Monthly Archives: August 2011

i spy with my little eye

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  • KelliAugust 29, 2011 - 4:15 pm

    So cute!

  • GailAugust 29, 2011 - 10:19 pm

    Ahh…tres adorable! πŸ™‚

    I played a LOT of I Spy with my 6 yr old niece two weekends ago. That kid is a HOOT!

  • Sherry SmithAugust 29, 2011 - 10:35 pm

    that picture is amazing.. hope to see ya in the morning.. hugs

  • MalloryAugust 30, 2011 - 9:49 am

    OH. Please just eat her up. I’ve been following your blog for a couple of years and I’m a slacker at commenting, but I LOVE how much of your personal life you share. Including crazy hair pictures πŸ™‚ It makes me feel… a little more ‘normal’ πŸ™‚

how we painted our piano

As you may know, over the summer we painted a piano yellow. Many have asked how we did it, so I put together this very long post with iphone pics I took over the month long process. It’s not the prettiest post, but for anyone curious, it should give a lot of insight into the…

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  • Lisa~August 27, 2011 - 12:36 am

    It is fantastic! You picked the perfect yellow, I am impressed. And the friend with a sprayer, GENIUS! (I cracked up over you locking yourself out though…oh what we won’t do for a beautiful home)

    My piano is still blue/green and still one of my favorite things in the house. I am so excited you’ve joined the club. Lisa~

  • KelliAugust 28, 2011 - 11:25 am

    Wow! You guys did an awesome job!

  • jovonyAugust 29, 2011 - 2:02 pm

    Hmmm, this makes me rethink getting rid of an old upright that I have been talking about giving away for years! If only someone in my family played piano! Love that you had the guts to paint it!

  • AprilAugust 29, 2011 - 11:40 pm

    Dude. You are ambitious! It looks gorgeous – job well done! I want to paint ours, but after seeing the process, I think I’ll stick with the dark wood a little longer πŸ˜‰ Yep, I’m just that lazy…

  • MayaSeptember 10, 2011 - 10:27 am

    Love how it came out! Totally worth all the work!

  • MonikaSeptember 13, 2011 - 3:52 pm

    Maaaan, we got a free piano last spring… it’s currently still sitting in our garage and I was playing with the thought of painting it. But now I’m second guessing myself. That sure looks like a lot of work!!! Your piano looks fabulous though!

  • HeatherSeptember 25, 2011 - 4:32 pm

    I love it, and I appreciate your step by step tutorial as well. Our piano is destined to be painted a high gloss red, and I hope to get it to our new home soon so that I can do it. Your tutorial will help me make it look the best it can.

  • Laura BrewerSeptember 9, 2012 - 11:29 pm

    HI! I am thinking about painting my piano…yellow! I have a question. Did your piano have veneer on it? Mine does and I am not sure about sanding it. I cannot wait to get started on the project, although it looks like a tough job!!! Thank you for posting some great informative pics. It has inspired me even more!

    Laura Brewer

  • ashMay 18, 2016 - 10:44 am

    My piano had veneer on it. I used a power sander equipped with the coursest sand paper I could find (at walmart) to get through it. The problem was it melted like honey onto the sand papper and wold start leaving streeks or small puddles of melted veneer where I was sanding. If this happens to you don’t worry, just keep sanding over the same area (you don’t even have to change the sand papper) and it will come off. If your having a difficult time getting a puddle of it off go at with by hand with some sand paper then back over it with the power dander, and that should do the trick. Once you get most of the veneer off the piece you’re working on put a brand new piece of sand paper on the power dander and go over the whole piece again to actually sand it. It takes longer but it’s completely doable!

here she comes!

This little tutu is a new addition to our toy box (Thank you 80% off rack at the grocery store) and both of our kids are nuts about running around the house with it on. I have spared any future embarrassment for Miles by not showing photos of him wearing it, though I’m telling you,…

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  • CassieAugust 26, 2011 - 9:12 am

    Aww, what a sweet peanut!

  • KristenAugust 26, 2011 - 10:18 am

    Auhh! She looks so happy & also, that cute shirt with the pink roses matches the tutu so nicely. πŸ™‚

  • Courtney HowellAugust 26, 2011 - 10:23 am

    How sweet πŸ™‚ She has the sweetest smile I have ever seen!!!

  • JessAugust 26, 2011 - 10:28 am

    Too. Precious.

    I need a little girl. Stat.

  • ChelseaAugust 26, 2011 - 2:27 pm

    Such a cutie! Just so you know- tutu’s are SUPER easy to make at home…I made one last year for myself as part of my halloween costume (I was Saturn…the tutu was my “rings”..)- all you need to do is buy several yards of tulle- wrap it around her waist once and add another 1 foot or so, that is one layer of the tutu. get another couple of layers of tulle in that same length (however many layers you want, the more layers, the fluffier it is, and the shortness of the tulle also changes the fluff-factor,) then buy a peice of thick (2-3 inch wide) ribbon, enough to go around her waist and then tie in a big bow. Mark on the ribbon where it meets to tie the bow- that’s the area of space that you would sew on the tulle. Then, just use your sewing machine to sew one layer of tulle on, gathering/bunching it as you go, and then do another layer on top of that! the first layer is a little challenging but the others are easier. at the end, you have a peice of ribbon with several layers of tulle that can be wrapped around and tied in a bow on the back- an easy, perfect tutu! I even dyed mine with RIT dye after making it, it was perfect!

an evening at the lake

As I post these photos, Jordan, the youngest of this family, has already boarded a plane to go far, far away to college. Kristin, her big sis, is packing up her final bags to head out of state herself. What a bittersweet time of closing many chapters for this family and of stepping into new,…

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  • AprilAugust 23, 2011 - 4:25 pm

    Beautiful!

  • BeckyAugust 23, 2011 - 4:26 pm

    Bets—I love in the first pic, how all three females have their hands intertwined….that’s a great moment! (esp for a mom!)

  • Sherry SmithAugust 23, 2011 - 4:51 pm

    WOW! lump in throat and tears in my eyes, Daughter you and John produced a masterpiece! so proud of you…

  • Kristin G.August 23, 2011 - 5:10 pm

    Oh, Betsy! How special that we have this right now. I’m such a mess and this was such an amazing memory for us all. I’m grateful my mom thought to do this and I’m so happy you were a part of this special time for us. They are absolutely so beautiful. I’m so in LOVE. Thank you thank you thank you thank you!! xxoo

  • Sara SpitlerAugust 23, 2011 - 5:27 pm

    Wow, Betsy! Those are breath taking, I could hardly see through the tears! What a beautiful capture of a family who obviously loves eachother so much.

  • GailAugust 23, 2011 - 6:08 pm

    SO gorgeous — I love how many great shots you got of each parent with each kiddo and all the siblings together — those are the shots they’ll really cherish. Everyone needs at least one great photo with their mama πŸ™‚

    Welcome back!

  • Heidi GarciaAugust 23, 2011 - 10:08 pm

    as always amazing!

self portrait series: july

So did anybody notice that I didn’t do a July self portrait? You know, I rarely do year long projects for fear that I”ll drop out half way through and feel like a huge loser. Well, I’m not dropping out, just submitting a bit late. You see, July was INSANITY. It was chocked full of… Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

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  • JenniferAugust 22, 2011 - 6:39 pm

    I never commit to year long projects for the same reason. You did it though! Better late than never…thank god for the iPhone camera! Love love the one of you and Jocy on the rocker..so sweet.

  • emilyAugust 23, 2011 - 8:54 am

    you’re so cute and little! and i think crotch and is a perfectly fine word…you could’ve done a whole lot worse.

  • BethAugust 23, 2011 - 9:31 am

    Better late than never! Your self portrait posts inspired me a few months back to start my own. Hopefully my kiddos can remember what I looked like way back when since it always seems to be me behind the camera. I’ve also gotten my husband to start taking some photos of me with the kids too. Awesome!

  • GailAugust 23, 2011 - 10:26 am

    It HAS been a busy summer, hasn’t it? I look back at the last two months and think, “Really, I crammed all that in there? Whoa.”

    Can’t imagine doing that with two in tow!

    PS – I really respect that you never complain about grocery shopping with two kids. I know how hard it is from family members! Hats off to you friend!

  • KristenAugust 23, 2011 - 2:37 pm

    I’m not a mother, yet but the other day while grocery shopping, I wondered how mother’s shopped with kids without getting the bread squished & eggs damaged. So when I read this I was dying laughing. I feel like the carts aren’t big enough to hold all of the food & then kids on top of that. Soooo funny! πŸ™‚

  • jennyAugust 25, 2011 - 12:21 am

    Ilove the idea of doing a self portrait series… :)your little family is so cute!