CREATIVE AMBITIONS

My “Country Living” Spring Mantel

2012-03-12T13:37:00.001-04:00

YAY!

Spring

has sprung here in Tennessee…

and so has my “Country Living” themed mantel.

You will see that I used some old relics I had on hand (thanks Mom!) to create my

spring explosion of country living.

Watering can, birdhouse, old washing board, flowers…

things from past and present come together

to celebrate the outdoors in springtime and create the feeling of farm life!

Along with some sprigs of flowers tucked in between the stones,

I used an old lantern, an old rusty colander and a metal birdcage (for a punch of color)

to adorn the front of the stone fireplace.

I love using old metal and wood together.

It was lots of fun creating my “Country Living” Spring Mantel this year!

Hope you enjoyed seeing spring explode here at Creative Ambitions…

Now…

off to clean up my messy living room I created in the process! LOL!

Happy Spring Everyone!

Rustic Winter Mantel

2012-01-08T13:20:00.001-05:00

I finally got the Christmas decorations put away!

How about you?

I usually DON’T decorate my mantel… EXCEPT for Christmas.

And normally…after Christmas…

I stick this huge single canvas painting up there until next Christmas.

BUT THIS YEAR…

I decided to have a little RUSTIC FUN with my mantel!

It took me a couple of tries to get it where I wanted it.

This was my FIRST attempt:

BUT… NOPE…

it didn’t sit well with me.

Maybe a little too country? I don’t know.

((Soooo))

Here’s the second attempt for my Rustic Winter Mantel…

((with a little living room staging involved!))

Recognize the Game Board?

(I borrowed the table top from my old crate table)

I love texture…

so I tried to create texture in my display by combining

woven placemats, old & new metal, old wood, twine and winter wheat.

So… now for a little staging fun…

This is a more of a simple look… I like it!

BUT…

I had to have a LITTLE more fun in my “play time”

by adding a few pieces!

My cat has the right idea here!

Yeah… I could see myself cozying up to the fire with a

hot cup of coffee, a snuggly blanket and a good book!!

(SIGH)

So much fun to play around with décor… isn’t it?!!

Well Folks…

there we have it…

My Rustic Winter Mantel.

Thanks for Stopping By!!

Hope everyone had a safe New Years and will be greatly blessed in 2012!!

Now go get warm… it’s cold outside!!

I’m Dreaming Of A White Christmas…

2011-12-21T16:19:00.001-05:00

Well… dreamin’ is right.

Because there won’t be any snow in Tennessee this Christmas…

or at least not outside???

That’s right folks… I brought it indoors this year…

with a FLOCKED Christmas Tree!

I mean… doesn’t it look like real snow??? So cool!

It is my first one e-vuh!

I had them go a little light with the flock

because I wanted to see some green.

Now all I need are presents under the tree!

Let’s see…3 more days ‘til Christmas… YIKES!

Better get shopping!! LOL!

But before I go…

I want to wish everyone a

Very Merry Christmas

A Happy New Year!!

May they both be filled with joy, peace and many blessings!!

My Christmas Barn Mantel

2011-12-19T11:09:00.001-05:00

So… it hit me…

Why not bring the outdoors in…

by BUILDING an OLE RUSTIC Christmas Barn…

For my Christmas mantel this year!

Since I didn’t have any scrap wood, I had to take a trip to the hardware store.

I found some light cut wood and came up with a plan.

Here… I’ve cut and glued some of the pieces together as you can see.

Now… it’s starting to take shape with the beginning stages of FAUX PAINTING.

Remember… I wanted RUSTIC!

After the faux painting was done, I cut some strips and added that ole barn door.

with a little BLING, BLING!!

Ready for the WHOLE finished barn?

DrUm RoLL PLeASe…

TA DA!

I LIKE!!

Now…

Here’s some Christmas Barn Mantel photos for you to enjoy…

Notice the snowy branches?

They came from flocked scrap branches at a nursery…free!

I added some stacked wood around the barn for an outdoor feel.

The lights all around the barn make it real nice and cozy at night!

And that’s my 2011 Christmas Barn Mantel!

What’s great about this piece is that I can use it anytime of the year.

OK…well…

Next up… the Christmas Tree!

I did something this year… I’ve never “had done” before!

Hope your Christmas Season has been Merry and Bright!!

Shutter Signs on My Shutter Wall

2011-11-23T09:28:00.001-05:00

I had bought several shutters at the Habitat ReStore several months ago…

@ $2.00 each.

Not knowing what I would do with them…

they sat in a closet all spring/summer/fall long!

But finally a breakthrough.

Soooo…

I painted three of them white.

Hung Faith, Hope, Love signs (from Hobby Lobby) on them using hemp string.

Added some sprigs of fresh cedar, some hand picked pine cones from the woods,

and some fake berry stems.

Arranged them over my farm table bench I made last year.

Now, I have a my version of shutter signs on a shutter wall!

What do ya think?

AND

Just want to say…

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Praying you have some FAITH~HOPE~LOVE this holiday season!

1 Corinthians 13:13

(And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.)

Who Wants To Go Back to the Garden of Eden?

2011-11-15T17:11:00.001-05:00

ME… that’s who!

Do I have something to share with you…

It’s a film… yes, a film.

(Back to Eden Film)

I know some of you either have land, farm or a garden

or want to have land, farm or a garden (like me!)

Well… you should watch this documentary.

A few days ago, Sharon (a friend from my blog),

who shares “THE DREAM” with me…emailed me a link to this film.

It’s about gardening… but SO much more!

God showed the gardener in this film (Paul) how to grow a self sustaining garden…

like the Garden of Eden!

It is a wonderful testimony of God showing Paul

how to grow beautiful, great tasting food

WITHOUT all the tilling, irrigation, commercial fertilization, and weeding.

WITHOUT the toil of maintaining it!

Just like the Garden of Eden.

WOW!

so look at those Garlic cloves… they’re HUGE!

All of the produce grown here are big and full of juice!

Well…

It blew me away on so many levels and I hope it does you!!

Here is a trailer for the film to show you a snippet of it.

BELOW IS THE LINK TO THE FILM ONLINE:

http://backtoedenfilm.com/

And please…

if you watch it or have watched it… let me know if it “moved” you… like it did me!

Thanks For Stopping By!

Hello Friends and Hello Fall!

2011-09-16T11:17:00.001-04:00

Hi Everybody! Hope you all had a wonderful summer!

I know I did. It’s been awhile since I posted and just wanted to check in and say Hi!

Is anybody out there? Anyone?

“Crickets chirping”… lol!

Well, let’s see… in my last post I had begun planting flowers in the front yard back in May.

I know most of us experienced a severe drought this summer.

It was terrible!

However… with… what I believe was the hand of God (yes… I believe He blesses our land and our efforts)

… and with some effort on my part… my flowers survived!!

There were many days of struggle… but they made it!

Yay!

(NOTE: I use annual Impatiens BUT if you wait ‘til they form their seed pods and bust them open…

you will get a variety of colors that come back the next year… as pictured above by the tree)

SOOOoooo…

what did I do this summer?

Swim for the most part.

We are blessed to live in a neighborhood that has a pool!

There was some definite family time spent there this summer.

As for creativity?

I used none… or had none… or there was none… you get the picture.

So, I have nothing new to share on that note.

As for time with the Lord… there was much of that… and still is.

I started out reading some of these.

BUT… ended up reading more of this…

I have been “in” my bible most of the summer…

reading, seeking, listening, doing and being renewed!

And now it is … FALL… Ok not really but …it FEELS like it!

Do you know what the temp is RIGHT NOW …here at my house at 10:30 in the morning?

58!!! Yes… 58!! Oh… and breezy! The high is suppose to be 73ish. Ahhh… feels Great!

And now…

for the finale of this post…

DRUMROLL…. BDDddddddddd…..

Do you know what I recently discovered?

Yes… Chai Latte Creamer! YUM!

Wow… I’m usually a French Vanilla kinda girl when it comes to coffee…

but this creamer has rocked my world!!

YUM and YUM and YUM again… or at least I think so!

Ok… well…

that sums up the summer for me.

Thanks to all those who checked in on me and wrote to me this summer…

I loved hearing from you!!

I will be honest… I STILL don’t know how much I will be blogging for the rest of the year.

I feel the Lord moving in my life and want to remain open to what he has for me to do.

But thanks for hanging in there with me

and I hope to continue to be creatively ambitious… in some way!!

Taking a Break… Gone Fishin’

2011-05-11T12:27:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone!

Well… I’ve been out planting annual flowers in the front yard.

It will be a red, white, purple and pale yellow color scheme.

AND this year

I am adding some deer resistant plants to the landscape and to my flower pots

Or at least that is what the tag said.

Last year… the deer decided to eat a lot of my impatient!

I had to spend the rest of the summer spraying hot sauce on them and adding my husky’s hair to them.

(It seemed to work)

We will see how these hold up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So why does my title say “Taking a Break”??? Well…

I have MANY projects to finish… some I have been storing until I got to them.

So far… I haven’t got to any of them!

There are these old windows…

And this cabinet thing that hangs on the wall…

A coffee table, frame, old wash boards…

And then there is all of this…

Plus SOOOOOO much more that I didn’t even take pics of.

ALL waiting to be done SOMETHING to.

I had planned to work on each, do something with them in my home and then blog about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well… TWO THINGS have happened…

FIRST…

I had a heart to heart with the hubs a few weeks ago…

AND I gotta say…

He has been so supportive of all my creative adventures… REALLY.

Has never complained or told me no… not even once.

BUT… a few weeks ago… I brought home the old windows and had planned to hang them throughout the house and that’s when I could tell… something was wrong.

We didn’t talk about the expression on his face that day but I eventually brought it up. And that’s when it all came out…

He told me that he doesn’t like all this old stuff in the house.

He’s not an antique person and he’s not into the… “making things look old” décor either.

Nope…

he likes new, traditional, minimal and comfortable.

Which I have tried to maintain a balance of both old and new in the home.

But the more he hears me talk of the old and the more I bring home… I think he worries…LOL!

Another complaint was the “storing” part. You see… the hubs does NOT like to store anything.

He’s a “throw awayer.” Maybe not everything… but most everything.

OH ME (sigh)…

I feel bad for him. I mean… he has to live here, too. And he has been so quiet about all my changes I’ve made with the décor and all the stuff that I have been making and storing.

Don’t worry though…

I will keep doing and adding some things to the home because he says he truly doesn’t mind all of it and he likes to see me being creative…

But maybe a break from it will help ease his mind?? maybe?…LOL!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ANOTHER THING IS….

I have kinda lost motivation to finish all these projects I dreamed about doing.

Yes… there… I’ve said it! Motivation gone… or at least for right now.

I think when spring and summer hit… I want to be outdoors or/and on vacation!

YOU KNOW?

There are just other things on my mind right now.

So… I plan to take a break from blogging for a bit.

That means my posting won’t be a weekly thing for now and I’m not sure when I will start back.

I am praying about what the future holds for my creative ambition.

And while I wait for that answer… I will be reading and reevaluating things in my life!

I love Joyce Meyer’s books… I read them and then wait awhile and reread them.

She tells me like it is!

Anyway… I plan to keep my Facebook going with a few posts here and there… so if you want to chime in over there…please do!

But until I post again…

I hope every one who reads this has a wonderful and exciting summer!!

I love my fellow bloggers and readers!!

SOOOOOOOO….

With all that being said…

I have officially…

Wedding Dresses… what have you done with yours?

2011-05-02T10:34:00.001-04:00

So…did you watch the Royal Wedding this past Friday?

What did you think of the dress?

I thought it was absolutely gorgeous!

As everyone is saying… very Grace Kelly!

I LOVE the lace on her dress.

In fact, my wedding dress was made of lace.

The whole dress including the train.

Soooo… the burning question is…

What to do with the wedding dress afterwards?

Kate’s dress…

well, I read it will go on display in London.

Mine?

Mine is still in the bag in a closet!

I had big plans for my dress.

As you can see it has a halter top and I had planned

to shorten it and make it into a sundress.

But weight gain came quickly there after…

like 10 pounds from the honeymoon alone…LOL!

So in the bag it stayed.

But… I still have hope I will fit back into it one day…

I am currently working on that!

All this leads me to the question…

What did you do with your wedding dress?

Is it bagged up and stored in a closet? Did you make it into something else?

Did you pass it down to somebody in your family?

Did you sell it? Burn it?

Do you display it?

Kate’s dress made me think about my dress…

it was nice to revisit it… in the closet.

Maybe one day I will get to alter it and wear it as a sundress!

Decorating in the Woods… a Fairy Tale in the making?

2011-04-15T08:30:00.001-04:00

I wish I could say it’s been a wonderful time landscaping in the woods.

But NOooooo… no, I can’t.

Let me just tell you why!

Like all fairy tales… there’s good and then there’s EVIL!

With excitement in my heart…

I go out… innocently… to landscape/decorate a part of our wooded back yard…

Imagining it would be like Snow White…. singing with the birds,

talking to the squirrels and chipmunks and

rabbits hopping all around my feet.

Chit Chatting with the raccoon and deer.

All thanking me for making their home a little bit nicer.

Maybe something like this:

and something like that:

Ahhh (sigh)…. Joy.

Ohhhhhhhhh…. but nooooo…

INSTEAD…

Yes…Instead,

I get this…

EVIL CRITTERS that lurk to destroy me.

Ticks!

YUCK>>> YUCK>>>YUCK!!

These things have decided to crawl on me each time I go out there!!

I’ve even brought them inside with me!!

YUCK!

Can someone please make Frontline for Humans???

Pretty Please?

And then there are these…

Oh… how they love me… swarming me in the hopes to land, stick their horn in me and suck my blood…

Those mosquito vampires!!

And when they can’t get to my skin (because of clothes or repellent)…

they buzz around my ears… taunting me.

YUCK>>>YUCK>>>YUCK!!

I mean… even grandpa (The Munsters) doesn’t like ‘em!!

Oh…

AND…let’s not forget these little guys…

Every time I turn over a rock… they seem to crawl out and stare me down…

as if they want to take a flying leap onto me and bite me for disturbing their home!!

I just want to make it prettier.

That’s all!

Now, I feel like I have things crawling on me all day long… UGH!!

BUT WAIT…

Oh… Oh… Oh… no…I’m not done…

NOOOppppe!

Ready for the GRAND FINALE?

I’ve also encountered this….

OK…OK…

Maybe not this kind of snake but who cares???

A snake is a snake is a snake in my book!!

I even turned to my pals on Facebook telling them how I reacted!

Wahhhhhhhhhh!

Why do they want to hurt me so?

I just want to make their home look better… update it a little bit!

So the conclusion?

My hubs found a tick on him at work.

And after all the ones found on me…

He called me and said… (sweetly and with humor) “you are not going out there anymore”…

I said… “OK… I won’t”.

WHY you ask????

because it’s just too dangerous out there people!!

(SIGH)

Well…

I’m now back to this…

So maybe…

my hubs will come home and be like this??

Maybe??

A girl can dream can’t she?

Sooooo… what’s the plan…

you ask??

Well…

When fall gets here and cool temps steer the evil critters away…

I’ll get back out there…

and all the sweet animals will gather around and thank me for their beautiful home!

The End

Or is it???

After writing this post I went outside to find this…

Freshly planted Monkey Grass “thrown” onto the path…

the hole is pretty much covered back up!

WHA????

Let’s just say…

I don’t want to know!

The End

wait…not yet…I know, I know… longest post ev-uh!

Just wanted to share with my peeps…

Sunday is my Birthday… yep (sigh)… the ol’ 38er is approaching.

BUT…I will embrace it,

I will own my 38… because folks… life is precious and I’m happy to be 38!

So what are my B-day plans?

I had planned to work out in the woods this weekend…

Now… I don’t know??

Got any ideas for me/us?

The End… really!

Making A Decorative Dress Form

2011-04-12T01:35:00.001-04:00

Ok… so this is probably random…but yes… I made a decorative dress form.

Why?

Because I’m crazy like that…

I have one of those minds that tell me…

“you can make that”

My creative ambition is an endless battle… so I just go with it…

And here is how I did it…

First… I started out with one of these…

You have to have some sort of mold to try this.

I wrapped it in saran wrap.

At this point, you’ll need cardboard, newspaper and glue.

(I used wallpaper glue and at times… elmer’s glue)

I glued lightweight, wet/soaked card board to it at first to give it a sturdy shape.

Then, I glued strips of newspaper all over the cardboard.

It will look something like this…

(this is the first one I made… it still looks like this)

And the second one I made…

I let it sit for a couple of days to dry.

Next, I took my scissors and cut a straight line up the back.

NOW…

Here is where you need to use your imagination…

I didn’t take pictures of the whole back cutting/seam taping process… sorry!

Bad… I know!

Anywho…

I took the paper shell off the form.

Then, I taped the seam up with some kind of cloth tape we had laying around the house.

After I had her taped back up… I glued some more newspaper over the taped seam.

For the bottom and top of neck… I cut out foam core, doubled it up, and hot glued it in place.

You may even have to hot glue some of the inner cardboard pieces back down.

Now, here was the fun part… I ordered this…

It’s a paper-mache/clay mixture.

Sooo…

I mixed it with water and applied it to my paper shell …with my fingers…VERY MESSY.

In fact… you may want a mask… (glue and pulp dust flies in the air as you are mixing)

I put it on thick so it had to sit awhile (out in the sun) for a few days to dry.

Next, I sanded… again…VERY MESSY.

I used my hair dyer to blow the dust off of her.

Then, I skimmed it with joint compound to try and smooth out the surface some.

And… sanded again. Blew the dust off again.

And now she was ready to decoupage.

Here we go AGAIN with lack of pictures…

I didn’t know if this would even turn out so I didn’t take pics for all the steps.

Finally, I glued pieces of scrapbook paper all over the form.

Eerrrrrrrr…. stop the car… back up…

Ok… so, are you wondering about a base… maybe???

This is still a work in progress… but here is the gist of it…

Table leg from my local ReStore. Wood plaque from Hobby Lobby.

Drilled a hole for the table leg to fit in, gorilla glued it and painted it black.

Then I cut a hole with my jigsaw in the bottom of the form to slide down the base.

And that’s as far as I’ve gotten with that. Trying to figure out how to secure it to the base so it’s not wobbly.

Almost there…

But in the meantime, here she is in her decoupaged glory.

I used a French Toile theme.

I think she looks…very “Boutiquey”.

Soooo…

The modeling paper clay says you can nail in to it? I don’t know… too scared to try.

Maybe… I will try on the next one before I decoupage it.

Ok… one more time…

sporting a ruffled cross body purse I have been working on!

I must say… making her was a messy and lengthy process but if you have the patience…

it can be a fun project.

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

Working In The Woods… Landscaping

2011-04-07T09:10:00.001-04:00

Well…

spring is here and the weather is beautiful this week.

Sooo… what am I doing?

Working in the woods.

I have a wooded hill behind the house.

I always imagine a little park like scenery back there

but never have attempted to do anything with it.

So… why not get started?

The goal until the mosquitos start swarming is:

Rock paths and establishing flower beds (well… leaf beds for now).

We have lots of natural rock up there to stack for paths…

I may incorporate some cut tree logs, too.

The plan: use the land to create.

It may take me a year or so to get everything established but I’m on my way!

Sooo… if you don’t hear from me in a week or so…

know that I’m out working in the yard or woods…

weather and mosquitos permitting of course!

Is it spring in your area yet?

Got any yard/landscaping projects this year?

Another Repurposed Drawer Clock

2011-03-29T09:43:00.001-04:00

Only this time it was a custom made piece for my sister-in-law.

I normally don’t do custom pieces…

I found that I enjoy the experience of creating more when I am creating from my ideas.

BUT…

this clock was for family.

I donated it to my niece’s school fundraising auction.

My sister-in-law came up with the concept of LOVE IS

and my niece and her classmates wrote on the clock face

what LOVE means to them.

Cute huh?

And on the back…

I glued a vintage looking tag with my blog name on the back.

~~~~~

If you want to see my very first repurposed/recycled drawer clock…

click on the pic to see the before and after…

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

Some Farm Girl Inspiration From Ruth Ann

2011-03-28T11:16:00.001-04:00

I just love Ruth Ann from Sugar Pie Farmhouse!

(just love this pic of her)

She is such an inspiration to me.

She’s a wanna be farm girl like myself…

(except she’s much closer to her dream than I am mine.)

But that’s OK… I love her for sharing her dreams of hometown goodness

and her love for God!

I subscribe to her blog… so when I see that message in my email (like today)…

I get so excited!

She only blogs maybe 5 to 6… maybe 7??… times a year… yeah… a year.

But her blog posts are so full of goodness that you have to “gnaw” on them for a while.

Oh and the music… I love the music that accompanies her blog…

it is part of the whole wonderful Sugar Pie Farmhouse experience.

One of the songs playing… “MILK COW BLUES”…. made me laugh!

Now here’s the deal…

I’m a stay at home gal…

and Ruth Ann is always challenging me to be the best housewife I can be.

Just look at some of #3 on her list of 10 steps to a happier heart and home

from her latest post:

3. Create a Welcome Home feeling:

Make your house a place your family wants to come home to! There is no doubt in my mind that our emotions are affected by our surroundings. Especially as women, being born with the nesting instinct, when our home is in a mess, it irritates us. It’s hard to be irritated and welcoming at the same time! We don’t want our family to feel like they have to walk on egg shells around us!

I have a long ways to go on being a good housewife… but she motivates me to try.

It’s funny… my house gets really messy because of all my creations.

And I get overwhelmed sometimes by the mess that I alone can create.

(She uses a lot of these vintage pics in her post… Love them)

And I know that if I’m overwhelmed… well then… the hubs has to be overwhelmed.

And that’s not good. He’s works hard and he is always helping cook and clean.

He actually loves doing it… really. Me… not so much.

And I gotta say… he makes really good Gumbo!! YUM!!

But because he is out working hard and is tired when he comes home…

I need to have a comfy, clean place waiting on him.

AND just when I get to a point of being overwhelmed…

Ruth Ann will post something… always at the right time that calms me

and motivates me to get organized and clean up the mess.

She’ll even tell me how to get started!

Thanks Ruth Ann!

I just love her!

So…

If you haven’t been to visit Aunt Ruthie… go check out her Sugar Pie Farmhouse!

And make sure you take the time to peruse her site…

where she shares seasonal decorating tips, yummy recipes

and wholesome housewife advice.

A Good Tip On Removing Contact Paper

2011-03-24T10:26:00.001-04:00

It seems as if every drawer (for my creations) I pick out has contact paper on it.

By perusing the internet, I found a quick way to remove it and

wanted to share it with you.

Some of you may already know this trick…

but I recently found out about it when I was working on my clock.

So grab your hair dryers ladies and let’s go!

Now… grab a corner of the paper and…

PULL!

That’s it… Pull!

There you go… keep pulling!

You’re on your way!

PULL, PULL, PULL ‘til it all comes off!

Easy Peasy Ladies!

This technique also worked on a mod podge fabric project I was working on.

It heats the glue and helps release it from the object it’s adhered to!

So…

Hope this tip helps some of you

who may need to remove some stubborn contact paper!

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

ReStore Workshop Chair

2011-03-22T10:01:00.001-04:00

As some of you know… I volunteered to help teach a workshop

at my local Habitat ReStore.

If you follow my facebook page, then you already know

we had a great turn out and it all went well!

This particular workshop was centered around redesigning and repurposing

items for home décor and practical uses.

Someone had donated a wooden chair to the store

and I used it for my hands on example.

I didn’t snap a before picture on this because

I didn’t know I would be blogging about it.

It had been painted several times over and against the grain.

The color was a tan or medium brown color.

However, because the main purpose was to show what a fresh coat of paint

and some creativity would do… I didn’t take the time to strip it down.

Instead, I lightly sanded it and repainted it.

I am also on this ruffle kick right now… I love them!

So… I decided to ruffle the chair!

I also made a no sew shabby chic floral pillow for it.

Here is what it looks like now…

Wouldn’t this be cute in a little girl’s room or even a nursery?

I also sewed some tie backs on the pillow.

WELL… after the workshop,

the ops manager actually gave me the chair to thank me for volunteering.

Wow! It’s mine!

So, now I plan to remove the ruffle…

yes… you heard me right…

and strip the chair down.

When I get all that accomplished, I will post about it along with a no sew pillow tutorial.

The fabric is cute but I plan to go with a neutral color fabric, instead.

I also want to say…

Thanks for all the encouragement here and on facebook for the workshop…

I was pretty nervous…

I’m not a good speaker in front of a crowd and I’m kinda shy… really!

So… thank you for checking on me and asking about it!!

And as always…

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

Mary Janes Farm

2011-03-16T11:04:00.001-04:00

I so enjoy Mary Janes Farm Magazines.

Just picked the Feb. and Mar. issue from our local

Tractor and Supply Store yesterday.

You see, I’m a wanna be farm girl and Mary Jane is one of my dream “enablers”.

She owns an organic farm in Idaho.

Mary Jane operates a farm school, has a bed and breakfast on her farm,

has a bi-monthly magazine and Random House books about her farm girl wisdom.

MARYJANESFARM

I love the information she shares with her readers…

even though I’m not a farm girl… yet.

So… I just wanted to share a snippet of her latest magazine…

I was glued yesterday as I read through it.

Ha… She had me at “Journal your Dream Farm”!

Love the Vintage Farm Graphics throughout!

She includes DIY articles in her magazine.

Mary Janes Farm magazine also includes organic recipes,

how to articles

(growing anything from indoor plants to blackberries to your own mushrooms),

inspirational stories, and even some business advice.

The list goes on and on!

Oh…And LOOK!

Sandy from My Shabby Streamside Studio is featured in there, too!!

Sandy Foster is another one of my dream “enablers"…

and of course I mean enabler in a good way!!

So… if you are a farm girl or a wanna be farm girl like me…

then I recommend perusing MaryJanesFarm magazine and website.

It’s stocked full of farm girl inspiration and wisdom!

Love it!

It’s About “Time”

2011-03-04T07:50:00.001-05:00

Finally finished!

As you know… I have become a ReStore junkie!

I found two drawers there on one of my excursions.

I love DRAWERS!

Of course, they were a little banged up…

well… let’s just say… “distressed”.

One of them got a bath and underwent some paper removal.

Then, it got a new paint job and a dose of creativity.

So… without further ado,

here it is…

from Drab…

to Fab…

First, I flipped the drawer around

and decoupaged a clock face on the back side.

Glued some numbers in place… (very tedious when you don’t have a template).

Placing the numbers was the hardest part and the most time consuming.

I added some extra pieces of wood for dimension.

Oh… and changed the handle.

Finally, I finished her off with wood appliques and a ruffled skirt.

I still have to work on the back… so that it can hang on the wall.

BUT

I love the way she turned out!

I am actually considering trying to sell my creations like this…

what do you think???

Would love to hear your opinion!

New Creation Coming Friday

2011-03-02T15:12:00.001-05:00

I’m working on something… I promise!

Hope to post Friday!

Have a great day and as always…

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

Two Interchangeable Ideas On One Unique Door

2011-02-22T09:31:00.001-05:00

I found this old inexpensive door at our local ReStore.

It was plain and had some minor damage… but I still fell in love…

the bottom panel was either warped or kicked in…

But I knew something would come to mind to fix that.

I actually had several useful ideas for this door

but finally decided on two different ways that I would use it in my home.

First… I knew I would paint it a cream color.

This is my absolute favorite… Soapstone.

Next, on one of my thrift store jaunts… I found this…

a cheap ruffled round tablecloth skirt.

Now remember the warped panel?

Hmmm…

I’ve been on a skirt kick lately as some of you know…

and remember… I don’t sew very well.

I figured out that I could cut out the ruffled edge around the bottom

to have an instant skirt. That means… no sewing!

Next, I measured the width of the damaged door panel and

cut the skirt to size

in several pieces to create a layered ruffled effect.

I finally bought Fray Check at Hobby Lobby and used it on all the cut edges…

AWESOME STUFF… really works!

I hot glued the ruffles on starting from the bottom up.

Very cute!

Next, I painted some wood appliques and hot glued them on.

This gave the door a nice ornamental touch!

Finally…

for the two ideas…

I knew I had to buy some wood and cut two new panels to the size

of the raised part of the door panel.

Velcro is used to attach and interchange both pieces.

So… my first idea was to paint a whimsical, colorful piece of art

and basically use the door as a frame for my painting.

I just love it! Such a perfect frame!

The next idea…

was to paint a chalkboard

and use it as a menu in the dining room when we have guests.

Love this, too.

Two interchangeable ideas

on one unique door!!

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

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Future Projects with video!

2011-02-14T13:30:00.001-05:00

Here’s a little video for you!!

Sorry for all the uhs, ands, anyways and whatever else I repeat a thousand times!!

Thank you for all your SWEET comments and encouraging words

this weekend on some of my creations!!

I had a lot of visitors and just wanted to say thank you!!

Appreciate you!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

My First Attempt At Decoupage

2011-02-07T08:30:00.001-05:00

I had a baby shower to attend for my niece who is having a baby girl.

So that means… gift giving time!

I knew immediately what I wanted to do… or… well… try to do.

Hobby Lobby sells these wooden alphabet boxes in all different sizes.

The top is actually a lid that is hinged in the back… so… you can lift it up.

My thinking?

What a great container and something that can be used for simple storage.

As you can see in the pic above…

I bought some shabby chic scrapbooking paper and some lace.

Her nursery is decorated Shabby Chic style.

The first thing I did was paint the box pink around

all the edges that would be showing.

Next…

to cut out the letters and the inner and outer part of the framed panel…

I just laid the paper over each panel and ran my finger

along all the edges so it would indent my paper with a pattern to cut from.

Then…

I glued each piece in place, sanded all the edges

and applied an acrylic antiquing stain to it.

I had a HUGE problem with air bubbles in the piece of paper around each letter.

I managed to get some out and had to leave the others.

But it was minimal… you could hardly tell.

I did let my niece know it was my first decoupage experience!

After sealing it with my glue, I sealed it again with some polycrylic sealer.

Here she is!

I had planned to add the lace trim around the top… just below the lid

but

it was too busy and I think it looked better without it.

I painted and added some floral appliques to the top of the lid on each corner.

Next…

I filled it up with items from her baby registry and wrapped it in cellophane.

I tied it with the lace and added a pretty bow around the tie.

And Ladies… I forgot to take a picture of the final basket!

The finale…

totally forgot… and it was so cute!

Ahhhh!

So you will have to use your imagination!

I’m thinking… it’s not too “SHABBY” for a my first decoupage project.

Everyone seemed to love it so… I guess it turned out good!

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

A Medley of Funky Junk Inspiration

2011-02-04T22:14:00.001-05:00

How do I love Donna’s style?

Oh let me count the ways!

And the list goes on and on at Funky Junk Interiors!

Donna’s blog challenged me to use metal and wood in ways

I never thought I could!

So here is a collage showcasing some of my own

2010 Funky Junk Style Creations:

(You can click on each pic to take you to the individual posts on both mine and Donna’s creations)

Shipping Crates, Old Wood Pallets,

Tractor Wheels, Trailer Gates, License Plates,

Ladders, Lanterns and on and on!

I had so much fun creating things from all these materials!

You see… when I first started blogging DIY style…

Donna was one of the first blogs that caught my eye.

And even though I consider myself very versatile in my decorating tastes…

Her use of metal and wood makes me swoon!

I fell in love with her junk style creations…

and she inspired me to make my own!

I think I do have a few pieces that encompasses Donna’s style.

I would choose these:

(Mine are on the left and Donna’s are on the right)

My Shipping Crate Table and Donna’s Awesome Crate Stairs

My Tractor Wheel Curtains and Donna’s Hanger Curtains

My Old Wood Pallet Bench and Donna’s Pallet TV Stand

My Trailer Gate and Donna’s Headboard Gate

Thanks Donna for opening up my world to

metal and wood in 2010.

What style and creations will 2011 hold for me?

Hmmm…

We shall see!

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Idea#2… My Girly Cottage Drawer

2011-02-03T09:47:00.001-05:00

OK…

If you haven’t seen the video of my “Tomboy Skirt”… here it is…

To see idea #1… click here.

Now…

Idea #2…

Do you remember this old drawer?

I gave it a new back, new handle, painted it and turned it into this.

I showed you a few ideas of how to use this in your home décor.

One of them was to add a few coffee cans with raffia tied around them

which looked like this…

What a cute “cottagey” way to display flowers, herbs… even your pens and pencils!

Well…

Now… I think my cottage drawer wants to play dress up …

And dress up she did!

Just by adding a hand sewn pleated skirt, made her into a cute

Girly Cottage Drawer!

NOW…

I just have to share with you some fun comments made on the Girly Barn Mirror.

Cute, Clever & Funny:

2. bee'nme said...

I think you're starting a trend here Kendra...soon it's gonna be what ALL the cool mirrors are wearing :o) It really is so darn cute...great idea! And a hubby that likes thrifting is indeed a blessing...hug him real tight!! Stay warm and crafty girl...
Hugs & Blessings,
Becky

4. Coleen's Corner said...

Yep. That works! So cute - I can see it now. We will all be dressing up our mirrors and trying to out-do one another... but you win with the thrifting husband. All day long? Wow! I'm impressed!

Thanks for the laugh ladies… love them!!

And to all of you…

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

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Idea #1… My Girly Barn Mirror

2011-02-02T10:36:00.001-05:00

Hi friends!

(Warning… no your eyes are not playing tricks on you…

some of the pics are slightly blurry from the laptop cam)

Anywho…

My husband surprised me a couple of weekends ago when

he asked me if I wanted to go to the thrift store…

UM… together!!!

What???

Are you kidding me?

Oh ladies… I’ve been praying for him and I think God is working!

LOL!

So get this… we went thrifting the whole day!

The whole day!!

WOW!

And he enjoyed it!

WOW… AGAIN!

(Sigh)

It was a good day!

So… onto one of my finds!

This is just a plain, weathered barn wood mirror…

I love it!

It wasn’t there my first walk through but when I came through again…

there it laid… begging me to take it!

I did. It was meant to be!

But, I think it needs a little ruffle in it’s step… don’t cha think?

Well… remember the skirt video?

This is one of the ideas I had for my cute little skirt…

My new girly barn mirror!

Just glue or tack on a pleated skirt and…

Voila!

I think this is a cute way to dress up any mirror… don’t you?

For Idea #2… Click Here

Thanks For Stoppin’ By!

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