I'm Back! And with a cute little desk re-do!

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've posted.

 Oh my gosh!

But so much has happened since the last post... my life was a little crazy for awhile.

My new job at Hobby Lobby wasn't working out like we'd hoped.

So we decided to MOVE!  Back to Oregon.

It was a huge huge step for us.

So we packed, and sold lots of our 'stuff'...

and still worked trying to stay above water.

On November 13th, I turned in my resignation to the manager.

...

and to my surprise, the very next day, he offered me a full-time 'lead' position to keep me!

I was shocked!

It came with a substantial raise, not to mention more hours,

AND...

it was a dream come true for me.

I LOVE the store and the company.

Love the people I work with... and the management.

So, Terry and I discussed the 'sharp U-Turn' in our lives... and decided to go with it!

So we are still in AZ, still in our little home, still in the 'boonies'.

What with selling so much of our stuff...

one of the items was a CUTE, much loved, little desk and chair set.

A good friend of mine bought it... Gina.

And I tell you... she is AMAZING!

She got right on to re-finishing it.

This photo shows the desk in it's state before the re-finishing.

(It's at her house!)

The desk used to have a raised border/edge at the back... 

I had torn it off a long time ago.

She and her husband spent several hours sanding it.

They did an amazing job... much more than I would've done, 

'cause I'm much more lazy! ha

Next, she applied the black base coat...

It's getting cuter...

but you will be thrilled when you see what she did next!

It's a 'pencil yellow'... sooo cute and fun!

Then... she sanded it in just the right places.

Isn't it amazing?

Her little boy uses it for his homework.

You gotta check out the knobs... they are from Hobby Lobby.

It's a little map!

So here's the before and after photo:

How cute is that?

Gina, YOU are amazing!!!

Thanks so much for sharing!

Love ya.

So, yes, I'm back... and yes, I have many things to share.

Stuff I did before the big [not] move.

We are still 'moving back in'... still have some stuff in boxes... still trying to figure out where to put stuff.

We sold so much... and I don't want to buy anything.

I'll share more on another post soon!

Thanks for visiting!

'Horsin' Around'

I know you're thinking...

what the heck is she talking about?

It's a mini book I did recently.

It's for a friend of mine, here in Arizona.

(HOME is still Oregon, ya know)

Last year sometime, when I met her...

she invited me to her house... and I brought along

my daughter and her kiddos.

why???

'Cause she has horses!

I took a bunch of photos...

and FINALLY got around to getting it DONE

to give to her.

(I haven't yet)

The book now has little notes written in it from the kiddos.

I used an old Heidi Swapp mini stencil to spritz the flower!

The 'fluff' at the side of the tag is tissue paper fringed with 

my Martha Stewart fringe scissors, that my darling daughter gave me!

I lOve them!!! 

 Notice the little 'window' at the right that gives a 

sweet little peek to the next page...

I put printed acetate paper between the paper!

I used several punches to create the dimensional 'flower'.

Up close and personal...

I used a border punch on the side(s) of the page...

And last, but not least...

I have save thin corrugated carton paper...

and thus... I can create some fun accents, like the heart!

Up close:

I am 'helping/teaching' a group of friends from Fry's

in making one for themselves.

Talk about LOVING it...(me!)

and those times reminding me of how much I lOve teaching!

I have missed it terribly.

 

All the materials are 'old' from my seemingly never-ending stash.

Someday... hopefully... it will be used up!

thanks for visiting!

The White Dining Set

My daughter picked up this dining room set,

including 6 chairs, the hutch, 2 leaves, and a dry sink

at a garage sale for just $250!

It is in excellent shape, with beautiful curvy lines.

You can see the original dark finish on the hutch..

of which we still have to paint.

Kari re-did and painted the dry sink...I'll have to share it later.

(it's in her living room)

We painted the table set and re-covered the chairs

a few weeks ago.  It was hard work, as it was HOT!

This is walking into the dining area.

It was such a HUGE difference!

The table set was so dark... and the white just brightened it up!

Made it such a happy bright space.

We love the chairs.

So pretty and curvy...

And oh yeah!

The cushions... Kari found the fabric... we re-covered the cushions.

And we jumped up and down... and squealed!!!

love them!!!

The view from the kitchen: 

You can really see how dark the table set was,

via the hutch.

Don't you love Kari's collage walls?

She is such a pro at this.

Here's a close-up of the goodies in her hutch.

She is just so talented when it comes to putting stuff together.

The chair again... notice the finely detailed distressing?

Gives them that extra neat looking little touch.

And... Kari made these beautiful slip covers for these chairs!

(I tried a year+ ago... and failed miserably... so sad)

And a final picture of her beautiful, updated, stylish dining room set!

thanks for visiting!

Summer Mantel

So... here's my mantel that I've had up all summer!

I can't believe I'm so far behind, that I'm just now getting around

to sharing it.

This is the wall that you see when you walk in the front door.

(Although.. no one EVER uses the front door!)

Details of the Mantel decor:

 

 Yes, I or Terry made or upcycled everything you see here.

I've shown the owl(s) before... still LOVE them!

Terry made (i painted) the houses late last year.

Oh yeah!  I got the red lantern at Ikea several years ago.  

I 'stole' it from my bedroom!

I drew, and Terry cut out, and I 'decorated' the 

little wooden flip flops.

(don't you love 'em?)

 Just a bunch of fun things!

This is the table top decor on the TV table Terry made.

I planned and Terry cut out the little mason jar stands.

Terry also made the little wooden box for me!

Everything else are up-cycled 'found' things.

And yes, I made the whirligigs.

I've had this old quilt star for years.

I thought it looked fun in the old jar!

So.

Summer is about over.

...already...

Guess I gotta change out my mantel for fall now.

Fun never stops, huh?

thanks for visiting!

 

Cabinet Door Chalkboard

I found this cabinet door at a dump site we go to.

It's not a 'garbage' dump in the sense 

that it has wood 'garbage that they shred.

(long story)

We find some great 'treasures' here now and again.

I sanded it well... and filled in the knob hole with wood filler.

It was heavy!  oh my gosh...

Then I sprayed painted primer, then white matt paint on the edges.

Then taped that off when it was dry, and spray painted

chalkboard paint in the middle!  

[I did discover that I like painted on chalkboard paint much better than sprayed on]

And of course, distressed the edges a bit.

I also drilled two small holes in the corner, to tie a cute bow!

(It can be changed out.)

I gave it to a good friend of mine for her 'baby gift'!

Cute, fun and easy.

Calendar Stand Updates!

I love love love my calendar stand!

Love just 'playing' with my [over-abundant] stash!

I've shared June and July...

Now here's August and September!

August was SO FUN!

The only NEW item on this is the 'card' with the bicycle!

 Believe it or not... those flowers you see?

Those are from Craft Warehouse in Gresham, Oregon.

I used their fantastic accucut die cut machine.

(that I miss like something terrible)!

(I cut those out 5 or 6 YEARS ago!... yep.. using up my stash!)

Here's September!

I really love this one!  Un-expected for September?

(maybe I can stay ahead???)

The only NEW items are:

the card and the teal wood paper and the chevron stripe paper!

I thought this one was so cute!

I love love love layering!

And I used ZING!

I had forgotten how FUN it is to use that embossing powder!

I used it on the metal love tag, and the chipboard key.

This girl is happy...

when she gets to play and play and play!

thanks for visiting!

JULY Calendar!

I finally finished the JULY calendar for my cute (much loved) calendar holder.

If you didn't see the first time I shared it... you can go HERE.

So, here's JULY.

As I continue, I'm sure I'll make adjustments to make it 'better'.

I LOVE the paper! We found it at Big Lots.  It's by 'Pebbles'..'Let Freedom Ring'.

(remember I live in a town with NO scrapbooking sources)

Here are the DETAILS:

This is what it looked like before I added the punched scalloped circles under the whirligigs to make 'em 'pop'... and the crinkle punched scalloped border...and the gems.

Details make such a difference!

More fun details:

The little stitched scalloped circles.. I LOVE.

I got the punch from Stampin' Up... LOVE their punches!

Do I have too much fun???

YES I DO!

thanks for visiting!