New {striped} curtains

I stopped in Lowe's the other day for a can of spray paint. It was bad luck that they didn't have a very good selection of paint colors, however, it was good luck they were having a HUGE curtain sale. When I say huge I mean there were panels for as low as $4.99 and there were so many to choose from!


One of the things on my June To Do List was to buy/make new curtains for our kitchen. Well I've been looking but couldn't find anything I liked until now. I bought three sets of curtains and tried them all out and I think I may have found a winner. I like how these blue and green striped curtains lighten up the room. What I don't like is how the background color {beige} blends into the wall but I think that is what lightens up the space so I am okay with that. Here is a sneak peak of what the curtains look like but I'll take more pics once I have a chance to clean up the space and accessorize {to see pictures of this area with my old curtains click here}.



Don't you hate those just-out-of-the-package wrinkles?

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

{embrace} the camera: july 15

The girls and I enjoyed some time on the swings yesterday evening. They looked too cute and were having so much fun that I made Arielle run inside and bring out the camera. Averi loved the swing so much so I took a little video. She is such a happy baby!

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

A little of this and a lot of that

Sadly I haven't had a lot of time for fun projects lately. I don't think I've been to a thrift store in over a month either. I have managed to squeeze in a tablescape on my newer console table and another chalkboard makeover.


You may remember this post about the challenges I am facing with decorating my console table that sits next to our huge entertainment center in our living room. I hadn't done a thing with it until last week when I redecorated my mantel {you can see that post here}. I decided to use the accessories that were previously on my mantel until I can find some time to shop for new ones. I also purchased six eyelot tote bins from Bed Bath and Beyond so I could have lots of storage. I love the bins but i think having six of them might be a bit too much. However, having two young kids the storage comes in so handy so I probably won't be changing them out any time soon.





I love the gallery picture frame from Red Envelope that I have hanging about the table but it doesn't look as good without pictures in it! Maybe I'll have time to do that this weekend.




Here is my latest chalkboard makeover. I know I have been doing a lot of these lately but I couldn't help myself from finishing off a can of chalkboard paint that I had leftover from other projects. I had this great frame sitting around that was black but I spray painted it with glossy white. I have it hanging near the door to our garage so we can leave messages. This will be very helpful in the mornings when we are rushing out the door to school and work!

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

Giveaway at Nikki's Nacs

Don't miss the CSN giveaway that Nikki is hosting! She has a great blog too so while you're over there check out her awesome decorating skills and two cute kiddos.

Post edit:

I WON!!!!

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

Summer {Mantel} Makeover

I finally got around to brightening up my mantel for the summertime! I've mentioned before that my living room feels very dark primarily because of the dark colored, large pieces of furniture. While I really like the brown accent color around the fireplace it also adds to the darkness of the room so because of this I brought in some lighter accessories. I am really liking the new accessories and have something in mind for changing up my Letter "M" Project a little bit to brighten it up as well.

Here is the mantel before I redecorated it:

Here is the mantel after I brightened it up a bit:



I borrowed a couple of the accessories from other rooms of the house and also incorporated some of my new thrift store goodies. The tall, twisty candlesticks were recent purchases from Home Goods and I think they look give a lot of balance and height to the mantel.

All Linked Up:

The Shabby Chic Cottage...Transformation Thursdays

Just A Girl...Show and Share Day

The Shabby Nest...Frugal Friday

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

Heritage Square ~ Golden, Colorado

We had a very nice three day holiday weekend despite Arielle's 48 hour stomach bug. The night before the 4th of July Zak and I got about 3 hours of sleep because Arielle was running a fever of 102-103 most of the night. The next day she was feeling better but the weather wasn't very cooperative. The temperature ended up dipping to 55 degrees and it was raining and quite windy so we ended up watching the fireworks from our house just like we did last year. Fortunately we have a view of at least five firework displays and a lot of neighbors that like to light their own {extremely big and loud} fireworks. The next day Arielle was back to her old {fiesty} self so we ventured out to Heritage Square, a small amusement park in Golden, Colorado that is home to the largest Alpine Slide in our state. Arielle rode many rides including the Tilt-a-Whirl and Scrambler for the first time ever. The Tilt-a-Whirl was by far her favorite and she made Zak go on it two times in a row which did him in! Averi and I spent a lot of time sitting around in the shade because spinny rides make me sick. She was so good all day until the car ride home when she cried the whole way because I didn't bring her afternoon bottle with us. Averi has gotten so interactive and she babbles just as much as her sister, if not more! She laughs and smiles a LOT too. Lately she has started crying when someone holds her if I am in the same room. My mom says I was the same exact way...there is no mistaken that she is my baby from her looks to her personality.

Here are some of my favorite pics from our outing:

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

Pretty {Thrift} Decor

I have found some good stuff on my recent trips to the thrift store. I am loving the color scheme of all of my new items as they go so well together. I can't wait to start redecorating some spaces in my house with all of my new pretty decor.

Here is a description of the items from left to right:

-A small black and silver picture frame {my favorite colors} for 99 cents

-A medium sized white container from Edible Arrangements for $3.99

-Another, smaller white container from Edible Arrangements for $1.50

-A small green container from Pier One for 69 cents {the best bargain}

-Three small terra cotta pots for $1.99

-A small light green gravy dish for $1.99

Total spent = $12


~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

Chalkboard {Frame} Art

Making chalkboards is definitely one of the easiest do-it-yourself projects. I have made a few and have plans to make another one soon as well as do some chalkboard labeling on various containers. One of my favorite chalkboard projects so far was created by using set of three square picture frames, two small and one large, that I found at Salvation Army for $1 each.

Here is the larger one that is currently hanging above my coat rack in the entryway:

Here are the two smaller ones that are hanging in my half bathroom:



To start making them I removed the backing insert from the frame and sprayed the frames with chalkboard paint. Then I cut fabric squares larger than the backing and attached them to the backing with Elmer's Spray Adhesive. I wrapped the excess fabric around the other side of the backing and placed it back in the frame. Next I hot glued various shells directly to the fabric. Last but not least I wrote beach themed words and messages around the frames.


The possibilities for these frames are endless and I can easily change them at any time. I thought about attaching some silver clips and creating a message board and still might try it if I get tired of the shells. If anyone else tries this I'd love to see what you come up with!

All Linked Up:

Today's Creative Blog...Get Your Craft on Tuesday

Nikki's Nifty Knacks...Gettin' Crafty on Hump Day

The Shabby Chic Cottage...Transformation Thursdays

The Shabby Nest...Frugal Friday

A Soft Place to Land...DIY Day Beach Edition

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

{embrace} the camera

Averi at 7 months

With Momma:

With Daddy:

With Sister:

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~

Personalized {Subway} Sign

I've been seeing homemade subway signs all over the place recently {you can see some of my inspiration here}. I love the way they look and really wanted to make one for myself but I wasn't thrilled about spending a lot of time stenciling and painting for a couple of reasons. One, I don't have a lot of free time and two, I don't have a steady hand.

So Zak and I brainstormed on how we could create one electronically and pay to have it printed. Fortunately, Tee, Zak's Dad is a graphic art designer with his own business called "First Impressions" so he helped us out using Adobe Illustrator {I created my version in Microsoft Word and sent it to him to convert}. We took the file to Kinkos and had it printed on heavy weight paper for a total cost of $23.

The size 16x20 was determined by a frame that I found at Goodwill for $3. It is a very basic wood frame that was originally painted dark blue. I sanded it down and spray painted it with Rustoleum Aluminum.

It turned out to look like more of a modern piece of art as opposed to a vintage sign but I really like the simplicity of it. Each of the street names are symbolic to Zak and I and that is my favorite thing about it!

Total Cost = $30

All Linked Up:

Tatertots and Jello...Subway Art Party

Today's Creative Blog...Get Your Craft On Tuesday

Just A Girl...Show and Share Wednesday

The Shabby Chic Cottage...Transformation Thursday





~Momma to Bug n' Bear~