Ta-da....

{Source}

The dining room is FINALLY Done!  The wainscoting is installed, painted and the ceiling is complete. The room is now officially ready to start decorating. I am EXHAUSTED!!!  My right arms is hurting from painting all the trim and my head is killing me from allergies but I'm smiling because it's done :  )  The room looks AWESOME!!!  I'll update some pics once it's cleaned up.  I'm too tired for that drama tonight.  Eric did a fabulous job on the wainscoting!!!  It wasn't the easiest job since our walls are not completely square.  Today I kept making stupid mistakes...like touching the white paint on the flat gray ceiling...eeeekkk...hurrying trying to clean it up only to be left with a spot I had to repaint.  I hate when I'm tired and I paint.  I usually make a HUGE mess...which I did.

Well...off I go to bed...tomorrow may follow with an interesting blog update...stay tuned ; )

Have a great night.

Progress...

Sometimes it seems I take one step forward and 5 steps backwards. 'Tis life!  I had  a major color mishap in my dining room.  The walls were done (minus touch ups) and the ceiling was primed with a tinted primer. I LOVED the shade of the primer but for some unknown reason while at Lowes I decided to go with a different shade.  A "lighter" shade.  Well, one whole coat of the ceiling later I discovered I HATED the color.  It had too much blue in the grey I had picked out.  The color of  grey on the walls has more of a brown tone to it and with the two painted next to each other you could TOTALLY tell they in no way shape or form complemented each other.  So needless to say, I went back to Lowes and purchased the correct paint color and now my ceiling is done. YAY!  Now comes the oh so lovely part of painting the trim and doing touch ups.  Oy vey!!!!

But I am VERY happy to share that the wainscoting is going up and looking AWESOME!!!

{Listed are the things I still need to do}

Now to finish the rest of the walls!!!  All the credit shall be given to my husband on this endeavor.  He rocks with measurements and power tools. 

More house projects on the horizon....

I want to continue the wood floors in the dining room.  But I'm super excited to for the entry and kitchen.  I have bounced so many ideas around and honestly, have put it off because the draw backs of certain selections.  But I have finally (so far anyway) settled on a black and white diamond pattern tile.  I really like the look of high gloss larger tiles.  Something similar to this...



This is the idea this week anyway...hehehehee...sadly, I'm notorious for changing my mind :(

We have more projects for the outside this year too.  I will be sooooooo happy when we are DONE!!!  I'm so tired of updating and working on this house!!!

I have to get ready to go meet a client now...so with that said have a great weekend guys!!!

Very. Very. Excited.

I'm starting back shooting for the Courier- Journal.  Long story short,  I will be doing freelance photography for them and shooting some of the Derby events...excitedddddddd : )))))  I'm not going to lie...I'm nervous about juggling the kids and work...but momma wants to work and likes to get paid.....sooo all in all... it will work out.  Somehow. It's not a full-time thing so I'm sure it will be fine.

I'm also excited for VACATION!!!  Here is one of the places we are going to stay.



http://www.parrotkeyresort.com/

I can't wait!!!  I also can't wait for Disney and St. Augustine!!!

Bring it Spring!!! Now for allergies to just stay away and I will be happy ; )

Thanking God for my blessings and wishing everyone a fabulous day!!!

Harry Potter Party Invites!!!

Ok, I will admit wholeheartedly that I have a party addiction.  I LOVE the little details that go into planning a party. I love making, crafting, and planning fun parties.  Sooooo with that said I FINALLY finished Spencer's Harry Potter Party invites.

They are actually a welcoming packet into Hogwarts.  The actual invitation is the Marauders Map.

Here is the inside of the invitation. I did a google image search for marauders map and found two that I liked.  I went into photoshop used a antique paper layer and added the wording in Harry Potter font. (all free on the internet...just google HP font and download it).

I printed on both sides of parchment paper (found it cheap at walmart) and left a little lip to be folded behind the other page.  You can see this in the photo above.  I did this so the wax would not bleed through onto the inside page.  Worked perfectly :)

Props have to be given to my friend Sarah. I told her I needed an H for my wax seal.  She constructed the one in the above picture for me out of clay and a wooden block she even painted gold : )  Sadly, it did not work :(  It took too much wax to be used and it stuck to the clay H.  But I love her for her craftiness and her awesome friendship :))))

So I wracked my brain on what I could use.  I refused to pay 5 bucks for an H wax press...then I remembered the wood engraving kit we bought for the cub scout plaques.  It worked PERFECTLY!!!

 I bought sealing wax at Michael's with a coupon of course :) (google Michaels coupons or bring in a coupon from a competitor, they match coupons.)

I had to make sure the sides stayed down so I added things to weigh them down while the wax settled .  I also added a piece of wax paper underneath the top papers.  You can see it in the below photo.  This prevented the wax from bleeding onto the inside page.

I then sealed the packets together. 

Inside the packet was an acceptance letter, supply list and class schedule for Hogwarts.  All the information and decals on the papers were found through my trusted friend google and wikiharrypotter.  I typed in up in photoshop and printed it out on parchment paper again. 

Also, included is a ticket for platform 9 3/4.  I did an image search and found this ticket.  Thanks to whom ever created it : )))))  I searched and saved so many images I have no idea where this is from...but many thanks to the person who originally created it. It DRIVES me crazy when people steal my ideas or copy my stuff without giving me credit....so I feel terrible for not crediting this person..but thanks again anonymous person. 

Lastly...I found the CUTEST little potion jars at Dee's yesterday...

I washed them out and am letting them dry. I talked with the staff at Dee's and they feel they are food safe, so I'm going to put pop rocks in them for the kids.  I'm going to have them for the HoneyDukes shop part of the party :)))))))

I'm such a nerd and have sooooo many more ideas and tricks up my sleeve...stay tuned :))))

Updates...Updates...Updates...

Sorry for being M.I.A. for a while.  I've been insanely busy.  Having two kids will do that to you.

I think,or shall I say knock on wood, things are slowing down for us.  The past month has been jam packed with events and things that have kept us busy from sun up to sun down.  Yesterday was the pinewood derby for the cub scouts.  The boys had fun and I think their fathers had even more fun ; )  It's funny because all the parents really make the kids cars, so it's entertaining to see their reactions of the races.

Cedric LOVED watching the cars race.  It's funny because all the boys treat Ceddy like their little mascot or pet and love all over him.  Surprisingly they are really gentle and kind to him.  A couple of the boys pushed him around in his mini car.  He LOVED it.  Eric and I were in charge of the event.  He's in charge of the track and all the race stuff...I was in charge of decor and food ; )  My specialty.

The arcade expo was awesome and we had a blast.  I shot some pics each day of it for a friend.  Eric worked the whole weekend at it as well.  Here is the FB link to their site...

https://www.facebook.com/louisvilleArcade

You can see more photos I took under their photo albums.  It was a really fun event and great family outing.

Business is picking up and this Spring I plan on it being INSANE.  So Yay!

We are planing our trip to Disney and the Florida Keys soon...yay!!!  I need the beach and Mickey asap : )

I have to kick into HIGH GEAR for Spen's birthday party.  He really wants a Harry Potter party at home...so needless to say...I start tomorrow crafting, planning and shopping. So much to do and really no time.  Funnnn...I also, have to finish all the projects going on in this house as to house a party in it.

Two great things happened today...I got to hang out with my friends and finish my Harry Potter plate!!!  I swear it took a small eternity for me to finish painting my plate.  I can pick it up next weekend and I am excited to see what it will look like after it has been fired.

Then...finally no more UGLY DOORSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS...

I refused to paint them because I knew I would never replace them if I did.  My WHOLE family room's trim was that wood color.  I painted it all white...but left the doors as reminder to myself.  I have wanted glass french doors since we moved in.  So I have been working on this project...sanding, priming, painting...and repeating...and today...they were ready to be hung!!! (Of course after my lovely hubby cut out the door hinge spaces for them...thank you Eric!!!)

Hello....Beautiful ones!!!

I still need to clean the glass fully and finish scrapping the paint out of all the corners.  Not to mention put the door knobs on...but they are up and they are beautiful!!!  I absolutely LOVE them. It has changed the space so dramatically and added so much charm along with better lighting into both rooms. I'll take a better pic when they are completely finished.  I'm super happy with the outcome.  This has inspired me to make some more drastic changes...stay tuned ; )

Have great week!!!