A Very Harry (Potter) Party

Something completely insanely crazy possessed me, and at my urging we took it upon ourselves to transform our entire lives to be a lot like Harry Potter's.  The fact that our son was turning 11 has everything to do with it, though ultimately I am just going to blame Pinterest.

The boy has always loved the Harry Potter movies, and near the end of last school year his reading group chose the first book to read.  He's now about half way done with Deathly Hallows, and his level of obsession rivals only mine, which will become clear to you in the following post.  Or rather, my level of complete insanity will become abundantly clear, whereas his obsession with age-appropriate stories/movies/props/etc. is completely normal.

Turning 11 and having great love of Hogwarts is the perfect formula for an HP party, doncha think?  The boy's birthday is right near Thanksgiving...if not ON Thanksgiving some years, so parties for him always seem to be rushed and not well-attended.  It's a busy time of year, hey, we get it.  But with him getting older I figured this might be the last year to bust out a righteous theme and party it up like a bunch of kids would.  He's getting too old (read as cool) for themed parties...a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do, right?

So to Pinterest I went - I even made my own 'Harry Potter Party' board!.  I swear, the ideas for this whole party were collectively from Pinterest, Google Images, and a little bit of Etsy.  Thank you, creative people, for putting your ideas out there for big time copiers like me to use and abuse. It was really fun going through all the blogs and photos and picking and choosing what I wanted to do.  Plus, we recruited friends and family to help, and dress up and play the parts of professors! What good sports, especially Steve who played the bad guy - you know who.

I started out this whole process intending to photo-document a lot, but I didn't get nearly as many photos as I would have liked.  Where I don't have a photo of our actual stuff, I will use a photo that I based what we made off of.  Hopefully that makes sense.  So, let's just get to the pics why don't we.

Here is what the invites actually said.  I put together the letter and supply list from wording I found either in the book, or on Etsy - which no doubt the Etsy people got from the book too.  It's basically the Hogwarts acceptance letter, but includes an invitation to a 'birthday soiree'.

One sheet, two pages.  Before tea staining.

 

In tea staining process.

The invitations went out in grand style.  I printed them out on regular white copy paper, then tea stained them.  I had bought a couple packs of cream-colored stationary at a discount store, so I used those envelopes.  After a drip of red wax and a sealing stamp - our last name starts with H and coincidentally Hogwarts does too, so it made spending the money on the stamp a little easier ($10).

Cut, and drying.

These little guys are the train tickets included in each invitation.  You can buy a package of these sheets, and Avery.com lets you format them any way you like, including adding clip art.  This is one ticket, I made each side a little different. 

 

 

After tying each invitation with a length of twine, we made our way to the party store and purchased a dozen pearly white helium balloons.  It was the windiest day in history, so trying to get those babies into my minivan was quite a feat.  Awesome, I tell you.  The three four of us (me, the kids and the dog) then made an  assembly line to get the balloons attached to the invitations.  I drew an owl on each balloon with a black Sharpie and colored in the eyes with a yellow highlighter.  I then passed it to the birthday boy who was in charge of removing the store ribbon and retying the twine-tied invitation onto the balloon.  My daughter sat in back and wrestled with the bag of balloons, handing them up one by one, and taking them back once they were done.  The dog cowered in the backseat.  In her defense, there was really nowhere else she could go, since the entire van was filled with balloons - she couldn't even sit up!  I wish I could have gotten a group shot of the finished invitations with balloons attached, but there was no way I was going to get them into the house and  back out to the van safely for delivery with how windy it was.

Next, we move on to the party set up.  Just a little bit (ha!) of setting up was required...

Good thing this guy has super long arms.

Pretty cool, huh?

Lucky for us our living room and dining room ceilings are both that awful suspended-type ceiling...it's like tiles or something.  I'm not complaining anymore though, cause it sure made it easy to hang up both the candles and these cool lanterns I found on clearance right after Halloween.  I have to say...for decorations and stuff, a Harry Potter themed birthday after Halloween is really good timing.  The candles were about $15 total...2 packs of 3, and 1 pack of 2.  You might notice that as a recurring theme in this blog...I cheaped out on everything, everywhere I could.
This party was not nearly as expensive as it looks!

I prepped the chocolate frogs and cupcakes.  You can buy authentic chocolate frogs in their fancy little boxes, but they're like 3 bucks each!  Forget that.  I bought a candy mold on Amazon for like 83 cents, and two bags of Andes mint chips later, we had about 18 chocolate mint frogs.  Easy peasy.  


Here's another idea I nabbed off someone creative person's blog...Mandrake Cakes.  Once I saw this, I couldn't not do it.  It's just too dang cute.  Besides, what kind of cake do you make for an HP party?  I wanted something...authentic looking.  This was one of the most expensive items for the party...the 20 mini flower pots.  That ran me about $12 on Amazon.  The cupcakes themselves were baked in paper liners (I had HP ones I bought a looong time ago, coincidentally).  The babies were another $6 I think, and the one fake plant stem was only about $1.50.  I used two cake mixes at about $2 each and one pack of Oreos (the topping is the crushed cookie, made to look like dirt).  So really, not that costly when it comes down to it.  What would you pay for a decorated cake?  More than this, and it wouldn't have these awesome little babies sticking out.  The kids LOVED it.   

Cupcakes complete!

One item that I did not get a picture of was our 'brick wall'.  Basically, it was a bed sheet painted to look like brick.  Our favorite giant, Sergio, did this for us since he is so dang artsy.  It turned out GREAT.  Here is an idea of what it looked like, though we did not end up slitting it...the kids just pushed it aside and walked through.  I also made a Platform 9 3/4 sign just like this one.  The sign and 'brick wall' were on the back porch, where Hagrid took everyone's train tickets before they could 'step onto the platform'.  Yeah, we (I) got a little carried away.  

Here's a shot of Sergio as Hagrid.  

Nice!

So, the party went like this: 

Our friend Hagrid waited by the back door for the kids to arrive.  He greeted them (probably scared them with his giant self) took their train ticket, and guided them through Platform 9 3/4.  They came through the 'brick wall' into our laundry room, and were greeted by Voldemort (my husband) with the sorting hat.  He thought of renting a fog machine for this room, which was AWESOME.   

Props to the fearsome Voldemort.

Each kid picked a card out of the sorting hat that Voldemort held, then moved on to me.  I made the cards...they were two-sided and looked like this:

Gryffindor Front

 For the backs, I found these silly things on Google and just made a compilation for each house.

Whereas Gryffindor is about bravery, Hufflepuff house is all friendship and loyalty.

 

 

 Ravenclaw is for the smart ones...

And of course Slytherin...

I was in charge of distributing robes and hats, and telling the kids where to go. There were 3-4 kids per house, and each house started out somewhere different.  But first, the robes.  I found a brilliant idea!  Guess where.  Yep, Pinterest.  Most of the kids don't have black 'robes' handy, so the idea was to make them so everyone had one.  A dozen XXL black t-shirts from Jo-Ann fabrics, and 4 yards of gold cord, and we were in business.  Slit the t-shirts right up the front, sew a length of gold cord to the collar on each side, and each kid has a costume.  I got the shirts 4/$10, plus I had a 20% off coupon.  Yay me.  The hats were black felt, just cut into the shape of a pie piece, and sewed up the side.  The Hogwarts patches were just more felt.  Very cheap, maybe $3 for all the hats.  Here's a pic to get an idea of what the hats and robes were like:

The house (our house) was divided into 5 areas, and depending on which Hogwarts house you were put into, you went either to Potions with Professor Brendan (in the kitchen) to make green slime, Charms with Professor O'mayra (dining room) for Lumos (bottles with glow in the dark paint),

Our Charms teacher, Professor O'mayra.  She's so charming!

or Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Lori (family room), where everyone got to create their own magical creature.  My husband made the initial pattern, and he and the birthday boy traced and cut their bodies.  Then I sewed them, they turned them and we all stuffed them ahead of time.  Our friends cut out the face pieces, and the kids got to create the faces out of the shapes and glue them on.  They turned out GREAT!  Thank you internets, for another good idea.  Here's some pics of the finished products...

A gruesome lineup.

Last but not least was Defense Against the Dark Arts, for identification of the criminal sort!  I made the sign from a piece of foam board from the dollar store.  The rest is scrapbooking paper I nabbed from O'mayra, and some clear labels I had bought for something else.

 The birthday boy (who is photobombing this first pic as only a blond Harry Potter could) told me afterwards that he thought this station was the most fun.  Unfortunately not all of the pictures turned out, so we don't have one of each kid.  Not even close.




The costume pieces were more after-Halloween bargains.  I found a bunch of wigs at Menard's for $2-3 each! 

 Here's me.  I guess if I had to pick a character I would have been Narcissa Malfoy.  The front of my hair was sprayed black, which was a lot of fun later in the tub.

 

 Ravenclaw in da house.

 If a kid got done with whatever their 'class' did, they could go see Hagrid for Divination in the living room. 

Don't worry, the other side had a smiley face.

Divination was originally supposed to be the first stop for a treasure hunt, where the silver balloons would be blown up and have a clue inside them, like the prophecies.  The kids would have to figure out to pop the balloon to get the clue from inside.  My creative juices weren't exactly flowing in order to come up with the rest of the clues, so we didn't do the treasure hunt.  I'd say Divination worked out just fine!

After the classes were finished, the kids all went outside with a couple brave volunteers to play Quidditch relay!  We made 4 broomsticks, one for each house, out of a branch and a paper grocery bag.  The golden snitches were from a tube of dollar store ornaments with paper wings, cut to shape and glued to each side.  Not the sturdiest things in the world, but they served their purpose and didn't cost me $5 each.

Set up for feast

While the Quidditch races were going on, my husband and a friend went to pick up the food for our feast...what else could be made to look like a Hogwarts feast but KFC?!  We piled the food onto trays and into big silver dishes...fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and macaroni and cheese.  These kids sure worked up an appetite. 





 

Feast

Of course we served Butterbeer, too.

 What a nice set up.  Too bad it didn't last long!












After all the kids ate, they went to the next room so the birthday boy could open his presents.  By the time he was done, we had RE-set up for dessert!

The Mandrake Cakes were a hit!  If you remember the part of the movie when all the Hogwarts students pull their mandrakes out of the pots, and the mandrakes scream...that is what the kids sounded like!  They pulled the little plant out and screamed when they saw the baby attached!

  

Professor Brendan sneaking in for some treats before the kids come back!

Voldemort Lurking

 There's the birthday boy at the head of the table...of course the only one without his HP garb! 

After cupcakes, the kids ran around like maniacs and jumped on the trampoline, and played with the boy's new video games and stuff.  I had told them all along to hold onto their black hats, cause that would be their treat bag at the end of the party.  Most of them listened!  Of course, they had seen the treat table - AKA Honeydukes! - I had set up.  I again rode the coattails of some creative blogger...

Treat Table, before anyone touched it.

Good old Kraft caramels

Chocolate Twizzlers.  The ONLY Twizzlers fit for consumption.

Pop Rocks! Two words:  Dollar Store

1. What kind of Honeyduke's doesn't have Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans?  I splurged on these, but I had to.  How could I not?  Easily, I guess, but seriously.  These have Harry Potter written all over them.  Seriously.  You can see it right there in the picture.

I had to order these from a health food website.  Standing in for Acid Pops are Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops in Chili Lime and Chili Mango flavors.  Or something like that.  Whatever, they are spicy.  And awesome!

These were more costly than I anticipated, but I also insisted on buying them BEFORE Halloween because I wanted to make sure I got them.  I bought 15, and I think they were 2 for $1.29?  My dog then proceeded to eat 6 of them, so I only had 9 for the table.

 An assortment of gumballs in all different colors.

Exploding Bonbons.  What else could take the place of Exploding Bonbons but cherry cordials?!  Perfect.  And cheap!  Menards (of all places) had these for like $2 a box.

And of course, my chocolate frogs.  

 Treat table shot of the Mandrake Cakes.  I found the cupcake stand on 70% off clearance the day after Halloween, at JoAnn Fabrics.  The 'plate' surfaces look like spiderwebs.  I also found this awesome table runner at JoAnn's...originally 50 BUCKS!  On mega-clearance for $15.  It's nice thick black fabric and has silver sequin spider webs all over it.  I think I'm in love with it.  Trying to fit it into my Christmas decor...

I also made Cockroach Clusters (melted chocolate & fiber cereal clusters) which didn't seem to get their picture taken, and these lovelies I found on Pinterest, Witches Hats!  Actually, I didn't even make these, my birthday boy did! 

All in all, a really fantastic party!  Everyone had a good time, and I got lots of feedback afterwards from the parents saying how much fun the kids said they had.  This party would not have been even remotely possible without all the help we got from friends...O'mayra & Sergio, Chrissy & George, the Basis kids, and Lori & Brendan.  Everyone played their parts, dressed up, and humored me with all my silly requests.  Thanks everyone!  This blog is dedicated to YOU.

A good time was had by all.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! A Product Review

I live very near a Woodman's.  I know, lucky me, right?!  For those of you who don't know what Woodman's is or have never been to one, Woodman's is the end-all-be-all of grocery stores.  They have it all.  I mean all of it.  Everything.  Everything there is to have, they have it.  All you have to do is want it, and be ambitious enough to look for it.

My favorite part of Woodman's is their clearance carts.  Every time I enter the store, I grab a cart and immediately head toward the area where a myriad of bargain-laden carts wait for me in all their shiny chrome splendor.  Expired items, half-wilted produce, all the stuff nobody else wants...all overripe for the picking.

There are also a couple different locations around the store that hold different clearance items, but I'm not letting that cat out of the bag.  Suffice it to say that yesterday I came across a fancy little bargain bin containing a most bizarre item.

This:

Getting excited?  I am.

Being an enthusiast of the bizarre, and also someone who will try just about anything, I grabbed two and carried on.  I knew this must be an expensive item, considering the plethora of floaties and all the highfalutin key words on the label and the fact that it was still $1.50 on clearance, but also considering its appearance, I stuck with two because I wasn't sure I would like it.  Granted, me not liking a food item is strange, but still.  Look at this stuff up close and tell me that imagining a big swallow doesn't give you a case of the heebee jeebees.

Mmmm chia seeds.

I carried on with my day as usual, and around 8pm I remembered the two bizarre little gems in my fridge and decided to give it a go.  There were only two flavors available, grape and cherry, of which I had gotten one of each.  I grabbed the cherry first and gave it a little shake, opened that baby up and tentatively took a sip.

HOLY CRAP!!!  This is the most fabulous drink EVER!!  It has a weird consistency, but who cares.

What?  You have 'an issue with texture'?

Well buck up little buddy, cause it is so dang good, and really, you can't even tell that you are swallowing a whole bunch of chia seeds with each big slurpy mouthful.

So I guess its all healthy and raw and organic and kombucha (whatever the hell that is) and chia and so much fiber and it'll give you mad energy, but so what.  IT TASTES AWESOME.  I guess Kombucha can be this awesome weight loss thing, it decreases your appetite, improves your digestion, and can be drank? drinked? drunk? before a workout for an energy boost.  It's vegan.  It's raw.  It's organic.  It's kosher.  Heck, it's anti-fungal!  Who doesn't want to drink their anti-fungals?!

From their website:

Serving Suggestions

• Try one in the morning instead of coffee.
• Have one an hour before your workout.
• Sip it throughout the day for sustained energy.
• Drink it with or without a meal to help control your appetite.
• Drink one now! You'll feel better.

That last one is my favorite.  And they're right.  You should get one.

I went back for more today.  There was only one left in the bargain bin so I hit the produce section and grabbed the other two flavors to try.  Now, regular price on this stuff isn't exactly cheap, but each bottle IS two servings.  Of course, I had to restrain myself from drinking the whole two servings in one big weird-consistency gulp.  If I ration myself carefully, I can do this.  I'm gonna drink a lot of this seedy goodness.  And so can you.  It's definitely worth a try, once you get over the sticker shock. 

So next time you see me and I look like this, you'll know why.

Ch-ch-ch-Chia!

Boo!! ...A thing I made.

Here is a Halloween project I've been working on, inspired by my bestie over at Scrap It Girl.  I give her and my sister-in-law all the credit for this project, because I basically just borrowed their ideas. 

Anyway...

 The letters are from Hobby Lobby and come naked like this.  They are really cheap, and if you have a single creative bone in your body, the options of what to do with them are pretty much endless.  The 'O's here are actually zeros...they were out of Os.  

As far as I am concerned, they work out perfectly.

 Spray painting sure is fun, I see why the hoodlums like it so much.  

Anyone have anything they need spray painted?  I'm your gal.

 Spray adhesive is almost as much fun as spray painting.  Maybe even more fun, cause you can stick stuff to other stuff...and stuff.  Like this glitter.  I stuck it to my spray painted letters.  

It took almost the whole two glitter tubes to do 3 letters. 

I will have this glitter stuck on me, somewhere, forever.

 But don't they look pretty? Eh?!

Sparkle sparkle!!

Oops, no purple ribbon in the pic.

I picked up some Halloween-y ribbon for 50% off at HL, to start constructing my 'banner'.  The combination of black, green, purple and orange just says 'Halloween' to me. 

I also picked up this black and orange feather boa from Hobby Lobby, also 50% off.  Kimberly (Scrap It Girl) has been doing all kinds of fantastic things with ribbon on banners, so again, that's where the inspiration comes from.  I fixed the letters to the extra wide, sparkly ric rac with hot glue.  The letters are really light, so their weight isn't a problem.  I thought about using a staple gun, but considering the amount of glitter that would come shooting off, I didn't think about it long. 

 After cutting the boa and laying it between the letters, I wasn't overly pleased with how the fluffiness of the feathers kind of covered the letters a bit, and I was afraid that 'BOO' wouldn't be clear enough.  So, I wrapped each section of boa in the purple and green sparkly ribbon to tame it a little bit, and also add those other two colors into the mix.  It worked out pretty well.

Maybe I should mention here that I originally only bought one 4' roll of green ribbon, and used the whole thing on two of four boa sections.  When I went back for more, of course they were out.  That's where the purple comes in.  I was originally going to use all green ribbon, then add purple in somewhere else.  Again, it worked out pretty well.

It's hard to see the purple ribbon in the pictures, but it's there, swirled around the boa just like the green.  Trust me.  I added in the little accent chochkies for a little extra character.  The purple owl was a floral pick, so all I had to do was yank the stick out.  I had to make a minor repair afterwards, but he's sitting on it, so you can't tell.

This bats green matches the green sparkle ribbon pretty much exactly, even though it doesn't look like it in this wonderful picture.  He was also attached to a stick, but with a wire.  I think he was also a floral pick, but I think he was also slightly broken.  He served my purpose perfectly.  Minus his stick.

Clearly my photography leaves much to be desired.  My new pumpkin friend is a jingle bell.  His purple glitter mask coordinates splendidly.  I just tied his little head right onto the O.

And voila!  One of a kind Halloween decor that makes me look like I really know what I'm doing.  

Gotta love it.

It's the Milky Way

In my blog-before-last, I posted about how I had gone to a couple auctions and made out like a bandit.  My big find of the day was a large box of milk glass items that I said I would post pics of.  Well, here they are!

Group shot

There were a total of 24 pieces, and I got the whole box for $20.  I love a good deal.  I did have to separate out a couple of items I didn't fully approve of, and there are also a couple that I probably won't display - because they are ashtrays.

The bowl (upper left) was not part of this haul.

Matching candlesticks and votives

The 3 biggest pieces are my favorites.

Hobnail is my favorite!

There are a couple of opaque white glass items, two are stamped 'FTD 1976', and I am not super thrilled with them.  I don't know if they are collector's items or not, but I will probably try and ebay them anyway.

Next weekend:  More auctions with my bestie!  So stay tuned for new finds...

Pumpkin Cake, Pintested

Fan of Pinterest?  I am.  I use it A LOT, for everything from sewing projects, to home organization, home decor, and definitely TONS of food!!   

My 7 year old daughter has been asking and asking for cooking lessons, but there really aren't cooking lessons for kids...at least not locally for me.  She is always asking me if she can help cook, and I let her do some small tasks, but when you're working on dinner for an hour, your help tends to wander away...when they're 7 and the t.v. is on in the next room.

So, this particular recipe caught my eye recently, cause it's so dang EASY.  My daughter actually pointed it out...directing my pinning from over my shoulder...she was having me pin every dessert she saw.  This recipe I actually decided to try - unlike many of the food-porn recipes I pin just so I can look at them, knowing I will never actually make them - because it's only 2 ingredients.  I'm figuring that mixing TWO items together is right up her alley.

So, here it is.
One boxed cake mix, chocolate, vanilla, whatever. 
One 15 oz can 100% pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl mix cake mix with pumpkin filling using a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour batter into a greased 7 x 11 inch baking dish. Bake for 28 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

That's it.  I know, right?!

I had opened a large can of pumpkin last week to make low-fat Chicken Enchilada Soup, and froze the remaining half of the pumpkin.  After finding this recipe, I pulled it out to thaw, and finally got around to making the cake yesterday. 

I started with a vanilla cake mix - I use Dr. Oetker's - and my thawed pumpkin.  It mixed up beautifully!  The batter was smooth and had the most awesome pumpkin color. 

Fizzzzz!!

 

 
I happily handed over the beaters to be licked by both of my kids, who ahem *happily* posed for this pic:

What a bunch of comedians I live with.

After taking a couple licks, my son asked if I had put club soda in the batter.  Um, NO.  Well, the batter was 'fizzy'.  My pumpkin had gone bad.  GREAT.  That's a $4 cake mix down the garbage disposal!

I had friends coming over, so I desperately started the search for replacement ingredients.  I found another cake mix - but it's chocolate.  Oh hell, I like chocolate, what the heck?  I'm trying it.  Got out another can of pumpkin, and mixed up Cake Batter #2.  This batter looked a little dry, (the cake mix was slightly bigger) so I took the liberty of putting in about 1 1/2 T. of apple cider. 

After mixing, my people again oh-so-happily posed again with their lickables:

Oh my Gawd, mom, can we be done?

My husband suggested using a bundt pan, and I thought it was a pretty good idea.  Actually, I think he really just wanted an excuse to say 'bundt', and every variation of the word he could think of.  He's funny like that.  I did have to increase bake time to about 32 minutes.
Unfortunately, I forgot to get a picture of the finished cake after I plated it, but I did get a lovely shot of a piece I subsequently devoured with glee.  The sauce is an apple cider glaze.

The cake turned out denser than I expected, but I think it's in a good way.  It's pretty fudgy, very moist, but not really pumpkin-y.  The glaze is a perfect compliment.  It's good, I'd make it again, though next time I really want to try it with a vanilla cake mix!!

Apple Cider Glaze:

1 C. powdered sugar

2 T. apple cider

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Mix and drizzle!

Enjoy!!

Out of Summer Hibernation

Well it sure has been awhile, hasn't it?!  It's amazing how time flies...my last post was in mid-April!  The daily arrival of the school bus has changed things around here quite a bit, and now that I've got a pretty good schedule going again, I'm trying to work blogging back into my routine. 

I've been working on some new things, and I have a new page started up!  It's called Material Girl, and its for my little sewing biz.  I'm teaching classes at my local Hobby Lobby and making and selling some great items...you can see them on my new page (when I get them up), and I'll probably be posting them here also. 
 
Look, it's me!  

I'm also hoping to get into another store and teach there, as I can do quite a different variety of projects outside of Hobby Lobby's 'use our stuff' requirements.  Don't get me wrong, both formats are fine.  I have a zillion sewing projects that use the items that HL sells, but I've also got a bunch of green/reuse/recycle sewing projects that would require things they don't carry, I am really excited about trying them out, too.  I will definitely be posting those here and on my Adventures In Greenness Facebook page.


This past weekend our family got to go 'up north' with our BFFs...that's Best Families Forever, fyi...and hit an auction and quite a few estate/rummage sales.  I picked up a whole big box of milk glass items for $20 (almost 30 pieces!), a McCoy cookie jar, an awesome flame red/orange Fire King tilted ball pitcher, a flower frog, a very old pair of glasses, and a print of good old honest Abe. My friend acquired a projector screen...one of those metal ones that the teacher had to bring out and set up when we were in grade school...it has the stand right on it...you'd know it if you saw it...for A DOLLAR.  My friend's mom got another McCoy piece, a cute mule-pulling-a-cart mini-planter, a covered silver dish with spoon notch, and a couple other great items.  The garage at this house was so packed full of goodies, and there was another whole box full of pressed glass items that I know was feeling neglected, among so many other boxes that were just begging to be explored. 

As we were leaving we saw that there was also A BARN!!! that we didn't even realize was part of the sale (I know, right?!) so we tried to go back to the estate sale the next day, but unfortunately it was over.  You know the nightmare where you're running and running and your legs are dead weights and whatever you're running towards is getting further and further away?  That's how I've been dreaming of that barn. 

And speaking of junk, check out this beauty I curb-shopped from down the street...

This kind of stuff makes me happy.









Next post:  The Dissection of a Box of Milk Glass.  Have an awesome day!!

Creativity Room Master Plan...B

After consulting the experts at Sherwin-Williams, it has been determined that we have a few options that do not include what we thought we would be able to do, which was to put a nice big wallpaper band-aid over everything and pretend we never saw it.

Option 1:  Put a 'skim coat' over everything and start with a new surface resembling plaster.  Considering my skills at frosting cakes, this is definitely not a good idea.

Option 2:  Put a new layer of drywall over everything.  It may be weird, but knowing that I would lose an inch overall in the room would really bug me.  Call me picky.

This is obviously me.

Option 3:  Get the sledgehammer, have a couple cocktails and bang out some walls!!  This totally sounds like it would provide the most excitement.  But it would also take quite a while, I would be doing most of the demo myself (see pic), and I would like to make that room functional sooner than later.  Knocking out the walls would mean mess, cleanup, drywall, mud & tape (gag), sand, fix spots, prime & paint, decide I don't like the color and repaint.  That last one I threw in just for good measure.  Plus, we're not exactly drywall hanging pros, you know?  The ceiling in that room is all slanted and the house is old and crooked and the chances of us getting it all straight and wonderful aren't so hot.  At any rate, it's not a quick solution.

The Winner:  Strangely, the solution we have come up with makes me very happy!  Thanks to a conglomeration of high quality brainstorming, and a great suggestion from my friend Kimberly over at Scrap It Girl, this is it:
Ceilings will be redrywalled and painted some wonderful yet-to-be-determined color of my choice.
Lower walls will have wainscoting, topped with a chair rail where the wall meets the ceiling (about 3 1/2 feet or so off the floor).
Opposite walls will be covered in cork board (thanks Kimberly!).

Yes, the old mess will still be under there, but considering the lovely mental picture I have of what the room is going to look like, I'm just gonna go ahead and suck it up.  My OCD can kiss it.

My darling, wonderful, loving, hot, sexy, manly, macho, brilliant hubby said if it rains today and he can't work outside, we can voyage to the hardware store and get the supplies (Hi honey!  I'm ready to go!).  Yay!  I can't wait.

So I need to ask you all a favor.  PRAY FOR RAIN.  If you don't pray, then cross your fingers, cross your eyes, do your dance or sing your song.  Whatever you do, do it with RAIN in mind!!!  I will reward you all with another blog full of pictures of room progress and me being ecstatically happy.  And who doesn't want that?!