DIY

SOCK it to me!

February 17, 2017 by Monica Leave a Comment

Happy February all!

If any of my readers are somewhat neurotic like me when it comes to socks, then here is the DIY for you :O)

I don’t know what it is about seeing those lonely, unmatched, cotton souls lying lifeless at the bottom of the laundry basket, but it just boils my blood.

Many of you might have just slowly scrolled up to the top right hand corner of this screen and hit the X button, deciding that I am incredibly too intense for you…over socks.

And that’s okay.

If you’re still with me, and also share my pain,( or are even slightly intrigued…) here is my HOW TO for this fun and fabulous Up Cycled Lost Sock wreath. Problem solved!!!

Materials:

mismatched socks

12 inch wreath form

glue gun/ toothpicks

Step 1:

Gather your lonely socks. Obviously the more brightly colored ones make for a pretty colorful end product. But if you are only a WHITE sock household, then grab those blanco babies and tell your little ones to have at them with some markers and puffy paint!

Step 2:

Cut off the “toe” part of the sock- to create a tube effect.

Step 3:

Use a sharp edge or puncture the wreath form with scissors to separate.

Step 4:

Channeling the neurotic Monica again… I laid out the socks first, to make sure the patterns and colors were spread out. This is totally optional. I think you should do it, though. Haha.

Step 5:

Take your first sock, and pull over the new opening. “Shimmy” it on down the wreath form until it is on the opposite side. There might be a bit of styrofoam bits and pieces falling off as you do this- no worries-this is normal and you’re doing great!

Step 6:

Continue working the socks over the opening and into line with the other socks- pushing them as close together as you would like- depending on your amount of socks. This is super fun for the kiddies- put’ em to work! Grab a magazine and a latte.

Step 7:

When you are finished covering the wreath form, leave a bit of room on each end to CLOSE the wreath. If you have a glue gun- fill the gap with glue and quickly & firmly press/hold wreath back together.

If you only have toothpicks in your home- push them into both sides, halfway, and then press the wreath together- securing the picks into each side.

Step 8:

Cover your separated part with the closest socks.

Add a bow, if you want. And secure a little knot in the back for hanging.

VOILA!

Enjoy!

I hope you try, and send me pictures of your finished wreaths!

Until next time…

Going On A Bear Hunt ( plus a DIY, and a challenge!)

November 2, 2016 by Monica 4 Comments

“Going on a Bear Hunt” – American Folk Song

We’re goin’ on a bear hunt
(We’re goin’ on a bear hunt)
We’re going to catch a big one,
(We’re going to catch a big one,)I’m not scared
(I’m not scared)
What a beautiful day!
(What a beautiful day!)

Uh-uh!
Grass!
Long wavy grass.
We can’t go over it.
We can’t go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy! Swishy swashy!

Chorus: We’re going on a bear hunt…

Uh-uh!
A river!
A deep cold river.
We can’t go over it.
We can’t go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Splash splosh! Splash splosh! Splash splosh!

“Can’t go over it.

Can’t go under it.

Gotta go THROUGH it.”

Why is it that, as we tread through life, we seem to do everything in our power to AVOID pain & suffering?

We certainly do not welcome the growing pains…

When we have our eyes on the prize, (get that BEAR!) it’s so much easier to “take the pain” in stride- understand it, somewhat appreciate it.

We KNOW why it’s here. To make us STRONGER

MY favorite group class at the gym is called Triple Threat.

My neighbor says, “Well that just SOUNDS scary!”

It is. And I love it. I scream, yell, grunt, and sweat my tail end off- at times, wondering if I’ll make it through.

Why do I put myself through this?

Just like any other exercise fanatic, I have my end goal in mind while I think I might pass out and die.

So, I press on.

So why do I find it so hard to keep that same mentality when LIFE throws me curve balls? I tend to stare blankly and yell, “that’s not fair!” Like a 2-year-old.

Am I alone? Anyone with me on this?

Things would certainly be easier if it followed the general rule of checks & balances. For instance – if I’ve been good & kind, and haven’t shot anyone recently, life should be relatively easy.

But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

We all know the famous inquisition “why do bad things happen to good people? ”

I think to the song ” God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts and to an even older classic-

“Unanswered Prayers” by Garth Brooks.

Would you REALLY like everything to go 100% smoothly ALL THE TIME? Or to get everything you’ve ever wanted? JUST. LIKE. THAT? Sure, it would be easier, but where would our motivation be? What would spark our drive? What would shape our goals?

These stumbles and shortcomings can and should fuel us for the ultimate end prize. How good does it feel to truly deserve something?

On the flip side, have you ever been the recipient of something you didn’t quite feel you deserved? It’s kind of a crazy, awkward feeling. Like one of those creepy portraits with the eyes that seem to follow you wherever you go. Slightly haunting.

But either way, things in life don’t always go as planned. And I have come to realize that’s okay. I don’t have to have all the answers right now, or know what 5 years down the road will hold. There’s a beautiful peace in life that comes when you just TRUST. Trust in the good. And the bad.

Have you ever been part of a team building exercise? You know, the “trust fall” or the “human web”? The point of these activities is to build faith & relationships and encourage you to trust in the somewhat out-of-the-box methods to achieve the end goal. How awesome did it feel at the end of those exercises? To look back and see the path taken, with all its twists & turns. It felt good. To trust.

I’d like to challenge you to be open to unseen possibilities and to go at life’s closed doors with a grateful heart, and accept the good with the bad.

Without pain, there is no gain.

You know who is a perfect example of perseverance? Get ready for it… a baby. That’s right. A young, innocent, naive human is a stellar example of pressing onward in the face of adversity.

When first learning to walk, at usually less than 400 days old, a tiny human can stumble and fall hundreds of times before actually succeeding. Now, I could be wrong on this statistic, but I have never known a baby who just went on strike, refusing to walk- tired, weak, overridden with their self-doubt, virtually paralyzed with fear from all the inevitable tumbles. In fact, my observations of my own 3 girls and countless others have been that there seems to be an innate sense of sheer grit, that cannot be taught, present inside each child during this stage. They KNOW they are meant for, and therefore capable of MORE, so they endure the pain, (knots on noggins, much?) and press on toward the coveted prize of independence. In the end- their repeated attempts produce strength, balance, confidence and ultimately success, and it is truly an amazing thing to observe.

And so, I attempt to learn yet another lesson from my own offspring. They are fabulous teachers. And singers…

Chorus: We’re going on a bear hunt…

Uh-uh!
Mud!
Thick oozy mud.
We can’t go over it,
We can’t go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Squelch squerch! Squelch squerch! Squelch squerch!

Chorus: We’re going on a bear hunt…

Uh-uh!
A forest!
A big dark forest.
We can’t go over it.
We can’t go under it.
Oh no!
We’ve got to go through it!
Stumble trip! Stumble trip! Stumble trip!

May you grow stronger and show your true GRIT through the stumbles and falls in your life…

It will produce endurance…which is a great thing to have-

In this beautiful Bear Hunt we call Life.

Please join me in my NOVEMBER THANKFUL CHALLENGE:

If you are on Instagram*,( with the hashtag #iamgrateful), use this list as a guide, and please join me in shouting out our blessings, day by day, through this month.

*You do not have to be on social media to accept this challenge!*

DIY BONUS-

November Moss Wreath

My supplies:

a 12 inch styrofoam wreath form, 3 bags of moss, a roll of brown Fall suede ribbon, small pumpkins ( fake or real)

I laid out the moss on the top part of the wreath form, just to get a look at it. Then I started to hot glue. Starting with the top, then sides. BE CAREFUL

. I put 2 toothpicks/wooden skewers into the wreath form, and then secured the pumpkins on.

I wrapped the Fall ribbon around and into a bow. I’m thrilled! Happy November to all.

I am thankful for all of YOU!

Autumn Crafting Inspiration!

October 19, 2016 by Monica 4 Comments

Hi All!

I wanted to pool together my recent Autumn crafting activities into a post- to hopefully inspire and get that craftiness within going! This is honestly such a fun time of year to dive into projects- whether they be for your home, a kid’s party, a food filled gathering- just try something!

I’ll start with my most recent craft-

The DUCK TAPE PUMPKIN.

I have been looking for ways to decorate our family of pumpkins without actually carving- our neighborhood squirrels are nuts. Haha. But really, they take our pumpkins prisoners and pretty much destroy them as soon as they are set out carved. I also found that all the fun & pretty decorations would just fall off in the rain. Boo! So- when I stumbled upon the idea of using the MANY different styles of DUCK TAPE- it was a no-brainer! Sign me up!

I just went to Joann’s and enjoyed their variety of tape. Even more online! Imagine the possibilities??!!

I picked purple with owls ( feeding my owl obsession) & went home to start!

I grabbed a pumpkin- the size they give you at the patch when you go to the festivals.( I thought this was a good size to experiment on…)

And then just started at the top, under the stem, and ran the first piece down to the bottom of the pumpkin-I put the kiddies in charge of smoothing out the bumps as we went along.

They loved helping and watching the pumpkin transform from orange to patterned!!

REPEAT until the whole pumpkin is covered!

So very kid friendly and it will last!!

Enjoy making!

NEXT Autumn craft :

The Acorn Wreath

Again, super kid friendly- my daughters ( 2,4,6) collected all the nuts!

I began with a flat topped Styrofoam wreath form, available at your local craft store, and wrapped it in lacy burlap ( left over from my lampshade redo.) I find that things stick to an actual material better than they do the Styrofoam.

Then, start on the outside edge, and begin gluing! I decided to face them all the same direction for a more uniform look, But I did not discriminate with the color, texture, size of the acorns. I think they are all beautiful and it was a natural creation to mix them all.

Make sure something good is on the TV, or you are listening to a book on tape because, this does take a while. But it is the mindless busy. You can do it!

Keep on gluing, and work your way into the very center of the wreath form. I was 4 acorns short, and had to wait until morning to go get more! Ah! But it was worth the wait.

Topped of with orange sparkly ribbon- and hang it somewhere!

Mine was originally inside, but our house temperature helped to pop out some sprouts! OOOO! So I relocated outside. NOT THINKING ABOUT THE SQUIRRELS.

Alas, this happened.

Boo!

I will replace them and try to find a location unknown to these little pests!

Wish me luck!

Happy making!

The last of my recent Autumn crafts was from a DIY challenge by my sister.

She tagged me on Facebook to a video: creating little Fall topiaries from tomato cages and garlands.

Challenge accepted!

Here is the video link-

http://www.hometalk.com/22543397/fall-topiary-with-lights?date=20161011

I didn’t fall in love with her bases, so when I went to Home Depot, I was on a hunt for something different.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this cute wooden box with a chalkboard paint front. Loved it!

I decided to only do 1, since my townhouse, inside and out, are spatially limited.

Went to the craft store, took advantage of the already reduced Fall prices on the garlands( bought 4- as recommended in the video), used my 20% off entire purchase coupon, and went to home to begin!

My hubby used a sharp saw to cut off the bottom circle base of the cage, and I used the 3 newly exposed poles to secure the cage into the wooden box. (I attached the 3 top poles with a rubberband.)

It was taller than I thought!

As soon as I began stringing the garlands, I quickly realized I would need more. So I stopped at 4, and went back to the store the next day.

Now, 7 total garlands total, covered the cage nicely.

I did not use wire or glue or anything to secure the garlands, I’m hoping to reuse this for a Christmas topiary.

I simply used the plastic-y ends and wrapped them around the next plastic-y end: almost tying them in a knot.

I was always tinkering with the up and down of the leaves, making my best attempt to cover open spots and the cage wire.

I made a bow out of leftover chevron burlap ribbon, and finished with a little wooden S for the box.

I”m thrilled. I am thinking of adding lights soon!

Enjoy!

Join me next time for some new and exciting DIY crafts!!

The Bare Necessities…The Simple Bare Necessities

October 17, 2016 by Monica 2 Comments

My family and I just watched the new Jungle Book by Disney put out in theaters recently. I have to say- well done! The graphics were intense and incredibly realistic, and the story- stayed true to the original written form. I love when books turned movies do that!

A highlight of the movie, for me, was familiarizing myself with the great songs from long ago. I found myself singing Baloo’s famous, “Bare Nessesities,” all weekend long. It poked at my curiosity to actually look up the lyrics- as it has me sold on the title alone.

The song begins and ends with this…

“Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities
Forget about your worries and your strife

And don’t spend your time lookin’ around
For something you want that can’t be found
When you find out you can live without it
And go along not thinkin’ about it
I’ll tell you something true

The bare necessities of life will come to you”

Original song written by Tony Bennett

I LOVE THIS!!

Thank you, Tony, ( & Baloo) for weighing in on a pertinent topic!

Question: Do you think you have A LOT on your plate?

Second question: WHO put all that on your plate?

If there is ANY slight, eensy, teensy, weensy chance that you might have answered YOU, then continue reading.

If you answered someone else, then go ahead and slap them in the face.

Just kidding. Keep reading, too. You need it. You just contemplated slapping someone.

As a stay at home mom, there is an innate need to fill my days with stuff. What kind of stuff, you ask?

Well, things that make me look and feel like I’m doing my children, and therefore the world( of course) a great service.

But there is huge flaw in this mindset. I can’t do it all. Not because I lack the skills, time or monetary purse to fund such endeavors. It simple comes down to necessity.

Why do we run and sign up for every opportunity to “help out”? I REEEEAAALLYY want to say it’s because the human race is the extremely generous and cannot sleep without giving 100% to each other. Sadly, this is false.

I believe we are trying simply too hard to fill our days. And with what?

If you are sitting in a room full of people, and a clipboard goes around asking for volunteers for ____ ( fill in the blank), a daunting number of these anonymous individuals will sign up. And not necessarily because they want to help. Admit it: it just “looks good” when we try. But here’s a memo: trying doesn’t always cut it.

Statistically, the numbers drop as an event gets closer, and as the leader reaches out to the numerous once-cheerful helpers. Somehow life has gotten in the way. And that IS the simple truth.

Now, what does this all have to do with YOU?

YOU do not have to fill your minutes, hours, days and years with STUFF.

YOU, despite your natural inclination, are not being judged on how “much” you accomplish in a day’s time. I’d like to believe it is more about quality, and HOW you spend your time.

If you have done ONE thing, and done it well, I think you should be extremely proud.

Do you remember the slogan, ” KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid?” I do. It was written on a huge computer banner in one of my high school Math classes. According to Wikapedia, it was a design principal noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960.

“The KISS principal states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated:therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.”

If only I could live out this principal. Apparently- I tend to choose “unnecessary complexity.”

A quick personal example:

My oldest daughter is in Kindergarten. As some of you might know, this was my exact life’s profession in my pre-childbearing years. Kindergarten was my everything.

When Autumn went off to school this Fall, I jumped right in, and despite my better judgement, signed up for EVERYTHING. I thought it might help me be the best “Kindergarten mom” I could possibly be.

Spoiler alert- I was wrong.

The other day, the teacher reached out to me, ( slightly assuming I’m available at the last minute, or wait… I think I told her that I am…), and asked if I wanted to help the class make ant hats.

I, or course, agreed immediately, and turned an already tightly packed day into a full fledged frenzy. Eek. Begin the face slapping.

I’ll spare you the long winded details, but I’ll paint this image-

While I was busy stapling and gluing ant thoraxes and abdomens, my darling Quinn ( age 2 turning newborn, in her behaviors recently) has decided to pitch her socks and shoes, un-click her stroller brake, shimmy down the hallway behind me( while STILL strapped in, somehow), steadily crushing goldfish crackers and destroying any and every piece of beautiful wall art created by the young learners I was trying to aid.

In hindsight- I really shouldn’t have gone to help. I KNOW what Quinn is capable of. She is the biggest handful of a child on the planet. Honestly, she is. And I love her. But she’s a hot mess.

Why on earth did I think she was going to act any differently for this one time? Didn’t she get the extreme importance of my volunteering and my stay-at-home-mom self worth?

She did not, and chances are- neither will your children, or even other people in your life.

My TRYING wasn’t exactly enough. Certainly no brownie points awarded. I’m not saying the teacher wasn’t grateful. Quite the contrary-I received a very sweet email thanking me later that day. But what I figured I’d read was, “Thank you for coming, but please don’t come back…”

I am almost 100% sure that the chaos I ensued on her, and sadly the other children- as they received their tattered art work courtesy of Quinny Poo, far outweighed the “helpfulness” of my being there.

Lesson learned. And one solid point for the hubby. ( He MAY have warned me the day would go this way.)

I URGE you, please don’t follow in my footsteps.

If you manage to wake up, dress yourself, and care for those around you- you are accomplishing A LOT. More than you know. Autumn may remember that I came to school that day, and she may even ask me to do it again. But she will not determine how much she loves me, or what kind of a mother I am if I take a step back and politely decline the invitation.

I’m hoping it makes me a smarter, more loving, more well-balanced mom.

Knowing your limitations is a huge step in the right direction. The direction that seems to lead to a happier, uncomplicated life. And I dare to say, we CAN certainly do with a few less “worries & strife” to juggle.

I encourage you all to dial down your habitual “Yes” every once in a while; at least to anything that’s not a bare necessity. You won’t let anyone down, or do anyone a disservice. You will be doing yourself a favor. And you are worth that. Now, that’s something to check off on a list!

I bet you will actually enjoy the freedom, peace, and simplicity it brings. You might even have a minute to just breath and take in the scenery.

And who can say “NO” to that?

BONUS!!!!!!

The directions to the SIMPLE PAPER (!)WREATH

1.) I started with a 14 inch round thick Styrofoam wreath form( you could do 12 inch, too) and a bunch of packing paper from a neighbor’s Amazon delivery! Perfect! I cut 1 inch wide strips the length of the paper.

2.) I then twisted each strand of paper top to bottom.

3.) I hot glued the beginning of the strand to the Styrofoam, ( be CAREFUL with the glue!) and wrapped the twisted paper around and around, then fasted the end with more hot glue. I began the next strand where I left off.

4.) After wrapping what I thought was enough, I realized I needed a bunch more. Again, a super plus for the packing paper- there’s so much of it!

5.) I cut more strips and wrapped away.

6.) I added some adorable paper flowers ( available at your local craft store.)

I could not be more pleased with the end result. :O)

I hope you can create something simple, too! Cheers!!

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