Want a free Silhouette? Me too!

Have you seen the new Silhouette cutting machines? From their site: It connects to your computer just like a printer, but instead of printing designs it cuts them with a small blade.

Imagine the possibilities you could do with this wonderful machine! Scrapbooking, vinyl lettering, glass etching, fabric designs-the ideas are endless!

Want to win one of these?

 Check out this post at Just a Girl for 4 opportunities to win one!
 
 And if that isn't enough, check out this post at Thrifty Decor Chick for 4 more opportunities.
 

What are waiting for? Go enter!!

Lazy Days of Summer

  

It is hot here. Really hot. We're lucky we have a wonderful swimming hole

less than one mile from our house. But you do need a four-wheel drive to get there. 

See those goggles? On my son?

   

See my son behind Otis the Waterdog? He couldn't do that last week. Then my eldest son bought him goggles and told him they would help him swim.  

   

Who knew? Sure not me. But he's swimming like a fish. Sometimes, older brothers are the best, aren't they!?!

  

And sometimes, they never stop being big brothers. LOL. I totally knew what he was up to!

 

But we love them, anyway. 

  

Oh, see that rock behind Mr. Goggles? It's  in the scene I just wrote for my new WIP! 

A List of Things...

First off, a big Congratulations and Good Luck to my wonderful critique partner, Gillian Layne, on her final in the Golden Heart! I couldn't think of anyone who deserves it more. Gillian is such a talented writer and such a wonderful friend, I cannot imagine trying to write without the support and advice of this wonderful person!

Second, I apologize for not posting since the winter. Sometimes, a person just needs to take a break, and I was definitely needing a break. I'm glad to say that my health has improved to the point where I am almost entirely back to normal. I still have difficulty remembering where things are when I put them up-but then my Mom assures me that is merely the effects of nearing 40 and not the result of a mini-stroke, LOL.

Third, for everyone that asked for a tutorial on the wallpaper, thank you. I started to do one but felt so silly because it was so simple. The first step is to put up the paintable wallpaper-the hardest thing about this step and the entire project is matching up the seams-I hate matching up the seams. Let it dry. I then took Minwax Stain in Dark Walnut and just painted it on. To get the different tones, I was really messy with the stain. I would soak a foam brush in it, then squeeze the stain onto the paper and let it run a minute before spreading it around. Let that dry and then stand back and admire your handiwork. Easiest home improvement project ever, I promise.

Fourth, I have finally found the new story that has been lurking in my mind for months. I have the prologue (the prologue actually came to me first and set the scene for the entire book), chapters 1 and 2, and the black moment. I am writing towards the black moment because after the prologue came to me, the black moment came to me. I really hope this works because I've never tried this type of writing before. While I was never a plotter, I still wrote in a linear fashion. We'll see where this route takes me and enjoy the ride. I guess this is extreme writing by the seat of your pants.

And finally, I have finished the hole in the wall doorway. Okay, I did not finish it by myself. I got in over my head (actually, what I got in was an electric outlet and my son kicked part of the wall down to tell me to stop. It scared him so badly he told his dad -who promptly took my saw from me!) and had to call my uncle to come and save the day. He done such a fabulous job! I still need to paint the trim in my living room, and get my decorations up and then I will have some pictures for you!

Want a sneak peek? Of course you do!

More to come, I promise!

Winter Wonderland?

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening

 

In the lane snow is glistening

 

A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight

 

Walking in a winter wonderland

When it snows, ain't it thrillin

Though your nose gets a chillin

We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way

Walking in a winter wonderland

And yes, I skipped through the lyrics because it was flipping cold outside!

Rocking Around the Hurricanes

Welcome if you're from Between Naps on the Porch!

I am loving me some hurricanes for this holiday season. When I saw a fabulous post on another blog highlighting how to make one-I had to give it a try.

I set my goals a little loftier than I should have when my daughter and I were at Micheal's and I saw one on sale for $7. I promptly informed her that I could make one cheaper. She promptly informed me that I was insane. WELL, who's laughing now? Me, that's who!

See that little hurricane with the beads and the amber ornament inside? The one with the big arrow pointed at it? It was $1 on clearance at Home Goods-the only thing I could find wrong with it was it needed washed. I kid you not!

See that silver plated candle stick? Same story-$1 at Home Goods but look as I might, I have yet to find anything wrong with it. I meant for the hurricane to go on this candlestick. I brought them home, scrubbed them clean, and hot glued them together.

Note to my readers, DO NOT HOT GLUE A HEAVY SILVER PLATED CANDLE STICK TO AN EXTREMELY LIGHT WEIGHT HURRICANE GLOBE!

Yeah, good thing I've got Mommy-hands and managed to catch that sucker before it came into contact with the floor. So I temporarily separated them by sitting them side by side while my pulse settled back to normal-beside my apothecary jars.

And then, while at Walmart craft section picking up some E6000 epoxy (because I was sure that I wasn't using hot glue again), I noticed this:

That huge hurricane globe was $3!! See the candlestick it sets on? $2 out of Wally's candle section. Made for each other, no? The slender taper holder in the middle? $1.

There you go.

For $8 I got a hurricane three times the size of Micheal's $7 one. For $1 and an apothecary jar I already had, I got a hurricane twice the size as Micheal's $7 one. For a buck, I got one the same size as Micheal's $7.

Pretty good, no?

What I've Been Up To

A big welcome if you're joining us from Donna's fabulous Saturday Nite Special. Don't forget to check out everyone else's wonderful entries.

Hello all! I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Mine was really great. And we followed it up with a quick shopping trip on Black Friday (night-not morning) and a great dinner out to celebrate my eldest's birthday. This entire week has taken me back to 1992 and my week long labor to bring him into this world. The dates and days were the same as back then and the entire week I would think "This time 17 years ago-I thought I was dying". Much easier to celebrate now with the distance of time.

Of course, I took time between memories to make a Thanksgiving dinner.We celebrated with my mom and my sister's family. My brother's family couldn't make it as they've all come down with the H1N1 virus. I feel for them, my house went through a bout of it and it's a nasty bug.

Also, I managed a little Christmas decorating and crafting! Look at me, Queen of Multi-tasking.


                  After only 3 months, guess what I've finally finished?

My dining room finally has things on the walls. Yippee!! I am so glad, now those hollow echoes will quit chasing me from the room when someone speaks. My neighbor gave me the old window, she has an entire stack of them in her basement and I think she thought I was insane when I asked her if I could have some of them to decorate with. I merely cleaned the glass and added a small ledge on the bottom of it.

I built these shelves not too long ago. These babies are 8 feet long! I love them and they're such a joy to decorate. Here they are, almost ready for Christmas. I think they could use a few more things. And I'm not sure about my garland ala The Nester style. It looks a little anemic in this photo.

Can you see that metal word? I got it at Michael's out of the $1 bin. It was a hideous neon green glittered covered atrocity that my daughter begged me not to buy. I didn't listen, obviously. Brought it home, sanded some glitter off and gave it a coat of Krylon's Brushed Metallic spray paint in Sesame Shimmer. I am so in love with this stuff-you'll see more of it in the following pictures.

Here's another word sign, but this one I left the glitter on and really liked how it turned out. A pleasant surprise. Those metal stars you see are from the Dollar Store. The hydrangeas are clip-ons I got at Big Lots a couple years ago for $0.35 a piece! Talk about a bargain.

Moving on to the kitchen...

While out, I stopped in at Homegoods and picked up the shadow box (it was slightly damaged and they gave me $5 off! Woo-hoo!) I promptly brought it home, took it apart, and started painting and decoupaging. Love how it turned out. And it proudly sets atop my $1.50 Goodwill shelf that I spray painted black.

Did you see this and it's mate in the photo above? Those are black frames that I picked up about 4 years ago at Gabriel Brothers for $1.99 a piece (no my memory isn't that good-they still had the price tag on the back). I took the cheap chipboard picture of an old soda ad, put a ($0.99 cent) piece of craft paper over it with Mod-Podge and hot glued a $1 ornament from the Dollar Store on it. I used Valspar spray paint to paint the frames and distressed them a bit to show the black. Loving them!!

But my favorite thing so far??

My hen!

I've had this wreath so long, I don't know where it's from or how much it cost. I'm guessing cheap, because it hasn't held up well at all. I picked up the hen, plunked the wreath on the tray, sit the hen back down and WOW! the change it made.

Want to see what I've been up to in the renovating department?

That's my kitchen counter and backsplash. That is also only about $32. A can of Valspar's Glossy Black paint, another can of High Shine Poly, and a roll of paintable wallpaper and I have brand spanking new counters and a backsplash. Can't beat that!

Now to conquer my fear of crown molding so I can redo my cabinets. The angles have got me perplexed, but as soon as I figure them out, I'll be sure to show you all.

Oh, and before I left for shopping yesterday evening, I tore down part of a wall to put in a doorway! The hubby is definitely loving that, let me tell you. Now to dig out the reciprocating saw and cut it out. Pictures to follow on that also.

So, what have you been up to?

From Goodwill find to Dog House to TV Cabinet

Here's my $20 Goodwill cabinet. Solid wood construction, except for the laminate top that my youngest quickly divested of its side strips.

 

Here's Butch who decided it would be best utilized as a dog house.

Sorry Butch, but I've got other plans!

 

Three coats of Glossy Black by Valspar. A pine top stained a dark walnut. A set of 6 inch legs and a quick rummage for all matching baskets in the house. Definitely not a dog house anymore.

See that bookshelf? It was plain wood and sat right on the floor on the bottom shelf. I bought matching 4 inch legs for it and put a couple coats of the left over paint on it-I think it turned out just as great as the cabinet!

Linked up to 

Between Naps on the Porch

Metamorphosis Mondays

Anyone else remodeling?

Since I've been remodeling the house, I've become addicted to designing/DIY blogs. There are some terrific blogs out there that teach a cheapo like me how to do some amazing things, all without bothering the hubby to help.

I have started redoing my kitchen, well, to be technical, I am finishing my kitchen since it was never actually 100% finished when we moved in 4 years ago. So imagine my delight to see a post on the fabulous Centsational Girl's site today with a chance to win a Price Pfister faucet! 

Hurry over and check it out, you never know, you just might win a terrific new faucet.

Finally, the decorating is starting...

Hello, all. Sorry to have been absent for so long. I've been having some health problems and am trying to get that under control. Just a fair warning for everyone, keep an eye on your blood pressure after you hit your mid-30's-it could seriously save your life, take my word for it.

I have finally gotten around to doing a little something with my dining room, though. I had an old dresser that I picked up at a yard sale several years ago. It was a gross black dresser trimmed in gold, but the lines of it struck my fancy and I bought it for $25. I gave it a good cleaning and a couple coats of white paint and when Otis the jealous dog decided to help me out and break one of the drawers I was painting, I decided I needed an open shelf with wicker baskets. He's such a talented designer, that dog.

I think it turned out pretty good, except that I was so anxious to share the pictures, I didn't put the hardware back on!

I swiped this finial from my sister. It was  this dingy gold sparkly stuff and I got creative and turned it into this...

Not to bad, huh. And best of all-FREE!! See those cool decorative orbs? The red fleur de lis and the embossed leather one I found at the dollar store for, you guessed it, $1 each! The twine ones, I made out of some leftover styrofoam balls from a few christmases ago. The wicker ones came in a clearance package of potpourri, that I bought just so I could dig them out.

The rest of the potpourri in a container I've had forever.I have to give a shout out to my talented sister for making this burlap blind for me. I was a genius and washed the burlap first, so she actually had to make it from the ragged and frayed piece of burlap that came out of the dryer. Note to self-NEVER wash unhemmed burlap! I haven't got the hardware to hang it yet, so I folded it lengthwise and draped it over the dresser. I love it so much, I may keep it here.

I bought this cabinet at Goodwill for $20. I plan to redo it - paint it and add some legs for height and I removed the doors and am going to put more baskets in it (because I went through a whole buying wicker basket phase a few years ago and only have a million around here), I think it will work beautifully in either my laundry room or kitchen (I can't decide which)...

someone thinks it's his new house.

I sense a problem here. I really really do.

Flood recovery is going well. Everyone is pitching in to help reseed the yard, I guess I could wait until Butch is distracted with yard work and sneak and work on my cabinet.

And in closing, here's an awesome poster my eldest made for his school's spirit week. Handrawn, isn't that awesome?!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

A Few Changes Around the House

Last week, my beautiful yard-seen behind my daughter here- went from this lush green lawn with a few toys scattered around it


to this-a desolate flood ravaged scene of destruction
(the water spurting from the fire hose is from the basement of my house-we're still raking mud out of there)

In better news, I got an idea and ran with it and made some changes before the destruction.

After a couple of weeks with power tools-my dining room went from this



to this


another angle of the beforeI love the change


I did get some outlet covers and put them up last night-and I still need to decorate. I got mini-shades for my chandelier that I need to recover and the fabric for my window treatments. But unfortunately, all of that will have to wait until I get the flood cleaned up.