Father Daughter Dance

My sweet daughter is growing into a(sometimes) sweet young lady. I love being her mama and feel blessed to be along for the ride with her. I am so thankful she has her daddy to love and adore her too. We each have our own special reltaionship with her. I look forward to drill weekends when he is away because it means a day or two for just Kaia & mommy doing girl stuff. But this Friday night it was all about Dad!

Thanks to my lovely friends Jenn for taking this sweet photo of my two loves!

New dress, shoes, jewlery plus some hair (dont' forget the tiara) & lil' make up and my little girl looks like a lady. She was swooning over the corsage - a special surprise from daddy from Bloom on the square in Bentonville (my FAV place for gorgeous flowers!).

The two danced the night away, learning the waltz and some line dancing moves as well. They came home soaking wet due to a downpoor but with smiles on their face.  - love them

Tennis

Crystal Bridges

It's been a unique experience to see the impact of Crystal Bridges Museum opening up in our home town, Bentonville, Arkansas. It's an architectual beauty filled with American art and full of historical pieces. Our town now has tourist signs and new developments going up to support this attraction which has art lovers from around the world coming to gander at the collection it houses.

Our family made our first visit last weekend, I thought perhaps some of the traffic would have died down since it opening in November but it was a lively place full of patrons, young & old. The outside was as beautiful as the masterpieces on the inside - trails, waters & sculptures surround the museum.

Art time for the little ones in the hands on area.

Kaia & Daddy on the overlooking balcony.

My favorite piece of art...they also had this MIND-BLOWING piece I didn't get a picture of made entirely of thread bobbins creating the Last Supper. WOW!

The little kiddos seemed to like the modern 3-D art pieces. Doesn't this guy look real?

My husband could read every plaque on the wall!

Overall our visit to the museum was eye opening and I'm already looking forward to hiking around the trails and really taking in all that the museum has to offer. If you are in the NWA area you need to go visit - a cultural experience & it's FREE too so it makes for a great day outing with the family.

Read more about Crystal Bridges here:

http://crystalbridges.org/

Tennis - like the game

Junque 2 Jewels

Dreams do come true...

This building may not look like much but I can verify that it is a dream come true!

We can't keep a lid on it any longer...WE GOT KEYS...to a 2400sq ft. shop/office/craft space building. This is a building for Junque 2 Jewels to do even bigger & better things!

We dream big and are looking forward to using this new space to do more for customers & bring more great ideas to fruition.

It also gets lots of business *JUNQUE* out of our house which I am also thankful for!

Right now we will be using the space to make lots & LOTS of frames...

better get back to work.



Tennis

Junque 2 Jewels

Desk Do Over with Chalk Paint

I'm on a bit of a painting kick right now, trying different techniques in re-finishing projects and such.

Today I wanted to share my first attempt at refinishing furniture by making my own chalk paint. The great thing about chalk paint I heard is you don't have to sand or strip the projects before painting, saving lots of hard work. Sign me up for this short cut!

So I snatched up this old desk on Craigslist for $20 and went to work...literally-if you know me, you know I went to work right away and didn't want to stop until I had a finished project but it RAINED which was so frustrating! Anyway, it did eventually get done but here is where we started. UG - ly!

Keep in mind when selecting peices to re-finish that you want a solid wood piece -not veneer - that is still in functioning condition (i.e. drawers open easily etc.).

I started by mixin' up a batch of DIY chalkpaint...2 parts paint ( I went with Valspar in "Man Cave" greyish color) and 1 part Paris of Plaster. Mix REALLY well so you don't get chalky white blobs when you start plaint. It will be thick and almost looks like rising dough - very airy & fluffy. Then get started painting...

This chalkpaint is so thick that it covers well in 2 coats and dries to a chalky matte finish. I let mine dry over night and then went to work sanding using a combination of our electric palm sander and 120 grit regular sand paper for the more detailed areas.

The chalkpaint worked like a dream for the distressed, slightly chippy finish I was going for! It exposed the wood along the creases and on the leg details. For my piece, the wood originally was a light Oak stain and I wanted something darker so I coated the piece with a Mahogony stain to get the darker wood look.

Lastly, I wanted a slightly shiney finish so I decided to have the hubs seal with a layer of Shellac.

(I don't have the patients required for spray painting anything yet!)

Here is what she looks like...sans handles which are still being painted.

Overall, I loved the experience of working with the chalkpaint and look forward to re-doing more Craigslist finds!

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Katie
J2J

"Super sized" Ruler...a.k.a. Growth Chart

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So I've been inspired by a smattering of growth charts pinned on Pinterest. I had an "I can do that" moment so... I did! I took 8" wide pine board and transformed them into these keepsake growth charts I can measure my kiddo on each year, month etc.

This is such a better alternative to marking on a wall or door jam that is forever bound to a home that you may move from. I love it! I also love that it was a simple project - some stain, paint pen & stencils and in about an hour you can whip one up too. Here is my first version:

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For this second version I wanted something old looking, chippy paint - the junkier, the better was my thought on this one. So I stained & painted and sanded until it looked like this.

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Katie
J2J

Addicted to Pinterest

Like the rest of the crafty world I am now totally addicted to Pinterest. This is a fabulous site full of ideas & inspiration on any topic you can think of!

I am using it for gathering future party ideas like this circus themed party from catchmyparty.com

I also of course love all the DIY projects ideas like these dollar store tiered trays from thecottagehome.blogspot.com.

There are also great gift ideas for teachers, family & friends! I've also made reading lists and pinned about vacations I'm dreaming of. It's also a great way to find amazing little blogs from all around the world who are interested in the same things I am intereted in.

Anyway, I'd love for you to follow me...and share your Pinterest link so I can check out what you are pinning too. Follow me here: http://pinterest.com/likethegame/

Celebrate Scrapbook Layout with Pink Paislee

I haven't shared any scrapbooking layouts in awhile but I have been busy creating! Here is one of my favorite layouts. It features new products from Pink Paislee & House of 3 line "Soiree". Doesn't it just feel like a party when you look at it?

 There are so many little finds with this line of products! The little banner pin flags & sparkly glitter elements.

I also love the tissue paper in the line - yes I said that right - TISSUE PAPER! It's perfect for creating ruffly edges and dimension without bulk .