Painting My Closet

I love my closet. It was one of the selling features of this house. It’s very large and strangely shaped, with double closet doors that open to about 2/3s of it and the other 1/3 being hidden behind the shower wall. Also, it's in the ensuite bathroom, which sounds odd but is so convenient. 

Here’s me in the closet when we first bought the house. This is not a great photo and I debated posting it but decided that, because I was excited enough to have a picture of me in the closet, I really should share it with you. Also, it looks white in this photo but it isn't. It's actually builder's beige like the rest of our house.

At first I wasn’t sure how to best make use of the space so I put in a few random pieces of furniture and called it good enough. This is how it stayed for the first couple years.

Eventually I was annoyed with the way I was using the space so I bought a shelving system at Canadian Tire and a few extra shelves at Walmart. I didn't fix any holes or attach it to the wall but just moved it into place. It was much better and worked well for another couple years.

Which brings us to recently. 

I have been working to lose weight and be healthier (yay WW) and have started hating my closet. I have realized I have too much clothes and very little of it fits. It’s too big, too small, worn out, awkward, whatever. I’m working through it as my June space. While working through it, I decided to repaint the walls white. Remember my post about white closets?

J took the closet doors off and I took everything out of the closet, patched the holes, and prepared my supplies.

I then painted the closet white. It took two coats and I actually ran out of paint so part of it got finished with leftover ceiling paint. Oh well. I can’t see the difference.

Once the paint was dry I put all my shelving back in. Now it’s all clean and fresh and ready for me to start moving my clothing back in. Check back at the end of the month to see what I’ve done with the clothes.

Shared at: Ginger Snap Crafts, Hickory Trail, Fluster Buster, Clean and Scentsible, The 36th Avenue

Beaded Beachy Pendant

I made this piece of jewelry a few weeks ago. I love it and think it has a beachy feel, probably because of the colours. Rather than do a tutorial, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

I had planned on giving this as a gift but once it was finished, I decided it really wasn’t the style of the person. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it: keep it, give it to someone else, put it on Etsy. Until I decide, I’m just going to leave it hanging over the lamp in my office and continue to admire it.

On a separate topic, I can’t wait to show you what’s going on with my closet! My boys are gone on a father-son camping trip for the weekend and I’ve been taking advantage. I’m hoping to get it finished before Monday so I’ll post about it then.

Shared at: Life on Lakeshore Drive, Lines Across, Kathe With an E, Sugar Bee Crafts, Ginger Snap Crafts, Hickory Trail, Fluster Buster, Clean & Scentsible, The 36th Avenue

0 Point Crystal Light-sicles

These are so simple I’m almost embarrassed to share but they are my addiction and I thought others might love them too. Seriously, it's nothing for me to eat two or three a day!

To make them you need water, Crystal Light, and popsicle molds. Mix up the Crystal Light following the directions. I used a single (lemon lime is my favourite) in a bottle of water. Pour into popsicle molds. Freeze. Once frozen, take them out of the molds and eat. 

Because I don't completely dissolve my Crystal Light, I end up with little flavour bursts that I think are lovely. J complains that it makes the middle taste like an ice cube and likes his Crystal Light completely dissolved. 

The molds I use are from Ikea and it takes less than a bottle to fill up all six of them. Because of that, I can eat two (or three, or six) in a day and not feel bad about it. Also, with WW they’re 0 points which is always a bonus.

Shared at: Whatever Goes Wednesday, A Creative Princess, Sew Much Crafting, Artsy-Fartsy Mama, Diana Rambles, Natasha in Oz, Life on Lakeshore Drive, Lines Across, Kathe With an E, Sugar Bee Crafts

Graduation Centerpieces

On Friday we celebrated high school graduation for ten of our amazing students. As you may or may not know, I teach at an alternate school. I am truly blessed to have a job that I love and students who challenge me daily and never cease to amaze me with their strength and resiliency. Having ten graduates this year is very exciting for us!

We host our graduation at school and one of my jobs was to make the centerpieces. I found inspirations from a few different sources (which are pinned on my graduation board but don't link to the source) and then tweaked them to add my own flair.

To make these I used the following supplies:

Flower pots (10, 3 different shapes and sizes)

Spray paint

Floral foam

Kabob skewers

White paint and brush

Table scatter (I found packages with sparkly 2013, grad, and hats at Michaels)

Scrapbook paper

Cuttlebug and circle cutters

Stickers

Glue and books for weight

Shredded paper

The first thing I did was spray paint my flower pots. I used a paint and primer in one with a satin finish. As you can see, when I spray paint I always try to have the thing being painted propped up so my edges are clean. I only did one coat inside and out for full coverage.

Next, I painted my kabob skewers with white acrylic paint. In order to let them dry, I stuck them in some floral foam and left them overnight.

While the paint was drying, I cut some red and white circles. I also cut some with a scalloped edge but they didn’t look right so I didn’t use them. I put star stickers on each of the circles.

Next, I cut the floral foam to fit the flower pots. It doesn’t have to be perfect or look nice because it will be covered, it just needs to fit tightly in the pot.

This was the most tedious part. I placed each skewer in between two circles or pieces of table scatter, and attached the three parts together using white glue. I would do two at a time, placing them with sticks facing opposite ways, and leave them under books to dry together. I only did two at a time so this step took a while.

Once the glue was dry, I placed the skewers in the floral foam. I broke some of the skewers off in order to have them at different heights.

Finally, I covered the floral foam with shredded paper.

I was thrilled with how they turned out and even more excited to see a few people leaving with some of the decorations to use as souvenirs.

Before finishing up this post about graduation, I thought I'd show you my bulletin board. It's quite simple, with a photo of each graduate matted on white and red paper. I got everything ready and, as usual, had a student put it together.

So there you have it: some cute centerpieces to decorate the tables for the celebration of the hard work and dedication of an amazing group of students. Congratulations class of 2013.

Shared at: Lines Across, Kathe With an E, Sugar Bee Crafts, Hickory Trail, Fluster Buster, Clean & Scentsible, Ginger Snap Crafts, A Creative Princess, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Sew Much Crafting, Artsy-Fartsy Mama, Diana Rambles, Natasha in Oz, Life on Lakeshore Drive