The Nelson Four

So occasionally I get the guts to attempt to make something for my house, by way of crafts. I am NOT a craft person (see here) and am certainly envious of others who can do amazing things with just a piece of twine. I have a friend who is basically the MacGyver of crafting and there are certainly times where I wish I could do what she does. But, I am me. I get crafty moments and Sometimes, just sometimes it actually turns out how I wanted. 74% of the time, things turn out like those pinterest fails.

I have wanted to try this for a while now, I mean it's 3 steps. I HAVE to be able to do something with only 3 steps. So I set out to my local Dollar Store and grabbed 2 different sized plate and a candle holder. I started getting a little brave in the store with different vases and such to use between the plates, but in the end I settled for something basic. Something that could be used over and over. So, $3 later, I had my supplies to make a cupcake stand. This little baggie of glue sticks has been around for at least 5 years- shows you how many times I break out the hot glue gun, eh?

The instructions for this are very simple. Basically, hot glue the candle holder between the 2 different plates- that's it!

I laid the smaller plate upside down and glued the top of the candle holder to the middle of the plate.

Then I set the bottom plate right side up and glued the bottom of the candle holder to it, this approached allowed me to use the candle holder for leverage.

This turned out great- here it is in all its glory holding the cupcakes for Chloe's birthday party- more on that later :) The plates themselves, held almost 20 cupcakes.

So I say again, if I can do it, ANYONE can do it! This is super simple to do and I can see all kinds of fun varieties that can be created. Happy Crafting!

This sweet girl entered the world 2 years ago today, at 10:05 p.m. to be exact, which was 8 days past her due date (More on that later). We didn't find out what we were having with either child, but for some reason I thought this one was a girl. We had a great time celebrating her over the weekend and will post more about that soon.

Chloe has brought so much joy into our lives in the last 2 years. She is super sweet and I love that she will just walk right up to us and give us a kiss for no reason. Her voice is the cutest, unless she is screaming because Luke took away her toy or even looked at the toy she was holding, and she can say so many words. Last night, unprovoked, before I left her room at night she told me to ' Sleep Good Mommy." She mimicks everything her brother says. The other night she sang "You are my sunshine" to me, a song I have been singing to her since birth but in her own personalized Chloe way. She is the most accident-prone little one, poor thing bleeds on a weekly basis. BUT, it has sure made her tough.

Here are a few pictures over the years:

In the Nursery the day before the induction. Ugh, being 9 months pregnant in August in the Central Valley is a triple doozey. Because we didn't know the sex, we did a gender neutral room. A month or so after she was born, we turned everything orange in her room to pink. I made the yarn wrapped letters (it would have been Connor, if she had been a boy) and Aaron made the white night stand and the blue book shelves.

This was the morning after she was born. I had a VERY different birthing experience with Luke and he wasn't allowed in our room, so this was all new to us. She was a great sleeper as a baby and her favorite spot was right under my chin, it still is to this day.

Sleepy girl, still in the hospital. I soaked up as much time as I could with the nurses around and getting as much assistance I could with breastfeeding. From the induction to going home was almost 5 days.

A few newborn shots

Her cute little perfect face.

Her first Halloween. I loved dressing her up in fun clothes as a baby, now she is very particular about what she wants to wear. lol.

This is from my old phone, so not the best quality. But the onesie says it all...
" My brother wanted a puppy...but he got me insteasd" So true.

She was such a smiley bug as a baby. I always put her in bows too. One time, while she had on pink pants and a white onesie with pink hearts, someone asked if she was a boy or a girl... .She wore a bow every day after that :)

This was right before her first birthday. The rocking chair she is in was my grandmothers. Love sentimental items like that.

This was one of her 1-Year Pics at a park near our old house. She wasn't walking yet so it was much easier to photograph her :)

This was at her First Birthday party. She loved the tutu I made her and still asks to wear it. She spent the majority of her time pushing these white little IKEA chairs around before she actually took her first steps. Silly girl.

Still cute and smiley with food on her face.

Chloe loves to do crafts. We painted these step stones shortly before we moved.

This was Easter at my mom's house. She had a great time running around the yard with her brother and almost twin cousin. Chloe is 7 months younger than my sister's daughter and Luke is 7 months older than one of His sister's daugters too! It will be so fun to watch them grow up so close in age.