Gingham Goat

Bench Redo

2010-07-30T15:19:00.000-07:00

I rescued this old bench in the storage shed of our last house. I threw a coat of primer on it planning on doing more with it someday but never got any farther! Today I decided it was time to finish what I started, I gave it a couple good coats of white spray paint. Here is a picture of it all painted up. Then I got the necessity's for adding a picture to the top. Dr Pepper, and my computer to watch a show while I worked.

I cut stencils from my Cricut, traced them out and filled them in. I set it our under a couple Pine trees by the bird feeder in the front yard a perfect place to relax!

I feel that something is missing though. Can't quite put my finger on it yet. I have to stare at it a bit and see what jumps out at me. Any suggestions?

Wilt Proof Flowers

2010-07-28T13:42:00.000-07:00

My table has been lacking in the excitement department lately. I like to keep fresh flowers in the house but in this heat we have been having they just don't last more then a day or two! So I decided to take matters into my own hands. I accomplished two tasks while making these flowers. Our house has lilac bushes on 3 sides and they are in desperate need of some dead branch removal. So I went to work and picked out some of the smaller branches to make my flowers. I stuck them in some dollar store vases and stuck some leftover fabric flowers. In about 5 minuets and the cost of 3 vases I had "flowers" that won't wilt in this miserable heat!!

New Sponsor!

2010-07-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

I would like to introduce you to my first sponsor! Tangle Ridge Furniture. They build quality furniture out of their home. It is rustic and western decor that fits with any decor! I bought a coffee table from them a LOVE it! It is sturdy enough to handle my kids climbing all over it but also looks awesome in my living room! They also offer smaller decor items such as candle holders, photo albums, and jewelry boxes. Have an idea of something you want? Email them! They also do custom orders! Here are a few things that can be found out their web site!

I love this rustic barn wood bathroom cabinet!

Fishin Sign

2010-07-26T08:41:00.001-07:00

Mom went into the hospital on Tues so my spare time all week was spent visiting with her instead of making something. I was having major withdrawals by Friday so I spent some time on a little sign I had been wanting to make. I didn't get any pictures of the process because I was so excited to get to set down and make something!
I had seen these paddles at Michales a while back and tucked them away in the little list of things I want to make. I made this sign for the the wall when you go down to the basement. My husband has his little "man cave" in the basement where he has all his mounts and hunting and fishing things displayed. I was afraid it would look too much like the paddle that you use on your children but I think the stripes made it look more like a boat paddle. I painted it a light gray and then painted the stripes on. I used my cricut to cut out the stencils for the words. I sanded it down and brushed some brown glaze over the top.
I really loved these little paddles and have a plan for using them in my bathroom down there also! I couldn't get a good picture of it with out getting glare from somewhere!

Dog Bed with Flair

2010-07-19T12:12:00.000-07:00

Meet our family fur ball Harvey. His main job around the house is floor clean-up, and he takes his position quite seriously. He's great with the kids, taking anything they dish out without so much as a growl. He is a lot of fun to have around and has his own little entertaining personality.

Harvey needed a new bed so I hit Goodwill and found this little suitcase for $2.99.

I pried the hinges apart and took off the top half. Taped up the hardware and lightly sanded it down.

Next I gave it a couple coats of spray paint and screwed some small blocks to the bottom.

I made a pillow case out of some material I found at Hobby Lobby and covered an old pillow for the inside. Not sure if he will like this better then my favorite chair, but so far he seems to like it!

Clothes Hanger Picture Hangers

2010-07-19T07:48:00.001-07:00

I saw this idea a few years ago in Good Housekeeping and loved the simplicity of the idea. I stored it away in my "To do someday" files. I decided to work on it this weekend and it is so simple I loved it! I got a pack of 4 pants hangers for $3.50 at Walmart. Dug out some black and gray card stock and our old but most recent family pictures and went to work!

The trickiest part of the whole project was figuring out how to hang them on the wall. I put two nails under the hing part and hopefully that holds. The boys tend to leave doors open and sometimes we get the vacuum effect going on through the house. Hopefully they won't get knocked off!

Baby Shower!!

2010-07-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I am going to a Baby Shower Brunch for my cousin's wife. While I harbor a secret jealousy of those having babies right now I decided to whip up some gifts. I have both ends covered on this one...burp rags, designer wipe case and a Poopy Clutch (diaper and wipe holder).

First I made a designer wipes case out of a cute scrap of fabric I had.

I found it worked to use the little opening spot at the top of the case to hold down the fabric while I traced the top edges of the case.

I used modge podge to glue the pieces to the top. The layer of glue I put on the top of the fabric left it pretty rough so I took a light grit sanding block to it and it smoothed it right out!

I also made some burp cloths using flannel and terry cloth. I bought a 1/2 yard of terry cloth and a 1/4 yard of 2 different prints of flannel. I was able to get 6 cloths out the fabric with hardly anything left over. I used some embroidery floss and tied knots in them to keep to the two fabrics together.

I saw this tutorial for the Poopy Clutch at I Still Love You and knew I had to make one to go along with the designer wipes case! It was soo easy to make!

Hope this post all makes sense. Im writing this at 12 pm since I just got home from a girls night with my friend Erin. We have been dieing to go see Eclipse since it came out and finally made it! I can't wait for the next one to come out, and am so bummed it's the last!!

Jute and Hemp Balls

2010-07-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Being the mom of 2 wildly busy boys I often find quite interesting photos on my camera! My 3 yr old loves to take pictures of everything...I mean everything! My 5 yr old loves to pose with his latest creation so it all works out quite well for both of them! Here is a picture I found when downloading the pictures for today's post. Jacob did quite well with his photography skills on this one! We always have one super hero or another popping in on us through out the day here and he captured this one of muscle man quite well!

There were more...way more. Mostly of the disturbingly messy basement. Due to their graphic nature I chose to delete those rather then share them!!

I have been looking for great filler balls for some of my dishes around the house and about dropped in the isle when I saw 1 ball was 4.99! Seriously! It would take me forever to fill one bowl! So I picked up some Jute and Hemp and various sizes of Styrofoam balls and went to work.
I wrapped each ball with Jute, Hemp or a mix of both using hot glue.

Jute is thicker and quicker to wrap then the hemp so I only did solid hemp with the smaller balls. On some of the bigger ones I made some hemp braids and add those just on the ends or middle.

I will add one cautionary note: This burns the stink out of your fingers! I did discover that my thumbs are much tougher then my finger tips! Yikes!

Door Becomes Headboard

2010-07-14T20:58:00.001-07:00

The previous owners left behind a lot of junk in the barn when they moved out. We did find some pretty neat treasures when we were filling the dumpster! This old door caught my eye when we pulled it out of the pile and I knew I had to make it into something! Since the boys would need headboards for their new beds and this door would make perfect ones!!

We cut the door down and added 2x6 boards to each side to add a little on the length and add legs.

I lightly sanded the headboards and put a coat of primer and paint on. The door had quite a few dents and dings which I loved because it added to the character of headboards. The best part was the total cost of these headboards was $1.02 for the 2x6. We got both boards out of the cull bin at Lowe's for a whopping .51 cents a piece! I love a cheap make over!!

The Boys Room Is Compleate!

2010-07-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

When we found out we were going to move I started dreaming about decorating the boys room. I found this picture some where on the web and it became my inspiration! I love the soft blue and white with the bold red accent.

So this is my " on a budget" version.

I painted a canvas with the boys fist initial. I blotted the paint back off with a paper towel and it gave it a great faded antique look.

I went with a bi-plane theme. The boys and I both agreed they look pretty cool and it is something that can grow with them. I got these wooden propellers off eBay for 3.50 (with free shipping!!) and painted them up and sanded them back down. I found the frame at Michale's in the As Is section. It was broken on the side and was marked down to 4.99. I glued up the side and painted it to match. I cut a piece of card board and covered it with drop cloth and glued the props to the cloth.

I had made little book holders for the boys a while back.

I also found these 1931 authentic bi-plane ads on eBay for 5.oo (also with free shipping!) The frame was another Michales clearance for 5.00. I painted up the frame to match and waa laa! Cheap wall art!

I found the cute little table at Hobby Lobby today. They have a great clearance on some of their furniture so I found this little guy for 21.99! I haven't decided if I want to paint it up or just leave it as it is. It has a great vintage look to it all on its own!

I just realized I didn't take pictures of the 2 wooden bi-planes that we hung from the ceiling with fishing line or the metal bi-planes on their dresser! I found all of them at Hobby Lobby and of course waited till they were 50% off!

So the grand total for my budget version is:$131.42

Wall paint-$25

Red accent paint-$5 (I found the perfect shade of red in the oops paint at Lowe's)

Propeller wall art-$8.49

2 Framed Bi-plane ads-$15

2 Bed sets from Walmart-$32 (These were on clearance!)
Hobby Lobby table-$21.99

6 wooden/metal bi-planes-23.94

The we needed frames for the beds since the boys had a bunk bed before. Which I sold for $75 after we moved in! We paid $40 for them 3 yrs ago! Craig's list is simply a-mazing!! I found the frames on FreeCycle.org. So if you add the $75 back in the total spent was just $56.42! Not too bad to redo a whole room!

Ballard Alphabet Ball Knock Off

2010-07-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

I have been seriously adoring these alphabet balls at Ballard's. They have always been sold out though, and I'm not sure of the price. I did see them at a little store for a buck a piece. Not too bad if you only want a few but I wanted to use them as filler and that would add up! So I came up with my own knock off version...

I got 2 packs of 6 ping pong balls for around $2.50 a piece. I used a upside down egg carton and spray painted them a antique white.

Then I cut out vinyl letters on my Cricut about a 1 1/2 inches. I only used 1 letter per ball but as I look at the Ballard version I might go back and add more that way you don't have to arrange them so carefully. For $5 Im pretty happy with the results!

Old Fixer Upper Scale

2010-07-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

While perusing our local Goodwill the other day I saw this old scale. It was missing the top part that you set things on but the rest was in great shape! I knew I had to have it! As I picked up the scale I noticed a white square plate next to it! It was perfect for attaching to the top to make the flat do-hickey that was missing!

I used some epoxy to attach it to the top and it became the perfect place to set out our fruit! My hope it that if I can see it I will eat it more then the chocolate. Until they make a chocolate apple its doubtful, but worth a shot!

Key Hole Canvas

2010-07-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

The summer really kicks my tushy! I can't seem to get everything done in a day and then have time to sit down and blog about it! It's been forever since Ive posted and so I have lots to share!

I found these adorable Key Holes in the scrapbook section at Michales and thought they would look adorable on canvas. So I took a 5x7 canvas and brush brown glaze on it and wiped it back off.

Then I took my needle punch and poked holes in the canvas where the brads would go after I lined them all out and centered them. Then I set the key holes and brads and ta-da! A quick 5 min project that now I have to find a place for!!

Easy Chili Relleno's

2010-05-26T08:11:00.000-07:00

Chili Relleno's are my absolute fav Mexican dish! After our favorite Mexican restaurant closed down I was determined to learn how to make my own! It's much easier then I thought it would be!

You will need: Anaheim peppers
Egg roll wrappers

Your choice of cheese, Mozzarella, Cheddar or Cream Cheese
Pan and oil or deep fryer

Place your peppers on a cookie sheet in the oven on high broil. You will want your pepper to blister. This usually takes about 5 min but will varies on the size of the pepper. Turn the peppers so they are blistered all the way around.

After your peppers are have blistered as much as possible place them in a plastic bag and leave them for 10 min. This will make the peppers "sweat" and make it easier to remove the skin. They will look like this...

Peel your peppers, removing as much skin as possible. Cut the pepper in half and then cut length wise and fill with cheese.

Wrap the stuffed pepper half in an egg roll wrapper egg roll style.

Place the wrapped pepper in hot oil and fry it til crispy. These are great topped with salsa, enchilada sauce and sour cream.

A few chili facts! The "heat" from the pepper comes from the oil's in the seeds. They more you handle your pepper the hotter it will be. Putting your peppers in the fridge will chili the oils and make the peppers less hot.

Drop cloth addiction!

2010-05-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

I have a serious addiction to drop cloth! I love love love the look of the material! Not to mention that you can get it at a serious bargain compared to purchasing material at a fabric store! I bought a 9ft x 6ft cloth and have gotten 2 french door curtains, a valance and a basket liner out of it! Pretty sure there's some good savings there compared to what you would pay for already made ones!

I don't have my french door curtains hung yet as I'm in the process of sanding and staining those but here is the valance I made. I'm a self taught sewer and am always quite excited when my projects turn out as I intended! I seem to do better with making up my own patterns then I do with using the store bought ones! For this valance I thought I'd try my hand at doing a ruffle. It turned out pretty good in my opinion!

I have some serious plans for those cabinets too! Oh, and Im meeting my Aunt next month to pick up her old embroidery machine. How great would this fabric look with something embroidered in black??

Boys room teaser

2010-05-19T09:25:00.001-07:00

When we moved into this house the boys room was pink. This didn't go over very well with my youngest who detests pink! My cousin taught him that "Pink makes you stink" and he is fully convinced that it is true! So their room was the first to get madeover. In the old houseI spent days painting murals on the wall. Thomas the Tank, barns, sheep, and pirates. I enjoyed painting the walls as well as showing the boys the completed project! In our new house their room is much smaller and I have lots of painting on my plate so I thought I would go with something much simpler. I was super excited to find the deep red that I wanted to use as an accent color on the oops shelf at Lowes!

I picked up some canvas at Hobby Lobby and used my Cricut to make a stencil for the first letter of each of their names. I painted it on and then blotted it back off. I love the faded look I got!

I found a couple vintage biplane ads on eBay for 3.50 and the frames on clearance at Michales for $5.99

I also found these propellers on eBay. I got all 3 of them for $4.75. Painted on some stripes and sanded them back down a little bit...

Then glued them to the back of this frame. Another Michales clearance purchase for 3.60. I wrapped the back in drop cloth (my latest obsession!!)

I love the simple look of their room. It is something that the boys won't out grow for quite a while and the pops of red here and there don't over do the small room. I spent a total of $29.83 on everything and got a whole new look. I am working on some headboards made from an old 6 panel door left in our barn. Once I get those done I will give you the full reveal!

First project down!

2010-05-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance this weekend to get a few projects done! It was perfect weather for project day Saturday. It started raining here Friday afternoon and didn't stop until Saturday evening. So I decided to tackle the fireplace. The brick was a peachy-pink which brought out the pink in the carpet.

I also started on the living room walls this weekend. It sure feels good to cover up those dirty white walls! I wanted to use a gray but every gray sample I brought home looked metallic when the sun hit it. As of right now we don't have a ceiling light in our living room so our light is either lamps or sun. So I went with a blue-gray which turned out to be more of a blue. A color I swore wasn't going to put in this house! We had it in the bathroom, boys bedroom, our room and the basement of the old house. All in different shades but still felt so over the color blue! Maybe this will grow on me once I get stuff hung up. That's what I love about paint, if you don't like it you can change it!

A few before and afters of our old house

2010-05-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

I had high (and admittedly completely out of reach) hopes of actually being able to start posting before and afters of the new house at this point. Apparently, 1.5 weeks is not enough time for me to get much more then some unpacking done! Who woulda thought the 4 extra kids running around would slow me down THAT much?...Really? So, much to the dismay of my I wanna have a blog itch, I will have to stick with sharing some of our old house with you until I can make it to the bottom of my pile of boxes!

My husband and I bought our first home four and a half years ago when the real estate market was booming and zooming. Every time we found a house that fit our requirements (basement, 3 bedrooms and 2 car garage) it was gone before we could even get an offer in! Along the way we learned a lot about buying a home. First lesson learned, have a good agent. One that has your best interests at heart, not her own! I could go on about that all day, but I'll spare you all the pain of enduring that! We grabbed up this house knowing we were going to have to put a lot into in to make it the home we wanted. Lucky for me, my husband is a awesome carpenter and was inspired as much as I was to make lots of changes!

So without further adieu and blah blah blahing here are the pictures....(que drum roll here)

For the life of me I can't get this picture to stay in it place! My husband built this butcher block counter top with a leaf inlay.

Outside shortly after we bought the place. We had already replaced the front door and were too excited to get it done to wait for pictures!!

After...photos from our listing

World's cutes little helper! He doesn't look anything like that anymore!:(

I failed to take before pics of most of our remodeling so these are mostly afters with a few before tossed in the mix!

Man cave in our teeny tiny basement

I'm pretty sure the bathroom was really this dark and gloomy-not an effect of my poor camera skills

More of my husbands skills! He built the corner cabinet and sink.