DIY Sea Salt Hairspray

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Nicole

One of the most amazing perks of my new job is that I’m often in the ocean.  I have to admit, the transition from stay-at-home mom to Naturalist Attendant for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment has been… well… SO MUCH FUN!!  

Other than getting paid to go on Eco-Adventures and teach people all about the sea, another added benefit to my work is that most days of the week I am sporting beach hair.  What exactly is beach hair, you ask?  It’s those luscious, wavy locks one gets after a day of paddling through the waves.  Used to be that the only way to get said locks was to go to the nearest pier and dunk your head into the ocean.

Continue reading →

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Succulent Shell Wreath

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Nicole

The one thing you should know about me is that I like to spend oodles and oodles of money on home decor (pfff… Um, no. I wish.) In all honesty, I’m extremely passionate about handmade DIY – on a budget. I love being able to enjoy beautiful things, but in my eyes they are even more beautiful when I got a lot of bang for my buck. I’m really excited about the project I will be sharing today, because not only is it something that we’ll be able to enjoy for a long (long) time, but it also cost less than $20 to make! ^_^ Talk about bang for your buck!!

Continue reading →

Posted in Decor, Tutorials | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teacher Appreciation (Free Printable)

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Nicole

It’s “Teacher Appreciation Week” at Maddy’s school.  And judging by the fact that Maddy talks about Miss Sarah and Miss Ching every two-and-a-half minutes (yesterday I had to convince her that Miss Sarah didn’t want all the change from her piggy bank, and the day before that she stole the house key off my keychain and tried to give it to Miss Ching so she could visit anytime) – I knew I had to make something special for these two spectacular women.

And in case you’re wondering, yes those things really did happen… lol.  ^_^

Continue reading →

Posted in Free Printables | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

101 Idea “I’m Bored” Jar

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Nicole

Summer is fast approaching, and I have small(ish) kids in my family that I usually end up babysitting (but don’t tell them that) during summer vacation. Definitely fun times. Except when they approach me with dreary faces and dully pronounce the two most irksome words known to mom (and babysitter)-kind:

“I’m bored.”

My usual response is, “Hi Bored. I’m Nicole.” However, that didn’t solve the problem. So I moved on to playing the Wicked Witch every time I heard those dreaded words and would use them as slaves for their free child labor give them housework and chores that needed doing. Good for me – not so cool for them. Plus, I didn’t really like playing the Wicked Witch… That’s just not how I roll.

So I did what I always do when I’m looking for ideas: I skipped merrily off to Pinterest Land. ^_^ And this is what I came up with:

Continue reading →

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Tea Party Tablecloth for Child Size Ikea Table

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Nicole

My daughter has been into two things lately: bugs (?!) and tea parties.  The bugs I won’t discuss, other than to say that I’ve never seen a three-year-old girl who is more excited to stick her chubby little fingers into the mud and pick up all kinds of creepy crawlies (I know, right?!).

I’ve been letting the hubs enjoy that particular fascination with her, while I take care of the tea parties (which are much more my area of expertise.  Except when she announces that she’s serving spider and chocolate chip tea to her teddy bears and I…  And yes, that’s been happening a lot lately.)

Anyway.

For Easter this year I decided to load her up with all the tea party goodies she could ever want, instead of loading her up with processed sugar and chocolate (never a good combo in this house).  This included a new tea set, some pretend sweets, and a pint-sized tablecloth to cover up her yucked-up craft table!!  (Mommy couldn’t be happier about that extra bonus.)

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 11 Comments