Makenna's Kindergarten Graduation

It seems that in the blink of an eye, my little girl went from her first day of Kindergarten...

to Kindergarten graduation so much more grown up! How did that happen?

I so enjoyed the graduation. They sang such sweet songs...

She got her diploma from her teacher, Ms. Kim. When she called Makenna's name, she told us that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up and that her favorite part of Kindergarten was the Math tubs. She wanted to be a dentist last month, but a teacher is a great profession too! :)

There was an ice cream and cake party afterwards. She is surrounded by her proud family.

Makenna just loved her teacher. Ms. Kim gave her the "sweet tart" award for being the sweetest girl in the class. I will miss her teacher. You know when the teacher really loves and cares for the kids? Well, that was Ms. Kim. She even cried when she had to tell them goodbye. I cried too!

They came in after graduation with flowers and sang "You are My Sunshine" to the parents. Then she gave the flower to me. Wasn't I just rocking her before bed singing that song to her? Where does the time go?

Makenna, I am so proud of you and how you tried your very best this year, but most of all I am proud of the way you treated others and how you let Jesus shine out of your life. You always stood beside someone even if everyone else was making fun of her. That girl will never forget that. I so enjoy watching you grow into a young lady and watching the fruit that comes from you having a personal relationship with Christ. You are off to big school next year for 1st grade. I know you are ready and will do great. The only one you have to please is Jesus. Just keep living for Him!

Now, let's go and enjoy our summer girl!

My Summer Mantles

Here is my "inside" mantle for the summer. It is very simple with a coastal flair.

My all time favorite summer thing is ferns. I put one inside an old crate I picked up at an antique store years ago and put it inside the fireplace.

I added some fern fronds to my blue jars.

I pulled out our shells from last year's beach vacation and put them in my Hemingway Hurricane.

This is a driftwood garland I bought at Home Goods last year on clearance and I just laid it out on the mantle. So that is my no cost, quick, summer mantle. Hope you like it!

Here is my mantle out back. This is my favorite one to decorate!

I used several things I already had and bought these paper lanterns at Target in the Easter clearance aisle. Wave Petunias came from Home Depot, and I bought the Mason Jars at various garage sales. They have a tea light in them. With all the colors going on, I decided to use a white window to hang my sign from. It says, "The earth delights to feel your bare feet." It looks so pretty lit up at night.

Hope you are enjoying summer! Thanks for stopping by.

I am linking up to The Lettered Cottage Summer Mantle Party

My Foyer Reveal

Remember my foyer "before" when I got a wild hair to take down the chunky chair rail?

We have a very open floor plan with a small foyer so I was wanting to make it look more separate from the rest of the house.

Here is what I came up with. I kept the existing baseboard and added board and batten (i.e. strips of MDF and topped it with a thicker piece of MDF). This involved lots of lots of sheetrock repair from removing the other molding. That took MUCH longer than expected. Isn't that how all projects turn out?
The strips slightly hang over the existing baseboard, but I just did a straight cut and left it that way. Those details do not bother me. Some caulk and semi gloss paint (BJ Moore Moonlight White) and it turned out great!

I also added some mailbox numbers from Home Depot to the coat closet doors. It just adds a touch of whimsy to them. My kids say it looks like a hotel room door. I like that!

I put a "3" on the other side. It gives the appearance that our house goes on farther than it really does like there is another room behind there (it's just a storage closet for all my decor, dishes etc :), but it's fun to dream...

For now, I stacked up my picnic baskets on this side, but I don't know if they are staying there. Ideally, I would have an outlet on this wall, so I could plug in a lamp. Until that happens, I might put a lantern on top of them. They hold puzzles, playdoh, and books for the kids. The top basket is a catch all. I am thinking I might add hooks on this side too. What do you think???

I also painted my wood front door. I used Contented from Sherwin Williams. The lighting is so bad here, that you can't see the color very well. It really lighted up this area.

I added some dark walnut stain to it to make it look more weathered.


Of course, one project leads to another around here. I am wanting to paint the walls in the foyer the same color as the living room. It is called Wool Skein by Sherwin Williams. It is a very tall space, so I have been putting it off. Maybe this summer??

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

Linking up to Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage

A Flower for the Teacher

Today, I made flower pins for the teachers. I used this tutorial. The flower is made out of felt so it only cost me about 25 cents. You just have to buy the pins which you can get at Hobby Lobby. That is also where I bought the felt. I used card stock and glued scrapbook paper to it, then I printed out a note and glued it on. It was still wet here so I see some wrinkles, but I pressed those out.
I am loving these flowers on headbands, clothes, bags, pillows, scarves, necklaces, lampshades, etc. I wrote some of these ideas on the back for the teacher.
Hope these gift ideas are giving you some inspiration!
Have a great sunny day!

Teacher Appreciation Week- a sweet gift idea

This is what my kids brought to their teachers today. I used a wide mouth jar I already had and put chocolate covered strawberries inside. I added some coconut to some of them too. I made the tag out of scrapbook paper and printed out the note: "It is such a treat to have you as my teacher."

I did not have the lid to the jar, so I cut a square of fabric with pinking shears and tied some yarn around it to hold it on. Then I added the ribbon and gift tag.

I used this chocolate candy coating from the grocery store to coat the strawberries. You can melt it in the microwave and dip the strawberries in it. It makes a hard shell when it dries. It also comes in white chocolate.

I would love to hear if you try this idea for your kids' teachers!

Hope you are having a great week!

Teacher Appreciation Week- gift idea

I love Teacher Appreciation Week (if I plan ahead). I enjoy coming up with things to make my kid's teachers feel special and appreciated. I can't say I planned too much ahead, but I am having fun with it. Most of us have a terra cotta pot laying around the garage that is not being used. If you don't have one, then Home Depot sells them for a few dollars. I painted this one with chalkboard paint or you can spray it (they sell this at Home Depot too). I did two coats to cover it good. Let it dry for a few hours. I picked up some pink impatiens and planted them in the pot then wrote on the pot with chalk. It says: "Thank you for being so patient with me." (it goes with the impatiens theme :)

Then the kids signed the other side of the pot. I would have loved this when I was a teacher. They can erase the note later and write something else. It was "blue" theme day in my son's class, so I stuck a blue bird peep (from Easter) on a wood skewer and put it in the pot. It turned out really cute!