Baby Swing

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Becky Regal / Posted in Uncategorized / Leave a comment

Don’t be selfish . . .

So, we have this large tree that we call “the dirty tree” whith reaches into our side yard from our neighbors house. It is dirty because of how bad it sheds in the fall into our pool and everytime that the wind picks up, even a little, it drops sticks all over the yard and the little mini “dirty trees” grow like weeds in every garden, nook and cranny and fence line around the house.

Since it is not our tree and we enjoy the shade it offers, I can’t cut it down. To make use of the thing, I decided, one impulsive afternoon, to turn it into a swing set.

I made a baby swing and a few other fun swings and attached them to the limb.

For the baby swing I just did a lot of eyeballing but I originally got the idea from pinterest and this tutorial – http://www.themakerista.com/2013/07/baby-swing-tutorial-giveaway.html

Here is what I did!

First I cut up some of my painting canvas that I use to cover the floor for protection. I think you could use just about any fabric just be doubling it up. But I like the look of canvas and it’s durability.

I just eyeballed what I thought would work. You will need to cut three pieces. Remember to leave room for seams. Then sew them together to form the bottom and sides out of the longest piece, the back out of the wide one and the narrow one is the crotch part.

I love our local Habitat for humanity Restore. If there is one where you are located I highly recommend making yourself acquainted with it.

I found what had been stair railings and I have used them for curtain rods, ladders, tents and this project… so far.

You can also use large dowels found at your local hardware, building supply store.

You will need 4 with holes drilled into each end.

Again, I eyeballed to cut mine. About a foot and a half. A helpful, time saving tip here is to make sure that the bit you use will produce holes large enough for the rope to fit through

Now all the hard stuff is done.

Just insert through the seat and line the holes up over each other and run a sturdy rope through to hold them together with gravity and for attaching to the tree.

Tie knots into the bottom of each rope. for extra stretch I ties the knots around a large metal nut.

Any there you have it!

I also made a classic swing and a monkey pole swing. Just because . . . Why Not.

Don’t be selfish . . .

Being.

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Becky Regal / Posted in Uncategorized / Leave a comment

Don’t be selfish . . .

My little girl is just about to turn 2.5 years old. and

I have never felt so complete in my roll as a child of God. Being a mother is the biggest and hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. I use to think that I had to be in the mission field or doing some new and novel thing for humanity for me to feel like I am making my life worth surviving cancer when so many die from it daily. (more on that on some other day in some other post) Being responsible for the mental and physical health and well being of this tiny, helpless person, has finally put my pressure to make something of myself to rest. I am honored to take this job on. That God trusts us with such a large task is beyond me.

Being a parent has also put a lot of my concerns and confusion about the human relationship with God to peace too. I still am on the spiritual journey. I hope to never think that I have it all figured out, because then I think that I would be spiritually complacent. But loving someone who can’t understand the love I have for them and who will do things I ask her not to do and who will hurt me and rebel from my love. This role I am in has given me a better idea of why God did what he did and does what he does for each one of us.

Don’t be selfish . . .

Boxes to Bins :)

Posted on October 5, 2014October 5, 2014 by Becky Regal / Posted in Tutorials, Uncategorized / Leave a comment

Don’t be selfish . . .

I have mentioned before that my house has VERY LITTLE storage. Because of this, you will be seeing me post with storage ideas more then once.

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My mother in law comes out to visit often and I am so blessed that she loves to be involved with my ideas and projects. I am also blessed because she sews the cutest little cloths for my daughter and she is an expert thrift shopper. The only problem with all this is that I have no where to put all the cloths.

Last time she was out visiting she came up with a solution to my problem. I buy wipes and night time diapers from costco and the box they come in is really strong. So, I save those boxes and put my daughters cloths in them that are too small or too big. However, I have been moving all the too small cloths into plastic storage bins to put in our crawl space and those boxes were becoming ugly temp cloths holders.

Sandy, my mother in law, took the leftover drawer lining contact paper I had been using for wall paper in the camper and covered the boxes, making sure to keep the handholds exposed. Make sure to cut the tabs off before you put the paper on.

They fit perfectly into the self in my daughter’s room that we got from IKEA. Now her PJ’s, sweaters and light coats have a pretty home and I have room in the drawers for more thrift store finds

Don’t be selfish . . .

Playhouse Remodel

Posted on September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 by Becky Regal / Posted in Tutorials, Uncategorized / 1 Comment

Don’t be selfish . . .

I have been wanting to find a little playhouse on Craigslist for Elora to play in while I garden, mow and weed. But after finally scoring one for $100, and setting it up in the backyard, I just couldn’t leave it as it was. The colors were all wrong and the inside was drab. Nothing a little spray paint couldn’t fix

I used spray paint made for plastics – I changed brands up a lot. The copper over the bay window was just a metal finish spray paint and it has held up GREAT!

I used poster board and cardboard to block as I painted.

I built a wooden platform for the house to sit on, allowing for the little front porch.

Sorry that I didn’t take pictures as I went a long. But here are some from the final product.

The inside was the same color as the exterior walls. So, I started by spraying the walls yellow, the trim and ceiling cream and the wainscoting blue. The yellow was looking real bad even after three coats. To help disguise the problem I sprayed cream with a stencil and just didn’t worry about lining it all up.

The playhouse was missing the little chair that comes with it when purchased new for $400-$500. Getting it for $100 was worth not having the chair. I was really lucky when I found two classroom chairs for $2 each at the Thrift store. One was blue and the other yellow. (the same colors I used on the walls!) So I used the same little stencil and sprayed the chairs with the opposite color to make them cohesive and cute!

The little kitchen had lost all of the original stickers and was all one color. So I just brushed on a little interest with my paints.

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My little one just loves her house!

Don’t be selfish . . .

5 Free Family Resources

Posted on September 10, 2014September 17, 2014 by Becky Regal / Posted in Lists / 1 Comment

Don’t be selfish . . .

I move way too often! But at least I know that there are some great resources waiting for me where ever I moving to.

I could make a much longer and better list if I were just posting about my area. But this is a list that covers MOST areas, with pretty basic free activities/resources.

Here are 5 that my family uses… a lot!

1. The Library.

I know that it sounds boring, but give it a shot.

Have you heard about a great new book? Go to the library. Is there a movie that you have been wanting to see? Check out the library. Want to get your kids into reading and meet other families doing that same? Check out your libraries programs.

My local library system is amazing! We go down to the library to join toddler time and story time almost every week. There is also educational play time on Fridays and friends of the library where they have animals or performances every now and then.

Sometimes we go to the library and let Elora pick a book and DVD and Dave and I pick one out for ourselves.

2. Join a Church!

I personally go to a great Seventh-Day-Adventist church that is very active. I run the family ministries for our church.

Every Sabbath we have Sabbath school (Sunday School) for Elora. Music, snacks, bubbles and friends. Like the idea of a Gymboree class but gasp at the cost? Church in the kids department is a lot like those expensive classes, but they are free! I keep thinking about joining a Sunday church as well just for the benefits for Elora.

They always say it takes a village… well church can be that village. You have people of all demographics who know and care about your family. They help mold your child’s character (if you let them)

Family Ministries sponsors camping trips, retreats, game nights, hikes and play dates. We also are doing a weekly mommy boot camp.

Give Church a chance, you might even get something deeper and more personal out of it 😉

3. Local, City, State and National Parks

Local parks often have playgrounds. You can get in a workout using the jungle gym while the kids play! Feed the ducks, go for a hike, take a picnic… utilize your near by outdoor spaces.

The parks in my city have free concerts in the summer and art fairs in the autumn. Some parks host Fairs and Festivals of all sorts including renaissance fairs.

State and National Parks often have Nature Centers with free children’s programs.

4. Historical Societies and Museums

Many towns are proud of their history and often have at least a small museum dedicated to the story they are a part of. Find yours. Take the family and teach your kids about the place they live. Many of these small museums are actually very surprising and offer a pretty good experience for children.

5. Clubs, Meetups, Groups

These can be harder to find. However, many times a good Google search will do the trick. Also, here is another good reason to join an active church.

You would be surprised how many groups of people are looking for others that are into the same activities or subjects that they are into.

There are free play groups, biking and running groups, cooking and crafting, sewing, camping and so on . . .

Be brave and join a group to help enrich your family’s lives.

Don’t be selfish . . .

Here is what I did!

Any there you have it!

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