Birthday and Business

This week has been on full of birthdays and business. My little guy turned 7 years old! I can still remember holding him the day he was born. He was my smallest, sweetest and hairiest baby! He is still small and sweet. We try to keep the hair to a minimum.

Wonder what he is wishing for!? I sure hope he gets it. He asked for a red velvet cake for his birthday! I don't think I even liked red velvet cake as a child. My grandmother makes a mean red velvet cake though! Yummy! (Publix made this one and it was great!)

He was happy with his loot. He got toys and clothes. He is such an easy to please child. He was thrilled that we brought cupcakes, airheads and juice boxes up to the school for his birthday (but I forgot the camera).

As you can see, mommy obligations have kept me really busy this week. That and a little business. We had a couple custom orders to turn around and have been planning for the upcoming holiday season.(Below is my favorite order this week!) This is the time of year that I LOVE!!!!! We do outdoor craft shows, indoor holiday markets and home shows. I LOVE talking to people (as does my partner Candi) so we thrive on the shows!

This is a sign I took to the shop today. There was a canvas painted sign like this one in the store (not for sale). Someone wanted one done like it so we replicated it on wood...I love how it turned out and think I am going to do a pink and green version. I have to admit I cheated on they diamond pattern. I made a harlequin pattern on my vinyl machine and cut it from vinyl. Then I placed the diamonds on the board which had been painted blue. I painted the board green, then peeled off the vinyl diamonds and poof.....a "hand painted" background.

I have several big projects in the chute...I just need to find time to get to them! This is going to be a full weekend with my parents in town visiting, my sister and her kids coming to hang out and of course yard sales! I promise to have several great projects next week! I am going to start giving you guys some Christmas gift ideas!

Baby Gift Idea...Custom Frame

This was a custom order for the local store! The baby was being born on Tuesday...thus the saying. Here are the supplies I used:

Ballet Slipper Pink Krylon Spray paint

Unfinished Wood frame from Hobby Lobby

Vinyl

Glass and backer from another frame

sandpaper

Here is the frame after the paint, but before I applied vinyl.

I laid it out to make sure everything was how I wanted it.
I used Valspar antiquing glaze on the edges. I love the depth it gives the frame.

Here it is with the glass in the frame. (See my cute cast iron birds....fifty cents each at a yard sale!)
I think it is a fantastic baby gift!

Do you think my bench can be seen from the road?

I got a great deal on this beat up bench. My favorite local thrift shop was having a "Name your price" sale on furniture when we popped in. I almost forgot about the bench. It was on the front porch when we came in. I was just about to get my total when I asked how much it was. I was thrilled when she told me I got to name my own price.

The metal was in great shape, the wood was saggy, but looked ok.

I asked if they would take five bucks. They did, and the bench came home with me.

I got it home, and immediately took it apart. At this point I was worried I would have to replace the seat pieces.

I got out the wire brush and scrubbed them really well. I made sure to keep them in the order they went on the bench. JUST IN CASE that might make a difference with reassembly.

You can see in this picture the metal parts are a dark green. After they dried, I painted them a glossy black. Because the lattice piece is plastic, I used Krylon Fusion for plastic on the metal and lattice pieces. I love that stuff! It goes on very evenly and dried quickly. I went back and forth on what color to do the wood. Blue ocean or cherry red.....Our house is brown brick with brown shutters. We have black metal hardware and light fixtures. I was really leaning towards the blue, but at the last minute decided to go red. There is just something about the black and red. It reminds me of the old red phone booths... which reminds me of the college my husband and I went to (they had them on campus)....which reminds me of meeting, falling in love and all that stuff....why, I don't know?

So red it became! I lined them up together (in order) and painted them all at one time. I turned them on their sides and did the same. I painted the backs of the upper bench, but not the bottom. The only reason I didn't paint the bottom of the seat is b/c I ran out of paint.

I reassembled the back piece. The lattice is actually plastic. Just in case you were wondering.

I was tempted at this point to forget the bench and just hang this (minus the seat straps) on the brick wall.....I was overruled.

I borrowed my 13 year old son to help me old the ends up while i put the back on and one seat piece. Once that was finished, I was able to put it back together by myself. And I only cut my hand once.....don't ask how because I do not know.

Here is a shot of the underside. I scooted the seat strap over just a bit to make new drilling holes. I was afraid with the age and condition of the wood, if someone plopped on it the screws may just pop out.

Both sides got tightened. Then it was finished! It is going in my front garden. It is really a flower bed, well no, a bush bed? The builder just randomly planted a bunch of bushes with no pattern or spacing. This will all be changing really soon!

So, here it is! All put together, shiny like a fire truck and waiting for someone to come take a seat. As I work on redoing the landscaping I'll post pictures of the progress. I am too embarrassed to show you the whole thing now.....it is just ugly.

I think it looks lovely! I am quite pleased with the change! One of my concerns when I bought it was if it would show from the street or not. So what do you think? I am pretty sure it will show up! Not bad for a $5.00 bench!

Funky Frame Redo Part 1

First up today is a new sample sign for the store. I am not sure if I am loving it yet. Sometimes it takes me a few variations before something seems right.

We are in the heart of Bama country! Houndstooth is a commodity right up there with bread and water! (ofcourse there are those who bleed orange and blue...that's Auburn for you non-locals!)

My husband thinks I need to make the houndstooth print smaller. I am thinking he might be right, but I am also not wanting to weed a smaller print houndstooth! Does anyone want to volunteer to be my weeder? :)

After I finished the sign, I moved on to this funky, ugly frame.

The size on this is GREAT! It is 24x48 inches. I paid $3.00 for it at a yard sale this past weekend.

The inside picture had water damage and was warped badly, but the frame was in *decent* shape. Unless you consider the below:

It had this ugly, fuzzy strip of green around it. THAT HAD TO GO! It was rubbing off with my fingertips, so I grabbed the wire brush and scrubbed!

Much better! There is a backing paper there from the fuzzy stuff, but I decided to leave that b/c it did not want to come off. You can see in the above detailed picture that the wood part of the frame is rough. Not smooth and even like most frames. I thought to sand it, but decided to leave the more rustic looking wood. I think once I have it distressed and glazed it will give the frame nice texture.

Here it is after one coat of my favorite Blue Ocean paint. I love this paint. That color is so perfect!

Here is the frame as it is now. This is three coats of spray paint. I think one more coat and I can move on to the inside of the frame. I am torn about what to do. I have a few choices....1. blackboard 2. chickenwire to make a message center. If I do the chicken wire I have a funky small frame I would tie into the chicken wire. The third option is to leave it as an empty frame.

What do you think? I think hanging it 24 across and 48 down would look great on a narrow wall or even on a fridge! My yard sale buddy is the one who thought of the fridge and I have loved the idea ever since! Just hanging there on the fridge with funky magnets and papers inside! Hmmm....

Tomorrow we are heading to one of our favorite thrift stores a few towns over. I hope it does not disappoint!

Monday Estate sales and Thrifting!!!!

School started back today! My little guy and I headed out with Suzanna and her mom to check out an estate sale. The house was set back off the road and into the woods. When we pulled into the driveway it was like a swarm of ants surrounding a cookie! There were people out in force! Estate sales always make me kind feel a bit melancholy. I guess it just makes me sad to see some one's life sold off to strangers trying to buy their memories for pennies on the dollar. (And yes, I am definitely one of the masses looking for a deal!)

(This white trivet was only $1.50! The silver serving spoons came from Goodwill today for $1.50 as well!)

Today's estate sale was a good one! The people had great taste in furniture and decor (for the most part). There were a lot of furniture pieces that I was very tempted to splurge on, but managed to leave having put a bid in on only one. I doubt I will win it, but a girl can dream. There was a ton of everything and very little junk! I found this old framed tin ceiling piece that will be mine if it is still there tomorrow morning at half off! Suzanna found several things including some Christmas ornaments, a roasting pan, a faux fur collar, and a wooden decorative hanging. (If she puts up pics, I'll put a link...her blog is The Mermaid and the Astronaut linked on my right bar)

I left with only the trivet above and the decorative piece below.

(This little pineapple was only a dollar! It is quite heavy too!)

Shopping with Suzanna is fun! (and her mom too!) We have shopped with one another enough now that we keep an eye out for each other and for the most part knows what the other likes and looks for. My recent addiction is furniture.....maybe I need to find a smaller (in size) item to collect.

After the estate sale, I had to do a little work. Something has to pay for all this fun! :)

We have always had the cute little monogram boards, but the houndstooth background is new (and popular). I have a few variations I am working on to make the monogram easier to read.

This is another take on the zebra print sign. I like the thick chunky font!

(Osh Kosh shoes $.75)

After doing a little work, Sam (my kiddo) and I hit a few of my favorite thrift shops in the area. I was supposed to go grocery shopping, but food can wait! (In truth, I want to go to the commissary tomorrow b/c the thrift shop on base will be open tomorrow!) I got Sam the above shoes for 75 cents! They look as if they have never been worn! He loves loafers, boat shoes, sperry's....he's four. He doesn't like socks. They get stinky. REALLY stinky. The above will be his 4th pair in this size. I am thrilled to throw out the funky smelling shoes he took off in my truck today.

(Vera Bradley bag and wallet $2.00)

Next up is the local Good Will. I forget about the good will in my little town. They do not have a furniture section (they truck it to Montgomery) and really have mostly clothes and dishes. Today I found this cute little Vera Bradley purse.

Inside was the matching wallet. Both are in excellent condition.

I really love the colors! I bought it thinking my 12 year old daughter might like it. She did. But it isn't her style. I only paid $2.00 for the purse and wallet.

I am thinking it will either end up in the consignment sale or on Ebay. The bag is too small for me and I couldn't break up the set to use the wallet. I am weird that way.

I also got a pair of 8 slim jeans for my son for 75 cents and a pair of jeans for me for a few bucks. Overall not a bad day! I managed to leave the estate sale spending only $2.50. I did put a bid in on a really lovely round coffee table. I also am planning to be there when they open in the morning to try to get my hands on that tin ceiling hanging thingie. There is also a banana yellow buffet/hutch with tempered glass that I might see if I can work a deal on. I could have some FUN with it!

I spent $3.50 at Goodwill today on the Vera Bradley set and the silver serving spoons.

At the local Rescue mission I spent $6.49 on pants and shoes!

The only disappointment of the day was Salvation Army. There was nothing of interest there today (unless you count the 3 grocery carts FULL of smutty romance novels!).

Coming up this week I have several projects! An ugly frame from this past weekend's garage sales will get a face lift and become a rather LARGE chalkboard. I will finally get around to the white dresser in the garage that has been patiently waiting for me for some time now! I am also contemplating reorganizing my laundry room. If only I could make it grow somehow!!!!

Back to School Teacher's Gift!

Our vacation week is over!

I am sad because it means school starts Monday.

I love summer vacation and it seems to have been so short this year!
But, I am looking forward to the school year too! Fall gets to be so busy, but it is the kind of busy I LOVE!!!!!

The kids are excited to go to school and have lots of great memories from summer!
The past week I only did a little of this:

(I love how this sign turned out! It was a custom order for the store we are in here locally!)

While work was light this week, enjoyment was PLENTIFUL! It was HOT, but we still had fun! I packed up the kids and visited my parents in South Alabama. We spent a day at the Exploreum (this really fun hands on Science/Learning/Museum thingie!). We packed up and went to spend a day at the shore in Fairhope. We got there and within 5 minutes of making the trek from the car, unpacking and getting settled.....jellyfish. Big ones too! Lots of them. So we played in the sand, got a little wet, them packed it in and headed to the splash pad at the outdoor mall.

The picture below was before we found the jellyfish.

The splash pad was a great replacement. My older two went and read books at Barnes and Nobles (with their Grandpa), and Grandma and I hung out in the shade watching the younger 3 splash.

We went to the movies, did some shopping,returned to the Exploreum for a second dose, ate out and refereed lots of sibling fights! Now we are home and I owe you guys a project!

This is a quick one! It was a custom order from the store for a Back to School gift for a teacher! What teacher wouldn't love to received one of these for her door?

I cut a 1/4 inch piece of MDF to 8x8 inches.

Painted the front, sides and back white. Sanded the edges when it dried.

I cut a zebra background in black vinyl. If you don't have a vinyl cutter (cricut, silhouette, etc.) you could freehand and paint the background, or print off a zebra print using a laser printer. There are also lots of zebra scrapbook papers you could mod-podge on! After getting the zebra print on, I applied the name in Hot pink!

I had so much fun making the background for this that I also formatted the following backgrounds:

houndstooth

polka dot

checker board

damask

floral

To finish it off, I picked a hot pink coordinating ribbon. Prior to tying the ribbon on, I sealed it with a brush on clear coat (I prefer DecoArts Americana Satins)

To complete this project, you need the following

1- 8x8 MDF 1/4 inch board

White paint and foam brush

Drill (or stapler if you prefer to staple your ribbon on)

Zebra Print background ( Vinyl, hand drawn, printed or scrapbook paper)

Vinyl Name/monogram or die cut paper

Clear Coat (Decoart Americana Satins)

If you want the zebra (or other backgrounds) in vinyl just email me!