Copy-cat batmobile

Let me start this post by saying if you are a mother of boys (or girls) and you have not yet checked out Cheri's blog you are missing out! She is incredibly creative and talented and the BEST blog I have found for craft ideas for my boys! The project I am about to show you was totally hers and I just followed her awesome detailed instructions to make my own version.

For my younger son's 3rd birthday we are having a superhero themed birthday and I wanted to make stuff that I could then move down to a playroom in our unfinished basement for the boys. His birthday is still a month away, but I have a bunch of projects floating around in my head that need to be accomplished in this time so I figured I should get started early.

Anyway, if you like this and want to make one of your own go here, to get the step by step directions. The only difference for mine was that I wanted to make it wider so Batman and Robin could fit in it together. ;) The only money I spent on this project was for glue sticks, paint and duct tape. I had all the cardboard and other things I tried to get creative with!

Anyway, here is the final project.

I found those little stick on LED lights in one of our closets. They weren't strong enough for the closet, but make awesome working headlights!!

For the symbol I used Duct tape sheets. I found them at Hobby Lobby right next to the rolls of duct tape. They are 8x10 sheets and come in all kinds of colors. They happened to have yellow and black. I just cut out the shapes and stuck them right on!

The "grill" is just a rectangle of foam core board that I sprayed with Chrome spray paint.

Can you guess what the tires are????

Yep, the edge of those workout mats. We had a small section of those in our workout area, but just replaced it with a large carpet remnant. I thought they would make great looking tires because of the texture.

I love how it turned out and can't wait for the photo ops at the birthday party with superheroes riding in it!

faux zinc

I have seen a few of the faux zinc letters around the blogosphere and decided to try the technique out on some bookends I have had for a few years. A few years back I got a set of ? and ! bookends. They were originally just black and the paint was chipping off of them anyway so I thought I would try to give them a little more oomph. In true impatient crafter fashion I forgot to take a before picture. If you look really closely at the office pictures you can see them on the desk there. Anyway I spray painted them both with the rustoleum hammered aluminum spray paint and then did a little glaze on them. I did remember to take a picture of the ? before it got glazed.

I just mixed up some black acrylic paint with some water for the glaze.

Paint it on.

You can see how careful you need to be with this step ;).

Then wipe it off.

I just layered on the glaze until I had the look I wanted.

Here is the finished product back on my desk. Not a major change, but I like them. They have that slightly "found" industrial look to them. It was a really easy little afternoon project too!

Happy Friday everyone. I am hoping to get around to a couple more projects this weekend! We will see what gets done!

I had my first canning experience last weekend! My husbands grandparents have an amazing garden (just realizing that I didn't take any pictures of that part). They grow all kinds of things in it every year, corn, green beans, egg plant, zucchini, onions, potatoes!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it all!!! They have always been kind enough to share, not only the fresh produce, but that which his grandmother has worked very hard to preserve as well. So when I was asked if I would like to help with the canning process this year, I was more than happy to try to repay, even ever so slightly, the benefits we have received from them! It was actually kind of fun, but time consuming, hard work. After just one half day of it I am amazed and somewhat humbled to think of the number of hours both Nana and my mother in law have spent over the years snapping, washing and canning those delicious veggies we have a tendency to take for granted! Thank you Nana and Mama for all you have done and shared with us over the years! You are both amazing women and wonderful examples of hard work and generosity!

Here are just a few snap shots of the process.

And here is my little destructor putting his talents to use devouring ear after ear of corn at lunch that day!