Crafty and Awake

I have been awake since about 0230 and it is now just about 0400. Quinn woke up to eat and for some reason I just cannot go back to sleep tonight. So, instead of laying in bed awake any longer I decided to come down and write. To set the mood I poured myself a glass of eggnog, lit the pumpkin spice candle sitting on the desk and turned on Damien Rice station on Pandora. Fall is by far my favorite season. I love everything pumpkin, jeans and boots, the colors, the crispness in the air, knowing that the holidays are coming up, beanies, and scarfs. When it starts getting cold and rainy outside its time for some inside decorating, crafting, and baking.
I have been wanting a growth chart for the little lady and decided how fun would it be to make her one. Since we are in the military for three more years, I especially love how these growth charts are mobile. We will be moving probably one more time, if not two, so definitely won't be in our forever home right away. This is something that can move with us wherever we go.
Here's how it goes:
1) Gather supplies.

• Piece of wood from Lowes. Size 6ft x 10in I found was an appealing size. I also like to pick ones that have extra knots or grain, for added character. 
• Wood stain. The brand I used is Rust-oleum wood stain, Dark Walnut. Trusted quality since 1921! 
• Stencils. I found these ones at Hobby Lobby. I was going for a bigger size and wanted numbers that actually looked like they would be on a ruler. 
• Sand paper, towel, sharpie, black paint, gloves. I didn't use gloves the first time and it definitely took some elbow grease getting the stain out of my hands. So, lesson learned. 

2) Stain the wood. Any old rag would work. Just dip it in the stain and apply to the wood evenly. One coat is enough.

 3) The stain I used says it dries in one hour. I found that its best to let them dry overnight. The sharpie had issues on the one I only let dry an hour.

 4) Sanding. This step is optional depending on the look you are going for, the color of stain you use and how much you apply. The first one I made I was a little heavy on the stain so I sanded it down a little for a lighter color. Other ones I have done, this was not necessary because of the way the stain turned out.

 5) Measuring.  I wanted to set my ruler on the floor, not hang it on the wall, so I measured mine out from the ground. Put a measuring tape on the wood and draw a little line for the inches and a little bit bigger line to mark my feet. I Mcgivered the inch and foot mark stencils. The inch marks ended up measuring 3/4'' and the foot marks are 2 1/2'', which looks appropriate to scale.

6) Coloring and painting. After my initial marks are made, I start the tedious task of coloring in the stencil marks with the sharpie. This is definitely what is the most time consuming. Kyle has since helped me make a few others and this is the task I hand him.
Once those are finished, onto the numbers. Just eye them to make sure they are straight and in an appropriate position. Tape them in place. Again, I use sharpie for the initial markings. Keep the stencils in place and go over the sharpie with black paint for a more finished look. Do this to the foot markings as well. I do that by hand instead of painting with the stencil still on.

 And there you have it. A perfect little Pottery Barn look alike for a lot less money and made with a lot more love.

The second little craft we recently did was more out of boredom. It was rainy one day so Quinn and I didn't take our usual morning walk. Instead we made this for some added fall decor around the home. 

The trickiest part is keeping her entertained enough while I have paint on her foot. A risky move on my part, but everything worked out. I use glass paint because it is thicker and won't slip all over the paper when I try and make the print. It's easily washable and dries quickly. Then I just added the little ghost faces and wrote on it. Easy little craft for kiddos. 

Last but definitely not least. I have been loving trying new recipes from Pinterest. These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins really are amazing. I have heard from a few people that baking in Colorado can be difficult due to the elevation, but I had no issue with these babies. No issue putting down about five of them myself either.  You can follow this link for the recipe: http://www.thanksmailcarrier.com/2013/09/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-muffins-recipe.html?m=1

Yum Yum Yummy! Many more pumpkin recipes will be tried in the near future.  

My Pandora radio just timed out and its now almost 0500. Time to go back to sleep until 0630 when my tiny human alarm clock goes off. :-) Goodnight!