I’m back………

Hi, I'm sorry that I haven’t posted since March.  My health took a turn for the worse with all of our rainy weather. I just couldn’t bring myself to write or do any projects because I was so stiff & in pain.  Some days I couldn’t even move.  lol..  darn that Fibromyalgia.

Now, anybody that knows me knows that I have to be pretty sick to not have any projects in the works.

I received an IPAD for my birthday in March. I have had such a fun time with it!! The apps are endless. I have learned sign language, astronomy, how to draw and much more.  I honestly got it, hoping to do my blogging on it.  But…for me, the keyboard is just too inconvenient (too small) for blogging.  So, for now, I will stick with my trusty desk-top computer.
Here is a picture of my new IPAD:

Ain’t she pretty?  lol….. There are so many reasons that I love it, but for the most part I love it because it is fast and I enjoy using it more than my old, slow, dinosaur-like” computer. lol.

I was only able to complete two projects recently…the first one is kind of weird so bear with me…….There is an old Army base not too far from us.  It was used for the Calvary, WWII, Korean and  the Vietnam Wars.  When they closed the base  in the 90’s, the miles and miles of barracks/housing lay untouched.  Then the government tried to clean the base up to convert it into residential homes.  Removing the asbestos and leaded paint used on all the structures proved far more expensive to do than previously thought, so everything was abandoned.  And that is how it lies today.  Power poles lay on their sides,  door are removed, the housing units/barracks remain almost untouched…a lot of furniture still remains in the homes.  As we were driving through, we noticed an old piece of wood in the street.  My husband stopped the car to  pick it up for me and said very sweetly “you can turn this into something, can’t you?”  How cute.  With his help, I added hooks and turned it into a jewelry holder for my room. The stories it would tell if it could…..lol  I hope it doesn’t have too much asbestos or leaded paint on it.  The jewelry doesn’t touch it, I make sure of that.
Here is a picture:
 
I know that it doesn’t look like much, but I love its extreme “shabbiness”.  lol.

The other project that I finished this week was the painting of a birdhouse for my bedroom.  Yes, I changed my accent color in my bedroom again….The nice thing about having a “neutral” color in my bedroom is that I can change the accent color and have fun doing it! This “month” I added fuscia pink and bright green to the bedroom for a “splash of Spring” .  I  painted another birdhouse as well for the other round table, added flowers, a candle holder and made a couple of pillows. Voila! Please excuse the clock radio and sound machine-they are my hubbies “must-haves” but they aren’t cute. lol


So, it brightened up the room a little.   I hope that you have a fabulous weekend.  The weather should be warming up here quite drastically this weekend and from here on out I hope it remains warm…My body and I hope that the “rainy season” is over for now. Fibromyalgia and rain are a ugly combination.  I looked like a 102 year old woman getting out of bed in the morning! lol
TGIF.  Make it a great one!
Fondly,

Bottle cap necklaces

Hi.  I hope that you enjoyed your first day of Spring yesterday!  I know I sure did.  Today, I was inspired, for whatever reason, to make bottle-cap necklaces.  The photos are below.  My daughter already has her eyes set on one of them, I will take one, and then I will give the rest away as gifts. 

Clothespin Picture Frame

Thank Goodness it's Friday! .  I was able to get a few things done this week, but not too many.  Yes, they have all involved spray paint (Rustoleum's Heirloom White).  lol....My daughter has been ill and between my son, husband and I checking on her every hour, we are behind on our sleep for sure.  She had a severe reaction to two meds and was sick&delirious.  It was really scary!!  She had us all very worried.  She is feeling a little better now.  To cheer her up we got out some old movie tapes that we have not seen for many,many years..  My daughter, husband and I laughed so hard we were crying- the tapes were THAT funny.  My husband used to video tape our kids on their first and last days of school.  This creates many different opportunities for some funny stuff- especially since our kids were never "morning people". lol...  Anyway....the pictures below show a couple of projects. The first being a picture frame.  I had this old "gold" frame laying in a closet. I spray painted it,  hot-glued string to the back, added a bow in the front and started hanging pictures on it. I hung it in our bedroom.  The other picture shows a new paint color on the frame of a picture in our kitchen.  This picture has been in our garage for a long time. The frame was black.  The color? Rustoleum's Heirloom white of course.  lol!!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

 

Debbie

Newly Painted Chalkboard Frame

I have had an old, gold-framed mirror just sitting out in my garage for a long time now.  It was a gift from my parents when my husband and I got married over 30 years ago.  It was time for a make-over!! Out came the Rustoleum Spray Paint (Heirloom White).  I use Rustoleum because it gives the best coverage and dries very quickly!.  I gave it about 5 light coats of paint (with help of course, since I have two "frozen shoulders" lol)  Then the mirror was next!  I sprayed the mirror with about 5 coats of Rustoleum’s  black Chalkboard Paint.  Getting the mirror back into the frame was not easy (thanks for your help Kevin!). I coated the inside of the frame with, what I thought was, heavy-duty glue that would hold it in place.  I was wrong!!  The mirror fell out.   My husband to the rescue!!  He made a trip to OSH to get “Gorilla Tape”. He said "duct-tape works every time." I was a bit skeptical.  Hubby taped up the mirror and let it set for several hours.  It worked. I wrote “bliss”  on it with the chalk. Fun!!  Below is a picture of the frame hanging over our couch.

Here is a close-up of the frame.
We had to move our clock above the sofa to put our new frame there, so we moved the clock over the fireplace. 
Then we had to move the frame that was over the fireplace to the other wall!!
Props to my husband!!!!  Thank you honey!!  And he thought that he was "just" hanging the frame over the couch…..lol……He is awesome and I am lucky that he is so patient with me!! Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=742455358083715372&postID=8887449425243734275

Camelias

I picked these from my garden today.  Aren’t they pretty?  I think that Camelias are so exquisite.    These Camelias will be blooming until April.  They usually “die-off” before it gets too warm in May-June.  The pink Camelias were much smaller this year.  The awesome thing about Camelias is that I never need to water them.  Ever. Isn’t that awesome?  I think so!!  They live on the winter-seasons rainwater.   That’s probably why I don’t have nearly the amount of blossoms this year- we haven’t had any rain and no winter to speak of this year!  I hope that you have a great weekend.  Don’t forget to set your clocks forward.  I love this time of year because it gives me more time after dinner to actually accomplish things. More projects!! 

Love,

Debbie

10 Things I love about you...

I would like to dedicate the following "10 Things I Love About You" to my husband Kevin.  We just celebrated our 30th anniversary.  I thought that I had  always appreciated everything that Kevin  had done for me , but it wasn't until this year that I REALLY had a new perscpective on  his love and committment.  My health has been poor in the past year and Kevin has been there for me every step of the way.  He has stepped in "big time".  He has never complained about listening to my list of aches and pains. He has helped me get dressed when I need assistance.   He accompanied me to  every single Dr. appointment  (shoulder surgeon) from Jan 2011 until Oct. 2011. He entertained me with his recollection of funny Jerry Seinfeld and Steve Martin jokes.  I love you Kevin, and thank you for  walking alongside me during this  difficult period in my life.  The following is a list of 10 things that I love about you.  You rock!

Easter Banner

Today I made an Easter banner with some left-over scrapbook paper.  After I made the “ribbons” (because they look like medals/ribbons) I laid the lettered circle on top, but it looked too flat  sooooo……. I cut out some thin strips of paper and folded them accordian style, then I "fanned" them out and glued the ends together.(forming  a circle).  Then I glued the lettered circle to the top of the accordian circle.  It gave it just a little “lift”.  I definitely think it improved the over-all appearance.   See the picture below to get a better view of the accordian circles.

The next picture shows a little “visitor” that I had today.  He was hiding in my flower pot.  hehe. 

This picture shows a wooden easter sign.

Have a wonderful day!!

Debbie

Craftmania

Hi all!  It was cold outside today so I completed some projects that I have been putting off for awhile.  I am happy with 2 out of the 3! The first project involved “tinting” Mason jars. 

From left to right here are the colors of the jars: green, yellow, pink, blue & purple.  They are much lighter than I expected.  The instructions said to add food coloring ( I think I needed more than I used which was 1-2 drops) to 1 Tbsp water.  Then to this add 2 Tbsp of Gloss Modge Podge.  Stir.  Then carefully spin the jar around, coating the inside of the glass and pouring excess into bowl.  Then place jar upside down on paper bag to dry for 30 min. Then place upside face-down in warm (low) oven for 10 min.  Then flip jar and heat for another 20 min. If you still have streaks, then heat for 10-15 min. or until streaks disappear. 

Then, when I had let them dry, I decided to use them out in the backyard as solar lamps.

I had some solar lights that I wasn’t using, so I removed the top and placed them on the jars.  I have used these before and they work great in the yard.

As far as making the tinted jars again, I would make sure that I added more food coloring to see if that improved the intensity of the color.

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I also covered a couple of  IKEA potted flowers with more of my favorite burlap ribbon.  I just covered the outside with lots of Modge Podge and layed on the ribbon

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So sorry for the poor picture quality in the bottom picture.  I took it tonight and the lighting is awful.

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I also “made-over” a wooden box that I had laying around….

This is the front…..

This is the back… I spray painted the wooden box/carrier Rustoleum’s Heirloom White.  I added some burlap to the handle.  I had a yard ornament in the backyard that I disassembled  and added to the front (welcome) and the back (butterfly).  The final touch was adding my two favorite “aqua” mason jars.  They hold some flowers from the garden. 

Sometimes “staying in” because of cold weather works out well!!

Picnic Basket Make-over

I love make-overs and this is the best one that I have seen lately.  I was checking out the blog” Confessions Of A Plate Addict” and saw this and just knew that I had to share it.  Above is shown a “before” shot…just a plain wicker picnic basket. 

This is the after picture.  Isn’t it amazing?  I sure think so and I will be taking a quick run to my local Goodwill in the next few days to see if I’m lucky enough to snag one of these to do this project. Please check out the blog "Confessions of a Plate Addict" to see more pics. Just click on the link below and you can see the details. 
http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com

Burlap- ruffled lamps

Hi.  This is attempt #2 at making a ruffle for my lamps using my burlap ribbon (see my post a few days ago at attempt #1).  I gathered them and hot glued them to the shade.  Warning…..since burlap ribbon is weaved and full of holes, be careful when you are hot-gluing the ribbon to the lamp.  I burned my fingers, even though I was as careful as I could be. 
First, I used  a tape measure to  measure the width the lamp shade.
Then I  doubled  that number.
I cut out my burlap ribbon to that length.
I also cut a piece of embroidery floss a few inches longer than the ribbon (you will use this to pull on when you are done sewing) and it  will gather the material. 
  To ruffle the burlap ribbon, I layed a row of embroidery floss down the middle of the ribbon.  Then I used a zig-zag stitch directly over the string of floss.  I sewed directly on top of the floss down the entire length of the ribbon. 
When I finished, I grabbed the embroidery floss and pulled it.  You will see how it gathers.  It is amazing!  SO easy. 
Then I hot-glued the ribbon to the shade and I was done. 
I sincerely apologize for the terrible quality of the pictures.  I took them this evening and the lighting was very poor.  I needed two shades-one for the lamps on either side of the couch.  The pictures just show the lamp to the right side of the sofa, there is one on the left also.
Note: I got the burlap ribbon at an antique store, but you can find rolls of it at Michaels. 
There are a few more pictures below.... 

A heart-shaped rock, kitchen knife, ballpoint pen, straws, & 2 bottles of wine……..

Hi all!  I’m still coming down from my “vacation high” so the “creative juices”  have not been flowing properly yet.  Sorry, no project pictures today.  lol…  I spent a significant time yesterday on Picnik (boy am I going to really miss editing my photos in Picnik!!!).  I was editing our vacation photos.  It was fun, but very time-consuming. I wish that I had the self-control to just leave them alone, but I don’t.  lol.. The above picture was taken on the beach in Monterey.  I found this heart-shaped rock on the beach and picked it up because I thought it was so appropriate to find on my “anniversary”.  A few editing “tweaks” and “voila” it is a fun picture that will remind me of our trip and the fun time I had “combing” the ocean for treasures (shells).  One of the funniest pictures I edited  showed a wine bottle, two straws, a ballpoint pen, and a metal knife.  The story goes like this…..when my husband and I checked into our hotel, we were welcomed with two nice bottles of wine. We were impressed….  The only problem was that the hotel had no bottle openers, so the inn-keeper offered us the infamous “openers” shown in the picture below .  He said “I know, it’s ghetto, but it will work, trust me.”  He also said “ it’s easy….place the ballpoint pen face-down. Knock on it a few times with the knife until the pen goes all the way through the cork.  Then insert the straws, tip and pour.”  I know I looked at him with an expression that said “really, really?” But I couldn’t help it.  It was so absurd that as soon as we got out the door, my husband Kevin and I burst out into uncontrollable laughter.  It will be a funny memory for a long time.

Celebrating 30th Anniversary

The pictures shown above were taken on an anniversary trip that my husband and I took this past weekend.  We were celebrating our 30th anniversary.  We celebrated our special mile-stone in Monterey & Carmel Ca.  My husband and I went to Carmel on our honeymoon, so it was nice to re-visit this memorable spot. The largest picture in the collage was taken at Cannery Row, in Monterey.

This picture shows my husband Kevin and I eating breakfast the “Just from Scratch”, a local Carmel favorite.  My husband always has the same thing- Salmon Eggs Benedict.  Yum! We had a wonderful weekend, compliments of our daughter Brittany.  Brittany gave us the 2 night hotel stay for our anniversary.  What a sweet daughter she is!!

Mercury Glass Craft

I saw this idea in Martha Stewart Living to make your own Mercury Glass and really want to try it. Besides looking really simple to do, I love that I can upcycle my old clear vases into a little arrangement that looks nice, like this:

All you need is a couple of clear vases or votives, a spray bottle with water and mirror paint. You can get the mirror paint from Krylon.

Clean your vase or votive then cover the exteriors with paper. Spray the interiors lightly with water and then with mirror paint. Turn upside down to dry overnight and then repeat if too sheer. When finished, if you want to use it for flowers, just make sure to put them in a glass and then place glass in vase. Done! This would be a really inexpensive way to dress up a table for a party or a mantle for the Holidays!

I love this idea! I definitely have a thing for mercury glass

Burlap Ruffles

This roll of burlap was purchased at a local antique shop in the Sacramento area- The Antique Trove.  I had been "eyeing" it for awhile and talked myself out of it because it was such a "HUGE" roll and I thought that I would end up giving it to my grandkids someday because it was THAT big.  Anyway, I finally "caved in" and bought it. 

 I decided to make some ruffles for my lamps.  I like the way it turned out.

This is a photo of the lamps together in the living room.