Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures

Garden Chalkboard Sign for Halloween

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 01:11:00 +0000

Garden Chalkboard Sign for Halloween

My sign I made years ago is ready to Greet Trick or Treaters. I just sprayed a yard sign with chalkboard paint and voila.

Tracy

Fall Porch 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sat, 17 Oct 2015 00:49:00 +0000

My favorite time of year is here again. I love pumpkins, fall colors and the cooler weather. My porch looks similar year after year, but it seems there are subtle changes worth sharing. I have decided buying all new things to create a new look every year is not my thing. New flowers and pumpkins are enough to make me happy.

The jack o lantern on the left is on a plant stand I found in the alley this week. Free stuff is awesome.

I did buy this new clay pumpkin. I have had my eye on them every year. They sell them at my local grocery store.

I found this green pumpkin at Walmart. It’s my favorite one.

I have had these metal containers forever. I still love them.

Greenery in pots is affordable and pretty.

Cheap mums and pansies from Walmart with some faux fall stems in them.

Tracy

WARNING Bath and Body Works Fragrance Plug Ins Remove Paint

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sat, 16 May 2015 15:34:00 +0000

This happened to my wall and furniture. I did not spill it. It was just plugged in and the fragrance ate the paint.

Tracy

Rooster Painting-Trying New Things

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:08:00 +0000

I went to Hobby Lobby to get a few supplies to try painting with acrylics. I have a thing for farm animals so my first painting attempt was a rooster. I documented it all with my camera phone so the photos are not the best.

First I drew the rooster onto my canvas.

I bought the easel for $8. It makes painting a lot easier.

I painted my background first and then I started in on the rooster.

The trick to painting is adding layers of color.

The layers help bring out the depth of the rooster.

I watched Parenthood on my Kindle while I painted. It was a great way to spend a snowy cold day. I will definitely try it again.

Tracy

Front Porch Christmas 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 01:13:00 +0000

I didn’t change a lot on my porch this year, but I thought I would share it anyway.

Tracy

Christmas Tree 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sat, 06 Dec 2014 04:28:00 +0000

My tree bit the dust last year so I bought a skinny tree the day after Christmas. It was much easier to decorate and I filled it full of ornaments. I added some leopard print ribbon as well. I am embracing my love of leopard print.

Tracy

Izzy and a Windy Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:11:00 +0000

My sweet 3 yr old miniature schnauzer braved a windy day while I photographed her. I love how the wind blew her fur and ears as she looked into the gusts.

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com

Tracy

Fall 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 17:10:00 +0000

I love fall. The older I get, the more I love it. Last weekend I put out some fall décor. I need to buy some mums in the next couple of weeks to add to my porch.

I did a little costume try on today. I have had these for a year or two. My dog I adopted in March has never had the pleasure of playing dress up. She was not a fan. She was the bat.

Maddy just gave up and laid down without moving.

I don’t think they are going to like Halloween.

Tracy

This One Time On Vacation….I almost died.

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 00:44:00 +0000

We love to go to Almont, CO for vacation in Taylor Canyon. Almont sits between Crested Butte and Gunnison. We enjoy spending time in all 3 areas while on vacation.

This was our 3rd time to vacation in the area and it will be our most memorable vacation of our lives.

We arrived in the mountains on July 5th and everything was going perfectly. The morning of the 10th I traveled to Crested Butte for the Wildflower Festival. I signed up for a wildflower photo outing. Afterwards, I decided to grab a bite to eat and some roadside cherries before heading back to our cabin at Harmel’s in Almont.

I arrived back to the cabin and decided to eat some of the cherries that I bought. I then showed my husband the photos I took and we all hung out at the cabin for a little bit. My husband and son decided to go throw the football up at the lodge in the grassy field. I was going to stay and edit a few photos.

When they left, my stomach started acting up and I thought I had eaten too many cherries. Then I vomited violently and then my severe pain began in my abdomen. It got so bad I could hardly move. I was sweating profusely and felt delirious. My husband and son came back and found me moaning and rolling around on the floor. My husband is a firefighter and he checked my pulse and couldn’t find one. He rushed me to the Gunnison (population 2000) to the hospital.

I suffered one hour of pain before arriving to the hospital and another 4 hours while getting diagnosed and then waiting for surgery. They gave me morphine, fentanyl and something else while I was there. NONE of it worked. I thought I might lose my mind. Finally a CT scan showed my intestines were enlarged and in trouble. Luckily a surgeon that is looking to move to Colorado was working at the hospital that week. She was the only one who could do the surgery. No one else knew what to do. If she was not there it would have been really really bad. My intestines were twisted 8 times and strangulated. They were dying and about to burst. Traveling to another hospital to have the surgery would probably been a death sentence for me.

My lifesaver/surgeon just happens to be Dr. Good. Very fitting. She saved my life. She thought I would have to get a colostomy bag, but I did not. I am still recovering and getting stronger every day. I spent 6 days in the hospital after surgery and I have been back in Texas resting and getting better.

My intestines twisted because I am missing ligaments that should have held them in place.

The photo below shows me after surgery with my GN tube; my first shower after several days in the hospital bed; when I finally felt like putting on makeup and clothes and finally my husband and I celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary on July 26th.

I saw this next photo on facebook and I so agree.

Tracy

Happy 4th of July

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:58:00 +0000

Just a couple of patriotic photos to share with you.

Tracy

Front Porch Summer 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 15:01:00 +0000

I was in the mood for color this year on my front porch. I planted bright colored flowers and found some red polka dotted pillows from Target. A small hail storm wrecked a little havoc on my red geranium blooms, but they still look pretty good.

I brought my ladder back out because the corner looks boring without it. One day I will figure out how to decorate it better.

I shared this area recently. My fern is growing bigger. We have had lots of rain for our area which is wonderful because we have been in a drought for over a decade. My plants are happy and so am I.

My pots can cost a small fortune to fill with flowers. It gets so hot and dry that they start looking sad by mid summer. So this year I planted mostly succulents. I love them and they are much easier to care for and cheaper than flowers.

My favorite one is the one that has pink edges.

I found a little shop where a guy builds bird houses. I had him build this one for me. He uses the ends of pickets from fences that have rotted roof tops. It’s my favorite thing about this.

I really enjoy coming out to my front porch this year. I hope we keep getting rain so that my plants stay happy.

Tracy

Happy Memorial Day

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Mon, 26 May 2014 18:36:00 +0000

Thank you to all those that served and sacrificed.

Tracy

My 1986 Yamahopper

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sat, 24 May 2014 01:16:00 +0000

I love quirky things so when I saw my friend’s moped and he said he might sell it, I knew it had to be mine. I bought it for our future farm. We dream of living in the country on lots of acres in the next few years. I thought my moped might be fun to use to drive down country roads or get the mail. For now, we take our dog (Izzy) for rides in our neighborhood.

I got Izzy some goggles for her rides. She sure looks cute in them, but she really doesn’t like them.

Tracy

Front Door Décor Spring/Summer 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 11 May 2014 19:46:00 +0000

I revamped my metal bucket that hangs by my front door after the baby birds left the nest and their poop all over the old faux flowers. I added a punch of red to go with the red geraniums I planted in my front flower bed.

Happy Mother’s Day. I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Treacy

Inspiration with a Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Tue, 06 May 2014 11:07:00 +0000

I do some photography on the side. This week I took some track photos for my friend of her son. He is an amazing hurdler and is going to compete in state this weekend. I found this perfect quote to go with a photo I took of him and wanted to share it.

Tracy

Spring time on the Porch

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 14:23:00 +0000

I love spring other than the wind in the Texas Panhandle. I have done a bit of front porch decorating. I am actually in the mood this year to do some planting so I will have more to show you as the threat of a freeze decreases.

I found the cutest birdhouse yesterday. It reminded me so much of my mom. I put it on my porch along with her tall birdhouse I have has since she passed away 14 years ago.

I love how off center the hole is and the colors of the wood. The man I bought this from is working on something for me I will hopefully be sharing soon. The idea looks good in my head and hopefully it will in real life as well.

I also found the cute rosemary topiary bush yesterday. I am gravitating more towards plants than flowers these days.

I like the simplicity of them. I did add my usual faux flowers to the metal container by the door.

A pair of house finches left me a cute surprise inside of it.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter and Spring.

Tracy

Sectional - 2nd Try was a Charm

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 02:02:00 +0000

A few weeks ago my sectional arrived. I had posted about how the first one was really not the color for me and the furniture store agreed to replace it. This one is golden. The fabric looks a bit like burlap, but it does not feel like burlap. I took a couple of photos of it today.

I like the golds, corals and greens mixed together.

I also adopted a dog from the pound. It was her last day and they were about to euthanize her. I didn’t know it, but I would be saving her life twice. She had to go get spayed the morning after I adopted her. It is the rules. I guess she had a bad infection and I think the surgery was too much for her. They apparently do not check pound dogs’ blood prior to surgery. She went into kidney failure and almost died. 2 days in emergency care and tons of medicine later she seems to be fine. She sticks to me like glue. This is a photo of me bringing her home.

And here she is with my other fur babies. She’s the one in the middle.

Tracy

Newspaper Pirate Hat

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sat, 08 Mar 2014 20:51:00 +0000

I wanted to make a newspaper pirate hat for an upcoming photo shoot that I have scheduled. I found the directions how to make one here. I made Izzy try the hat out to see how it will look in a photo.

It was super easy to make and would be a fun project for kids to do during spring break.

Tracy

Harley is Diabetic

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 16:04:00 +0000

My sweet older miniature schnauzer has developed diabetes. I noticed she was drinking water excessively and I took her to the vet. She was already in a diabetic ketoacidosis. She had to stay at the animal hospital from Friday morning until Monday morning. We have been working on getting her blood glucose leveled. She has lost so much muscle mass and after almost 4 years of being blind, she is now slow and very cautious. This week she finally showed some perkiness and I took her outside to get a photo.

I never knew she could curl her tongue.

I love her so much and I am glad we get more time with her. She takes her insulin shots like a champ. So many people give up on dogs when they get old. Harley still brings joy to our family at 13 years old despite all of her ailments.

Tracy

Photos and Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 04:40:00 +0000

I love to find quotes that go with photos I take. I have two of them to share with you.

I made this little pillow with fabric swatches and added this quote to the photo.

And I saw paw prints from my sweet dog Izzy in the backyard today. I took a photo and created this.

Do you have a favorite quote?

Tracy

Wooden Coasters with a Touch of Gold

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 18:34:00 +0000

I made some coasters for our new coffee table. I bought 4 unfinished wood squares from Hobby Lobby.

I stained them with Miniwax dark walnut.

And used stencils and a metallic gold acrylic paint to add some designs.

I painted the edges with the gold paint as well.

And finished them off with a coat of poly.

Tracy

New Coffee Table and Sneak Peaks of Family Room Redo

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 19:45:00 +0000

I mentioned we ordered a sectional and the color was all wrong for the room. We get to use the sectional until our new one is delivered in March. Gotta love great customer service. Our old coffee table was rectangular and I could not find the perfect square coffee table to fit the sectional. I did find an unfinished table that is shipped unassembled. I knew it would work.

Here is what the table looked like unfinished. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on the table in Chateau Grey with clear wax.

We added some coasters to the legs so I could move the table around easily and we made a pine board top for the table. I wanted it to have a two toned look and be easy to clean because we use the heck out of our coffee table.

My husband’s friend helped him join five pine boards together using a biscuit joining method and then we screwed it onto the table from the under side after I stained and used poly on the top. I used Miniwax jacobean stain for the first coat and the second coat was dark walnut. Then I used a water based poly from Benjamin Moore.

My storage baskets are huge and fit perfectly inside the table.

I am adding some coral through out the room. I really like green, gold and coral all mixed together. I have ordered a rug that I have photoshopped into the photo below and the new sectional colors are part of the pic as well.

It will be fun to see how much different the room will look with the new sectional. I don’t know what I was thinking when I chose the current one. It looked so much darker in the showroom.

I STILL never got around to painting the oak trim in this room. So much work, so little time. However, here is what it looks like right now. I wanted to show you the hints of coral throughout the room.

I got my inspiration for the coral color from my fireplace stones.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tracy

Few Changes in Our Family Room. Adding a Pop of Coral.

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 22:11:00 +0000

We ordered a sectional. I have always despised them, but my husband really wanted one. Our chair was tearing and our sofa was sagging so something had to be done. So the sectional was ordered and delivered, but it doesn’t get to stay. I love the function, but the color is all wrong. Luckily it gets to stay until the new one arrives in a color that should go better with the room.

In the meantime, I am adding pops of coral to the room and I am making a new square coffee table.

Changing the color of a frame is the easiest way to add new fresh colors to a room. I had a silver frame that I painted with some coral paint, added some gold paint for highlights and some dark brown glaze because I like how it adds depth.

I will show you more later.

Bonus photo is Izzy ready for the Super Bowl.

Tracy

Easy and Safe way to Clean Your Hands after Staining

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Sun, 26 Jan 2014 18:46:00 +0000

I was testing a stain for a table I am revamping and I got stain all over my hands. I used a combination of grapeseed oil and sea salt (what I had in the cabinet) on my hands to clean off the stain.

It worked great and left my hands feeling soft. I am sure sugar or any salt would work as well.

Tracy

A Day in the Life of Izzy

noreply@blogger.com (Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 23:45:00 +0000

I love sharing Izzy photos. She was hanging out with my husband today.

Tracy