Craft-tastic!

When school started I had a wee bit of extra time and a lot less chaos around the house.  I suddenly went in to crazy-craft-mode and started making stuff like crazy.

I went a little nutty with spray paint and painted some things like lamps, frames, etc.  I painted our compost can, which was just boring stainless steel.

I bought a new toaster but wanted a fun color, so I painted it.

 I made a baby tower to attach to our stool that we've had forever.  June loves to be up at the counter but keeps falling down.  It's rickety and I don't measure anything, but it works.

 I painted, cleaned up, and put down linoleum in the play house.

 I did a lot of canning, which I've never really done by myself before.  I canned marinara, grape jelly from my parent's grapes, had a big salsa day with my mom and sister, and dilly beans (pickled beans, mmmmm).

 I even tried making quince jelly, which is a decorative shrub, which makes these weird little crab-appley kind of fruits.  It's an odd taste, but it was a fun experience.

One of my favorite projects was making decorative panels for our appliances.  The fronts are stainless steel and the sides are black.  I didn't like the black, so I used scraps leftover from the kitchen remodel and made these panels to make them feel more built in.  It really brightens things up.
Before:

After:

This Christmas we drew names in my side of the family to exchange home-made gifts.  I made my niece Cate this adorable puppet stage.  It was so cheap and easy and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I also "helped" Jack and Annie turn plastic dinosaurs into these adorable succulent planters.  I love them.

I know it seems ridiculous that I'm doing these things, I have no spare time in my life now that I have 4 little kids, but it's my hobby and I like it!