The engine has been working away on projects while caring for three small children, and I have to say, it's running out of steam. There are quite a few to-do's left on the list, but nothing of necessity (well, except for curtains that are being made that buys us some privacy being that all the walkers at night can see directly into our windows), so I think I'm going to take a break from it all for a while...or maybe not.

Anyway, this is one of my latest VERY easy projects:

I wanted some sort of mobile for the kids' "creative corner"... they have a small table that will soon boast some of their nature findings and will be useful for art projects and the like, it's the perfect corner for a friendly mobile. The boys (including Next Door #2) painted the branches all by themselves. They were very proud to be using "adult paint"(no, not that kind of paint, but don't be surprised if my grandma will sneak some in your stocking at Christmas, it has been done). The leaves were found at this etsy store. Very inexpensive. I should mention that Kid helped pick out and cut the branches as well...this ended up being a very hands-on project for them, which suits their corner, don't you think?

What was the largest source of steam attainment? This table and chairs set. I got it off of Craig's List for $80! I have held out all these years for a kids table/chair set because I never have really fancied any of them, until I saw these chairs...perfect! When buying them, though, I was aware of how much work I would have to put into them, since they were Pottery Barn, they were of high quality and would be quite the project to paint over.
The Before:

There was a lot of sanding, priming, painting (three coats to be exact). All very time-consuming and tedious... not my favorite type of project, but one of my favorite results!

The boys in their "creative corner".

After: