Us In Otto

Halloween Mantel

2011-10-11T19:46:00.001-04:00

I love Halloween!

Seriously.

I do.

It's like my favorite decorating holiday. For real.

So without further ado, let me present the Halloween mantel!

(cue Monster Mash music)

You know what the best part of all this was? I had everything!

Let's all take a moment to embrace the hoarder inside us.

I left my pallet gate up there (it's very versatile). Hung up on the corner is a witch's hat.

The mantel is draped with a black scarf from an old bridesmaids dress. The black fabric pieces hanging are actually an old slip cut up.

The tombstones (large and small) are styrofoam ones as is the dagger (all from past Halloweens).

Candle holders are from a garage sale, the skulls are plastic and from Dollar Tree (last year) as is the crow and black rose. A sheet of music paper, spanish moss and spider webbing rounds it all off.

I put some battery operated pumpkin lights behind it for an eery glow at night (they have different color settings, I leave them on blue).

So, there it is, October's Halloween mantel! I really like how it turned out.

Happy Haunting Everyone!

Linking to these fun and fabulous linky parties:

The Shabby Creek Cottage

Summer Mantel

2011-09-03T09:03:00.002-04:00

Alas! My high hopes of redoing my mantel each month fell by the wayside this summer. In June I did a patriotic mantel and liked it so much (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) that I kept it up all summer.

When I did this mantel back in June I wanted to make to use things made only in the U.S.A. So I scrounged around the house and this is what I came up with:

I love lanterns, so knew I had to include one of the many lanterns I have around and I just happen to have a blue one. The Uncle Sam nutcracker was a gift from my mom. He's sitting on a few very old schoolbooks from way back when. Then there's one of my most favorite things I own, my 48 star flag. I wish I could say it was passed down from generation to generation in my family, but eh, I bought it on eBay many years ago.

This flying Americana doll is something my dad made me. This was his "prototype" years ago. They've evolved a lot since then, but I love having his 'first' one.

You know you're a true junker when you see something lying on the side of the road and you make your husband (who was driving at the time) pull over and run over and get it. Yes, my dear friends, that's how this "let freedom ring" sign came to be a part of our family. Now why would someone throw away a perfectly good rusty old sign? Sheesh!

So, here is my Patriotic Mantel in its full glory:

I added some U.S.A. wooden blocks, an old red carriage lantern and a metal star as well. The garden gate is the one my husband and I made out of a pallet and the old barbed wire we found on our property when we moved here.

Honestly, I love Americana, I used to have that as my decor many moons ago. I loved this mantel so much I decided to keep it up all summer and through 9/11.

Thanks for looking and I hope everyone had a great summer!

P.S. Obviously Blogger did a few changes while I was away, can anyone tell me why certain words in my post are underlined like a link and how I get rid of that?? Thanks!

Linking up to these fun and fabulous parties:
Funky Junk Interiors

May Mantel

2011-05-01T21:45:00.001-04:00

Boy these months are sure flying by, especially when you are on a mantel redo deadline.

So, let's just cut to the chase. This mantel actually came together just this past weekend. I had pictured in my head all month to do May's mantel with some sort of picture banner and birdhouses. Well, I never could find anything I wanted to make the birdhouse craft out of. So plan B was burlap. I've been really liking burlap a lot lately and thought I would make a burlap banner with a nest theme (being that it's Mother's Day month and all).

So first, I got 1 yard of brown burlap at our Walmart for just under $3. They had a pretty light green moss burlap too, but I stuck with the brown. Then I got a humongoid size roll of freezer paper for just under $6. I really didn't want to buy that big a role but now if I come into a lot of meat to freeze I'll be ready!

First, I cut 4 even triangles out of the burlap for my word (nest). Then I cut out a stencil using the freezer paper and my cricut (saw that handy dandy little tip online somewhere, sorry, don't remember!).

Cut out your stencil so that the shiny side of the freezer paper is face down. That's the part that will stick to your fabric when you iron your stencil to it. So, then, iron your stencil to your fabric.

Then take acrylic craft paint and dab it over the stencil. I actually didn't have a stencil brush so just used a cheapy foam brush and it worked perfectly.

Let dry (luckily it dries pretty fast because I am Ms. Impatient) and peel off stencil.

And voila! I was giddy excited at how super easy and fun this was. Banners for everyone!

Since I didn't want to sew or glue my banner triangles onto the hemp cord, I just used clothespins. I liked it, but then thought I would like it more if I painted the clothespins Oil Rubbed Bronze. Oh yeah.

What do you think, regular clothespins or oil rubbed bronze clothespins? I went with the ORB.

Then I got kind of cute-sie and decided to put the word "our" on top of the "nest" so back to stenciling on the burlap.

Did I mention how much fun that is to do? And easy? Try it!

Then I put the fabric around Mason jars and added little rocks, water and wild ferns that grow all around here. I will eventually add wildflowers as they start to bloom.

The mantel in its entirety:

There you have it. May's mantel.

Until next time,

Linking up to these fun & fabulous linky parties:
Freckled Laundry

Garden Bicycle

2011-04-10T09:10:00.008-04:00

I think I may have mentioned before that I have a brown thumb.

Brown.

But that's okay because brown is my favorite color.

However, I do love spring and flowers and things blooming and watching my husband plant things that actually grow and don't turn my favorite color. I give kudos to all you green thumb gardeners out there.

So I've been seeing cute little garden bicycle planters around the internet. Ones that were made to be planters, not a bicycle that somebody rode for years and years and years and it got all rusty and yucky and your husband finds it in a trash heap and drags it home and you stick it way in the backyard out of sight and out of mind until you start seeing all those bicycle planters on the internet.

Oh yeah.

So lo and behold I walk into our doller store and find exactly what I had been looking for, some wire baskets and that basket filler stuff, which I'm sure you gardeners out there know the scientific name for, but to me it's basket filler stuff.

Then I pulled out the rusty old bicycle, complete with dry rotted tires, and cleaned it up. Well, hosed it down anyway.

I really wasn't too sure about this, but continued.

I love when my son wants to help, so he hooked up his old tractor (given to us for free, don't worry, there is no cutting deck/blades on it) to our trailer and carted everything to our garden spot.

We then zip tied the baskets to the bicycle (ya gotta love zip ties). Note the concentration, he was really into the zip tieing.

After that, we put potting soil and ivy in the basket filler thingies then put them in the baskets. I decided on ivy as I'm hoping it will grow and trail down and out of the baskets.

Isn't it pretty? Well, not sure pretty, but fun? Unique? Rusty?

Next to my weeping cherry (love) and my old garden seat.

I know, our grass is still in a sorry state, but it should perk up soon. I just wanted to get some pictures while the weeping cherry was still in bloom.

Thanks for looking!

Until next time,

Linking up to these fun & fabulous linky parties:

April Mantel Reveal

2011-04-01T21:33:00.008-04:00

Ahhh, April!

A month filled with possibilities. When I think of April I definitely think of spring and Easter and things blooming and critters hopping around and starting a garden (well, my husband does that, my thumb is decidedly brown). Anyway, this month was filled with so many choices for mantel decorating! I actually decided to go with all of it, spring, Easter, things blooming, starting a garden and critters.

First and foremost I went outside and got my praying garden bunny. He is SO sweet. But he has been sitting outside for many, many years and was covered in green moss. I scrubbed him up the best I could and gave him his own spot inside a twig wreath on the left side of the mantel.

I put a little enamelware pail with a lettuce plant in it next to him, you know, in case he wants a snack. Added a seed packet of lettuce as well.

Then I got one of my old lanterns, a few old books and some more lettuce and set up a little vignette on the right side of the mantel.

I have also been busy making some paper dogwood blossoms. Sweet Something Designs gives an awesome tutorial for them HERE.

More inspiration came from Pottery Barn to make some letter eggs. Made mine by modge podging white copy paper over plastic eggs and adding a cut out letter (and more modge podge for good measure).

Hot glue gunned the dogwood blossoms to some sticks (courtesy of the great outdoors) and added the modge podge eggs and voila!

Hmmm, my "N" is a little low. Might have to fix that.

Close up of the eggs and flowers:

Want to see it all put together?

Okay, here we go!

Kept the garden gate and barbed wire from last month. Sprinkled some more blossoms around the mantel and gave garden bunny the ball of twine so it looks like he's hanging the eggs (I know that's a stretch but humor me). :-)

Plus the only thing I bought for this month's mantel was the lettuce plants and seed packets. So the whole thing was under $5.00. Woo hoo!

Thanks for looking!

Until next time,

Linking to these fun and fabulous linky parties:

Blog Makeover

2011-03-25T12:03:00.001-04:00

So what do you think about my blog makeover? Be gentle with me. Yes, this is the former "Table Scraps Diner." But actually, it was "Us In Otto" to begin with, then I changed it to TSD, but now I'm going back. Because, well, we always want to go back home to warm blankets and comfort food and simple living. That's what I want for "Us In Otto." I did like the Table Scraps moniker for a while, but I've branched beyond just posting my scrapbook layouts here, it is all about family life and loving our home.

So welcome home to "Us In Otto.' Welcome home.

Music Paper Eggs

2011-03-24T11:55:00.012-04:00

Here's a secret.

I don't like plastic eggs.

Whew. Glad that's off my chest.

Last year I tried painting them, like, the day before Easter. It wasn't pretty.

Was. Not. Pretty.

Have I mentioned how I don't like to prime anything first? Anyway, if you want to know what happens to a plastic egg when you paint it with craft paint and don't prime it first, well then, I'm your go to gal.

So this year, giving myself PLENTY of time before the big floppy-earred guy arrives, I pulled out my son's stash of plastic eggs.

Then I pulled out a recent thrift store find of a music hymnal.

Then I got my Modge Podge.

And went to work:

My friends. This is a messy craft. Messy. It also requires patience. I don't like messy and having to be patient. But I persevered. You can cut the paper in strips, squares, circles, whatever you want. I cut my paper in maybe 1 1/2" squares. Some smaller, some larger. You really don't have to be precise. I painted some Modge Podge on a section of the egg, then painted it on the back of the paper strip, then I put the paper on the egg and smoothed it down (with my fingers) and then Modge Podged over that. The thinner your paper, the easier. Mine was probably copy paper thickness.

Project words of wisdom:

Forget about having a smooth egg. Wrinkles are in.
You will get Modge Podge all over your hands (and under your nails).
Don't answer the phone with Modge Podge on your hands. Just sayin'.
Eggs roll.
Perhaps use an egg carton to set them on while drying. But don't let any glue touch the egg carton or they'll stick to it.
I actually didn't use an egg carton, so they dried (and rolled) all over my table.
Don't let anyone fool you. This is not "just a two hour project."
Did I mention the patience and mess part? Okay.
The finished project is SO worth it!

See?

After they dried, I just tied some jute around them. Aren't they awesome?

Seriously. If I was a hen, I'd sit on these.

I actually want to make more. I think I like plastic eggs now.

(Did I just say that?)

Until next time,

Linking to these fabulous and fun linky parties:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T13:29:00.001-04:00

Hope you are wearing green today so you won't get pinched!

Thrift Store Lamp Makeover

2011-03-13T10:35:00.010-04:00

Pottery Barn does it again darn it! I don't know why I get that catalog. It's a love/hate relationship. I love looking through it getting loads of inspiration, then get sticker shock looking at the prices.

For example. Finials. I love old finials. Love them. Do I have any? No. Does Pottery Barn have any? Yes!

Let's drool for a little bit shall we? All images courtesy of Pottery Barn.

Decorative Finials:

Lamp Finials:

Even a Coat Tree Finial:

Aren't they droolworthy? I thought so too, but I just can't justify the cost (unless I win the lottery of course).

So, I've been on the lookout for months for something to make my own finials out of. I've been stalking our local thrift stores for candle sticks or bed posts or fence posts or lamps or something.

Then one day it happened. I was walking around one of our local thrift stores and lo and behold I spotted this beauty for $1.50:

I should have taken a picture of it at the thrift store, but there were several people hanging around and I didn't want to waste any time in grabbing it. I mean, $1.50?? I grabbed and ran buddy. Grabbed. And. Ran. All's fair in thrifting.

I knew I didn't want to turn it into a finial lamp, though that would have been awesome too. Imagine my delight when I took it apart and found it was actually TWO pieces! Awesome went to awesomeR!

My friends, there are many tutorials in blog land on how to distress things. You can prime and plaster, paint and sand, etc. etc. These are ceramic, so all I did was take my trusty can of flat white interior paint and sloppy paint them. Sorry the pic is a tad blurry, I was just excited.

*Note, hammer was not needed for this project.

After they dried, I sanded some of the paint off here and there and voila! My finials! Aren't they pretty?

So, Pottery Barn finials for appromately $120 for both:

My finials, final cost $1.50 for both (already had the paint):

Here they are in their current spot on my mantel:

Next I'm looking forward to incorporating some green in there! C'mon spring!

Until next time,

Linking to these fabulous linky parties:

The Unveiling of the March Mantel!

2011-02-28T20:40:00.019-05:00

Wow, can you believe March is here? February just seemed to fly by, probably because I was busy working on the March mantel which turned into a TOTAL redo!

First, I need to give credit where credit is due, I was so totally inspired by Donna's mantel gate over at Funky Junk Interiors. If you haven't seen it, quick, click this link because her gate is awesome!

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors Awesome Mantel Gate

Did you see hers? And you came back here? I'm honored, because usually I get lost over at her website and forget what I was doing.

Anyway, so all I had to say to my husband were those two sweet little words to get him to help me build a gate. Those sweet little words were "Power Tools."

Let's get this show on the road. First we took an old pallet we got for free and put it on the back of the truck and began dismantling it:

That's our border collie mix, Gulliver. He wanted to help.

I decided I wanted my gate slats spaced apart and not butted together because I wanted more of an open, airy garden gate, so we spaced them evenly and added the cross bars of the "Z."

Yup, Gulliver is still there. I kept wondering why he was hanging around then saw the dog treat bag up in the truck. Oops!

After we spaced the slats so carefully, I realized we had to flip the whole thing over because I wanted to drill the screws in from the back so you wouldn't see them. Ah well.

After the top and bottom parts were screwed together, we added the middle cross bar.

Okay, confession time, after I took the above picture (by the way, that's hubby's arm), we realized the gate was too tall for above our mantel, so had to disassemble, cut off some more of the length and reassemble again. Measure twice, cut once anyone? Maybe next time.

Then I sloppy painted it with flat white paint. I wanted some of the natural wood showing through so didn't put too many coats of paint on.

After that I sanded the gate in spots to make it look more worn. Especially the upper right "grab to open" area.

See? Doesn't it look like we've been grabbing that corner of the gate for years to open it? After I was done sanding I added some gate hinges on the left side of the gate.

Time for the reveal! I found some barbed wire in my husbands shop area and took a metal star I've had for a while and decorated the front of the gate.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

For the rest of the mantel, I added a few pieces from my white enamelware collection and also some homemade finials I made (tutorial on those later this month).

Of course, I needed to work a bird in there, so a nest with a small ceramic bird sits on top of one of my enamelware buckets.

Homemade finials with a cow that was given to me by a friend a few years ago.

Now the mantel in its entirety:

My picture this month is just a silly shot of the 3 of us that I had printed in sepia.

Now the best part, my total cost this month was $14.50!

$3.00 for the flowers (1/2 price coupon at Dollar General), $5 for the gate hardware, $5 for the white paint and $1.50 for what I made the finials out of. Woo hoo! Under budget! Everything else I already had.

Thanks for looking!

Until next time,

3/7/11 update. Just found out that Linda over at Coastal Charm featured my mantel gate. Wow! Thanks, Linda!

Linking to these fun and fabulous linky parties:

Candle Holder turned Hurricane Lantern

2011-02-21T12:00:00.005-05:00

Hi blogland friends!

I've been wanting to make a homemade hurricane lantern for quite some time. I've had these candle holders (below, only one pictured, I have two) for about, hmmm, 15 years. They were given to me for free by someone who was redecorating and didn't want them (excuse the glass vase that wandered into the picture). Yes, our outlet is upside down. No, we didn't purposely do that, the person who lived here before us decided it would be fun to make ALL the outlets upside down. Um. Yeah.

The candle holders are kind of fancy schmancy and never really fit in anywhere in my house so have been living up in the attic. Poor things. Well, plus, our local funeral home has the Same. Exact. Ones. Yikes. So... time for a revamp!

I've been wanting a hurricane lantern and have seen tutorials on them all around blogland, so decided to make my own. First I got out tools and took apart the candle holder. I really only wanted to use the bottom third of it.

Lots of fun pieces now!

I selected the pieces I wanted to use and spray painted them. Oil. Rubbed. Bronze.

Are you surprised? I'm so predictable. I'm surprised my blog isn't called "Shades of Brown" or something like that. Hey, I like that title! Hmmmmmm. Okay where were we? Oh yes, painting. Here's the picture.

Ohhh purdy!

Then I went and pulled out a bunch of different glass vases I had from various occassions and selected one and started epoxying. First, I had to glue the round flat piece to the vase:

I decided to flip it over and put a book on top for better drying.

Dry, dry, dry.

Time to glue the second piece.

The wa ai ting is the hardest part! Dry time that is.

But here it is finished! Yay! This is it decorated for my February mantel. But I will be able to use it in so many different places throughout the house. I'm charged!

Another pic.

Another angle.

So there you go!

From this:

To this:

My new hurricane lamp. Yay! Thanks for looking.

Until next time,

Linking to these parties:

Coastal Charm, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, All Thingz Related, My Backyard Eden

A Year of Mantels - February

2011-01-31T14:06:00.016-05:00

"All you need is love, all you need is love, all you need is love, love. Love is all you need."

So now that I have that tune stuck in your head, let's get the show on the road, it's time for the unveiling of the (drumroll please) February Mantel!

This month's mantel is brought to you by the letters "X" and "O" :-)

But before we get to that (geesh, I'm worse than a reality show host, huh?), let me admit that I did go over my $20 budget. Dagnabbit. But everywhere I went I just saw possibilities galore, and on sale to boot! That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Items I bought:

Candlestick Topiary: $6.34 (cost to make)

"X" and "O" Wooden Letters: $2.49 each (Michaels)

White Ceramic Bird: $2.99 (Michaels)

Hardback Book: .12 at Thrift Store (75% off sale)

Berry Picks: .38 for 2 (90% off at Michaels)

Pink Christmas Bulbs: .42 for all 3 (90% off at Michaels)

Floral Picks: $3.00 for 2 at (75% off at Kmart)

Heart Picks: $1.00 (Dollar Tree)

Pink Feather Ornaments: $1.50 for 2 (75% off at Kmart)

Pink Glitter Pinecones: $1.50 (75% off at Kmart)

Music Paper Tree: $.75 (cost to make)

Pink Rose Petals: $1.00 (Dollar General)

Heart Box: .25 (Thrift Store)

Items Used But Already Had:

I love you stamp block. Picture frame and picture. Silver candlesticks. Tissue heart (made by my son in 1st grade). White glitter pom poms. Another book. Another ceramic bird. Hurricane lantern (just recently made, instructions will be posted at a later date). Paper and string for Valentine Paper Garland. Various ribbons.

Total spent on February mantel: $24.23

($4.23 over budget)

Okay, on with the show and tell:

Remember those cute Candlestick Topiary? Here they are on the mantel:

Here are two other projects on the February mantel I made but haven't blogged about yet (I will do some tutorials on them soon, I promies!) One is a music paper tree and the other a homemade hurricane lantern:

I should clue you in on something. I've decided that every month I will have a bird and a picture on the mantel. Had them in January's mantel and actually in February's I have two birds (and one picture). I wonder if you can guess what the picture will be of?

Here it is! Yup, me and my sweetie. Our wedding photo (1999). Don't we look all stiff and posed and unnatural? LOL! I don't care, I still love it, it was our wedding after all!

The "X" and the "O" were actually white until my spray paint can of Oil Rubbed Bronze got a hold of them. The tissue paper heart was made for me by my son when he was in 1st Grade.

Let's hear a collective "awwwwwwwwww."

Now some pictures of it as a whole (with the Valentine Paper Garland).

I feel like singing again.

"All you need is love."

(and a little oil rubbed bronze)

"All you need is love."

(and a couple of thrift stores)

"All you need is love, love."

(and a hot glue gun)

"Love is all you need."

(and a family that humors you.)

Until next time :-)

Linking to these parties:

The Story of A to Z, Super Stinky Boys, Keeping it Simple, C.R.A.F.T., Coastal Charm, All Thingz Related, Crazy Domestic, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, DIY by Design, My Backyard Eden, The Thrifty Home, It's A Very Cherry World!, Holiday Haven, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Funky Junk Interiors

Candlestick Topiary

2011-01-23T20:20:00.012-05:00

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I really really LOVED Jeana's Valentine Topiary over at In Place of her Crown. Did you take a peek? Aren't they pretty? So I knew I had to make a version of my own.

First I took these candlesticks I got at a thrift store and painted them. I call them my "wastic" candlesticks because honestly, I can't tell if they are some sort of plastic or wood, they are made out of a weird material and look like they were painted to look metal.

Bleh, huh? But I bought them because I knew they had potential.

I painted them a pearlescent ivory color, MUCH prettier as you'll see in the finished product.

I LOVE brown. Love love love brown. It's my favorite color, so I decided to make my topiary part of this project out of brown and pink fabric. Each topiary takes about a yard of fabric, so I used 1/2 yard of pink and a 1/2 yard of brown for each. I cut my fabric into 3" squares. I don't have pinking sheers so I just used regular scissors.

Then I just took a pencil and started poking the fabric into the styrofoam ball. It takes more fabric then you think it will, and least that's what I thought as I was cutting and poking away.

I did get a blister on my finger after poking two styrofoam balls full of fabic. But it's all for the crafting cause! Okay, so the story behind my styrofoam balls is I am cheap and styrofoam balls are pricey, at least to me they are. They are $3.50 for two of them at Walmart. What???? So, I went to the Christmas clearance section which is 90% off and found some yarn ball ornaments that had styrofoam balls inside. They are down to .20 each. I bought all they had (6) to use in future craft projects.

Back to the fabric poking. At the end I left a spot bare to poke into the candlestick where it will be sitting on top.

Then I just put it on the top of my candlestick, added some ribbon and fell in love...

Aren't they pretty???

Yes, I used two different color pinks in each one. Don't the wastic candlesticks look SO much better in that pretty pearl ivory? It's Rust-Oleum's Hammered Finished in Ivory. Love it! These will be on my February mantel for sure!

Items used and cost:

2 wastic candlesticks from thrift store: $1.00

2 styrofoam balls (Christmas ornaments on clearance): $.40

2 yards of fabic (brown and pink) from Walmart: $4.94

Rust-Oleum spray paint (already had)

ribbon (already had)

Total cost: $6.34

Until next time :-)

Linking to these parties:

Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Naptime, First a Dream, Super Stinky Boys, Keeping it Simple, C.R.A.F.T., Coastal Charm, Crafty Geordi, Somewhat Simple, Chic on a Shoestring, Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, French Country Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, While He Was Napping, DIY by Design

Valentine Paper Garland

2011-01-16T16:02:00.009-05:00

Crafting between the Mantels

I've been working on ideas for my February mantel. Hitting thrift stores, after Christmas sales (there's a lot of pink ornaments and bows out there people, in the Christmas clearance stuff) and looking at everyone's blogs. What can I say? I'm a craftlifter. But that means I like what you all are doing, right?

This morning I was poking around some Esty shops, just ~~wasting time~~ getting inspired and I see a lot of paper garlands for sale and I thought, "Hey! I can do that!" I mean, they are so cute and seeing as I'm a scrapbooker as well I have ~~some~~ a lot of scrapbook paper. So I start digging through my stash looking for Valentine-y papers and this is what I found:

So I picked out about 4 different patterned papers and some plain white, pink and red and started cutting out hearts with my trusty Cricut. I also noticed that one of my Cricut cartridges had the word "LOVE" that I could cut out, so I did that as well. After cutting out lots of hearts and lots of LOVE I lined all my cutouts up to get ready to sew. I did glue some flowers to the plain hearts, just because I love paper flowers.

If you don't have a Cricut, no biggie, just cut the hearts out by hand. Use the grade school technique, fold a piece of paper in half and draw (with pencil) a half heart outline at the fold and cut out, then when you open it up you will have a full heart (awwwww). Then just cut out lots and lots and LOTS more!

Then I just sewed it all together in one long strip:

HELPFUL HINT #1:

As you are sewing your garland, make sure to carefully stretch it out periodically instead of letting it pile up behind the sewing machine or else it will get all tangled. This is the voice of experience speaking. Trust me on that one.

Also, you can play around with the spacing between your paper pieces, I actually wished I left more string spacing between the paper pieces. So play with that a little as you are sewing it.

HELPFUL HINT #2:

On some of the garlands I saw on Etsy, they used heart doilies as well as paper hearts. It looked adorable! Why doesn't mine have heart doilies you ask?

Well:

#1. I didn't have any.

#2. I didn't want to go out today to get any.

#3. I wanted to do this project TODAY.

But I wanted to tell you about the heart doilies because, really, they would be cute if you're going to make one for yourself. I just used the word LOVE in place of heart doilies. I also thought it would be really cute to put "X's" and "O's" in there as well, but the word LOVE won out on mine. See! There are SO many possibilities!

Oh! I suppose I should show the final product!

Isn't it just the sweetest? (Ha ha that's a pun). Don't you just LOVE it? (Another pun). I HEART it! (Okay, okay, enough with the lame puns).

So I snuck over to my January Mantel and tried it out just to get a preview of how it would look.

I even liked how it looked upside down and wonky. Yeah, I'm going to have to make sure when I use it on my February mantel that the hearts and LOVE are pretty much upside up and not backward.

HELPFUL HINT #3 - VERY IMPORTANT!

Did I mention how easily paper garland tangles? If not, let me mention it again, paper garland tangles easily! While I was playing around with it on the mantel it tangled a lot. This was ~~majorly~~ a tad frustrating. So I knew I would have to come up with a storage solution for it so it wouldn't be all tangled when I went to pull it out again.

Wait for it.

Because it's really high tech.

Almost there.

Here it is:

Yup, I just tore the cardboard back off of a spiral notebook. The spiral hole part works great for when you are wrapping the garland around it, you can space out the garland that way. After I wrapped it all around I just stuck it in a ziplock bag where it is patiently waiting with my other stuff I'm going to use on my February mantel.

Total cost. ZERO!! I had everything! So the only thing it cost me was a little time. Woo hoo!

With lots of LOVE and paper hearts :-)

Linked to these parties: Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Naptime, First a Dream, Super Stinky Boys, Keeping it Simple. While He was Napping, C.R.A.F.T., Mad in Crafts, Life as Lori, All Thingz Related, My Backyard Eden

A Year of Mantels - January

2011-01-01T18:23:00.015-05:00

Happy New Year!!

So I came up with this brilliant idea. The brilliant idea being that I want to decorate our fireplace mantel in a different theme decor each month and keep the cost of the decor under $20 per month, using new (to me) and existing items that I have. For my January mantel I decided on a snow/ice/cold theme.

I have to confess, I have had this idea in my head since decorating our mantel for Halloween this past October, but let's face it, October, November and December's decor is a given with the holidays in those months. So I really didn't want to start posting about it until January, after all I am calling this project "A Year of Mantels."

So, let's get this show on the road. My blank canvas:

I have been gathering things for my January mantel for about the past month or so and haunting local thrift shops and after Christmas sales. Here is what I came up with to use and the amount I spent:

Thrift store finds:

Basket with pine cones $2. Small round votive holder $.25. Urn $1.

I took this picture after spray painting everything silver. The urn was a funky gray/primer color. They actually wanted $2 for it but my husband kept saying it was ugly because it was several different colors of paint, so they lowered the price to $1 (he still didn't want me to buy it, silly man, just didn't see the potential like I did). The basket and votive holder were brass.

50% off clearance finds:

Winter swag with birds and pinecones: $12.50 at K-Mart

Glitter ornaments: $2.00 at K-Mart

White pom poms: $1.25 at Dollar General

I'm sure K-Mart is probably 75% off their Christmas stuff now, but I really, really, REALLY wanted that bird swag and stalked the store until it went 50% off and bought one.

75% off clearance find:

Holiday velvet floral pieces: $1.00 each at WalMart

Items I used but already had:

Glass vase, silver charger, candles, silver candle holder, picture frame, book, silver spray paint, white acrylic paint, white boucle yarn, 4 styrofoam balls.

Total spent: $22.00
($2.00 over my target of $20.00)

The decor process:

First (not pictured) I spray painted the basket, votive and urn with silver spray paint. Then I brushed white acrylic paint on the edges of the pine cones to make them look snowy. I did also try dabbing the paint brush in silver glitter but it didn't show up much so I quickly nixed that idea. Me and glitter, we don't gel well. I tend to get it everywhere! I'm sure there is some between my toes as I'm typing this.

I found 4 styrofoam balls when I dug around in my craft stuff so decided to make a few snowballs. I just wrapped some white boucle yarn I had around them.

Then I started putting it all together. Here is the silver charger with candles on it and the bird swag wrapped partially around it. The glass vase holds the boucle yarn snowballs and some of the glitter ornaments.

This picture shows the picture frame with a photo of our yard filled with snow. I love that photo because it is so serene and fits in perfect with my mantel decor! Next to that is the thrift store votive holder and basket. The basket has pine cones, some of the glitter ornaments and pom poms in it. The bird swag continues to wrap around up over the corner of the picture frame and over the basket. I love how the little birds on the swag are perched on everything.

Here is the urn with the velvet flowers and some glitter pom poms inside. I set it on a book just to give a little more character. The bird swag continues to wrap around this and I added an extra pinecone and candle here.

And voila! The final outcome:

I just love it!

Here is an evening shot of it:

Thanks for looking. Would love to know if you decorate your mantel monthly, leave me a comment and a link to your blog as I'd love to see others!

Until next time,

Linked to these parties: young and crafty, funky junk interiors, a little lovely, Happy Happy Housewife, Bella Before and After, Little Eme, Super Stinky Boys, Domestically Speaking, Faded Charm Cottage, My Back Yard Eden, Coastal Charm, First A Dream, Fingerprints on the Fridge, shanty2chic, Under the Table and Dreaming, The Tablescaper, The Stories of A2Z, tatertots and jello, Trendy Pockets

Let it snow!

2010-12-28T09:00:00.000-05:00

Someone forgot to tell the weatherman that we live in the SOUTH. But that's okay, because we had a beautiful white Christmas. My first ever! Not only did we get a white Christmas, we got the most snow we've ever had.

Now here it is 3 days later and the snow hasn't melted and it is "0" degrees out this morning. That's not a temperature! That's not anything! That's zilch! Zero! Nothing! That's "I can't go anywhere honey so I have to stay inside and craft" weather. Heh heh heh.

Some pictures to share:

Do you think I can use this for our Christmas card picture next year?

I take this same picture each year, I never tire of seeing my husband pulling my son up the road on the sled.

My son named the snowman we made "HOS." Stands for Huge Outstanding Snowman.

Just loved how this tree looked so pristine.

This is what cats do when it snows. I'm not sure they've moved from this spot in the past 3 days.

Anyway, thanks for looking! I'm hoping to get some crafting done for my "January mantel" so stay tuned!

Until next time,

Halloween Mantel

2010-10-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

Just a two more days 'til the big night! Thought I'd post a picture of my Halloween mantel. Took me forever to find the fake spiderweb, finally found it at Dollar General. The candle sticks were a score from our church's yard sale. $1.50 for all 6 of them!

Happy Halloween!

Re-Vamped Cloche

2010-10-13T08:56:00.008-04:00

Remember the cloche I made way back when I jumped on the cloche bandwagon 'cause I just had to have one? Well, I finally took out the spring decoration in it and converted it to fall, or to be more specific, Halloween.

Spring Cloche:

Halloween Cloche:

Courtesy of a ceramic pumpkin and crow from the Dollar Tree. Then I just put it on top of the books on my mantel.

I have fallen in love with my cloche all over again. Trust me, every house needs one.

My husband brought home another cheeseboard for me he found at a swap shop. Sigh! That's true love when they actually see something like that and think "Wow! The wife would love that old skanky thing because she can make a craft out of it!" Yup, true love. I'm thinking of making a Christmas cloche. Can you imagine the possibilities???

Here are the cloche instructions if interested:

Cloche Instructions

Wow, two posts from me in two days. That calls for the banana dance dude:

You just wasted 5 minutes watching him dance didn't you? Huh? Didn't you?

Linked to these parties: Favorite Things Friday, Funky Junk Sat Nite Special, A Vision to Remember

Halloween Block Calendar

2010-10-12T12:23:00.012-04:00

Hey! Pssst, over here! Yes, yes, it's me! Whew! It's kinda dusty in here isn't it? Cobwebs on the keyboard, stuff like that. Well, all in keeping with the Halloween theme, right? Again, a while since I've blogged. Arrgghh!

Anyway, thank goodness for obscure banking holidays. Yay for Columbus! Because of him, I had the day off yesterday and was able to . . . craft!

So, getting back out that trusty (and dusty) box of blocks and surfing various craft blogs here's what I did (thank you to How Does She website for the tutorial!). I decided to make mine a calendar block instead of a countdown like the tutorial shows.

First, I raided my stash for the proper size blocks. See, this is why I kept my sons chewed and drooled upon baby blocks instead of throwing them away, I knew they'd come in handy one day. Or sometimes you can find these at thrift stores or flea markets. Snag 'em! I'm telling ya! They are perfect for this! People might look at you funny and go "Ewww, someone else's kid had those in his/her mouth!" But bleach is your friend, and you know what a cute craft project it would turn into right?

Here's the scenario (you at the flea market):

"How much for those baby blocks?"

"$2.00"

"Um, how about 50 cents? They're kind of worn out."

"Sure, I never thought anyone would buy them, they're yours for 50 cents."
(snickers and points at you as you are walking away)

Then you go home and bleach off Junior's drool and all the other crafters will have craft envy over your score of wooden blocks!

So first, I sanded down the blocks a little then raided hubby's spray paint stash for a can of black and spray painted the blocks black:

After they dried (that's always the hard part for me, waiting for stuff to dry as I'm always anxious to go on to the next step). Anyway, after they were ~~not quite~~ dry I sanded the edges because I like stuff distress-y looking:

Then I cut three different designs of scrapbook paper to the sizes needed to cover each side of the small blocks and the front of the larger block. I inked all the edges of the paper squares black then modge podged them to the blocks:

Let dry . . . tap tap tap <---impatient fingers drumming on craft table.

Then I cut out the word "October" and the numbers for the blocks with my Cricut and adhered those to the blocks. On the first block you put the numbers 1, 2, 6, 0, 7, 8 and on the second block the numbers 1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 0. I just followed instructions there that some other crafter had already figured out. If I had to sit and figure out the numbers I probably would still be at my craft table . . . buy hey, at least everything would be dry, right? BTW, the 6 doubles as the 9 (flip it over).

Anyway, then I coated everything with modge podge, I love MoPo!

Let dry . . . pop, pop, pop <----entertaining self making fish noises with cheeks and lips.

Then I put it together and tied it with a spooky ribbon:

Isn't it adorable? I like it so much I think I'm going to do one for November with Thanksgiving papers!

Linked to these parties: All Thingz Related, Favorite Things Friday, Funky Junk Sat Nite Special, A Vison to Remember. Polish the Stars Halloween Link Party, While He Was Napping, I Heart Naptime

Photo Holder Blocks

2010-06-05T09:49:00.001-04:00

Remember me? No? Really? Sigh! Okay then, I'll refresh your memory, the gal in the Smokies who updates her blog every blue moon, yes, that one!

Well, seems as though everything comes to an end at once around here, school, soccer, scouts. Hey, I just noticed all our extracurricular activies start with an "S"! Hmmm, you don't seem as excited about that as me. Okay, I'm a dork.

I talked my husband into holding the end of season soccer party at our house (eek!) and so I wanted to make a gift for each kid on our soccer team. I've been wanting to make photo blocks for quite some time so I sat down the morning of the party (because I just love giving myself plenty of time to do things . . . snort!) and started.

My dad had supplied me with the wood (I asked him to save me his scraps, and showed up at their house one day and he handed me this box, hammer not included):

So I took out 8 blocks and painted half of them blue, half of them red. Since our soccer party was on Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to keep it a red, white and blue theme to celebrate.

My husband shaped the wire holders for me. He put a dowel rod in his vice grip and wrapped the wire around it to make the circle part. I got a major eye roll from him when I mentioned we were crafting together and gee wasn't this fun! I should have taken more pictures, but I was in a hurry to get these done because someone gets ideas in her head to do stuff like this at the last minute (who, me?).

The wire thingies, well, yes, they stuck to the paper. Hubby then stuck them straight up in styrofoam for me to paint, dang that man is smart. It worked much better that way (can you picture it?).

After the blocks ~~sorta~~ dried I sanded the edges of them with really rough sand paper. Not only did this smooth the edges of the wood, it gave that rustic look I wanted.

Then I brought them back to hubs, batted my lashes and asked him to drill holes in the top for the wire holder part to stick into the wood (behind every crafter is a man with power tools).

Then I went inside to my craft table, and cut scrap paper squares the size of the blocks. I matted the patterned paper on solid paper to frame it, then cut a monogram with my cricut, glued that to the scrap paper square and modge podged the whole thing to the block. The girls got floral paper, the boys got stripes.

Here is my son holding the finished product:

Isn't he and it cute? The modge podge hadn't really dried all the way when I took that picture. Oops.

Each picture holder got an action shot front and back picture of the kids during their game.

Voila! Done! And everyone loved them!

Until next time!

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!

2010-05-03T14:56:00.001-04:00

Ya gotta love teachers! They have more patience then, well, me, that's for sure.

So it's Teacher Appreciation Week . . . time to shower them with LOVE!

I was kinda sorta voluntold from another mom that I needed to come up with the teacher gift. So I wracked my brain (that was the clunking you heard over the weekend) because my son's teacher is going away on a mission trip next year so I didn't want to get her just stuff to keep, I wanted to get her disposable things or something she could bring with her.

So I went to the Dollar Tree . . . ah, home away from home, and picked up some little goodies (socks, manicure set, fancy schmancy hand soap, chocolate kisses) to give her one little goody each day, then a gift card (probably to Wally World, still have to pick that up) from the whole class on Friday.

I wanted to tie in everything with cards and guess what? The word "TEACH" has five letters! Perfect! So I made 5 cards, one for each day, with each letter on the front, then inside each card it says something like "T is for Terrific, Talented, Tremendous, Thoughtful Teacher! - Happy Day #1 of Teacher Appreciation Week.!" Then the "E" card would have something similar only with "E" words, etc.

Get it? Got it? Good! Then here's the pic:

All made out of scrap pieces of scrap paper and my Cricut of course! The flowers are felt flowers by Making Memories.

So she will get a card/gift each day through Friday.

I was proud of myself for getting all 5 cards done in one day, instead of putting myself under the gun and finishing each one the night before she is supposed to get it (not that I procrastinate or anything, nope, not me, wouldn't even think of that, uh uh).

Until next time!

The awesome craft project . . . that wasn't.

2010-04-30T16:35:00.002-04:00

It was a lovely day, I was finally getting all the pieces together to work on my latest project and was ready to go! I was going to make a piece of decor for my coffee table.

I found this vase at a flea market for $2. It's wrought iron. I ~~hate~~ extremely dislike wrought iron. Him and his brother brass, not welcome with open arms in my home (unless hubs sneaks them in).

So out comes . . . da da daaa!!! Super Oil Rubbed Bronze Man . . . uh . . . Wo-man! I love ORB and they recently restocked it at my Lowes. Whew. So I broke open a fresh can.

Some of you are saying "Well, it still looks wrought iron to me." I can hear you saying that. Shhhhh. But now it's wrought iron with a shiney new coat of oil rubbed bronze. That's do-able.

Then I went to a little creek that runs through our property, I guess it's more like a deep long drainage ditch, but it has rocks in it, so I dug 'em up and washed them. I'm too cheap to buy rocks. I know, I know, you can get a bag of 'em at the Dollar Tree for, well, a dollar. But that gives me a dollar to spend elsewhere, right?

Yes, I strain my spaghetti in that same colander. Don't tell me you don't do stuff like that (dual purpose). It's all for the cause y'know.

Aren't they shiney and purdy now?

I needed moss. We have LOTS of moss on our property. These cross ties line our gravel drive and look at all that moss ripe for the pickin'. (Yes, I know, we need to weed).

So, with moss, rocks and a ~~wrought iron~~ oil rubbed bronze vase in hand, I headed inside to assemble.

I got this little basket at a thrift shop for 50 cents. Yes, I paid money for it. It even had dead leaves in it for pete's sake. I mean, people probably looked at it and picked it up and said "Who the heck would buy this?" Me, that's who! I had an instant vision of what it would turn into.

A bird's nest (with a little driveway moss added for good measure).

So, time to start layering my vase! First the rocks . . .

Then some moss. . .

Sorry, I guess I should have cleaned up my craft table for pictures, but trust me, it was looking so pretty until . . .

Time to add the nest and I broke it! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

I was pushing the bird's nest down in there and it was a little tight and the glass was really really thin and it all cracked and broke. Sigh. It was going to look so cute too. Can you picture it? Huh? Can you? Sigh, I could. You don't even get to see the darling egg and feather that was going to be the final touch.

So back to square one and hoping to find another vase at a future flea market/thrift store/yard sale. I know it will happen . . . eventually!

And so it goes...

When life gives lemons . . . decorate!

2010-04-15T14:52:00.004-04:00

Remember those lemons from last week's thrift store score (6 plastic lemons for $1)? Well, here's what I did with them. I have this junk/catch all counter in my kitchen. I'm sure none of you have one of those. Heck, sometimes it seems my whole house is a catch all. Sigh. But I digress. Anyhoosiewhatsie, here is what that end counter of my kitchen looks like ~~every~~ most days:

No, that's not a science project growing in the tupperware, it's my son's tadpoles. Yes, I cover my stove rings with foil like your grandma did. Heh heh.

So, at first I thought I was going to put the lemons in my newly made cloche, but it's waaaay too fancy for my kitchen and didn't look right:

So then I tried using this thingie that my mom gave me eons ago when she was decluttering that has been sitting inside a cabinet for about 10 years:

I really like the color of this bowl, but it still didn't look right, it just looked like, well, lemons in a bowl with a lid next to it.

So then I started shopping in my house for other stuff I could use and remembered my small white enamelware collection and so got down my berry bucket:

Ohhh, that's better!

But it still needs more . . . stuff. So I was going to sit down and make some Paper Dogwood Blossoms from this tutorial posted over at Sweet Something Designs but then I said to myself "Self, to heck with that, just go march your ~~not so~~ little behind up in them there mountains behind the house and break you off a branch of 'em." So I did. I mean, granted they won't last long, but I decided this is going to be my wildflower display station throughout the summer.

So I got another piece of my enamelware (a pitcher) to hold my dogwood blossom branches and put that green thingie back in the line up and here is the result:

And because I like to show the 'big picture' here is what it looks like.

So see? It all started with 6 lemons for $1.

From this:

To this:

I'm also hoping this is the end of that counter being a catchall but I have a feeling the tadpoles will soon be swimming happily under dogwood blossoms.

Ah well!

Thrifty Finds

2010-04-11T08:35:00.011-04:00

Have I mentioned how I try to thrift shop weekly? **Try** being the key word there. Usually on Wednesdays because that's my short work day. However, this past Saturday (that would be, um, yesterday) the Senior Center in our town was having a flea market, so I met my mommy there and with my grumbling son in tow we (uh, mom and I) had a blast. My young Padawan son, he's still a beginner learning the ropes of this thrift/flea/yard sale/Goodwill shopping stuff. But teach him I will. Educate him I shall. Learn him I can.

'k nuf with the Yoda talk.

Show you my finds now I am (heh heh).

Teddy Bear: $.54 at Goodwill

(We named him Teddy Pom Pom after this vicious little dog we saw on that show "It's Me or the Dog" the other week). This Teddy Pom Pom is not vicious. I have a soft spot for once loved discarded stuffed animals. Not like old Mickeys or Elmos or stuff like that, but classic looking Teddy Bears like this one that were once loved and ended up at Goodwill to be sold for $.50 (plus tax). Welcome home, Teddy Pom Pom, welcome home.

Lemons: 6 for $1 at local Thrift Store

Rose planter thingies: $.50 each at Senior Flea Market

Tin planter thingie: $.25 local Thrift Store

(Can you hear my oil rubbed bronze spray paint calling out here?)

My mom got this cool indoor water fountain table thingie. Can you see my pattern here that when I don't know what something is called it becomes a thingie. Anyway, she got it for 5 bucks! I was jealous! I wanted it, but she saw it first. But there is still hope that I might get it, she doesn't have an electrical outlet on her porch.

I still didn't find any white ceramic birds (they've been on my list for quite some time now). One day . . . one day.

So, stay tuned to see what I eventually do with this stuff!

The CLOCHE Bandwagon

2010-04-07T19:29:00.015-04:00

I first saw the idea for a cheeseboard turned cloche over at ThriftyDecorChick, and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to craftlift it. I already had the candlestick part (bought for .25 at a local thrift shop) and I knew there was a cheeseboard over at our local Goodwill but I hadn't bought it when I saw it. So I prayed to the craft powers that be that it would be there when I went out the next day and it was, whew, it was. Note to self: ALWAYS buy it when you see it the first time! There usually are no second chances at thrift stores!

Oh yeah, and my nifty Goodwill cheeseboard came with some lovely silk flowers. It took everything I had not to start explaining myself to the cashier and tell her that honest to pete I was going to do something pretty with it and that those flowers were outta here!

So I gathered my supplies. I wanted Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint but it was sold out at Lowe's there must another crafter in these here parts with my brown obsession. But they had another metallic brown that I liked and it was $2 bucks cheaper anyway.

Then I took the little footie things off the cheeseboard (and yes, it did cross my mind for a brief moment to save them . . . but no, I didn't).

Then I put my candle holder on the base and drew a pencil line around it. I did that so when I gooped the glue on I knew where to center it.

Next I used the epoxy and glued it. Well, actually next I opened my tube of epoxy and it squirted on my fingers so I had to go clean up first . . . THEN I glued the candle holder to the cheeseboard.

Hmmm, in cyberspace can you see expoxy bonding?

Time to spray paint! It was a perfect day for that.

The kajillionith time I checked it (or two laundry loads later), it was dry and ready to put on display. At first I thought I was going to put it in my kitchen with some fake lemons I found today for $1.

But it was a little too fancy schmacy for my kitchen. So then I put it on our mantle with my birdcage scored at Goodwill (and trust me, I bought that when I saw it the first time). I LOVE it on my mantle with the little birds nest. Love love love it!

I think every home needs a cheeseboard cloche.

ruh roh!

2010-04-06T16:19:00.005-04:00

Seems it has been a tad since I've posted. Well, I've been obsessed with thrift store shopping and reading everyone else's crafting blogs. It's a vicious cycle. Plus my bird obsession. Oy! It doesn't help that I live in a small town that HASN'T seemed to jump on the bandwagon. I mean, c'mon, I bet every craft store in the world had speckled eggs around Easter time, but do you think I could find any here? Noooooooo. And let's just say my patience was wearing mighty thin trying to paint my son's plastic eggs and speckle them, not to mention it didn't work too good with acrylic paints (which is why my fingers were speckled blue as well). But they lasted long enough to look okay on my Easter table display . . . which by the by I didn't even take a picture of . . . imagine it, bird's nests, handmade speckled eggs, glass domes, white tablecloth, speckled peanut butter M&M's in individual glass bowls (hey, at least THOSE came speckled, jeesh). It was kind of pretty actually. But yeah, no picture.

I promise to do better next time. Much better. Really. Honest. With a speckle painted plastic egg on top.

happy valentines day!

2010-02-14T18:54:00.009-05:00

Just spreading a little love today.

Here was my Valentine to my hubby. I got snowed in yesterday (he had to brave the icy roads and get to work). So T.J. and I played in the snow.

First, we made our Valentine:

Then T.J. and I decided to make some snowmen (pardon my bad hair day).

I love how T.J. loaded his SnowBoy up with a bucket and wheelbarrow.

Happy Heart Day!

christmas card 2009

2010-02-14T08:08:00.008-05:00

This was a quickie, I mean, the card was done with the journaling and the date, so just had to throw on some embellies and voila! Which is good. Because those of you who know me know that scrapping holidays is not my forte. I go kicking and screaming to my scrap table to do them. You wouldn't know by my scrapbooks that Christmas is our favorite holiday (followed by Halloween). I have more 2009 Christmas pics in line to scrap . . . must . . . go . . . over . . . to . . . my . . . table . . . and . . . do . . . them!

flagler beach

2010-01-23T15:13:00.005-05:00

The lastest (layout that is). This picture was taken several years ago when visiting my brother's house in Flagler Beach. I used my favorite poem by A.A. Milne to go with it:

"The Island"
If I had a ship,
I'd sail my ship,
I'd sail my ship
Through Eastern seas;
Down to a beach where the slow waves thunder -
The green curls over and the white falls under -
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the sun-bright sand.
Then I'd leave my ship and I'd land,
And climb the steep white sand,
And climb to the trees,
The six dark trees,
The coco-nut trees on the cliff's green crown -
Hands and knees
To the coco-nut trees,
Face to the cliff as the stones patter down,
Up, up, up, staggering, stumbling.
Round the corner where the rock is crumbling
Round this shoulder,
Over this boulder,
Up to the top where the six trees stand . . . .

And there would I rest, and lie,
My chin in my hands, and gaze
At the dazzle of sand below,
And the green waves curling slow,
And the grey-blue distant haze
Where the sea goes up to the sky . . . .

And I'd say to myself as I looked so lazily down at the sea:
"There's nobody else in the world, and the world was made for me."

speaking of kitties

2010-01-20T17:18:00.003-05:00

I got another layout done! (Okay, shhhhh, I shouldn't yell so loud because I don't want anything to jinx the roll I'm on so far this year). Anyhoosiewhatsie, this is my sweet little boy with a bunch of sweet little kitties. We've been volunteering at the local Humane Society to socialize with the cats. It's oodles of fun, except we kinda have been steering clear of the kitten room lately after they climbed up our backs last time (with claws extended). The full grown cats are much calmer and I figure they need more lovin' anyway. So far we've succeeded in not bringing one home (much to relief of our home cats I'm sure).

my kitty

2010-01-16T11:29:00.005-05:00

I love my kitties, I told DH before we got married to be prepared, that I will always have cats. Perhaps one day I will turn into the neighborhood cat lady, that old lady that lives up the road with all those cats. I try to keep us at a two cat limit. We've been known to have three at a time, but two is our comfort level (okay, truth be told, two is our meet in the middle compromise, I'd probably have three, DH, well, he'd probably have none, he's a dog man). Anyhow, I digress, I'm here to post about my sweet little kitty "Little Ki Ki" (which her name didn't start out as that, it was supposed to be "Minou", but we always call her "Little Ki Ki"). So, I was happily scrapping, I went and got my acrylic paints out of my Scrappertainment Center (a converted wooden entertainment center now holding scrap supplies) and when I went back to put my paints away found this:

I had left the doors open and she crawled into the one available spot so of course I had to grab the camera and snap a picture! Isn't she sweet? Now does it get any better then this? My favorite hobby mixed with my favorite animal. ;-)

frozen

2010-01-06T19:53:00.004-05:00

I do believe this title is apropos, not only for this layout, but for the current temperature outside. The picture in the layout was taken January 2009 when it was 8 degrees out, ironically, it's about the same temp out right now, one year later. How soon we forget. Sigh! Maybe I'll title my next layout 'tropical heatwave'. Couldn't hurt!

page 2 of the year

2010-01-03T13:27:00.004-05:00

Look at this, TWO pages down and only day 3 into the new year. Whoa, my arm hurts from patting myself on the back. Okay, not really, if I have to admit it, my arm hurts from doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred 2 days ago (and not again since, sigh). But hey, one resolution at a time, right?

I really like this page, every day pics are my favs. And this is so T.J., just having fun anywhere. He just assesses the situation and decides what he can do to make it fun. Like in church this morning, he was sitting on my lap during the homily making shadow puppets because the sun was beaming in over my shoulder onto the pew in front of me. Yup, shadow puppets during mass and turning the steps outside Shoney's into his personal playground (as depicted in this layout). Gotta love the mind of an 8 year old.

This layout is based on a sketch from Becky Fleck's "Page Maps" book. LOVE that book.

resolutions

2010-01-02T10:05:00.004-05:00

I resolve this year to do 52 scrapbook pages. That's a page a week. Quite the far cry from the 5 I did in 2009. Care to join in? Follow my progress? Cheer me on? I resolve to ENJOY doing these 52 pages, do them as I want, in whatever order I want and using as many (or as less) pictures that I want. How's that for me me me me me? Quite the attitude for January 2nd, isn't it? Well, let's hope it sticks and I don't blend into the background of what I can do for others and start losing myself again. Here's to a new year and 52 fun filled scrap layouts!

Oh yes, and since I'm on a roll, here is page 1 of 52:

Seriously, it was one of those moments . . .

2009-04-28T09:17:00.008-04:00

You know, you're just minding your own business, wasting a little time between having to be here and having to be there. Teej and I decided to stop at an antique mall in town, one of those places you pass everyday but never stop. Hadn't been there in years. I was on the hunt for an 'open all night' vintage sign for my scrap room (wouldn't that be awesome in there?). Anyhow, I digress, so we walk in and are walking down one of the aisles and my youngling stops short and is mesmerized and has this frozen-in-half-fear-half-awe look on his face. He points, he mumbles, he breathes . . . "ZOLTAR"!!!

I look, I see, I believe! Now, having seen the movie "Big" more times then we could count we both knew who Zoltar was and what Zoltar could do. The scrapbooker in me of course grabs my camera (an appendage to myself) and clicks away. The scrapbooker in me also knows I need to get my son in Zoltar's personal space to get a picture of the both of them. Young Son wasn't budging though. I think his soccer cleats actually went through the carpet and held on. Yup. After much coaxing on my part, he eventually got near enough to the thing for me to snap a picture. He even stuck a dollar in it for his fortune. Alas, Zoltar was a re-creation and not an original, the tell tale sign being that he took dollar bills and not ancient egyptian coins and spit out lottery numbers along with your fortune.

Did it really matter though? No, not really. Especially when Teej got down on his knees and started looking for the electrical cord. Not only in the aisle Zoltar was in, but in the adjacent aisle as well. He was not going to rest until he found the source of Zoltar's soul, mainly his 120v plug. Found it he did, he followed the duct taped down and carpeted over cord to the socket and proudly crossed his arms and proclaimed that Zoltar was, indeedy do without a doubt, plugged in. He looked at me smugly until the moment Zoltar said "You, over there, come close to me." and with that, we left (didn't see any reason to push our luck).

A Cool Kid

2009-04-24T16:54:00.004-04:00

My 'little' nephew (well, I have two, but they aren't so little anymore), is such a cool kid. I mean, not 'heeeyyyyyyy, I'm the Fonz' cool, but just a cool kid. I'm doing a scrapbook for him from my brother and SIL for his high school graduation present. Hmmm, did you follow that chain of command? Anyway, I'm really enjoying this project. This layout especially, I scraplifted the idea from somewhere (eeek, sorry, I forget where) then emailed my Bro and SIL and asked them for some adjectives (uh, besides 'cool'), so they emailed me back and voila! This layout was created (but honestly, I think 'cool' sums him up nicely).

Lookie here, a new post from me!

2009-04-08T09:59:00.004-04:00

Okay, so, uh, I haven't written anything since Christmas and I'm trying to get organized and I have blogs on Google Reader that I read and I figured that I should give everyone else something to read that has my blog on their Google Reader even though they might see the (1) next to my blog on Reader and wonder if there is an ant on their screen or something. Wow, that was a run on sentence. So what's new here in mountainville? Ah, nothing I guess, I mean, everything because I am never home because I basically am my son's entourage. Soccer, Drama Club, First Communion Class, Cub Scouts. Then on weekends I play catch up trying to dig out my car and find all the stuff that goes with these aforementioned events for the week to start all over again. Note: soccer shin guards make the car really smelly if you leave them in there overnight and is it a sin if you leave a rosary in your trunk? (In my defense, it hasn't been blessed yet). Oh yeah, and my son's favorite pair of soccer socks are the ones that have the dried on gum on one of the feet. They've been washed so many times and the gum is embedded in the fabric. But they are his lucky soccer socks because of that. So now everytime he puts them on I think of what a horrible mom I am because he's wearing socks with ABC (already been chewed if you're not in the know on that term) gum on them, granted, dried and sanitized but ABC nonetheless. Plus the fact that somehow this happened last season while his shoe was still on his foot because there was gum inside the shoe (which I did clean off) and that's how it got on the bottom of his sock. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? Ponder ponder ponder . . . sheesh, nevermind, it just does.

How about I stop rambling now and post a picture? I think this is kind of how I feel today, I'll let you add your own caption:

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T10:02:00.003-05:00

We had a wonderful Family Christmas!

THANKFUL!

2008-11-29T10:27:00.006-05:00

I am so thankful for my family and friends! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. My brother and his family came down from Maryland and we all converged at my Mom & Dad's for the feast. Everyone contributed to the dinner and it was scrumptious. We had a wonderful day. As you can see, the men either watched football and played Nintendo while the women cooked and set the table (that's why none of us women are in the pictures). But hey, that's a Thanksgiving tradition isn't it? After, we all lounged around in our stretchy pants and complained about over indulging as we ate even more pie. There's always room for pie, at least that is my philosophy!

He's 7!

2008-07-29T09:28:00.002-04:00

My baby is 7, so hard to believe! How did that happen? However it happened, it happened very quickly. He sure did have a fun-filled birthday weekend. We went to Six Flags with his big brother on his birthday. Anytime he's with his big brother he is in heaven. He idolizes him. Then we had a family party on Saturday, then a scout picnic on Sunday. Lots of fun times. We really cherish our family times together!

The End of the World

2008-06-07T22:10:00.009-04:00

Okay, not literally the end of the world, just figuratively speaking of course. Or at least the end of the Continental United States. Mile Marker "0" on US1. The Southermost Point . . . Key West, Florida! We went down to the Florida Keys on vacation the last week in May, and we just had to drive to Key West (about 80 miles from Islamorada, the "Key" we were staying on). It was like reaching the finish line on our vacation.

We had such a good time in the Keys, went on a glass bottom boat at Pennecamp, fed the tarpon at "Robbie's" in Islamorada (a must!). Went to "Herbies", an old restaurant haunt of ours that we hadn't been to in over 10 years. We highly recommend staying at the "Ragged Edge Resort" if you are looking for a place to stay down there. It was homey and quaint, very secure and gorgeous. Not a ritzy big chain hotel, and not some falling apart small dive, it was just perfect for us and if we ever go back down there again, that's where we'd definitely stay!

1 Balloon + 1 Little Boy = Pure Happiness

2008-05-01T09:37:00.010-04:00

This past Saturday was our Cub Scout Cubmobile Race. About three-quarters through the festivities T.J. was getting tired and asked his Daddy if they could go walk and get a balloon (that's what I love about my husband, he always says yes to the little things like that). I mean, after all, how can you be sad when you have a balloon? After getting his balloon T.J. sat in a tire that lined the race course to watch the rest of the races. Pure contentment, just a little boy and his balloon. I love days like this and getting unexpected shots like this. Sure I got a lot of pictures from the race, but this turned out to be my favorite. My little Tiger Cub with his balloon.

Here are some pictures of the days activities:

Don't Blink

2008-04-21T21:16:00.021-04:00

Do you ever get a piece of a song stuck in your head? I've had one stuck in my head the last week or so, it's a country song and one of the lines is "Don't blink, life goes faster than you think." I guess it hit me the other day on my mom's birthday, she turned 66 and I immediately tried to calculate how old my dad would be next month on his birthday, and I panicked thinking he was going to be 70, but then realized he would be 69 instead. And I felt relieved that it would be a whole extra year until he turned 70. Not that 70 is a bad number, but gosh weren't my parents half that age just a minute ago? Wasn't I the 6 year old going to school in a uniform and not my own son? What happened? Oh yeah, I blinked. So I panic, because it goes by too fast and I have to work, and I have to clean, and I have to pay bills, and I have to have stupid arguments with my husband, and I have to nag my son because he spilled milk on the floor, and I have to change the litter box, and I have to grocery shop, and I have to drop my son off at school when all I want to do is sit him down and stare at him (unblinking) so he won't grow and I won't lose those precious moments, like 6 year old laughter and 6 year old jokes and 6 year old antics and 6 year old innocence. 6 year old innocence. I mean, is there anything sweeter? He wants to marry his Mommy. He thinks she's the most beautiful woman in the whole world. He gives unsolicited hugs and kisses. He still thinks I know everything. And often I catch myself thinking about him while I'm at work and he's at school. And I wonder what he's doing, what he's thinking all those hours apart from me. How he's coping. And the thing is, he is coping, without me, because it's all part of that darn growing up stuff. And more and more I find myself just looking at him when he's talking. And not particularly paying attention to what he's saying (but knowing in his 6 year old little mind what he's saying is very important and deserves my utmost attention), but I find myself just looking at him. Like I haven't really seen him in a while, and I'm taking in the beauty of him. That he's my son. This little guy growing up so fast, he's mine. He's my gift to this world, and it gets really profound at times. And I cry. Just over the amazement of it all. And he's still talking, and I'm still looking at him and the moment is just for me.

So then I look at my own parents. And I think they are the strongest people I know. Because they let go of the 6 year old innocence, they lived through it leaving. 3 times they lived through it leaving. How it must've broke their hearts to see it go (because it's breaking mine) and even though I know I will cherish every year. I can't help but hold onto each one a little tighter, and a little longer, hoping it won't slip away quite as fast as the others have.

"Checkers"

2008-04-07T21:53:00.008-04:00

This little doggie makes me so happy. I found the pattern to make him on the Allsorts blog (see in my 'Blogs I Visit') and I made the little guy a few weekends ago. T.J. couldn't wait until I finished him and named him "Checkers" when I was done (one of T.J.'s favorite board games right now). Friday was BIG stuffed animal day in his class but he said he wasn't going to bring a big one, he wanted to bring Checkers. I will admit, I'm kind of protective of Checkers right now, maybe because it took me several hours to hand sew the darn little guy.

How did this happen?

2008-04-06T13:00:00.009-04:00

There I was, minding my own business, then next thing I looked up and I was a Tiger Cub Den Leader. Um, huh? I think way back in my youth I was a girl scout for all of one week. Of course if I really sit down to think about it I realize that I probably have more training then most, having grown up with two brothers and wanting to do everything they did. I have no problem whatsoever digging up my own worms and baiting my own hook, I used to throw leftover fish guts to the pelicans after my Uncle gutted the fish (he was a commercial fisherman) and I did jump off the top of the gazebo into the pond when I was a kid (note to self: If we ever put a gazebo next to our pond, NEVER tell T.J. I did that). So, I suppose it was a natural progression, this segway into Tiger Den Leader. So here I am, planning den meetings, doing hikes, making crafts and trying to corral wild little boys each week. And I happen to think that "my boys" are the darn tootin'-est darn cutin'-est little Tiger Scouts this side of the Mississippi! Oh yes, and did I mention being a soccer mom? But I suppose that's my next post!

Heaven

2008-01-13T18:21:00.002-05:00

A few months ago, while lying in bed drifting off to sleep, my son, who was cuddled up in the middle of us, softly said "Mommy, when you die, then when I die, don't forget to meet me in heaven, okay?" I cried. I mean, what else could I do? It was so profound coming from the mouth of a 6 year old. Yes, I answered him with an "Okay, baby." and I lay there in the dark, my mind just reeling wondering what he had been thinking to come out and say that. Was he thinking about heaven and what it would be like and that he didn't want to be there alone? I was sorry my husband missed him saying this (hubby had already fallen asleep), but it is a moment I will remember for the rest of my life. Perhaps one of the sweetest moments my son and I have shared together, and he didn't even realize it.

So, I knew I had to scrap what T.J. said, but I just didn't have any pictures. I didn't really want to take a picture of us laying in bed either, you know, recreating the moment. It just didn't seem right. Our annual hike was just around the corner and I decided to have my husband take a picture of T.J. and I looking out over the mountains. I always feel pretty close to heaven when we reach the summit of our hike and so it felt rather apropos to use this picture in my layout.

Christmas Photo

2007-12-13T06:09:00.004-05:00

Here is the photo we used in our Christmas Cards this year. It came out surprisingly well for a quick photo taken before running off to church. We were actually at my mom's house picking up T.J. as he had spent the night there, so I handed mom the camera and asked her to snap some quick pictures since we were all dressed up and looked rat

her festive!

Like a Wink and a Smile

2007-11-20T05:53:00.002-05:00

Here is one of the latest layouts I did, using a recent picture of T.J. and I. I was cleaning house the other weekend and had the movie "Sleepless in Seattle" on. A song came on and as soon as I heard the chorus, I just knew it was a scrap layout title! "We go together like a wink and a smile." Perfect title! So, of course I had to forego my cleaning and sit down and scrap. Here is what I came up with. I'm trying to scrap more pictures of our family with me in the picture instead of me always behind the camera lens.

Every Other Wednesday

2007-11-19T15:16:00.003-05:00

Shhhhhhhh . . . it's OUR secret and we don't want it going public (yeah, that's why I'm posting it on the internet!). Every other Wednesday when I am off work, I bring my son to McDonalds and then we go to the park (conveniently located next to McDonald's) to play before he has to go to school. Yes, we could have slept in a little, yes, he does get his uniform dirty sometimes, yes, it's dark and foggy most of the mornings we do this, but we both LOVE it. I love it because I'm making one of those fun memories for my son, where hopefully when he is grown he will say "Mommy, remember when you used to take me to the park and let me play on Wednesdays before school?" He loves it because there is no one there and he thinks it's our special secret. It IS our special secret. You can see how the camera captured all the little fog droplets that morning. The picture of him and I was actually taking at the bottom of the slide.

What's even funnier, is everytime we do this and we are eating breakfast in McDonald's prior to, he asks "Are we going to the park?" and I tell him yes, and his eyes just light up with joy. He doesn't seem to expect that we are doing it. He sees it as a treat that day. Then, when I drop him at school, he walks in bragging about how he was at the park playing. I say let the little guy brag! I'm happy that I can give him something to brag about.

Just wanted to let you in on our little secret. So . . . shhhhhhh . . . . let's just keep this between us, okay? ;-)