Christmas Bough

Another idea I have been seeing on Pinterest. I have a wall that just feels big and empty but it is in a hallway and is easily bumped. I wanted something there but it needed to not take too much space. 

I Gathered up these items 

 (I actually had a different -Perfect- stick with a little more bend but I couldn't find it. 

I am guessing it will show up next march when the snow melts.)  

Wired the boughs (from Michaels) on the stick 

Add the berries and a Bow. 

I hung it up using Command Strip hooks to see how it was looking. 

Then added a few ornaments. 

I like how it turned out and it doesn't stand out from the wall too far.

I'm done decking my halls. Being ready for Christmas is a bit off, I'm sure we'll get there this week  :-)


Have a wonderful Christmas. 

Plate stands

These are all over pinterest. So I am not bringing you anything new and exciting. It was just something I decided to try and to share. 

I went to the local thrift shop and found groupings of plates that I liked. 

Then I picked out a few glass pieces. cups, wine glasses, candle holders, what ever grabs your eye. 

Make sure to use a nice, strong glue. I am Loving the E-6000 glue lately.  

Then you just layer them largest to smallest. 

A couple of tips. 

                     My Sister-in-law suggested, make sure the edges of your glass piece are smooth, not scalloped. Makes for smoother adhesian. 

I think shorter glass pieces are better. I had found this nifty, blue cocktail glass but realized it was going to be Way too tall. 

My family has an annual Fondu party the Saturday before Christmas. 

We have So many items on platters. 

(Bread, veggies, meatballs, chicken nuggets, Little Smokies,  shrimp and the 3 favorites, Carrots, Apples, Grapes. -I'm not kidding. they rock in cheese)  

I think our family selection of these towers will save space and work nicely. 

One more thing,
I have had nasty, varicose veins since high school. They hurt and are ugly. I avoid bare legs as much as possible all year because of them. On Monday, the big one on my knee got bumped some how and burst. It hurt SO stinkin bad and left a nasty bruise. I've decided it is time I do something about it. I go to a screening tomorrow to have them looked over. I hate thinking about how they fix them and I am nervous to do it. But I am quite excited to have them done. 

I might actually buy a cute pair of shorts this spring.  

(Which I am SO ready for and Winter hasn't even officially started) 

So wish me luck and if you have dealt with ugly leg veins… Well.. I'm not sure I want to hear about it.  Good stories maybe. To encourage and ease the nerves. 

Have a wonderful week.   

A year ago today… The unadvertised post

I don't usually live keeping track of dates. But this week is filled with "A year ago..."

A year ago yesterday (Saturday) my mother contacted us concerned that Dad might die that night.. She didn't want to be alone. She asked if one of us could sleep over. I went straight to her house. Mark came soon after and Matt, then Jill followed by Jeff. We all gathered by our parents to face this sad time together. The only one not able to be there was my brother in Las Vegas. We surrounded my Dads bed. We talked to him, around him and over him. We told stories and shared memories. Laughing and crying. Dad wasn't really aware of us but we all held onto him until he got agitated and shooed us away. We went out of the room to find food. One brother consumed countless bowls of cereal and a few tortillas. It felt like when we were all kids together. We all slept with an ear on Dads breathing.

The next day we once again gathered around Dads bed. We told him it was ok for him to go. "Go where?" He asked. Back to Heaveny Father. "Not yet" he said. Then he looked around at each of us and said "oh, you're all here." Then he had the boys help him out to his chair in the family room. He sat with us for a while. 

My own family was getting ready to leave on a long planned trip. So A year ago today I loaded them up and we drove back to say good bye to their awesome grandpa. He hugged each of us and gave encouraging words to my children. His Bishop stopped by and offered the sacrament to my parents. Because I hadn't been to church that day I was asked to join in too. A year ago today I accompanied my Dad as he participated in his final ordinance. What a blessing that was.

A year ago Thursday, we took our kids to Legoland. It was a cold, rainy day. A rare day that closed the park. We decided to go find food. We were just finishing lunch at PF Changs in Carlsbad California when Mom called to tell me Dad had died. As my Hubbs was driving us back to Anaheim, I asked him to stay close to the ocean for a while. We soon found Laguna Beach.  I recognized it instantly from childhood trips. We walked out to a mound of rocks. And spent an hour exploring tide pools, taking in the cool ocean breeze with tears flowing. It was A beautiful, healing place.

It is 1:50 am. I want to sleep but tonight I am consumed by "A year ago.. I am not sure if last year hurt as much as this year is.  I read a quote from a book that said 

"The only way to remove pain from death is to remove love from life." 

My Dad was a wonderful man that enjoyed family, adventure, good food, getting lost, and being surrounded by family and good friends. I was raised with lots of love. I am thankful to have had a Dad that's worth missing. This week I will keep in mind two songs from his funeral Be Still My Soul and There Is Sunshine In My Soul Today. And I will think of his humor and his kindness. I am blessed that I was his daughter.

Not sure what is happening here. But I love this shot. On a different day My cousin Ben (in yellow) had been wiggling a tooth. Dad grabbed him, yanked it out and set him back on his feet. Ben spent the following 3 years walking out of my Dads reach.

Two more nephews. Dad loved taking the boys out on motorcycles, 4wheelers and jeeps. Or just out for a burger. 

Laguna Beach Dec 13, 2012

Covering a lot with those sunglasses.

Wonder Woman

I put most of this on my Facebook page over the summer so this may be a repeat for some of you. 

My 15 year old daughter is a bit of a geek girl and loves all things "geek". Doctor Who, Sherlock,  Tim Burton, Loki, and Wonder Woman.

(her own drawing)

Her bedroom was in need of some updating. When making a theme room I like to do it in accessories. That way it can adapt easily for growing out of it or moving. We are in a temporary situation so I needed  to think --How do I make her room fit this theme without painting walls?--

Then one night I had a vision/dream/nightmare and came up with the perfect curtains. That got the thought process going.

So while she spent 3 weeks being a "Nanny"for my brothers kiddos I worked on a pretty big surprise.

 Notice the Lasso of Truth

Then a bedskirt idea came, followed by the thought of adding a rug since that's a "quick" way to add a theme

The rug was an Ikea find. a beige on brown rug for about $14. I measured and outlined the design.  I then bought large bottles of craft paint. Using an application tip, I started filling in the space. 

*Major mistake to learn from. I used sharpie because I wasn't seeing my lines. As I was filling in I could see I had miss-marked some. I re-set them, then tried to paint over the bad ones. This just caused chunky paint lines with sharpie shining on through. I decided to try a bleach pen. 

I was so thrilled when it actually worked. 

But the chunky paint lines remain. Staring at me as if to mock my mistake anytime I see it:-]

If I ever make another rug I will remember the bleach pen.
Also, it would have been cheeper to have just bought a small pint can of paint. However the squeeze bottle method still gives an easier, smoother application than a brush.  

The next concern was the white wall spaces. 

I have a Brother-in-law that works at a large sign, print shop. We both searched for a few good shots of Wonder Woman that would be alright. Much of the art out there is amazing, but a little too "busty" for a 15 year olds wall. He came up with these. 

A new to us dresser and bed frame. 

(And Wonder Woman's invisible plane)

After all of this I felt like a themed bed spread would be way too much. I bought some solid blue sheets and a red comforter. I still want to add a pillow but keep forgetting. 

I have been searching for the reaction video. I guess it's gone. Needless to say, she came home thrilled to find this surprise. 

It was a lot of fun to work on. I gained some new skills along the way. 

That's it for this week. Are your decorations up? Are you all done shopping? I am mostly not started but we'll get there. 

 I think I have the comments fixed. I would love to hear from you if you stopped by. 

Have a great week. 

Christmas Swirl in use.

Just a very quick post to show you how the swirls look.

So lets see what we can do with this stuff. 

I suppose this works. 

We got it all decked and decided it was a little overwhelmed. I pulled a few things off.  

I like the swirls but then wonder if I really do or if I am just committed to them.

Fabric flowers I made last year. 

A star on top will complete all the scenery. (Patrick Star) 

 My sister ordered a tree online that has not arrived yet. She finished some of her 

decorations around the house. 

Her 3 year old daughter looked around and said "It's not perfect yet." 

My sister asked "what would make it perfect?" 

She answered" "We need presents."  

Never mind the missing tree

So, have you decked your halls?

Counter Makeover

I found this cute cabinet at the local thrift store. I loved the shape but knew the color needed some help.  

I had found these nifty tin strips at a craft store in Kaysville. They have a few designs. I knew I wanted to eventually find a 

way to use them. This cabinet seemed like a good place.

The edge of the table was a bit thinner than the smaller strip. I used tin snips to remove the edge. 

It did leave a bit of a sharp edge so I used a Dremmel cutting disk and just hit the edges with the flat side of the disk 

Then I pulled the counter off of the cabinet so that I could cleanly paint all of it. 

I had seen the Tim Holtz Alcohol paints and have wanted to mess with them. But I wanted this to be the specific color.
I painted the strips the turquoise. Then I squeezed a little rubbing alcohol and brown paint into a baby food jar and shook
it up to mix it well. I brushed the thinned paint onto the strip. then rubbed off with a rag leaving some behind in the details. 

Then using small tack nails I put the strip around the edge, 

I was going to use the larger edge pieces on the door. But I just wasn't liking how it lined up 

and I really wanted the cooler Knob. 

Just a fun little project 

I am liking that I have easy access for things I am going to carry to church 

but that I can hide it all away during the week.  

Crazy week ahead. I get to meet my dear friend for some Christmas shopping. Hopefully get a hair cut and sacrifice time to be Kori's European Facial model.  Yep, it will be rough.   

Hope your week is great

Hand Me Down Dresser

On Labor day this year we definitely Labored. We helped my brother and his family move to their cute new home. After repainting this dresser "Thrice" they were ready to get rid of it. So I threw it in the van figuring I could find somewhere to put it. 

The paint was really soft and gummy. I didn't want to do a ton of sanding but I didn't want that sticky paint either. It was bad mostly on the top so I did a quick "once over" with the belt sander and called it good.

I had a small can of paint I found in the Lowe's "reject pile".  

*A great way to find fun colors for way cheap.*  

A little spray paint on the handles 

I wanted a little something extra, but subtle. I found a Damask print I liked on the Googles;-), enlarged it and cut it out to use as a template. I then used a polyurethane to give a tone on tone pattern. 

*note* The card-stock stencil didn't end up with very smooth edges. I think I would look for an actual template if I ever try that again. Also my pattern has turned yellowish so maybe I would use a modpodge instead. 

I put this next to my makeup spot to hold hair brushes, headbands, eyeglasses and random "get ready things. 

Then, Just this week, I swapped the dresser in my room with the one from my sons room. I was looking for storage/display options for his Lego sets.

I found this at the DI (thrift shop) for $5. 

It didn't really have any use in his room after all so I set it aside for future thinking. Then as I was 

re setting my room I realized I needed one more drawer in my dresser. I looked, and measured, and thought "why not"

So a little more turquoise paint,  a little gold spray, a couple of L brackets and some Agents of Shield to keep me company...

and I have more room for lotions and potions.

Cameo appearance by Mel

Hope you have a wonderful thanksgiving. 

Mom's Kitchen Continued.

Lets start with a small re-cap.

This was Moms kitchen on October 24. 

Then after a little work, her kitchen looked like this. 

Better, but not quite finished. So on Nov. 12 we taped up plastic sheeting,  

sanded down her counter tops to rough them up. 

Added some thick black paint 

Threw on some sprinkles 

Then let it sit over night. 

The next day 

We finished painting the remaining cabinet space underneath the counter.

Sanded down the loose and rough sprinkles. 

Then we ran to Home Depot for plastic "tin" tiles

Then a little snippy snip. 

Some slide rails and strong double stick tape, and a shiny sealer on the counters.

With about 7 days of work and less than $700 later we turned 

This

Into THIS

We honestly went into this with NO idea what we were doing. We ruined our first tile making a hole for the outlets but kept going. We were able to use the "ruined" one to fill small gaps at the ends of the space so it turned out just fine. 

Sometimes you take a breath and throw on the first bit of paint so there is no turning back.  

Mom's kitchen is so bright, clean and Cool!  She couldn't be happier, and I drove home a little proud and amazed that we actually did it. 

Apparently my comment section doesn't work. No idea why. I need a lesson in blogging from all you SuperBloggers I know.