Marty at A Stroll Thru Life is having a cloche party! She is one of the sweetest, most sincere people I've met through blogland and I adore her.
Here is a cheeseboard with a glass cover I found for $1 at a yard sale:
Here is a cheeseboard with a glass cover I found for $1 at a yard sale:

I also have one in my bedroom with a (fake) flower pot inside:




Summer is in full swing!

Holy cow! I was a little taken aback to have all 5 running through the house again (okay, the baby doesn't run, but still...) with their friends all day. I was going crazy and then I remembered a delightful little thing I used to use called chore cards. My friend, Lynee introduced me to them when we lived in Idaho, and I have been using them in the summer since then. It's a fun way to get your kids to get their work done before you all go out to play.
I made up a list of all the chores my kids help me do. Walk through your house and see what you would like done. Maybe you want dusting to happen at least once a week. Maybe your glass screen doors are covered in fingerprints like mine. Maybe everyone's shoe baskets are spilling into each others and you need to organize them and distribute them to the rooms. Or better yet, why couldn't your kids organize them?
Your kids can do more than you think~it may take some time to teach them how the job needs to be done, but in the long run it will pay off for years and years on both your parts.
You all live in the house and you all need to help take care of it, right?
Right. :)
You all live in the house and you all need to help take care of it, right?
Right. :)
Then, I typed up the list in Microsoft Word and added clip art pictures with them to make them a little more fun and also for the younger ones that can't read. I printed them off on different color of cardstock for each child,

cut them into cards,

and then took them to Mardel to get them laminated (I've found teacher and homeschool stores the least expensive for laminating)

The kids cut them up,
(if you're type A, you can straighten up the cutting when they're in bed :)
Then I punched holes into them and put them onto a ring.
Remember that frame I turned into a bulletin board? Turns out the hooks are a perfect place to hang chore cards on!

cut them into cards,

and then took them to Mardel to get them laminated (I've found teacher and homeschool stores the least expensive for laminating)

The kids cut them up,

Then I punched holes into them and put them onto a ring.

This is how we use them:
The "essential" ones like getting dressed, making bed, brushing teeth, etc. are done every day. I put a little star with a sharpie on those ones. Then, each day I add in one or two extra jobs that I decide need to be done that day. It makes a world of difference to divide the jobs up. Our big rule is that no one plays with friends, outside, on the computer, tv, or wii, nothing until their cards are finished. It's amazing how fast they work when their friends are waiting for them outside and their "cards" aren't finished yet. Now, lest you think my kids wake every morning and come in and ask, "how can I help you today, mom?" I need to tell you that there will most likely be opposition. There will be some days of wailing, whining, protesting, gnashing of teeth, crying, howling, BUT
If you look...you'll also see some fun cards. I don't throw these in every day, but they just love these. It's a fun way to make them look forward to something and the chores seem to be done extra quick on those days.
I like to change things up every few months to keep the momentum going (especially with chores) so in the fall, we switch to chore charts. Also, I would recommend making some blank cards to write on with a dry erase marker for new ones you think of and want to add...
I hope these help you out!
Have a great weekend~
ETA Again!: I uploaded it to 4 Share. Hopefully this works. I tried to fix the Google Docs link~ It may or may not work for you here (the formatting isn't there, but you get the idea)
ETA Again!: I uploaded it to 4 Share. Hopefully this works. I tried to fix the Google Docs link~ It may or may not work for you here (the formatting isn't there, but you get the idea)
I bought this sweet little bundle of sticks at Rod Works in Utah for $2.50:

As I was playing around with where to put them, my husband saw it and said, "more sticks?"
I said, "what do you mean, more sticks?"
He raised his eyebrows.
Then, I looked around and had to laugh:
sticks in nests


sticks in the bathroom
Kimba is having a garden party!



She got a new coat of green and I hung her up on the side fence to hold towels.

I got this decorative metal thingy at Hobby Lobby last year in their garden clearance for 90% off, but wasn't crazy about the color.

Our light fixture was in desperate need of a change out as well:

So, we changed it up a bit:

Love this color for outside.
Isn't this supposed to be a garden party? We do have a vegetable garden, and it's off to a pretty good start. The White House garden pales in comparison, don't you think? :) Er, minus a few hundred weeds or so...

So, if you have a real vegetable garden, is it okay to have a fake plant outside on your table?

Have a terrific Tuesday~
It's time to share thrifty treasures over at Rhoda's:
There were so many yard sales this weekend~holy moly!
I had made my list and had about 12 on it, but only made it to 2 or 3 on my list because there were so many signs for ones along the way, I had to stop.
Here's my loot:
greenery in a tin .75, cream hanging tin 1.00, frame 1.00
Here's my loot:
greenery in a tin .75, cream hanging tin 1.00, frame 1.00

I'm trying to decide what to do in my girls' rooom. Both of them are all of a sudden anti-pink, so I may be painting some of these, but they were just too darn cute to leave. And here's the kicker~these were between 3 yard sales, but look how well they go together! I saw my friend, Chelsea, out with her mom and she was debating about the pink hanging tin, but I couldn't leave it behind. So, Chelsea, if you found a place for it and decide you want it, it's yours! :)
shabby chic shelf with knobs: 3.00
2 pink tins: .50 each
pink hanging tin with crystal on the bottom: 2.00

I thought this was the coolest exit sign for 50 cents! I got it to put above the door in my boys' room:

This orange hanger caught my eye too~(how could it not??) Loved the knobs on it~they caught a little orange spray paint, but I loved the edging~see below

I also got a few kids' folding chairs, some cute clothes for my daughters, and I was out of money after 1 hour! (I started the morning with $18) It was a good morning~
I had to share some inspiration I've seen for old headboards and footboards:
Look what Kate from Centsational Girl did with a footboard she picked up at the thrift store (for half off nonetheless!):
Look what Kate from Centsational Girl did with a footboard she picked up at the thrift store (for half off nonetheless!):

Oh, but that's not all. She shows an alternate version for inside:

Look at what Karla from It's the little things that make a house a home did with a free headboard she got from the side of the road:


pic source: Better Homes & Gardens May 2009
Don't you just love this look? She explains how she did it~I even typed it up for you, straight off the BHG p. 240 :) Oh, and side note~I loved that little mirror above the bed, found out it's from Anthropologie.
"She and her mom started by cutting batting to fit over three plywood panels. (Use 3/8 inch-thick board) Next they wrapped the boards in a budget fabric, pulling it tight and stapling it to the back. Erin dressed up the seams with upholstery nailheads. Wherever she drilled in a screw to secure the panels to the wall, she cut the spike off a nail and glued the head over the screw. Erin helped her mom make an upholstered headboard with the same technique."
I hope you are as inspired as I was~keep your eyes peeled in your thrifting and yard-saling for these hidden gems!
Happy Thursday~

Thank you for having cute sunglasses in your dollar spot section for $2.50. For people like me that lose them, that sit on them, whose kids play with them and break them and can't stomach seeing $20+ sunglasses go down the drain. Thank you.
Thank you, sunglasses.
For being my headband in the summer, and for shading my eyes that have no makeup on them so I can look like one of those with-it moms at swimming lessons that woke up at 6 a.m. and fed her kids organic oatmeal and fruit before lessons instead of one that leaped out of bed 1/2 an hour before lessons, threw her hair in a pony, and tossed the kids granola bars to the backseat on the way.
I bought 3 pair that I'll try to make last through the summer.
Thank you.
Making a fool of myself trying to show what they look like on and trying to make him laugh at the same time...
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