Last minute camping trip...Bowman Lake State Park

This weekend i took a last minute trip upstate to go camping. The thing i love most about camping is the fact that i lose cell service and have no choice but to be without "contact" with the world.  We went to bowman lake state park.  We camped, went to a county fair, watched a pull contest (my first time ever seeing something like that) and went to jets practice at cortland. (Not a jet fan but went along for the ride). 

Had to stop on the side of the road to take a picture of this beautiful scenery.

 

one of the roads by our campsite

 

Fresh squeezed lemonade is always a favorite at the county fair.

who doesn't love a ferris wheel?

smores and more smores. Whats a camping trip without roasting marshmallows?

And you can't forget a lil BBQ!

our campsite had a little "beach"  where you could rent boats and kayaks for the day.

 

Another shot of the "beach"

2 baby deer having a drink.

 jets practice at cortland

Jets practice

More jets practice

The pull contest. Whoever pulled the farthest won. The old chevys did the best which just goes to show you they don't make things like they used to!

Pull contest.

I can never stay in one place too long... blame it on my gypsy soul.

more classroom decor...

I always like to find new and creative way to display the children's artwork. I love when I am hanging up their work and I hear them say "oh! Look at that!". Here are some pictures of what I like to call our "spring wall". Usually at the beginning of spring we do a week on insects. For a lot of our projects we use paper plates and bowls. Here we made Bees, Lady Bugs, and Butterflies. We also made paper plate Tulips and I have to say they added a lot of fun color to our classroom!

And to keep with the insect theme, on our door we had lady bugs and some more flowers!

one mans trash...

A lot of people ask me where I get the pieces that I bring back from the "dead". And 9 times out of 10 I stumble upon them on my way home or on my way out. This chandelier is just one example of just that. I noticed it on the curb on my way home. I have been saying that I wanted a chandelier for my dining room for a while now. It looks like someone must have been listening. Below is the exact condition I found it in. It isn't the prettiest right now but once I clean it up and add a few personal touches I know its going to be just what I was "looking" for!

 

Spools

I found a bunch of these electrical wire spools and thought they would make great tables. I have started working on them. There were some staples and nails that needed to be removed and some holes that needed to be filled. (sorry for the poor quality pictures.... I quickly took these with my phone)

wood filler and not sanded

Here I sanded and filled the larger holes and gave a quick coat of spray paint.

This is a work in progress... but I plan on doing a few more coats of paint and then wrapping the center with rope! Keep checking back for the finished product!

classroom decor

I am lucky enough to have a job where I can also be creative. This is my favorite time of year because we get to do ocean week. Each day the kids in my class made a different sea creature to put in our ocean. I wanted to come up with a way to display their art work.... so here is our ocean wall.

The children made fish, starfish, and jelly fish using paper plates, brown lunch bags and constru. I used streamer and plain old construction paper to make the sea weed and sand!

Cubby to Bench

When I saw that my job was getting rid of these cubbies i instantly had an idea on what I would use them for! They would make the perfect bench for the end up my bed!

All they needed was a little sanding and some stain and voila! Good as new! My favorite part about them.... the storage.

Before: Lots of scratches and some stains.

After: Sanded smooth and stained with some photo boxes add for some storage.

  And here is the before and after side by side. Another freebie. A little TLC can go a long way! The only thing I want to add is some cushions for the top.

 

If you are wondering what I did with the other one, it sits inside my closet as a shoe rack! 

From Trash to Treasure

Recently someone I know was cleaning out their garage. They had the old desk/vanity (not sure which one it actually was but i use it as a vanity) that was broken. Being the person that I am, I saw a good challenge. It was in pretty rough shape. It needed a lot of TLC and lucky for that desk/vanity I had just that. After gluing, sanding, nails, hammers, and paint I turned a piece of trash into a beautiful treasure!

What is your favorite DIY makeover piece?

bedroom... round one

When i moved into my new place in february i was super excited to decorate right away! Who doesn't love buying new stuff?!? I got to work right away, focusing on my bed being the focal point. All i had was a mattress and box spring. No head board. So i did what i do best and used what i had lying around... and this was the outcome:

I used 2 old closet doors to make a head board. I was pleased with the outcome but after awhile it felt like something was missing. So next i added a curtain rod secured to the wall with some white curtains and voila! 

You may be wondering why this post is titled bedroom... round one... the reason is, my bedroom does not look like this anymore. I have rearranged and added more furniture finds. You will just have to wait for future posts to see the final outcome!

What is your favorite home decor improvisation?

Bedding: Lauren Conrad Ella bedding -Kohls

White ruffle pillow: Marshalls

Sheer Gray Curtains: Bed Bath & Beyond