A Champagne Mind

Beware of Strangers (A Craigslist Story)

2013-09-10T09:50:00.000-04:00

     Beware of strangers, my parents taught me. They did a very good job of embedding this lesson in my brain. I've always been on the cautious side. The type of woman who leaves every light in the house on at night when I'm home alone or with my kids. I double check that my doors and windows are locked. I wait to hear that familiar beep of my cars horn 2-3 times before I feel completely sure my doors are really locked. Check my backseat when getting in my car alone at night. I've never left a bar (or anywhere else) with someone I just met. I wear a cross-body bag with all my important info in it when I travel. I've even taken self-defensive (albeit a long time ago) I would never send money at the request of an email, and I never take checks or money orders when I'm selling something. I know that not all people are good, and that some people would much rather take what they want rather then work for it. However, I am still a somewhat trusting individual, and I tend to take people at face value. I believe what they tell me once I've talked to them a few times. And I've always thought that despite my bad luck in the crime victim department, most people really are good, honest people.

     Labor Day, one of my favorite summer holiday weekends. This year we had a bit of a family reunion and it was so wonderful to see all those family members I haven't seen in so long. I wish I would have taken their advice about my plans for Monday though. Dave and I recently decided that we'd like to get a new vehicle. My current vehicle isn't very economic, and we feel we can manage in something a little smaller and at least a little more gas friendly. And when I saw an ad on Craigslist for the exact vehicle we want, for a lot less then blue book value, I was so excited! But I was apprehensive too. Why would they sell this almost new car for so much less then its worth. I called the seller and asked about the car, asked if its been taken care of, asked if there are any problems with it, asked him why he was selling it. To which he gave me all the right answers, and he was selling the car because it belonged to his mother who passed away this year and he and his family decided that they could use the money more then they needed the car. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was that the car was located in Gary, IN, about 3 hours from our home. Now if you've never heard of Gary, let me tell you its reputation isn't good. I've heard lots of things about this city near Chicago over the years, and driven past it on the highway enough times to believe the rumors. The highest crime rate in the US, the "armpit" of America. Those aren't my words, just what I've heard. And these are the reasons why my family didn't want us to go at all. But this just led me to believe this story even more. I mean a city like that, probably is a poor city, so it would make since this man would want money over a new SUV, and it would also make since that the car hadn't been sold in the first 5 minutes of posting, because it was probably hard for most people in that area to come by almost $13,000. This was how I rationalized it, anyway. So I made some calls to our bank and set up the financing, and if all went well and this car wasn't a lemon, I was going to buy it. Thank goodness it's our bank's policy to not give out money unless all parties are present at closing in person at a branch location!

     So early Monday morning my husband, myself, and a very close friend who also happens to be a great mechanic set out to go get this car. We arrived at the address the seller gave me, and we didn't see the vehicle anywhere. So I tried to call him and text him, and he replied saying he was on his way. So the 3 of us are parked along side of the street, leaning up against my husbands beat up old 1990 Buick. We drove that one, I mean, because it is Gary afterall!! And several minutes go by and still no sign of the seller. We notice a man on the corner talking on his phone, and we notice 2 men walk down the middle of the cross street down by us. Several cars go by, still nothing. We notice we are right by the baseball stadium and the fire department. Still nothing. And at this point I think all 3 of were thinking we should just get in the car and leave, this guy wasn't showing. I started to feel a little uneasy. So I said a quick prayer asking God to protect us and keep us safe from harm, offered an Our Father, and waited just a few more seconds before a man approached us. He was walking and he was one of the guys that had passed us walking a few minutes earlier. I knew he was coming up to us and I had the most sickening feeling in my stomach. I was expecting him to offer to sell us drugs, or to ask us if we had some he could by. Or something to that effect. The thought never crossed my mind of what he was about to do. He walked right up to us, close enough to shake his hand, and he said, "Check this out." And he pulled a 9mm handgun from his pocket and told us to give him our money and our phones. We stood there shocked, I finally said we didn't have any money. He took my purse and my husbands wallet anyway and our phones. And he walked away. He didn't run, he didn't even walk fast. He clearly wasn't the least bit concerned with what he just did. We drove across the street to the fire department and they called the police for us. We waited there and talked to an officer. Not a lot they can do, our stuff is gone forever. But he did tell us that when we do business on Craigslist, we should call ahead and request an officer meet us at whatever location we've agreed to meet the other party. Whether we are buying or selling either way. I wish someone had told me this was an option before then. I'm precautious, I would have had an officer meet us there in a heartbeat. I will from now on for every sale.

     And this is why I am making this post. I know my blog gets a lot of views, and I want to tell everyone so that they can be safe when dealing with Craigslist too. Please be careful, friends.

Mulberry Paper Votives/Vases

2013-01-15T15:25:00.001-05:00

The other day I was standing in a friend's kitchen waiting to go somewhere, and his roommate has these lovely glass hurricane jars that I've admired every time I see them. So on this occasion since I was waiting a while I decided to give them a little closer look, and came to the conclusion that I could totally make my own! Hers had Hobby Lobby tags on the bottom and while I realize it would have been much easier to just go buy me some, what I ultimately did has made them much more personal for me then a few glass vases from the store.
I have been holding on to some left over mulberry paper and pressed flower that I used when I made my wedding invitations 5 years ago. Holding on to them, because I can never bring myself to throw anything away, and because I've just been waiting for the perfect idea to let me incorporate this little memento into my decor somehow. Well here it was!

All you need to make your own is:
handmade paper (again I had mulberry paper)
Mod Podge
A sponge applicator
Glass vases/votive holders

I already had everything on hand to make these with the exception of the glass votive holders, which I picked up from my local Dollar Tree for a grand total of $3! Total cost a tiny fraction of what they sell for at Hobby Lobby!!

As far as instructions go the whole process is very simple. I tore my paper into smaller pieces so the edges would be rough. Leaving one straight side to line up with the top and bottom of each vase. I applied the Mod Podge to the glass and then laid the paper over the glue. After covering the entire vase I then coated the whole thing with another layer of Mod Podge. Let this dry overnight and then repeated the whole process to give 2 full layers of paper over the jars.

DIY Fascinator

2013-01-14T14:57:00.003-05:00

     It's taken me a little while with the holidays to get this one posted. My lia sophia managers planned a wonderful vintage themed Christmas Party for us at an adorable little restaurant nearby. We were all asked to wear some type of head piece. Fancy hats, headbands, fascinators, etc. We could buy or make them, and of course I chose to make mine. It turned out to be a pretty easy project. I did a little research first through Google images so that I could get a pretty clear idea of what I liked, then I head out to Hobby Lobby to pick up whatever materials I thought would look pretty and match my dress.
     I choose to anchor my fascinator to a headband so that it would be really easy to take it on and off. It would be pretty easy to add on a cute little birdcage veil to go with it as well. I ended up not having enough time to do this to mine.

     I purchased some pre-made ribbon flowers, although you could easily make your own, some loose feathers and a pretty brooch. And by hand I sewed each piece together in layers until I had built up the look I wanted. Sewing was the most time-consuming part of this project. I had totally planned to just use my glue gun to attach everything, but when it came down to it I couldn't find any of my glue, go figure. But as it turned out I do think that sewing made the headpiece much more durable overall. I did not permanently attach it to the headband though. I secured it using a couple of stick pins, which worked out perfectly and gives me the freedom to use the headband for other things as well or to just wear alone.

     Here is my finished result, again this is one of those things that is only limited by your own imagination!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2012-11-22T09:34:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is officially here, and therefore so is the start of this years' Christmas Season! It really is my favorite time of year! Thanksgiving and Christmas seem like completely separate holidays, but are they really? Sure the origination of them have completely different roots. But is it just a coincidence in time that the holiday we spend being grateful for all of our blessings comes just before the holiday where we celebrate the biggest blessing we've all ever been given? I don't think it is. Every year at our family's Thanksgiving dinner we all go around taking turns saying what we are thankful for this year. I love this tradition, especially when the year has been an especially difficult one. It's nice to remind ourselves that despite what life throws at us we really do have a lot to be thankful for. So to start off this Thanksgiving Day and holiday season here is my list....

I am thankful.......

For my husband, my children, and all of my crazy disfunctional family.
For my wonderful friends
That my parents taught me about God, without Him I surely would have been committed by now.
That my husband and I both have work, and a home and means to take care of our family.
That I have a job I love, that I truly enjoying doing, even if it is only part time and seasonal.
Despite all of the health concerns for several people, and accidents, all of our family is still here with us to celebrate another Thanksgiving.
That I have been blessed with 3 strong and healthy children.
That my husband and I were finally able to have our marriage validated after 5 years.
That the Church placed some rediculous requirements to achieve that goal. God must have known that I would only do it if forced to and that I was really going to need that this year.
That my dad is still with us.
That my friends in Michigan weren't physically harmed by that crazy shooter!
That I'm fortunate enough to be able to stay home with the twins while they are little. I wish I could have had that with my daughter.
That what started out as an excuse to get out of the house, Lia Sophia, has given me some absolutely amazing friendships with some of the most beautiful women.

This list certainly isn't exhaustive, but it's a start! What are you thankful for?

More Cheap and Easy Holiday Decor

2012-11-20T19:18:00.000-05:00

Is it really that time of year again? Well, I can't complain because Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, and also my favorite time to decorate too! Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away and I always put my Christmas decor out the day after. That's right, no shopping for me!! I'd much rather be in my warm cozy home listening to Christmas music and hanging garland!
I've already thrown a couple of things together to add to my collection of indoor holiday decor. They really don't come much easier then this. First is a simple Christmas tree. Here's what you need:

Styrofoam floral cone - choose whichever size you want for your tree. Just remember finished size is quite a bit bigger then the cone. Mine is medium.
Floral Picks - best time to get these is when they are 50% of at Hobby Lobby (so now)!
An ornament or two, or a star for the top.

Here's Mine:

     Now the overall look of this tree can be whatever you want it to be. I think I spent over an hour at Hobby Lobby choosing the floral picks I wanted to use to make this. But overall making it is really, really simple. All you do is press the picks through the cone covering the whole thing. Start at the bottom. I didn't need any glue, it was secure without. After you have covered the tree with floral, then you can embelish it with some ornaments. I used a bird and a butterfly for mine. You could top the tree with a more traditional angel or star. Depending on the type of picks you use you could even hang small ornaments from it. Your options are pretty endless.

     I think I mentioned last year that I absolutely love those styrofoam cones for making Christmas trees. Last year I covered them in glitter. You can see how I made those in last year's post for Cheap and Easy Holiday Decor.

     Next up is a gift wreath. This was the perfect thing to use up some of the lia sophia boxes I have taking over all my closets. I knew I was keeping them for a reason! Again, this was a really easy project. The most tedious part of the whole thing was wrapping all the boxes. I chose a set of wrapping papers that came together and coordinated, wrapped half of the boxes in each. Then set out how I would arrange them and only tied little bows around the ones that would be on the top. Pulled out my glue gun, glued them all together and finished the whole thing with some ribbon and a couple of ornaments I found at Wal-Mart. One of the ornaments are these lovely little jingle bells. Since this wreath will be hanging on my panty door, it will serve double duty to warn me when my little rugrats are trying to sneak into the goodies inside! Doesn't get much better then that, decor that is pretty and functional! All in all I believe this little project ran about $10!

Don't have a bunch of little boxes lying around? Well, I'd be more then happy to help you with that! Have I mentioned how much fun lia sophia parties are? And I'm sure that you would earn enough in free jewelry to aquire more then enough boxes to make one of these wreaths! Plus check off all the ladies on your Christmas list in just one evening in! Christmas cookie exchange, anyone?

At last, my mudroom reveal!!

2012-11-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

Well, what I thought was a project that would only take a few weeks to complete ended up ultimately taking me months. Not because we've been working on it all this time. But because my wonderful hubby refused to install anything until my floors were finished. Just in case you didn't see them, you can check out my new brown paper floors here.

I started this project because in the cooler months my lovely family of 5 is always leaving coats and shoes all over the place. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just as guilty as the rest of them, but, it was driving me crazy. We needed an easy way to corale the clutter. David and I had been to a few home and garden tours and some of those homes featured adorable mudrooms, with locker-style built-ins. So....out came the sawzall, down went a wall, and several months later here is my mudroom:

Now as you can see there are just a couple little touchups we still need to complete, but I didn't want to wait any longer to show everyone the finished result! It was a pretty tight fit getting the bench and cubbies installed. Apparently our builders didn't know how to install a straight wall!! So we have to touch up the paint a little and get new baseboards. Nonetheless, it is finished, and functional, and as you can see, giving us our money's worth!

Speaking of money, I think all in all we had about $200 in this small remodel project. The higher quality plywood and the drywall were our biggest expenses for this project.

My husband built the lockers himself, following these free plans from Ana White. I have to just say that I love her website and we are planning to make many more things using her super simple plans!

If you would like to go back and see the details of this project from start to finish. You can link to those posts below:

Demolition Therapy

Mudroom Update

I finally did it.....Brown Paper Flooring!

2012-09-24T16:51:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to finally be writing this post! For probably close to a year now I've had it in my mind that I was going to attempt to redo my flooring myself using brown craft paper. I've read countless tutorials, watched tons of videos, and was just waiting until I could find the time. Well, finally it is done, and I am totally in love! My old flooring was basic white linoleum. Nothing special, impossible to keep clean, ugly white linoleum. On top of that it was throughout probably 2/3 of the main level of my home. That is a lot of ugly floor! Because of our tight budget and the large amount of square footage I would be covering, I knew I needed an alternative to purchasing flooring, whether it would have been tile, hardwood, or laminate it was all going to cost a fortune. Not to say that eventually I would still love to get some gorgeous high end flooring in my house. But, brown paper was the perfect immediate fix, that I think will get us through the next several years, until my children are grown enough for it to be worth it for us to splurge.

I am not going to write a lengthy tutorial here for how to do this yourselves though. No reason to reinvent the wheel when Rachel at Lovely Crafty Home has already created the best guide ever for completing it yourself. Although since I didn't follow her instructions exactly I do want to let you know the differences.

Like Rachel I used Minwax Dark Walnut oil based stain to finish my floors. I used Varathane No Odor Floor Finish Polyurethane High Traffic Formula in Gloss, a water based poly.

Unlike Rachel:

I only applied 5 coats of poly. I did not sand any of the coats. I went with only 5 for a couple of reasons. First, I was covering a lot of sq. feet and I really wanted my house back. Plus I had watched a video from An Oregon Cottage where they said they used only 5 coats and it had proven to be very durable. My husband and I do plan to add a couple of fresh coats, maybe in a year from now just to boost it's durability.
I taped a very large paint brush to my painter's extension pole to apply my poly. I could not find foam pads like Rachel used, and I hated the foam rollers. The brush allowed me to really get nice even coats of poly. By the time I had started my 5th coat, I was becoming quite the pro at application so I was able to really get a nice even finish on my floor. Note: Do not brush or roll over an area of poly you've previously completed while it is drying, it will change the finish in that area if you are using gloss.
I glued my paper right over the top of my linoleum using a 3:1 water/glue ratio. My sub floors are concrete and because I know that in the future I want ceramic tile, I did not want to have to somehow scrape this off someday to prepare my sub floors for tile. No. Thank. You.

Personally I have always been drawn to darker wood stains, which is why I chose Dark Walnut. If you prefer the look of lighter or blonde wood tones I think that using packing paper (like you can get from U-haul stores) would work just as well, and because they are more of a light/whitish color you would be able to use lighter wood stains on them. I don't know for sure though how it would work out since I have never personally tried it myself.

Alright! Ready for some pictures? Here is my flooring before:

Getting ready to start!

And finally the finished results:

Transformational!!

The entryway

Close-up

Now that my floors are finally finished, we are also finishing up my long overdue mudroom! Just in time to bring out fall jackets and really get some use out of it! I know that reveal post is long overdue, so stay tuned it will be coming very soon!!

A Wedding Heirloom

2012-08-17T14:00:00.001-04:00

     Ahhhh, I love weddings. I loved every single minute of planning my own wedding, just under 5 years ago. I made my invitations and programs by hand, designed my own wedding cake (but I didn't actually make it), I researched every flower until I had found the ones that I knew had to be part of my day. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't love doing the whole thing over again, in fact if I could I think I would have another wedding for my husband and I every couple of years or so. But since that isn't an option, I'm really grateful for my part time job of wedding decorating and coordinating on the weekends. But before I get off track daydreaming here, this post really is a craft tutorial, I promise.

     Tomorrow afternoon, my husband and I are renewing our vows, to put it simply. Although it really isn't that simple at all. What we are really doing in fact is having our marriage validated in our Catholic church. It's a very big deal for us and we are so excited to have completed all the requirements and finally be able to bind our marriage in our Church with God the way we wished we would have been able to do 5 years ago on our actual wedding day. This is a very simple ceremony, just our close family and a couple of our closest friends will be there. There is no big white dress, bridesmaids, or any of that sort of thing. It is however in the eyes of our Church, our real wedding and official marriage. And because of that I wanted something "wedding-ish" for this special occasion, but something special and sentimental, something my own daughter may want for her own wedding someday. Which brought me to the idea of a growing trend in weddings.....the brooch bouquet.

     I started this project off with calling my Aunt and Grandma to see if they had any old brooches they were willing to give me, and also spoke to my parents about the same. I am so excited over the treasures they all put together for me. I've collected pins and some clip earrings, from my mom, my maternal grandmother, my paternal grandmother (who would have celebrated her 100th birthday just last week, if she were still with us), and from my great-grandmother, 2 great aunts, and my dad's sister too! My parent's also gave me their original wedding rings from their own wedding 47 years ago, my dad's Expert Rifleman pin from his time spent as a Marine, and I also had my grandmother's rosary beads that were given to me when she passed away 18 years ago. I purchased a few of my own to add as well. I wanted a few in purple specifically to tie the colors together, a couple cameos I couldn't resist, and a wonderful crystal and gold maple leaf to represent my Canadian husband.

Want to know how you can add something like this to your own wedding day? There are so many ways! You could simply add a brooch or two to your floral wedding bouquet. Simply mix them in with the flowers or attach them to your wrapped stems, with some ribbon. You can make a bouquet of just brooches by grouping them together like flowers (I'll show you how I did this), or by using one of those styrofoam bouquet forms you can find at any craft store. Or last but not least you can make an arrangement of flowers, brooches and anything else you might like to add in there. I used feathers for mine, but you could add in strands of pearls, ribbons, lace, etc.

Here is a list of items you will need to make one of your own:

Brooches - probably 50-80 if you plan to do a full one like mine.
Floral or jewelry making wire, 20 gauge - I used different colors of wire for each person's brooches, that way I can remember who they belong to down the road.
Green Florist tape
Silk Flowers - for mine I used 3 silk hydrangeas
Ribbon for wrapping the stems - I prefer at least 1" width for this.
Stick pins - I used the small metal stick pins for sewing with just the tiny little silver tip on them. They are much easier to conceal when neccesary and can easily be dressed up with loose beads or crystals.

Shop around your favorite craft store for any additional accents you would like to use. For mine I have plume feather picks, loose Swarovski crystals, and some Swarovski crystal accented charms.

For my bouquet, I didn't use a form. I love the look of hand tied flower stems at the weddings I do every weekend, over the plastic holder of those forms. I also wanted to have some floral accents in mine as well. So I started off with creating a firm stem for each and every brooch I planned to include in my bouquet. This was the longest, and hardest part of the whole project and I probably spent the equivalent of 3 days wiring all of the brooches. Be sure to use 20 gauge wire for this part. You need the wire to be firm enough to hold the weight of the brooches without flopping around in your bouquet, but still need it to be flexible enough to move around as you postion them in the bouquet. I used wire strands about 15-18" long for each brooch. However I really didn't measure their exact length. I wrapped the pin part of each brooch with the middle portion of the wire, in sort of a figure 8 to hold them firmly. I then twist the ends of the wire all the way down to create the stem. Finally wrapping each one completely in florist tape to give it the look of a green flower stem and to add a little extra stability.

     I used 3 artificial hydrangeas to get the size I wanted for my bouquet. In person it is about the same size as a traditional bridal bouquet. Using the florist tape I taped the stems of the hydrangeas together to create a firm cluster of petals. I then began poking my brooch stems through the petals starting in the center of the hydrangeas working my way out. Bending the wire here and there to get them in the perfect spots. I totally recommend that after you get a few in position you wrap all of the stems again with the florist tape to help make it easier for you to hold the brooches in place as you are working on it. Continue to wrap the stem bundle throughout adding all of your brooches , every 5-8 brooches. Once I had all of the brooches in place I then finished it by wrapping the stems again from the top down to about 3" from the bottom of the stems.

     After the final taping I added my feathers. The feather picks I used were very full and fluffy plumes, about 8" long for the feather. Think old fashioned caligraphy pen feathers. Using wire cutters I removed the wire pick so all I had left was the feather. I weaved the feathers in and out of the brooches and flower petals until I had little pieces of feathers sticking out all over. I taped the stems again to secure the ends of the feathers that were poking out of the bottom of the bouquet.

     Next, it was time to finish it up by wrapping the stems. I used a spool of 1" lace ribbon first. I wrapped the ribbon over where I had taped the stems. Using a small stick pin to hold the ribbon in place once I was done wrapping. I then added purple ribbon over the lace. Purple is my favorite color. I did a criss-cross pattern with the purple ribbon so that the lace would be peaking out behind it. I secured the purple ribbon with pins as well. Since these pins would be visable while holding the bouquet though I dressed them up with Swarovski crystals, and placed a row of them down the whole length of the bouquet stems. On the front of the stems where I had criss-crossed the ribbons I added some decorative Swarovski crystal jewelry accents I found that matched the vintage feel I was trying to create with my brooches. Again I used stick pins to secure these in place as well.

Last but not least, I wrapped my finished stems with my grandmother's rosary beads, securing them with pins, allowing them to dangle from the top of the handle. I used stick pins to secure all of the ribbon, lace and decorative accents, because I wanted the option to remove them later to be there. I'm sure it would have been much easier to glue them in place, but then it would have been permanent and possibly damaging to the delicate jewelry. My daughter wants to use this as her own bouquet someday, and by that time she may have more brooches of her own to add that came from her father's family. Also, she may want to change the ribbon to match the colors she chooses for her own wedding someday.

After quite a bit of work, some calloused fingers and lots of lace, ribbons, and florist tape. Here is my finished result:

Bad Things Come in.....???

2012-08-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

     Hi everyone. I know it has been a really long time since I have made any posts, I promise I haven't given up on blogging! I have several things to tell you all about that I have made over the last couple of months, unfortunately though, I just haven't been able to sit down and take the time to write about them.

     I'm sure you've all heard the old adage "Bad things always come in 3's." Well this certainly seems to be the case for us lately (or maybe they really come in 4's, 5's, etc) and it has kept me from a lot of things I was previously focusing on.

     So the 3 biggest obstacles life has thrown at us? My husband and I had some important things stolen from our cars. Most importantly was his wallet containing his green card. Still trying to sort out that mess. My nephews were in a major car accident. They are both ok now, but one of them did suffer some major injuries that are going to require months of surgeries and rehab for him to get through. And the biggest of all was my dad's diagnosis of advanced stage 4 lung cancer in mid-June. His prognosis is not good, but we are all praying as hard as we can that he will be one of those people who beat the odds and amaze the doctors. He is undergoing treatment every 3 weeks at the Cleveland Clinic, which is about a 4-4.5 hour drive from where they live. These trips require at least one overnight stay and will occasionally require 2 nights depending on tests needed. Which brings me to why I am writing this post.

     This Sunday, August 12th, we are hosting a Cancer Benefit and Poker Run for my dad, Richard Trufant. This fundraiser is to help offset the costs of having to travel so much for my dad to receive treatment. Let me tell you a little about my dad:

     He is 69 years young. He was a Vietnam P.O.W. in the Marine Corps. His unit was the first to touch the ground in Vietnam. As a result to his time dedicated fighting that war he was exposed to the chemical agent known as Agent Orange. I am one of his 4 children, and he and my mom have been married for 47 years.  My dad worked hard to raise his family and go to college after his military service, and finished his Masters degree when I was in high school (I am the baby of the family) He has been the CFO of several small community hospitals for as long as I can remember, and was one of the first hospital administrators to start implementing charity care in hospitals. He officially retired about a year and a half ago.

     Here is the official information regarding the Benefit copied from the FB event page. Anyone who would like to come show their support, but do not want to participate in the ride should arrive to the Avilla American Legion around 4pm:

KDZ & The Friends of Tina Johnson's (this is my sister) Family would like to invite you to a Poker Run & Benefit .

Richard is a Vietnam Vet & POW. He has 8 months to a year to live and the family could use our help with expenses on hotel rooms and other bills while he is under going treatment to pro long his life.

Sign up @ Avilla American Legion 11 am. First bike out noon. Last bike out at 1pm. Vehicles welcome to participate in ride. Again, if you do not want to participate in the ride, but would still like to come show your support, participate in the 50/50 drawing, the silent auction, etc. Please arrive to the Avilla American Legion at 4pm.

Avilla American Legion

205 Ley Street, Avilla, IN

$10 a person, 50/50 drawing, Door Prizes, Silent Auction and more!

1st stop:

Rudy's Bar and Grill

103 N. Main Street

Kendallville, IN

2nd stop:

Wall Lake Tavern

6100 N 1200 E

Orland, IN

3rd stop:

Fremont Bar & Grill

112 W Toledo St

Fremont, IN

4th Stop:

Rio Bar & Grill

3970 East Bellefountaine Road

Hamilton, IN

5th Stop:

Four Crowns

103 West 9th Street

Auburn, IN

If you can not make it and would like to donate door prizes or money. You can drop them off at KDZ Kustoms & Pre Owned Motorcycles 521 Ley Drive. Auburn, In 46706. Or Mail them. 260-927-0533. Make Checks out to Richard Trufant.

UPDATE: Thank you to all of those who made this event a success. Our family, dad especially, was overwhelmed with all the love and support!

Jewelry Travel Display Case

2012-05-17T00:47:00.000-04:00

     I've been very busy the last month trying to finish up various projects around the house. Unfortunately my mudroom is not quite complete yet. We haven't abandoned this project, it's very close to being completed, but with our warm weather Dave and I have been busy building our water garden.

     For today, I want to share with you an easy jewelry case/display project. We were asked by our managers to make something we could use to display jewelry at our parties. I wanted something that I knew I would use and not just for parties. The main trays I used in making this project I already had around the house, but anyone could easily get them for just a couple of dollars online. This case will make an adorable way for you to display your favorite pieces of jewelry on your dressing table or vanity, and make it very easy to just close it up and be ready to go. No more tangled jewelry in those little travel bags and rolls. Plus, it's completely custom so you can plan it to match your decor, use your favorite colors, etc.

Jewelry cases like these are available to buy usually for a couple hundred dollars. They are normally much bigger then what I have made here and are more designed for the jewelry salesperson. They are not convenient for the average person to travel with, although are wonderful for someone like me who has a lot of jewelry to take to a lot of places. You could easily make this smaller version for $30 - $40, perhaps less depending on your choice of materials.

Here is a rough list of the materials you will need:

2 - 1" Jewelry Trays
1 Piano Hinge
Small hook screws
Fabric of choice (1 yard will be more then enough)
Adhesive of choice (spray and double sided tape)
Sturdy foam, batting, or you could even use bulletin board
Cordless drill (optional, but worth it)

You will want to cut your foam material to fit nicely inside each your jewelry trays, 1 piece each. Then cut a third piece to save for later.
Next, cut your fabric to fit each piece of foam with enough material on the sides to overlap onto the back. Using your spray adhesive, coat the front of your foam and then smooth your fabric over the adhesive. Be sure to smooth your fabric out nicely to remove wrinkles and bumps and make sure there isn't any slack left in the material. Stretchy materials will be harder to work with. Turn your foam over and using the adhesive again on the back, wrap the fabric around and secure all 4 sides.

Set the covered pads aside. Align your trays together so that the inside of the trays are facing each other, like a box. Center your piano hinge and mark on just one tray the first screw hole. Using a smaller bit then your screws, make a hole where you marked and then screw the first screw to attach the end of the hinge to your tray. Follow the same steps to secure the last screw in place on the same tray. With both ends secure you can now easily drill and screw the rest of the hinge in place without needing to worry if your holes will line up. Follow all of these steps again on the other tray for the other side of the hinge. The screws will go through to the inside of the trays, but don't worry your foam will cover them later.

You can plan the inside of your trays in any way that works for you and your jewelry needs. I am a big earring person, so one whole side of my case is for earrings. Using the double sided (non-permanent) tape I attached my covered foam into the tray. Now I can easily hang my earrings through the foam. You could use your spray adhesive here as well, but I wanted the flexibility to be able to change things if I ever want to. Using double sided tape gives you the ability to later remove the foam.

Using my drill again to pre-drill the holes, I made 5 small holes along the top edge of my case. I then screwed my hooks in place to hang necklaces from. You could also use these hooks for bracelets. After positioning my hooks, I then attached my other piece of foam to this tray, again using double sided tape.

Your last piece of foam you will just want to save as a protective insert when you use your case for traveling. Place it between each trays as you close them and it will keep all of your jewelry in place and from tangling!

We're now on Facebook

2012-05-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

Stay connected with the latest news and posting from A Champagne Mind now through Facebook. Just visit our Facebook page and click "like"

A Champagne Mind on Facebook

Our little piece of paradise

2012-05-01T10:24:00.000-04:00

Finally after a year our water garden is finished.

For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted a water garden. Something with flowing water, beautiful plants, and fish. There is just something about water gardens that help you escape the crazy life brings. A place to let your worries and frustrations escape you, listening to water splashing, watching hummingbirds and butterflies, and beautiful koi eating right from your hand.

Last summer, Dave and I finally decided to make this little dream of mine a reality. We were given a couple of preformed ponds and so the process began. Well, we made a lot of mistakes, did a lot of research and now a year later we finally have our little piece of paradise. I'm going to save you the tedious recounting of all the things we did wrong. There are a million and 1 ways to build a water garden. Here I am going to share with you how we did ours, why, and how doing it ourselves made this little dream a lot more friendly on our bank accounts.

Before

The most important thing I have learned about building and designing a water garden is to make sure whatever your plans are you need to work with mother nature. She created the most efficient method for keeping her waters clear, so your goal should be to follow her lead. This process is called the nitrogen cycle. I'm not going to get into a biology lesson here, but if you decide to build a water garden of your own, be sure you understand this process. Otherwise you will have a very high maintenance pond that requires lots of expensive chemicals and work to keep it looking pretty. Who wants that?

Our first attempt....

Having a professional install your water garden can be very expensive, for a pond on the small side but still large enough to keep koi the best DIY kit I found was $1800, this did not include rock, underlayment or any landscaping, adding that, you could easily be up to $2500 with a kit. Having someone install this kit probably would have made the expense closer to $5000 or much much more. I've heard of ponds costing as much as $25,000 to install. Now we made a few mistakes along the way that made this project a little more expensive for us, but as a rough estimate, a pond like we have now could easily be done yourselves for approximately $800 - $1000. That is about a quarter of the price of having someone else do it!! Wow!

Starting over

     As I mentioned above, we started off with 2 preformed ponds. These can be found online and in most large home improvement stores like Lowe's, Home Depot and Menard's. I know that these can be made beautiful and work for a lot of people. However, not for us.  We could never maintain clear water in these, and no matter how much I didn't want to admit it, they just aren't big enough to keep koi. So we ripped them out this year and started over.

     Our finished pond is just over 1000 gallons, the minimum size needed for keeping koi safely over winter, all year round. These can grow to be big fish, all the way up to 3' long. But they are beautiful and very social animals. They will interact with you, eat from your hand, follow you around as you walk around the pond, respond to your voice, etc. They are much like a dog, only confined to the edges of your pond. Goldfish are much smaller and can be kept nicely in a smaller pond, but for me, there's just something about koi.
     Here is a shopping list for building a pond like mine, and what I paid for mine.  I'm not including basic materials, like shovels, etc:

2 Pond Liners - $150 Lowe's (one for pond, one for bog and waterfall)
Underlayment - FREE carpet padding from carpet store
Submersible Pump, 3500 gph - $94 Amazon
Skimmer - $150 Amazon
PVC, fittings and tubing - $50
Pea gravel, river rock, and large edging stones - $100, a lot was free from people we know and Craigslist
Mulch - $50
Fish - $50, 3 koi and 9 goldfish, the rest were Free
Plants - $150 perennials
Lighting - $30 so far. We will be adding to this.

The view from behind....

Waterfall

My main pond is 7' x 13'. My bog is 3' x 3'. The bog is raised behind the main pond overflowing into the waterfall which flows into the main pond. My pump is located inside the skimmer which is connected to the main pond diagonal from the waterfall. The pump pulls the water from the main pond to the bottom of the bog. I used flexible sump pump tubing from the pump to the outside of the bog. Inside the bog I used PVC pipe which we cut perforations through to allow the water to seep in. The bog is filled with pea gravel, with marginal (water loving) plants planted in the gravel at the top. The bog is my filtration. The gravel works as both a mechanical and biological filter, providing lots of surface area for bacteria to grow to break down waste from the fish turning it into nutrients as well as blocking particles in the water. The plants as they grow will consume the nutrients in the water that algae would need to grow, thus giving us pretty clear water. No chemicals and no expensive filter pads to clean and replace.

Bog

     All of the plants are perennials, which means they will come back year after year. And most of them are flowering as well. The overall look of my water garden will have a cottage garden feel to it. Hopefully this time next year I can add an updated photo of everything growing in, filling out, creating the garden get away I've been imagining!

     We still need to get one more yard of mulch to cover the back area and around the bog, which I've already accounted for in our cost. Other then that all we have left to do is sit back and enjoy!

     Please feel free to contact me for more in detail explanations of what we have done here. Also, my biggest resource though all of this has been Garden Pond Forums. They are all very helpful, experienced ponders with answers to just about everything you can think of! Stay tuned to see updates of how the garden is growing and changing!

A Mother's Worth

2012-03-04T00:12:00.000-05:00

I was recently contacted with an invitation to share the following with my blog readers! I absolutely love this! Now if only my wonderful hubby read my blog too once in a while maybe he wouldn't mind so much when I splurge a little on shoes!

Find Online Degrees

Thank you for stopping by! Please, hook a girl up and vote for me! (No information required, just a click is all I need!)

Top Mommy Blogs

2012-03-02T10:21:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to share the news that A Champagne Mind has been accepted at Top Mommy Blogs! You'll see a Top Mommy Blogs icon in the right sidebar of my blog and at the end of each post. Please help me out by remembering to click on one of those each time you visit my blog to place your vote for me! All you have to do is click, no other information is required! Thank you so much!

It is Valentine's Day

2012-02-16T16:37:00.001-05:00

     Let me just start by saying that in my opinion as the mom of twins (who share a room) the greatest baby-proofing device ever created is this little pressure mounted thing that prevents kids from being able to open a door. It truly is wonderful. You mount it at the top of, say, a bedroom door, and voila little midgets can only open the door a few inches and cannot close it back on their fingers. GENIUS!!

     Yes I have been locking my kids in their bedroom since they began sleeping in toddler beds. Judge me if you want, but these guys were in beds at 18 months old. I for one was not interested in having 2 little Tasmanian devils tornado-ing though my home while the rest of us were sleeping. Well, those cute little doorknob covers were just that, cute. My munchkins figured out how to pry those off within 2 days.

     But this is not my point to this post. Alexander (my big boy), has recently figured out that he can stand on his headboard to open the door latch. Sad times for me let me tell you. Any given morning prior to this new skill. Alex and Preston would wake up and start yelling to me that they were awake. I would then begin to will myself out of bed. Get dressed and start my day with them. This 10 minutes or so before un-caging the animals was very necessary to my sanity. Believe me!

     Today was just so cute though that I have to share. This morning I awoke to Alex standing beside my bed, gently shaking me, saying "Mom......mom........mom........mom.......you have to wake up mom.....mom......mom......mom." Then Preston comes a long and joins in the chorus. Both of them, "Mom......mom...You have to wake up mom, it's not nap time anymore! It's Valentine's Day, wake up Mom." Yes that's right, Valentine's Day. Alex for some reason has been convinced all day that today is V-day! So now I am awake and at that stage where I am attempting to will myself out of bed before they destroy the house. Alex brings me 3 of his toys from the bathroom. "Here mom. Happy Valentine's Day!" Isn't he so sweet! I don't know what made him think this was today or what he was thinking when it actually was Valentine's Day, but there you go, a gift from my sweet little valentine.

     Fast forward to this afternoon. My daughter gets home from school and I am bandaging a scrape on her leg. My husband comes home and tells me to close my eyes. So here I am with Neosporin on my fingers and my husband is waving something in my face (eyes are closed) asking me what it smells like. Well, it didn't smell like roses that was for sure. Finally he lets me open my eyes to a take-home box of my favorite style Buffalo Wild Wings! Yummy. I really was surprised. Here he was home early, with take-out just for me, from BWW's. Must have been a peace offering for going to have a couple with his buddies and not telling me (just kidding, honey). And here comes Alex......"See it is Valentine's Day, right Dad! Happy Valentine's Day!!" This kid just cracks me up! I love my guys!

I really do need to turn the bedroom doorknobs so that the lock is on the outside. Where's my screwdriver.......

Don't forget to click the picture to vote for me!! You can vote as many times as you like.....

52 Reasons.....

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

     I've always loved this holiday. Even before I was married. Maybe it is a Hallmark Holiday, but ever since I was little I've always loved that there's a day to celebrate love! This year we will also have been married for 5 years. So I wanted to do something special for this Valentine's day.

     For a gift I made my husband a deck of cards, 52 reasons why I love him! It wasn't exactly easy. I didn't just sit down and come up with all of these in 20 minutes. So don't feel bad if you try this someday and can't either. Each card has a reason and best of all he will even be able to actually use them if he wants to. A lot of people don't know this, but he's actually a pretty sentimental guy. Anyway, I had seen a few craft projects using a regular deck of cards and scrapbook paper, like these. They would be really wonderful gifts, but seemed more like something I (or any woman) would like, but not for a practical guy like my husband.

     I can't help but want to shout from the rooftops why I love this man so much! So here are the reasons:

1. He looks amazing in a pair of jeans. No explanation necessary.

2. His smile still gives me butterflies.

3. He's the one person I know I can always trust. And gave me a lot of understanding when I was learning how.

4. He always brightens up my bad days.

5. He supports me in everything. Even when I want to rip out walls!

6. He's very handy!

7. He's a great personal heater. This is very important since I am always freezing!

8. He's the best dad!

9. He has sexy shoulders.

10. His integrity.

11. He is hard-working.

12. He's very thoughtful.

13. We always agree on the big things.

14. He isn't at all macho.

15. He's a pretty good cook.

16. He's never been the jealous type.

17. He talks to much when he drinks! I give him a hard time about this, but secretly always loved how much my normally extremely quiet guy transforms after a couple beers.

18. We have so much fun when it's just us.

19. He's really good at building things.   I show him a picture and he makes it happen.

20. He'll hold a hair dryer under the covers at 4am, just to warm me up! See #7.

21. He always fights fair. No bringing up the past, etc.

22. He doesn't hold a grudge.

23. He is talented

24. He is smart.

25. He always helps me with my "projects". Even when he swears up and down before I start that he isn't doing any of it. And I never have to ask. This was especially awesome when it came to digging out my pond. 3 times.

26. He doesn't care that I don't always look my best.

27. He thinks of us as equals. No step-ford wife mentality here.

28. He'll get out of bed just to go downstairs and get me a glass of water when I forget.

29. When money isn't an issue, he'll surprise me with things I'm lusting after. Even though he thinks I already have more then enough shoes/clothes/etc.

30. He always lets me sleep when the kids wake up early or in the middle of the night.

31. He likes to cuddle, and has trouble sleeping when I'm not home.

32. I always thought he looked sexy in all his hockey gear. This one will really be a surprise to him, but it's true!

33. He didn't complain at all when I painted the kitchen red. He hates red.

34. He will always be my "Superstar". Inside thing.

35. He has always kept our private life private. Even in the beginning. Even in the locker room.

36. He watches girly TV drama with me like Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives (remember The O.C, honey).

37. He never tells anyone when I cry watching the above mentioned girly TV shows. Shhhhh.....

38. Sometimes he brings me breakfast in bed for no reason at all.

39. He never complains about going to my parents, and we go a lot! In fact, he loves my parents!

40. He settled down 1800 miles away from home to be with me.

41. He thinks flowers are a big waste of money, but sends them to me anyway, just because I love them. And he remembers that lilies are my favorite.

42. He's always loved my daughter just as much as our twins.

43. Even if he's angry, he never says or does things to hurt me.

44. The view from behind!! All that hockey definitely paid off!

45. He mastered my dad's omelets!

46. He's a lot like my dad. Which I love because I will always be a daddy's girl.

47. He's a corny romantic. Not in that weird "you need a counselor" kind of way.

48. He doesn't like infants, AT ALL! But, was amazing when ours were that small! Diapers, feeding, up-all-night, reflux, snuggling....AMAZING!

49. He always does the grocery shopping....and the cooking....and the dishes. Need I say more?

50. He's a great kisser!

51. He is a christian.

52. We are both 100% committed to each other until "death do us part"

So, want to know about the cards? I ordered a kit that came with blank cards, a case, and coating spray, and purchased their software. I was able to design and print them myself. Check it out here if you want to make them too.

My overall opinion? They're okay. The coating that was supposed to make the cards smooth really only worked on the side with very little printing. A few cards were smooth on the photo side but not many and very random. So I have no idea if something I did caused the spray to dry grainy. It wasn't like it was specific sheets or anything. But I can see how this could be frustrating when dealing the cards, since they feel a little grainy and don't really slide apart. Also the software was a little tricky. It was just a hair off center on the number-side of the cards. I could live with it. But the backs were way off and there was nothing I could do to get it to print properly. I called the company and they were helpful, and if I had more patience maybe they could have resolved it completely. But it started to become a little bit of phone tag. Alas, patience isn't one of my virtues, so I simply used Photoshop to redesign the back template and printed the backs through there. So I guess the $17 I spent on the software part of the gift was unnecessary, since PSE worked just fine.

All in all though, I still think it's a wonderful gift. I never really expected Dave to pull these out when he's playing cards with the guys anyway.

Mudroom Update

2012-02-10T12:04:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry to disappoint, so I'll just put the bad news out there first. My mudroom is not finished yet. It is getting close though. So I just wanted to give everyone a little glimpse as to what it looks like now that the walls are all finished. My next post will be the big reveal, and I promise it won't be too long!!

Remember, if you like following me, please subscribe to my blog! And don't forget to validate your email. You'll get my next post delivered straight to your inbox, the only emails you will ever get from me are new postings.

Demolition Therapy!

2012-01-13T11:01:00.000-05:00


Just an example

I am so excited about my current project that I couldn't wait to share just a little bit! So, I've decided to write a "teaser" blog about it.

My home has a nice open floor plan and lots of closets, but I've always wished I had a mudroom with those cute built in hooks, cubbies and bench for your family to place their coats, shoes, backpacks, etc. I've shopped around for a hall tree, but it just isn't the same. So I did a little reorganizing and decided to open up the closet facing my garage.

So fast forward and I have the entire wall torn out that used to be the front of my closet, my next step is replacing drywall. I can't even begin to describe how fun this has been so far! I would have never guessed it but tearing out a wall is quite exhilarating! It's right up there with retail therapy or going to a shooting range!

I'm hoping to have this project totally completed or at least have the walls finished before my open house on the 27th! So stay tuned to see the results!! If you haven't done so already be sure to follow me with your email. After you verify your email then you will get my newest blog posts straight to your inbox!!

If you are like me and have never done anything like this yourself, I'll give you a quick little checklist of how I've gotten to this point.

Remove all the trim and door casing if any. Just pry it off, carefully.
Use a hammer to make the first hole in your drywall. Then using a flashlight check to be sure that there isn't any pipes or wires in the way. Safety First!

Next I used a sawzall to cut away the drywall that I wanted to remove.

Once we had all the drywall cut away and could see the 2x4 framing of the wall, we got a little concerned that we had misjudged this wall and that it may in fact be a load-bearing wall. So I contacted the builder and asked them to verify. After they got back to me confirming that it was NOT a load-bearing wall. I was then able to proceed

**IMPORTANT** Do not attempt to remove a load-bearing wall unless you have the experience to do so. It can be done, but needs to be left to the professional. The structural integrity of your home depends on it.

Next I swapped the blade on the sawzall and proceeded to cut the nails in the 2x4's. This was much easier then attempting to pry all of them out. There were only a couple left that I couldn't get the saw blade close enough to.
So, last but not least, utilize hubby's brutal strength to rip out the remaining boards!

Can't forget to give credit to my assistant!

So there it is.....Stay tuned to see how the finished result turns out!

My Handy Hubby!

2012-01-06T12:45:00.000-05:00

Kids' Low Rider Bookcase - $349

Winter has a way of bringing to mind lots of things to do around your home to make it more functional. At my house this usually means more work for my wonderful husband! I really am lucky that he puts up with me and actually does the things I ask! So while we are working on the next few updates to our home that we have planned I wanted to show some of the things he's done in that past that (in my opinion) look great and saved us a bunch of money too! Starting with a Land of Nod inspired bookcase:

When our boys started flinging themselves over their crib rails we new it was time to update their room. I was getting tired of them jumping out of the crib and then emptying the contents of their dresser all over the place. So with their new Dr. Seuss bedroom, we got rid of the dresser, moved all of their clothes to the [locked] closet and built them a bookcase to store and organize some of their toys. I loved this one from Land of Nod. But my husband and I didn't want anything to do with that price tag, and wanted something to fit our own dimensions. So, we designed/made our own for less then half of the cost of theirs, and bigger too! The original Low Rider was designed to fit below a window if necessary. So you can tell ours is quite a bit taller then that.

Ours for less then $150

Main tools needed for this project:

Drill
Hand Sander
Circular Saw
Kreg Jig

If you would like details for how to build this please feel free to email me and I will have DH put some plans together for you.

Now I can't tell you about the twins' Big Boy Room and not at least show a few pics of that too! So here they are, and I'm happy to say they still love it a year later!

Weekly Calendar Wall Art

2012-01-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Here we are starting 2012 and making all sorts of resolutions; to be healthier, to declutter, and to be more organized to name a few. So for me I've started with a cute new weekly dry-erase calendar for my wall! I wish I could take credit for this awesome idea, but I can't. I found this adorable project on Pinterest. My new favorite place to visit. In fact it's more like an addiction.

I use my phone and a yearly day planner to keep track of my calendar for the most part, but this idea is really great to give my husband a heads up for what is going on during the week. Plus I love that I can customize it however to match the decor in my house. Here is the original from Pinterest.


Original pin on Pinterest. Click on pic to go to that page.

     Mine is not much different from this one, aside from the papers and the hanging method. The original creator of this decorative calendar simply purchased the above frame from Wal-Mart, inserted scrapbook paper, and bought some dry erase markers. Super easy!!

     Well, of course the frame was no longer available when I found this, neither in store or online, so I made one myself. And you can too! It was super easy, and cheap too!

Supplies:

8 - 5x7 picture frames of your choice (choose ones that have plenty of surface for adhesive)
8 pages of scrapbook paper of your choice
Krazy Glue (super glue)
Dry Erase Markers
Ribbon

Now there may be better glues for this project, but I didn't want to go out and buy any. I wanted something stronger then craft glue. Elmer's Glue-All did not work, and super glue was the other choice I already had at home. Arrange your frames and glue them together. You can attach them at the sides of each frame, or you can stack frames on top of each other for a more dimensional look. I chose the latter.

*Note: Frame your scrapbook paper first if you choose the stacked look. Depending on the style of your frames you may not be able to open the backs of the frames after you glue them together.

After your glue has dried and your scrapbook paper is in the frames then you are ready to hang up your creation. To make hanging easier I tied ribbon to the nail hangers on the backs of the top 2 frames. Only 1 centered nail needed and super easy to level. I stuck an artificial flower on the head of my nail to disguise the nail. Now you can write your weekly agendas on the glass with dry erase markers. If you didn't want a calendar, you could use your new frame to write out your house rules for kids, or even make an adorable chore/rewards chart out of it.


Zoomed view of my finished calendar.

My kitchen "office"

Cheap and Easy DIY Holiday Decor

2011-12-06T09:47:00.000-05:00

My home entryway

In my last post I talked about making your own heirloom Christmas ornaments. You can check them out here. This time I'd like to show a few simple Christmas home accents that I have made that are very, very easy to complete, and very affordable.

Glitter Trees

These cute little cone trees, only take a few minutes to create! Mine are red, but I think they would be beautiful in any color glitter to match your theme. You could even mix glitter colors together!

Supplies

Elmer's Glue-All Spray adhesive (or comparable)
Cone-shaped Styrofoam (various sizes, at any craft store)
Glitter, any color of your choice, 1-2 bottles depending how messy you tend to be.
Small plastic ornament for top of tree
Long wooden skewers

Carefully insert skewer in through top, center of tree. This will be removed later once your finished gluing, but makes it easier to handle in the process. Next, spray the adhesive all over the tree (bottom of tree is not necessary), and begin sprinkling entire tree heavily with glitter. When finished covering, gently tap excess glitter off. Allow trees to dry. Finally, add your ornament to top of tree. You can use more glue, or if you find ornaments like mine, you can simply insert directly into top of tree. Set them as a group on your mantel or hall table for a festive look!

Throw Pillow Shams

This idea came to me shortly after I had finished Christmas decorating one year and after looking around my home, I felt like something was missing. It was my pillows! The pillows that came with my couch and loveseat clashed terribly with all the red, green and gold! I spent a few days going to various stores trying to find new pillows that I liked and didn't have much luck. There were very few options, and to buy several it was quite expensive too! This is of course how a DIY idea is born.

Hard to tell in photos, but my shams have gold and sequin embroidered poinsettias.

Supplies

1 yard of fabric for each sham (you may be able to get 2 out of a yard depending on the width of your fabric choice)
Seam/Hemming iron-on tape
Coordinating thread
Sewing machine is optional but definitely makes it much easier
Pillow forms from craft/sewing store (optional, it is much cheaper to use your regular throw pillows, which is what I do.)

Using your throw pillow or pillow form as a guide, determine how big your sham needs to be to cover the pillow. Allow about 1/2 inch for seams on the sides and ends. Your fabric should be long enough to wrap all the way around the entire pillow (like the first step in gift-wrapping a box). Width-wise, there should be just enough on the sides for the fabric to meet and snuggly fit around the pillow, with 1/2" allowance for the seam. Length-wise fabric ends should overlap after wrapping around pillow.

Once your fabric is cut to size you should have a rectangle. Turn the fabric so the inside is against your pillow and fold it over your form, both ends should come together and overlap 2-3 inchesdirectly in the middle of your pillow. Cut the length of your fabric so that these ends can overlap without a lot of excess fabric, allow for 1" extra on both ends to make seam, and enough for the fabric to overlap approx. 2 inches once seam is finished.

After your fabric has been cut to size you can now finish the seams on the short ends of your fabric rectangle, using the iron-on seam tape. Be sure to lay the tape on the inside of the fabric and fold over. I like these hems to be a little wide personally, but you can do however you like. With fabric inside out wrap around pillow again and mark with stick pins where the side seams will need to be. Don't pull to tight as the sham will be just a little smaller when you turn the fabric around after sewing. Finish with a simple stitch on your sewing machine or by hand, down both sides and then turn right side out. You can stuff your pillow inside and enjoy!

Display your new creations, trim your tree, wrap a few picture frames and throw some ornaments in a bowl for a simple and complete holiday look. Pour a glass of wine, turn on the lights and Christmas music and enjoy the atmosphere!

Heirloom Holiday Ornaments

2011-12-04T15:58:00.000-05:00

My tree and centerpiece.

Ask anyone, and they will tell you, I love Christmas! I love baking and sharing cookies, I love giving gifts, I love celebrating Jesus, and I love decorating!! I'm sure if I had a limitless budget then my house would look like some sort of shrine to Christmas, beginning the day after Thanksgiving. So my next couple of posts will of course be about some of the crafty little things that are part of my decor, maybe you'll have some time to incorporate them into yours if you want.

Handmade Ornaments:

My grandmother makes these ornaments. I've often thought of making some myself, eventually I may do a themed tree with these. But with little ones taking up my time, I'm happy to fill my tree with the beautiful ones Grandma makes. The materials are limited only by your imagination. But here is a simple list:

Glue gun and glue. I recommend using low temp so you don't burn yourself working with tiny pieces.
Styrofoam balls (or other shapes if you like)
Lace or lace appliques
Satin ribbon (your choices of colors)
Beads and pearls used for jewelry (with a hole through them) in assorted sizes and shapes
Silver stick pins and/or the kind with little pearl heads
Thin Fabric
Cording (like used on curtains)

This is just a simple list as you can tell from the pictures. The process is very simple. Start with fabric or lace and cover the ball using a small amount of glue. Then you can add on the cording, or lace appliques, again using the glue gun. All of the little pearls and beads are then threaded onto the stick pins, and pushed through the ball. Be sure to use a little glue on the pins, so that they are permanent. Tie bows and ribbons to dangle from your ornaments, and to create the loop to hang with. Use large pearls and beads to finish the ends.

Again, you are only limited by your imagination! Add them to your tree, or even throw them in a bowl for a unique way to display your beautiful heirloom ornaments.

The Terrible 2's, Times 2

2011-11-15T09:36:00.001-05:00

When God answers prayers, sometimes he doesn't answer them the way we would have expected. At some point in my life I must have prayed for patience. I can't remember when, but I'm sure it had to do with my daughter. I imagined that the answer to this prayer would feel like a great blanket of calmness coming over me. Instead, he blessed me with twins, and with them an abundance of lessons in patience.

As I am writing this post, Preston is standing in the corner. He snatched a toy from his brother. Right now, in between a lot of hyperventalating and sobbing, it sounds a lot like this:

"Mommy, I wanna talk to you. Please Mommy, I wanna talk to you. Mommy, I'll stop crying. I'll stop crying, Mommy. Please, Please, Please."

Then there is a pause, almost long enough for me to start the timer, and for this to be over. But it starts again, still in between all the sobbing and screaming:

"Mommy, I need to eat. I'm hungry, please, I'm so hungry, Mommy. Please Mommy, I need to to eat. Please Mommy, I'll stop crying. I need to talk to you. Mommy, I'm so hungry"

Meanwhile, Alex is chirping his brother. He's careful not to talk to him, and wind up in the corner himself. But his end of this ordeal, in a very matter-of-fact manner, sounds something like this:

"Mommy, Preston can't have any milk. Preston can't eat. Preston needs to stop screaming. Preston took my toy. Preston wouldn't share with me. Preston should stop crying. He needs to stand in the corner, Mommy. He wouldn't share with me."

Finally, after 45 minutes of someone pressing the repeat button on those 3 quotes, Preston stops crying, sobbing, sniffling, etc. Complete quiet, long enough to count. I let him out of the corner to come talk to me about sharing and not grabbing toys. They go on to play together laughing and sharing and playing with the dogs. Happiness restored. But I know to expect these events another 5 or 6 times, each of them, before bedtime tonight.

I've often thought about praying for God to protect my sanity as we go through this season. But I am afraid of what the answer to that prayer may look like.

Counter Transformations (a review)

2011-11-10T09:19:00.000-05:00

     When my husband and I were viewing our house to consider purchasing, there were a lot of things I loved about it. I loved the big open floor plan, the huge corner lot, the extra bay on our garage and the master bathroom.  But, we knew if we bought it there would be a never-ending list of changes to be made. Of course we wanted to remove wallpaper and paint to our tastes, but I was also envisioning different flooring, carpeting, landscaping, appliances and of course, new counters!

     There is nothing inexpensive about new counters.....until now. After searching forever for any idea to turn our mediocre laminate counters into the focal point in our house that they should be, I finally found Giani Granite. I recommend checking out the photos on their website as well as their facebook page. In fact, facebook is what had me hooked on trying this product. Here is my review and how-to:

     Giani Granite Paint kit contains almost everything you will need to take on this project and covers 35 sq. ft. Not bad for only $70. I purchased 2 kits, as I have a lot of counter space and thought I may go over. Included in the box:

Primer
3 colors of mineral paints
Clear topcoat
1 roller and 2 roller pads
1 foam brush
1 sponge applicator
Written instructions and demonstration DVD
Practice board

So before we begin here is the before of my kitchen counters:

and a close-up:

There really was nothing wrong with my counters. They just weren't my taste. This is precisely the reason why I would never be able to convince my husband or our budget that we need new counters. We didn't. I did.

First steps were to wash the counters per the instructions with SOS pads. Fill any deep seams with wood patch, and tape off all the areas around the counter that I didn't want to paint. Then the fun began.

- Black Primer. To hide all that was of my former counters. This was a bit of a shock, and definitely the point of no return!

I let this dry overnight although, instructions show only a 4 hour drying time is needed. I then started the process of sponging the mineral colors on with a few variations of my own to the instructions. My kit was the Chocolate Brown, and in addition to the 3 included colors I also added metallic copper acrylic craft paint. But we'll get to that.

-Before touching my counters I practiced on the included board. I strongly recommend that you do not skip this step. I tried numerous techniques and tools, many that were not mentioned on the DVD. By the time I was finished, my practice board looked horrific, but I new exactly what I was going to do, and what not to do. I left the board on our table so my husband could see it before he left for work. No reason I couldn't have a little fun. Later when I spoke to him he admitted he was terrified that I was about to destroy our kitchen when he left for work that morning. Priceless. Anyway....

-I cut the included sponge in half, and then cut a tiny part off to use on corners. I then sponged each color per the instructions. However, unlike the instructions, I allowed a short amount of drying time between each color, and I also used a damp clean sponge to dab back over the first two colors immediately after applying them. Allowing a little drying time between colors gave them each a crisp color as opposed to a more blended look. Sponging off with the damp sponge gave the first two colors, which were the lightest, a softer look. After adding the included colors I then lightly added the metallic copper craft paint in the same manner. Again I allowed all of this to dry overnight.

-Next using the smallest artist brush I could find and the black primer, I painted veins throughout the counters. In some areas I traced along where black was already touching other colors and in other places I just drew them in wherever I liked. It was very random. I then allowed to dry overnight again.

-Using 600 grit sandpaper I lightly sanded everything. Just enough to scruff it up, but not really remove much color. This broke up my harsh vein lines and gave them a much more natural look.

-Finally I applied 2 layers of topcoat as instructed.

My new kitchen:

I have to admit that pictures don't do this product justice. I have never sponge painted anything before. To be honest I've never considered my self anything close to artistic. But they are correct in advertising that anyone can use this product regardless of skill or experience! I couldn't be happier with the end result! We have been using our "new" counters for about a month now and they are living up to our expectations. With 5 people in our home and our kitchen being the center, they certainly see a lot of abuse. Not bad for only $140 and enough left over to do my bathroom!!

Diaper Train

2011-11-09T15:27:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't love the traditional baby shower centerpiece, the diaper cake? When a good friend of mine told me she was pregnant, I immediately started trying to come up with an idea for her diaper cake. Aside from being adorable I think these are amazing gifts! Especially when adorned with all the little things babies need, but can really dent the wallet as they add up. I had never made a diaper cake before, but I knew I wanted it to be special.
A few months prior I helped my sister make an adorable 3-wheeler cake for my niece, I have to admit though she did the work.

After searching photos on the internet I finally settled on making my friend a diaper train. I couldn't find any descriptions of how to make these, but there were lots of pictures and places to buy one already made. One place that I'd like to give mention to that makes and sells adorable diaper cakes is http://www.babyfavorsandgifts.com/

However, I love making things, and feel that its so much more personal when you do it yourself. So I set out to make my own. Read on for the items used and included and basic instructions for making one yourself.

132 ct. Box Huggies sz 1 diapers
1 Plush baby blanket
3 Receiving blankets
3 baby washcloths
wicker basket (from baby store)
1 cake board
11 large flowers
Coordinating colors of thin and thick satin ribbon
rubber bands
doublesided tape
stick pins
toy links

In basket:

Johnson's lavender body wash and lotion
Baby thermometer
Nasal Aspirator
Grooming Kit (brush, comb nail clippers, etc)
A&D ointment
Knit baby booties
Leftover washcloths, receiving blanket and 2 diapers.

Ok, so before anyone goes on to tell me how I didn't do this project on the cheap, let me explain. Being a mother of twins, I bought the things for my friend that I preferred using. My kids could only ever wear Huggies everything else gave them rashes. The Johnson's lavender baby wash really does work to help babies sleep, so it's worth a few extra pennies! Anyway, I gave her premium diapers, blankets and body wash. It was a rather expensive gift, and could be made for much less then I did. But she has done so much for me and my twins, and this is her gift from me for 2 separate showers.

First step in building this was to make the wheels. There are 10 wheels altogether, 6 for the train, and 4 for the wagon. Plus 2 more for the top of the train engine. Each wheel contains 9 diapers. I rolled the first diaper and secured with a rubber band. I then used the remaining 8 diapers to wrap around the first staggering the ends all the way around, securing the whole thing with a rubber band. Once all the wheels were finished I wrapped ribbon around 10 of them to hide the rubber bands. Securing the ribbons with doublesided tape. This is not necessary on the last 2 wheels. After my wheels were finished I set 6 together and cut my cake board to fit on top of all 6 wheels, I did not leave much room for the board to overhang and hide the wheels.

I folded the nice plush blanket to lay perfectly across the cake board, with no visable folds. I used doublesided tape to help it stick to the board and not move around easily. My 2 remaining wheels I wrapped with a receiving blanket and placed on top of the board just an inch or 2 away from the front edge. I then used 2 strips of wide ribbon wrapped over the wheels and around the cake board to secure everything in place. Using more doublesided tape to secure the ribbon to the underside of the cakeboard. Set aside.

For the back of the engine I used 22 diapers, stacked just like they are in the package. I wrapped a rubber band around them to ensure they stay together, and then wrapped the whole thing up in another receiving blanket, using more doublesided tape to hold everything together. I used a open washcloth to cover the back of my "box" to give it a more finished look.

I place the "box" on the cakeboard just behind the front of the engine. I then used another receiving blanket and tape to secure it to the board, wrapping it and taping it just like the ribbons that held the front of the engine.

I added a folded washcloth to the front to look like the grill of a train, a rolled washcloth to the top for a whistle and then finished everything off by adorning with ribbons, bows and flowers. The wagon was just placed on top of the wheels and the links were used as windows on the engine, and as connectors between the engine and the wagon. Start to finish it was done in about 2 hours.

Voila!