July Chalkboard

April chalkboard

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Driftwood and pomegranates

I refinished my kitchen table so that it looks like driftwood and I love pomegranates so I thought they'd be delightfully beautiful together.

February chalkboard

Chalkboard art

I found a huge frame at Goodwill for $19 and thought I would find a mirror to put in it.  I tried all kinds of things and then finally thought that I could have a chalkboard.  G bought a piece of wood for $8 and had it cut at Lowe's to fit into the frame.  He liquid nailed it together.  Painted the frame gold, the wood with black chalkboard paint and called it my "Christmas present".  I thought it was perfect.  I may or may not have suggested that with me being down and out on the couch after surgery.  

I found an example of what I wanted on Pinterest and got out my chalk and drew it.  It's anything but perfect, but the message IS and I want to bust out in song whenever I walk by.  It's from my favorite music of ALL time.  Handel's Messiah.  

reyyr

Blue distressed dresser

I had a little black dresser in the hall downstairs and I felt like I wanted to update it a little and move it to the other corner.  I had a friend come over and put in a new outlet so that I could put a lamp there.

I spray painted it gold and then did a coat of blue over it.  I quickly took some sand paper and scuffed it up a bit until I liked the look.  Then I used my "weathered gray" stain over it to make it not quite so blue.

I added some legs so that it made it more of a piece of furniture rather than a cheapo dresser. And the cute drawer pulls don't hurt it either.

Made a huge difference and I am so happy with it.

Making my dad's hat

I'll be heading to my parents tomorrow morning with the kids in honor of Veteran's Day.  My dad is a Veteran and one of my biggest heroes.  I wanted to get him a hat that he could wear but I couldn't find one at the last minute.  So, I decided to customize a hat that I had found.  Here's how it works:

1. Get a piece of freezer paper and hold it up to the computer screen and trace whatever picture or words you want on your fabric.  Then cut it out with scissors or a razor blade thingy.  haha

2.  Then you're going to iron your template onto the fabric with the shiny side down.

 3.  Use fabric paint and paint in your stencil.  I remove the stencil almost immediately after I'm done painting so that it comes up really clean.

4.  There you go.  Your very own one of a kind hat, shirt, whatever.  It's awesome!!

Refinished dresser in my room

I just refinished this dresser in my bedroom.  It has red undertones so when I stained it with the weathered gray stain, I was somewhat worried.  But, it turned out imperfectly perfect.  It is gorgeous.  I added wheels to the bottom so that it would be a little taller and I like a little industrial here and there and I got crystal knobs for the drawers.  Oh, I love it.  I wanted to put it somewhere everyone could see it, but then I thought after twenty two years, it was perfectly fine having a pretty bedroom rather than the toss it in and slam the door room that I've always had.  Makes me happy.

Having tea in my laundry room?

Did you know that tea was once served in a woman's closet?  Ladies used to store their china in their closets rather than neat china cabinets or curios and then have their lady friends over for tea.  Right there in their closets.  Well, the armpit of my house is now pretty enough to serve tea in. Armpit no more!

Welcome to my laundry room.

I may just pull up a chair some day and enjoy my pretty little laundry room with its freshly painted walls, cabinets, moldings, doors, new hardware for the cabinets, shelf with things I like, and hidden hoses.  I might even invite my girlfriends over to enjoy it with me.  :)  Or get this....I might even keep up on my laundry so that it stays pretty.  :)  I'm so happy right now I can hardly even stand it.

A dune board

G and J left for the Kelso Sand Dunes today with the scout troop.  G has been waiting to go on this camp out since the minute he left it almost two years ago.  The troop made some sled things to slide down the dunes and J wanted to take a snow sled we have out in the garage.  But.....G wanted to make something.  I suggested he use an old skateboard that isn't ever used.  He was thrilled with the though.  We took off the wheels, filled in the holes with wood filler, sanded it down, painted it and when he was at school, I attached some leather strips for his feet.  He walked into his room and saw it on his bed and was so excited swearing it would be the fastest and best thing any of the boys had to use.  I could only hope for that.  I didn't want him disappointed.

He and J got back tonight and I couldn't wait to ask him how our little dune board worked out.  "It was awesome!  I went 30 miles an hour down the slopes that were steep.  Everyone tried it but I was the only one that could stay on it the whole time.  Thanks so much mom for helping me with that."

Those kinds of things make me happy.  Going to chalk it up to a dune board success.

Wizard Costume for pictures

So one of my friends on Facebook said this the other day.  "only in october do i wish i knew how to sew. and trying to make a wizard robe this year freaks me out! wishing i could be spared the pain and agony..."    I responded that I knew someone if she just asked.  Next thing I knew, she and her son were over at my house with a sketched out wizard costume.  The ten year old had drawn it himself and had even included a key so that I knew how to create his vision.  My friend and I just laughed at the situation.  They had picked out the fabrics and piping, and had just thought I could whip out something that looked more like a Power Ranger in my eyes along with some "Wizard" arms.  Which I could...but I knew that things would be walking the halls in the school, attending trunk-or-treats, Halloween, not to mention Instagram and Facebook and lastly my reputation.  You know, the three things around here.  Halloween costumes, Pinewood derby cars, and crazy hair days.  They left the sketch and the fabrics and told me not to go buy anything but to just use what they brought me.  I giggled as they walked out the front door wondering how in the world I was going to come up with that.  She told me that she would do our family pictures for helping her out.  Done!  I was totally in at that point.  The next day I raced to the store and picked up a couple dollar pattern of what I thought a wizard costume looked like and headed home.

I cut out inserts and did top stitching, hand sewed the piping around the neck and crossed my fingers that it would get the ten year old's approval.  I had reassured the mom that it wouldn't look like the sketch but it would look good.  I sent a text to my friend two days later saying that she could bring her boy over to visit me.

The moment of truth.....He was ecstatic!  He loved it.  It was perfect.  I was relieved beyond belief.  Check. Wizard costume made.  Hello family pictures in December when my big boys return home from a two year mission in Mexico and a first semester of college.  A great trade I think.

Guest bathroom

I painted the cabinets in the guest bathroom downstairs, got new hardware, replaced the mirror and got a new light fixture.  Makes me happy.

The island and industrial swivel stools

My new island and industrial swivel stools.  Makes me happy and the room is a lot less "chairy".  ;)

This picture is really dark.  The island has a bunch of wood and moldings built up on it and is really a dark brown.

MY fireplace

I've been in one of those projecting moods lately.  Seriously.  Like big projects, not just sweeping out the pantry.  This time....I pried off the tile around the fireplace, pulled off the "rock" wallpaper and put Airstone synthetic rocks up instead and framed in the window.  I LOVE it!!  Makes me so happy.

I saw the Airstone at Lowe's a few months ago.  I noticed that you could do the cuts with a hack saw.  That's right!  A saw that costs less than ten dollars and would save me a couple thousand dollars on manual labor.  I got busy in my work area (aka kitchen) and built me something that I am proud of.  Now my sister-in-law won't ask me if I have linoleum on my walls next time she comes over!

I would totally recommend this project.

Here is the before and the boys helping demolish it.

Here is the new one.  Here is MY fireplace.

My fire pit

Several months ago I saw this fire pit area on Pinterest.  I quickly pinned it hoping that I might someday implement it into my yard when the swing set was gone.

The more I looked at it, the more I had to have it!!  But...I had to do it myself.  Just because I could.  And...I'm like that.  :)  I ended up showing it to my mom and then got thinking aloud.  If I were to truly do it myself, I wouldn't be able to do all of those cuts on the bricks if I really wanted it a half circle.  So, we started looking through hundreds of fire pits on Houzz.  Then one got me giddy actually.  I could have straight lines and my bricks.  Sold!!

I may be about the most spontaneous person you'll ever meet.  The next morning we leveled the ground, over the course of the next few days, I purchased over six hundred blocks, loaded up my suburban several times and had three pallets delivered.  The kids helped me bring them all out back by either carrying them or loading them onto the dolly and dragging them through the rocks.  I stacked and stacked and glued and glued.  (liquid nails for masonry and brick)  Until....I had my very own fire pit and bench that can seat my entire family and room for many more.  The kids and I are happy and we love what we did together.  I wanted a real fire pit where we can cook s'mores, dutch oven potatoes, and pancakes on the griddle.  I'm thinking a cook out is in the near future.  :)

I had the old cement border ripped out, new paver borders put in, and the lawn extended four feet.  I put in three garden boxes, moved some huge rocks I dug out years ago, used a pick and dug twenty seven holes, went to Star Nursery several times, planted twenty seven plants and bushes, hooked up over fifty drippers and I'm happy to say that my back yard is ME!!  It is finished and I am so happy.  Happy, happy, happy.  I even like having a swing set in the back yard now that I chopped it all to heck and made it just two swings and new stain on it.  I cleaned out the bike area and moved the basketball hoop over to the corner so that it is out of the way and you never look into the sun when shooting.

Today I made a ...

 Ask me what I did today.  I made something.  hehe

Yip, my kitchen was a dust bowl with my sawing and sanding all day.  Three different moldings, two decorative pieces, nails, wool filler, a handsaw, kitchen knife, and white paint later....

No more track home mantel.  One made by my very own little self.  :)  I guess I'm happy.  I've been staring at it all afternoon.

Now for my next project.  Sign above the fireplace.  New baseboards.  Crown molding.  Frame in the flat screen.  Frame the mirror in the bathroom.  Different banister.  Faux paint the cabinets.  (Hire that one done) Tile the blacksplash.   And about a gazillion other things I've seen on pinterest.

What did you do today?