crafting | mandy odle

I’m craving pastels. I’m craving florals. I’m craving spring!!! Since the weather isn’t cooperating I decided to do a springy home project. First I gathered up all my clear glass vases, jars, and bottles and picked which sizes and shapes I wanted to use. (I buy fun stuff like this at goodwill and save them for spontaneous projects). Then I got out my paints and decided on a color scheme.

I chose shades of blue and minty greens. Also note that I used two different kinds of paint, these acrylic Plaid paints and indoor latex paint (left over from painting my bedroom). I liked the acrylic paints so much better. I’ll explain why down further.

Then all you do is squirt the paint in the jar and swirl it around till all areas are coated with paint. You could even mix colors to give it a marbled look if you wanted. The sky is the limit!!

The reason I liked the acrylic craft paints the best is because for small vases its so much easier, and less messy, to squirt the paint in small amounts into your glass object. With my gallon of latex I had to use a funnel and it got all over the place!! Anyways just keep swirling to your desired look. I ended up taking a small paint brush and helping the paint along in some areas.

Look how pretty, and expensive they look now! This project is so easy, and you can’t mess it up. Another idea I had was to spray paint the outside with a frosted spray paint. Walmart sells a clear frosted rust oleum spray paint, and I love it for so many reasons!!!

Image via A beautiful mess blog.

Then I just went to Michaels and purchases some spring flowers and wah la!I love the way they turned out!! Such a great addition to my mantel. Here is the blog that first gave me the idea.

Oh and I just noticed I’m missing a few hedge apples (fake from crate and barrel). My kids think they are balls….grrr I’m going to have to go hunt those down now. Happy crafting!

xo,

Mandy

Our friday morning started out like any other friday. Cohen was excited that the weekend was coming, and even more excited that he had his Valentine’s day party at school that day. We quietly got him ready for school to the sound of daddy coughing and wheezing in the other room. Darn it! I knew he should of went to the doctor yesterday. I sent Cohen in the bathroom to brush his teeth and I went to fetch the thermometer. Almost 102 fever. It’s the urgent clinic for you today bud. I run downstairs pack Cohen a special lunch, snap a few pictures of him, and get him on the bus.

Valentine’s Day 2014 here we go…

Valentine’s day is my absolute favorite holiday! It’s so lovey dovey, and girly, and most of all PINK!! I love all the decorations, the cards, the flowers. I love seeing what everyone posts on facebook about their loved ones. Obviously the love we have for our significant others and children is no different this day than any other, but I love to really celebrate it big on Valentine’s day. I love to stretch it out. We normally celebrate it with our kids one night and then alone the next. I love to get a new pink and red outfit, or a fun heart shaped piece of jewelry. I love painting my nails shades of pinks and reds and picking out the perfect girly lipstick. But this year would be different.

Getting back from vacation was a whirlwind. I loved our time away, but it’s always so hard to get back into the swing of things. Unpacking, picking the house back up, opening all the mail, emptying all the trash, getting the kids back into a schedule. Not to mention we got back Feb 1 and Feb 2 was the Super Bowl and Kempton’s actually 2nd birthday. Whew I got through that weekend. The next weekend would be Kempton’s basketball birthday party (I have a hard time doing small parties… it’s a problem ). All my energy that week went into crafting for his big day. The next weekend would be Valentine’s day and my best friend Erin’s surprise 30th birthday (again I have a problem with doing things small). So I put all my energy into crafting for Erin’s party. This left me whipping something together late Thursday night for Valentine’s day. My kids would think something was seriously wrong with me if they woke up that next morning and the little white table wasn’t decked out in pink and red surprises. I’ve done this to myself I know, but I do love it. I thrive on this project stuff, but this month has been party overload (um I still have Brooks’ birthday next weekend ahhhhhhh).

11:00 am – waiting at the CVS urgent care. Yep it’s confirmed he has the flu. Five prescriptions later and we are sent home with strict orders to rest. Only problem is at 1:00 pm we had something planned that if we canceled we would lose money on. A quick stop through the drive through at Panera for chicken noodle soup, I pump Brooks full of meds, and stick him in bed. Crap it’s almost noon. Grandma Becky shows up at 12:15 just as planned only I’m not sure we will need her now. The lunch date/special activity probably won’t be happening anymore. At 12:30 Brooks comes down the stairs dressed in jeans and a zip up, trying to look like he isn’t deathly ill, and trying to savor a little bit of this special day with me. I tell him it’s ok hun don’t worry about it, go back to bed. But he really wants to tough it out so we hop in the car and head on our way. Only to see SNOW!! No stop, no more snow! I can’t deal with anymore snow!! Especially this kind that is slippery and coming down hard. I’m driving in a whiteout. White knuckling it all the way we finally arrived, got to share a special moment together, and then headed back home. I gave Brooks his drowsy meds, and tucked him for the ~~night~~ day. Dinner plans have changed, so I quickly make a phone call to Jet’s pizza. Order two heart shaped pizzas and run out in the snow one more time to pick them up. Grandma Becky leaves, gets stuck in our driveway, gets pushed out by neighbors, and starts her 2.5 hr trek home to Danville. Whoa what a day!

Now I’m left with my two boys. We enjoy pizza. Open gifts (upstairs in the bed with daddy upon their request). Take baths and head to bed. As I am tucking them both in and telling them why I love them so much everything from the day hits me. I start to become very emotional. As crazy and unplanned as the whole day ended up being it was one of the best Valentine’s days I’ve ever had. I felt so much love. I felt love from my husband as he was relying on me to take care of him, and as I watched him tough it out for me that afternoon. I felt loved by my mother-in-law as she made the drive even in the snow and gave up her valentine’s day to be with my kids. I felt love from my children as they acted like nothing about the day was crazy or different. They enjoyed every bit of what we did, planned or not, and their sweet hugs and kisses at night was just the icing on the cake for me.

I headed downstairs to finish up some last minute things for Erin’s party the next day and tears filled my eyes. Thank you Jesus for your perfect love, and for having a better plan than I could ever have. Today was a great day. One I will always remember. Valentine’s Day 2014 was possibly the best one yet!