The Big and The Little Of It !

It's a big deal becoming a BIG!! 
College Girl became a "Big" in her Sorority this year!
 Big/Little week is a fun, fun week.
But it is a BIG thing to get everything ready.
And it is a secret until the "big reveal"!!



First the girls who received bids into the sorority at Rush go to a local store and fill out an info sheet/wish list with their likes and sizes, etc. on it.
Then the future 'bigs' get busy. Mollie and her "twins" met to coordinate ordering of family shirts and other goodies their littles will receive throughout the week.

It's serious business. Big decisions and budgets to consider, too.

But it's fun, too :)

Then after they agree on color and fabric they have to find the right sizes on the crammed racks!!
 The looks on their faces - if only that much concentration went into classwork!
 Sorority girls are serious shoppers, if nothing else!

Looks like shopping was successful!

Then College Girl came home for a few days to craft like crazy!!
We set up a staging table in the Library (where her headboard for her apartment is hanging out until it goes to school - soon, I hope!)

We started gathering all the components for each days' surprises. Each day is assigned a letter, a theme and limits on items/costs but the requirements must be met so that each girl has an amazing Big/Little Week.

A canvas for "H", handmade day.

Awesome wooden letters from the Greek shop near the Georgia Tech campus - another reason CG came home to craft - lots of resources in Atlanta.

Hand painted bulletin boards are one of the most popular "H' day items and we went with chevron stripes. Love them - taping nightmare, however!

And another canvas ... stay tuned for an important Sorority Girl message.

Now we are cooking! CG says her favorite color is GLITTER!!! I helped her with painting details but she told me that she can "glitter like nobodies business!!"

This was Day 1 - the letter "C" for Cookies and Candy. We found a giant lollipop in Chi O colors, bought KitKats because her future little didn't list her favorite candy and another sister, Morgan, informed us that you can't go wrong with a KitKat. CG baked cookies and we used the Cricut to decorate the jar lids. A little cello and ribbon - which makes every gift look better - and we were good to go. The baskets are on display in the Chapter Room by a certain time and then the future littles are allowed to come get their goodies after a certain time. So organized and efficient.

Heavy glitter usage in progress. Not going to lie - we loved this!!

Chevron stripes. Check. Letters in red. Check.
 The amount of tape used for this was crazy.  Oy.

Another popular item is the fleece blanket. CG found one with owl fleece on one side so we used it for "O" day. We had the future littles name embroidered on it 
and then CG tied the fringe. So cute!

The artwork for "H" day all finished and wrapped in cello along with the letter H which CG glittered in silver.

 

 

 

Day 2 "H", Hand-me-downs and Handmade. The bag contains hand-me-down Sorority t's so that the new girls can sport their letters on campus. It gives them a head start on t's.

 CG forgot the glittered letter "C" on Monday so she added it to Day 2 with a note :)

The letters will spell out Chi O by the end of the week and then go up on the walls in the dorm rooms.

And Day 3 is "I" for Insignia. 

This is the day the girls get their "Big Letter Shirts" and items with their letters on it like car decals, tags, etc.

We wrapped it all up in Chi O colors and added the glittered letter "I".

And Day 4 is "O" for Owls. We used the Cricut to put a monogram on front of the bucket and an owl on the back. The blanket went in here along with a Lilly Chi O cup, the glitter letter O, an owl pillow,and an owl statue that has been handed down in CG's "family." Cello wrap and some owl ribbon completes the look :)

We added a big owl picture and a pretty vase with red and yellow flowers. "O" Day is complete.

Each day the "Bigs' include a note with 'clues" for the future littles. The hints are misleading as the intent is to remain a surprise until Big/Little reveal on the night after "O" day. It is such a fun week even though it's so busy getting everything ready.

And then the older sisters devise a method for 'revealing' themselves to the new girls for one last surprise!!

And then....

Big and Little are united... and mom gets a picture via text :)

Such a fun week and I love that the girls are so dedicated to creating a special and meaningful week and that making/crafting keepsakes is part of it! 

Instant (?) Dining Room Makeover

Yesterday we gave College Girl's Dining Room some color and style!
 It seemed like an instant makeover  there
but really prep had been going on off-site for quite some time :)
I draped my kitchen in plastic and got to work week before last.
It is so rainy that tarping the kitchen is about the only option for getting anything done.

My parents bought CG a chest from IKEA. It matches two that we 'ombre-d" for her new bedroom. More on that later but there are pics on the FB page. This gives her 3 identical sturdy wood chests and a lot of versatility for future moves (6 already in her college career!!) They can be used together for a long wall of storage, as bedside tables, as a TV stand or in the Dining Room like we did here. And we are all about furniture that offers storage. She is missing the big walk in closet and home that we called "The Carrie Bradshaw closet" :)

Two super cute Pottery Barn brackets that were bought for $5.00 at a consignment sale a year ago got a coat of SW Anjou Pear. They were the same thing but in 2 different finishes so primer and paint unified them.

Three coats of SW Lagoon went on the chest after a coat of primer. This is the yummiest turquoise color ever. I'm painting something this color for myself ASAP. A sample of this color painted the chest with some to spare.
 Makes it very economical to purchase lots of colors.

Terrible iphone pic but I bought some nicer bronze-ish knobs for the top drawer and sprayed (oil rubbed bronze) the wooden IKEA knobs the same color for the other two drawers. jazzed it up a bit and the knobs were 50% off at Hob Lob. So two cool knobs for $5.00. You can find some great knobs there and at World market for good prices.
 

I took two canvases that I had and brushed on all the colors that we were using in the other elements of the gallery wall and created two contemporary artworks to mix in with other more traditional elements. The Dining Room set is a great antique set from an estate sale that one of the roommates mom bought. The unchangeable aspects of the rental tend to be more contemporary so we are trying to blend the two looks together. After a coat of varnish on top they didn't look half bad :)

After much painting and putting framed artwork together I loaded up my car and headed to College Girl's place.  I had a bag of tools, furniture and artwork.
 I joked on IG that my car had art and soul yesterday - sorry. Bad pun.
But my Kia Soul was full to the top!
 After years of driving much larger cars it still amazes me what I get in this car!!

And this was the sky on the way. Yikes.
We only move in the rain. (Monsoons, actually!)
 See previous posts on this subject :)

Let the install begin. BTW, you have to be very flexible to hang those PB brackets.
Cute but a pain.
We put all the components on the table and started holding up things, discussing it and then arranging. I had thought some things would work in certain places but we ended up tweaking things as they went up. If it's not a gallery wall you are going to add to over time then it's nice to have a few extra items to try and possibly eliminate or move. It looks a lot different on a wall than it does laid out on a table or the floor. Interesting but fun process.

In progress...

I gathered up frames I had and bought a few at Goodwill for less than  $2.00.
Some I painted.
I added quotes and scrapbook paper backing in the colors that we were pulling from the inspiration fabric

I printed clip art straight off the computer onto photo paper- gives it a crisper look of a better piece of "art"/ Of course owls had to be in there somewhere - all 3 girls are Chi O's.

Trendy glass dishes from the dollar bins at Michael's. Just add a Command Strip.

Mirror from IKEA. They are less than 3 dollars - frame, mirror and all ready to hang. I already had that. Another quote in a frame I had, a copper pineapple mold from Goodwill that I sprayed coral, a basket I sprayed green, a paper mache ampersand I sprayed gold, and I printed all 3 of their monograms and put in frames to add to the wall. It is the South and they are sorority girls. And when they move on they can take the monogram picture with them as a keepsake.
My favorite candles come from Bath and Body Works in those great glass containers. I save them and reuse as votive holders so we put those on the PB shelves.

 
We recovered the chair seats in this trendy multi colored medallion fabric. It really updated the set and tied everything together. The fabric is an outdoor fabric so it should hold up well in a college household with lots of people in and out. It was on sale for $7.99 a yard. Two yards did the trick with some left over for another project. This is not a good picture. I need to try again with a real camera :) On a sunny day.

We shopped the Grands basement when we visited a couple of weeks ago
and chose this very nice brass lamp for the makeover. I bought the shade at World Market last week for 75% off. The inside was metallic silver embossed paper and I hit it with a coat of Krylon Metallic gold and it is one classy looking lamp. Added a tray, napkin holder and an owl to the top of the chest and it is finished!

 

Great improvement. College Girl did a great job deciding what and where to hang items on the gallery wall. We had fun working on this and then finished off the day with some pizza with our fav Kappa Sig and a sorority sister. College towns have the best pizza.

College Girl said it looks "homey now" and she was "obsessed" with the SW Lagoon
paint color that I chose.
Can't do anything about the light fixture  #rentalprobs

And we need some curtains on the adjacent wall.
 Another day.

Summer Colors and the $15.00 Patio Makeover!

I'm having a colorful start to Summer. Painting everything like crazy.
On my "list" for a while has been this sign in our backyard. We call it our "M.A.S.H." sign. Remember the show with Alan Alda? It was a family favorite - we still watch it and laugh. They had a sign in the middle of the compound with places and mileage and I always loved the show and the sign. About 10 years ago - maybe longer- we made one for the backyard with all of the beaches we have visited as a family.


Well, 10 years of Atlanta weather has taken its toll and I needed to add some beaches, so it is getting a major overhaul. The signs are spread out all over the table on the screened porch and are getting fresh coats of delicious Summer colored paint.
Also, on the agenda is a little project for College Girl's new place. Yes, she is on the move again. Seriously. Last Summer it was in to the Sorority House. This Summer it is into a super cute townhouse with two of her Chi O sisters. One will graduate next May but College Girl and the other sister have vowed to stay in this place for 2 years.... I'll believe it when I see it. Five moves in 3 years of college makes me doubtful :)
We moved her in an absolute monsoon - what an experience. All I can say is thank Heaven for a certain Kappa Sig and his truck, muscles and patience.
But now the fun part - settling in. As always, it is a low budget proposition.
While all the great paint colors were out I grabbed a square scrap of exterior plywood and gave it a coat of oil-based primer and then started painting.

 

Base coat in a great turquoise blue. Outline in SW Urbane Bronze.

 

Puffy white Summer clouds.

Adding the "fun" colors. Quick, messy brushstrokes with colors all blended together on the palette.

 

 

More color.

 

 

Whooo's a colorful guy?

More boards. More summery colors. I love those samples from
 Sherwin Williams and Lowe's.

I loaded up the finished painting of the Chi O owl, a little garden table we had (and used at a place she lived year before last), a string of colorful outdoor lights that we had in a storage box, a metal Ikea lantern that I used at Christmas and my pruning shears.

I headed to college Girl's new place and...

 

... after pruning overgrown bushes, cleaning off the little patio (thank you previous tenants for a bag of trash and the largest guy's tennis shoes I've ever seen ! ) and putting everything in place we had a sweet little spot to have a meal or sit and talk with friends. All I bought was the red patio umbrella for $14.99. Instant atmosphere for less than 15 dollars.

Hopefully I'll have "after" pics of the "M.A.S.H." sign soon.

Linking up: