Blessings

I look back at the past year as it has flashed by me. I pause to say thank you to all who have touched my life and family. I am thankful for

• Jesus Christ who died on the cross for all mankind
• my husband who is my perfect soul mate
• the daughter that makes me laugh and keeps it real for all of us
• the son in Afghanistan, doing his job to protect our country and making us all proud
• his beautiful wife and new daughter that are the greatest bonus gift to our family
• my brothers and their wonderful wives and families
• my parents that have given their love unselfishly

I hope to keep all these things in focus as this next year will surely rush by in another blur.

See ya next year with a fresh blog and pics. Happy New Year to all!!!

Vintage Greetings

In this season of reflection, I was browsing vintage Christmas cards from years past. My husband's aunt also saved many of her cards also.....a kindred soul. Her collection is from the 1940's and so precious. They all make you just smile.

I am sending all of my friends a Christmas hug and best wishes and hope you can appreciate all the many blessings we enjoy every day.

Crystal glimmer

This another way to clear the 'armoire' craft stash- Make A Lamp Shade of Crystals. The beautiful dainty lamp was a treasure from a recent garage sale, but alas, no shade. AHA! I know where one is...in my stash of junque.

I wrapped the frame with some vintage seam binding from my Grandmother's stash.

There was an assortment of chandi shine in a box. I am sure I have more, but that may be in another armoire assortment. Just hang them around the frame and than add some crystals BTY I scored at wallyworld recently.

And Voila! Now, the precious pink lamp has an appropriate shade to compliment it's inner glamour.

Does anyone remember shoe-clips? They were so practical to dress up a basic pump and have a whole new shoe. Now, you can add them to your lamp shade too..Who Knew?
Then I had to add a pair of earrings in the softest pink to match the base.

And these also came from Mom's (grandmother)stash. This is her picture at her 80th? birthday. Wasn't she just beautiful? Miss her daily, but she'd love all these projects and would be right there with me and have a ton of her own creative ideas.

The beauty of this shade is getting to add items as they are discovered.

Go discover something to create today and free yourself from the stress of holiday shopping.

Double Duty Tags

Brrrrrr....it's COLD outside around here. I hope you are keeping warm and sipping your hot chocolate with your elves. I made a few simple tags this week. I'll have glitter around here for months to prove it too. These are so simple and fun with so much impact. Beware that Merry Christmas is a long group of letters.
But the bonus to Merry Christmas is that on the REVERSE side, it can say HAPPY FALL YALL!

I am all about making a decoration multi use and this one works for me. Hope it works for my fav S-I-L.

Happy Crafting Gals!!

Christmas Kitties

We interrupt our holiday projects and shopping to share a Kitty Saga.

The news is out around the countryside. We are officially a haven for handicap cats! ANOTHER cat found it's way to our house by way of a neglectful owner in a passing vehicle!! She is a beautiful cat and was 'with child'. Actually 3 'childs'.

We realized a couple of weeks ago that Momma Cat is partially blind. She only sees large shapes. We have to speak to her to ease her tension as we approach her. She is so lovable and was a house pet at one time. It didn't take her long to become friendly with us. Chester is another story. Her mother instincts are in full force and he is not allowed in their zone. The kittens are now 5 weeks old and she recently moved them to our garage. Smart momma that she is....near the food and protection. Just in the nick of time, because it is freezing (actually colder than freezing this week). We have them a heat lamp and lots of bedding to keep warm. They are all adorable and we have finally been able to get them used to human contact. It's time for them to find homes with worthy families. Lot's of entertainment is bundled in each of these treasures.

Keep good thoughts for these precious bundles that someone wants to adopt these cuties.

I'll get back to another recent project tomorrow.

Snowman parade

Snowmen have invaded my paint table! These adorable cuties have been in my stash for over 5 years. Oh My! I am way overdue in clearing out my craft stash. Don't you just love the bisque quality? So simple and unadorned, classic.....Hmmm, do I paint....not paint.....well, the paint won, so bring out the brushes.

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Now, doesn't everyone use their serger to dry ornaments?.....................
Here is a party of snowmen in all their festive outfits waiting for the glitter storm.

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Come in from the glitter storm and grab a cup of cocoa. Hope you enjoyed the snowman parade. Come back for another post soon on another project just off the workbench.

Paint the bathroom, company's comin

Hi, welcome to a quick tour of a project in the guest bath. The guests will be arriving and I've been cleaning house and freshening the Christmas reds in the rest of the house. This room hasn't been touched yet by the decorating elves, but thought I'd share a few pics of the blank palette.
When we purchased this home a few years ago, the bathrooms were dated and the countertops were in sorry shape and had the original vintage color....NOT the desirable vintage color either. There were many other priorities, but I couldn't live with the cracked counters. Paint to the rescue! Drag out the bondo-putty-goo stuff (normally used to repair car bodies) to repair the edges. That worked very well. I didn't even lift the sink basin, just painted up to the edge of the rim. Conventional craft acrylics and faux marble techniques and a couple of coats of polyurethane to finish. Voila! Five years later it is holding up great for just a 1 year bandage project.

After removing the wallpaper that was in this room, I did the usual prep and then started layering. The base color matched the yellow tile to help it all blend in and disappear. The preferred look was a worn paint finish that would allow the wallpaper to peak through. Actually that was my cheat. I photocopied the fabric from the curtains and glued some pieces onto the wall to create my own personal vintage paper. Spackle is my friend and was used to create a plaster look and then distressed with sandpaper and general scraping.

Dry brush a soft creamy white over the entire wall to tone the golden yellow paint down a notch.

Here is a shot of the shower treatment. I love layers and this one has it with the 2 sets of shower curtains plus the liner and then the valance to finish it all off.
Well, that's it for making a small space more tolerable. I hope you enjoyed the tour and y'all come back soon, ya hear?!

OUch!

OUch!

That is what the headlines were saying in Lubbock. How true. We are licking our wounds today, but will heal and become stronger. OU deserved that win and they came out to claim it too.

I do have a positive pic to share in this day of gloom. In the blue mood theme, I share some of my old canning jars from my grandmother. Doesn't that beautiful turquoise blue just lift your spirits?....sigh...... We savor the bounty of our gardens in the midst of winter from our canned goods.

We are also reminded of the plentiful bounty that God showers upon us daily and be thankful.

Texas Tech vs. OU

What more needs to be said?!!

Get your guns up TECHsans!

Thanks for stopping by and hope you enjoy the game.

Old Furniture and Chandi's

My cup runneth over! More button love for International Button Week. Come on across the street with me to my friends house....
This week I was able to brush up on my paint skills. My neighbor had the most clever use for an old chest. Bear with me on the pics. I was battling intense light from a nearby window and my trusty point and shoot was doing the best it could.

It had doors on top and the 3 drawers. A coat of black paint and new knobs became a new canvas for a little decorative painting. They had found a botanical print to be interpreted onto the doors and on a couple of the drawers....Now, you're wondering How Clever is That? not much in itself.....but,

This old chest was transformed into a computer desk. The pullout drawers behind the double doors were removed to make room for the monitor.

The top drawer was removed and replaced as a false front that drops down. The keyboard pulls out on it's own shelf. This works on so many levels. Functional for a small space. Attractive and is a great new use for something old.

Now, back at my own bunkhouse...This chandelier is the last remnant of brass left in the house. Until it is repainted, we will embrace it's shinyness (is that such a word?, but it works perfect for this project). We have the before view that is just plain....

But you add yards of crystal beads draped everywhere and you suddenly have a crystal chandi!!! I really scored the crystal beads BTY at Walliworld in the clearance section at $1 yd. woohoo for being at the right place at the right time. I bought all that was on the shelves.
I am sneaking some of my Christmas glitz in before Thanksgiving. DH doesn't realize what is fixin to hit him, or maybe he is in denial already.

What a perfect week to celebrate....International Button Week! I have lots of buttons from my grandmother's stash and my own collection from sewing all my life. Well, nearly ALL my life.
Anyway, got that reminiscing out of the way. I always cut buttons off the clothes going to the rag pile and that really adds up.
Only last week, I made a button tree in an effort to gather my whites into one place. Check out the Nov. 5th post.

Just hop on over to buttonfloozies.blogspot.com to check out the button bonanza.

Flea market Belt and Purse

Vintage tablecloth a

Old feedsacks a

Embroidered dresser cloth a

Misc. items from 'the armoire' aa

Grab the inspiration for this flea market belt from http://robolady.blogspot.com/, a pair of scissors and the trusty sewing machine. I had seen this cute flea market belt on Margo's site and was inspired to make one myself. I have collected vintage textiles forever and had a nice selection to choose from. Problem is....I can't hardly cut them up. So, I search for the least flaw to justify the remake.

I used the feedsack for the base piece and the pretty floral tablecloth for the pockets. The crochet accents are covering up the wear holes and add some style.

I used an old napkin to make the covered pocket with a magnet closure to keep your cash/cards secure.

Now, I'd say this is a much more fashionable alternative to the fanny pack.

Well, I couldn't stop there. I made a coordinating purse to go along with the ensemble for post-flea functions. I used a dresser scarf to accent the interior along with napkins.

Pockets to carry the cell phone and the cash. Let's go shopping!

I have loved putting this little ensemble together. I will take these to a fund-raising auction tonight. I made them yesterday just to reaffirm that

if it weren't for the Last Minute.........I Wouldn't get ANYTHING Done!!!

Enjoy crafting y'all!

Apron search

Ok y'all~
Don't ya just hate it when you can't find something that you just saw recently? I have been surfing for the past couple of hours....NO exaggeration! I had seen the cutest apron, but where is it now?
It had been adapted from a nail apron, the type that you can purchase at your lumber yard. It had vintage fabrics applied to the front and pocket flaps. The flaps had embellishments such as a key and other smalls that held the flap tight by a companion magnet on the apron. Now, how clever is that?!
If anyone knows the blog that holds such a treasure....PLEASE release me from my torment and send me a link in the comments. I really thought I had bookmarked it for future perusal. Apparently I need to add a sticky note to my screen.
I pulled out a few of my old textiles. Very few actually, but enough to inspire me. I love to collect these from sales. I was digging through some of the feed sacks and decorative towels and some great old lace. I rarely cut these apart unless they are already tattered beyond repair. I did find a few that will become something new.
This business of cleaning out my armoire is turning into some serious work!

Wallpaper and Buttons

This week has been dedicated to just getting some of my ideas put to reality. I am needing to move a large armoire. Problem is...it stores a lot of my craft items and it is super heavy. So, the great idea is to complete projects that are housed in said item and theoretically EMPTY the armoire. So, here goes........

I gather the square canvases and a swatch of wallpaper I had considered for my kitchen at one time. It didn't make the final cut, but I was determined to use this bit of wallpaper somehow. I love it. I used an exacto knife and cut out one of the motifs. The black acrylic paint is base coated over the entire canvas, including the sides.

After the paint dried, I used a white pencil and wrote french phrases across the canvas. Well, that didn't show up as strong after the final glaze was applied and the photo doesn't pick it up very well. I used decoupage medium to place the cut out on the canvas. I followed up with 3 coats total. (It will be used in the kitchen and I wanted to be able to wipe it off easily)

I used gold Rub 'n Buff to highlight the edges of the canvas and some of the design.

Voila, an instant artwork. I love an easy project that is also FAST.

Then, I moved onto the green Styrofoam cone. I covered it with a pieces of white fabric i.e. muslin, pellon just to hide the green. It will NOT be seen in the end. I then used a length of lace and wrapped it around the cone also.

I have a lot of white buttons from my grandmother's collection. Finally a decorative use for all of them. I placed the larger ones scattered over the cone, then followed up with smaller ones. I used dressmaker pins and pearl seed beads to pin each button onto the cone.

A note: I purchased the pkg of 750 pins and have run out. This is just a 12" cone. So, you will always use more than you anticipate. I KNOW that, but did I listen to myself? Obviously NOT.
This is a time to contemplate deep thoughts while you pin buttons. (another way of letting you know, it'll take a bit of time for this part of the project)

But, it looks great when it is done. It is actually a great way to store these buttons in a decorative way. If I need one, just pluck it off the tree.

I can't decide how to finish off the topper and I may make a topiary with a dowel and container. Any ideas? Please leave me a suggestion.

I will post more of the Armoire Projects as they occur this week. Happy Crafting.

How about those Raiders!!!

Texas Tech 39 - Texas 33!!!

This was the most amazing game of the season. Phew, we're exhausted. Tech scores with 1 second left on the clock to pull off a serious upset. (understatement!!) These were 2 great teams and McCoy just didn't get a chance to show his stuff till the 4th. Harrell and Crabtree turned out to be the showstoppers in the end. Defense was certainly the name of the game.

This one was such a jump up and scream game that I didn't even get my usual idea sheet and planning list together for my crafty projects. I did remove Halloween and fluffed up for Fall a bit.

Don't ya just love football season? Yeah!

OMG! OMG! I've won, I've won!! Scream that real loud and run hysterically around the house and that will be a pretty good re-enactment of my reaction. haha. My DH may have thought the house was crashing in for a moment. Thank you sooooo much Linda @ http://www.restyledhome.blogspot.com/ and Ki @ http://www.junkcamp.blogspot.com/. This was so much fun. I wish I'd had the foresight to take assembly pics like Margo @http://robolady.blogspot.com/ . My gathering spots weren't so glamorous in the old, dark garage with inches of dirt collecting on stuff and a container with shelves piled with odd assortments. Chester and I just sat in the front yard and started talking to our pumpkin gal and she came to life. I was actually talking to myself and Chester was just courteous to listen as I literally was trying to get a grip on things! Thanks again ladies.