Toddler Advent Calendar Ideas

It's been such a fun Christmas season over here, we've been so busy despite it only being one week into December!

With Rowan just a few months shy of 2 years old (cue my ugly crying), he is starting to understand more about the holidays and I've been excited to try a few new things with him this year. I thought an advent calendar would be a fun way to incorporate some festive activities and make sure we cross off some of our holiday to-do list!

 Last year I picked up a stocking advent calendar during the after-Christmas sales (similar here) so it was just a matter of finding easy things to do during the week and filling in the weekend with bigger things like visiting Santa and baking cookies. With Rowan involved it's inevitable a few cookies will get "boo boos" and need to me eaten immediately, so you won't hear me complaining!

I know a lot of people do small gifts each day but I wanted to keep it simple because the last thing the kid needs is more stuff and I really want him to start learning about giving and helping others. The only gifts I included in his advent activities are a new Christmas book, a Finding Dory figurine (which he is oddly crazy about), and some stickers or crafts we can do together.

These free printables for activities from i heart naptime are so cute and made my job so much easier! I love that there are blank cards included so you can add your own.

Make Christmas Cookies

Read a new Christmas book

Make Christmas cards for the military

Decorate the Christmas Tree

Drive around to see Christmas Lights

Take Ruby for a walk and give her a new dog treat

Pass out Christmas cookies

Listen to Christmas music

Watch a Christmas movie

Visit Santa Claus

Playground date with Daddy

Decorate Gingerbread Houses

See Scuba Santa at the Aquarium

Drink hot chocolate with marshmallows

Make reindeer food

Make a Christmas ornament

Make paper snowflakes (I'm going to make them in advance and let him open them up)

Learn about the Nativity

Donate to Toys for Tots and the Humane Society

Make a Christmas treat

Have festive pancakes for breakfast (or dinner!)

Take a family picture with your Christmas tree

Sing Christmas carols

Paint a holiday picture for grandparents

Read about the Christmas story

Rowan is really into art (especially painting) lately so I picked up some wooden ornaments and little craft projects from Michael's for some of the activities. Try not to be too jealous of his coloring skills!

Also if you're looking for a new Christmas book, a few of our favorites (other than Little Blue Truck which has been well documented) are Olaf's Night Before Christmas, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, and my personal fave, Home Alone! Seriously, its Home Alone in a children's book form with the cutest pictures. I admit that one may have been more for us than R though!

If you have more ideas for an advent calendar with a toddler I'd love to hear them!

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Adventures in Wainscoting

You guys, it blows my mind that its the last week of August!

We've been in crunch mode trying to rid the last few rooms of angry tan walls and progressively work on picture frame wainscoting in our dining room. I'm really hoping to get it all done so we can focus on more fun things this Fall!

But of course my mom bod thought it was high time I finally picked up one of the four thousand viruses Rowan brings back from daycare, which left me in bed all day Saturday.

By 4 PM I finally decided to shower. I was a hot mess but thankfully my husband held down the fort.

We finally got to work on attaching the trim Sunday night, but the couch and Night Of finale were calling our names so this is what we've got! I can't wait to show you the finished product!

"Before"

Thankfully we borrowed a friend's miter saw, brad nailer and compressor. (Soon he's definitely going to tell us to take a hike and buy our own shit). But they are major time savers in this project and obviously we need as much of that as we can get working only during nap times and after bedtime.

Right now all forty thousand pieces of trim have been cut and we started attaching it with glue before going back over it with the nailer.

It looks a little rough, but don't worry... all of those gaps will be filled with caulk and a nice coat of paint will spruce it right up!

I think it already makes the room look more finished even though that is clearly not the case. And to think we were quoted over a thousand bucks for this project from a pro!

Who knew the hardest part would be picking a paint color for the top half?!

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DIY Upholstered Headboard with Nailhead Trim [Update!]

Last week I was looking through old posts (something I should never do because, yikes the photography was atrocious!) and I thought it was high time I updated one of my most popular posts, our DIY upholstered headboard!

I'm happy to say that after almost three years, this headboard is still one of my favorite pieces of furniture in our house! And given our DIY inexperience at the time, it's both a shocking and proud moment that it still looks just as good.

I still remember my perfectionist self fighting with this fabric, especially getting it over the curved edges without lumps and bumps, so consider yourself warned if you go with this shape and/or a velvet-like fabric! 

 

What you need for Queen-sized headboard:

1 (23/32 x 4 x 8) piece of Plywood, uncut
1 (1 x 6 x 12) piece of lumber, cut in half
Staple Gun
1 pack of 3/8" (10mm) Staples
Hi-Loft Batting in Twin Size (Found at craft stores)
Twin Foam Mattress Pad (Found mine at Walmart)
1 (50-pack) of 1 1/4" Wood Screws
Spray Adhesive
Nailhead Trim (Also found at craft stores)
Rubber Mallet (I randomly found this in my car's emergency kit, also found at craft stores)
Jigsaw (This doesn't have to be fancy, we use this one)
Fabric (I used one Ikea curtain panel)

Total Cost: $110

For step-by-step (but ugly) photos, see original post!

First cut the plywood down to size. The most common questions I get about this tutorial are about the dimensions, so I hope this poorly done diagram helps!

Next, sketch out the shape. I used a paper bag to make a stencil then traced the left side, flipped the stencil over, and stenciled the right.

Line up your 1x6 boards on each side of the plywood, starting at the top (you'll need that jigsaw to cut the same shape as the plywood), and cut the bottom to your desired height. The legs of our headboard are 21" from the bottom of the headboard.

With your leftover plywood from the bulk of your headboard, cut the same shape to reinforce the top and the legs. That part was tricky for us because the leftover plywood wasn't the length of the headboard. We ended up having to piece it together and even though there are a few tiny gaps, those won't matter in the long run.

Attach the legs and the frame pieces to the plywood with the wood screws, about every 6-8 inches.

Now the fun part, upholstering!

Cut your foam padding to fit within the frame you just completed. Spray the plywood with adhesive and stick the foam to the board.

Next put the batting underneath (on the front side of your headboard) and get to stapling. You should know I went super crazy with the staple gun and you probably don't need to use as many as I did!

Before moving on, trim all of the excess batting.

Once you get to the actual fabric, it's basically the same process as the batting. If you can find an assistant, it helps to have one person pulling the fabric while the other does the stapling to keep everything taught.

Save the curves and most of the top of the headboard for last.

It helps to cut the fabric in 'V' shapes in the curved portions to minimize puckering. My fabric refused to cooperate and I almost cut it too far but luckily you never see the back of this thing!

Upholster the legs in the same way you did the top half.

Applying the nailhead trim was actually easier than I imagined. You only have to nail every 5th nail into the wood and its flexible enough that you can bend it however you need it for the curved portions. The trick is keeping it straight, so I used my leveler because it was the perfect width from the edge of the headboard. Once I got into a rhythm, this part only took about 20 minutes!

I love how you can still see the nailhead trim and headboard fabric all the way down the sides of the mattress (which you can see in the photo above). A lot of store-bought headboards stop at the top of the mattress and you can see the metal brackets, so a little extra effort here goes a long way in my opinion!

So there you have it, a prettier version of my DIY headboard! Let me know if you have questions, I hope this new diagram was helpful! 

Now I just need to get some artwork and pillows for this space. If you have a favorite shop for pillows please share!

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DIY Toddler Table

I'm happy to say we finally finished Rowan's DIY toddler table, complete with a roll of paper attached for easy coloring.

The weather was so HOT in Charleston this past weekend so we took it easy on Sunday and decided to introduce Rowan to coloring for the first time. I kept my expectations low and aside from some attempted doodles on the table, playmat and the dog, he did so good!

In the process he tested my paint job, which I'm happy to say came completely clean after a few misses on the paper!

If you've got a toddler just getting into drawing, I highly recommend these finger crayons! Rowan would have broken regular crayons for sure, but these seem pretty indestructible especially after some chewing.

This table could have easily been built and painted in a day if you have a babysitter, but we were working between nap and bed times. Honestly this project reminded me how much I dislike painting furniture these days but I pushed through with the assistance of an adult beverage after bedtime. 

I know there are a lot of readily made toddler tables out there for reasonable prices so if you don't already have the tools, I'll be completely honest with you that this project would not be worth your while.

So why did we make one? I wanted a specific size table to go with these Pillowfort chairs and to fit in his downstairs playroom, which as you can see is a little small and blocked off with a super glamorous baby gate. We also already had most of the tools and paint so it was a pretty cheap project. I think we came in around $20. It's not absolutely perfect but its level and Rowan loves it, so I'm going to call it a win!

The dimensions of our table top are 26"x20" so obviously adjust your cuts below if you're changing up the size a bit!

Materials and Tools:
3/4" Plywood (you can find smaller pieces at predetermined sizes in Lowes)
(1) 1x3x8" board
(1) 2x2x8" board
Semi-Gloss paint and primer
Wood filler
Drill
Kreg jig
1" and 1 1/4" pocket screws
Sand Paper (Highly recommend a power sander but a sanding block also works)
1 dowel road (Short versions can be found at craft stores for $2)
Paper Roll
Dowel Holders

Cut List:
(4) 2x2x20" (legs)
(2) 1x3x13 1/2" (end aprons)
(2) 1x3x20" (side aprons)
26x20" Plywood top

Our biggest problem was it can be tough to find straight 2x2" furring strips, and then the store employee cut them at uneven lengths. We immediately decided a table saw is in the cards for our next DIY project!

First, drill all of your pocket holes on the 1x3 boards. All boards should have the same pocket holes: 3-4 along the long side then flip the board over and two on each of the short ends as shown below.

Make the frame first by drilling 1 1/4" pocket screws on the short ends into all of the legs. This will require one person to hold everything in place while another uses the drill. Make sure to arrange it so the pocket holes on the long sides of the boards are facing down like in the picture above.

Once the frame is assembled, attach it to the plywood top with 1" pocket screws.

Fill in your holes with wood filler and sand once dry.

Then prime or skip straight to paint if you want to. I did one coat of primer and 2 coats of paint, sanding lightly in between coats with a sanding block.

Once your paint dries, attach the dowel holders underneath on one end.

Andddd you're done. So yeah a little time consuming but very easy and now we have a custom table and the paper is definitely the best part. Rowan has been wanting to "color" everyday after daycare this week and its been so much fun!

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5 Things

You guys, I'm alive. I know you were all waiting on pins and needles for me to grace myself with my presence again on this 'ol site.

Work has been kicking my butt and compound that with a toddler whose perfect sleep habits just went bat shit crazy, I'm running on fumes and sadly the blog is the first place to take a hit. That said, I've got a lot of things going on behind the scenes that I've been itching to share with you!

One. I've had so so many requests for my favorite recommendations in Charleston, so I'm working on a travel guide with all of my favorite restaurants, places to go that are off the beaten tourist path, and where to stay. Stay tuned!

Two. 15 months after the birth of my child I'm finally working on his baby book! (Tell me I'm not the only one this far behind!?) I filled out a previous baby book the first month or so but I think I was high on the newborn smell because none of what I wrote makes sense and I wasn't in love with the baby book itself. Enter this gorgeous Mushybooks baby book and now I'm super inspired! I can't wait to show more of this to you guys, its so perfect!

Three. With the lack of sleep I'm all about comfort lately and Thug Life Shirts hooked it up with this fun Good Vibes Only tee. I'm obsessed with how soft it is! It's been on repeat with my ripped denim shorts and converse at daycare drop off. I'm partial to these Wine Tasting on the Couch and Coffee & Mascara tees but I could probably spend an hour reading all of the fun options. Make sure to use code HOMESWEETRUBY for 15% off!

For reference, I usually swear a women's medium or large and I got the unisex tee in size small. It's got just the right amount of stretch to it that it shoes some of my shape but not the muffin top.

Four. I just need to add a few finishing touches to Rowan's toddler table and I'm excited to share the end result! Despite the fact its a little crooked underneath its somehow level and cute so I'm going to count that as a win? Don't worry, I'll teach you how not to build a crooked table.

Five. I'm also teaming up with the sweetest and super creative mama, Emily, of Emily Johnson Art. I'm obsessed with her watercolor art (hello perfect nursery prints!) and can't wait to see what she does with the family photo I sent her!

Hope your week has been less bananas than ours! xo

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One Room Challenge Week 2 Progress

That title was such a teaser because on the outside, our progress on the playroom and DIY built-ins has been....

(crickets)

Literally, nothing has happened. Unless you count finally installing furniture straps, cordless blinds, and unsuccessfully installing an over-the-range microwave... but clearly those are unrelated.

One of the many advantages to having a general contractor in the family is we can call him whenever we have questions. So when we were planning out the built-in design this week, we asked how to secure the built-ins to the floor without ripping up our carpet.

So what did our contractor say?

"Send me your measurements. I'll design it and write up a materials and cut list for you."

Umm, yeah that works for us!

So as of today we're just waiting on our plans from my ever so sweet brother-in-law! And I feel so much better because lets be honest, I was ready to scrap the project because it was so dang intimidating.

You better believe I'll share all of his helpful tips along the way! 

Side note: if anyone needs a contractor in the Chicago area, I'm happy to give you his contact info! I've seen the work he and his team do and it makes me so sad they aren't local to help with some of our projects!

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One Room Challenge :: Playroom Makeover with Built-Ins

Today I'm introducing you to our hot mess of a playroom.

Behold, in all of its unkept, bland glory.

When we moved in to this house I knew this space was going to get some use as it poses significantly less danger for my wild and crazy toddler than the wood floors, steps, and nicer quality furniture in our downstairs living space.

But its really freaking boring and there is zero lighting in this room at night. Which means after putting Rowan to bed I trip over and step on the loudest toys ever on my way to the steps.

Since we don't have enough spaces in the house I want to redo (you know... that series I mentioned and haven't touched yet), I'm adding this one to the top of the priority list! Every week for 6 weeks I will be sharing progress of our playroom makeover by joining tons of other creative bloggers in the One Room Challenge hosted by Calling It Home. So fun, right?!

As with every DIY project we do, we'll take our low budget and beginner DIY skills and hope for the best!

So here is the plan:

DIY Built-in Window Seat with bookshelves - I've clearly lost my mind because we've never done anything like this before, but here in my inspiration. I doubt we'll do cabinets, just all open shelving so I can throw a basket or two in there.

The cutest toddler chairs and table 

DIY Growth Chart like this  

Add a light

Add some color with these adorable Minted alphabet and number prints, and a fun banner

Add a chalkboard, art supplies station like this 

Ditch the ugly couch (we'll replace it eventually but we really don't sit on it much right now)

I'm not even sure if all of this will fit in the space, so if anything the chalkboard area can be ditched because Rowan is only 1 and will eat any and all chalk. 

Here is a peek at my horrible drawing skills.

If the built-in shelving and crown molding trim goes well, we think it would add so much value to the house and help majorly in the organization department. The kicker is, we play in this space every day after work so keeping it kid friendly while in construction is going to be rough. Because you know, we move at a snails pace around here!

We've got a contractor friend on speed dial for advice and I'll be sure to share all of the highs and lows with you along the way.

If anyone has completed a built-in project like this before please share any insight you've got. We'll need all the help/motivation/wine we can get!

See more of the vision for the playroom here and the DIY projects we'll be using as a guide here.

And in case you're interested, scroll through some of my favorite projects we've done so far here! 

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DIY :: Square Photo Display

If you've been around here long enough, you know I'm a sucker for an easy DIY project. I don't have a lot of time for them lately, but I've had tons of requests for a tutorial for this photo display from Rowan's first birthday party and I figured it was time to share.

I loved this photo display because it was a little different than what you see at most parties, it can be used for any of your photos (thinking Instagram photos would be so fun!), and I could glam it up with a little eucalyptus garland.

I have to share a little secret though...

I made it harder than it should have been.

So this is one of those "do as I say, not as I do" posts.

What you'll need:
Dowel Rod
Thread or some sort of thin rope
Square photos
Tape (regular or washi tape)

Determine how long you want your dowel rod to be and cut to size. Craft stores have them at varying lengths but mine was from Lowes and needed cut.

Lay out your photos and decide how you want them to be arranged.

Cut rope or thread for each of the columns and the top portion that will be used to hang your display. Tie these to your dowel rod.

Here's where I screwed up... I used hot glue to attach the photos. Like a dummy the tape never occurred to me and let me tell you, washi tape is way easier. I added some to the backs just to give you a visual.

If you want to add a garland like I did, just cut a bunch of stems and attach them with floral wire or the same thread you used if its not noticeable.

If you're a stickler with details you may end up having to hot glue a few stubborn leaves to the garland. My mom thought I was crazy doing this but I'm such a perfectionist.

And that, my friends, is all there is to it! If you end up making this be sure to email me or tag me on your photos, I'd love to see the finished products!

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New Series: Weekend DIYs

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to be starting a new series on the blog so its finally time to spill the beans! I'm so excited to finally be getting back to one of my favorite parts about this blog, DIY projects!

And in case you ever think your house is a complete mess, go ahead and bookmark this post so you can come back to it and instantly feel better about your current living situation. 

It's been a while since I had time for holiday DIY projects or coerced my husband into building a coffee table, but with so many things on our new house to-do list my goal is to knock one project off every couple of weeks. While it would be fabulous if we could hire someone to do this for us, we're on a budget and I have (probably too much) confidence we can do it.

I should probably point out that we are still beginners when it comes to DIY projects around the house, in fact it took us 3 hours to comprehend IKEA instructions for a baby gate last week. Which is still not installed by the way, ahem....

Anyway I hope this series will inspire you, give you a few laughs at rogue projects that don't go as planned (there are bound to be a few in this bunch), or help if you're planning to start a similar project of your own.

First things first, we have to discuss some of said projects! There are many, many small projects like replacing the kitchen faucet that did not make this list but here are the biggies with the horrifying visuals.

Guest Room: Paint

I have been going back and forth on this room color but finally decided on Sherwin Williams Spare White. It's got the slightest hint of green in it which I think will pick up some of the colors in the rug and go well with the dark bed frame and gold details. Now I just need to find the time to paint! That dinky fan needs to go too now that I see it photo bombing this picture.

Guest Room 2/Rowan's Big Boy Room

This room is a hot mess and I can't even believe I'm sharing this photo. It's currently serving as storage obviously but it has gotten slightly better since I took this photo. The previous owners thought it was a super good idea to paint a very dark navy on alllllll of the walls, so who knows how many coats of primer and paint it will take. I want to do a board and batten statement wall like this on the wall where you see my sad little sewing machine set up.

Office: Organize

I am normally one of those people who always keeps their work space immaculate and organized, but right now it is so far from it. I've got first birthday projects everywhere, random Target Dollar section purchases on the floor, a gallery wall to hang, etc. It's bad. At least its painted and has a pretty light fixture!

Laundry: Paint + Add Cabinets 

Pretty self explanatory, nothing fancy but it could use a face lift with some prefab cabinets. 

Dining Room: DIY Wainscoting + Paint

This room has lots of potential and I think the wainscoting will add a lot of value, plus a good coat of paint will cover up whatever the eff the previous owners had going on with these walls. It also needs a new light fixture, curtains and curtain rods... just to name a few. And hey, maybe someday we'll even furnish this space!

Not pictured but something we'll most definitely hire some help with are painting our kitchen cabinets white and redoing our half bath. I just know those are not doable projects with how hectic things can get around here!

So there you have it, our project list in all of its messy, unfinished glory.

If you have any words of wisdom or suggestions for dining room paint colors, send them my way! I'll keep you all updated on our progress every couple of weeks!

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!! Only one more of these before Christmas and we are oh so excited over here!

Glad to be linking up again with Christina for my favorites from the week! Here goes...

ONE. Quick DIY Restoration Hardware Knockoff Shelves

 

I promised I'd share some details from these shelves from our Christmas decor post, they are so easy! I used this tutorial from 7th House on the Left, except after purchasing all of the pipe materials from Lowes and spending $70, I took them all back! Not long after, I found Supply House which had quick shipping and the materials were only $25. Waaaay better!

Our boards (leftover from our DIY coffee table) were 6" x 1" so to make two shelves I ordered four 3/4" x 6" Black Nipples, four 3/4" Black Caps, and four 3/4" Black Floor Flanges. Assemble the pipes and spray paint them before installing with heavy duty anchors. I did this project all by myself so its totally doable for us ladies!

TWO. $150 Minted Giveaway

Yesterday I shared this precious Minted custom artwork I had done for a gift for Rowan's grandparents and there is a $150 giveaway you can enter to win your own! You can also use it for holiday cards if you haven't ordered yours yet! Don't miss it!

THREE. Favorite Loungewear

Gap Cotton Leggings

Y'all these pants are the.best.ever. I love them so much that I own two pairs and I'm fighting the urge to buy another because there are so many fun patterns! They are perfect for cuddling around the house, chasing after a wild child, and make me feel less like I'm wearing pajama pants all day.

FOUR. Rowan's First Santa Visit

We took Rowan to see the James Island Festival of Lights last night and he had his first visit with Santa! He looked like he was about to lose it but the photographer cheered him up pretty quickly! I have to laugh because he is actually wearing longalls but they are riding up on him so bad.. oops!!

FIVE. Red Lipstick Help?!

This weekend we've got a date night on the agenda and I totally dropped the ball in my outfit planning for the wedding we are going to! I'm hoping I can pick up a little black dress and maybe venture out of my comfort zone with some red lipstick. I'm not usually a lipstick person, so if anyone has a recommendation please share!!

Hope you all have a fab + festive weekend!!

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DIY Restoration Hardware Knockoff Coffee Table

This post could also be titled: The weekend that it never stopped raining.

Y'all, it's been relentless. We had almost 3 feet of rain over the course of 4 days. And it's still going.

Though our backyard did flood some, we were extremely lucky that we were spared for what most of the Low Country experienced. It's heartbreaking to see the photos of downtown Charleston.

Most of the roads and bridges around us were shut down and curfews were ordered, so we have basically been cooped up in our home since Thursday. Needless to say we were feeling really stir crazy but are SO incredibly thankful that our little family, our home, and ours friends are all safe.

And if there is a silver lining, its that we got a full weekend of cuddling, football watching, and wine drinking under cozy blankets.

Since I'm pretty sure y'all don't want to see photos of us in our pajamas all weekend, I thought I'd share our DIY coffee table!

Its finally done. Hallelujah! (Although in these photos we hadn't applied the clear coat yet... sorry, had to work with whatever light I could get for some photos!)

We have been working on this table for months. Yes, you heard me. MONTHS.

And no, it should not take that long.

But when you're husband is working on it during nap times and you change the dimensions on him after its mostly built (sorry babe!), it turns into a multi-weekend event.

I love the Restoration Hardware Balustrade coffee table, but at a $1,700 price point, that was absolutely out of the question.

I'm not going to do a full DIY post because everything is laid out perfectly by Jen from the House of Wood. But I want to share some of the changes we made to make it work with our space!

Size

The original plans for this coffee table are huge. I mean this thing would have taken up our entire living room and it just wasn't practical for us. So we cut down and removed some boards and I'm so happy we did. Our table comes in at 44" W x 27.5" D.

Stain

I wanted a lighter colored stain that had just a slight hint of grey in it, so after testing quite a few combinations I decided on a coat of Minwax Special Walnut then layered a coat of Minwax Classic Grey over top. I wiped the grey off immediately because it can look blue if its on there too long.

For whatever reason, some parts of our boards did not stain evenly. The ends are always darker but it does drive me a little bit crazy the way it stained (and don't get me started on how the wall color clashes with the couch color). Not much we can do though since we were trying to keep this cheap and bought lower grade wood.

Cost

The most expensive part of this project is purchasing the pillars. Those run a minimum of $112 for 4, depending on the wood you choose.

And as a result of my last minute changes in size to the already-built coffee table (insert my husband's eye roll here), we had to buy a few extra boards.

Total cost: just under $200. 

$200 versus $1,700? Yeah, I'll take ours any day.

Major props to my husband for building this gorgeous piece for us. I'm super impressed with his woodworking skills, and I think he even surprised himself considering this is only his second piece of furniture he has built.

I only get credit for staining, motivational speeches, and the serving of beer during the building process.

We haven't owned a coffee table since college (first world problems, I know), so I'm excited to style it and put some Fall touches on it! I hope you all had a fun and dry first weekend of October!

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