Recovering like a champ

All fixed

Ouch those broken bones!

Ankle is broken in 3 spots

Uh oh, I fell down a hill

The Mitchell's before the "accident"

Snow skiing in North Carolina

Thank you Pinterest

Stockings hung with no holes in the wall!

I HATE cleaning our shower

Yah, who doesn't?  But I really detest it for 2 reasons.  First off, we have no fan or vent in our master bathroom, only a small window in the shower.  So when I blast the bleach cleaner everywhere, I get a major headache very quickly and can't stick around to put much manpower into scrubbing.  Secondly, we have a tile shower.  Guess what loves tile?  Mold and mildew.  Even more so when it's all damp and warm in there.




There is my sob story why my shower is always gross.  Recently I sent Matt to the store to get a strong cleaner for the tile.  He picked up this stuff -

Let me tell you.  This stuff is insane.  It's acid, so you have to be VERY, VERY, VERY careful with it.  It's so scary I don't want to use it by myself.  But Matt got ahold of our shower and went to town.  It was like night and day.  We had white grout and clean tile!

Fast forward a month later.  The tile in the center of the shower is still looking pretty good.  But the edges, ugh, so gross.  The mold has gotten pretty confident that I have been lazy and has returned with a vengeance.  I needed to tackle this problem and thought to use this cleaner for the mold.  WRONG.  Didn't work one bit.  So then I turned to Pinterest....

"Oh Pinterest Goddess, can you find me DIY solution to get rid of mold/mildew on tile, but without the God-awful smell of bleach?"  Lo and behold I find this site - Homemade Shower Cleaner for Mold

Basically, here is the recipe I tried - Formula 1: Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda, 1/3 cup of ammonia, 1/4 cup of white vinegar to 7 cups of water. Pour the solution into a spray bottle and shake it well. To clean, spray on, scrub with a scrub brush or toothbrush and then wipe off with a damp sponge. Do not use with bleach or toxic gasses can be released.

                               BEFORE (gross)                                           AFTER


Isn't that disgusting?  But back to the glorious after picture, it really only took a few squirts, maybe a minute to soak in and hardly any scrubbing needed to get the mold and soap scum off.  And you know what else is insane?  I just took these pictures 10 minutes ago and was so FREAKING pleased with the results that I stopped everything to blog about it.  Wow.

Pinterest Paint Chip Art

During shopping for my DIY Jewelry Wall frames, I picked up an extra one.  Very basic but half off....thanks Hobby Lobby!

This pin caught my eye right away because I love hearts.  Of course Matt hates them.  So I got to thinking....what do I already own that would do the trick to satisfy my paint chip art desire?

Butterflies it would be!

I did feel a tad bit guilty for taking quite a bit of paint chip samples from Lowes, but seriously...that company gets so much money from our household, how could a few 30 paint chip samples hurt, right?

Some modification was made to the original post.  I used the back side of the picture frame instead of a canvas.  Spending more money was not my goal on this project though.  I couldn't find the adhesive foam tabs, so I bought sticky mounting tape and cut into small squares.  It worked perfectly.

Another tip that really helped me out was to place all the butterflies in the pattern and space beforehand.  That way I could eyeball it before I made a big mistake.  Also, for lack of yardstick/ruler I lined up each one with the previous so it would look even.  

And here she is.  Not the final step as I would like to paint the frame a gold/bronze color to match the other picture frames on the wall...but alas, I am out of paint and my need for instant gratification made me complete this post.   

 This was seriously easy and took me a few hours to finish.  Hooray Pinterest!

Pinterest DIY Jewelry Wall - LOVE IT!

Ok, this one has been highly anticipated.  I've had my jewelry in one of those closet organizers, hanging over my closet door.  Terrible.  I never know what necklaces I even own anymore.  But not anymore!

This pin right here got me incredibly excited....

I knew right away I could make this.  So off to Lowes I went.  I bought all the necessary supplies, which were not so cheap.  Matt reminded me we did not own a staple gun, so now we do!

Basically I followed all the steps listed in the original blog.  I did not choose real chicken wire as the loops are quite big and I knew I had quite a few earrings to hang.  Thankfully, I had my wonderful husband staple the wire onto the back of the frame, as I ripped one of my fingers trying to open the package of wire...ouch!

You look so lonely up there without some flair.

Much better!  (I think I need more earrings.)

And here is the finished project!  Very easy to put together and such a fantastic way to see most of my jewelry.  Can I say again how much I love this??

What's next up for Dawnita?

Oh I have some good ones coming up....

DIY jewelry wall
glitter + mod podge flats
chalkboard paint wall
decorate your bobby pins
mod podge votives with decorative paper

I know you can't wait.  Neither can I!!

Pinterest Picture Wood Frames

Ok I saw this one and had to go out immediately and buy the materials.  I fell in love.

I went to JoAnn's and found some frames I considered suitable.  I hear Hobby Lobby has more variety of shapes.  I stocked up with Mod Podge, sponge brushes and turquoise and pink paint.

So I followed the instructions, which were very easy to follow, allowed my prints to dry and applied the final coat of Mod Podge, anticipating the hanging of the frames on my wall.

There they are.....so lovely and incredibly easy to create.  I give this project a super big thumbs up and will surely use it again or maybe create gifts for family and friends.

Pinterest Tuna Can Candle Holder

Ok, this one looks easy.  I like this project, it appears cheap and simple.

So I pick up clothes pins at the store, and luckily I have lots of tuna on hand.  I like the look of the bare pins but I want to add some color.  I ponder this one for a bit.  I have a few bottles of paint, but not enough for some variety.  And then it comes to me.....nail polish.  Oh yah, I have TONS of that....

And it begins.  It took longer than expected, as most pins needed at least 2 coats of polish.  But I learned to quickly swipe and move on to the other colors.

Here is the finished product:

I added a simple brown ribbon to the pink and green holder to spice it up a bit.  The other is more rainbow colored.  I didn't use votive holders but baby food jars.  I have a gazillion of them and knew I could put them to good use one day.

Overall I would say I'm pretty happy with this project.  I think I will put them outside and use them more likely at night.  If you look up close you can see the silver tuna can in the cracks.  I made an effort to space the pins as close as humanly possible and still you can see a little bit of can.  Oh well, I am sure they will look neat in the dark.

Pinterest Baked Cheese Stick FAIL

I really had high hopes for this one.  Just look at that glorious photo....

I should have known better.  First off, I did not use bread crumbs.  I opted for panko.  That will make it even better, I say to myself.  Also, we are out of parmesan cheese so I use some old parm packets from Gattis or some random pizza place.  I keep noticing these packets have an "off" smell.  Can parm go bad?  Haha, did you even have to ask?

Anyways, I follow most of the directions and tadaaa!!

Really?

Ugh, they did not taste very good either.  I blame the parmesan and me.

I had such a laugh about how terrible they turned out so I created this to post to Pinterest:

At least I can laugh about my failure.  Ok NEXT project!

Pinterest Crazy!

Hi there.  Yes, it's been awhile but I'm choosing not to dwell on it and make excuses...blah blah blah.  What I want to focus on is my new obsession with Pinterest.  Yes, I'm on it ALL THE TIME.  I can't help it.  It's a glorious drug for a crafty gal like me.

My friend Nory had a great idea.  She would only be allowed to spend time on Pinterest if she did/create/made something once a week.  I loved that idea.  Now all my pinning would not be in vain.  I will make sure and utilize all these new ideas.  Plus I will blog them, a neat way to keep a reminder of the finished project and such.

I'm already ahead of the game.  I have quite a few finished projects to blog about.  As soon as this little crazy baby besides me goes to bed, I'll post away.

I've been a busy bee!

Pool time!

And it begins....

Party time. This year I plan on making everything by myself for Vivi's 1st birthday. I'm super excited I've already bought most of my supplies.

Stay tuned for my finished projects!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Life changes

So my life has taken quite the most interesting turn.  To sum it up in a few sentences, I lost my job in early January.  To be more specific on that front, I was let go.  I was quite shocked, as the company was doing quite well, actually better than ever.  But, as my friends have mentioned to me many times, things happen for a reason.  So after the shock wore off and I experienced some sad emotional problems, I am happily medicated, seeing a fantastic therapist and 100% better than ever.

As I look for work, I'm currently doing the stay at home gig with my beautiful daughter.  And I'm thrilled!  There is nothing more I have desired after Vivi was born than to stay at home and raise her.  To me, this way seems natural, as I was lucky to have my mom at home while my dad worked.  And now I have the opportunity to spend more time with this gorgeous, funny child.

Of course it is not all fun and games.  I hate cooking and cleaning.  My loving husband typically does all the above and work.  But no more.  I have a new job - and that is taking care of the house, my husband and the baby.  It's been a challenge and every day I learn something new.  My respect for all stay at home moms has greatly increased.  Kudos to you Mommies!  It's hard work.

My greatest challenge has been cooking.  Ugh, I really dislike grocery shopping and thinking up things to eat which does not make my husband gag.  I need a recipe to boil water as I am not blessed with any kitchen skills.  But that was the past - now I have Pinterest and the All Recipes app!  Total life savers!
I would highly advise the $2.99 version.  I was able to sync my saves recipes from the website onto my phone and vice versa.  Plus it has a very extensive search function and recipe spinner.  But back to Pinterest....

I have successfully cooked a few meals from my pins and crafted quite a few projects I found online.  Two more recent food hits have been baked asparagus fries and peach and brie quesadillas with lime-honey dipping sauce.

Not bad for a total novice!

I've also taken on the task of making 90% of Vivi's first birthday decorations.  I figure if I start now and do a little bit each day, I will save my sanity and wallet.  But seriously, thank God for Pinterest.  How else would I learn to make tissue paper flowers and cupcake toppers?

Girls at play

Adios San Diego, we had fun!