Tweet Bird Wreath

I love making wreaths! The possibilities are endless...

Can you stand it? It doesn't take much: Ribbon to wrap and hang, a styrofoam wreath, fake feathers and a bird, or any other critter you find on clearance. 

 Get out your glue gun and start wrapping.

 All wrapped up.

Glue on those feathers and the bird and you have yourself an adorable new door hanging.

Tweet Tweet!

Water Feature

The city of Duluth is built on a hill overlooking Lake Superior, very similar to San Francisco's situation! 


Considering water runs down the hill, yes yes, good old gravity, most of the homes in Duluth have sump pumps in the basement to drain the ground water build up. Our house is no exception. Our problem is no longer the potential for a soggy basement, it is our muddy yard. Even worse, our ground water is creeping into the neighbors yard. How dare we! This is where we Henry and Stella take matters into their own hands/paws. We Are Good Neighbors Darn It!


A pipe runs underground from our basement to the sidewalk, creating a soggy problemo...

 Henry put together a plan and got to work...He dug up the pipe near the house...

and kept on digging. Notice Stella below checking out the drainage problem (taking an occasional drink from the puddled up water, yuck)

A tray of plants for our new drainage area...

and mulch...

Henry cut the pipe to run into our new water feature, covered with a permeable ground cover.

Here is where they left things for now. I have been giving Henry most of the credit, but it is clear who is doing most of the work...

Total bank account damage, so far, is 80.00. Not bad I say, for not wanting anything to do with digging up our own yard and tackling the 'World of Landscaping'. Way to go family!

Our Yard

Considering we moved into our house in December...

This is all we knew of our new yard, brown and sparse. Now that summer has arrived in Duluth (kind of, if you live here you know what I am talking about), we are pleased to see the colors and blossoming plants that have been appearing over the past few months.

The back of the house...

Then

Now

Get ready for the beautiful rhododendron belly shot. I have been writing about being pregnant for the past 8 months and thought you should know I haven't been kiddin' around.

3 more weeks 'til our little crafter arrives...

P.S.Henry ambitiously started a project in the front yard this weekend. Stay tuned for our  Henry's first landscaping project.

Welcome Baby Tui

My friend, Gina, welcomed, her bundle of joy, Tui into the world on Sunday. I thought it only appropriate that Auntie Nikki whipped up a blue craft for the joyous occasion.

Due to the 35 MPH winds and rainy summer days I hung the blue pom-poms inside the window.

Here is how to make your own tissue paper pom-pom:

First, stack a pile of same sized tissue paper in a pile, about 8 pieces would do...

Second, fold the tissue back and forth, back and forth like an accordion...

Third, when you have about a 1.5-2 inch stacked accordion, wrap a twist tie or wire around the middle (tip: do not scrunch up the paper with the twist tie, just make it secure around the stack)  

 Fourth, fan out each side

 Fifth, peel down each piece of tissue paper

 Lastly, manipulate the paper to look like a big blossoming flower.

That's it, the classic 1st grade craft reborn!

If a blue tissue paper pom-pom doesn't scream "It's a boy!" I don't know what does!

 Welcome Baby Tui!

Master Bedroom Plans

Since HGTV doesn't seem to be interested in making over our master bedroom and wiggling my nose doesn't seem to be working, I decided to take matters in my own hands. I am formulating a plan.

The initial stages of the plan include paint, a stencil, curtains, a road side dresser, a new light fixture, pillows, accessories, a headboard and a bassinet. Oh, and patience, lots of patience!

 My inspiration...

I love this fabric. Nothing fancy, just a genuine attraction. 

The Old Nikki would have jumped right in and bought things without thinking things through. The new Nikki makes a plan to save money and energy...not always, but in this case, good for me:) I am looking forward to sharing our progress (psst, notice how my email went from "me" to "we" when referring to progress? Thank goodness for Henry!) I'll be in touch!

Lucky in Love!

In order to celebrate our good friend's, Heather and Tyler, Engagement a bunch of us gathered to share our sentiments of how lucky we think they are to have found each other.

Typical good luck charms come in the form of a Rabbit's Foot, Horse Shoes or Four Leaf Clovers. At our party we celebrated with Rainbow Layer Cake and Pot of Gold Wishes!

Why yes, you can have a piece of cake, as long as you let Heather and Tyler know how to stay Lucky in Love!

Whipping up a cake for the luckiest couples in your life is simple. Simple does not mean quick...
2 boxes of cake and 3 tubs of frosting (I used every bit of these two tubs plus some extras that I had in the fridge). You did not read that wrong, you need 3 tubs of frosting:)

I own two round cake pans, so I baked the colors of the rainbow in shifts. I mixed both boxes of cake better in a big bowl and then put 2 1/2 cups of batter in each pan, where I added and mixed in the food coloring.

 Bake, bake, bake, bake, bake, bake as directed...

For those of you who don't know the color order of the Rainbow (Henry pay attention here:) ROYGBV! 

Red

Orange 

Yellow

Green 

Blue

Violet

Layer, Frost, Layer, Frost, Layer, Frost, Layer, Frost, Layer, Frost, Layer Frost. What you see below is called dirty icing because of all the crumbs. Stick this stack of luck in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

 Now add the pretty layer of frosting...now you see, 3 tubs of frosting! 

 Rainbow Chips Please!

I printed Pot's of Gold from WordArt on the computer and set out pens to express to the happy couple how to stay Lucky in Love!

You don't have to be a Leprechaun to indulge in this rainbow!

Linked Up:

Stories from A to Z

Musical Chairs

Remember we got this new leather chair for a steal?

To put in the place of this leather chair...

And now the old leather chair...see above...replaced this chair...

and now Henry's office looks like this...

Lucky Henry!

Homemade Chair Mat

I neglected to mention that Henry's new office is carpeted, the old office was not. Is the writing on the wall floor? How on earth would Henry manage to wheel around his new digs with ease?

Oh, alright, I'll find the solution...

A Homemade Chair Mat,
made especially for the Economist in the family!

We purchased a piece of Underlayment for 6.00 at  Home Depot

Henry stained the board with stain we already owned

Considering Fumes and Baby don't mix, 

 Henry and the paint brush have become quite close over the last 8 months

I used acrylic paints, foam brushes and stencils- all things I owned,

if you need to purchase these things, it will run you around 4 bucks

 After stenciling and drying, 

I hauled the board outside for a coat of Clear Spray Paint to set the Acrylic Paint

Now when Henry goes upstairs to work and I am trying to sleep- just a little longer...I hear woosh woosh. Poor me!