More Toy Storage

We have too many toys. It's a sickness really. I'm pretty sure that they're breeding when we're not looking. And you know what's really scary: he turns one in a few weeks, and you know what that means. More toys!



Please don't tell my mom that you saw my house look like this. I think she might throw up a little.

I've been trying to come up with solutions for all my son's stuff. You already saw the barn toy box WIP last week. Did I finish it? Um, no. Not yet. But I am making some headway. Too bad it's coming out kind of pink though!



I bought some 75% off red plastic storage containers at Target during their after Christmas clearance sales. They were only $2.50 each! Woot, woot!



I also dismantled a large wooden three-panel screen that I used to have blocking the sump pump from view. I figured that was probably a death trap now that our son is mobile, so I took it down. Now two out of the three panels are hung on the wall for more toy storage.



This last one's not toy storage, but since I like it, I'm including it anyway. I'd had these old Coke bottle boxes sitting around the house for eons. When Joel was born, we had to attempt to clear out part of the closet in his room so that he could have a little space. We weren't very successful in removing all our junk from his closet, however we did remove the computer related stuff and moved it to the basement. (The computer itself moved to the basement when creating the nursery, so it made sense that the paper, ink, etc. would also come down to the basement).



I can't remember for sure, but I think the Coke boxes were flea market finds. The hardware to attach them to the wall was around twenty bucks at Lowes. Do you have any other creative solution ideas for me?

And don't forget, those messy living room shots are our dirty little secret! Mum's the word!

The Barn

As promised, here are some photos of the barn before I started repainting it. In case you missed it, my grandpa built this toy box for my dad when he was a little one.


I've used this toy box as Christmas storage, as you can see. My Christmas tree fits nicely in the top part, which is hinged. The bottom part's doors never did work very well. When my brother and I were little, the doors fell off all the time, and so I don't think I'll put the doors back up. I'm thinking a cute boyish, little fabric skirt.


My grandpa painted some cute little windows on the side. I don't know if I'll put more windows up or not. (Um, probably not). I'm thinking about decoupaging some firetrucks onto it with a bunch of free sample wallpapers.


As you can see, the barn is in bad shape. Four out of the eight trim pieces were broken and a serious hazard to the baby, so I removed them and replaced them. This one looks like my rabbit chewed it!

So there you have it. I'm going to go downstairs and get painting right now. I want to get this project done this weekend!

P.S. Who's turning 31 tomorrow?! This gal!

Snow!

Wordless Wednesday Friday



Ok, so I just can't do a wordless post. This actually isn't our latest snowfall- this was back a few days after Christmas. We got several inches (6 maybe?), so we can't take the kid out in it. We'd lose him in all the snow.

In other news, I've been busy transforming my dad's old "barn" toybox. My grandpa built it for my dad about 50 years ago. My brother used it to store all his cars and trucks, and now Joel will be using it! (For the better part of the past decade, the toy box has been used for my Christmas storage. So now the question is where in the world am I going to put all my Christmas decorations and the tree?!).

The barn unfortunately suffered water damage when the basement was having water problems, and over the years half of the trim pieces were broken off. I figured nails sticking out and sharp shards of wood probably aren't the safest thing in the world, and so I ripped them off and replaced them. The wood cost less than $4.50. (On a side note, while I was at Lowes, they were having an awesome clearance sale. I picked up four cuphooks for 88c and.... drumroll please... one of those chain thingies to put on the front door for 19c! The cuphooks are to hang up sippy cups in the kitchen).

I also was able to cover up some of the water damage with wood from the garage. Cost: Free! The paint I'm using is also free as it's coming from my stash. I promise pictures will come in a few days. I'm away visiting family for the weekend, but when I get back, I'll post some.

Stay warm!

Neighborhood Houligans

First off, let me publicly thank Katie for the Friendship award! I have been fuming over this whole mailbox thing for the past few days and was filled with glee when Katie told me she left me an award on her page! I'll perpetuate the award in my next blog, I promise! (which I hope doesn't take me 8 days this time!)

On to the mailbox makeover. Jason came home from work the other night and said that someone had bashed in our mailbox. It looks like someone took a baseball bat to it. They also hit some of my neighbors' mailboxes. Why do people think that it is okay to destroy other people's property? The disrespect that is running rampant in this country is very alarming. We need to crack down on these punk-kids. Teenagers should be prosecuted as adults. As a junior high teacher, I have had my share of experiences with teens, and I can say without reservation that teens know what they are doing. They know right from wrong. We are doing them a disservice if we do not penalize them by the fullest extent of the law. If we let them off with a mere slap on the wrist, then they learn that they can get away with it. Next time, their path of destruction becomes larger and more severe.

Of course, the punks who terrorized my block will never see any consequences since they will never be caught. But that's another story altogether...

On to the photos.





This mailbox transformation cost me eleven bucks. The mailbox is plastic and cost ten dollars, and we also had to buy a can of black spray paint which cost a dollar. I had the white spray paint already so painting the numbers was free. The numbers needed painted anyway because a few years ago my mailbox was graffiti'ed with green spray paint. I had painted the mailbox white again but never did get around to repainting the numbers.

I like the way it turned out. I especially like that the mailbox is plastic now so it should withstand a baseball beating the next time it happens!