I Love a Challenge

I wanted to share some blogs that inspire me lately with their challenges.

The first, which I spoke of before, is Multilingualliving.com's 100 Days of Bilingualism challenge.

Each Monday, Maria Hawkins posts a week's worth of family activities geared for kids ages five to nine.

This seems perfect to me because I have the Spanish vocabulary of a very slow five-year-old.

I'm counting this part of this blog post towards my 31 Days of Spanish writing challenge. Is that cheating?

A Bowl of Full of Lemons is sponsoring a fourteen week program called Home Organization 101. She goes room by room giving instructions on how to clean and organize the space. I don't think she presents any particularly new ideas, but I enjoy looking at the pictures of her house and the links other people have posted.

 I totally did not enroll, but I'm enjoying playing voyeur.

A Beautiful Mess is sponsoring a pumpkin carving competition. First prize is something I've been hankering for for two years, a Kitchen Aide Mixer. You can choose the color!!

Even though I'm not likely to win, I can't help brainstorming pumpkin ideas for my front porch. Here are some of my favorites I've seen on Pinterest.

Source: buzzfeed.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com via Copy Cat Chic on Pinterest

Is there anything that can't be Chevroned?

Source: blogs.babble.com via Copy Cat Chic on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Copy Cat Chic on Pinterest

Source: creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com via Jayme on Pinterest

Source: moredesignplease.com via Jayme on Pinterest

etc., etc.

Clickin' Mom's has this fantastic Instagram photo-a-day project called CMGlimpse. You can read more about it here.

Source: clickinmoms.com via Jayme on Pinterest

It is similar to Fat Mum Slim's Photo-a-day challenges, but I'm usually much more impressed with these photos than I am with the FMS ones.  Plus I don't feel bad if I miss a day, as there is a new set of photo challenges every week.

Add hashtag #cmglimpse to your post, and  it will join a collection of awesome photos taken by nifty photographers. If you aren't on Instagram you can see the collection here. I'm a wee bit obsessed with this one, and often get my photo of the day up before I've even brushed my teeth in the morning.



Here are some challenges I'd love to take up, but don't have the energy, stamina, will- power, talent or organization for:

In July, Small Notebook has a spend-free challenge where the only thing you spend money on is utilities, rent and groceries. Gulp. Maybe next year?

Source: theminimalistmom.com via Jayme on Pinterest

November is National Novel Writing Month. I have wanted to do this one for two years, but I'm devoid of plot ideas.

Their site is amazing. I love their slogan:"Thirty days and nights of literary abandon." Unfortunately, there was no image for me to steal and stamp this blog post with. Just visit their site if you feel a story tickling you.

Project 333: experiments with living with less, challenges you to whittle down your clothing collection to only 33 items (not including underwear and jewelry, I think). This is another project I'm tempted to try because I'm pretty sure I only wear five things in my closet, but the idea of throwing so many things away fills me with dread.

Source: theproject333.com via Jayme on Pinterest

This one is from The Gracious Pantry blog. It is a NO SUGAR challenge. I basically live on Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, so  this one is filed under challenges I should do, but haven't worked up the guts to do yet.

Source: thegraciouspantry.com via cindy on Pinterest

I'll post another time about all the e-courses I take. I'm currently enrolled in three, outside of my Spanish course!

I crave variety and I feel a strong desire to MAKE things, which is the reason why I can never stick to one thing and I'm always working on a smattering of projects.

It is also why my house is constantly messy.

Anyways, does anyone else get inspired by internet challenges? Am I just a lunatic with too much time on my hands? What blogs help you get all those synapses firing? Please share, as I'm constantly on the hunt for something new!

Losing the baby weight: Extra Motivation

I have so many Pinterest projects in the work at the moment! My husband walked through the garage last night and came in gasping for air, completely freaked out by the strong lingering spray paint fumes.

I can't wait to post these projects as they are completed. In fact, I'm typing this post while waiting for some hot glue to dry on one of these projects.

Sadly, this is a post of a Pinterest project I'm not so thrilled with.

I attempted to paint a copy of a tree painting from Pier 1 last summer. They no longer sell the painting, which is a good thing because my version is terrible and I'm ashamed to show you how far off it looks from the original.

Anyway, I hated the way it turned out. I don't like the colors I chose, but because I invested time painting it, I felt compelled to display it. 

In the basement. 

Where the only time I see it is when I work out.

It is no fun looking at something I failed at while attempting to do something I'm currently failing at- losing this baby weight.

So I decided to turn the painting into a motivational message. 

I tend to cheat during my workouts, not push myself hard enough, and barely break a sweat. I want to run a 5K in October, so these cop out workouts are going to lead to a VERY embarrassing finish time.

So here is the original painting:

Yes, there is a "D" taped on the canvas. I forgot to take a proper before photograph.

This is the PINspiration for this project:

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Jayme on Pinterest

I should have used a more colorful, intricate painting as my base, and actual letter stickers as Elsie and Emma from A Beautiful Mess suggested (I love their blog!). But I was lazy and desperate to do something new with my ugly painting.

I taped my message down, and spray painted over the message.

And this is the resulting "masterpiece."

Better than the original, but still not great. I got a little tape-happy on the sides and I should have just painted the whole thing.

So whenever I'm working out and I see it, I tell myself to do my best, and not treat my workout the way I treated this painting.

What keeps you motivated during workouts? Any luck shedding post baby pounds?

Scrappy Outdoor Coffee Table

I've been a little obsessed with pallets lately.

I see them everywhere and thanks to Pinterest each one holds the possibility to be something amazing like:

a daybed

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Jayme on Pinterest

a wine rack

Source: cacareco.net via Jayme on Pinterest

a head board

Source: cacareco.net via Jayme on Pinterest

a coffee table

Source: cacareco.net via Jayme on Pinterest

a garden

Source: younghouselove.com via Jayme on Pinterest

or even a tv mount.

Source: itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot.ca via Jayme on Pinterest

So I've been aching to do a pallet project of my own.


Some things to know about pallets before you get started.


1. They are freaking heavy. 


I tried bringing one home all by myself and couldn't lift the darned thing into the car. I did rip some of the flesh of my forearm trying to get it in the trunk and I probably now have Tetanus. 


So make sure you are buff or you bring a buff friend to help you wrangle the cumbersome thing and watch for nails and splintery pieces.


2. If they are painted blue and stacked neatly, odds are they are reused. Try not to be disappointed by your local Canadian Tire's recycling practices.


Also, don't try to put one in your car when the store is closed because that is stealing, or as my husband told me, "the kind of thing that gets us deported."


Ask the property owner first.


3. Be aware that if the pallets not being reused are probably falling apart, vermin and mold riddled, and emitting noxious chemicals.



Pallets are usually not safe to use indoors. 


This article/rant goes into more detail, and it really put a damper on my pallet pinning frenzy.


But noxious chemicals be damned, I wanted a pallet!


So after asking a local hardware store if I could have one of their derelict pallets, I convinced my husband to drag it home for me.

He did this, hopeful that I would finally stop turning every drive around Clarenville into a pallet scavenger hunt.

Here is how I turned this really gross piece of wood

into my new outdoor coffee table.

The pallet I acquired wasn't slatted on the top, but had a nice smooth surface perfect for a table top.

I removed all the dangerous nails sticking out of the wood.

I immediately threw out a jar of Nutella after seeing this picture.

I sanded it and then I determined how to decorate the top.

My first thought was using paint sample cards for a tiled look.

Unfortunately, I'm a "measure 34 times and get a different number each time until I just give up" type of girl, and I didn't have enough cards to cover the whole surface.

Instead of going back to the hardware store and grabbing another obnoxious stack of samples, I used some 12x12 scrapbooking squares leftover from when I made my wedding album.

That is hubby's foot in the corner. You can tell he needs a coffee table to rest it on, right?

I arranged them on the tabletop and Modge Podged them to the surface, and then added five coats of Modge Podge to the top for good measure. I also added two coats of clear polyurethane on top of the Modge Podge.

This was my first time using Modge Podge and my table surface has TONS of bubbles. Next time I'll use a squeegee to help keep the paper flat.

Now it was time to turn the pallet into a low table. I added two pieces of four by four plywood to the pallet with metal brackets.

Then I added four casters to the four by fours to give the table some additional height, and make it mobile. Remember, these pallets are heavy.

Finally, I painted the wood dark brown.

Voila! My new patio coffee table.

I decided to price it out to see if I saved any money doing this instead of buying a table for outside.

The pallet and paper was free.
Modge Podge: $14.99
4x4: $9.57
Quart of paint: $21.46
Polyurethane: $18.50
Hardware: $24.00
Casters: $42.00 (!!)

Project Total: $130.52


After doing some research, I could have bought two plastic ones for the same price at Canadian Tire.

Oh well.

It was definitely a fun, easy project, if not the most affordable one.

Anyone else attempt pallet building lately? I'd love to hear from you.

New Rug for my Rugrats

I have many moments where I find myself coming up for air after a particularly long Pinterest session. So to make the ridiculous amounts of hours I spend on Pinterest feel a little more legitimate, I vowed to complete at least one Pinterst project a week or...GASP...lose my time sucking Pinterest privileges.

So here is the first of many weekly PINspiration posts!

As mentioned before, the town I live in has a Walmart and not much else. So when my dog befouled our living room rug, I didn't have a lot of options for replacements.

To be perfectly honest, I was thrilled about the pup's accident. I hated that rug.

Kirby on the old ugly rug. The accident totally wasn't his fault, by the way. He's a good boy. :)

So my PINspiration for this project were the following:

Source: copycatchic.com via Jayme on Pinterest

this...

Source: curbly.com via Jayme on Pinterest

and this...

Source: thehouseofsmiths.com via Jayme on Pinterest

I love the look of nautical blue stripes to add some color and fun to my living room and I was tired of dog hair embedding itself into the thick wooly piling of the old rug.

Luckily, cheap ugly 6x9 thin carpet remnant rugs were selling at Walmart for $39.99. I purchased the rug, as well as a roll of painters tape, and a gallon of ColourPlace Semi-Gloss Interior paint in this beautiful shade of blue that I don't know the name of (this is my first tutorial, please cut me some slack :/ ). The lady at Walmart who mixed it for me was pretty perplexed that I would purposely ruin a new rug with paint.

"I guess it's bold of you?" she said, unconvincingly.

Clearly she hasn't been wasting weeks collecting rug painting tutorials on Pinterest, as I have.

I taped out the stripes I wanted and used a brush to paint on my thick stripes. The roller wasn't able to spread the paint as well on the textured surface. Painting was hard work because the rug absorbs the paint so fast. It took almost the entire gallon to paint four one foot wide stripes on my rug.

It is helpful to buy a rug that is a color you already like. That way you just have to add your design to it, instead of covering it up in its entirety. You could paint it two colors like the rug from The House of Smiths blog, but I imagine that it would take forever on a 9 x 6 sized rug. (You should check out her tutorial! It was lovely.)

I gave my stripes two coats. It took three long days to dry. I probably checked if it was dry hourly because I was so excited to get it in the house.

Here she is...

Now, Kirby and baby Ellie have a prettier, easier to clean rug to roll around on!

The blue looks great against Kirby's gold fur, and Ellie's primary colored toys scattered all over the place. I smile every time I look at the floor.

The paint doesn't feel sticky on your feet, and the entire project was so easy I'm considering doing another one for our office/library.

I'll post better pictures in the future of the whole room so you can see the cheery effect it has everything.

Now, I have to figure out what to do with the old crappy rug.

Anyone else out there thrilled with the result of their rug painting experience? Does anyone have advice for painting a rug with a stencil (which I think will be the next rug painting adventure)? I'd love to hear about it!

P.S. You can follow me on Pinterest if you'd like. I have a whole board dedicated to rugs because I'm cool like that.

P.S.2: I'm linked up at The 36th Avenue Party.