Dirty Soda Bar

In the last six months, I have become a dirty soda addict. It all got started when I got a drink from Swig called "Endless Summer". I soon discovered that this is an expensive addiction. So after buying a couple of drinks, I decided to invest in my own Torani Syrups. After browsing around town and also online, the best and cheapest place I found to purchase these flavored syrups is an online store called lollicupstore.

My Dirty Soda Bar

These drinks are not my own creation. I went to the following websites to make this list:

Swig
Pop Shop
Fiiz

Trailer Reno: Update + Hubby's Blog

Here is a quick update about the trailer.

Flooring

A new window

We painted the cabinets, installed countertop in the kitchen and bathroom, and reinstalled the fridge and oven.

The hubby has been building a bench that slides out and turns into a twin bed.

We did take it out over the 4th of July and had a great time. It was the first time we used the plumbing, stove, and fridge. We even took two hot showers!

I think I will let the hubby take over the trailer reno posts from here on out. Go HERE for the latest trailer updates on his blog.

Trailer Reno: Re-sealing the Roof

Almost two weeks ago, we tackled resealing the trailer roof. I don't think it has been done since the thing was built. So it was time.

First thing we did was clean the roof with phosphoric acid. You can buy it at Home Depot.

This is the base coat and top coat we used for this project. We got this and a lot of our other trailer project supplies from HERE.

Matt rolled on two coats of the gray primer and let it dry between coats.

He did the same thing with the top coat. One day, the roof will match the rest of the trailer. One of our goals this year is to paint the exterior of the trailer white.

We also installed new vents. The others were trashed.

By the end of this project, there will be nothing left untouched...

Trailer Reno: Update and Priming the Inside

Last August, I left off with replacing the trailer floor. We ended the trailer summer project last year by getting the sides and back/front of the trailer back on, replacing structure that had rotted, rebuilding the wheel wells and also replacing some wall paneling.

Some Photos:

Even though we were no where near being done renovating this thing, we took it camping twice. We had a bathroom, heat, and a bathroom sink with running water. Way better than tent camping!

-Fast forward to Summer 2016-

We took the windows off, I scraped the butyl tape off each window and around the window holes. The hubby replaced butyl tape on trim pieces and caulked spots where water could potentially get in.

Before primer:

We then primed EVERYTHING inside the trailer with Kilz. By using Kilz, we also got rid of the icky stench that permeated the trailer.

This weekend, we are going to reseal the roof and paint inside. Stay tuned!

Pumpkin Trellis

I decided that I wanted to try growing pumpkins on a trellis. Maybe I can save some space and also minimize the destruction from the infestation of squash bugs I get every year. Maybe getting the pumpkin leaves off the ground will help... I won't hold my breath though.

We got our supplies at Home Depot:

I figure the pictures are enough of an explanation:

We welded the mesh sheets together. You can also use trellis netting or a pricey roll of this metal mesh (also found at Home Depot).

Hope this inspires someone!

Young Women Personal Progress Book Holder

So, I came across THIS tutorial the other day on Pinterest. I instantly fell in love and thought that I would make one for my niece's birthday present.

I found the lovely arrow fabric and all my other supplies at Hobby Lobby.

LDS Temple Bracelets How-To

Another gift I made and gave away for Christmas were temple bracelets. I looked around the internet for a step by step picture tutorial to help me, but didn't find one, so I thought I would add one to my blog.

If you want to learn more about the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, go HERE.

Supplies:
-white and clear beads
-alligator clip
-1 mm stretch cord
-jump ring
-clear coat finger nail polish
-jewelry making tools

Steps:
1. Cut stretch cord to desired length. Make sure you add a little more length so you can finish the end of the bracelet.
2. Open the jump ring and insert it through the hole of the alligator clip. Close the jump ring.
3. Thread beads onto the stretch cord.
4. Put one end of the stretch cord through the jump ring hole. Tie the two bracelet ends together. Knot it a few times.

5. Brush some clear coat finger nail polish onto the knot. This will seal the knot. Trim any extra stretch cord.

Different beads, different bracelets!

Since I was giving these as gifts, I found some cute sheer baggies at Hobby Lobby to put each bracelet into.

Family Birthday Board

For this past Christmas, I made our grandparents family birthday boards. Not only is this is a great gift idea for grandparents, but it's a fun creative way to keep track of family birthdays instead of using a boring wall calendar. This is not a full on tutorial, because let's face it, there are many tutorials out there. I just wanted to share my version of the birthday board, a supply list, and where to buy said supplies.

Supplies Needed:
-(1) 8" wide x 6' long pine board (makes 3 boards) Cut to 24"
-walnut stain
-acrylic paint
-vinyl
-eye hooks
-s hooks (buy them here)
-circle/heart wood cutouts w/pre-drilled holes (buy them here)
-little baggies (found at Hobby Lobby in the jewelry isle)
-fine tipped Sharpie

First, I painted the front of each board. Next, I carefully stained the sides and back of the board. Be careful not to get stain on the paint. After all that was dry, I applied the vinyl. Next, I added the eye hooks to the bottom of the board. With that, the board was done.

I decided I didn't want to paint all the wood cutouts, so I limited my painting to the hearts which I decided were for the great-grandchildren (since there are less of them right now). The circles are for the grandparents, children + their spouses, and the grandchildren + their spouses. I got little baggies and put the number of discs/hearts representing each family member in each individual family. For instance, I have my in-laws (2), my husband and I (2), brother/sister in law + son (3), brother in law (1). So in our family baggie we had 7 circles and 1 heart + (8) s hooks. I repeated that for each family unit. I also added a baggie with extra circles for future spouses of grandchildren and also a baggie of hearts for future great-grandchildren. I found a container at a thrift store to put the baggies in. I also added a fine tip Sharpie for writing names and birth dates on the discs.

It was a lot of work, so I'm glad it turned out as awesome as it did!

The Adorable Pallet Snowman

Let me tell you the birth story of this project. My sister's friend bought this snowman in the midwest. Since she knows my sister loves stuff like this, she texted this picture to her. I believe this snowman is made out of a giant spool, unfortunately, that's all I can tell you about it. So, like all our other projects, we dove in and made a plan as we went.

First thing we did was cut 3 (5.5"x 6') cedar fence slats in half (used 5 of the 6 half pieces). We also cut 1 (3.5"x6') cedar fence slat in half. We laid the boards out, found the middle and drew a big circle as shown.

I used my bandsaw to cut each board. I also cut out of the scraps: 2 eyes, 6 circles for the mouth, a nose, star, and a hat. I sanded and painted everything. The face is whitewashed.

Here's a back shot to show how we put this thing together.

This guy turned out so cute! Like with the pallet turkey, I was apprehensive about this project, but with some gentle pushing from my sister, we were able to make a really cute winter craft to display on each of our porches. He is so big that we can see him down the street.

The Adorable Snowman...

My sister came up a few days later and made some snowflakes for her shelf. Each snowflake is different in size and design. We made the winter letters a few years ago.