Finding Winter Deals in the Summer with thredUP

I love shopping for deals.  I mean love it.  One of my favorite ways to save money is to shop for seasonal clothes at the end of the season.  I try to stock up on bathing suits in October when they are on clearance and I shop for winter coats in May.  

Lucky for me thredUP makes it easy to shop for off season items any time of year.  Recently I picked up new jackets for the kids at 60%-70% off retail prices.  The coat I bought for Cole was even new with tags, and still marked over 60% off!  

thredUP makes it easy to search for winter wear on their site by simply using the sort function.  You can search for boys, girls or women's - outerwear - and then just look for the type of jacket you want.  In addition to coats, you can also pick up hats, gloves, tights, boots, and even more winter necessities at far below retail prices.  So what are you waiting for?  Get shopping those off season items and get ready to save.

DIY Ombre Staircase

I recently set out to paint the risers on our stairs.  After scouring pinterest I settled on a dark blue to light blue progression.  I purchases 4 sample size blues ranging from dark to light.  I painted two stairs with the purchased color and then added some white paint to make it lighter and painted 2 more stairs.  Here is the finished project.

A Few Favorite UpCycled Projects

Since Earth Day is in just a few days I thought I'd feature a few of my favorite UpCycled projects from years past. 

Crib Rails UpCycled into a Book Sling

Dish & Bowl Bird Feeder

Distressed Pallet Sign

Giant Spool UpCycled to Outdoor Science Lab

Gear Up for Summer with thredUP

Here in Florida winter is long gone and summer is in full swing.  Warmer temperatures means it's time to take stock in the kids' closets and stock up on those summer essentials.  

If your kids are like mine, they grow like weeds.  It seems like the clothes I saved for them to wear again this summer are already tight.  Good thing for me thredUP carries a wide variety of clothes for boys and girls.  But the really great thing is that thredUP also carries clothes for ME!

So hop on over to thredUP and create an account.  You'll actually get $10 off your first order just for using my link.  You can search for shorts, bathing suits, even sandals.. pretty much everything you need to kick off your summer.

DIY Bathroom Plank Wall

I declared 2015 the year of the bathroom projects around here and I've started off with a bang.  My first DIY project was to install a plank wall in our downstairs bathroom.  I took no pictures during the project, because I wasn't really sure how it was going to turn out.  I'll post my steps down below, but if you want a more in-depth tutorial, I recommend this one from Life, Crafts & Whatever, and this one from This Nest is Blessed.  It was much easier than I expected and turned out phenomenal, in my opinion. 

Start at your local home improvement store (we went to Home Depot).  You'll need some sheets of plywood.  I opted for the "nicer" plywood that was a little more expensive, but in the end I think it turned out better than the cheaper stuff would have.  Ask a nice employee to cut it into strips on their gigantic saw.  I had them do 6 inch strips.  

My next step was to gather up any leftover paint, stain, etc. I could find in the garage.  Every single color you see was created with something I already owned.  I also left a few planks untreated.  My project covered a pretty small area so I painted 2 of each of my 6" strips in each different color.  Then I sanded and distressed the crap out of them.

Then it was time to start installing.  I was originally going to make the studs and nail the board onto the wall.  But I'm lazy so I just went and bought some liquid nails and used that to adhere them.  I started at the bottom, checking every few rows to see if they were level.  If you're off a little, you can use a coin in between rows to prop the boards up a little while the glue dries.  This make it easy to keep working and keep everything looking like it was spaced correctly.

The hardest part of this project was working around the small lip of the sink and cutting an areas for the light fixture.  I had to do all that with a small hacksaw and it took FOREVER.  When I reached the top I had a small section left so I also had to cut my boards length-wise to make them fit.  

I finished it off with a new frame for the mirror.  I made this myself using 4 pieces of wood and adhered it with liquid nails again.  We also sprung for a new industrial looking light fixture that I found on ebay.

Here are some of the side-by-side before and after pics I took so you can get the full effect.

Use It as A Cooler For Drinks at Your Next Party {10 Fun Things to Do with Your Water Table}

This is my favorite use of the water table.  Because they have a plug at the bottom to drain water, they make great coolers for drinks.  Check out some other fun ideas for your water table at Jacksonville Moms Blog.

Fill It with Snacks & Drinks at Your Next Garage Sale {10 Fun Things to Do with Your Water Table}

Having a garage sale soon?  Set the kids up with some snacks in the water table.  Read more ideas for your Sand & Water table at the Jacksonville Moms Blog.

Ikea Hack for Hot Wheels Track

This a super easy Ikea hack that I came up with the other day.  I used a RATIONELL VARIERA plastic bag dispenser to hold all of Cole's Hot Wheels Track that won't fit in a standard sized bin.  It attaches to the wall and makes it easy for him to grab what he needs.

Toilet Paper Roll Treasure Hunt

This was an activity we did last year at Cole's birthday party.  We had a Carnival Party and I used our sandbox as treasure hunt site.

 Treasure Hunt Supply List: toilet paper rolls, pipe cleaners, wrapping paper, small prizes

 Begin by stuffing your prizes into our toilet paper rolls.  I used small bags of Legos since those are always a hit.

Make sure you have enough for all your party guests.

Wrap up your toilet paper rolls and secure the ends with pipe cleaners.

Bury your prizes just under the surface of the sand and start digging!  You might want to be sure to count how many prizes you've actually buried so that you know when everything has been found.

Wandering Wednesday {Cardboard Tube Home Storage}

Today's Wandering Wednesday comes from shelterness.com.  Technically these are toilet paper rolls, but they are cardboard tubes.  I love the way these cardboard tubes were repurposed to create storage in an entryway.  What a neat way to reuse something that would have been discarded as trash.

Paper Towel Roll Countdown Chain

I have always been a big fan of the countdown chain.  Basically you make an item for each day left until a major even (birthday, vacation, holiday) and then every morning a piece of the chain is taken away until there are none left.  I used to do these all the time when I was teaching so that my students could visualize how many days were left until a certain event.  A few weeks before Cole's birthday we decided to make one for him.

 Countdown Chain Supply List: 3-4 paper towel rolls, paint, ribbon or string, scissors

 Begin by painting your paper towel rolls with various colors.

 Figure out how many days until your event and cut your paper towel rolls accordingly.  Tie one of your rings to your string or ribbon.  We used a piece of tulle that I had leftover from a tutu I had just made.

String your paper towel roll pieces until they are all on the string.

Hang them somewhere prominent in your house so that they can be viewed every day.  This turned out to also be a great math lesson.  Every morning when Cole woke up he would tear a ring off and then we would count how many were left.

Here is his on his birthday with his very last paper towel ring.

Wandering Wednesday {Toilet Paper Roll Pincushion}

If I gave away an award for the biggest transformation to a toilet paper roll I think this Toilet Paper Roll Pincushion would take the cake.  I had to take a second look at these because I almost didn't believe it was a toilet paper roll.

Paper Towel Roll Hamster Entertainment

This may be old news to rodent owners but last month while on vacation in Boston we visited the Museum of Science.  The museum was incredible and the kids had a blast and wouldn't you know that one of the exhibits had a hamster cage, complete with paper towel roll for added entertainment.  

Using Toilet Paper Rolls to Dry Easter Eggs

 Easter Egg Supply List: 3 toilet paper rolls, eggs, egg dying kit

 Cut your toilet paper rolls into 3/4" sections.  Dye your eggs following the kit guidelines and set on the cardboard tubes to dry.

Book Suggestion: We love pretty much anything from Laura Numeroff and Happy Easter, Mouse! is no exception.  You can follow our favorite mouse as he tries to figure out who is leaving Easter eggs all over his house.

Wandering Wednesday {Shell Napkin Ring}

I saw this little gem over on the Crafts-For-All-Seasons website.  If you click over there and look at the instructions for this project they shared a great tip of wrapping the paper towel roll with wax paper before starting the craft.  I thought this was a wonderful tip that I will use on craft projects in the future.

Paper Towel Roll Sign Holders

 Sign Supply List: paper towel rolls, printed sheets, packing tape

 Adhere your printed sheets to a paper towel roll.

This was an easy little project we did to create a 35 sign in honor of my 35th birthday, which is today.  I wanted to be sure to capture exactly what 35 looks like with my 2 little monkeys.

Toilet Paper Roll Bird Feeder

A few months ago we created some bird feeders for our yard.  Well, when we were planning for our recent camping trip my mom mentioned bringing some supplies so the kids could create bird feeders for outside our cabin.  I love bringing simple items with us on vacation so that we can create projects in our down time.  This one was a huge hit with all the kids on our trip.

Bird Feeder Supply List: 2 toilet paper rolls, peanut butter, plastic knife, string/ribbon/twine, cereal/bird seed

Cut your toilet paper rolls in half so that you have 4 smaller pieces.  Spread peanut butter on your cardboard tubes.

Roll your tubes in the cereal first and then in the bird seed.  If you don't have any bird seed you could use only cereal.

Tie your rolls together and hang on a tree outside.  I don't have any pictures of birds or squirrels enjoying a treat because I couldn't get my camera unpacked when we saw them.  Oh well, maybe next time.

Note: If you want to do this craft with kids who have peanut allergies, you can use marshmallow fluff to get your seeds and cereal to stick.

Wandering Wednesday {Pen Holder}

I love this simple idea for pen and colored pencil storage.  I might have to make up a few of these for Cole.  His collection of crayons and colored pencils is out of control!  Hop on over to the re-nest site for details on how to make your own.

Cardboard Tube Bird Feeder

 Cardboard Tube Bird Feeder Supply List: toilet paper roll or paper towel tube, peanut butter, string or twine, bird seed, spatula

 Use the spatula to spread peanut butter on your cardboard tube.  Make sure to get it on nice and thick.

 Once it is covered, roll your tube in bird seed.

 Thread a piece of string through the tube and tie it in a knot.

Hang it outside and wait for your little bird friends to stop by for a bite to eat.

Book Suggestion: We checked out Backyard Bird Watching for Kids: How to Attract, Feed, and Provide Homes for Birds from the library and it had some great ideas for kids about how to attract birds into your backyard.  It has very simplistic language that is easy for a preschooler to understand.  Cole loved the bright pictures and all the interesting information about birds.

Toilet Paper Rolls as Painting Props

 I started a little redecorating the other day and I needed something to prop up picture frames while I was spray painting them.  I cut a paper towel roll into several pieces and used it prop up my frames.

 Having the frames propped up on something thin allowed me to give them a nice even coat of paint.  I just love the way they turned out.