IKEA Hacks

        Have you heard of these? I just recently had a conversation about this new trend. Now I love IKEA, but I never thought to makeover the items i have bought.
        Until I heard someone talk about these hacks...So I started to do some research. I have this table from IKEA that I bought for my little one. I wanted something that he could sit and eat or play at, that didn't take up too much space, so he could be in the kitchen with me. This table won when I saw that it came with two chairs and was only $20! I started to browse through Pinterest (there are lots of great ideas there!) and saw people were doing all kinds of makeovers to IKEA furniture! I started to get really excited!
         Now, I am a very much an instant gratification kind of girl. I did not want to wait until my husband came home to help, so I got to work. I went into the garage and found out we had some paint left over from when I painted our entry way. It was blue...how perfect for a little boy! Then I found the leftover chalkboard paint from painting our chalkboard wall...even better! Finally, I wanted something fun for the chair covers. During my research, I saw many options. Since I knew my two-year-old would be eating/drinking (Spilling!) at this table, I wanted something that was somewhat water resistant...(Insert light bulb moment here) I chose contact paper!! We always have lots of it, so, once again, I didn't have to make a special trip. Instead of just using plain white (boring) contact paper, I used some clear and put a colroful piece of scrapbook paper underneath! Are you ready to see the results?
First- here is the before:

 Cute, but boring!
Here is the mess I made while refinishing!

 

And the seat with scrapbook paper and contact paper

 

Did I tell you the best part....I used chalk board paint for the top!!

And finally....the finished product!

What do you think?? I would love to see anything you have transformed from IKEA!!

 

 

St. Paddy's Day Crafts

       Since it is almost Easter, and since I missed almost the whole month of March, I think it is only fair that I share our crafts we made for St. Patrick's Day! This way, you can be {WAY} ahead for next year!
       It seems odd to me that St. Pat's and Easter are in the same month. Isn't Easter supposed to be in April? I am  not complaining- I love Easter, but it just seems strange.
       Anyways...we made St. Pat's crafts at the beginning of the month, and waited until after to start on the Easter ones ( I will be sharing those soon!)
One of the first crafts we did were these shamrocks:

 To make these, I cut one sheet each of dark green, light green, and yellow tissue paper into squares. They do not have to be perfect little squares. Just small enough to have room for lots of colors.

Then, I got a piece of green cardstock and cut out the outline of a shamrock. I got a piece of clear contact paper and placed the outline on to it. I let the boys go to town "decorating" their clovers. Jacob chose to place carefully, while Kyle wanted to dump the whole bucket and be done! :)

 

When they were all done, I put another piece of contact paper on top to hold it all toether and cut out the shape. It is now hanging on our awesome hanging thing from IKEA.

We also made another painting like the one we made for Valentine's Day. This time, I let Jacob do the painting, and gave Kyle a little canvas of his own to do what he wanted with. I am seriously in love with what J decided to do. It looks awesome! Before I share, here is what that project looked like!

Lots of green paint!

 

 

 

 

We only made a *little* mess!! :)

 

J hard at work!

Here is the end result! I can't stop looking at it! I think he did a great job!

One final thing we ( I ) did was a scratch art picture. I will be sharing the whole project next week, but for now, this is what it looked like to start

 

 I can't wait to finish sharing the rest of our month with you! See you soon!

 

 

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday is back, too!!
 Along with the business of our last few weeks, our menu "plan" has suffered a little. I had the whole month planned out, but it changed SO MUCH!
I am happy to be back on track and I am looking forward to this week's menu!
Here is what we have planned:

                                         Pulled pork in the crock pot and homemade coleslaw
                                         

Rotel Chicken enchilada skillet

 

Savory Chicken (Freezer Meal Recipe)

 

This is a favorite in our house, so we always have it on hand. The link will take you to a site with a lot more freezer recipes. We have tried them all! :)

                                                                       Taco Soup

                              Pizza night!!! We will be having salami, spinach, and provolne pizza!

I will be at a photography woekshop in Connecticut, and the boys will be at the Pinewood Derby regionals, so we won't be eating together today! :(

                                                              
We are having ham, green bean casserole, and whatever else yummy I can find to make!!


I hope you all enjoy your Easter!
I would love to know what you are eating this week! Leave your comments below, or post them on Facebook HERE!!
And, as always, I am linking up with I'm an Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday!