Bar Soap + Microwave = Super Easy Experiment

On Pinterest & Facebook I've seen pictures where people have put a bar of plain Ivory soap into the microwave and then taken out a big fluffy cloud-like substance.  

Simple little things like that fascinate me!

I have several young nieces that are always wanting to do something fun when they come to my house and I knew this little project would impress them.

This week when the red-head was here she was so excited when I asked if she wanted to do a quick experiment.

We put a bar of Ivory soap on a paper plate and put it in the microwave.

It was crazy how it immediately started bulging out in different directions and transforming into a fluffy cloud!

When it got to the point that it filled up the entire microwave we turned it off.  The cloud shrunk a little bit when we opened the door but retained it's new big fluffy shape overall.

The weird thing is it was like it transformed into FOAM!

The cloud wasn't soapy, wet, slimy or any of the things I would have expected microwaved soap to be.

We had fun playing around with it for a while.  We ripped off junks and rolled them into "snow balls" and then the red-head grated some up into "white cheese that you sprinkle on your food".  

Have you tried this experiment before?

I'm wondering if it works with all bar soaps?  

Next week we're going to try some different soap brands and see what results we end up with.

*We did this experiment while Felicity was napping because I was worried she would try to eat the soap when it came out of the microwave!

{ Wordless Wednesday } Fun with Chalk

Felicity has discovered chalk and she pretty much loves it.....

My Little Book Worm

Felicity has loved books since she was a newborn baby and I would show her bright interesting pages and read the rhymes of stories like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom in a sing song rhythm and voice.  

Now, at two years old she still loves books but it is getting harder to read to her because she  usually wants to take the books from me and "read" herself.

These are some of our favorites right now.  I love all of these books because they not only catch her interest, but they are fun to read as well, which makes it much more enjoyable for me if I have to read them ten times in one day.

You're My Little Love Bug by Heidi Weimer
Ladybug Girl Loves... by David Soman
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr & John Archambault
Boom Chicka Rock by John Archambault
Belly Button Book! by Sandra Boynton

Felicity's little bookshelf is completely full now and I'm trying to talk my husband into helping me build something like this in her room.

{ DecorPad }

... and wouldn't it awesome if she had something like this to climb up in and hide away from the world with a good read or some crayons and coloring books

{ BLAFREBLOGGEN }

Have a wonderful week!

Oh, and within the next couple of weeks I'm going to be doing some giveaways through the blog and through our Facebook Page as well - so if you don't already like us on Facebook Click Here to go "Like" our page to make sure you don't miss out on any freebies!

-Pamela

Redoing the Kitchen Cabinets { & the whole kitchen for that matter }

We have been hard at work on our 1970something model kitchen.  As with all projects we do Felicity loves to get right up in the middle of it and make sure Mommy & Daddy are doing it right.

Seeing our new kitchen come together and working side-by-side creating and building something with my best friend (who I happen to be married to) has been amazingly rewarding and fun at times and then extremely stressful at other times.

My husband and I see things so differently, so it makes things interesting.

For example: He doesn't understand why we spent so much redoing our cabinets and painting them perfectly just so I could go back through and "ruin them".  

I try to explain, 

"I'm not ruining them - I am distressing them and making them beautiful!"

(I'm sanding down to the wood here and there in spots and also using Valspar's antique glaze)

There's a lot of give and take involved. 

He agreed to let me "ruin / distress" the cabinets if I agreed to not paint them turquoise like I originally wanted.  We compromised on doing the bottom half brown and the top half white.

Once the cabinets are finished we will move onto finishing the counters, back splash, and putting in a new window and sink as well as finishing up some other little details.

Random Painting Tip:  

Okay, a lot of you will probably already know this but I'm always surprised at how many people don't realize this.  If you need to take a break while painting you don't have to wash out all your brushes to keep them from drying out.  Instead, just put them in a ziplock bag and the paint won't dry.  I've left brushes covered in paint in a bag for hours and came back later to pick them up and start right where I left off.

Well, now I'm off to go package up some orders to send out, but before I go I must show you a couple of new pictures of some new headbands.

Get 20% OFF and a Free Hair Bow with discount code, "welcome2012"

www.InspiredByFelicity.com

Have a great day!

I'm linking this post up at some wonderful blog parties - Click Here to see where they are happening!

-pamela

The Story of my Mantle { that only I love }

So I want to tell you a little story about one of my favorite things in our home....

My lovely turquoise mantle, which serves the purpose of holding up our TV.

This mantle was a point of many "debates" when it first came to live with us.  

My husband complained about it everyday for the first month or so and mumbled, 

"Why can't we just get a normal entertainment center for the TV like everyone else?"

(I would have thought he knew me better than that by now).  

My mother couldn't understand why it had to be turquoise (or any color for that matter).  She asked, 

"Why didn't you just paint it white to match the baseboards?"  

(my love of art and color did not come from my mother)

My dad and step-dad didn't get the "point of it".  They both said, 

"Why do you have a mantle, but no fireplace?" 

(okay, so my creativity didn't come from a paternal side either)

Here's how I ended up with my little mantle....

When we bought our house I immediately knew I needed to find something to put our TV on or in that would fit in with the rest of the house and decour (which consist of a lot of handmade, painted, salvaged and antique/vintage items)

My Nanny and I spent an entire weekend searching for the right piece the week before my husband, Felicity and I were to move into our new home.

Unfortunately I don't have any "Before" pictures, but when I found the mantle it was a creamy yellow and in sad shape.

Even though it was in need of a makeover I fell in love with it the second I saw it out of the corner of my eye.  

It was funny how it seemed as if it were meant to be.....

After an entire weekend of running around through several towns finding a lot of things that "might work", but nothing that I loved, I was feeling down and frustrated and then at our last stop of the day we walked into a little store and I immediately exclaimed, "That's it!"

Have you ever had an experience like that looking for something for your home?

I painted it turquoise and then sanded it down quite a bit to reveal some of the yellow underneath and then painted the low middle part in a navy blue.  I went back just yesterday and added a little bit of Valspar Glaze in a few select places to create the darkened effect you see below on some of the paint.

I hung leopard print fabric in the open part at the bottom to conceal the wall and cords behind the mantel.

I think all the "debates" and negative comments about my mantle in the beginning made me feel the need to love it and "protect" it even more. 

 I know that sounds crazy since I am talking about an inanimate object here, but seriously, that's how I feel about this piece, I am deeply attached to it now.

I'm constantly changing out what is on the mantle, but here's a closer look at some of the things on it at the moment.

This embroidered scarf covering the top was made by my great-grandmother and is a treasure I adore.

This is a new floral arrangement I just fixed up this week...

So that's the story of my lovely little mantle, which holds a TV that plays pretty much nothing other than "Dora The Explorer".

Have you had any similar experience with a piece of furniture or object in your home others didn't like or understand, but you deeply loved it?

I also wanted to show you a new piece just added to my store..... 

Introducing our new funky peacock feather hair fascinators for kids & adults:

www.InspiredByFelicity.com

Just some little gifts I made....

Just stopping in for a quick hello today!  I keep meaning to post pictures of the brooches I made my mother-in-law for Mother's Day and I somehow always manage to forget..... 

so here they are (only a month-and-a-half late)

My mother-in-law is a big fan of pink so I wanted to make some kind of pink pin for her and this is what I ended up with.

It sounds odd but when I start making something I usually don't have a plan for how I intend for it to look when I'm done. 

 I just play around and put things together as I go and hope it evolves into something pretty when I'm done.

 I actually loved the pink pin so much when I was done with it that I was quite tempted to keep it for myself.

I also made my Mother-in-law this more casual brooch with denim from a pair of my husband's (her son's) old jeans and decorated it up a bit with some lace around the edge.

Felicity is going to wake up any minute and I have a few hundred things I need to get done before she comes running in here bright eyes and bushy tailed ready to get the day going, so I have to go get to work. 

I wish I had her ability to jump out of bed smiling, full of energy, eager to greet the day!

{ Wordless Wednesday } Some More Birthday Fun!

To see my original post on Felicity's birthday with pics of all the decorations, food, etc, Click Here.

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www.InspiredByFelicity.com
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