new towels and a shower curtain to add that extra splash of color!! Do you think a little spray paint would do the trick!? HA!