Valentines Day Blocks

While a Target searching through the dollar spot, I discovered these small size wooden blocks with winter sayings. I knew that these small blocks would be perfect for my white 3 tiered metal tray I got from Hobby Lobby.  I use my tray to decorate for different holidays along with my Rae Dunn mugs (which i collect---don't tell my husband!).

So here's what I did:

1st- I painted each block with black chalkboard paint- 2 coats to get great coverage over the printed saying on the block. Let dry completely between coats.

2nd-  Pick you favorite Chalk Couture small transfers from the Sprinkled with Love Transfer. These are great because there are 12 small transfers all on 1 transfer sheet.

3rd- Pick your chalk paste colors. I picked Peony, Raspberry Sorbet, Bright White, and Candy Apple.

4th- I placed my transfers on the small block and applied paste. 

5th- Once you are done applying the paste, pull off and place in a water bath. It helps for easy cleaning. 

I made 3 small blocks and loved how they turned out. 

The best part of these block are that they are changeable. Since I painted them with chalk paint, I can spray with water to remove the chalk paste and then they are ready for the next project! 

Like this project but not sure what Chalk Couture is- Click here to read all about it! 

Wanna shop for some Chalk Couture stuff? Click here to check out all the amazing items! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leave me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;) 

Chalk Couture- What is it?!?

You have heard me talk about it and you have seen my projects- so what is Chalk Couture?

Chalk Couture is a craft product that is both can be temporary and permanent. There is 2 types of product that is used.  There is chalk paste which is a normally a temporary if put on the proper surface. And then there is Ink which is permanent after being heat set. The best part is the transfers!!! There are so many transfers that fit for every occasion possible. With all theses items, your projects are endless. 

As a busy working mom, I don't have time to spend hours on creating cute chalk boards and buying a ton of different seasonal decorations to be used one. As a crafter, I love to make my own holiday decorations and have made so many decorations with Chalk Couture items. You wanna make a pillow for Christmas and than use that same design on a chalk board- you can do that! You want to make tea towels for a group of people- you can do that! 

Here is a breakdown of what Chalk Couture has to offer: 

Transfers- these are reusable silk screen stencils in a variety of sizes from 5" x 7" all the way to 18" x 24" with designs and patterns for just about every occasion. These transfers can used 8-12 times so you really get your money's worth! Some transfers come with one designs, while other transfers can be cut apart. There is even transfers that cut into 12 small transfers that fit perfect on chalkable chips - 3" circles are a chips that are ideal mini project. 

Chalk Paste- Which is known as Chalkology™ Paste - comes in 30 colors, 3 shimmer and 5 en vogue (limited) color and in 3 fl oz containers - which also can be combined to create an unlimited amount of colors! These are think pastes the become fully dry in about 5-10 minutes or faster with a heat gun. They are easy to use. They glide on easy to the transfer and what ever is not used can go back into the paste pot. You will be able to utilize every bit - even if they dry out a bit- add water and stir and they come back to life. No waste here!Can also be applied to other nonporous surfaces such as mirrors, windows, glass, painted walls, and painted furniture. Hard, matte finish when dry. Used chalk but want to make it permanent?!?- spray with a clear aerosol sealer. Or change it up each season ( as long as its not on a porous surface) and spray with water and wipe clean. Ready to use for your next decoration. 

                               

Ink - Which is known as Chalkology™ Ink - Come in 23 different colors which include shimmer colors and in 3 fl oz containers.  Who doesn't love a little shimmer! Chalkology™ Ink is specially formulated for use with Chalk Transfers™ and Chalk Couture™ surfaces. Ink offers permanent color when heat set and is ideal for fabric, apparel, and glass. Want to make shirts for the kids- than this is your go to! 

Accessories- Tools are what make the job easy and create an amazing piece or work. So making sure you have the right tools is the key. You need to use paste in a small area - there is a tool for that! You want to use one color for the whole project - there is a tool for that too! Need to wax a project before - yep! You guessed it! There is a tool for that as well! And they are all so easy to clean up too! 

Surfaces- Last but definitely not least- these are a big one! I have used Chalk Couture surfaces and I have you non Chalk Couture surfaces. It really just depend on your project. But Chalk Couture has amazing surfaces to use. Did you want a framed surface or a pillow case? Or maybe a banner will work best for your project. Whatever it is, Chalk Couture most likely has. And if not- Hobby Lobby does! 

Whatever you reasons, do it with me! As a long time crafter, this has to be one of the easiest crafts around. The best part is that anyone can do it- you don't need to be crafty to do great at this. 

Have questions or want to try it out with me? Let me know! I will be having chalk parties, make and takes and Ladies nights soon! 

And as always, help a sister out by sharing this post, like it and leaving me a comment! 

Until then...

Sara ;)

New Venture - Chalk Couture

Have you ever been so interested in something, and kept going back over an over get more info?

This was me with Chalk Couture. I can't remember exactly where I'd seen it, but it may have been Instagram. I was just so interested. I love chalk board stuff, but I don't have the time to spend hours making a chalk board pretty. With 3 kids, a husband and work, I didn't have that kind of extra time. 

But then I saw how EASY Chalk Couture was! I was amazed! I really was! I could do an easy project in 5-10 minutes including clean up with Chalk Couture, or plan on making something neat from Pinterest, but never having the time to really do it nicely.

I will say, it took me a few months join. I felt that I have some much on my crafting plate already and I wasn't sure if I wanted to add more onto it. So I waited.

And then we decided to sell our house and buy a bigger one. And that gave me the push to consolidate all my crafts. As any crafter knows, you really don't know how much craft stuff you have until you have to pack it all up. Since we put out house on the market fast, I didn't have time to try and sell some of my craft stuff. I donated a lot of it since I couldn't bear throwing it away. 

But it felt good to get rid of a lot of it. At the time, some stuff was really hard to give away since you buy it with intention of making something special. And then life gets in the way and it get push to the side. Until it's pushed so far over you forget about it. But there are always bigger and better things to make. 

So once we moved in our new house and had a little time to set up, I looked up Chalk Couture again. I just couldn't get it out of my mind. So I decided just to do it. 

And I am so happy I did. ;)

The best thing about Chalk Couture is that its not only chalk, but they have ink as well for a more permanent option. This is big for me and I have been wanting to make shirts for the kids school stuff. 

So check out my Chalk Couture site for all the info needed here.

Soon, I want to host a take and make party to share how fun and easy Chalk Couture really is! 

Here are some of the projects that I have already done! 

We upgraded!

Its been a while since my last post, but I feel that our lives are going in super speed. We sold out house in record time and closed on our new house just a short time after that. We planned on painted before we moved in, but we were too excited to wait. Plus it took us a while to agree on a paint color. We start to move things in, then took a break to go to DISNEYLAND! We had this trip planned already, so we just had to go. But more about that trip later. Plus the Holiday were which lands me right into peak season for UPS. 

We have so much more space! We are not used to it all yet. We have meet all of our neighbors and they all seem so nice and friendly. Since we live on a private drive, they kids have so much room to play without the worry. 

They kids are adjusting well being in a new area. We have some other Barrington cousins just down the street, so they have built in play buddies. We haven't decided to keep the kids at their school now, or move them to the school in our area. 

Kellan and Mason are sharing a room, which I'm sure Mason is just loving. They have a really big room, so there is a ton of play space. 

Arley finally has a room to herself again. I can't wait to make it all girly! At first she wasn't sure about  sleeping all by her self, but now she has adjusted well. 

Our room is twice the size of our old room. I didn't think our old room was small until we bought this house. Our room has great windows to bring in the natural light. 

And I get a craft room! I'm sure Rob wasn't too thrilled, but its better contained in a room than down stairs in the so called Man Cave or Bar area.... I see it more as a family room myself. But having all this extra room is so nice!

The kids have so many areas to play- our big back yard, our private drive and the cul de sac! We don't have to worry so much about people driving too fast by our house. 

We have painted and upgraded some items but have a long way to go... but we are getting there- one step at a time! 

Until next time! 

Sara ;)

    

Time to upgrade!

Rob and I have been talking for a while about getting a bigger house. We have been causally looking on Zillow. Our house needed a few things done before we wanted to sell so we weren't really in a hurry. One day I went and checked out a house and I think it got me excited to start looking for a bigger house. 

The next weekend Rob had off, we went and looked at 2 houses on Sunday. One in Lodi and one in Galt. We looked at the Lodi house 1st and fell in love! It has everything we need! So much space! But we still wanted to check out the house in Galt since it had a pool. It was nice, but we really liked the Lodi house. 

So on Monday our amazing realtor, Eileen Schamber, contacted the seller and they weren't going to take any offers since the house was somewhat pending. So we were bummed. But later that day, they decided to take an offer from us! So we sent one over and they accepted! We were ecstatic!! So over the moon excited! But know we knew we had to get our house sold before we could get this one. 

We were in a mad rush since the photographer was headed over on Tuesday. I don't think I have ever work that hard to get the house picture ready in a day! It was crazy! We moved a ton of stuff into storage but we had it ready in time. 

The house went on the Market on Wednesday- yes... that same week! We had our 1st private showing on Thursday and 2 open houses over the weekend. We accepted an offer on Sunday or Monday, which put the new house into escrow! 

All that was done in a WEEK! Yes, just a week! Now we are a the end of the tunnel and just waiting for the closing date on our current house and our new house. We are so lucky to have Eileen as our Realtor not just because she is amazing, but because she knows us. She knows our kids and all about our crazy life. I knew she wouldn't let us buy a home that wasn't a good fit for us. 

Until next time- hopefully from our new house! 

Sara ;)

We started school a month ago--- Finally getting to this post!

School is back in...FINALLY! WE have been back in school for a month and I life has not slowed down! We had a great summer but I am happy to have the kids back in school! But first a little about our summer break.

We had a busy Summer! I have gone a little quite due to being worn out from all we have been doing plus working and Mason being a night owl! I might need to get him the book Go the F**K to sleep by Adam Mansbach. He has hit a rough patch and wants to go to be late.... and I mean LATE! I just put him to bed and its 11:05PM. He is wild from start to finish with 1 nap during the day. If you know some tricks or some vodoo shit.... I will take it gladly!

The kids took a Jiujitsu summer camp for 2 weeks at Valley Fit in Stockton and they LOVED it! Great people and great training all the way around! The kids are begging to go back.

Then at work I had an Internal Audit.... Which is always fun! If you are a UPSers, then you know the joy of always getting ready for KETER! But, I get to spend time with some great co-workers when they are here so I don't mind!

Then the kids went up to Truckee for a few days! Lucky kids! They got to go swimming, and crawdad fishing and all kinds of outdoor stuff! Auntie Katie and Papa Jack are the best! We love them and are so thankful that they love our kids just like there own grandkids!

Last but not least, we celebrated Masons 2nd Birthday! I can't believe he is 2 already! He is such a wild boy at heart and always keeps us on our toes. Especially since he can reach inside the sink... HELLO knives!! He is such perfect fit to out wild and crazy family!

Towards the end of our summer, we headed off to Burney Falls at McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park  for our annual Mooney Family camping trip!

And guess what?!? We are selling our house! But more about that on the next post!

Until next time!

Sara ;)