Thank You, World!

Shout out to the world!

When I began blogging, I wanted to document my progress toward my goals and keep myself accountable.  I never dreamed of having people around the world viewing my posts!

I first discovered that individuals from France were viewing my posts, then observing the STATS, I noticed other countries where viewing as well.

Thank you for looking!  Even if it's to follow a photo, the fact that you even clicked makes me happy. Here's a list of the top countries to visit. 

United States	4022
France	1592
Brazil	256
United Kingdom	170
Poland	143
Germany	119
Russia	104
Hungary	101
Indonesia	68
Australia	56

So cool!  Next time you're here, drop me a comment!  Let me know what I can do to make the blog better or what you would like to see.

Quick Five! Leprechaun Fun!

I've never decorated for St. Patrick's day, but have two loved ones born on March 17, so there's a little celebrating going on here!  Here's a few little "good luck" charms I might try this year!

1.  Found this lovely arrangement on Pinterest under this board, "Fire up that fiddle boys and give me one more drink! A St. Patrick's Day Album."  Great name for a board, right?  haha  But, I love, love, love, this floral arrangement!

2.  These are cute.  You can find these blocks and more, by Angela Harbour (from Alaska), at Stickwithmevinyl found on Etsy.com. 

3.  Also at Etsy.com you can find this sign made by WorldsSweetestSigns, out of Indiana.  Nice font and great design! 

4.  Ahhh, a twist on St. Patty's day decorations. This one is on WWonderfulWorld.Tumbler.com.  I like it and it looks like and Old Irish decorating trick! Hey, it doesn't matter what you have....it's how you use it that counts!

5.  And, finally, the best celebration item yet!  Creator, Jess Lyons out of NY makes these and owns RaggaMuffinDesigns on Etsy.com.

 

Here's wishing you the Luck of the Irish this St. Patricks Day!  Decorate and live it up with your friends and family!

Mr. Amazing

I really don't give enough credit where credit is due!  Mr. Amazing is just that....Amazazazazing!   He's always there to help me and does all the manly parts of my projects.  He runs the saws, drills the screws and sands the wood.  I really can't do anything without him!

He has his camo on in this picture, but when dressed up, he's my very own George Clooney look alike!  We've had some tough times and some fantastic times too.  

The other day, I mentioned I wanted an old piece of wood we had at our old house.  He went out to get it before we closed.  I then mentioned it would look cool with pipe legs.  Well, guess what...he made it for me!  Look at this!

Now guess what I give thanks for every night.  It's not the pipe-leg table.  haha  It's dear Mr. Amazing and his bag of manly tricks!  He can fix anything and makes this family operation run!  

We've truly had a happy marriage and there's never been a dull moment!  Can't wait to see what happens next!  Love you Babe!

Up From the Grave!

Anyone remember this little number?

Purchased from the Amish Auction in 2016...I think!  It only cost $2 and was the perfect first furniture project for me!

Well, time got the better of me once again.  From work to caring for my Mom, I ignored this little thing for quite some time.  I think I finally sanded and put new legs on it (with the help of Mr. Amazing) in 2017, but then we moved, so it sat around a little while longer!  

Well.....drumroll please.....

Ta Da!

The finished product is a birds-egg blue with white highlights.  I used a home-made chalk paint from a friend in town, Elaine Lewis from the Bunkhouse in Coalgate, and then sealed it with an acrylic spray.

Yeah, it's not the best, but it's a start!  I wish I had pushed through all the obstacles earlier because I really enjoyed finishing this project.  It's sturdier and prettier.  
Love.

I Can Feel It!

Spring time is coming!  Time for spring cleaning!  whaa whaa.....

I've been piddling around lately and trying to work on arrangement of things.  We cleaned out the pantry, but I wanted to do some things to liven up the kitchen counters.  Since I'm not working, my budget is a big fat zero!  haha  but that shouldn't decide how I arrange things, right?

Here's my coffee pot spot - before ...and after.




What do you think?  I used the plate to cover the electrical outlet.  The little duck basket is cute so I filled it with the sweet-n-low. And finally, my daughter, Brooke, sold me this cute cheese board from her Pampered Chef business. 

Now for the other side of the stove.

I found another basket, this time with a metal base.  It didn't have the legs though, but I searched and found this riser under my cabinet.  I only use the riser once or twice a year, so now I've got it pulling more hours in the kitchen!  Clorox wipes aren't too attractive, so I moved a pitcher from the other side of the room.  You may not be able to see it, but it has a little bit of the blue like the knife block.

Sometimes it just takes a little extra care with what we have.  I may add a sign for the nail above the stove and I'm also considering a tiny lamp for the corner.  We recently repainted the entire house white (Mr. Amazing's favorite color), however, I really think I need a background stencil, tile or something for the background.  I'll think on it!


Well, I got that out of my system.  Now on to more scrubbing!  Happy spring, everyone! Wishing you a clean and very attractive home this year!  

Ornaments!

My all-time favorite thing to make is Christmas ornaments!  My love for making them started in the 1990's when I began exhibiting at craft shows.  My start was slow, but I shared a booth with friends so I could go at my own pace and still have plenty in the booth.  Slowly I found a niche with hand painted wood ornaments.  I quit showing around 1998, but never forgot how I loved making ornaments!  Later, I made them for the grand babies.  

Lately, I've been exploring all kinds of ornaments and actually began making and storing them for future craft shows and Etsy.  Here's my latest efforts. 

These can be used as Christmas ornaments or a valentine adornments. Of course, I found this one on Pinterest made by Virginia with Fynesdesigns.com.  She used her pastel colored hearts to go on a beautiful Valentine wreath. Go check her out!  She has some really cute DIY projects too!  

Hope you like these!  Happy Monday and have a fabulous week!

Having trouble getting motivated today. Did the dishes though...does that count for being creative?

Feather Creation

I saw one of these online, so I though I’d try it. I wonder where these would look good? This one is meant to be attached to a purse handle.

This is denim. I stitched the spine and then pulled threads. I used markers to paint the marks.

Here’s my second interpretation.  I messed one up and got a twisted mess, so I thought I’d ease up on the thread pulling.  I really think it was the spine and fabric grain that caused the issue.

I then found an old bracelet and the most Native American looking beads I could find.

Finished product! I hope I get faster and it becomes easier! What do you think? Do you think this would make a cute purse charm? 

Quick Five! Spring Fever

Well, looks like six more weeks of winter! But that's not gonna stop me from thinking about my favorite season, Spring!  

Here's what I found online today!

1.  Maureen Macioci with "Be Light" by Moe, creates these beautiful pinecone ornaments that can be found on Etsy. I love the colors and her eye for the details!

2.  Dulce Algeria, posted this lovely heart with pink flowers on Tumblr. So simple but charming.

3.  Rebecca Flott Arts, displays her beautiful painting skills on screens and can also be found on Etsy. At first I thought it was on chalk boards! You must go look at all of her creations!

4.  Lariat Matoshi from New York City sells her fabulous stocking and sock designs on Etsy! I love this fresh look!

5.  And finally, what would Spring be without some cleaning and organizing.  Nina Hendricks at NinaHendrick.com gives great organizing ideas or all of us!

I'm ready, are you?

 

A Look Back at 2017

"Always be humble and kind" by Lori McKenna is a concept easier to uphold when we remember our past. In taking a look back at 2017, I'm humbled by the events. Here's a look.

• Watched Mr. Mattox (age 3) until he started Pre-K.
• Started aiding my Mother with her baths.
• The little hooptie car broke down, luckily at the school parking lot. Found out later it had over five gallons of water in the tank...😔
• Bought my daughters car and helped her buy herself a new one!
• Lost my Brother, Andy Smith, to a pulmonary embolism on June 26. 😔
• Located a dreamy house on the Blue River.
• Struck a deal on the house and ten acres on the Blue River, four months after we located it.
• Went back to full-time at work.
• Moved out of the small rent house into the bigger rent house.😬
• Wrote a grant for work in two weeks. 😬
• Moved out of the country house into the bigger rent house, selecting items to sell along the way. 
• Coordinated a Feed-the-Children event in Tishomingo in two weeks, for work. 😬
• Began mortgage paperwork for the new place.😬
• Sold our house and almost everything in it, auction style!😬
• Took a smallish vacation with the Grandkids to Great Wolf Lodge.
• Celebrated Christmas with the family on Mr. Amazing's birthday.

When I started the list I thought at first there wasn't much to list. I was wrong...  it was a big year. Of course, there was a lot of sadness and stress and Mr. Amazing was there every step of the way. I'm truly grateful.

2018 Flu Epidemic

Hello Peeps,

I just want to take a moment to express a word of caution about the flu this year. If you have even one symptom of the flu, please go to the doctor. It's different this year...and deadly.

Last night my dear friend called me to pick her and her mother up because her grandmother just passed away after three days of the flu. Neither one can drive and no nearby relatives. We are all in shock. 

After hearing about it, I realized this sounded like what my brother went through last week, but caught it in time. They thought it was a heart attack, but turns out his heart is fine.  It was the lining around the heart that was extremely inflamed and squeezing his heart thus creating a heart attack.  They gave him great anti-inflammatory meds and said to take it easy for up to three months. 

I care about you, so take care and look after one another.

Best Time to Create

When is your best time to create?

For me, it's any time of day or night!  I'm moody, though. I mean... I have to be in the mood to create. Sometimes it hits in the middle of the night, but due to the sleeping people in my house I try to hold back at that time.  Morning is great, but I have things that have to be done at that time. Afternoon works fine, but I'm not my sharpest. Evening gets messy because of cooking and eating with family.

There's never really a perfect time to work on crafts, so right now I'm going with the flow!  Jennifer Allwod, at Themagicbrushinc.com, says "if you treat your creative like a hobbie, it will pay like a hobbie, but if you treat it like a business, it will pay you like a business."  For now, I'm in hobbie mode...slow.  I think I've just had too many adjustments in my life that I just want a little down time. Jennifer has an "inner circle" that people can join to learn about selling and marketing.  It sounds great, but I'm so not ready for that! Maybe later. 🙂

For now, I'm happy to follow my moods. What says you?

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