Nasty hands no more.

Well, it was flea market friday! I took all 3 kids with me, so my attention was too divided for any serious shopping. Jackson chose these old street signs for his new, "cool" room. ( I talked about it here).



I bought these salt and pepper shakers. They are each about 10" tall. I have already painted them blue, and I will post a picture when they are competely finished. They are ceramic, so, don't worry, I practically boiled them.




I bought an enormous dog bowl, but I don't have a dog.





I bought this wrought iron stand for $3. I have some experience with old, yucky stuff. I have recovered and repainted some pretty sketchty things. Having said that, removing the cushion from this thing was nasty.
It had several layers of vinyl, and they all smelled like.......well, use your imagination.

I kept the piece of wood that I removed the cover from. ( I knew it fit, and I didn't want to have to ask my husband to cut a new one. He just luuuuuvs my little projects...)

I traced the dog bowl onto the piece of wood, then traced another line 1/3" from that. I used a jigsaw to cut out the smaller traced circle.

I re attatched the wood, painted the whole thing black, then added some extra touches.




In case you are still wondering what this is, it's a basin for my kids to wash their hands on the patio before coming inside.
They sometimes look like they've been digging for China with their bare hands.





They also like to eat outdoors a lot in the summer, and this way I don't have to drag them all upstairs to wash hands.





I attatched a little wire basket to the top with a screw to hold soap.

No, I didn't choose the Lava soap because it matched the table. My Pappy, (yes, I said Pappy), always used Lava soap and an old enamelware bowl next to the garden hose to wash up from the garden.There is pumice in the soap, so it really cleans the grime off.





I had to add a cute little hook for a towel. I used heavy duty, sticky velcro to attatch it. ( again, avoiding any male involvement:)

Lilly and her neighbor friend played with it longer than it took me to make it.

LittlebitsDesigns.com

Scary Santa

Wanna see something really creepy?? My cousins Bill and Kari have a sort of "who can post the most embarrassing photo" of each other thing on Facebook. Some of the photos have made me laugh myself silly. Some of them have included me in very awkward stages and situations.



This isn't the scary picture, believe it or not.
Yes, that's me around 10 years old. I am at my grandmother's, pretending to be a weather girl with a board (my weather map) and a stick (to point at things on the weather map). Love the highwaters and vest. I posted this so I could humiliate myself - in hope that my cousins will not retaliate for putting a picture of them into the blog world.
The scary picture is of the single creepiest Santa I have ever seen. I makes me laugh and shudder everytime I look at it.




I cannot even begin to fathom what might be going on in this guys head. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be legal though. Kari must have caught on, she looks pretty miserable.
Call me crazy, but I thought this would be good for a laugh.


www.LittlebitsDesigns.com

Lady Antebellum visits!

If you have read my blog at all during the month of May, you know my oldest son's school was completely underwater in the flood. They have been attending class in local churches to finish out the school year.
(Post here.)
Yesterday, they had a special visitor. Hillary Scott, from Lady Antebellum, came to see the 4th graders.



One of Jackson's friends, Preston, got to play and sing with her!!



Hillary attended DCA, so I guess she was checking in on her alma mater.



When I picked up the kids at carpool, they were all starstruck. They had autographs on anything and everything.

Preston's mom posted a video on Facebook, but I couldn't post it here. ( Well, I didn't know how :)

LittlebitsDesigns.com

Friday Fives -- Favorite Photos

5 of my favorite pictures


Baker getting ready to play in the snow. I think he looks like he just stepped out of an episode of "Deadliest Catch".


Lilly at 2. Plastic high heels, a Diego vest, and a pull up.
Oh yeah, and a baby.


Teddy bear? Special blanket? Nope. A football. He loves football.



My sister, myself, and my cousin at my grandparent's. There were plenty of cats to go around.


This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it!

One scared little viking.

LittlebitsDesigns.com

Books for Boys

I love childresn's books. I collected them even before had children. Sometimes I love the story, sometimes it's the artwork.



My boys have always seemed to gravitate to books written a long time ago. Some of our favorites...




I don't know exactly why, but all3 of my children have loved this book at about 3 yrs. old. I've read it so many times I could recite it to you at any moment.






My boys loved this story of the old fashioned ice cream man. I had to stress to my kids that this ice cream man has nothing in common with our ice cream man.
The first ice cream truck I ever saw in our neighborhood was really questionable. It was an old, beat up white van with a sticker on the door that said "Bubba's Ice Cream". It was just a creeepy guy with a chest freezer rigged up in the back. (I was sure he had more than Nutty Buddys stuffed in that freezer).
We now have a regular ice cream truck that comes by, but the driver is never as pleasant (or as clean), as the book.
It's a short, cute little story that will leave you wanting to raid the freezer.



Ferdinand is a big, strong bull that's different from all the other bulls, and he's happy that way. I like that it touches on being who you are, no matter what everyone else is doing. It's set in Spain, and my boys always liked the parts with the matadors.




I just finished reading this book to my six year old. He loved it so much, we read it in 3 nights. He was facinated with how the children built things, cooked for themselves outdoors, etc. I highly recommend this book to read with a younger child or new reader.


LittlebitsDesigns.com

An order here, an order there...

Every season, you have to swap out the clothes in your kids' closets for the new season.
I hate doing this. It's what I did all day today. The kids have been wearing the same 3 outfits over and over waiting for me to do this.

It's a big mess, I have to decide what to keep, consign, give away, etc. Does everyone dread this like I do??

The only pleasure for me is getting a fresh look at all the clothes I bought for Lilly. I love my boys dearly, but, let's be honest, dressing them isn't nearly as much fun.(The euphoria soon wears off when I realize I have to iron most of it.)

(Sometimes I get carried away.)

I know it won't be long until she has an opinion and she'll want to wear glittery leggings and a Jonas Bros. t-shirt. Until then, I will indulge myself in the power to pick her wardrobe.

What I'm getting at is, I didn't 'work' much today. But here's some recent stuff.

Baby plates. Some have dates, some will be added when the baby is born.

Isaiah canvases.

LittlebitsDesigns.com

Wordless Wednesday

Grocery Nerd IV - alotta yogurt

I was able to go to the grocery alone today. It's the last tine until September, so I tried to enjoy it. (as much as anyone can enjoy a trip to the grocery).

Here it is....

3 greek yogurts (my favorite!)
2 loaves Sara Lee bread
3 Gortons frozen shrimp
1 Gortons frozen salmon
4 four packs la creme yogurt (I've never had this before)
3 Philly cream cheese snack size (for lunches)
2 Hidden Valley dressings
1 Fisher snack mix
1 12pk Fig Newton snack packs
1 15 pk Kraft Handi-snacks (the cheese in these makes me gag)
3 McCormick marinades
2 packs kool-aid fizz tabs(they were free - I'll try 'em)
1 lb brown rice (steam, vacum seal in steam bags, freeze,microwave for instant rice)
1 box Capri sun (this will last 5 minutes, maybe)
Celery
2 Go-Gurts
1 Carefree pantyliners ( I know, thanks for sharing :)
1 Cover girl mascara
bag cole slaw mix
Cover Girl eyeshadow ( any one want it? i don't wear it)
1 J&J soap bar
1 oscar Mayer lunch meat
1 Crest toothpaste
John Frieda shampoo & conditioner
3 Honey Bunches of Oats
2 Golden Grahams
1 Cocoa Puffs (the kids were thrilled)
1 Trix ( thrilled again...)
4 jars peanut butter
12 pk Lemon lime seltzer water
8 ears yellow corn

Total before coupons and discounts $172.27
Total after coupons and discounts $37.24
(this is before tax)

I saved $135.03 by shopping sales with coupons, and stocking up. I noticed on my receipt that they left off a $3 coupon, but I didn't want to look like a total coupon freak by going to customer service. I will spend the remainder of my budget (roughly $20), on fresh fruit, veggies, and meat. My budget includes beauty products, cleaners, etc.

I happened to have some good Kroger coupons this time, so that helped. Publix accepts competitor coupons, even on store brands.
If you need to save money pleeeeeese visit these sights. It's so much easier than you think.

Southern Savers

I Heart Publix

Faithful provisions

Frugal Dr. Mom




LittlebitsDesigns.com

Top 2 Tuesday - Dream Houses

Top 2 Tuesday......Dream houses






This is my idea of a house. I'm not in love with these colors, but I love all the nooks and crannys. I don't want unused space in my house. I also don't care for lots of really high ceilings. I like things to be warm and cozy.



I love the idea of a bright and sunny kitchen with lots of windows. If I am honest with myself though, I know it would drive me nuts. When sunlight shines in, it shows every single speck of dust and fingerprint. (shudder)
The yellow light fixtures are great.




I like the simplicity of this kitchen, but I would nix the glass fronts on the cabinets. Who has all matching dishes that are always perfectly stacked?? I like doors that do what they are supposed to - hide my junk.




I would totally settle for this little shack/room/cottage, as long as it was parked right on the beach.




I would actually live in anything if it came with one of these.



Live in. Full time. (but legal)



LittlebitsDesigns.com

Pink and Green nursery

So, here is the adorable bedding for this nursery. I love, love, love Amy Butler fabrics, and this is a great taste of what her entire collection looks like.
With some basics, adorable bedding, and a few shabby chic redo's, this customer had an instantly sweet nursery.



Here's everything all together. I wish I had photos of it in place, not in my floor.




This canvas was HUGE. She has 12 ft ceilings, so it needed to be huge. The ribbon at the top is going to be ivory instead of the pink. This canvas will hang over the crib (and the yummy bedding).






Does this bright pink look familiar?? It might if you read about the armoire here.
This side table will be next to a rocking chair. I love working with old pieces like this. As I painted and sanded, I got to see all the different colors this table has been over the years. White, black, blue, and silver.

Yes - silver. What does the rest of a room with silver side tables look like? Ohh, if this table could talk...





Light fixture. This will have simple, little green shades.

A large memo board. Same pink.

Sweet little polka dot ribbons.

Hopefully, I will have pictures of the finished nursery to share later.

LittlebitsDesigns.com