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Crafts Delivered to Your Door

December 8, 2013 By Erica Deuel 7 Comments

Have you ever wanted to attempt a craft from Spoonful of Imagination but needed a little extra nudge?

Have you seen promotions for Spoonful Lab but have been too far away to attend?

Are you looking for a community of people to encourage and challenge your creative potential?

I’m excited to let you know we have created a solution for you.

Coming in early 2014 we will be launching a special members only portion of Spoonful of Imagination called Spoonful Tribe. You don’t have to wait for 2014 to start participating though! Today to celebrate this new chapter of Spoonful we are offering a limited quantity soft launch.

Last Thursday at my Handmade Christmas Spoonful Lab, the ladies that came created these beautiful Winter Wreaths and Holiday Ornaments. I set aside 12 sets of these craft supplies and you can sign up today to have them delivered right to your door!

Wouldn’t you love a fun craft to do during the holidays? By signing up, I will ship all the supplies directly to you which will include a secret code to a special video tutorial where I teach you how to do your crafts. Coming in 2014 will be more crafts, goodies, store discounts, and members only privileges for Spoonful Tribe members. Each month you will receive a new craft. You can purchase a Spoonful Box for you or you can request multiples to host your own craft night party!

The only catch is that once my supplies are sold out, you will have to wait for the next month’s offering. Don’t wait to join in!

Once we announce our official launch we will have different levels of membership available. For today’s special you can reserve your Spoonful Tribe Box for $20. Remember, when 12 orders come in, the offer will be closed for the month.

This is a one month offer with no further obligations!

Thank you to many of you for helping to contribute and inspire this idea. We’ve heard your feedback and I’m hoping this will be a special way for us to continue to expand the Spoonful of Imagination community and connect more with each other!

Unique and Inexpensive Room Accessories

October 7, 2013 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

Decorating could break your bank account, if you let it. It doesn’t need to though. There are simple ways that you can be creative and think outside the box to make and come up with decor that keeps your costs down and your spouse smiling at you proudly.

I want to share just a few things that I have done in our foster care bedroom that have been inexpensive, yet they are cute and all come together to create a statement room.

1. Frame scrapbook paper to create wall art. I cut a hippo silhouette out and glued it to another piece of scrapbook paper and stuck the two in a thrift store frame to create a fun, subtle wall art piece. This cost about $2.00 to create.

2. Buy solid or plain pillows and embellish them to create a more expensive/nicer look. I took a $3.00 Ikea white Ikea pillowcase and embellished it with a little paint. You can get the full tutorial here. This cost about $5.oo, since my pillow insert was a $2.00 thrift store find.

3. Repurpose items to create a unique look for less. I bought a ceramic owl salt shaker in the $1 section at Target and am using it as a cute statue on my shelf. I also bought a metal owl napkin holder to hold special books.

4. Recycle cool things for a new use. I turned over a barrel used to sell candy in a candy store and created a unique end table.

5. Think past the obvious. I bought a cute little metal pail in the paint aisle at Home Depot and am using it hold little stuffed animals.

6. Don’t be scared. Try something new. See if you like it. If you don’t, you can always change it. I don’t usually like my handwriting, but I tried my hand at writing a simple message “let them be little”. It worked!

This room is coming together! I have a few more DIY to show you, before the full reveal is ready. If you missed the artwork that inspired it all you can read “There is A Whole World Inside Me” here. I am so excited to put this room to use. I hope you had a great weekend and were able to be creative and use that IMAGINATION!

It’s Time For A Vacation!

July 11, 2013 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

Did you know that July is National Vacation Rental Month? I just learned that from my new friends at Wyndham Vacation Rentals.

If you’ve spent anytime around here, you know that we love to travel as a family. We’ll be packing up the ole mini van pretty soon for a trip to Indiana for a dear friend’s wedding. I think if we’ve learned anything about traveling is that there are plenty of deals to be had. For so long I was afraid to dream about taking vacations-fearing that we could never afford it. I’ve found it just takes a little work to make it affordable.

Here’s a few quick tips we’ve learned along the way to make things more affordable and fun:

Pack food for the car. This saves money and cuts down on stops. It also gives you healthy options. Trust me, when you are cruising along I-40 outside of Albuqureque, NM your choices are gas station beef jerky or Big Macs.
If traveling with kids, try to get them to play really hard before typical nap-time or bedtime, load them up, and roll! On our last trip to Arkansas, we did this and got 7 hours of drive time in with the kids totally asleep. No extra food, potty, or stretch breaks needed. Of course, you need to keep coffee on hand and rotate your drivers to stay safe, but it can really help for long distances.
If you can rent a place that has a kitchen, do it. Again, it’s another huge savings than going out for every meal. This is where a rental can work out to be better than a hotel. You’ll often find a lot of conveniences of home and more ways to save.
Being on the beach is awesome. Being 1-2 blocks from the beach is still awesome and often times 30-50% cheaper. We’ve found that if you have to load the car up to hit the beach, find parking, load back up, etc., it can be draining. But if you are staying at a place that is less than a mile from the beach, it’s perfect. You can walk back and forth easily and enjoy the same beach access at a fraction of the cost as the folks on the beach front.
Have realistic expectations for your kids. They don’t normally sit in the car for hours. They don’t usually hike around an amusement park all day in the hot sun and stand in line for hours. They rarely spend all day getting hot and sandy at the beach. Bottom line, you are going to have some meltdowns. Be prepared. Don’t push them too hard. Just realize that they don’t need to do everything in the park or be on the beach for 6 hours straight to have fun. Be willing to adjust to their level and needs and everyone will have more fun.
If you are going to a prime time spot for vacation, try to stock up on supplies or groceries before you get there. Vacation areas charge a premium even for simple things like eggs, milk, and bread. Pack a cooler and hit up the last town before your destination. Same goes for gas. Fill up away from the hot spots.
Relax. Think simple. Don’t miss your vacation by over scheduling it. The most important part is being together and creating space to rest.

What are some of your travel tips? Are you going anywhere on vacation this month? If you haven’t booked your trip yet, consider trying Wyndham Vacation Rentals. They are offering summer deals at up to 35 percent off nightly rates on bookings made throughout July at www.WyndhamVacationRentals.com. Also, for peace of mind, Wyndham offers a “Vacation Rental Bill of Rights®” service pledge ensuring quality standards (vetted rentals with accurate images), comprehensive customer service and real-time payment and bookings. In the U.S., their properties range from private homes, resorts condos and villas in beach destinations such as Florida, South Carolina, Delaware and Alabama’s Gulf Coast to mountain-side condos and luxury cabins in Colorado, Utah, Tennessee and Idaho.

Take a look at a couple of their beautiful properties.

Hilton Head, SC

Charleston, SC

I can’t wait to hit the road again for our next trip. I hope you’ve got some fun travel plans ahead too! Make sure to chime in and tell me where you are going and things you’ve learned about traveling along the way.

To connect with Wyndham Vacation Rentals more be sure to visit them online, twitter, or facebook!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Spray Paint Ikea Furniture

May 22, 2013 By Erica Deuel 1 Comment

Did you know you can spray paint Ikea furniture? I figured you could with the right spray paint, but I never had till Reagan’s bedroom makeover.

As we were planning her room, I knew she needed a toddler bed. I loved J’s old bed, but the blue was not going to go with Reagan’s theme. I wanted a rustic, darker color to help tone down the bright colors in her room. I also wanted it to look metallic as I was adding natural type elements in her room for the decor. I stumbled across my new favorite spray paint in this search.

This is not a sponsored post. I just really fell in love with this product and wanted to share it with you. I have never used a textured type spray paint. It is so forgiving! Usually when you spray paint and you spray it too “thick” is can dry with a dripped or spotted look. With this product, it just added more of a texture, and I loved it! I will show you more of what I mean further down. I used this exact color and finish on Reagan’s bed, and it was perfect!

The first thing I did for this bed transformation was take the bed apart it give it a good cleaning. I simply wiped it down with Clorox wipes to get rid of the dirt and grime from all the years the boys used it.

After the bed was clean. I started spraying some base light coats. I wanted the bed to have a complete covering of all the blue. As I sprayed, with this hammered texture spray from Rustoleum, I started to notice that the really “wet” spots got the best texture look as you can see below.

Doesn’t that look cool!? I love it and have found my new addiction. I also used this spray paint on a tall lamp in Reagan’s room. It’s such a fun quick thrill to spray something and give it a new look and life. Every item in my house better watch out now.

One thing that was hard for me was to not rush this project. This was a big item to spray paint and there were lots of sides and edges to cover and between each coat of spray, I had to wait till it was fully dry, before I could flip it and spray the other side. Once I thought it was almost done, I was out of spray paint and almost just quit because I was ready to put it back together and move on to the next project, but I was patient. I went and bought another can of spray paint. I think this project took 3 1/2 cans of paint. That cost was much less than buying Reagan a new bed.

Once it was completely dry and all the coats were complete, we moved the pieces to her room. We put the bed back together in her room to keep it easier to maneuver through the house.

Once the bed was put back together, the bed transformation was done! I set it up with her cute comforter and pillows and we all fell in love with it!

The bed has not chipped at all and it is wearing incredibly well. I am so glad to know you can spray paint Ikea furniture! What a good trick to remember! One of my favorite moments was when J first saw the freshly painted bed. I was so afraid he’d be upset about us “ruining” and giving away his bed. He looked at it and said, “Wow mommy! I like Rea-Rea’s new bed!” It didn’t even register that it was his old bed – transformation success!

What about you? Have you spray painted anything lately? Have you tried using texture spray paints?

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