Opinions Needed Please!?!

Hi all! I am busy trying to finish up all the projects I started yesterday...my afternoon was NOT productive at all! I ended up not working on anything! Oh well! I'm workin on it today! :D

 I wanted to ask an opinion from everyone - I don't know if you remember but I bought a perpetual calendar awhile back @ the thrift store & I was planning on redoing it.... well I redid it & now I'm stuck! I decided I didn't really need a perpetual calendar so I wanted to make it into an old washboard.  Now I've seen a few people have made from scratch & a lot of the kind that have metal for a washboard but I'm not sure if my redo is going to pass for one or not

Here's the pics:

before

after



I like the color but I'm not sure about the rest

 Here's what I think it MIGHT need:

a. shorten the wooden slats or remove every other one

b. add candles & make it candle rack/holder

c. maybe a label @ the top

What do you think? Should I change it or leave it how it is? I'd love your help - I don't want it to look like a perpetual calendar I just didn't put the dates on...lol.

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you have a great day!

Whirlwind Wednesday

Boy what a day this has been!! Ever have one of those days when you feel like can't think straight from all the ideas & thoughts going thru your head?!!? Well that's me today.  I decided to catch up on my Biggest Loser & a couple other shows this morning, so I decided I'd paint a few signs while I watched them.  Now my "craft" room is in our basement (no tv there) so I hauled up my supplies & got to work. 

(I got my base coat on & that's it so far )

So then while I was waiting on the first coat to dry I thought I'd grubby up some cans

I'm happy to report the 1st coat of "grubby-ness" is on every can I had in the house but that's so far for them too

THEN a knock at the door & it was my AVON delivery guy. Now I just signed up to sell Avon a few weeks ago so this was my first shipment & I was pretty excited! So I sat down & sorted out my orders (4 total -not bad since I haven't really "pushed" any sales yet -I'm not a very pushy kinda sales lady -need to work on it I think ;) )

After that I went to the basement to work on some laundry -remembered I needed to hem 2 pairs of jeans for myself & patch a pair for Code ... so I got to sewing - managed to stab my finger (not too badly thankfully) while trying to hem my pants cause I was too lazy to pin them! lol Then I sanded & stained a couple things I painted yesterday. 

Then my hubby came home earlier than usual .... It's only 3:15- usually he doesn't get here till 4:30ish - can't wait to see what else is in store for the day! lol Hubby announced he needs some soap etc from the store, so I think we're going to go get a bite to eat & go to Meijers.  It's snowing here now :( but hopefully it won't really amount to anything.  Maybe after our trip out I'll manage to finish at least 1 thing I started today! If not I guess there's always tomorrow! 

Hope everyone has had a great day! 

Tuesday's Display Chain -Stripes

Happy Tuesday!! I am so excited I managed to find a few stripes in my house so I could join in the display chain today! Mine aren't nearly as prim as most - but I really had to look for the few I found! lol
If you haven't checked Misi's blog out here's the link :

http://1890gablehousemusings.blogspot.com/2011/03/tuesday-display-chain-stripes.html


Here's my few pics to share :) -I can't wait till she does plaid -I have a TON of it!! lol 

a great pitcher my mom got me @ a yard sale

my rag rugs in the kitchen

 a vintage pitcher that was my grandma's

these two don't have obvious stripes but they are lined - the yellow one i got @ a yard sale for 10cents & the blue one was grandma's

a lil star I made in a crusty can I made :)

striped legs on my raggedy my sis Angie made

here's the rest of her -lol

Hope everyone has a great day! I'm off to check out some more stripes before the princess gets here!!

Mellow Monday

Hi all! It's still pretty chilly here in Ohio - the sun was shinin all day @ least.  I didn't have a very exciting day today - spent the day scrubbing the house down -I even washed my windows!! I never do that! Of course my tiny house only has 4 little windows & 3 regular sized windows, so it wasn't a huge task but still -I'm pretty proud of myself! LOL

I had the hubby help me fix the bowl rack I showed you the other day -

before - way too many dowels -  not sure why there were so many but I couldn't get anything in it!

after - much better - now I need some old bowls to fill it up

Other than that not alot was accomplished this weekend besides having some fun with some great friends.  I did get most of my sis's stuff painted & stained up today so hopefully it'll be ready for her to take home tomorrow or later this week.  Her lil girl the "princess" is comin over tomorrow - can't wait! Haven't seen her in a week or so, so it should be fun!

I also wanted to share a pic of what my mom & her hubby made this weekend - it's pretty cool.  My mom is an awesome gardener & she's been making these really cool dragonflies for the garden but she also has a love for "metal" garden junk.  Over the last year or two she's made quite a few birds,etc for her yard but this weekend they made a really cool fish for a friend of hers @ work. 

Pretty cool, huh? The bird is for her garden - he's pretty cute too.

http://myomyohi.blogspot.com/2011/03/scrap-metal-sculpture-as-gift.html

She's just starting her blog but I think her stuff is pretty cool (I'm not just partial either! lol) so if you get a second hop over & check it out! 

Thanks everyone for stoppin by! Hope the week is sunny & great wherever you are!!

A Primitive Place -New Blog & Giveaway

Be sure to stop over & check out A Primitive Place Magazine's new blog.  They are giving away a very nice handmade tobacco basket -so stop on over & sign up today! Hurry they are only taking entries till March 30th!

http://aprimitiveplacemagazine.blogspot.com/

Happy Saturday!!

Good morning!!! The sun is shining - the blue sky is out & it's only like 30 degrees here but it sure is pretty!! I'm happy to report everyone survived spring break week @ my house! Our little house was packed with kiddos but all n all it was a great time! Today I'm going to try to clean & organize before we have to run to a cookout (yep in 30 degree weather! lol) & spend some time with some friends.  Here's a few pics of the kids this week -as you'll see there was a lot of nerf gun action & rockin out to the radio & lots of video games goin on!

lindsey rockin out on the guitar

 amber on the drums!

jason aimin @ his fav target -ME!

 look @ that rotten face on my boy! he's ornery!!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend - I've got a few things to finish up so hopefully I'll have some before/after pics for you Monday! Have a great day!!!



Good morning! I thought I'd sneak a quick post in this morning while it's still pretty calm here.  Sorry if in my post yesterday I was complaining about my craft room! Boy was I hormonal!! Thankfully I woke up my less stressed today & much less pissy! :D 

This is a pic of my corner cabinet (the top half at least!) my dad made me like 10 years ago! I had redone it last year but I decided to add one of my new garlands to it yesterday. I think it might be my new favorite spot now!! See the pitcher on the top shelf - the blue one? That was my grandma's - I love that color blue! I have a couple other ones too but that one is my fav.

Well I'm off to check the mail ...I've been signing up for all kinds of freebies lately & I can't wait till they start arriving! Hope everyone has a great day!

Ps.
It snowed a little here last night!! I was hopin it was going to miss us! :P

Time Flies When U Are Havin Fun!

Whew! I can't believe it's Wednesday night already!! This week is flying right on by! It's amazing how fast the day goes when you have 4 kids ransacking your house! LOL It's been a pretty good week here - spring break for the kids has been fun.  I've been watchin my friend's 3 kids (which are actually Cody's cousins! :) ) this week so Code has had lots of friends to play with! We ventured out today to the park because it's been pretty nice but don't you know, we weren't there 15 minutes & it started pouring!!! I couldn't believe it! The kids thought it was fun to run to the car in the rain ... of course I had parked CLEAR across the parking lot! I, myself, was not so amused to run (haul) my plump behind that quickly to the car.  Oh, well! It's supposed to be cold & maybe snowy the rest of the week so I'm sure we'll be inside. :(

I haven't gotten much done in the way of crafts this week ... here's a few pics of what I've done though

I got these "goodies" @ the Volunteers of America thrift store Friday night w/my hubby. I've started to repaint everything but the recipe box but I've only got the pig done - I just sanded him & then beat him up with a knife so it looked like it had really been used & then put some Old English on it

I 4got to take a before pic of this- Angie found it @ Goowill 4 me -it was just plain wood - I don't like the dowel rods across the front though -think I might take them off & put a piece of wood in to hold stuff. Not sure though.

I 4got the "before" of this built in shelf too! I get too excited to paint & redo stuff! lol  It was a mustard yellow like the rest of my kitchen so I painted it black & added the little curtains on the sides.  Trust me it looks A LOT better!

I can't wait for the weekend - I want to try to organize my craft room (been sayin that for weeks!) & try to finish up some stuff I'm working on.  I feel overwhelmed with all the little things I've started & haven't finished. I'm trying to finish up stuff for my sis Angie so I can move it back to her house (sorry Ang -I'm runnin out of room! lol) & I'm tryin to work on my stuff I WANT to do. I don't like a whole lot of clutter & disorganization so I'm spazzin out a little! Like I tell Code - I need to just "chill out"! Easier said than done though!

Well I guess I'll get off here & try to work on a few things before bed.  I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

Bittersweet Weekend

It's been a busy & beautiful weekend here in Ohio! The weather has actually stayed nice all weekend & it's been great!

Saturday we spent most of the day helping to repaint spots on my late grandma's house & garage so that it can finally(hopefully!) be sold. There were 11 of us all working to scrape & paint & luckily we got the job done in 1 day. It's sad to see my grandma's house being sold. Grandma passed away in November 09 & she's been very missed. She took care of all of us when we were growing up & taught us all how to be crafty & how to sew & so many, many other things. It's been hard for all of us especially my mom &my aunt who have been handling everything with her estate (even before she passed) - at least if the house finally sells that is one less thing they have to worry about. It sounds like the family who are looking @ the house will be a perfect fit for it though. It's a great big Victorian style house & they have like 6 kids! So they should have plenty of room.


Today we spent the morning at a craft show (us girls anyway!) It was pretty disappointing but we still managed to find a few things.  I got some garland 2 for $18 & a little house w/a crow for $3 & a new prim doll for $9. My sister got me the little grungy fabric heart too. So it wasn't a total loss, but not as good as we had hoped for.

After the craft show we headed to my grandma's old "shop". She had an upholstery shop for 30 years & the building is also needing sold, so we were trying to finish clearing out some stuff left in the attic. Boy did grandma know how to hoard!!! I can definitely say I get it honest! LOL She saved all kinds of things all her life - any old furniture, furniture pieces, sewing machines, trinkets, you name it -she probably had it! So all us girls dug thru what was up there & managed to "hoard"some things for our houses! I have an Isuzu Rodeo & I had it STUFFED full! I wish I would've taken some pics before I unloaded it! lol It was crazy! I got lots of old wood for signs. Some old doors, an old bed, a lamp, some chairs, some chair legs/parts -all kinds of stuff! It must've taken me at least 15 trips to the basement with my goodies! lol

Here's a few pics - doesn't do the "junk" piles justice! lol I'll take pics as I use stuff up!  

  
(I've gotten soooo much stuff lately - not just today - I've really got to stop & try to clear out some stuff soon! Yard sales are about to start & I won't get to go if I don't have anywhere to put anything!!! )

Like the title of my post - this weekend has been "bittersweet". With the sale of grandma's house (hopefully closing soon!) & going thru her shop (hopefully selling it soon too)... it has made me miss her a lot but I know this all has to be done.  My mom said grandma must've been happy because she has a cactus of hers & when she got home yesterday it was full of blooms.  She was a very special lady & I know we all miss her terribly.

(I wish my pic would've turned out better but my scanner wasn't wanting to work! ugh!)

I hope everyone has a great week -this week is spring break for my son's school & I'm going to be watching my friend's 3 kids all week, so my little house is going to be full! I hope to find some time to work on some of my new "goodies"!

Simple Thyme Prims -Easter Giveaway

Hi everyone! Please stop over & check out Simple Thyme Prims Easter Giveaway! She makes some lovely things & it's going to be a surprise!

http://simplthymeprims.blogspot.com/2011/03/easter-giveaway-at-simple-thyme-prims.html

I Won!!!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to do a quick post cause I'm so excited! I won my first giveaway today from Midge over @ Havin Fun With Junk -if you haven't checked her blog out you should.

http://refunctionjunktion.blogspot.com/2011/03/spring-giveaway-to-celebrate-my-new.html

Thanks again Midge!  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

Hi! This is just a quick post to say Happy Friday! Today is supposed to be another beautiful day here in Ohio.  Yesterday was AWESOME! I spent most of the day cleaning up flower beds & raking up leaves (I really need to start raking more in the fall! lol). I've got to run to the store to get some more leaf bags so I can finish.  Other than that I haven't got a lot accomplished.  I did get my salt dough bowl fillers painted & I really like how they turned out. Oh & I finished up some things for my "pay it forward" -I hope to get them shipped out tomorrow & I hope the ladies like what I send!

Well I think I'm going to go try to get a haircut - I tried to cut bangs myself the other day & screwed them up! I know better but it never stops me! Hopefully they can fix my screw-up! :) I hope everyone has a great day & enjoys their weekend!



Happy St Patty's Day!

Hi! We had a BEAUTIFUL afternoon here in Ohio! I don't know for sure but I would say the temp was 50ish ~it was great! I spent most of the day outside playing with my niece Kaylee & my son Cody & trying to clean up our yard. Cody was outside from the moment he got home today till almost 8 o'clock & that was only because he had homework to do! Kaylee spent most of the day with me.  She got to play on the swing set & show off how "big" she is now because she can get on the swing by herself when it's raised up for my son Cody (she couldn't do this last summer)! She LOVES to swing! Our swing set has 4 different swings & she likes to just rotate from one to another! :) She also had to ride her bike too! She doesn't really have room @ her house for a bike so she only gets to ride it when she's @ our house.  I wish I would've remembered to take the camera out - the kids were soooo happy! I can't wait to work out in the yard some more tomorrow.  I noticed some flowers sprouting up today & it made me smile! I love - love- being outside! My poor hubby doesn't know it yet but last night I started the "TO DO IN THE YARD" list! hehehe He won't be amused! lol My compulsive lists drive him crazy & this one is only going to get longer I think!

I've also been super busy tryin to catch up some crafty stuff the last 2 days. I've made up for my "lazy" Monday that's for sure!  I've gotten almost all my wooden items that I've been hoarding (or my sis has donated! lol) painted a base coat of black but still need to finish the top coats & stain them up.  I'm hoping to work on those in the morning tomorrow & let them "bake" out in the sun.  I'll post some pics when I get them finished.

This morning before it got nice out, I tried my hand @ some salt dough bowl fillers Kaylee's help.  I got the recipe from Colleen @ http://andbabymakesfive-colleen.blogspot.com . I BARELY had enough salt for 1x of the recipe or I would've made more.  I haven't aged them yet or decided if I want to dip them in wax or just seal them up with modge podge.  They turned out pretty good I think.  I've tried them a couple of other times & they never seem to cook right.  I think Colleen's recipe was the trick this time!

(please excuse my messy craft table! i am the messiest painter ever!!)

Well I think I'll try to age my bowl fillers & head off to bed.  I hope everyone remembers their green tomorrow & has a Happy St Patty's Day!

Lazy Monday

I just wanted to drop in & say HI!! Today was such a lazy day for me ...I think our weekend kicked my butt! I was EXTREMELY lazy ....I had 2 naps today!! T-W-O!!! Now I'm a firm believer in naps -I think everyone should have at least 1 a day! but usually I stick to the 1 -but not today! It was ridiculous! Now it's 1 in the morning & I can't sleep! HMMMM wonder why?!?! LOL

Oh well....I plan on being very productive tomorrow.  It's supposed to be 50ish but rainy here so I'm going to try to get all theses "projects" I've got that need sanded, painted, stained -done.  Thursday is supposed to be like 65 here & I'm dyin to get outside & clean up our yard! I have so many things I want to do - I can't wait!!

The pic @ the top of the blog is of a lil sheep I made Friday.  I only have 3 sheep in the house & 2 of them I've made! I really like sheep...I told my hubby we should be sheep farmers! He wasn't impressed!! LOL

Well I'm off to surf the net for some garden inspiration pics! Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!!

Just Relaxin

Hi everyone! I am enjoying my lazy Sunday @ home with my guys.  We've had quite the busy weekend so far.  Friday we made our trip to Chuck E Cheese & I'm happy to report that the kids had a blast & me & my hubby survived the trip! lol Yesterday we spent most of the day @ the inlaws for a bday/pizza party that turned into a very late night & lots of fun! We all slept in awhile today -(even my early bird hubby who usually is up by 7:30!! ) -my dad called about 11:30 & said he was on his way over so we had to get our lazy behinds up! lol At least we'll all be ready for bed tonight!

I wanted to share with you a great recipe I found on recipes.com the other day for some Apple Brownies. I had never tried these before & I am happy to report that they were AWESOME!! Now they don't taste like a normal "brownie" - they were more like an oatmeal/apple cookie - so yummy & moist.  The recipe was originally posted by Linda's Busy Kitchen on recipe.com (http://baking.food.com/recipe/lindas-apple-brownies-226737 .  They were soooooo good -they didn't even last 1 day! My pic doesn't do them justice @ all! lol


Here's the recipe if anyone wants to try them :


1/2 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional) **I used some pecans

1 cup flour

1 cup mcintosh apples (you want to use a nice sweet apple) or 1 cup other sweet apple, peeled, and chopped (you want to use a nice sweet apple)  **I used 1 medium sized red delicious



.Directions:Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

1 Preheat oven to 350. Soften margarine. Mix all ingredients together in a lg. bowl. Bake in a buttered 8x8" baking dish, for 30-40 minutes. Let cool, cut, and then store in a plastic container. **I cooked my in my Perfect Brownie pan for about 25 mins & they were done & super moist
 
Well I'm off to snuggle on the couch with my boys -maybe I'll even get some craftin done today too!
 
 I hope everyone has had a great weekend!!
 
 



Pay It Forward 2011

Good morning! I heard about this "Pay it Forward" on Ice House Crafts blog this morning & it just sounds like sooo much fun!


Here is how it works......






The first 5 people who comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me.

In return you must FIRST write a blog post explaining Pay it Forward 2011. Then you send out a handmade gift to the first five visitors who leave a comment on your post. Take your time....you dont need to send them all out today or tomorrow.

This is a great way to connect with friends and to meet new ones...sharing something we have created with our hands and heart.

Its not the size of the gift that matters,but the spirit of paying it forward.

Lets do it friends!

T*G*I*F

Happy Friday!!! I am so very happy that it is Friday! This is our weekend to spend with my son & we have a few fun things planned . Tonight we are taking him & my niece Kaylee to Chuck E Cheese ...then tomorrow we have a pizza/birthday party for a cousin...it's going to be great! My niece is coming over to play this morning while my sis goes to the doctor...I haven't seen her all week & I'm starting to go into with drawl! Her mother says she is too! LOL She used to come to our house everyday but then my sis had to be taken off work for back surgery so we don't see her nearly as much & we miss her.

Last night my husband's friend from work came over to help him with his brakes & he brought his two adorable boys with him.  It was a blast! While the guys worked in the garage ... the boys were busy "attacking" each other with swords & guns! They had sooo much fun! It's nice when we have a few kids in the house so Cody has someone to play with besides us! lol

After my boys went to bed I decided to work on my grungy cans/cup from the other day.  Here's what I came up with :

this is the cup before - the other one was just a plain soup can

after - still not quite right -flowers a lil too bright for me so I used some brown shoe polish & aged them up a little

I like them much better after the shoe polish

Here's the soup can one on in my living room - the cup is going to my sis if she wants it -she had bought the cup so I could grungy it up for her. Hopefully she likes it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Don't forget to "spring" forward your clocks tomorrow night! :D