DIY Papier-Mâché (Paper Mache) Anubis/Jackal Mask

WOW, I can't believe a week passed without a post. What can I say- life happens ;-). So back to last week which brings me to this week. It was the last week of school before the "winter" holiday and everything, I mean EVERYTHING was happening last week. My youngest started preschool on the other side of Dubai, all three kids were having holiday parties at school annnnd of course the entire first grade year was celebrating the end of term with Egyptian day. Did I mention I was just starting to get over a nasty cold? I didn't think so.

Aside from making fruit kababs, (don't say kabob, trust me, it's kabab) mini sandwiches, and hotdog rolls (we don't have "pigs in a blanket" in the UAE lol) I still had to make Z2 a pharaoh costume. I remembered 4 nights before it was due. I still had time, so I thought. After sharing some modest ideas with Z2 I realized it couldn't just be any pharaoh costume, noooooo, this was serious business. It had to be a jackal. For crying out loud! I'm Egyptian, and honestly had no idea what a jackal was. No worries though, google saved the day, and then I wanted to cry. Anubis?!?! My son wanted to be the protector of the dead and embalming? For real? I guess King Tut is so 1999. Well, since the first night was officially wasted in research and negotiating an easier costume, I now had 3 days to make this...

I did a lot of praying, head scratching and sweating, a lot of SWEATING. Who was I kidding, this was impossible. Then an idea sparked. I could do a papier-mâché (paper mache) mask. My idea materialized  into this...

Potty Chart For My Littlest Munchkin

Ok. Before you get all grossed-out, I just have to say this was a very exciting craft and even more exciting that my littlest munchkin, Z3, is FINALLY pooping in the potty. If you find little amusement in this you either A: don't have toddlers, or B: your toddler's been pooping in the potty for ages and by ages I mean like a month and you're so over it now.

So back to my toddler. I have three boys. Z1, Z2 and Z3 and they were all SOOOOO different when it came to potty training. Z3 was, by far, the hardest to train. It took a long time to get him to pee in the potty, but once he did it was golden! We've been smooth sailing for months now. When I "encouraged" him to poop in the potty, however, he would hold it in out of fear for at least 2 days claiming he didn't have to go. NOT GOOD. So, I followed the doctors orders and let Z3 decide when he was ready to poop in the potty. It came to a point though that enough was enough and I really had to do something to make the playdate with nature fun and appealing so he would go in the potty and stop holding it in. What better than a chart? A POOP CHART.

Toddlers and kids alike love, LOVE charts. They love charts to death and you know what they love even more than charts? STICKERS! Better yet, stickers on charts! Now we've hit the jackpot. Toddlers and kids love seeing their accomplishments materialize visually. Seriously, as soon as this chart came straight out the printer my toddler ran to the potty to poop so he could stick a sticker on his steaming hot fresh-out-the-oven poop chart!

Another 30 second DIY. I scanned Google for animated poop images. There was, of course, nothing to work with. Take my word for it. :o) Untill I came across this very cute graphic.

Tell me that isn't the cutest most kid-friendly poop pic you've ever seen!

It was perfect! Naturally, I emailed the hubster and ordered kindly asked him :o) to put together a simple chart with the days of the week surrounding the image. 

Pens In Disguise

Hey there friends. I realized that when I posted my charging station, my roses made a little guest appearance. I thought I should fill you in on a little secret. I think it's obvious that they are silk roses, and frankly I find nothing more ghetto than silk plants in home decor. Nothing beats the real deal. These, however, are not your ordinary ghetto flowers :o).

Decoupaged Charging Station With Marbled Paper

Hello all. The weather out here right now is amazing. I think I need to start a blogging graveyard shift so I can soak up the warm sun during the day. :o)))

Any way, you may have heard that Pantone announced Radiant Orchid as the 2014 color of the year. For those who are wondering what exactly is "Radiant Orchid" it's a shade of purple. :o) I know, color names have come along way since the prehistoric days of red, orange, yellow,green blue and purple lol.  And we thought indigo and violet were exotic names ha!

Back to my point. I was happy to hear they announced that color because I've been really feeling purple these days and wanted to bring more of it in my home. Aside from this quilt, I didn't have any other purple. I also wanted to do something with marble print. When I found this beautiful marble print in shades of purple I thought it would be perfect to use it on an old charging station we had laying around. I could finally bring in a dose of purple and setup one spot for us to charge all our phones. Woohoo! The supplies were just a few. Mod Podge, paint brush, paper slicer, marble prints, pencil.

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Originally I got this print from PapeirRoyal, at their etsy shop, but not sure if this exact print is still available.

Charging station before.. So drab.

After! SO MUCH character!