Eating my candy...

Refinished Hutch

2012-02-29T12:20:00.003-08:00

A couple of months ago I decided I needed a hutch.

Mostly because I got tired of looking at the old and ugly microwave cart that

I've owned for 15 years.

It was the first piece of "furniture" we bought for our home.

I use the term furniture loosely as there wasn't any solid wood on the whole thing.

Am I sorry to see it go?

Not even a little.

I started browsing the classifieds hoping to find a buffet or hutch that would fit

into my small dining area...

and into my budget.

I looked for a few weeks.

Nothing.

Patience has it's rewards, my friend.

Finally, I found her.

I knew she was the one the second I laid my eyes on her.

And she was reasonably priced.

Woot!

But, she needed a make-over.

She was in great shape and was well loved by her previous owners who had her for 30 years

and she was beautiful in her own right.

She just wasn't my style yet.

So I set out to refinish her.

Here's how I did it.

1- I removed all the brass hardware, hinges, glass, grates, everything.

2- I painted all of the hardware using Black Rust-oleum Hammered spray paint.

Two coats.

3. I sanded her down (but not completely, just enough to given the primer something to grab on to.)

4- I primed her using Behr Premium Plus Oil-based Primer Sealer

(because as the nice man in the paint department at Home Depot told me,

if you are refinishing furniture that has an oil-based paint or lacquer finish you need to use use an

oil-based primer. Because water and oil don't mix and the primer will just scratch right off.)

I applied one coat.

5- After priming, I sanded again to get a smooth finish.

6- Then I painted her with

Behr Premium Plus Ultra Paint & Primer in one.

I used the color

Cozy Cottage

in Satin.

7- I then sanded her lightly again (not enough to remove any paint.)

and then sanded the edges (this time enough to remove the paint) to give her a nice antiqued feeling.

Yes, I took something old, made it look new and then made it look old again.

8- After letting her dry for 24 hours I used a glaze to show off her age.

I used Behr Premium Plus Faux Glaze.

I mixed this 4 to 1 with some black paint I already had.

I covered one section at a time and then lightly wiped the glaze off with a damp rag.

I then wiped again with a dry rag.

9- After glazing every surface, I let that dry for several hours and then

I used Rust-oleum ultimate Polyurethane

in semi-gloss.

I used a foam roller and just rolled her on smooth.

I gave her two coats.

I let her dry for the recommended 48 hours.
Okay, that's a lie. I brought her in the house after 5 hours.
But, then I didn't touch her until the next morning.

Usually I wouldn't do this, but seeing as she isn't like a table
that would be getting moderate-a whole lot of use
I thought it'd be okay to break the rules.

Then I brought that beauty in to live with us in the house.
I re-attached the hardware, glass, grates, and put the cupboards and drawer back into place.
Then admired her.
For a long time.

Total cost: $200 for the hutch
$30 for paint
$5 for foam rollers
(not including the glaze that I had on hand. That's another $10 if you were to buy it)

Linked up here today:

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/

Mudroom Shelf/Rack

2012-02-23T09:04:00.001-08:00

I saw this shelf/coat rack in a magazine

(No, I don't remember which one. Dang it!)

I showed it to my patient/talented/creative/hot husband and said

"I want this!"

The next day I found him and his littlest assistant building it for me.

Yes, he is awesome.

No, you can't have him.

He's mine, allllll mine!

::insert maniacal laugh here::

Oh, and the little one is all mine too.

A week later I had it puttied, sanded and painted and antiqued.

I love it!!

Every member has their own hook for backpacks.

(We hang our coats on another coat rack.)

I haven't decided exactly what will go into the baskets yet.

If I don't hurry, I'm guessing they'll get full of random junk that no one wants to put away.

Estimated cost:

$80

Linked up here today:

Valentines Boxes

2012-02-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

I haven't received any notes from my Little's teachers at school telling me

that they needed decorated Valentines Boxes this year.

I'm just waiting.

I'm pretty sure said teachers have sent the notes.

I'm also pretty sure that my Little's "misplaced" the notes and that's why I haven't seen them yet.

Which means that at some point tonight, I'll be running around the house looking for

boxes, papers, glue, etc. to make 3 Valentines Boxes.

That's how it always works.

To Pinterest I go to find some fun ideas!

While I'm looking for ideas, here are a few of our Valentines Boxes from years before.

Maybe they'll give some other Mommy in my situation an idea for tonight. ;)

Robot

Supplies used:

Orange juice box

Gold Spray Paint

Buttons

Paper

Brads

Om Rom from Cut The Rope

Supplies used:

Box

Paper

Hanger

String

Glue

Imagination

Valentine Monster

Supplies used:

Ice Cream bucket

Yarn

Chop sticks

Odds and Ends

Rope

and my all time favorite

The TOILET!

Supplies Used:

Ice Cream bucket

Paper plate

Box

Paper

Sense of Humor

Linked up here today:

http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

Meet Virginia and her gorgeous chandelier make-over!

2012-02-12T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am so excited for you to meet my new friend, Virginia. She is talented, witty, creative and has fabulous taste. I fell in love with her new blog LiveLoveDIY the minute my BFF posted about it on Facebook. I immediately asked her to be a guest so that you could ooohh and aahhh with me about her savvy DIY home decor. Seriously, she's brilliant! And, I'm not just saying that because she's my BFF's sister-in-law.

A little about her:

She never compromises, loves babies and surprises.

Wears high heels when she excercises.

Ain't that beautiful?

Meet Virginia.

(Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
That Train song come to mind every single time.)

Hello everyone! Since I'm a guest, let me introduce myself! I'm Virginia and I write a little blog called LiveLoveDIY where I chronicle the transformation of our 1970's home, one room at a time. Just recently, I was lucky enough to have Jen contact me and ask me to guestblog for Eating My Candy with Pork and Beans! Since my most recent makeover was on our Home Office (You can see the full makeover HERE. ), I thought the $30 office chandelier I transformed would be the perfect project share with her readers!

I should have started this post out with 'Hi. I'm Virginia and I'm CHEAP.' as that sums me up much better. I also have a severe aversion to construction-grade light fixtures. I'm not a fan (and I do not like fans either...much to my husbands dismay!), so I am slowly, room by room, taking down the ugly 1970's light fixtures we have been blessed with, and replacing them with gorgeous chandeliers. When I first began this task, there was one HUGE problem with my plan: Chandeliers are expensive...as in $150-$300 for a decent one! I was in the market for a $30 chandelier. PROBLEM. So, this is where my craftiness comes into play. Before I detail how this $30 piece of lighting bling came into existence, let me show you the AFTER pictures so you will have PROOF that I pulled it off!

Here she is...in all her glory, AFTER:

and a closeup:

Cute, right? And with a pricetag of $30, I think she's GORGEOUS!

So, let's take a look at how this $30 was spent.

Here she is (Yes, I assume all of my chandeliers are female.) BEFORE.

This is when She first arrived at the house:

THANKS A LOT, Mr. Postman. Apparently 'FRAGILE' in postal-speak actually means 'kick it all the way to its destination....with your steel-toed boot'.

Luckily, (Thank goodness....or this would have been my $60 chandelier.), She was still intact and only the box took the beating. However, thanks to that silly little chandelier manufacturer, I still had 1 million pieces to assemble.

Oh, and yes. She was BRASS. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. BUT, because she was brass, I was also able to find her for $19.99 on eBay. New in the Box!! (Tip: people also abandon tons of brass chandeliers at thrift stores. I've had success finding several really cool BRASS chandeliers at our local Goodwill. They usually aren't new in the box though, so it's more of a gamble.)

Here are the 1 million pieces I was referring to:

And no, the Starbucks Coffee, White Rustoleum Spray Paint, and Blue Painter's tape were not included in the beaten up box. Those are simply the necessary supplies you will need to complete this project. (You may also substitute a milkshake, Mountain Dew, or Capri Sun...they will all suffice.)

So, once She was out of the box, I started by using my blue painters tape to cover up any parts of the chandelier that I didn't want spray painted. I covered the cord & electrical blob with a plastic bag (taped off at the top) and taped the part where you screw in the bulb (it was already white). Here's a little pic of me in action:

Once She was all taped up and ready to be spray painted, I hauled the million little pieces outside. I used an old piece of scrap wood to set everything on, but you could use just about any hard surface for this part....as long as you don't mind getting spray paint on it.

Here She is....in the yard, ready to get all fancy!

The next step is to just have at it with the spray paint! Make sure you get every little nook & cranny, and flip all of the pieces over and get the underside once your first coat is dry. Since it is hanging up high, you see the underside more than you do the top.

Once She is covered in paint, the chandelier should look something like this:

She's already gettin' prettier!

I did several coats of spray paint. (Tip: get a spray paint that has primer all ready in it so that you can eliminate having to do a whole separate coat of primer when you start.)

Once the chandelier was dry, I hauled Her back inside and began removing the painter's tape.

Once the tape was all off, the next step was to BLING IT OUT!! And by that, I mean affix the crystals to the chandelier. I ordered my crystals off of eBay (I LOVE eBay!). I was able to get 6 'droplets' and 1 yard of crystal 'chain' for $8 total. SCORE!

To attach them, you can use whatever you want, but I chose to use picture hanging wire. I already had it...and again, I'm CHEAP. I simply cut a little piece of the wire, threaded it through the ends of the crystal chain, and fastened it around the chandelier arms.

Attaching the crystal droplets was even easier because they came with little metal 'key rings' attached to them and I just put them where I wanted them.

Once I had all of the crystals attached, She was ready to hang!

This is where my sweet, amazing husband comes into the DIY process. I am NO electrician. Had I tried to pretend I was, I would probably not be here to write this post. My husband is much more handy when it comes to the electrical junk, so I let him handle this part of the project. My participation after this point was to simply hand him this ONE PAGE instruction sheet (WHAT?! That's it?!) and say 'Please help me.'

For the record, these 'instructions' were not very 'instructive'. I think I would have understood more had they been written in hieroglyphics. Seriously. Atleast then there would be more pictures.

Luckily, my husband doesn't need a manual. He's just that kinda dude. Should you not have an electrically-savvy hubby, HERE is a great tutorial from This Old House that walks you through the chandelier-hanging process.

After 20 or so minutes of him tinkering with the ceiling, THE CHANDELIER WAS HUNG!!

She's just sooooo lovely...don't ya think?

I hope you have enjoyed my little chandelier makeover as much as I have! It brings me great joy to spruce up a room, and replacing outdated light fixtures with sparkly chandliers always does the trick! It's a great way to instantly update any room.

Also, a big THANK YOU to Jen for allowing me to be a guest on her blog! It's been so much fun to share my little project. Thank you, Jen!!

Until next time,

Virginia
www.livelovediy.com

Want to advertise?

2012-02-11T18:59:00.000-08:00

I am now accepting sponsors. Eating My Candy...is growing consistantly. This would be a great opportunity to get more exposure for your business for a very reasonable monthly rate.

If you would like to become a sponsor of Eating My Candy with Pork and Beans, please send me an email to request more information at Eatingmycandy@gmail.com

Thanks!

Love is all you need...and spray paint.

2012-02-10T09:17:00.001-08:00

I found this beauty at the thrift store and snagged her up for $2!

Aren't you jealous?

Isn't she gorgeous?

No. She is not.

Sometimes I lie.

I'm sure she was beautiful to the lady in the 80's who painted her and lovingly displayed her in her home.

But, then even she came to her senses and threw it out.

I bought it for the canvas.

I bought it for the potential I knew she held inside....or rather the outside.

My BFF and I took her outside.

(My BFF is Krylon and comes in a nice can and smells of spray paint perfection.)

I painted that baby black.

(Despite my kids' constant comments about my infatuation with painting everything black.)

After a few coats of black I printed out the words

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

on regular paper using my regular old printer.

(I don't own a vinyl cutter yet, much to my dismay.)

Using an Xacto knife

I cut the letters out

and taped the papers in place on my newly black canvas.

Then using a stencil brush I gently stenciled in the holes using very little acrylic paint.

I wanted an old uneven look so I did it in a blotchy pattern.

I then switched the words around to read

LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED

and repeated the process.

After it dried I grabbed several (about 10) pieces of string

(I used cotton tricotine, but any string/thin rope would work)

and wrapped it around the center

and stapled them to the wood frame on the back.

I really like how it looks all finished.

I especially like that the entire project cost me $2 and some left over supplies from other projects.

Now I just have to find the perfect place to display her.

Linked up here:

A cup for everyone and every cup in it's place.

2012-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

With 8 of us in this house

we do dishes a lot.

a LOT.

When I saw an idea for this floating around Pinterest

I got all excited and decided I had to make one for our family too.

Every family member has an assigned tile and when they get a glass of water/milk/juice they put their glass back on their tile so that it doesn't get mixed up with someone else's.

It's working fairly well too.

Yay!

But, what's even better is that it seems to be encouraging everyone to drink more water.

Especially me.

I see my glass sitting there when I pass through the kitchen and always stop to drink some.

(That's big for me. I'm not a big water lover.)

Here's how I made it

(and what I'd change next time.)

I found this old sign at the thrift store for $2

I also found 8 4'x4' tiles for $2.50

I spray painted the board black.

I covered the tiles with scrapbook paper that matches my kitchen decor.

After mod-podging the papers on to the tile I used some gorilla glue to attach the tiles to the wood.

I let it all dry until the next day and then I gave it all a few coats of polyurethane.

Done.

I didn't realize how big it'd be with 8 frickin' tiles on there.

I think I'll make another one using 3'x3' tiles so that it's not using so much counter space.

For now though, I like it.

I can't wait to see if it helps with our dish washing overload during the summer when the kids help themselves to drinks around the clock.

Linked up here:

Joining in on the 14 days of Valentines fun!

2012-02-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Ashley

from over at

came up with this lovey-dovey fun way to show your man you love him for Valentines.

Go check it out and print your printables

if this is something you want to do.

I'm totally doing it,

'cause I love that mine o' mine!

But hurry...today starts the first day so you'll

need to get moving on it quick.

My weakness...

2012-01-31T07:52:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't make it.

I know better.

I'll eat the whole thing.

Every last, delicious, peanut buttery bite of it.

But, I can't help myself.

This is my weakness.

It fits right in there next to chocolate.

It's so smooth.

Peanut Butter Fudge

(yum)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

2 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

Stir in brown sugar and milk.

Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour over confectioners' sugar in a large mixing bowl.

Beat until smooth; pour into an 8x8 inch dish. Chill until firm and cut into squares.

Sneak spoonfuls of it during the day to make you happy.

*Clothing may or may not feel tighter the next day.

Linking up here:

Ahhh!

2012-01-28T19:09:00.000-08:00

It's really starting to frustrate me that I can't keep on top of this blog!

I have 5 half finished projects to share with you and not enough time to finish or blog about them.

So frustrating.

I keep trying to remind myself that I am a mother of 6 kids and those kids and

my husband come first and I'm doing what I should be doing.

But, I also LOVE this blog and want to keep it going because it is my creative outlet.

My release. My hold on sanity.

So, until I have time to finish up my projects (hopefully this week) I'll show you some of my favorite things that I've tried/made from Pinterest .

1. No-Slip Dish Towels

This is the best idea ever!

It was so easy and it looks nicer than any of the other towel contraptions I've tried to use and sew before.

The best part is that it stays looking nice and the kids don't drop it on the floor 100 times a day.

It stays put until I pull it off and throw it in the wash.

I just need to make about 6 more...

2. Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

These are freaking awesome!

I've had this great recipe that I've used for choc. chip cookies for the past 15 years and my family groans if I ever use a different recipe, but I couldn't not try this after seeing all the ranting and raving about it on Pinterest.

I made them.

The family flipped out (in a good way!)

These cookies are so rich and so soft.

The next day they were still as soft and gushy as they were fresh out of the oven.

Needless to say THIS is my new recipe.

3. Maxi Skirt

I made one in black and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.

Seriously, I could wear it every single day.

It's so comfy.

It took me less than hour.

I spent a total of $12 to make it too.

Gotta love that, right?

4. Kids belt from fabric scraps.

I made one of these for my little man.

Total cost $1.

It fits him perfectly and matches most of his clothes.

I'm planning to make more as they are so easy, so cute and fit better than any toddler belt I've ever found.

Buttons

2012-01-27T18:51:00.000-08:00

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About Me

2012-01-27T18:42:00.001-08:00

Mom of half a dozen kids trying to preserve sanity one craft at a time. "Eating my candy...with pork and beans" comes from the song 'Pork and Beans' by Weezer. A couple of years ago, after my 4th miscarriage, I was struggling with depression and "finding myself" and who I really was other than trying to be the perfect mom to my kids, perfect wife to my husband, perfect person, etc. I've come a long way since then and have learned a lot. Mostly, I've learned that I can "eat my candy with pork and beans". I means that I can be myself and not care what anyone else thinks of me. I do what I want and say what I want and dress how I want and craft how I want. I do things my way. My Heavenly Father and I are the only people whose opinion really matters. Everyone else will just have to love me for who I am. ;)

Random things about me:

*I've never been stung by a bee.

*I have an amazing fear of aliens. Just the ones with big heads and those diagonal almond shaped eyes balls and those long limbs. ::shudder:: I had nightmares for months after watching the movie Signs.

*I've never broken a bone.

*I LOVE chocolate.

*I want to trade in my dog for a new one because our current dog just bugs me. No real reason why. He's a good dog. (At least the littles love him, right?)

*I got married at 18. Never regretted it for a moment.

*I've been pregnant 9 times, with 10 babies and have 6 living children. (I know you are trying to do the math on that one...)

*I have to craft or have some project going every day or I get restless and anxious.

*I hate doing the dishes.

*I love vaccuuming and mowing the lawn.

*I hate a lot of noises...especially loud ones. (and I have 5 boys. God is funny.)

*I love to read.

*I run from Bees. Always.

*I would give up one of my kids before giving up my craft room. Just kidding.

*Christmas before Thanksgiving seriously irritates me.

*I am Mormon. Proud of it.

* I love to sew, but I hate using patterns.

Little girl shirt re-do

2012-01-19T11:30:00.000-08:00

While trying to embroider something cute on a shirt for my daughter

my embroidery machine got hungry and decided to eat it.

I hate it when that happens!

It left this nice little mess and a hole.

Bummer.

So, I decided not to let the shirt go to waste.

I grabbed my stash of felt scraps.

I cut out some flowers, letters and a crown.

I grabbed my embroidery floss and a needle and turned the mess into something cute.

To repair the hole I just carefully placed the "B" over it.

For added cuteness I added two flowers with buttons on the end of each sleeve.

The Princess really digs that part.

Total cost = $0

Linking up here today:

Princess Makeover Birthday Party!

2012-01-07T18:58:00.000-08:00

My only Princess had a birthday this week.

She turned the big 6!

We're not into big parties around here because we have 5 birthdays in a row with about 3-4 weeks between each one and 4 of them are during the holidays.

So, we only do friend parties once in a blue moon.

Today was our blue moon.

I let the Princess pick two of her best friends and we took them to

where they got the royal treatment.

Hair, nails and make-up!

They were treated like the beautiful little princesses they are

and according to the Princess they had a

"Fablious time!"

If you live in Utah, I highly recommend this for a girls birthday party.

It was FUN!!

It didn't involve a crazy, loud mess at my house.

It was affordable ($12 per girl!!)

Three things that make a great party, IMO.

We topped it off with McD's for lunch and a stop at our

local Ice Cream Shop.

Happy Birthday Princess!

Oh...and I made that Princess dress in one day.
Last minute.
Props to me!!

Mommy's Minky

2012-01-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

I've made so many minky blankets for babies.

Every time I make one I think

"I want one of these for myself!"

So with my Hobby Lobby gift Card in hand I bought myself some minky and made myself

a Minky Quilt.

It's so soft and warm and pretty.

Every momma should have one.

Quilted Table Runner - So You Think You Can Sew Contest entry

2012-01-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

I made it to the top 12 in the

Contest!

Woot! Woot!

The topic for this week in the sewing competition is

For the Home

(anything that can be displayed in the home)

I decided

(after lots of thought and asking friends and family for ideas)

to make a quilted table runner.

Here it is finished

Here's how I made it:

I used:

1/2 a yard of 5 different coordinating fabrics (cotton) (4 with a pattern and 1 solid)

2 yards of solid (I used black) fabric (cotton)

7.5 yards of bias tape piping (3 packages)

and obviously a sewing machine and thread. ;)

I cut my 5 coordinating fabrics into uneven strips.

It's amazing how much easier it is to cut fabric when you don't care about having even widths.

Because each color of fabric was already cut in 1/2 yard sections

I didn't have to measure out the lengths of the strips.

I just used my roller blade and started cutting.

I eyeballed it but kept the minimum side at 1" and the wider side at 3".

You can, of course, do it however you want.

I serged the strips together aligning a small side with a large side

and repeated this process until I used all of the strips.

I didn't sew them in any pattern.

I didn't wanted a more relaxed look.

I did however make sure to use my solid (black) at no more

than every 3-4 strips to break up the patterns strips a little.

I then measured out and cut my backing to fit with my now sewn together strips.

Then placing right sides together.

I sewed my piping into place along the edges.

While I did this I adjusted my tension from loose to tight to loose, etc. to create a ripple affect.

(You'll see what I mean at the end)

After it was all sewn and turned right side out again I

sewed along every second/third strip with a decorative stitch.

I used about 10 different stitches and I used 2 coordinating colors of thread.

(Tan and black)

I did this for two reasons.

1- I liked how it looked. It gave the table runner a kind of crazy quilt kind of look.

2- By sewing every few strips it'll keep it from getting too wrinkly when I wash it.

(Remember, I have 6 kids and expect to be washing it OFTEN.

Seriously. Who has time to iron?)

I sewed the decorative stitching right along the seams.

I then cut the hanging threads

(my least favorite part of every project.)

and placed it on my table.

Done.

See the rippled/slightly ruffled affect?

Now,

Wish me luck

aka VOTE FOR ME!!

Time to vote! PLEASE go to http://mommybydaycrafterbynight.blogspot.com/2012/01/so-you-think-you-can-sew-week-1-project.html and vote for my QUILTED TABLE RUNNER. I have some tough competition (judging by their awesomeness I'm guessing they have much more time on their hands to sew than I do, lol) but I'm hoping to pull through to the next round. Voting goes from now until tomorrow at 8pm. You can vote once from each ISP (Once from your computer, once from your cell phone, etc.)

Thanks for your support!

Love you all!

XOXO

Top 10 in 2011

2011-12-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

Top 10 projects/tutorials in 2011

Drumroll...

#10

Kitchen Sign

Monogrammed Sign

Care of Magical Creatures Book

How to make your own Stencils

Halloween blocks

Two hearts in a tree frame

Diaper Bag

Headband Makeover

and #1

It's been a good year.

My first year at this blog thing.

Bring on 2012, baby!

Toddler take-along activities from old prescription containers

2011-12-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

I guest posted over at Sassy Babies last week.

Here is what I shared over there.

Go check it out. She has a fun blog all about motherhood and babies.

Do you have small children?

Do you have empty prescription containers?

Then, keep reading. You're going to love this!

I have the hardest time throwing away prescription containers.

I have about 25 of them hidden away in a craft drawer.

I knew there had to be some good purpose for them after holding our medications.

Other than using them to store quarters for your purse/car

and using them to hold dice, thumb tacks, and paper clips for the office,

I couldn't find anything useful to use them for.

Then, inspiration hit!

at 4:00am, when most of my inspiration hits.

I made these

Little Activity Containers

for my toddler.

I used 2x4 inch printable labels to label each one.

I made one with cars, stickers, squishies, animals, crayons, army men, etc.

I spray painted the lids black and then found fun objects to put inside.

You can use most anything that comes out of a quarter machine, which I love.

Small and cheap!

I plan to put a couple containers in my purse, diaper bag, car, church bag, etc.

That way when I'm at the grocery store or the Pediatricians waiting room

and my little man gets restless I have something to keep him entertained.

Okay, you can say it now.

I'm a genius.

Spray Painted Glass Candle Vases

2011-12-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

Aren't these gorgeous?

I seriously love them.

Sarah from

made them and I just had to share them with you!Go check out her tutorial for them atThriftyDecorChick.blogspot.com

My Memories FREE Christmas tags!

2011-12-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

If you have My Memories Suite then you need to run on over there and download the free

Christmas tags.

They are adorable!

If you don't have the Memory Suite

go here

and get a $10 off coupon for the My Memories Suite software

AND

a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store!

Just use this code:

STMMMS17036

at MyMemories.com

Also...I'll be hosting another giveaway for the My Memories Suite software soon,

so keep an eye out for it!

Win a 4-day trip with New-Skin!

2011-12-07T21:01:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of New-Skin. All opinions are 100% mine.

You know I have 6 kids, right?

Five of them being BOYS.

Bandages are a staple at my house.

You know. The norm...bread, milk, Dr. Pepper, Hershey kisses and New-Skin liquid bandage.

Seriously.

My kids are very active.

Football, bicycling, tree climbing...

I swear two of them could prove that we evolved from monkeys. *sigh*

And with active children comes the need for New-Skin liquid bandage.

This stuff seriously is great.

I've used other brand of liquid bandage and wasn't happy with the results.

But, New-Skin Liquid Bandages don't peel off. They stay put and help keep those owies from getting

exposed to dirt and exposed to infection. I use it most often on fingertips and toes where bandages don't like to stay on.

I once used it for my toddler who had a cut on the bottom of his foot.

We went to the beach and his cut stayed protected from the sand and germs the whole time.

It was awesome!

They also offer it in a spray form that works better for larger cuts and scrapes. Gotta love that!

They have two other products as well.

New-Skin Scar Fade

and

New-Skin Poison Ivy Treatment

I haven't tried these yet, but they will be finding their way to my First-Aid kits shortly.

I'm especially anxious to try to Scar Fade on Boy #4 who has an inch long scar on his cheek

from being scratched by Boy #2 during a reenactment of a Wolverine fight scene. Again, *sigh*.

I love that the Scar Fade is a clear gel.

No bulky bandages on my boys face.

It also works for burns, acne scars, stretch marks (not like I have many of those..heh) and surgey scars.

You can see results in as soon as 6 weeks too.

We've been lucky enough not to run into Poison Ivy yet with our kids.

Yes, I said yet.

We live in the mountains.

We camp, we hike, we hunt for lizards and snakes.

Poison Ivy will find it's way to us eventually...

or the other way around. ;)

And when it does I'll be ready with the New-Skin Poison Ivy Treatment.

It's the only product to combine an active ingredient to stop the itch and a wash to stop and remove the

toxic oils that cause the Poison Ivy rash and in one product.

New-Skin is holding the Share the Outdoors New-Skin sweepstakes for

3 Grand Prize 4-day adventures of your choice.

*a skiing trip to Breckenridge, CO

*a tour of the Botanical Gardens in Atlanta, GA or

*a hiking trip to Yellowstone National Park in Yellowstone, WY

(that's the one I'd choose!)

Also, good news for the first 500 entrants in the sweepstakes.

If you are one of the first 500 entrants you'll receive the

New-Skin waterproof container!

So, hurry up and get your entries in now!

All you need to do is:

1-visit the link and have your

friends and family visit your sweepstakes page to vote (up to 5 votes per day).

2- leave a comment here and share which Grand Prize trip you'd take if you win and

include your sweepstakes link (to better your chances of getting votes each day!)

Thanks & Good Luck!

Christmas Shirt

2011-12-02T09:43:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make a cute shirt for little man for Christmas.

But, you know me and my crazy issues about spending money on clothing that will only be worn for a few weeks.

So, I made my own.

I did buy the shirt for $3, but everything else was from scraps.

I drew out my own patterns of a reindeer at cut the pieces out of felt and then had stitched them on the the shirt.

(I have to do something while watching action movies with the boy crew)

I added little "lights" that I had leftover from another project and made them look like they were tangled around his antlers.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

Not as cute as the little man wearing it, but cute, right?

Linking up here today:

DIY Ring

2011-12-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

This is simple.

So simple that I debated even putting it on the blog.

But, simple is good, right?

I bought some rings forms to make my own rings.

I played around with a lot of different mediums and every time the ring looked...well, weird.

But, then I found an old button in my dresser drawer.

It's the extra button to an outfit I had in Jr. High.

I have no idea how I managed to keep it this long.

I seem to lose everything else that is way more important than a button.

I snapped off the back so that the button would lay flush with the ring base.

Then, just glued it on.

I like it.

Simple!

Basement Colors...help!

2011-11-28T09:56:00.000-08:00

It's time to paint our newly finished basement. We have three rooms that need painted.

family room

workout/storage room

and playroom

they aren't really huge rooms so I want to stay away from dark colors,

but they need color.

No white walls.

I also want two different wall colors so I can paint each room (or a wall or two in each room) those colors and have a smooth transition from room to room.

So, I need your help!

Here are a few color schemes I'm leaning towards.

Which one gets your vote?

Two hearts in a tree

2011-11-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

My nightly routine consists of perusing Pinterest

Okay, lets be honest,

my morning, mid-day, afternoon, and evening routine consists of perusing Pinterest.

Dang smartphone makes it possible for me to pin non-stop.

This morning I saw this

and I fell in love!

Not only is it pretty, but the tree is made of the lyrics to the couple's first dance.

Together now.

"Awwwww"

For those less crafty you can snag one for $68 on etsy.com

I didn't want to spend that much.

So, I made my own.

For free.

Here's how I did it.

1- I printed out the lyrics to our song.

I used 11 size font and repeated it over and over until it took up the whole page.

It's not the first song we danced to.

We didn't dance at our wedding.

I have two left feet you see...

moving on.

I put the lyrics to our song

The Search Is Over by Survivor

Which is just as Aww-worthy.

2- I sketched out a tree with a long branch sticking out.

I eyeballed the one on Etsy and got as close as I could to it.

You don't want a tree with too many small branches our you'll never be able to tell what the lyrics are.

3-I cut out the tree.

4. I then traced the tree on the lyrics.

5. I cut out the tree again on the lyric page.

6. I cut out two small heart out of red felt and embroidered our first initials on them.

This could easily be done with pretty scrapbooking paper with the initials printed one.

I *think* that's how the one on Etsy was done.

I just liked how the felt gave it a little extra dimension.

7. I glued the tree onto the background (cardstock) and the mat.

I made sure the branches sandwiched between to two mats.

I liked how it looked so I went with it.

8. I traced around the outside of the tree with a black Sharpie.

It made it stand out a little more.

9. I cut a small piece of string/twine and looped it around the extended branch and glued the hearts on to the back piece.

10. I then assembled it all. and hung it up.

I didn't buy this frame.

It's just an old frame and mat that I had in storage.

I spray painted the inner mat and frame black before hand.

You do whatever works for you.

If you like this or anything else would you do me a favor?
Go over there ------->
and follow me.
or click an ad.
or leave a comment.
OR ALL THREE! ;)
Thanks so much!

Linking up here today: