From A to Being

Softball Field Project with Miracle-Gro Expand 'n Gro

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:01:08 PDT

This post brought to you by Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there! I have to tell you what I’ve been doing this past week…It’s officially softball season, and if you’ve been a reader here, you’re aware that I coach high school softball. It’s great because about by the time the season is over-the yard sales, and furniture painting projects will be in full-swing.

Since the softball girls are on spring break, typically every year I take on a new project to make the field look a little better. If you have a huge yard-you can relate- this is no easy “feat”. Two years ago, I put in a warning track. It’s a little smaller than I’d prefer, so after the season is over, we will be widening it. Also, our dugouts need new roofs, and my wonderful daddy has volunteered to do that (of course with my help). BUT…I did manage to get a ginormous project finished this week. I had a giant pile of ag-lime moved from behind our bull-pen and dispersed around various low spots in the field. Where the ag-lime pile was, I decided to do some scape-art. I used pavers I bought at Lowe’s and made a “wall” on the back-side of the fence, put down weed-barrier, a load of fill-dirt, Expand ‘n Gro™, flowers, planted a bush, and mulched it. The awesome part? The flowers are planted in a “CC”. Our school is Central Catholic and we go by “CC”…so I can’t wait for the girls to get back. I’ll post finished pictures next week. Some of my players read my blog, and I don’t want to spoil the surprise. Here's a "preview"....

Since I’m not posting pics of the finished product until the girls get to see it, I have decided to tell you a little about the Miracle-Gro Expand ‘n Gro Concentrated Planting Mix. I was asked to write a little review of the product, so of course, since I LOVE it, I said YES!! First, let me remind you…I had to build a “mound”….well I only got so much fill-dirt, and thank goodness for this Miracle-Gro. I mixed it with a little water and expanded to almost 3X its original size. It gave much needed height! Also-it feeds my flowers for up to 6 months-way more convenient for me since after the season, I won’t remember to “feed” anything but the monsters, Mr. A2B, and myself. While it’s feeding my flowers, it will also retain up to 50% more moisture than typical potting soils. Again…much more convenient-less time spent watering everything! It’s also supposed to boost the flower production. I’m anxiously awaiting these results because so long as it does what it’s supposed to do, our “CC” will be full and even more beautiful.

Since I used the Expand ‘n Gro, I didn’t need to use any other top soil or potting soil like I was going to because it is supposed to improve the soil for multiple years. Again, this made the project much easier for me. I’d highly recommend this if you’re looking to make any project easier, get more “dirt for your buck” and save some money. If you had to buy fertilizer, top soil, potting soil, and feed,, your project would end up costing much more. It’s an easy way to prep your garden, planters, and flower beds.

Watch this video and learn a little more about it if you're not convinced...

I can't wait to post an updated picture of this project! It looks awesome!

TRB...The Voice....What's in a Name-A Blog's Name?...and Exciting News...Wrap-up!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:15:26 PDT

Hey Y'all!

So, I promised I'd let you in on a few surprises, and wrap-up the month with where the name of my blog came from. It worked out great because (obviously) I've been writing a lot about Grandma lately, and also told you about a surprise that "is in the works for you"... This is a great seg-way into that surprise. Here's how it went down...

Last January, (2011) Mr. A2B and little ol' me were driving to the Indianapolis Airport on our way to catch our flight to Tampa to get on The Rock Boat. Every year, they compile a "sampler" cd so everyone can become familiar with a few song of some of the artists on board. I had just received a call from my mom about my Grandma. She was calling to tell me that her doctors thought it would be best to start dialysis. When someone goes on dialysis, they have to have a port put into place. Grandma didn't do well with surgeries, so we were all very scared to say the least. I made mom promise me that they would not do the surgery until we got back, so they waited. With tears rolling down my eyes, I turned to Mr. A2B and told him I wasn't ready to loose her. He sympathized, and reached for the volume knob, and turned up this song, and said, "here babe, this will make you feel better"...as I listed to it, the chorus came...and I was immediately appalled that he could be so insensitive. The first line goes, "And Oh my my honey, everybody dies"...I (of course) screamed at him...and turned it off. He interrupted me and said, no, listen babe, just listen. So I did.

Here's a video clip (not the best quality, but the only one that I was able to put on here)

It quickly became my theme song. For a better version from ON-AIRSTREAMING, click here. You'll be directed to Youtube.

You may not know why this became my "theme" song, but it struck a chord and I used it when I delivered my Grandma's Memorial Speech. I also delivered her Eulogy. Here was her Memorial Speech:

"Most of you were here when we buried Grandpa, and if you weren’t, Grandma literally tripped and almost fell head first into his vault, so all I can say is; well, she really fell for him this time… In January each year, we go on the Rockboat…it’s a floating musical festival, and you get a chance to see some up and coming singers/songwriters. This year, we got Seth *(my little bro) hooked on it. There was and artist named Matt Hires on the boat. I didn’t get to see his show, because I was busy making sure Seth wasn’t trying to hijack the cruise ship…but he has a song called A to B. Andrew suggested that I use it today… The chorus of the song goes,

And oh my my honey everybody dies

But you’ve got, you’ve got to see

That you can live your life walking in a straight line

But it’s more than just A to B

As we are gathered here in this cemetery, take a look around you. The headstones all give a date of birth and a date of death, an A and a B. Someone next year walking by here will get to see ma and paw’s A and B, but not know anything else. But we are lucky because we were given the privilege to be a part of their middle. The part that matters. I could walk over there…and tell you their A and B but I wouldn’t have a clue about who they really were. But for grandma, and paw beside her, I can tell you everything there is to know. That’s what will make me smile long after this day has passed, that’s what will comfort me in the coming weeks…is that somewhere between her A and B she touched my life and so many others. Between her A and B she lived such an unselfish beautiful life that words from me couldn’t begin to do it justice. I could go on and on about what made her so special. But I don’t need to tell all of you how special and wonderful she was. Because you’re here. You wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t somehow touched your life too.

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. And whatever you do, don’t just think of life as going from A to B…because it’s not when or how you go, it’s life and what you make it. It’s the traveling, not the road that gets you there."

It was just as she would have wanted...short, sweet, and to the point. No time for tears, just smiles and happy memories. I wanted my blog to have her written all over it...and that's how From A to Being came about. I was going to go with: A to B....but it wasn't quite right...so I went with From A to Being because whether it's a softball field, a cake, finding yourself, refinishing a piece of furniture, taking on a small craft, or parenthood, all things go "From A to Being".

How does this relate to the "potentially good news for me?" I know that's what you're thinking. Well, since The Rock Boat has been so good to me, helping me find new artists whose songs are relate-able, and have helped me tremendously, I approached the Marketing Director for Sixthman (The company responsible for the floating music festival)...Anthony between concerts. BTW-Ken and Drew from Sister Hazel will claim it was their idea, but I'm pretty sure Andy Levine was the master mind behind it. Anyway, hopefully, Sixthman might tap into the blogging world for advertising. So, stay tuned for that because when Sixthman does something, they do it right.

Don't think you'll know any of the artists? Many of you probably know a few artists from past Rock Boats. Don't believe me, watch this....YEP! Zac Brown performed Chicken Fried on Rock Boat IV...YEARS before he became what he is now...Here he is performing with Sister Hazel.

Last year, I found another favorite...NEEDTOBREATHE. They opened for Taylor Swift...and now...they're huge. One of the best parts of it all? The artists don't leave the boat (unless they go on an excursion or something like that)...they're your boat-mates for a whole week. AND...ever wondered what is behind one of your favorite songs? Ask them while you're in line for pizza at 2 a.m. Or catch an intimate acoustic show on the Serenity Deck...as you're sippin a nice drink, watching the sun set...while listening to your favorite artist...from a hot tub...yes. It's true.

Here's a shot of Will Hoge (my all-time favorite artist...Mr. A2B proposed at one of his concerts) on the Serenity Deck...

GREAT show...absolutely amazing. You may have heard of Will...his song Wings is at the top of the Country Charts, and on CMT every morning. His song Even if it Breaks Your Heart is being sung by the Eli Young Band. Here's Will's version.

Here's The Rock Boat XI recap video...Song in the background is NEEDTOBREATHE!

The Rock Boat XI Recap from Sixthman TV on Vimeo.

I hope you're checking into The Rock Boat!!! I've certainly been inspired! Hopefully you will be too! Happy Friday!

*****AND...almost forgot...THIS GUY...Tony Lucca...now on The Voice. Yep...Rockboater!

Piano Bench Before and After Breakdown...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:54:26 PDT

Hey There!
Boy, am I the luckiest girl in the world or what?!? I was overwhelmed by all of your emails, comments, messages, and support! I sincerely appreciate all of you. After all, YOU'RE the ones who helped me and you probably didn't even know it. I was down-sad and very lost. Starting this blog helped me find myself again, and helped me FEEL again. I cannot thank you all enough. I've received a lot of questions on the bench, so today I'm going to show you exactly how I did it. Here's what I had...Isn't she beautiful? Just wait!

I didn't re-cane it because although it would have been fairly easy and inexpensive, I wanted to do something different. So, after I ripped all of the canning out, I was left with just a rectangle. I wasn't sure what to do. I thought of a side table, but was afraid one of the little monsters would break the glass, and then if I did put glass on top...what would I do with the edge? So as I was rubber-necking around in one of my favorite junk spots, I spotted an old antique serving tray...2 handles, glass bottom, and a frame...only $2!!??! I'll take it!

I was reading a lot of blogs before I started mine...and I stumbled upon them because I was researching "painting furniture"....boy was I in for a surprise!! I loved the look of contrasting pieces. Unpainted tops, and accented parts...I was smitten!!! So, that's how I found ASCP. If you remember, my post on my First Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Piece I used ASCP in Arbusion Blue! I didn't want to "go right after" this piece, so I practiced on an old dry erase board I picked up at a Salvage Store. THIS piece is what I was practicing for! :) So, I used the blue on the legs, and corner braces. For the top and bottom braces, I sanded, stained, and poly-ed. I LOVED the contrast!

I disassembled the tray and decided I wanted to have a piece of glass made for it. I wanted tempered glass just in case the little monsters decided to break it. The total cost of the new piece of glass was $18. I used gold rub and buff on the metal parts of the handles. I'm sure this is what started my "gold-loving kick". I wanted to paint the frame to have it stick out a little bit, but wanted to keep some of the originality of the tray, so I cleaned up the handles a bit and gave them a coat of stain and poly.

Then, the more I saw the bench, the less and less I wanted to use it as a side table. I came up with the idea of making it a shadow box. I was kicking a few ideas around and at first, I was going to put hinges and have the bottom open, but since the bench had corner braces, unless I wanted them to show from the top, the hinges wouldn't work. Instead, what I decided to do was cover a piece of plywood with burlap, and use the corner braces to hold the shadow box "back" in place. I hadn't secured the top, so at this point, after I was finished screwing the corner braces into place, I built the shadow box from the top.

Underneath shot

Building the "box" progress

Close-up of the handles/distressed frame.

Here's the final product... To adhere the frame, I used Liquid Nails.

What's in the box? And why is it in there?

Smile Sticker-Grandma and Grandpa paid for my braces, so she always used to remind me to smile. She didn't like to see me unhappy, and even if I was upset, I tried as hard as I could not to show it if she was around because I never wanted to upset or hurt her.

String of faux pearls-Ma & Paw lived close-we all spent as much time at their house as possible. She LOVED crafting. We did it together. When we cleaned out the house, mom gave her craft supplies to me because she knew we loved doing those things together.

Knitting needle-Grandma taught me how to knit. Another favorite memory!

Yellow Rose-This was the one single flower on Ma's casket. She always told me; "when I die, don't let your mom and Heather spend money on flowers...It won't matter, I'll be dead...who cares if there are flowers. I want one single yellow rose, that's it!" So, that's what she got. The ribbon was leftover from my wedding. We (Mom-Ma-& I) made almost everything. The ribbon was yellow, and I tied it around the beautiful flower for the services.

Christmas Gift Tag-If you've read any of my Christmas posts-you already know by now that I tend to go overboard...in every aspect possible. It comes from her. She was Santa, and it was her favorite holiday-(probably why it became mine)...and we have many fond memories of Christmas Celebrations over the years.

Cat sticker-Ma loved cats, and that's probably why I started loving them too. NO ONE else likes cats in my family, but I sure love them. We used to play with all of the stray cats at Ma's house all the time. She fed them...so they kept coming around.

Hotel sticker-Mom and Dad couldn't afford much. (Neither could Ma & Paw) but they made everything possible. When I was 10 I started playing travel Fastpitch Softball for the Indiana Magic. Every weekend, we lived in hotels across the country. We drove and drove and drove. They are responsible for me going to DePaul to play softball on scholarship. Without them, I'm not sure if it would have been possible. The day I signed my National Letter of Intent was one of my proudest moments, and it was for them. I was proud for making them proud.

Indiana Magic Bunny pin-Every year, we bought tons of these, and traded them with the teams we played. I have so many memories of travel ball, pin trading, hotels, and everything in between. It makes my heart happy just thinking about all of them.

Band-aid sticker-My little sister actually gave Ma her nickname Grandma Boo Boo. She was around 3 or 4 when Grandpa passed away unexpectedly, so since my mom was Ma's caretaker, Allison went to all of her doctor's appointments. She knew their names, what they specialized in, and where the wheelchairs were kept. It's not every day a 3 yr. old knows what a Cardiologist does, let alone a Podiatrist.

Round Tropical Sticker-That was a seal from our wedding invitations. It's fitting because she actually introduced me to my husband, and she had tried 6 years before finally succeeding. I'll do an entire post on that later. She was a little match-maker!

Red button & Thimble-Ma taught me how to sew also. We made a lot of things! Some of them must have made her laugh hysterically when I took them home, nonetheless, I can sew with the best of em!

Wheat/Cattails-Grandma LOVED cattails. I have no idea why, but she did. We used to stop by the side of the road if we saw them just to pick a couple for her.

Saint pin-The Saint pin stands for a couple of things-She is my Saint! She was a Saint...by every definition of the word! The pin was actually one she earned for her letter jacket in high school, and ironically enough, almost two years before she passed, I told her she was a Saint. I was going through the RCIA classes to become Catholic and one night we covered Saints. I remember calling her as I was driving home and told her, "We learned about Saints tonight." She said, "oh yeah?!" and I responded, "ya know-you are a Saint"....she didn't think so, but I insisted because "God didn't define Saints by pre-naming them-all the Saints are Saints because of how they lived their lives, by the sacrifices they made to others...you are a Saint!" She rested her case. :)

Angel pin-She gave this to me on my 16th birthday. She told me never to drive faster than she (my Angel) could fly. She always had a way with words.

Life Sticker/Happiness sticker-She wrote letters to all of us. When she passed, we all got to read them. In mine, she said, "I hope you remember how beautiful life is-you have a special heart for those around you. Never forget to love the little things in life-remember to smile!"

Thanks again for all of your support. This month hasn't been easy to say the least, so thank you. I'm wrapping up this week with how the blog got its name, and that'll take me a few days, but it's a great seg-way into the exciting news I have been waiting to share with all of you about the trip. Since it's taken so long, the giveaway will be in April, but it's gonna be great! Happy Tuesday!

To My Dearest Saint...What's it Like in Heaven? I made a shadow box out of your piano bench...

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 11:52:05 PDT

Well Gma-
You've been up there for a year now.

A year ago today mom called in the wee hours of the morning telling me to "hurry, it's bad". I'll never forget that sinking feeling. You probably don't have the same memories of that day and I'm relieved because I know you wouldn't have wanted to see us in pain-any more than we had to see you in yours. I'm not sure what you recall about those last few days. Mom and Heather never left your side and I saw you every morning on my way to the office, during lunch, and on my way home before softball practice. Looking back, it's the worst roller-coaster ride I've ever been on. One day you're walking down the halls of the "rehab" facility-laughing with us during lunch visits. And the next day, you were incoherent-not because of any fault of your own, but because they overdosed you with pain meds-had to treat you for it, and that sealed your fate... I prayed that God would take you because although my heart was shattered, you didn't deserve to go through all you did. It didn't seem fair. I kept asking why he would let someone feel so much pain. Someone who hadn't hurt a single soul their whole time here on earth. Someone who brought so much joy to those whose paths crossed theirs. Someone who I refer to as "My Saint". You passed away on a Tuesday early morning. We were all with you. The Friday before that we all had our chance to sit and watch basketball with you, laugh with you, and have you to ourselves one by one...I don't know if you remember or not, but we made promises to each other...When I asked you if you were ready to go, you said yes, soI made you promise me if God came to take you-you'd go and not try to stay for us. In return, I promised you I'd be okay-I promised you I'd be there for mom and dad-I promised you I'd make sure everything was going to be alright. You kept yours to me, and hopefully I've kept mine to you.

As I was lying restless in bed last night, I looked up to the moon-took a deep breath, and felt a sense of relief. It's been a whole year. Finally (well, except for the lump in my throat as I'm writing this) my heart doesn't feel physical pain. I miss you more than I thought was imaginable, but I don't hurt anymore--I never thought I'd be able to say that. BUT-I miss your voice, your advice, your jokes, your "Dateline NBC", Oprah, and Ellen recaps, your scent, and your beautiful smile. I miss our Thursdays. I've not bought flowers for anyone this year, but I did send something to someone I met whose husband serves for us. I have been slacking in our "pay it forward" project, but hopefully this year I'll do better. I know you enjoyed that-oh how I miss our Thursdays... And last night, while I wasn't physically hurting, there's still a hole in my heart. I look at the kids and smile-I wonder what you'd say about them. I can see in my head your expression-when they learn something new, or when I explore this crazy task of parenthood. How proud of them you must be-I know you are, I just wish I could see it. I think the most unfortunate part of all of this is the kids will only know you through stories we tell them. They can't experience your gentle touch, or calming demeanor, or have the opportunity to truly see a heart of gold...They won't remember My Saint. I can still remember the day Jordan was born, and how you refused to leave the hospital until she made her sweet little way into this crazy world. I remember you ran out of oxygen, and were very short of breath, and starting to look bad...but when you held her...when you held my sweet little girl, your face lit-up and for that moment I saw you happier than I had for a while...I'll cherish that memory for the rest of my time on earth.

I read your letter often. It helps. I wish you would have included a life map or something. The more I read it, the more satisfied I become. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but at first...I read it...and said, "that's it?!?! That's all she wrote to me?!?" But I understand it now. It's taken almost a year. Simple. Heartfelt. To the point. Honestly, there are no words you could have written that would have made me happy, because my heart was broken and unable to reflect on all of the beautiful lasting memories we made. I'm a little more capable to enjoy those now. Slowly, the images of your painful last few days are fading away. I'm trying to help mom. She's coming around slowly, but she's coming around. And dad? He hides it well....MOST of the time. There was no fighting! Mom did a good job! You'd have been so proud of her! Heather is happy now. I wish you could have seen her this way before you went home. It's what you had always wanted for her....just to be happy. And she is. Slowly, the old Heather we knew and love is making her way back and it makes me so happy because I missed her. We all did! Oh Grandma, you would be so proud! I hope you are enjoying all you left behind! It wouldn't be- if you hadn't laid the groundwork-our family is built on the strongest foundation imaginable. It's all because of you!

I'm sure you have noticed I have started a new hobby. I had to do something other than softball because honestly, every memory of softball had you in it, and it was so painful! I forgot how to enjoy it. So, I started refinishing furniture...and blogging. I know right? Of all things?!? It's your fault you know? It all started with your piano bench. You know....the one that sat on your vanity with the hole in the caning. Mom had to tell numerous people it wasn't for sale but was just being used to hold some things for the garage sale. She gave it to me because it was special to you. She had no idea what it started. Honestly, I had no clue either. I just knew I wanted to fix it because it was yours, and you loved it. I started out doing it for you. You must have known I needed something to keep me busy-you must have known I needed something-you must have known this "new hobby" would nurture my shattered empty heart. Initially, I just took a can of spray paint to the legs....I hated it. So, out of despair-I started over. Orange stripper. I had never refinished anything. I didn't even know where to begin...but somehow I figured it out. All by myself! I When I was cleaning it up, I saw the most beautiful wood-more beautiful than any piece of furniture I'd ever seen. I took my time. Something in my letter kept running through my head...over....and....over. "I hope you always remember how beautiful life is, you have a special heart for those around you".... and so I found the beauty in it. A broken down old piano bench. The most beautiful piano bench I'd ever seen. So, I took that beautiful bench, stripped it, sanded it, stained it and made it as beautiful to other's eyes, as it was all along in mine. I started out doing it for you-finished it for myself, and rediscovered myself in the process! Tomorrow, for my readers, I'll detail the process. But since this letter has already been long, I'll just show the before and after pictures. I put all of "OUR" favorite things in there. I know you'll just love it!

I miss you Grandma Booboo! Please keep looking out for all of us. I love you MORE!!!!
Love,
Your Ashiebutt

Before

Hugs and Prayers....

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:05:06 PDT

Hey guys-
I had every intention of posting a recent project and also another that I have been looking forward to sharing for over 6 months!!!! However, Sunday I was informed that my nephew had fallen off of his bike into hot coals and ash and was being rushed to the hospital. My brother and sister-in-law had been burning fallen trees, and yard waste in the big fire pit Saturday night-and for some reason or another, Sunday my nephew fell into it. I do know they hadn't started any fires Sunday, so he didn't fall into flames, but rather smoldering hot coals and ash. I also know he was riding his bike and had fallen-off, and my brother was able to get to him within a few seconds. He was complaining about his hands, and after my brother had rinsed them and was looking at them he said his knee hurt really bad. When my brother looked down and saw it he suddenly realized it was much worse than either of his hands. After he ran it under water, he put him into the car and rushed him to the hospital. They gave him morphine, and wrapped him. The ER doc advised my sister-in-law to call his physician in the morning, and didn't think it was bad enough to send him to Riley Hospital in Indianapolis. Here's a picture of him all bandaged up....

Then, yesterday morning, his physician said it was extremely severe, and sent him to Riley Hospital immediately. His hands will recover, but they are thinking he will need numerous surgeries done on his leg, and he won't have very good range of motion. They were shocked that he hadn't been sent there the night before. Nonetheless, please send prayers and hugs for a speedy recovery. Needless to say, this has delayed my schedule a little bit, but hopefully little Chase gets better quickly, and I can take a second to tell you some good news, and share some projects.

Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:00:23 PDT

Holy Cow! I need a vacation to recover from my "vacation". I can't wait to share it with all of you, but I need to wait because the "vacation" may have opened up some more opportunities for all of you! Yes...all of you. So, I'll just share some pictures of tiny parts of it! Also, a huge thank you to all of you for being so kind to the Girls! They enjoyed meeting all of you! And, thanks to my Girls for guesting while I was away! I have goodie bags in the process for all of you! Thanks so much! Now, with that being said, there are a few changes coming. Hopefully I'll announce them this week, along with my first giveaway! ALSO-while I was gone, I was emailed about being featured on Remodelaholic! Holy Cow! Super excited. If you missed it, click Remodelaholic to get to the feature. Cassity and Justin-Thank you so much! Okay, here are some great photos from the trip. More to come...soon I promise! Stay tuned. Yes....I still blog about projects of mine...lol! I'm sharing a very special one later this week. Actually, the project that's responsible for all of this madness...the blog, the debacles, new friends, new adventures, and all!

Dear Cozumel-I miss you!!! See ya'all tomorrow!~

A Week with the Girls- Traci from Beneath My Heart!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 09:30:02 PST

Hello! My name is Traci, and I blog at Beneath My Heart! I am so happy to be here!

Thank you, Ashley, for letting me hang out here today!

I want to share with you one of my favorite projects from my blog.

It’s a DIY Headboard Towel Holder!

I knew when I saw this headboard and footboard set at Goodwill that I had to buy them.

I happily paid $25.00 for the set and went home.

I had been trying to come up with a creative towel rack for the guest house bathroom in our previous home. The guest house was a little more cottage-y than our house, so I wanted to decorate it with more of a vintage feel.

So here’s what I did…

After holding both the headboard and footboard up against my bathroom wall to see which one “fit” best, I decided to go with the headboard. My bathroom in the guest house was not very big, but this headboard was going to make a big statement!

First I had to cut the legs off the headboard, so I used my hubby’s Skil Saw.

She was lookin’ good already!

Now some of you may think I am crazy for painting this beauty. I know some of you would have left her alone. But I’m not sentimental like that. I needed her to be white, so white she would be!

Now I needed to prepare the surface to paint. Instead of sanding it with sandpaper, I used a liquid deglosser to do the trick. It is soooo easy. Just pour it on a cloth and wipe it all over the wood surface!

I let that dry, and then I began painting.

My paint of choice is this little quart of Valspar paint. It can be found over by the spray paint cans at Lowes. There is a sign above it that says something like “high performance” or “extremely durable” paint. The workers at Lowes suggested we use this on our kitchen cabinets and we did. We love it!

So I used a brush to paint in any of the grooves.

Then I used my roll brush to paint the smooth surfaces. (No I am not left-handed, I just needed my right hand to take the picture!)

Here she is after 3 or 4 coats…ahhhhh….

Here’s the hardest part of the process… let it dry. It’s very important to let it dry REAL good before sanding.

I always suggest eating some chocolate at this point.

After the paint was good and dry, I used my sanding sponge to sand the edges of the headboard.

There’s no rhyme or reason to this step. Just sand as little or as much as you’d like to get the look you are after.

When I cut the bottom of the headboard off with my Skil Saw, it left a raw edge that needed a little work. I needed to fill an obvious groove in with some wood filler.

I just pushed the wood filler into the groove with my finger and the let it dry.

Then I used my sanding sponge to sand it to a smooth finish, and it was ready to paint.

To get a more “aged” look, I like to cover my white paint with my favorite glaze, Valspar “Mocha”.

I used a paper towel to cover the headboard with the glaze.

Then I used a damp paper towel to wipe it right back off. (See left side of headboard.) I love the way the glaze got in the “groves” on the headboard and brought out so many of the details.

Now I needed to attach my hooks. I found these cute little hooks at Hobby Lobby for half off. I bought 3 hooks for $1.50 a piece. Total=$4.50! I also got these wood screws at Lowe’s for a buck or two.

I attached the hooks with the wood screws.

As you can see, the silver screw does not look very good with my black hook, so I got a little black paint and dabbed it on the screw.

Perfect!

I bought some heavy duty mirror hangers at Lowes to mount the headboard on the wall. They were a dollar a piece.

Now I did make the headboard by myself, but my hubby helped me hang it on the wall. It was very heavy (like a large mirror). When you are hanging something this heavy, you need to make sure that you hammer the nails into the studs in the wall. My husband insisted he help me with this part, which was fine by me. We found the studs in the wall and measured the distance between them. Then we attached the hangers on the back of the headboard the same distance apart.

We hung it on the wall and I feel in love. It’s exactly what I wanted. But I am bummed at how my pictures turned out. There is no window in the bathroom, so I had no natural sunlight in which to take the pictures. Notice the beautiful natural light right outside the bathroom.

This is a piece of the bedroom furniture that I painted this summer. I’m storing the towels and blankets in there. I found the adorable locker room basket at a yard sale for $5.00. It’s perfect for storing the little wash cloths. My sweet mother-in-law bought me these new white towels for our guest house. Now into bathroom…

I love the way the towel rack turned out. (Though I don’t think these pictures show it’s true beauty. My walls are a pretty tan, not mustard yellow!)

I loved this project because it was a little “out of the box” for me, which made it tons of fun. And it brings the uniqueness I was looking for in a towel rack.

Now I still have the footboard…hmmm….

Thanks for letting me share the project with you, and I hope you come see me sometime at

Beneath My Heart!

A Week with the Girls-Janette from The Johanson Journey!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:30:03 PST

Hey Blog Friends!! My name is Janette from the Johanson Journey…..

I’m excited to be here while Ashley has a few days off to enjoy some Spring Break Fun!!! Let’s get started shall we!? We all love interviews and I sat down with Ashley to dish it all out!

1} Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am a full time working Mom in the telecommunications field. I have 3 beautiful children and a super hero husband. I love blogging, meeting new people and finding a way to insert myself into the world of crafting!
2} How you first got involved in with blogging?
Originally, I wanted to post pictures for my husband while he was overseas on a tour with the Army and for my parents who were working overseas as well in Saudi Arabia.
3} How would someone describe your blogging style?
I would say I am an evolving blogger.. you pick up on ideas, you learn from posts and other bloggers along the way and eventually you find yourself. I am as random as they come and as honest and blunt as you can get.. I have confident days and days when I want to throw in the towel but it has become a hobby and my escape from everyday responsibility.
4} Are you a full time blogger?
I made a New Years resolution in 2010 to start blogging daily, at least on week days and a few weekends here and there. I learned that the only way I was going to meet people and have anyone come by and visit is if I had something to say or share each day. It doesn't always work but it motivates me.
5} What networking do you do that you feel helps your blogging business?
This is a growing lesson because there are so many social networks out there now but I recently set up a FaceBook Blog Page and am slowly learning through others on how to get myself out there. I even joined twitter!! I thought I’d never do that!
6} How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog?
Often times it will be a story that happened over the weekend or a thought I had while driving to work… sometimes another blogger will inspire me or I’ll join in a link party. Friends are always willing to give you things to talk about…. and everyone loves support from their fellow bloggers when they are creating something new—so helping to promote them is also fun..
7} Do you think Page-rank plays a vital role in a blog’s life?
Most of the stress I think I feel is because there is such thing as a page rank… I mean, would we care about calories if we didn’t know anything about them? We might eat with less stress… so I think it would be nice to blog with less stress… but its out there and it matters, especially if you are using your blog as your business.
8} A lot of people are interested in blogging for the money earning potential. What are some tips for people interesting in making money from blogging?
My best advice is ASK other bloggers you admire or click the links on people’s blogs yourself to see where it leads and read up on the details. There are so many websites available for getting you started and I wish I had all the right answers but start figuring out what you want out of your blog and what you are willing to do.
9} What has been your strategy for creating visibility to yourself and your blog?
At first it was emailing my friends and saying, HEY!! I have a new post! But now, I sortof try to just post for me and when I think its a fun post worth grabbing the attention of my readers, I will post about it on Facebook or twitter in hopes they’ll stop by and check it out.

10} If someone was interested in blogging, what would be a few things you would suggest?
DO IT!! Its so easy that its scary. Its addicting for many and an amazing place to meet great friends as odd as that sounds—its true. I LOVE & ADORE so many that I have met and have enjoyed following friends through ups and downs and sharing joys of life!! You can also turn your blog into a book…. there are so many options!!! JUST DO IT!! —not a sponsored post by Nike…. just my quick way of sayin’ it
Love & Hugs Ashley!!
Thank you for having me and if you weren’t bored to tears with my answers…. stop by my blog and say hello!! I’d love to meet new friends!!

~Janette

A Week with the Girls-Marilyn from The Artsy Girl Connection!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:30:00 PST

Hello lovely friends.. I am Super EXCITED to have an
opportunity to be

sharing with you today from my space next door via The ArtsyGirl
Connection. I
absolutely LOVE From A To Being, and I am
honored to be asked to share! I really hope
to get to get to know you all and indulge in some
fun blog shenanigans sometime..

......................
A Bit About Moi!

I am Marilyn, the heart and creator of The ArtsyGirl
Connection!
Mother of two funny and amazingly awesome kiddo's.

Engaged To My Very Best Friend! ❤

Severe Craftaholic.....
Photo Junkie!
Upcycling
Lover ....
Cause
Crafter!..........................
Far from a chef, but I dabble a bit within my humble abode!!!
....................................

I love indulging in creative outlets from crafting
to enhancing our home over the

season's and creating unique items for my children.I
craft for cause and totally light up at
any opportunity to help bring awareness where needed
to various issues close to my heart.
I will LOVE to get to know you all and hope
you can all stop in and say hello..
I
H.E.A.R.T My Artsy Friends..
Join Us..

...................................
Some Of The
Things You Will
Find Via
The ArtsyGirl Connection!
.............................................................
Pixel
Junkie!! ~❤PHOTOGRAPHY

I feature lots of photography and love to indulge in fun challenges around
the blog world.. ;)) I have one YOU might love, join me and my friends
in "Finagel A Foto" Sunday challenges!
...............................................
I Enjoy Crafting In
The Summer!
*Mason Jar Lanterns*

I LOVE To PLAY DRESS UP
Stop in and play dress up with me and decorate a bottle!!

*Vintage Dressed Up Bottle*

Pin
It

This dress up was FUN and very easy..I Love the way the bottle turned
out.. I think

it'll be great to bottle up wine or some sort of fun cocktail for a
nice spring picnic..
.............................
I Sometimes
Gozzle Down My Meals!!! ;)
Come sit and enjoy an amazingly deliscious
*Strawberry
Sweetheart Shake❤ *
SUPER YUMMY treat for your loves!

& enjoy trying out new recipes (Care to share a few of yours ..?)
My favorites are DESERTS!!! Life's too short to diet!!
*Homemade Blueberry
Sauce*
~ Sinfully DELISH!!!

...........................................
I UpCycle With
Smiles!! *GreenTeam*

I am a huge upcycling
fanatic and LOVE to re-do things normally considered junk

into
fun artsy decor for my home. Here are a few of my
Upcycling projects!
UpCycle Your Old Light Bulbs Into Pretty
Vases
These amazing vases now hang on my kitchen window.. Very lovely!

*Upcycled
Driftwood Bottles*
These are used bottles collected and decorated using paint, driftwood
and flowers. It's one of my FAVORITE thing's I've created and shared
via my blog..

...................................

I LOVE To Create Around The Holiday's!

*Stuffed
Burlap Ornaments*

This is another
upcycling project I made for Christmas. It features TP

Roll's
made
into Christmas ornaments and stuffed with love notes

and
sweets.
My
family really enjoyed them..

*Vintage
Candy Cane Bottles*
You guessed it... Another upcycling
project I created for Halloween. These are
Vintage Candy Corn Bottles I created
for decor from this past Halloween.
They turned out pretty festive and
lovely for the seaaon.

*Wine
Cork Holiday Place Cards*

I made these awesome place cards for
Christmas Dinner this year. I have a zillion
of corks from years of collection and
finally decided to start making use of them.
It was a big hit and everyone enjoyed
the idea of having a special
place holder and got to take them
home!

SO much more to see
and join in.. Hope you can stop in and share in some fun!
...................................

Thanks SO much for having me here today Ashley.. Wishing you all
a great week..

Hope you can all stop in sometime! I have a great linky party I would LOVE
for you to share in every Thursday ~ Pin'Inspirational
Thursday's {For the
LOVE of Pinterest!}.
Would LOVE to join you on facebook,
twitter
and hop along your linky tool's as well. Lets follow each other!
Hope to see you all again soon.. Be well!
~STAY
ARTSY!~

A Week with the Grils- Roeshel from The DIY Showoff!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:30:02 PST

Hi A to Being Creations friends! I'm Roeshel from

A blog dedicated to DIY home improvement and decorating tutorials where I share the transformation of our old farmhouse along with featuring other awesome DIY projects from the blogging community. So much to see!

I'm so excited to be guest posting for Ashley today. Isn't she so sweet? Love her and her creativity!

I recent shared where I read and what I'm reading over at the DIY Show Off...

See that sliver of bare wall to the left? I'm not a minimalist so I decided it needs something. A quick trip to the craft store and I had an idea...

Vintage inspired wall letters:

Materials:

Cardboard letters spelling R-E-A-D
Deco Art's Americana craft paint in "Tuscan"
Dark brown glaze (I use Rockler's TransTint dye)
Command velcro hangers

Tutorial:

1. I painted my letters and let them dry. I love this beautiful red...

2. Once dry, I sanded the edges for a distressed/worn look.

after:

3. Next I brushed on a dark glaze and wiped it off. I love the aged look it gives!

4. Once the glaze was dry, I applied velcro hangers since the cardboard is so light. (And no holes in the wall...that usually doesn't stop me though. Holes can be patched.)

5. My letters are centered and spaced evenly and secured to the wall with the velcro.

BEFORE

AFTER

I love the character it adds. What do you think?

Thanks so much to Ashley for inviting me to hang out today! Ashley - I hope you're having a peaceful, relaxing vacation! You deserve it!
~Roeshel

A Week with the Grils- Gwen from The Bold Abode!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:56:10 PST

Hi there all you A to Being Creations readers!

I’m Gwen

from

And I am thrilled that Ashley invited me to guest post while she’s away!

Ashley is one amazing girl, and she always impresses me with her BOLDNESS. And baby, I’m all up on being BOLD! I’m going to follow after her very soon and open out the space under my stairs to create a storage/library for all of our crazy mess that we have nowhere to stuff. I only hope I can do as an incredible job as she did!

I’ve just had my 6 month Blogiversary, and I have to say, I have fallen in love with blogging! So, today, I’d like to share with you my three most favorite projects to date.

This here is my Breakfast table that I painstakingly hand-painted…just kidding…I did hand-paint it, and there was certainly some pain involved, but I’m not the most detail-oriented person in the world, so it’s not perfecto…

But I think I'ma keep 'er... What do you think?

Next on my favorites list is my Reclaimed Columns Buffet that I made for our porch. I had a dear friend, who was renovating an incredible old Southern home and he gave me the original columns from the front porch…

and I made a surface top for them. It’s been really functional and has cheered up the side porch tremendously!

Hopefully, this summer, you'll see a propane grill hanging out with that there buffet...

Finally, I just finished making a Porch Swing! It, too, isn’t prefect, but I did it and learned a lot in the process. That’s what it’s all about, right?

I still have to hang it, so I do hope you’ll pop over for a visit and follow along to see me relaxing and swinging as summer rolls it’s way in!

Currently, I am working on a surface space for the den...it's not really a desk, but it sorta is... I'm using the leftover Reclaimed Truss from my Reclaimed Truss Headboard... Come check out the series, Project Surface Area!

Here's the plan...let's hope they come to fruition smoothly!

Dearest Ashley, thanks so much for allowing me the opportunity to share my favorite projects with your readers! You rock!

Today just might be the day.

But, you'll never know if you don't get out there and

A Week with the Grils- Cassie from Primitive and Proper!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:56:17 PST

Hello A to Being lovers! I am Cassie from Primitive and Proper. I am so excited to be here today on Ashley's amazing blog! She is crazy talented and super sweet! On my blog, I write about my home, and some craft projects, but my specialty started as furniture makeovers! The blog just kind of got a mind of its own though and took off running! :) Some of my absolute favorite pieces to do are French dressers and sideboards. Here is a look at some of my past French projects. (Click on the photo to see the original post)

One of my all time favorite pieces goes way back to before I had many followers, so it's old, but may be new to you!

A long long time ago in a magical place called the Habitat Restore, I found this curvy, large French sideboard that needed some love.

I loved everything about it except for that grate work in the doors, but as luck would have it, they were removable! I took them out as well as the panels behind them, and sanded the entire piece. I decided to do something fun on the door panels since I had been able to remove them. I set them aside, and worked on the main body, sanding it and priming it and painting it white. (It was long ago so I don't know what white I used!). After a few coats, I distressed it by hand, and then went over the entire piece with Minwax Golden Oak stain for a warmer aged look. I replaced the hardware, and then worked on the panels. I decided to paint them with chalkboard paint! I thought that would be fun and unique! (And remember this was 2 years ago, so I was way ahead of the chalkboard game back then! ;) ). Anyhow, I took a picture of it in my basement once it was done since it was the winter we got so much snow, and was just too cold outside to take it out for a picture. So here is my cruddy basement picture....

One of my favorite clients who lived in the same town as me bought it, so I was able to get a better picture of it. I have since moved, so Bridget, if you are reading this, I miss you!!!!! here it is in her gorgeous dining room!

And if you want to see more of Bridget's gorgeous home, click here.

Part of the thrill of painting and selling furniture is seeing it go home to a beautiful place like this! And I love knowing that the client will treasure the piece for time to come!

Thank you so much for having me here today, Ashley!

DIY Apothecary Jars....and Next Week's Line-up!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:58:20 PST

Hey Happy Creators!
I'm sorry the past two weeks have been "unexciting" here! I tell you what-being under the weather is my LEAST favorite place to be. Do not worry. In an attempt to make it up to you, I have a fun-filled week planned for you and something pretty exciting for the last week of March! Before I get to the tutorial, here's the lineup for A Week With The Girls!

Tomorrow, Gwen from The Bold Abode will be kicking things off with some of her favorite projects! Wait till you see her bright and cheery porch! Then, Friday, Miss Cassie from Primitive and Proper will be showing you one of her all-time favorite do-overs! Calling all furniture "re-habers"-don't miss this! Monday, Roeshel from The DIY Showoff will dazzle your mind with her quick and easy "blank wall filler" project! I can't wait to try it. Tuesday, Marilyn from The Artsy Girl Connection is going to give you a tour of her spot and some of her favorite projects, tutorials, and recipes. She literally covers EVERYTHING! Then, Wednesday join Janette from the Johanson Journey for an intimate 1 on 1 as she tells you all about our little interview. Janette spills the beans on blogging, the good, the bad, and the BEST! If you want some honest insight, don't miss Wednesday. Then, finally Traci from Beneath My Heart will be wrapping things up with one of my favorite projects she's done. I'm still on the lookout for something that will work. Traci is one of the most sincere bloggers I've met. I'm sure you'll fall right in love with her, and all of the girls on (starting tomorrow) A Week with the Girls!

Here's what you'll need for your DIY Apothecary Jars...
Glass candle holders from Dollar Store, little wood circles from Hobby to the Lobby, and wood finials from Hobby to the Lobby. Anything you can find will work.

Also, while you're there, pick up three (or however many you're making) of these glass jars. There are a variety....pick them up when glass is 50% off.

Some spray paint of your choice....I used my fav....Heirloom White...

And, finally, some adhesive and or liquid nails. I used both because well, I was short on both, so ya know....

I figured (if I have the adhesive and spray paint) I can make one of these jars for around 9$ a piece. I pick up the parts when they are 50% off at Hobby to the Lobby. Then (since I'm ~~cheap~~ ~~lazy~~) frugal-I don't use primer....because that's how I roll. It takes more paint, but that's okay with me.

Just keep swimming.....just keep swimming.....I mean painting....

When they are dry, assemble them like this....

Sorry for the bad pics. My ~~garage~~ workshop is poorly lit.....COME ON SPRING!!!!

These are great... Literally, you can fill them with anything. I've seen a lot of these floating around bloggieland and Pintrest so unfortunately, I have not listed all 100 that have come before mine. However, these are mine, and maybe you've not caught them anywhere else. There ya have it. Fill em' and enjoy em'!

Here they were at Christmas time!

See ya when I get back!

Getting Ready....

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:48:06 PST

Dearest Lovelies-
I'm alive...just gearing up for YOUR best week ever? What? Did she say my best week ever? Yep...I did. You probably know I've been sick the past couple of weeks...yes, no good-and you may know that I'm leaving on Vaca!-Yes, good (assuming I start feeling better this century)-which leads me to why this is YOUR best week ever... okay, so month ever....Giveaway the last week of March....but before that, I have been working with some amazing bloggers and have quite the lineup scheduled for you while I'm gone. So, hold tight. Tomorrow, I'm revealing the "last project" before vaca....and the schedule for all your lovely guests!

Old Wine Jug Lamp Tutorial....Another PB Knockoff!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:49:34 PST

Source

Hello Beautiful People!
I'm not sure how the weather's been your way, but it's been extremely mild for Indiana. Although, I say that, and according to Weather.com, snow may be coming Friday. I've been overwhelmed with a sinus infection, a cold, and the flu for the last two weeks. Finally, today-I'm starting to feel a little better! I can't help but think it's partly due to the weather. Typically, I'm never sick. And wouldn't you know it, just as I start to feel better, the little Monsters start to feel yucky! Oh, the joys of parenthood! Before I get into the tutorial I want to share just a few exciting upcoming posts. I'm going on vacation next Wednesday and since I will be gone for awhile, I asked some of my favorite Bloggie BFF's to enlighten you! Beginning March 2nd through the 9th don't miss a post during "A Week With The Girls"...just to tease you-here are their names...Kate, Gwen, Janette, Marilyn, Cassie, Sarah, Roeshel, and Traci...I'll let you think about it, and if you're lucky, tomorrow I'll reveal their blogs. On to the tutorial...

Here's what you'll need:

Burlap lampshade (or shade of your choice)

Old jug, glass bottle...whichever you prefer

Bottle lamp kit

Phillips Screwdriver (when you assemble the lamp kit)

Light bulb

You can get the bottle lamp kit at Wallmart for around $4 or $5 bucks. They also have lamp kits that aren't specifically bottle lamp kits, and they will work as well. If you get one of those, you'll need heavy duty adhesive. I didn't have a bottle lamp kit, so I just used the adhesive and it worked fine.

Okay, so literally I've been loving these lamps from Pottery Barn. HOWEVER~I'm not rich, and honestly, if I DID have an extra $250-$300 dollars lying around...I sure ~~as hell~~ wouldn't spend it on a lamp! Aren't they LOVELY?

$349.00 Pottery Barn

$99 Pottery Barn

$169 and $199 Pottery Barn

$149 Ballard Designs

$209 Pottery Barn

You get the idea...so there I was...STUCK...Hmmm....what to do what to do? Make one! This is the easiest of easy projects. I'm sure Mr. A2B could do it...and he doesn't do things like this!

First, the jug-My Grandma used this old jug as a door stop filling it with change all year, to put into the little plastic Easter Eggs. I didn't want to get rid of it, but wasn't sure how to "showcase" it. Since it has so much sentimental value-I wanted it to get attention. Then, the shade. I knew I wanted burlap. it was a splurge, BUT I wasn't patient enough to scour all my junk places...I wanted it done...YESTERDAY!

Not to mention how great of a conversation piece it is! It's on the ledge of the half wall up in the loft...so you can see it right when you walk in the house. And, I'm planning on finishing up the gallery wall this weekend, so I'll get better pics of this when it's done. I didn't want to spoil it for you.

And the best part?!?!? Mine only ran me $18.98!!! The shade was $14 at Target. And the lamp kit was $3.99 found one that was "previously opened"....and I couldn't have cared less...all the guts were there! Now that I saved $ on my lamp....I can dream about this little side table.... too flippin cute!

$179 Ballard Designs

Sharing here...

Pottery Barn Knockoff Tutorial...DIY Taxidermy Decor

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:00:55 PST

Happy Friday! I mentioned here that I would do a tutorial on how I created this but you know how it goes....kids...potty training....kids....monsters...sick kids.....sick Mr.A2B...sick me...ya know. So, here's what we had....Thanks to my Dad's GREAT FIND!! Yes...he found this in the woods...
The spot is the spray paint...Heirloom White...My FAV! I almost forgot to take a pic. WHEW! Take this guy, add one coat of primer, two coats of HW....and we get....

This...Mr. Fancy Pants.

I picked up a wood plaque from Hobby to the Lobby with a coupon and it was under 7$. I busted out the ASCP in Arles and French Linen. I finished him up after a little distressing with light wax. Then the issue of attaching Mr. Fancy Pants to his "clothes"...yep some floral wire and picture hanging thingamajiggs! True. Story. Here he is...in all of his Pottery Barn Glory! Of course, it was during Christmas....

And Neeked...(now..."undressed" for the holidays)...

GIANT Picture Tutorial...Gallery Wall is Underway!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 05:38:40 PST

So, thanks to the internet and plethora of ideas that are available, I managed to deliver the awesomeness....cheapest....Valentine's Day gift. EVER. The original idea wasn't mine. Mandy over at Sugar Bee Crafts did a post about it here. It's a GIANT picture tutorial. If you're interested in making one of these, I say Go for it!!! It's super easy...and super inexpensive. Here's what you'll need...

1 piece of 1/2" foam board. They sell it at Lowe's for around 10 bucks or so....but if your dad is AWESOMENESS like mine, he'll be able to get you some from work. It looks like this..****REMOVE the plastic coating before you do anything with this...the glue will work better, and your cuts will be cleaner.

Then, get the photo or photos you'd like to use...and save it on any sort of external hard drive. Run to kinkos....have them "blow em' up"....any size you want. I did two pictures that were 1'x2' and one picture that was 2'x3'. My total (black and white) was around 11$

Xacto knife/utility knife- trim the foam board to the size of your pictures with your knife of choice (the newer the better)...I didn't leave a border around my pictures because I thought it would be cooler if I didn't leave one...it's up to you...NOW, a few options here. I tried both. You can either attach the pictures to the foam before cutting it, or cut the foam, paint the edges, then attach the picture to the foam. Honestly, I thought they turned out better when I cut the foam board with the picture attached, then painted. The problem I ran into was after I attached the photo to the already trimmed and painted foam board, I still had to trim parts off, and repaint anyway. So, I saved a step. It's up to you. ALSO, spray paint makes the foam board bubble...we tested a piece just to see...but Mandy was correct...it bubbles.

Anywho...use black acrylic craft paint to paint the edges. Or whichever color you want I suppose. I used black.

Spray adhesive...I use Elmer's because that's what I have. Modge podge will wrinkle your photos...trust me...just use the spray adhesive.

Wire...for the back to hang your works of art. Anything will do. I put mine up last night and only used a thumb tack. Here's what you'll get....

So, Mr. A2B LOVED them...and it was kinda a gift for me...lol! BECAUSE....the Gallery Wall has OFFICIALLY BEEN STARTED! THANKYOUJESUS!

Sharing here..

Can't WAIT!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:57:19 PST

Hello Everyone!

I'm still here.....I can't wait to show you what I did (am doing tonight) for Mr. A2B for Valentine's Day!!!

Includes:
Paper
Jump Drive
Spray Adhesive
Black Acrylic Craft Paint
Brush (DUH!)
and Foam Board....

Gotta go...I'm late for my date~!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Almost March...YOU ORGANIZED YET?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:01:46 PST

How's your day? Well, it's about to get a whole lot better!

It seems like every year around this time, we're bombarded with new and exciting ways to "organize our lives". For me, it's almost overwhelming at times. The reality of it is this; when I remember "things" I have to do, "things" I have to buy, "things" I need to look into, and "things" that need done for the kids, I'm typically at the 9-5 in front of my computer. And while I have various bookmarks, they too can become unorganized and overwhelming. Case and point.... Here's what my "blogging" folder looks like....

I know...right?!?! I try....but it's almost impossible. And this is just ONE of my folders. Let's not even get into the personal folder...gifts I need to buy....recipes I want to try...articles I want to read...and anything else. Why am I showing you this? Well, I have found a solution to the madness. I'm super excited to introduce my newest pal: Clipix! What am I talking about? Watch this short video, and you'll see...

Are you excited yet? HOLY COW! I feel like I just won the lottery. Did you see the Clipix icon where all of my social icons are? Yep....it's pretty amazing!

My favorite features so far are; Clipix automatically generates a description, applies the cost of the item I'm clipping (when applicable), allows me to choose the thumbnail I want...or I can generate my own, lists the website I "clipped" from, and...my favorite....it has an iPhone app. Why is that my favorite? Hmmmm....ever heard of "price-matching?"....mmmmkkkkkk! Well, yesterday I trucked over to Lowe's. I went there for an item I needed to finish a project. When I found it, it was $0.29 MORE than what it was when I clipped it from another website. I pulled it up with my app...and Lowe's honored the price....AWESOMENESS!

Clipix is great because I can pick and choose which clipboards I want to share, and with whom I want. I've only been using it for a few days, but my Mom's on board and we've decided to use the sync feature when we're Christmas shopping and preparing to shop for Black Friday because not only will it help us remember what we bought (by taking a snapshot), for whom the gift was purchased, and how much it cost. When we clip to the syncboard, it'll show up on her phone, and mine. What an amazing feature and tool to have. If you're a savy shopper.....you'll want this! We all know who matches competitor's prices, Clipix puts everything in a convenient place so gone are the days when you "knew someone else had it cheaper" but forgot where. Here are some of my boards;

I've also found myself using Clipix for Silhouette shapes I like, excursions I'd like to try on our upcoming vacation, and news articles I'd like to read. My Multiboard is "Things to Buy"...I can have as many clip boards in that category as I'd like. The possibilities are truly endless! Go to clipix, sign yourself up...NOW...and start clipping.

If you'd like more information, visit Clipix on Facebook or follow Clipix on Twitter.

I promise...you will NOT be disappointed!

Promoted Post

Good Juice and Some Bad Juice...and FORT HARD KNOCKS!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:37:34 PST

Two nights ago, Little Monster #1 looked very sternly up at Mr. A2B and while violently waiving his pointer finger said; "Dad, I got some good juice an some bad juice, which one eww wont?" I was sleeping...WAS sleeping, but was woken up by Mr. A2B's hysterical, almost snorting laughter...so, he came in and I asked what could possibly have been that funny, he shared the experience, and I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe, and had tears streaming down my face. The joys of parenthood. WOW~! Then last night, the good and bad "juice" was asked about again. This time, I was home with the Monsters by myself because Mr. A2B was bowling. So, the "bad juice" was Little Monster #1 had a pee in his pants, the "good juice" was, "it jus ahaxident"...AWESOMENESS! I couldn't even be mad. Instead, we built Fort Hard Knocks! BTW- neither Mr. A2B nor myself have the first clue as to where the good and bad news came from. We can only imagine where he picked it up!

I've got lots in the works...so I'll leave you with this...because sometimes it's fun to be a kid!

Yep...having the playhouse under the stairs, is like we built a room addition to our "Forts". We usually build one every week or so...sometimes like everyday....but having the playhouse is an extra bonus...

Now, this may not look like a great fort- but I assure you it was. In all its glory, Fort Hard Knocks was immaculate. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap pics before we started dismantling it. It was complete with three rooms....two sleeping bags, 16 bed pillows, an overweight black lab, one Tater cat, Mom, and Little Monsters 1&2! Oh yes, and a basketball hoop. We no longer have clean bedding...anywhere because it was all ironically covered in pet hair...hmmm...how'd that happen? How was bowling honey?!? :) Good...never mind that ~~mountain~~ pile of linens...we can work on that over the weekend. I decided we needed to "sanitize" the place, so tonight we're just going to sleep with sheets. mmmmmmkkkk???!? k...night honey!

Shared Spaces! The Kids' Room....Better After!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:31:04 PST

Finally!!!! I'm getting to show you various projects I've finished up over the past few months! It seems like Christmas and all the hoopla that surrounds it stole all my space on here... But now. Let's take a trip down memory lane....when we were preparing for little ~~Monster~~ Baby #1 Here's the during...yes...nesting at its best...room's not even cleared out yet...and I'm ~~demanding~~ sweetly requesting that Mr. A2B gets the stripes painted already....wow! Those were the days...we had a "guest room...."

The overweight black lab (before she went into depression because Little Baby #1 came)...she's hard at work....ahhhhh...finally...window treatments! and please note the date on the pics....Baby wasn't born until November! Yes...I'm a raving lunatic. But only when I'm prego~! I promise! :)

Sore neck huh?!?!? yep...you'll think sore neck....Like the crib? My mom scored it at a yard sale....STILL IN THE BOX....price: $150 (including a bassinet that was in our room)

A few details....and a crib stuffed with toys that hardly got played with! You know how many times I had to rearrange this place to make it perfect!?!? Yep...crazy person over here!

Ah....I don't even remember when "sit-arounds" were permitted in this room!

Little monster #1 transitioned to this bed...and Monster #2 was on the way, so we left the crib up....it never was really used much. We went super ~~cheap~~ creative and bought "pet" steps for the bed so Little Monster #1 could get in and out...yes we had a rail... (because all my crap was shoved under the bed, so it was on risers...waaaay too high for an 18 month old...but he LOVED the bed. So, we let him have it...until....well, about 6 months ago...)

Here's the next transition phase....Oh....we were so excited the day the lampshade came! The lamp was the splurge....from PB.

He kinda missed his "big boy" twin bed! But at least he can still see the tv...yes, bad parents...kids have tv in their room...don't judge!

The Little Boy Monster wants the Little Girl Monster's bed...I can't win! And, here we are today...with my new-found bloggie craftiness! BEWARE!!! PHOTO OVERLOAD....

A Little sign I found at Amazon

This was a wedding gift! We had a luau!

I used ASCP...Provence and Old White 50/50 to make the color

Another wedding gift. My father in law is friends with the Artist!

From Mr. A2B for our 1st Anniversary! The poem on the left is how he proposed. I'll post it sometime soon because it's sooooo sweet. The 1st letter of each line spells....Will you marry me Ashley!

Dream Catcher #1 for Monster Boy...BP clearance

Dream Catcher #2 for Monster Girl...BP Clearance

One of Little Monster #1's Baptism gifts...

Sign for little monster #2...PB clearance

Sign for little monster #1...PB clearance

From my BFF during college....she's also our little monsters' God Mother

Yes...I allow crap on the bed! BUT I LOVE the Scentsy Buddies....Thanks to Debbie Doo's! I won a giveaway! The Perry pillows on their beds are also from PB....clearance!

Can't forget Perry the Platypus

My first sewing project without Grandma :( Found the hamper at TJMAXX...spray painted it and used the old liner as a pattern....and made my own and added a ribbon

She LOVES it!

They LOVE the reading corner! and we get dinner from this kitchen every night!

The smaller polka dot rugs were just extras that I used in the playhouse while I was doing that...and they each wanted one...so I let em'. The blankets on the foot of the beds were gifts from good friends of ours when the Monsters were born.

My Dad helped make this shelf...to hold the most treasured details...mostly wedding and baptism gifts.... Our unity sand from our wedding is on the far right.

This is all of our wedding center pieces that our guests didn't take with them...we put all of the contents together and we'll cherish it forever....

I'll post more about this whole project....but that's all for now! Happy Tuesday!

Sharing here:

Meet...Leo!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:01:52 PST

Leo was my FIRST GLAZED FURNITURE PIECE!!! Yes, I know. Exciting huh?!? I finished him this summer. I don't have before pics...because I wasn't blogging then. But, you can imagine a honey oak-ish color...that was him!

Here he is with two coats of primer....

After two coats of Heirloom White!

The glaze is left over from my Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation Kit...just paint it on, and wipe it off...Topped him off with three coats of wipe on poly!!!!

And here he is in the house. I named him Leo because of his feet! When I spotted him at one of my junk stores for only $10....I knew he was mine. Because he is a perfect match to our dining room/kitchen table that's living in storage! Gotta love junk stores and spray paint!

Don't forget to follow via Linky Follower!

Sharing here...

Super Bowl Commercials!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:11:07 PST

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I don't know about all of you, but it's only half time, and I'm already LOVING the Sketchers commercial! Usually I wait until the game is over to pick my favorite, but the American Bulldog moon walkin' cross the finish line was hysterical. There have been sub-par commercials thus far. I'm not sure why, but so far, I've been disappointed. The upside is, although I didn't win the iPad2, mine has been returned and it's fixed. I'm still waiting on the company to send me a piece of missing trim, but when that happens I'll let you all know how that process went, and the company that fixed it.

In the mean time, I'm looking for new options as far as cell carriers go. In the past, the winner was always AT&T, but that was only because they had the iPhone...well, now I have options because Verizon and Sprint offer the iPhone...so, while I was shopping the offers, I found Sprint was having a sale. Although I'm still going with the iPhone...if I wasn't, I'd probably go with one of these. (In our area, Sprint's coverage is the best)

Sprint Sale 2/5-2/8 4 day Sale Get the Nexus S™ 4G FREE when you open a new line of service or add to your account. Nexus S™ 4G @ FREE online only savings ($50 MIR converts to instant + $99.99 web only savings).

OR

Get the HTC EVO™ 3D for only $49.99 when you open a new line of service or add to your account. HTC EVO™ 3D @$49.99 online only savings ($50 MIR converts to instant + $50 web only savings

Show Your Support!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:11:20 PST

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I decided to accept this post because I have personally taken advantage of Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. I 'm not sure how insurance and all that jazz works, but I do know depending on the brand, your co-pay might not be just $10. AND...it doesn't always HAVE to be the $10 either! Which no one else decided to tell me! I learned this when I went into Walgreens last week to get the Monsters Medicine...I assumed it was the same no matter what...I was dead. Wrong!! So, with the healthcare changes and whatnot, apparently, this was one of them? Who knows?!?! All I know is after we signed up for the Prescription Savings Club, the majority of our prescriptions haven't even been the $10 co-pay. They have been much less! Awesomeness! So, other than getting discount prices on our prescriptions, we also receive these other benefits;

-Savings on more than 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications.
-Discounts on all flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers, diabetic supplies
-Bonuses when you purchase Walgreens brand products and photofinishing services.
Luckily, we don't need the diabetic supplies, but if Grandma was still here, I'd sign her up because that alone is worth the $35 bucks. Actually for her it would have been only $20. For our entire family (and yours including a spouse, dependents 22 and younger, and pets) it's $35 a year. If you just want to get it for yourself, it's $20.

If you want to get more information on the Prescription Savings Club, visit Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens. And you can show your support for Walgreens and stay updated by liking Walgreens on Facebook and following Walgreens on Twitter!
Hope this helps you save a little bit of $$ So you can use it for all of your DIY projects you've been dying to start!

Wait....what's Going away?!?!? Google Friend Connect?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Perry) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:20:31 PST

Yep, that's the big news round' these parts in Bloggieland! But it's okay...why?!?!? Well, you may have noticed the NEW HOT linky followers!?! OKAY, well it's just. That. Awesome! So, yesterday I spent the day, designing a new social icon set...and adding google plus, and a google plus page, and linky followers.....Here's how we can stay in touch. On the (pretend I'm you....) right side of the screen, you see all of this...

Yes, I did make those buttons. Starting from top.... Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, then the bottom row....Networked Blogs, Google Plus (my Blog's page), and RSS feeds via feedburner. The most consistent way of following....is to sign up via email, or RSS feeds. THEN....you don't have to worry about what platform you have, and I have, and she has, and so on. I've been asked a few times already to design buttons for some people...I don't mind doing it...I think a fair price would be about $15....If you're interested in that, shoot me an email: atobeingcreations@comcast.net and we'll figure something out. I have Paypal, so I can take cards and whatnot....anywho...back to my story. So, if you scroll down further...you'll see this....

Roeshel from The DIY Showoff pasted about this yesterday...and is doing a giveaway today! Go give her a visit!!! Moving forward, please click follow on the Linky Followers rather than Google Friend Connect. OR, both, OR, visit me on Facebook/Twitter/Pinterest/Networked Blogs/and be sure to click the G+ button so you can be in my Blogs Circle.

I know...Sounds difficult, it isn't....PROMISE!!!!