Lights out! Ghost out!

It’s almost Halloween, and with that decorations are starting to appear along side pumpkins. Today Jackson and I went to the Gulfarium Spooktacular for halloween festivities. Free admission for kids in costume is something that I can never say no to. C’mon who doesn’t like free or cheap when you can get it?  We were able to see all the same great shows with a halloween flair, plus extra spooky activities.  Between the sunken submarine you got to go on to the skeleton find it kept Jackson entertained for almost 3 hours.  Jackson decided to dress up as Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and of course I painted his face at 9 am, but the time we get to the Gulfarium he is freaking out because some of it has smudged. How many times can I say do not touch your face!?!  Even though we left before the costume parade (pretty glad about that one) I still think he had a great time. He was still talking about the talking pumpkins (pumpkins with a projector on them) tonight at dinner.

While we were at the Gulfarium we learned how to make a few easy Halloween crafts. One was a spider from a paper plate. The other one that I will be giving a tutorial on was a ghost.  Spooky I know!  This is something you can use to give your yard a little more life and hopefully won’t cost anything extra since most items are found laying around the house.

 

Watching the pumpkins sing

 

Had fun on the maze

 

Had to meet his skeleton friend.

Got to see a bird take a bath

 

What you need:

Scissors

Clean and dried empty milk jug (does’t matter what size)

Black construction paper (or a black sharpie)

Glue stick

Plastic bag (Walmart, Target…)

Screw Driver

Fishing line

 

Step 1:

Make sure your milk jug is clean and all stickers are removed.  One the base of the milk jug you will make 2 holes. Make them as close to the middle as your can.  Add fishing line through the holes to be able to hang when finished.

Step 2:

Draw on your black construction paper a face for your ghost. We make a nice ghost but you can make it however you would like.  Cut out the pieces of the face individually.

Step 3:

With your glue stick, glue your face onto your milk jug. Make are your jug is upside down, otherwise you will have an upside down pumpkin.  If you plan on using a sharpie, just draw on the face now.

Step 4:

Take your milk jug lid and your plastic bag. You will place the lid inside of the plastic bag then place the lid on the jug like your normally would. If you really want to get creative, add a glow stick inside of the milk jug to make it glow. 

 

 

DIY Crib to Headboard

I bought a new platform bed and knew I wanted to make my own headboard.  I was at Lowe’s with my mom one day and I was trying to figure out legs and particle board and everything else to use for a headboard. Let me tell you it was getting pretty expensive. Well luck would have it I have been saving Action Jackson’s crib for the past few years, rather my parents have been storing it for me.  It’s a dark sleigh style crib and my mom had the genius idea to use it as my headboard.  Well it works!   I had purchased 2 yards of natural linen to redo a couple of older chairs that were my grandparents. My mom was getting rid of their mattress pad and saved it for me to use foam (for ottoman, headboard, anything)

Here is what I did

I prepped and  painted the crib off white/ ivory. The original color is what is shown in the boxes.  I didn’t paint the squares since that is where the foam would be going.

I laid the foam on the squares and used medium heavy spray adhesive to help secure it.

I draped the linen over the foam and started stretching it and nailing it down with finishing nails around the edges to help secure the foam and linen.

Last step I got natural rope from Home Depot and did a double strand around the entire upholstered area.

I need to take a fair away picture. It is extremely comfortable.  Meaning I can lay against my headboard and not need pillows behind my head.. how amazing!

DIY Upholster Coffee Table/ Ottoman

Ok so this post and the next few I make are little bit different than what I usually post with. This is more of a DIY. A lot has changed over the course of almost 2 years in writing this blog. I became separated and moved Jackson and I from Miami to the panhandle of Florida where I am originally from.  With this move most of my stuff went into storage because I didn’t know what was gonna happen. Well once I finally figured it out and saved money, we moved into a new place. With out anything!  Well thankfully my mom had been keeping my old dining table that we had in Okinawa. This thing was extremely scratched and well honestly had seen better days. So what do I do know I need a ottoman/ coffee table and don’t have the extra money, I make it!  That’s what we do in this family. If you can’t afford something you make it, or if you just don’t want to get rid of something, repurpose it!

So here is how it went!

I went over to my Uncles workshop and had him help me cut down the legs.  Since it was a bar height table, we had to cut a good bit. Please make your own measurements depending on the height of the ottoman you want. I could still cut another 4 inches off mine, but I have began to like having my feet elevated.

BTW I LOVE POWER TOOLS!

 

This how the table looked after we cut it down and put it all together. It’s huge!

 

 

 

 

Next I laid an egg crate on top (twin worked for me, doing this as inexpensive as possible) You can add multiple layers, but I didn’t need it to cushy so it worked for me.

 

Next get your fabric and staple on one side.  Once you get your one side stapled stretch the fabric across tightly and staple. Do the same for the remaining sides.   I got my fabric from Joann’s and fell in love instantly. It’s a linen blend and feels amazing. 

 

TADAA!!!   I love this thing. Jackson even uses it as a play table which is ok by me too.  Extra seating, play space, prop your feet up and coffee table all in one!

 

 

Price for it all this:

Dining table – Free (already had)

Twin Egg crate – Target $5

Fabric – Joann’s 3 yards $32 ( used coupons and hit the right sale)

Staple gun w/ staples – $20

Total- $57 for a brand new ottoman!

Handy Helper – Toothpaste

Toothpaste is becoming a miracle helper in my house. People always think they have a secret object to fix almost anything. I am sure there are thousands of uses out there. But here is a list of uses for toothpaste.. and not just for freshening breath! So far the best kind of toothpaste we have found that works best is the white Crest paste (not the gel)

 

1.) Bug Bites!

Yes! Bug bites! Summer is upon us and in Florida mosquitos are out in full force!  Mosquitos are nasty boogers and they  love Jackson.  I always feel so bad for him when he gets bit. Even if we spray him down, dryer sheets help, but he doesn’t want to keep them in his pockets.  Get a dab of toothpaste on each bite and it immediately relieves the itch and removes the redness.

2.) Burns!

Burns as in from the oven, grill, or curling iron. Anything else you might be a klutz with and burn yourself on, if you are anything like me.  Apply a light layer on the burn immediately.  Let this 1st layer dry and then gently wipe it off.  Reapply the 2nd layer. Toothpaste removes the sting and the swelling. If you allow it to set it on the burn for at least 2 hours (the combination of both applications)  your burn will no longer be tender t touch, no scaring either!

3.) Remove crayon marks on walls!

Gotta love kids and drawing on the walls.  Rub a small dab of toothpaste on a washcloth and rub it on the marks.  Make sure to wash it off with warm water though!

4.) Deodorize Hands!

Have you cooked onions or garlic before and you can’t get the smell off your hands and the stainless steel trick isn’t working for you.. try washing your hands with toothpaste. Toothpaste helps with bad breath so why not smelly hands?

5.) Jewelry

Be careful when doing this one. To polish up stones take a small dab of toothpaste and an old toothbrush and go to work polishing. Rinse with warm water.  Cleans up rather well!

6.) Zits!

Yes, toothpaste works on zits as well. Dab it on and go to bed!  It dries the zit out. Isn’t that just nice?

7.) Fill small holes in the walls.

Again just a dab on a small hole ( thumbtack size) and let it dry. Sand and repaint.

 

 

 

Happy Summer and I hope that these tips help!

Crayon Easter Eggs!

This year was a last minute rush to color easter eggs. We had thought of doing the shaving cream easter eggs like last year, but wanted to do something else.  So in a house with NO FOOD COLORING .. what do we have a lot of? CRAYONS!  I had seen where you can put crayons in the hot glue gun but with a few kids that doesn’t seem very safe. So the eggs were still warm and I tested an egg.  It melts and you can smear!

 

Check it out.. again make sure your eggs are still warm!

Our stock of crayons…

 

 

Grandma helping out.

 

My test egg… I love how it melted

 

Our eggs.  It’s fun to smear the melted crayons to give it a stained look.

 

 

 

Gulfarium Adventures

If you ever come to Destin, Florida on vacation and you have the kids with you, take a break from the beach one day and check out the Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park. It is just across the bridge from Destin in Fort Walton Beach (on Okaloosa Island).  There is several activities to suit each age group. I took Jack there for his first time last month and he loved it! I’m not sure of his favorite section although I know he really liked the dolphin show.  He also asked to see the alligators, which are big, he wanted to see bigger and go pet them. I blame myself for letting him watch Gator Boys for that one. My personal favorite part are the penguins (yes! Penguins in Florida!) and the touch and feel sealife tank. Tickets aren’t too bad priced for what all you get to see.

Deciding to go here all started because Jack wanted to be a ninja turtle. We have an old turtle shell at home and it really peaked his interest.

Here are a few pictures from our adventure!

 

Lego Adventures

Thanks to the Lego Movie, Jack has now shown interest in Legos. I was happy to find a Lego Junior set and he actually followed the directions (with help) and built the sets!

He has asked for a few different sets already.

 

Lego Juniors are great for little hands that still need a little assistance!

Put me on a canvas!

To put pictures on canvas is expensive… or so we thought.  There is an easier way than buying the canvases from some online printing store…  DO IT YOURSELF!

Supplies needed: 

Blank canvas

A printed picture same size of the canvas.

Mod Podge

Foam Brush

 

Here’s How:

Step 1: Gather your supplies

 

 

Step 2:

Place a layer of Mod Podge on the canvas. Then gently place your photograph on top of the canvas.

 

Step 3:

Add a layer of Mod Podge on top of the photograph. Make sure to get the edges. Once the 1st layer is dried, add a second. It will dry clear. When you add your Mod Podge brush it on in the same direction.

It will dry clear when done.

Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the dried product. Will be updated.

 

 

1 year!

 

Well today The Adventures of Action Jackson blog turned 1 year old!  Thank you to everyone who comes and reads on all the activities we do.  We hope that everyone had a Merry Christmas is you celebrate. Jackson’s birthday is also Christmas day so we get to celebrate his awesomeness with a lot of presents.  He turned a might 4 years old!

You can also keep up with us on Facebook.   See everyone in the new year!

Star Wars Snowflakes

We did it! We finally did it! Last year we saw this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G snowflakes in the shapes of your favorite Star Wars characters! We are complete Star Wars geeks in this family. Jackson is obsessed. Even more now since they merged his Angry Birds with Star Wars.

Thanks to Anthony over at Anthony Herrera Designs he gives step by step instructions on how to fold and cut this awesome snow flakes.

So far we have only made C3-PO and Yoda, and let me tell you this is hard work!  I did find a trick though after I finished C3-PO, cut the small stuff 1st! Then cut the outer edge. This gives your hand something to hold on to while you cut with your fancy Xacto knife.

 

Best of luck on your cuttings and holidays! Merry Christmas and May the force be with you with this craft!