The World Is Your Playground : Tutorial

Way back at the beginning of this pregnancy I knew I wanted our nursery theme to be modern and monochromatic: black, white, metallic silver. And then eventually we would throw in an accent color depending on the sex of Baby K.

If you've been around a while you've probably noticed that our whole lives are black and white: everything from our 

wardrobe - to our cars - to our animals. It's just how we do things around here! 

Anyways, I saw a picture on Instagram one day of a huge world map with the words 'The World Is Your Playground' and I knew I had to make it a part of the nursery! After doing a little more research it brought me to a cute Etsy shop - The Rusted Arrow.

For $19.99 you can have it shipped right to your front door . . .  but what's the fun in that? 
I wanted to 'craft' and create a little mama-made artwork. 

Of course, I turned to non other than Pinterest to see if I could find a free print of a world map and try to recreate the wording on my own. 

Thankfully, I stumbled upon a blog (that I now read daily) of a wonderful mama who creates prints and shares freely with others! She even lets you put in new requests and edits on already created ones. 

Marci at If These Walls Could Speak already had a world map print but it was in color (and you know how I feel about color) and not exactly what I was looking for.  

After requesting some tweaks - she was able to create a few different options for me to pick from. 

Of course I went with the plain choice because it was most like the original inspiration and because I thought it would stand out more against our dark walls. 

I downloaded the print from Marci's online drop box folder and then sent it by email to my local office max store. They were able to blow it up into and engineer print (18x24) for $1.75. What a steal! I purchased a piece of foam board, attached the print with some spray adhesive, freehanded the words and then topped it off with a little glitter.

Of course I couldn't pass up the little figurines to help share the shelf. 

I really love how it turned out and for close to $7.00 - you can't beat that! 

I'm so thankful to to gracious people that create beauties and share with others. 
Thanks again Marci! 

PS - Check out the other fun projects we've done so far in our nursery:

Wrapping Paper Closet Makeover

Furniture & Paint

Crib Sized Puff Quilt

Linking up with: Lindsey

Crafting: A Meal Plan

I don't know how some women do it. Take care of kids, make sure the house is clean, or work all day and then immediately come home and cook a healthy, hefty meal. I look up to women who can do all those things, plus more. 

As part of my new years resolution I wanted to become a better cook by cooking more frequently. Hannah, a friend and fellow blogger, just recently started meal planning for her family. What a great idea it is to make this a Sunday night ritual, so you can plan out dinner for the week and know exactly what you need to pick up during your weekly grocery shopping trip. 

I thought this idea would be a perfect for me to try, and hopefully it would help get me organized to make it easier to achieve my resolution. I searched the web for a weekly meal planner, but I ended up make my own version. 

 Free Printable

So far our week is looking like this:

Monday-        Sphaghetti, garlic mashed pototoes, and grilled asparagus

Tuesday-       Help yourself night 

                   (Being a wife of a coach and to someone who has an extreme
                   love for all sports, we attend almost every Wichita Southeast
                   sporting event, so this night we will be watching Basketball.)

Wednesday-  Sausage breakfast pizza

Thursday-     Grilled chicken, salad, & turnips 

Friday-         Leftovers
                  (Basketball night)

Saturday-     Meatloaf, corn bread, green beans, salad

Sunday-       Family night

                  (Every Sunday we usually get together with family after church
                  for a late lunch/early dinner, where we go out to eat or someone
                  hosts dinner)

Usually, I make a dessert at the beginning of the week that lasts the husband and I awhile, but since we are trying to eat more healthy, sweets are a no go these days. In return, we have added another vegetable to almost each of our meals.  

What are your go to meals throughout the week? Feel free to leave me a comment with a recipe or two! I get stuck in a rut of cooking the same things, so I'm always in need of some fresh new ideas.