I don't usually do much to decorate for St. Patrick's Day, and this year with Easter coming along 2 weeks later, I really didn't want to put much effort (or money) into it. So how about this? A quick and easy St. Patty's project using weeds and rocks from your yard. Can't get much cheaper than that, right? ha!
Step 1: go out in your yard and find a little patch of clover.
Step 2: dig it up and pop it into a little container or planter of some kind.
Give it a nice drink and while the clover perks up, find a nice smooth stone.
Step 1: paint it gold and let it dry.
Step 2: grab a paint pen or a Sharpie and write Lucky on it.
I initially used a white paint pen, but it wasn't visible enough for me, so I went over it with a Sharpie.
That's the extent of my St. Patty's Day decor this year. Easy, cheap and cute!
How do you decorate for the wearin' of the green?
We celebrated Grant's 9th birthday at Disneyland over the weekend! We had an awesome time (until he got smacked with the flu bug and we had to cut out trip short.) Boo. We will be taking him back for a "re-do" of Disney's California Adventure, but today I wanted to share our trip to the original Disneyland park with you.
I had forgotten the excitement of walking through this arch and onto Main Street...
I had forgotten the excited chatter about where to go first (and why, OH WHY are the grown-ups moving so slooooowly!!??)
Seeing all of this through Grant's eyes brought tears to my own.
For the more popular rides, I highly recommend that you use the Fast Pass system, which lets you grab a special ticket that allows you to get in a shorter line later on in the day. We grabbed a Fast Pass for Star Toursand then headed for the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Grant is a little daredevil!
The Matterhorn was a big hit, and he thought the Seagulls from Finding Nemo were hilarious ("Mine! Mine! Mine!")
He enjoyed the Submarine Voyage quite a bit. (Our shaky little Vine video.)
From the moment he saw the Astro-Orbitor (or, from when I was a kid "The Rockets") he wanted on it. We had to convince him that we needed to go to the rides that would have longer lines as the day went on first, then we could come back to that. I don't love heights, so he went on with Dad. He was one happy camper.
He was also thrilled to learn that he met the height requirement to drive his own car at Autopia. Unfortunately, he was not quite tall enough to keep the gas pedal pushed down as far as he wanted.
About this time, we could tell that the poor guy was losing steam. He was getting a few sniffles and was looking tired. We decided to ride the Disneyland Monorail (which I had never been on before) over to Downtown Disney and have some lunch. We were all ready to get off of our feet and decided on a sit-down lunch that would still keep Grant entertained. We opted for the Rainforest Cafe (which, if you've never been is very cool... tons to looks at and every 30 minutes there is a "thunderstorm" and all of the jungle animals come to life.)
Grant had a big lunch and a ginormous birthday dessert.
And what happens after you've been up since 5:30 in the morning, walked around Disneyland while running on adrenaline and then ate a big meal...? You get sleepy, of course.
This right here? Not a problem. Because we decided to go ahead and Vacation Locally. We stayed right next door at the Disneyland Hotel, so he could get a quick power nap. (OK, Mom needed a nap too, but whatevs.)
This was the view from our window on the 10th floor.
This hotel is beautiful. They describe it as a "modern look of classic Disney" and that certainly is a great description. It's retro and fun. The lobby is fun and whimsical, and they made Grant feel like a VIP!
I love this photo!
The rooms are serene and pretty, but there are very whimsical touches everywhere. From the lighting and hardware in the bathrooms, to the hidden Mickeys throughout, it's a fun place to be.
The panel above the beds lights up and I challenge anyone to "un-see" the Mickeys in the carpet once you see them. The concept of staying in a hotel so close to home might seem a bit silly at first, but it made the weekend extra special for Grant and made it extra convenient for mom and dad. It was fun for all of us.
Rested up, we headed back to the park.
Disney's attention to detail is amazing. I have to say that one of my favorite moments of the day came while we were standing in line for Peter Pan's Flight (one of my favorites from when I was 9) Across the way is Snow White's Scary Adventures, and every few minutes or so, the Wicked Queen would part the curtains in an upper window and stare down at the crowds. I don't think that Grant was scared, but he was certainly captivated and kept a pretty vigilant look-out for her as we moved through the queue.
During the summer months especially, we can hear the Disneyland fireworks from our house. (It's how we know it's 9:30, actually.) We were able to get some great seats, right in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle for the Remember... Dreams Come True Fireworks Spectacular. Can I just tell you that this was no ordinary fireworks show... I think "spectacular" is an understatement. There was music, drama, narration and songs from popular rides and movies...Star Wars, Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean... The Haunted Mansion portion of the show made Grant actually gasp out loud. (See if you can tell which face was his scared/surprised face below...)
And did you spot Tinkerbell flying around? I think I watched Grant as much as I watched the fireworks. Watching his big baby-blues take it all in was a treat, and I will remember those moments the rest of my life.
(By the way, Grant chose an Ewok Beanie as his souvenir. He wore it almost non-stop for a few days, including sleeping in it!
The poor bub had an exciting day, but slept fitfully with a cough. We gave him some cough medicine the next morning as we headed to California Adventure, but within 2 hours he was running a fever and asked to go home.
You just know a kid is feeling bad if he asks to leave Disneyland. As we were leaving the park, HH reassured him that we would bring him back as soon as he was feeling better. He slept on the way home and has been on the couch with a fever for the past couple of days.
In the meantime, we have busted out the Disney and Pixar DVDs and are having a little movie marathon in anticipation of our return trip to the park. Thanks to everyone who followed along with #grant2disney We'll be using the same hashtag when we go back.
We can't wait!
Have you ever vacationed close to home? What did you do and where did you go?
(And a quick reminder: This thing was awesome and allowed me to keep a charged battery the entire day! Couldn't Instagram and/or tweet without it!)
Why didn't my iPhone die? Why wasn't I sitting on the floor of a public bathroom, trying to charge my phone? Because I tried this out...
OK, maybe some of you know about these fabulous items, but I hadn't tried it out before. It's a portable phone charger from Zagg. A friend who goes on a lot of long hiking trips had one and he said it could recharge a phone about 4 times. Knowing that I had this Disneyland weekend coming up, I asked him if I could borrow it and try it out. Oh. My. Gosh. I am sold!
I bought one on Amazon almost immediately when we got home. I am sick of worrying about the battery life of my phone. I am constantly on it, and it's important that it remain charged... And I don't want to do it sitting on the bathroom floor. (Because, ew.)
Theseare the latest ones. This onewill charge a phone up to 4 times and is on sale for about 50% off. (There are 10 left on Amazon as of this posting.) I am going to the SNAP Conference in April... 300 bloggers and not enough outlets. I want to make sure my products stay charged!
How awesome is this for vacations, traveling, anything where you'll be using your phone (or tablet) a lot...?! I only wish I had gotten one of these sooner!
Do you have one? (And why didn't you tell me about these sooner?!)
This is not a sponsored post... just passing on info on my favorite thing of the day. There are affiliate links in this post. about Vivienne Wagner
This was such a quick and easy project that I forgot to take photos along the way!
I use champagne buckets as planters or floral containers all the time. They're simple metal containers that I abuse until they look like this...
Sometimes I leave them like this for a vintage-y look, but other times I just paint them. This was one of those times.
OK, so here's all that you do: Paint it an aqua-ish blue and let it dry. Add a greenish blue over the top in a very light coat and let it dry. Dry brush a very light coat of gold over it... you're basically just getting a little gold paint on a dry brush and applying it all over the bucket. Think of it as cleaning the gold paint off of the brush by wiping it off on the bucket. You should be left with a nice, metallic sheen.
When the gold is dry, lightly add a coat of white, but immediately wipe it off/rub it in with a paper towel. So easy that you don't need pictures to do it!
I sprayed it with a clear gloss and then popped a few succulents inside.
Do you know where I am right now? I am at Disneyland's California Adventure with Grant and HH, celebrating Grant's 9th birthday. Please follow along, using hashtag #grant2disney
Mitch is doing great! He is going to move from the wheelchair to a special walker next week and has full extension of his arm. Thanks for your continued prayers. (If you hadn't heard, here's what happened.)
Please follow along with our Disney fun today! I am going to be instagram-ing, tweeting and facebook-ing the whole time too. (I'm on Vine too... @thevspotblog.) Happy weekend!
We just taped his reaction when we told him. (Dang it! I was trying to be all stealth like about taping him... Blurry. Boo.)
What? Is this the new, mature and subdued Grant? The seasoned 9 year old? (I'm guessing it's the kid who got up an hour and a half earlier than normal and isn't quite awake yet.) Just goes to show that you never know what you're going to get from Grant.
Please follow along with us oninstagram, twitter and facebooktoo.We'll be using the hashtag #grant2disney. Oh! And I'm on Vine now too.... You can follow there as well, but I don't know how to link you there... I think it's too new for a website link. (Or I'm too dumb to find it. One of those.)
I'm so excited!
UPDATED 2/23/2013
Well, we found out why he was subdued... the flu. We actually had to cut the weekend short. Bummer.
Here's a "non" blurry video from the iPhone.
Did you get any pretty flowers for Valentine's Day? I did. Hubs brought home a gorgeous arrangement, with stargazer lilies and roses the size of tea cups! But less than a week later, I found myself needing to spruce it up a bit.
These flowers were gorgeous. I am not understanding how I failed to take a photo of the whole arrangement, however, I did snap a phone pic of a few roses in all of their glory.
So pretty! But before they could open up, their little necks got all droopy and it looked like they nodded off during church. What the what? Well... I wasn't done enjoying the color or the fragrance, so I decided to do a little flower arranging of my own.
I took the droopy buds, pulled off any outer petals that looked discolored or dried out, then I clipped the stem 2 to 3 inches below the bud.
Next, I got a low, waterproof container and a big hunk of floral foam. This is different from dry foam. This is the kind that is specifically for flower arranging. You soak the foam in water and it both holds the flowers in place and keeps them wet. Everyone should have one. (Click here to see the things I think are Must Haves for any craft closet.)
Wedge the piece of foam into the container and then insert the little stems into the foam. You might find it helpful to "pre-drill" a hole with a skewer so that you aren't needing to push on the petals to get the stems into the foam. Keep adding flowers until the foam is covered.
Easy! Hopefully I will get a few more days of enjoyment out of these beauties.
I'm so lucky today to have my friend Shannon from Madigan Made here to share this cute project with you. It's one of those projects that make me want to smack myself in the forehead and say "Oh my gosh! How brilliant is that, and why didn't I think of that!?!" I just love these little hand made cards!
Hi V Spot readers! I’m thrilled Vivienne invited me to spend time here on her blog!
How to make simple cards with glitter nail polish:
Supplies needed:
8.5” x 11” white card stock
Invitation size envelopes
Paper cutter
Nail polish (the glittery stuff, if you’re like me)
Small stamps & stamp pad (optional)
Instructions:
First, cut your card stock in half to make pieces that are 8.5” x 5.5”. Fold those pieces in half. Now you have a cute card that will fit in your envelopes.
Play with your medium (ahem, that’s your nail polish silly!). Experiment with different brushstrokes on a scrap piece of paper. I chose to use dragged stripes of paint on some cards and scattered dots on the others.
Get busy decorating your cards. Have fun! It’s ok if the painting is not perfect. We’re going to call that part of the charm of handmade cards, right?
Don’t forget to decorate your envelopes a little to match!
Stamp a simple sentiment on the inside… or leave the card blank if you want.
Send your sparkly handmade cards to family and friends. They’ll oooh and aah over the fancy glitter. And let them wonder how you had time to make your own cards! It’ll be our secret that they were so simple!
If you crave easy craft ideas like this project, then please find me online and say hi! I’m a big believer that creativity can be THAT simple… let me show you! You can find me over at my blog, Madigan Made, and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or Pinterest, too.
And if you love sparkle, you might want to check out a few of my Simple Sparkle Week projects for more glitter inspiration!
Yes! Definitely check out the sparkle crafts over at Madigan Made! There are a few other things that you should be sure to check out while you're there too. I don't watch Downton Abby, but this Downton Abby inspired headband she made is adorable! I also think this clipboard wall is just the coolest thing. What's a clipboard wall, you ask...? Go check it out. This bowl made out of ribbon and Mod Podge and this glass marble table top are very cool too. Um, pretty much I love whatever Shannon does. I could probably link to every single post, but it is probably more efficient for you to just go over there and poke around on your own. Have fun!
almost immediately when we got home. I am sick of worrying about the battery life of my phone. I am constantly on it, and it's important that it remain charged... And I don't want to do it sitting on the bathroom floor. (Because, ew.)
are the latest ones. 
