Wrapping Paper Organizer

A gift for my mom....she is always wrapping her presents in fancy gift wrap to match the Christmas decor at her house.  Also, all the kids show up with our presents unwrapped and have to use her paper to do last minute wrapping.

Don't knock the paper...it's what I could scrounge up at my house (the rental house, since all our Christmas stuff is still in storage!)  It will look better with her fancy paper loaded onto it.

And here are my pitiful bows/ribbons.

I used green spray paint that my mom had on hand.  I did change the plans slightly. I substituted some of the wood that I could not find at Menards.  I allowed more length for the dowels because I know my mom uses extra long wrapping paper, not just the standard rolls that are in the picture.

I finished this in time for my mom to use it for wrapping gifts this year, which was a big accomplishment since I was juggling a newborn and toddler.

• Materials:

1. 2’ x 4’ x 5 mm piece of birch plywood $7.39 
2. 1 each of 1” x 4” x 8’ poplar board – asked to cut in half $11.76 
3. 1 each of 1” x 4” x 4’ poplar board trimmed cut into 2 pieces that are 22” long (could not find 1” x 3” x 4”) $5.88 
4. Unable to FIND, sub piece above: 1 piece 1/2” x 4” x 2’ poplar; 
5. Cup hooks; 
6. eight 36” long dowel rods measuring 3/8 inch width; $0.35 each = $2.80 
7. 2” nails, $1.48 for box 
8. 2 each “D” ring hangers; $2.99 
9. primer and paint. Spray paint $7

• Total Cost: About $35.00
• Craft Source: I found this idea at Centsational Girl
• Time Invested: Centsational Girl said it took her 2 hours invested over 2 days.  This was my first ever project making something from wood, trying to figure out what I was doing, balancing a newborn and a toddler.  This took me weeks of squeezing in minutes here and there.  Way too much time priming and spray painting.  I even needed help hammering the nails and getting the drill all the way through the wood.  It's safe to say it took me much more than 2 hours.
• Feedback: My mom said it was hard to know how much paper she needed to wrap a present, so she found herself pulling the roll off and laying it out on the ground before she cut it.  She 

Duct Tape Wallet - Picky Teenager Gift

Ever ask a teenager what they want for Christmas? Either something outrageously expensive, like a new car, or gift cards and cash, right? To add a little something extra to those gift card gifts this year, I made duct tape wallets.

Their inexpensive, so if your picky teenager decides to throw away the duct tape wallet, it's not like you spent a ton of time or money on it!

• Super easy to make.
• Materials:

1. One roll of duct tape, preferably a decorative print available at Target or Walmart.

• There are lots of tutorials on the web for making a duct tape wallet, including YouTube videos, but I found that I had to read a few to merge their ideas to come up with the best design for me.
• I need to write my own tutorial to make it easier for a "crafting for dummies" like me.
• Total Cost: $3.49 for the roll of duct tape (was able to make 2 wallets from one roll)

Mustache - Hoping for Delayed Excitement

Mustaches. So cute, in a 70's kind of way.

I intended this mustache for Clayton, but he refuses to wear it. I chase him around the house giving him "mustache kisses" while I'm wearing it and he hates it. So I am hoping in a few months he will have new found excitement for it.

Until then....Cora is my mustache model. She loves to wear it (or eat it)!

• Materials:

1. Black Felt Square - $0.29
2. Embroidery Needle - borrowed from my mom
3. Black Embroidery thread - borrowed from my mom
4. Black oval elastic - $a few dollars (I can't find my receipt)

• Total Cost: $4.00
• Craft Source: I found this idea at 5 Orange Potatoes.
• She said her 7 year old finished this in 30 minutes. This took me embarrassingly way more time than 30 minutes, but it was the first time I had picked up a needle and thread in over 10 years.

Easy Nature Sign

Our simplest project, cheapest, and we get the most compliments on it.

• Materials:

1. Miscelleaneous nature items: pine cones, acorns, leaves, corn husks, etc.
2. Sticks that easily break
3. Elmer's glue
4. Scrap piece of cardboard.
5. String.

• Total Cost: FREE - Or about $2.00 for me since I had to buy the Elmer's glue ($0.75) and the string (dollar store)

• It was fun to break this project up over a week, spending several days gathering nature items on hikes.
• Then it started to get cold and we had to bundle up to go in search of some sticks and get going on our project.

• Clayton with the dog running in the background. Baby Cora is in my Gypsy Mama wrap under my coat!

• No, Clayton, those sticks are too big!

• I copy cat'd this idea from the Family Fun website.
• Ideas for doing this project: Camping trips, fall, spring but with flowers instead, tree house, club house, play house, play kitchen sign.

Super Dad's Birthday

Matt really is a super dad in so many ways. Super diaper changing, funny, handsome, playing with kids super dad. His day job? A police officer, which makes him extra SUPER.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUPER DAD!

• My first attempt at being crafty/make it yourself housewife.
• A rare occasion of me baking something. (soon to be more often)
• I copy cat'd the idea from Kara's Party Ideas but I dumbed it down. Her idea was so cute, but I didn't have the time or the supplies to do some of her stuff. So I got the free Super Dad printable from Delightful Designs.
• Being that we are in a rental house with most of our stuff in storage (including our broken printer), I emailed it to Staples and didn't even cut the prints out. Just taped them on the wall with some balloons!

• These are delicious Praline Brookies from the pilsbury website. Easy to make with brownie box mix and pre-made cookie dough. (Because my cupcake pans are also in storage!)
• I used bamboo forks (similar to toothpicks) for the mini super dads on the brookies.
• How do you like my bath towel tablecloth?

• October 17th - the actual birth day!
• As the super wife that I am, I stayed home alone for a weekend in September with a 3 week old baby and 2 year old toddler, while he went to see the Hawk's play and party it up all weekend with his friend from St. Louis.
• Super newborn baby and 2 year old = exhaustion.

At the Hospital

Wonderful Dr. Nancy Angenend.

Very tired Daddy.

Shelly came in to help hold Cora while mom was recovering and dad took a nap.

We restricted visitors so we could rest. Grandpa & Grandma Martin came by.

Welcome Cordella Lynn Martin

Born on September 5th around 3:30am at 8lbs 4oz and 19 inches long. Named Cora and then we changed her name on the 2nd day to Cordella after my great great grandmother "Cordelia."

In this picture, feeling great meeting my little girl. Was still surprised that it really was a girl!

They didn't weigh her until much later that day...weighed in at 8lbs 4oz.

Nora the nanny - not Nora the Explorer

This is Nora, Clayton's sitter during the day. I'm definitely jealous that she gets to spend about 40 hours a week with him, but I am glad that he is in good hands. He has fun with her and she says he is a very happy baby. Every day at lunch she tells me what they are up to and when I pick him up she tells me exactly what he ate, how many diapers, and all the activities they did for the day. He also gets to hang out with his buddy James. James is 4 weeks younger than Clayton and they like hanging out together.

Thankgoodness for Nora or I don't know how I would be back at work. Matt calls her Nora the Explorer but I found out this week she is not a fan of that nickname so he will have to come up with something else.

Clayton Rolls Over!

We hired a nanny for nanny share named Nora. I'm excited to have that complete, but not too excited to have to leave him with someone. We did a trial run with Nora last Monday December 15. Nora watched him for 3 hours while I met the super siete group of girls out at Barcelona for dinner. When I arrived home Clayton was cooing and playing with her. Nora said everything went perfectly and she gave me the run down of all their activities. She said she wanted him to play with this toy below but he "kept rolling over." I said, "What? He's never rolled over before!"

So of course, I am with him ALWAYS and the only 3 hours I was away, he rolls over! I guess that is one thing I will have to get used to when we have nanny Nora. I tried all week to get him to do it again and I never saw him do it. UNTIL, Sunday at my mom's house. We are back for Christmas and while playing with this toy below, he rolled over for me, Matt, and my mom. So we all witnessed his first roll over on December 21 at 10 weeks old. Way to go Clayton!

My Doula

Here's my doula during the birth. Julie Guttman