New DIY sofa art

I was really frustrated with my living room!  I had this really cool picture that I loved but it just looked to small hanging above my sofa.  So i got a little creative and added two DIY art pieces to go on both sides. Here is what I did.

I had two of these just laying around in my basement.  I got them over eight years ago for my first house.  They were really cheap like five dollars each. I liked the frame but not some much the painting. So i grabbed a jar of Martha Stuarts Silver paint and got to work.

I live close to the sea and we are avid surfers so it is only natural for our home to reflect a beachy vibe.  The problem is we still have all four seasons and in the middle of winter it makes me depressed to look at all the ocean memorabilia when its snowing outside.  Also I don't want out house to have a "theme". So i pic and chose carefully.  Thank being said I had a large sand dollar and starfish that were just laying around. So will a little help from my best friend (my glue gun) my project was complete!  

I really like the nontraditional beach vibe they give off.

My free xmas cards from shutterfly

Look at how cute my new holiday cards turned out.  I know it is a little early but I couldn't turn down such a great deal.  I think My Card turned out super cute!  Now is I only knew what I was going to be for Halloween I would be ahead of the game this year!

Being a Yes Mom

I read a article recently on the Blog (How Does She) called  Being a yes mom.  It was exactly what I needed to read.  I realized that I was a NO mom.  I could always find some reason why we couldn't play with play dough or why we couldn't play outside (mostly because I wanted to clean and put away laundry).  Today I really tried to be a yes mom, and you know what...It was amazing.  We read 6 stories this morning before breakfast and it was such a great time.  We talked about the books and looked for letters and the sounds they make.  It reminded me why I left my well paying job to become a stay at home mom to begin with.  Staying home is a balance.  Talking, playing, teaching my daughters is what I felt I was missing when I went to work.  Yet, the longer that I stayed home the more my days morphed into running errands, mopping, cleaning, and yelling.  Today was a break thru for me in this uncharted path of motherhood.  I recommend any parent reading it whether you work or not because it really is an eye opener. 

xoxo,

Jordan

My Life as a stay at home mom

I started this blog originally to showcase the craft merchandise in my etsy shop.  You know free advertising.  But besides the fact that I never post, it also just feels cheap and unauthentic.  So from now on it will be more of a blog based on my new adventure as a stay at home mom.  I have always worked and gone to school and this October I resigned after seven years of teaching Preschool in a low income district to stay at home.  Everything was going great.  I was fine with the lack of funds and had a great schedule down with my daughters.  September and October really is some of the best beach time in New Jersey.  We would wake up and head to the beach.  Come home for lunch take my daughter to her 2 hour preschool and put the baby down for a two hour nap. That is Perfection in my book.
Then Hurricane Sandy hit.  My life was turned upside down.  We had to leave our home and my Husband is a firefighter and of course it worked out that his first day shift would be the same day the Hurricane was to hit our little coastal town.  Even though everything in the house is fixed and our town is pulling its self back together I still feel that the stay at home part of my life is off.  Maybe the nice weather helped.  But I just feel like my girls and I are not balanced .  But enough complaining.  This blog is going to help me document the up and downs of being a stay at home mom.  I hope that if anyone reads it they will be able to give advice and maybe even get advice.

Children's Birthday Aprons

 I want this in my size!

How adorable is this girly apron!  My oldest daughter doesn't turn 5 until August and all ready she is starting to talk about her birthday party.  There is a super cute bakery that can hold birthday parties and all the children decorate a cup cake and other "baking" activities.  I would love to give these to the children as the favor but let them wear them during the party.  Yet, what to put on the boys aprons?  Anyway these aprons are available in my shop @ WaveMangoDesigns . 

Etsy Shop

Super cute Valentine's Day products @ WaveMangoDesigns. Shop before February and get special pricing.

Is it February Yet?

I just love the Holidays!  But when they are over I need something to look forward to and January offers very little except maybe getting to snowboard.  It really just gives me a whole month to focus on Valentine's Day craft projects.  As a teacher at heart I have and always love the Valentine's Day party.  Trading Valentine's with classmates and wearing red, pink, and white for the day will always be a special time for children.  Pintrest has so many great ideas for cards.  I love to hear about new ideas. Here is My Valentine board on Pintrest.