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!

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?