Eileen

Beach Printables for Summertime Decor

July 13, 2017 by Eileen

We are in the midst of a heatwave over here – it’s hot, muggy, humid, and I’m trying to spend as much time as I can indoors – blasting the air conditioning. A better idea would be to head to the beach, as it’s perfect beach weather.

Today for our Summer Blog Hop, our friend Victoria at Dazzled While Frazzled is sharing her love and her printables for the beach. She created gorgeous summertime beach printables that she’s giving away on her blog that capture the true essence of beach season in the summertime.

Victoria used these summertime beach printables to create a seasonal gallery and even gives a few tips on how to create a theme wall. I LOVE her ideas – especially the baking tray one. Head on over to her blog to check out the printables and tips.

Be sure to hop on over to Victoria’s blog for her summer printables!

Here are some fun facts about Victoria:

Who is the most intelligent person you know? My husband is pretty street smart and has a great way of dealing with people. I admire his ease of making conversation with anyone and remaining calm in the face of *junk*.

If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? I’d love to go back to the Roaring ‘40s. I absolutely love how the women dressed.

If you are just joining us for our Summer Blog Hop, every summer Monday and Thursday we are sharing DIY inspiration from 10 awesome crafty bloggers. We’ve shared some great DIY projects so far and have a lot more coming!

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

From Play Dates to Parties
JENerally Informed
Hey Fitzy
Dazzle While Frazzled
Just Measuring Up
Health, Home, and Heart
Crafting a Family
A Purdy Little House
Confessions of a Mommyaholic
The No Pressure Life
Flourish and Knot

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Remember to come back on Monday for more DIY inspiration.

10 Ways to Save on Amazon Prime Day

July 10, 2017 by Eileen 16 Comments

Over here, we a little Amazon-Prime-obsessed.

Our mudroom always has Amazon boxes in it, waiting to emptied or waiting to be recycled.

I mean, when you have two little kids in diapers with nap times that span the whole day, there’s no easier way to shop for what you need.

Not only that, we’ve gotten some pretty cool tools and DIY-related things on Amazon.

So, Prime Day is like our birthday.

And what better way to celebrate than to share with you 10 ways to save on Amazon Prime Day.

Be Prepared

Amazon Prime Day starts on July 16th at 3pm. Mark your calendar!

Think About How You Can Save

Think about things you need to buy now or in the future, so you can get the most out of the discounts. Is there a tool you’ve had your eye on? Are their Christmas present ideas that could help you with early shopping? Think about how you can best benefit from the deals.

Become a Prime Member

If you aren’t a Prime Member, you can sign up for a 30 day FREE trial. You can’t beat that!

Download the Amazon App for Automatic Discount

If you’ve never downloaded the Amazon app before (and you are a prime member), you’ll get a one-time $10 discount off your purchase.

Use the Amazon App to Unlock Discounts

If you’ve already downloaded the Amazon app, you won’t qualify for the above discount. However, there are more ways to save. For example, if you use the Camera Search within the app, you’ll get a $5 discount.

Take Advantage of Sneak Peeks

If you download the Amazon app, you can get sneak peeks on the deals and set up alerts ahead of time.

Install Amazon Assistant

If you’re a Prime member and you install Amazon Assistant (to get desktop notifications on deals), you’ll get $5 off your purchase of $25.

“Watch” the Deals

Once Prime Day starts, you’ll see tons of deals – some will be advertised before they start. You can click “watch” and then you’ll get notified right before the deal goes live.

Don’t Forget About Whole Foods

Not only will Whole Foods be offering some exclusive deals, but Prime members are getting 10% off their entire purchase at Whole Foods on Amazon Prime Day. Whoa!

Check Other Stores

Other big stores like Home Depot or Lowes tend to also run sales on Prime Day, so don’t forget to check out what they have to offer too, especially if you’re looking for a particular item.

There are definitely some awesome ways to save this year, so definitely try and take advantage of them. I know that we will be! And, come back to our blog on Amazon Prime Day because we will be sharing the best DIY deals with you!

Click here for even more Prime Day shopping tips.

How to Plan a Kid-Friendly Picnic in Your Backyard

July 10, 2017 by Eileen 3 Comments

There’s nothing better than the lazy days of summer. We’ve had a lot of cool mornings and evenings here, which we love to spend enjoying the outdoors.

Speaking of outdoors, our friend Susan at Crafting a Family is sharing an awesome post today for our Summer Blog Hop about how to have a kid-friendly picnic in your backyard.

From fun picnic recipes to DIY placemats, Susan details exactly how to throw an amazing backyard picnic for kids. Before the summer gets away from us, we’ll definitely be planning a backyard picnic. It’s an easy summer bucket list item that kids just love 🙂

Susan even shares free printables to make a cute summer banner for your backyard picnic.

Be sure to hop on over to Susan’s blog for her kid-friendly picnic recipes and printables!

Here are some fun facts about Susan:

Why did you start blogging? I started blogging to share my and our family recipes and crafts with my two older girls who are on their own and now cooking and crafting with their family and friends. I soon found out what fun blogging is and how I enjoy connecting with other bloggers and moms.

What is something you learned in the last week? This past week I have been learning how to improve my blog’s SEO.

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Remember to come back on Thursday for more DIY inspiration.

Easy Corn Cake Recipe (Traditional Huminta)

July 3, 2017 by Eileen

Happy 4th of July, friends! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday weekend. If you are still looking for a great barbecue recipe for tomorrow, impress your friends with this corn cake recipe – a South American traditional corn bread.

As part of our Summer Blog Hop, our friend Leslie, over at From Playdates to Parties is sharing her family recipe for Bolivian Cornbread (or Huminta) that is both meaningful and looks amazing. The ingredients may surprise you – but the taste will leave you wanting more.

I love when Leslie shares recipes because she not only details the instructions, but she gives notes and tips of what has worked for her – and what hasn’t. It’s perfect for people like me – whose cooking always seems to be trial and error 🙂

Leslie also shares a little background about the traditional corn cake recipe – and how it came to be a staple in their family.

Be sure to hop on over to Leslie’s blog for the Huminta recipe!

Here are some fun facts about Leslie:

What is your favorite social media platform, and why? Pinterest is where I go to find things, but lately I’ve been loving Instagram for finding new people.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Try to go back to sleep.

And, if you are just joining us, twice a week for the entire summer we are sharing awesome DIY posts from some very talented bloggers. We have DIY projects, crafty tutorials, kids activities, free printables, and recipes. So much fun, right?!

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Remember to come back on Thursday for more DIY inspiration – and up next is us! We’ll be featuring our new craft room debut 🙂 It’s a good one!

The Secret to Organizing Home Projects & Repairs – Free Printables

June 29, 2017 by Eileen 48 Comments

While in the paint store the other day, a lady looked at my samples and said to me with a smile, “Choosing a paint color is more difficult than buying a car.”

I laughed, looking down at my dozens of shades of blues and greens.

I was sitting in the paint store with my toddler (who behaves perfectly when he gets to choose his own paint chip at the end) looking through samples of whites and greens, in an attempt to choose colors for my parents’ living and dining room.

Also in hand, I had a sample of the flooring we were putting in, and I was trying to envision the white chair rail running through the dining room. It was a little overwhelming!

You see, my sister decided to redo my parents living room and dining room while they were on vacation, so we were making all of the remodeling choices, leaving my desk looking like this:

Rather than dumping all the paint chips and floor samples in a drawer, I wanted to have everything organized for my parents – so they could see the exact paint colors and flooring sample we used, for their own reference. Thus, my DIY home improvement printables were born!

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place to store your paint chips and room samples along with notes on the work you did or had done in your home? Heck yeah! And, I needed this organization for my own home too.

Keep Your Home Improvement Efforts Organized

I created these free DIY home improvement printables that I used for my parents house as well as my home – to store all of the home improvement updates in one, easy-to-access place.

Not only will the home improvement printables keep a reference of paint colors and floor samples, but it serves as a record for all of your house projects and repairs. I divided the worksheets into three categories – interior, exterior, and appliances.

You can keep a log of the home improvement work you or your contractor completed by room (including walls, floors, cabinets, countertops). This serves as your paint color reference too.

You can keep your exterior work organized (tree work, siding, roof, etc), and appliance maintenance (including when they were serviced/replaced and contractor information). The DIY home improvement printables keep all of these records organized in one place.

Also, you can download all of the worksheets in one download, or you can download just the pages you need, but these printables will have you organized in no time!

Simply hole punch them or put the printables in a sheet protector and place them in a binder, according to section. You can also keep contractor receipts and records, stored behind the log of the work done.

No more digging through file folders looking for the contractor that installed your fans. No more searching the garage for that leftover can of paint that may or may not exist.

And, the best part?

Down the road, when you go to put your house on the market, you can leave out the bound home improvement printables for your showings. It will show prospective buyers that you took great care of your home and are leaving them with information that goes above and beyond.

With all of the time you spend updating your home – choosing paint colors, installing new flooring, researching contractors, you owe it to yourself to keep all of this home improvement information in one easy-to-find place.

All of your home improvement updates, records, and files can be placed in this binder, in an organized, seamless fashion.

Easy DIY String Art Tutorial

June 29, 2017 by Eileen

If you need a little craft to keep your sanity before (or during) the holiday weekend, we have an awesome idea for you – string art! Our friend Sarah, over at Sarah at Flourish and Knot is sharing with us how to make a cool string art piece.

Sarah grabbed all of her materials from her crafty stash (I love a free project!) and came up with his sweet string art in the shape a maple leaf for Canada Day.

Her easy DIY string art tutorial is awesome, as she really simplified the steps to make an easy craft. And, following her steps, you can make any shape you’d like.

String art is everywhere these days, and I’ve been meaning to try it. Thanks for the inspiration, Sarah!

Be sure to hop on over to Sarah’s post to see how she made this awesome string art!

Here are some fun facts about Sarah:

If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for? An elegant yet relaxed backyard anniversary garden party for my parents (not that I’m planning one or anything!)

What was the last book you read? I am re-reading the Harry Potter series again. Since I’m on book 5, I guess you could say that I’ve read them 9 3/4 times.

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Remember to come back on Monday for more DIY inspiration.

7 Easy Patriotic Recipes for 4th of July

June 26, 2017 by Eileen

With June coming to an end (seriously, where does the time go!?), it’s time to start thinking about the 4th of July. Boy, did it come fast this year. Around here, we LOVE all the summer holidays because that means a day off for Ash and more family time for us 🙂

If the 4th of July sneaked up on you too – don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time to make plans to see a fireworks show, do a cute little craft with your kids, or make some patriotic recipes. Heck, we even have something to help you out.

As part of our summer blog hop, Amy at Health, Home, and Heart is sharing seven patriotic summer recipes. From berry kabobs to fruit-filled patriotic popsicles, her 4th of July recipes are easy and festive. Pictured below is our favorite from her round-up.

Also, here are some fun facts about Amy:

What is one thing you will never do again? Pierce my tongue. Ha! Yes, I actually got the crazy notion to do this in college, and it didn’t go so well…

If you could bring one fictional character to life, who would it be and why? Harry Potter. I think it would be a blast to hang out with him and have fun with all of his wizarding tricks.

Hop on over to Amy’s post for her patriotic recipes!

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

Listed below are the awesome DIY bloggers that we are collaborating with this summer. When you get a chance, definitely check out their blogs – I’m sure you’ll love them!

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Also, remember to come back on Thursday for more DIY inspiration.

Homemade Blackberry Lemonade – The Perfect Summer Beverage

June 22, 2017 by Eileen

Welcome back to our DIY Summer Blog Hop, where along with 10 other bloggers we are sharing all kinds of do-it-yourself inspiration all summer long.

So far, we’ve shared free summer printables, a crunchy granola recipe, patriotic banners and wreaths, and a three-ingredient peach cobbler (links to all posts are at the bottom of the page). Every Monday and Thursday, we will be back to bring you new summer DIY posts, so keep visiting for lots of cool ideas 🙂

Today, Amy at Health, Home, and Heart is sharing an awesome recipe for blackberry lemonade. There is nothing better than a cool, refreshing drink on a hot summer day – and boy, have we had some hot ones! This blackberry lemonade recipe is delicious, and it will also cool you off in no time.

Being that it’s made from fresh blackberries and lemons, it’s free of natural and artificial flavors and all those other “lovely” ingredients that are hiding in processed powders and drinks. This is a summer drink recipe you’ll definitely want to try, and you won’t feel guilty in doing so.

Also, here are some fun facts about Amy:

What’s the best meal you ever had? My favorite restaurant here in town is called Flight. The food is absolutely to die for. Last time we were there, I had the gulf snapper with tropical mango salsa and coconut rice, and it was out of this world. All of their food is amazing though.

What’s your favorite zoo animal and why? The red panda. I just think they are the most adorable things ever. They remind me a bit of a cat, and I am a big cat lover. They are also grouped with the large cats at our zoo, so I get to see all my favorites in one area.

Hop on over to Amy’s post for her delicious blackberry lemonade recipe!

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

Listed below are the awesome DIY bloggers that we are collaborating with this summer. When you get a chance, definitely check out their blogs – I’m sure you’ll love them!

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Also, remember to come back on Monday for more DIY inspiration.

How to Make an Easy 4th of July Wreath (Without Using Glue)

June 19, 2017 by Eileen

It’s another day of our summer blog hop! I hope everyone had a great Father’s Day weekend. Our little guy made a cute craft for Ash and used his alphabet stickers to spell out words like “Daddy” and “love.”

I definitely had a proud mommy moment when our little guy “read” the words we spelled out. Then, he sang a little Father’s Day song, which was a interesting version of Happy Birthday. 🙂 Ash loved it and I actually got the whole thing on video (usually I forget to hit record…)

If you are just joining us, twice a week for the entire summer we are sharing awesome DIY posts from some very talented bloggers. We have DIY projects, crafty tutorials, kids activities, free printables, and recipes. So much fun, right?!

Today, Laura at The No Pressure Life is sharing how to make a simple DIY wreath for the 4th of July. She uses creative items – like those wicker plates that were so commonly used at BBQs to hold paper plates. What a great upcycle!

It’s a quick craft that only needs a few items – and the best part? For this 4th of July wreath, you don’t even need glue!

Here are some fun facts about Laura:

What is your favorite song right now? “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur

What is your proudest accomplishment? My kids, hands down.

Hop on over to Laura’s post to see how she made this patriotic wreath!

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

If you missed any of our Summer Blog Hop posts, they are listed below! Remember to come back on Thursday for more DIY inspiration.

Toddler Room Makeover Reveal – Paint, Decor, and More

June 18, 2017 by Eileen 39 Comments

I love a great room makeover. It’s so satisfying to bring new life to an old or overlooked space.

Our latest project has been turning our current guest room into a toddler room for our son. He’s outgrown his nursery, there’s no longer a need for the changing table, and his interests are well beyond the Winnie the Pooh decorations I hung around the nursery well before he was born.

So it was time for an upgrade.

Kids Room Makeover Reveal - Using Old and New Things for a Brand-new Room In upgrading our son’s room to a toddler room, we wanted to use what we had and buy only what we needed. We usually will try to find the best deals on things we need to buy – and then try to make or find other things. That’s exactly what we did with this makeover, and the toddler room makeover turned out fantastic!

Before

Our plan was to move our son to our current guest room (more details on this below). Our current guest room was pretty ordinary – we just had a bed and a few nightstands on a pretty blue carpet. The walls were painted stark white – as the whole house was when we moved in. It’s very bright and severe, so we have been slowly changing this stark white to softer and warmer colors, but we hadn’t gotten around to this room yet. This toddler room makeover couldn’t come soon enough!

Here are a few before pictures prior to the toddler room makeover, when it was a guest room.

Toddler Room Makeover Reveal - "Before"

Another Before

Ash and I decided to convert the guest room to our son’s toddler room, rather than transform his nursery. His nursery had a very interesting accent wall – there were Charlie Brown zig-zags with colorful confetti squares over the middle of one of the walls. This wasn’t our design – it was there when we moved in, but we hadn’t had time to change it before settling in.

So moving our little guy to the guest room would give us time to makeover this room too. Or at least, that wall 🙂

As you can see, a toddler room was going to be a huge and much-needed upgrade.

After

And, here are a few afters of our son’s toddler room. He was beyond excited when he saw it all come together.

Toddler Room Makeover Reveal - After

Decorating Kids Rooms with DIY Wall Art

A Fresh Color

So, the first order of business in this toddler room makeover was to paint the walls. In prepping for paint, we took down the old black valance as well as the old vinyl blinds, with plans to completely replace these.

For the toddler room makeover, we partnered with Colorhouse Paint, whose paint we loved. They make extremely low VOC paint. The VOC content of their paint is the lowest I’ve ever seen which is 3 grams per liter (this is the amount for untinted painted), and their VOC emissions are zero after 14 days (also for untinted). As for the paint itself, it was easy to work with and the fumes were so minimal.

It was important to us to use a low VOC paint because we always try to keep any kind of chemical use in our home to a minimum. Colorhouse paint was perfect for us, and we love how environmentally-friendly their company is.

Using Colorhouse Paint Imagine .06 in the Kids Room Reveal In choosing a color, we went with a light creamy color called Imagine .06. With a dark blue carpet, we didn’t want any color clashes – even though it was a kids room. Growing up, my bedroom had pink walls and an army yellow-green carpet. And, that was after the paneling that covered the walls was replaced – so I couldn’t go back there 🙂

Ash and I figured that we would do a light neutral color on the walls and then bring in more color with wall decorations, curtains, and other accents.

Perfect Compliment

The color Imagine .06 was the perfect compliment to the dark blue carpet. The previously-painted white that looked so severe was replaced with a warm color that beautifully softened the room.

In the below picture, you can see the white ceiling in comparison to the freshly painted walls. Prior to the paint, both the ceiling and the walls were the same bright white. It was a huge difference because it brought such warmth to previously stifled room.

Kids Room Makeover using Colorhouse Paint Imagine .06 The paint was great to work with. It was thick and creamy and covered the walls really nicely. We did two coats and made sure to stir often while painting.

Here is my pal Zeus, posing prior to painting. He saw me snapping pictures of the paint and jumped in the photo – he loves posing for pictures because he knows he gets treats afterwards 🙂

Furnishing the New Room

With the paint on the walls, it was time to make a plan for furniture. We definitely needed a toddler bed, so after tons of research and reviews, we found one on Amazon that we were comfortable with.

The toddler bed we purchased was the same size as a crib (so crib sheets will still fit), and it was low to the ground, the same as the lowest crib setting. The thing that stood out about this bed was we liked the railings it had. It was completely railed in, except for the middle of both sides.

As an added bonus, the bed turns into two chairs, when it’s no longer needed as a bed. It was excellent quality too – and not bad to assemble.

Furnishing a Toddler Room We also picked out a new dresser and a cubby bookshelf. I love cubby bookshelves in kids rooms because the cubes are the perfect size for holding books.

We have a few of these cubby shelves scattered around the house and love the versatility – they can be used horizontally or vertically. You can use bins or baskets to keep things organized within the cubbies too. We set ours up horizontally to keep everything low to the ground with a little one.

Furnishing a Toddler Room

New Curtains

For drapery, I had my eyes set on thick navy and white striped curtains. Tons of stores have them, but I didn’t love the price.

I thought about making them myself – but the fabric came to about $50, which was around the same price as I was avoiding. I finally found them at Walmart for $13 bucks each! Isn’t shopping around the best?!

Turning a Guest Room into a Toddler Room With the furniture in place, it was time to start moving in the decorations, books, and toys 🙂

Wall Decor

As far as decorations, I wanted to use colorful decorations since we painted the walls such a neutral color. After searching high and low for cute things to decorate with, I decided to make my own wall decorations out of canvas, wall stickers, and washi tape. Buying wall decor at fancy shops and even Etsy can add up – so in creating my own wall decor, I saved money and also made something my son adored.

And, I have a whole post on how you can make these DIY wall decorations too 🙂

Toddler Room Makeover Reveal with DIY Wall Decor The best part? Should my son get tired of the trucks, I can easily remove the stickers from the canvas and replace them with whatever he’s into next 🙂

Finishing Touches

Last, we added the finishing touches. We ordered a toddler bedding set on Amazon after reading tons of reviews. We are so happy with it – the bedding set is made of cotton muslin fabric and is very soft. The bottom fitted sheet is attached to the top sheet – so the top sheet can’t fall off in the night. The comforter is not heavy, but has about four layers, perfect for cold nights.

It also came with a toddler pillow and pillow case. All of these items can add up when bought individually, so we feel we definitely saved buying them together.

As an added bonus, this toddler bed also uses crib sheets – so we can use these too as backups. We’ve spent very little on bedding for our son – I don’t think we’ve even bought new sheets since he was born, so we definitely wanted another high-quality set.

Toys, Books & Other Decor

Next, in decorating, we wanted to use things we had – so we moved in some of his favorite toys. We placed his spaceship tent, that our son LOVES, in the corner of the room. It collapses into a thin circle for easy mobility – and it has survived rough toddler play.

For a reading spot, we moved his stuffed panda up from his playroom. It’s a huge stuffed animal that makes for a very comfy chair 🙂

Last we moved in a few toys and garage sale finds – like the toy garage, a toy fire truck, a few old cars to go with the vehicle theme, and of course, his tons and tons of books.

And, the red alphabet wall hanging (pictured above) is one of my favorites. It’s an alphabet board, where you place the item that goes with the letter in the pocket. It was a $3 flea market find – and I was able to make more items out of felt. I love a good educational tool 🙂

Toddler Room Makeover Reveal Decorating a Boy Toddler Room

Turning a Guest Room into a Cute Toddler Boys Room All in all, we are very happy with the toddler room makeover. It was a much-needed upgrade from the days of changing tables, rocking chairs, and cribs. Our son now has a room which fits his age – that he absolutely loves. Everything came together really nicely – the fresh paint from Colorhouse, the curtains, the decor, and the furniture.

If you are looking to do a toddler room makeover, you can definitely get by with the basics – fresh paint and age-appropriate furniture. Then, you can use DIY wall decor and the toys/books/knick-knacks you already have 🙂 It will come together perfectly!

Toddler Room Makeover Reveal

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Eileen

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

Be Prepared

Think About How You Can Save

Become a Prime Member

Download the Amazon App for Automatic Discount

Use the Amazon App to Unlock Discounts

Take Advantage of Sneak Peeks

Install Amazon Assistant

“Watch” the Deals

Don’t Forget About Whole Foods

Check Other Stores

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

Keep Your Home Improvement Efforts Organized

And, the best part?

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

2017 Summer Blog Hop Co-Hosts:

Before

Another Before

After

A Fresh Color

Perfect Compliment

Furnishing the New Room

New Curtains

Wall Decor

Finishing Touches

Toys, Books & Other Decor