Who every heard of Modpoudge?

Since I have never dabbled in the world of crafts I was intrigued with the idea of decoupage. You can past any photo or fabric to any object! I got this photo idea from a site called Do-it-yourself: Ideas for your home and Garden. The possibilities are endless!!

I turned some of our family photos into an intriguing wall display by showing them off in vintage silver pieces.

First I found some old silver trays at the Goodwill Store.

Then I printed off some photos in black and white and cut them to the size of the tray. You could also scan original photos into your computer and then use image-editing software to resize, crop, and change the color. Then I mounted the prints onto these plates by putting a coat of Mod Podge, which is a all-in-one glue, sealer and finish, on the bottom of the plate. I did this using a sponge brush. After securing the photo and letting it dry, I added another thin coat to seal the photo. I found that the sponge brush did show brush strokes when looking closely but once they were on the wall you could hardly notice.

If you would like a more descriptive explanation of how to decoupage check out this site. http://www.doityourself.com/stry/decoupage

Now onto our latest home renovation! We found this little door in the bathroom to be quite interesting. And we found the little closet that it led to, to be even more interesting. It's an oddly shaped room that you have to duck to get into and you can only stand at one end since the celling slopes down. (I can't count the times I hit my head already) We were puzzled as to how we were going to utilize this tiny cubbyhole. Many of our family and friends joked that we could use it as a prayer room since kneeling was the best option when enjoying its modest square footage.

We finally decided to turn this tiny prayer room into a linen closet. Not that I am against praying but I really needed the closet space. Nat even had a shelf built for his work clothes so he could get ready for work in the morning without having to wake me. Plus I get more dresser space for my things!! What a sweet husband I have :) Thanks goes out to our good friend Larry Mast who helped us install these shelves and the ones in Alexia's room. I never though I would say that shelves could improve my quality of life. Oh the things we take for granted.

I have recently had the joy of taking up a new baby sitting job. This is Rabecca, the daughter to one of Nat's cousins. She is with us for three days out of the week and she has given Alexia and I a good taste of what it will be like to have another little one around. We have both adjusted well to these hectic days which makes me all the more excited for the arrival of Zook Jr.

I can already tell that Alexia is going to be my big helper in the house when the new baby comes. She is always trying to give Rebecca her soother or bottle. And when cousin Zane is over Alexia is sure to comfort him when he cries and tries to give him his sippy-cup.

And might I add she is very persistent!