My Suburban Kitchen

Delicious Recipes to Keep my Family of Four Happy and Full

How to Host a Stress Free Holiday Party

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I’m thrilled to share some party planning tips with you. While this post was sponsored, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Each year, we host a Christmas party for our friends and family. Since before Mathlete and I started dating, it was a tradition that I had and we both wanted to continue even after we became a couple. The parties pretty much stayed the same but now we had more people on the guest list. We’re in year 1 million of hosting our annual party and I get just as excited as I did when I had the first one. I’ve learned a little bit along the way though on how to hose a stress free holiday party.

Great tips on how to plan a stress free holiday party...or any party!

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DIY Two Layer Stenciled Pillow

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I am so excited to work with Tulip for your Home on this project.  While I was compensated for this work, all thoughts, opinions, and projects expressed here are my own. #tulipforyourhome

We are still working on the room redo we started last year as H’s 6th birthday present.  Yep…almost a full year ago we started this process and we are still.not.done.  I could go into a million reasons why but a lot of it is just plain not having enough hours in the day.  The other issue is that H has very specific thoughts and ideas about her room and I want to try and implement them in some way whenever possible.  When I had the chance to work with Tulip for your Home, I jumped at it because I thought it would be a fun way to personalize something for her room.  Using their stencils and new paint, we created a DIY two layer stenciled pillow that goes perfectly in her space. 

Super easy layered DIY stenciled pillow! #tulipforyourhome #ad

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Mason Jar Crafts: Rainbow Cupcake Stand #CraftyJars

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I am so excited to be working with The Blueprint Social and Consumer Crafts to create a mason jar craft as part of the August Street Team.

This year, I was planning H’s birthday party and really struggling with what to do to show off the cupcakes on the dessert table.  Last year, I simply used a store bought cupcake stand and was less than happy with it.  For August, I was partnered with Consumer Crafts and challenged to make something using mason jars.   From there, everything just fell into place to create a rainbow mason jar cupcake stand.

3 Tier Cupcake Platter with Label…

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Uses for Mason Jars – The Craft Edition

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Mason jars are the jack of all trades when it comes to storage, crafts and recipes.  There isn’t much that can’t be done with a mason jar.  In fact, they are growing in popularity so quickly that new sizes and colors are being introduced.  I recently picked up a bunch from a local yard sale and immediately starting search for uses for mason jars.  Today, I am sharing some of the ideas I found for using mason jars in crafts

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Furniture Upcycle: ASCP Chippendale Chair

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I was bored on one of my recent sick days {there have been way too many of them in my personal opinion} and was scouring Craigslist.   As I clicked from page to page I saw: Cabbot Wren Chippendale Chair (!).  Amazingly, when I emailed her, the chair was still available.   As if the chair was meant for me, she was headed out of town until the end of the weekend so I had time to actually get well before needing to pick it up!

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Flashback: Chalkboard Dipped Wine Glasses

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My hair is on fire.  Like almost literally…that is how crazy it is around here.  I’ve got kid stuff followed by a husband out of town…followed by me out of town {SNAP!}…then, we roll right into our big neighborhood yard sale where I am hoping to unload about 1/2 of our belongings this year.

So, over the course of the next few weeks, you are going to see some flashback posts here so I can remind you of how bad my photography was/is of some of the fun projects I’ve worked on in the past.  Don’t worry, they won’t all be flashbacks…I do have some new stuff thrown in there too.

Today, we start with one of my absolute favorites: chalkboard dipped wine glasses.

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I was cruising around Pinterest the other day and stumbled across a great project that I knew I had to try!

We do a bunch of entertaining and so this would really be great for keeping everyone’s wine glasses straight. I used to have some of those little charms but they always get lost or broken. This seems like a perfect alternative as we always have chalk around.

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Basement Reno: Installing the Railing

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Ok, as promised, a post about the railing for the basement! On one side of the stairs, there was already an existing railing that stayed. It will be re-stained but, other than not, unchanged.

On the opposite side, we had to build and install a small railing from where we cut out a portion of the wall.

We started with a newel that I hated.



So, after contemplating re-making the one I hated to avoid a special order, we went with the special order and got this beauty.

Mathlete, then, cut wood to go over the drywall which the newel would attach too.

Once that was all in place, a lot of measuring and sawing happened. {Sorry for the lack of specifics but I was on kid duty.}

On the opposite end from the newel, Mathlete attached a round wooden piece that attaches to the wall.

Once we reached this point, it was ready for staining.

That’s where I come in! I picked the Ebony stain from Minwax. The first coat went on beautifully.

I wanted a darker finish so I did a second coat.

Now, it is all stained and ready for spindles which {fingers crossed} will happen this upcoming weekend.

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shannah
Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T.,  Makin’ You Crave Monday at Mrs. Happy Homemaker, Just  Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative, Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, What’s in the Gunny Sack Linky Party at The Gunny Sack, Made by You Mondays at Skip to My Lou,  Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House, Making the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Creative Mondays at Clairejustineoxox,  Pintastic Monday Link Party at Sarah Dawn Designs, Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple,  Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Market Yourself Monday at Sumos Sweet Stuff,  More the Merrier Monday at DIY Home Sweet Home, Show Me What You Got at Our Delightful Home,  It’s Party Time at It’s So Very Cheri, DIY Project Parade at DIY Showoff, Calling All Crafters Monday at All Things Fee, Cure for the Common Monday at Lines Across, Tuesday Confessional at Crafty Confessions,  To Do Tuesday at The Blackberry Vine, Lil Luna Link Party at Lil Luna, Tell Me Tuesday at Me and My Boys, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe,  Tuesday Time Out at Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z, Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today’s Creative Blog, Nifty Thrift Tuesday at Coastal Charm, Time to Shine Party at a Diamond in the Stuff,  Uncommonly Yours Link Party at Uncommon Designs, Homemade by You at Pincushion Creations,  Craft and Tell at Cherished Bliss, Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings, One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Be Inspired at Elizebeth & Co., Tutorial Tuesday at With Hope Studios, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts,  Tasty Tuesday at Naptime Creations, Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie, the Tuesday Talent Show at Chef-N-Training, Open Call Tuesday at Salt Tree, Share It Linky Party at the Winthrop Chronicles. Tiptoe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles, Show & Share at Southern Lovely and Vintage Gwen,  Riverton Housewives Roundup at The Real Housewives of Riverton,. Sugar and Spice {Wednesday} at 733 Blog, From Dream to Reality at The DIY Dreamer, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show and Tell at Snap!, Penny Pinching Party at The Thrifty Home, We’re Organized Wednesday at Organize and Decorate Everything,  The Fun in Functional at Practically Functional, Wow Us Wednesday on Ginger Snap Crafts,  Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims, Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday at Frugally Sustainable, Wow Me Wednesdays at Polka Dots on Parade, 100 Ideas Under $100 at Beyond the Picket Fence, Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple, Taking a Time Out Thursday at Mom On Time Out, Hooking up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Link it Up Thursday at Seven Alive, Sweet Treats and Swanky Stuff at Something Swanky, Thursdays are Your Days at 52 Mantels, Creative Thursday Link Party at Michelle’s Tasty Creations,  Weekend Wonders at Love and Laundry,  Look at Me, Live, Laugh Linky Thursday at Live, Laugh Rowe, Thing’s I’ve Done Thursday at Bear Rabbit Bear, Creative Juice Link Party at Momnivore’s Dilemma, Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday, 20 Below Thursday at Christina’s Adventures, Creative Genius Party at The Creative Paige, Blog Stalking Thursday at The Crafty Blog Stalker, Kiss and Tell at I Gotta Create, Craft, , Catch a Glimpse Thursday at A Glimpse Inside, Thursday Temptation at Two Yellow Birds Decor, Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Share Awesomeness Thursdays at The 36th Avenue, Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty Decorating, P’Inspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection, Taylor House Thursday at The Taylor House,  I’m Lovin It at Tidy Mom, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge,  Friday Happy Hour at Craft, Scappy Happy, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Pity Party at 30 Days, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Freestyle Friday at Happy Hour Projects, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Free For All Friday at Young & Crafty, Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Ln, Fancy This at Truly Lovely Blog, It’s a Hodgepodge Friday at It’s a Hodgepodge Life, Lovely Craft Weekend at Lovely Crafty Home, the Featured Friday Free for All at Five Days, Five Ways, the Featured Friday Linky Party at Blissful and Domestic, Shine on Fridays at One Artsy Mama, the Anything Goes Linky Party at Bacon Time, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, Do Something Crafty at The Crafty Nest, the Weekend Link Party at Lolly Jane Boutique, the Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Strut Yourself Saturday at Six Sisters Stuff, Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different, Act Normal,  Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, the Sunday Scoop at I Heart Naptime and the Before and After Party at Thrifty Décor Chick.  

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

A New Crafting Table

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When we lived in our townhouse, we had a little kitchen table from Ikea.  As out family has grown, that table just gotten way too small for us.  So, we went and bought a new table and planned to sell the old table. Then, we started finishing the basement and decided to use the table as a craft able instead.

Of course, I couldn’t just throw an old kitchen table down in my new craft room. I did a little searching on the old standby: Pinterest and found some great ideas.

So, out came the paint!

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Stepping Up and Stepping Out

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This little isn’t quite so little anymore

She turns 5 really soon {too soon?} and is all about being Miss Independent recently.  One thing holds her back a little though…height!
She loves picking out her own clothes and getting dressed but can’t exactly reach them in the closet. 
Ikea can fix that though…enter their wooden step stool

It may actually be a little too tall but it comes at a good price AND unfinished so we can do pretty much anything we want with it.  No sanding needed!

Ready for some Ikea upcycling? Let’s go.

The princess chose two shades of pink: Glidden Watermelon Smoothie and Pink Carnation.  She requested that the whole thing be Watermelon Smoothie but we added in some of the pink carnation at the end.

While we were at Home Depot, she saw this cute little Disney stencil and so we grabbed it {I am pretty sure it was the princesses on the front that caught her eye}.

I let her do a little bit of the stenciling until she got bored.  Clearly she isn’t as into the DIY thing as her mom.

The stool fits perfect into her closet and she can use it to get her clothes down each morning.

There is nothing like getting a great solution out of a $10 product

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shannah
Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T.,  Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, What’s in the Gunny Sack Linky Party at The Gunny Sack, I Made the World Cuter Today at Making the World Cuter, Weekend Warrior Party at Ask Anna, Brag Monday at the Graphics Fairy, Making the Scene Monday at Alderberry Hill, Creative Mondays at Clairejustineoxox, Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple, Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, Market Yourself Monday at Sumos Sweet Stuff, the Craft Catwalk and Embellishing Life, More the Merrier Monday at DIY Home Sweet Home, Show Me What You Got at Our Delightful Home, Mauvin’ Monday at Vintage Mauve, It’s Party Time at It’s So Very Cheri, DIY Project Parade at DIY Showoff, Insprire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds, Calling All Crafters Monday at All Things Fee, Monday Craft Party at Polly Want a Crafter, Cure for the Common Monday at Lines Across, Tuesday Confessional at Crafty Confessions, Tell Me Tuesday at Me and My Boys, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Tuesday Time Out at Reasons to Skip the Housework, Tutorials and Tips at Home Stories A to Z, Get Your Craft on Tuesday at Today’s Creative Blog, Nifty Thrift Tuesday at Coastal Charm, Time to Shine Party at a Diamond in the Stuff,  Uncommonly Yours Link Party at Uncommon Designs, Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings, Terrific Under Ten Tuesday at At Home with K, One Project at a Time at A Bowl Full of Lemons, Be Inspired at Elizebeth & Co., Tutorial Tuesday at With Hope Studios, Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie, the Tuesday Talent Show at Chef-N-Training, Open Call Tuesday at Salt Tree, Share It Linky Party at the Winthrop Chronicles. Naturally Nifty Linky Party at Natural Nesters, Tiptoe Thru Tuesday at Crayon Freckles, Show & Share at Southern Lovely and Vintage Gwen, Will Craft For at Tales of a Trophy Wife, Hoo’s Got Talent at Nightowl Crafting, Sugar & Spice {Wednesday} at 733 Blog, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, Show and Tell at Snap!, Penny Pinching Partyat The Thrifty Home, We’re Organized Wednesday at Organize and Decorate Everything, Wow Us Wednesday on Ginger Snap Crafts, What’s New Wednesday at Grateful Belly, Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims, Inspiring Creativity at Dragonfly Designs, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways Wednesday at Frugally Sustainable, Wow Me Wednesdays at Polka Dots on Parade, 100 Ideas Under $100 at Beyond the Picket Fence, the Crafty Sasse Wednesday Linky Party at the Sasse Life,  Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple, Taking a Time Out Thursday at Mom On Time Out, Hooking up with HoH at House of Hepworths, Look at Me, Live, Laugh Linky Thursday at Live, Laugh Rowe, Spread the Love at Love Notes by Lauryn, Thing’s I’ve Done Thursday at Bear Rabbit Bear, Creative Juice Link Party at Momnivore’s Dilemma, Crafty Soiree at Yesterday on Tuesday, 20 Below Thursday at Christina’s Adventures, Creative Genius Party at The Creative Paige, Kiss and Tell at I Gotta Create, Craft, Scrappy Happy Me Thursday at Craft, Scappy Happy, Catch a Glimpse Thursday at A Glimpse Inside, Thursday Temptation at Two Yellow Birds Decor, Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks, Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans, Share Awesomeness Thursdays atThe 36th Avenue, Thrifty Thursday at Thrifty Decorating, P’Inspirational Thursday at The Artsy Girl Connection, Taylor House Thursday at The Taylor House, Feature Yourself Friday at Fingerprints on the Fridge,  Share What You Did Friday at Two Sasters, Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous, Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, The Pity Party at 30 Days, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Share Day at Just a Girl, Freestyle Friday at Happy Hour Projects, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Free For All Friday at Young & Crafty, Fresh Friday Link Party at Release Me Creations, Project Party WEekend at Bubbly Nature Creations, Weekend Show Off Party at Ladybird Ln, Fancy This at Truly Lovely Blog, It’s a Hodgepodge Friday at It’s a Hodgepodge Life, Lovely Craft Weekend at Lovely Crafty Home, the Featured Friday Free for All at Five Days, Five Ways, the Featured Friday Linky Party at Blissful and Domestic, Shine on Fridays at One Artsy Mama, the Anything Goes Linky Party at Bacon Time, Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday Link Party at Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons, Do Something Crafty at The Crafty Nest, the Weekdend Link Party at Lolly Jane Boutique, the Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello, Vintage Inspiration Friday at Common Ground, Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different, Act Normal,  Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things, the Sunday Scoop at I Heart Naptime and the Before and After Party at Thrifty Décor Chick.  

© 2012 Just Us Four.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.