Weekend Wonderfulness

Hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! I know I am!

It all started Friday evening.  We had a dinner and trivia night to raise money for the Polar Plunge to support Missouri Special Olympics!  Yes, I am crazy and I will be plunging for the second time! It is such a wonderful cause and I am so happy to do it!  Trivia was a great turn out and was lots of fun! My team ( The Lucky Duckies) didn't win ( so I guess we weren't that lucky) ..but we didn't come in last so I am happy!  A part of me is hoping that this beautiful weather we are having (It was 60 today!)  will hold out until February 25...wishful thinking huh?

Introducing My Plunge Team the....

Fierce aren't we? 

On Saturday the wonderfulness continued. I slept in. I finished the book I was reading.  I talked to my sister on the phone for an hour and a half.  I got a mint chocolate chip milkshake...I had been craving one...I gave in!  I went to Hobby Lobby.   I went thrifting and I scored!



Guess how much? Give up?  Let me break it down....

Christopher & Banks Brown Cardigan-$ .75
Beautiful blue cardigan that I am going to refashion- $.75
Two square canvases-$.25 each
Two heart picks- $.25 each
Liz Claiborne Purse-$1.00

That's right-$3.50!  Who-hoo! 

These little heart picks are going to find their way into my Valentine Decor. It seems like I do a little more every year.  I blame the blog world! :)

I finished out the weekend with church and a family day today,  a great way to spend the day, with people you love!

A great weekend always pumps me up for the next week,  so what did you do this weekend?

A Before and After...Jewelry Tray

After several mornings of searching the floor next to my nightstand for a missing earring, I decided that I really needed to find something to keep my earrings and other daily jewelry in. I was thinking a pretty dish or something of the sort when I spotted this 

and I had an idea!

It was the perfect small size and the perfect price!

Oh Yeah!

I snapped it up, brought it home and sprayed it with a coat of primer.

Then I found my friend, Fusion! 

If you have seen my Mirror, Mirror post, you may realize that I  have a love affair with plastic and spray paint made for plastic!

After two coats of paint I assembled my work station (located conveniently on my coffee table in front of my televison.)  I know, I'm fancy like that! :)

While I watched some of my favorite shows I went to town cutting out little squares that I then decoupaged onto my tray.  I just placed the squares into a pattern that I liked with some Mod Podge then I did two coats of Mod Podge over the surface and.....

Ta-Da!

I really love that word, ta-da!  There just aren't enough occasions for me to use it in every day life!

      Here they are side by side.  I did the work and I can hardly believe   they are the same tray! :) 

So, can you guess what colors I am redecorating my bedroom in?  Am I too old for a black and pink bedroom? Wait, don't answer that,  I don't want to know!  Black and pink it is! :)

Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderful week! :)

I'm sharing this project with these great sites! Thank you ladies! :)

Oopsey Daisy. I Heart Nap Time & Thrifty Decor Chick 

As for Me and My House..Canvas Art Tutorial

Hello! Happy 2012!  I know we are more than a week into it,  but this is my first post of 2012! :)  The last few months of 2011 were super busy and overextended myself a bit, but I promise there will be many more posts coming,  I have many projects I can't wait to share with you!! I would like to thank you if you are still hanging with me, and welcome you if you are just joining me! 

So, now Christmas is over I can show you something I made as a gift.

I used the same technique I did for this  project.  (Which is still one of my favorite things I have done!)                                           
                                                 This is how I turned this

                                                                    
                                                     Into this

I started with the blank canvas and painted all of it a cream color.

Next I took vinyl letters and placed them on the canvas until I was happy with how it looked.

Then I took brown and painted over the letters.

I had painted two coats of brown when I realized they looked a little different.

 Yes, I had grabbed two different shades of brown!  Oh well, I did what I always do, I just winged it and worked with it. :)   I did a third coat of the second brown and it turned out really good.  I love when a mistake turns into something even better!

I'm not sure why I didn't take pictures of the next part (I may or may not have been rushing to get this done so I could wrap it!) but once the paint dried I removed the letters, using a safety pin to gently pick up the edge of each letter.  After I had removed all of the letters I took a fine sand paper block and gently sanded the surface. 

I was really happy with the way this turned out. I love turning a blank canvas into art, don't you?

Busy, Busy, Busy

December 3?  Already?  These last two or so weeks have flown by in a blur, a very busy, busy blur.  Contrary to popular belief I did not fall off a cliff.  :)

It went something like this:

 Wake up.  Go to work.  Go to work again (second job.)  Come home, take shower, go to bed.

Next day: Repeat. 

Then Repeat, Repeat, Repeat......

I did take two days in there to give thanks and spend time with my very awesome family. (And a crazy Black Friday shopping trip with my  Mom and Sis and lots and lots of laughs.)

Then...you guessed it...

Wake up.  Go to work.  Go to work again (second job.)  Come home, take shower, go to bed.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat......

So today I have grand plans,  I slept late. I am going to do laundry (be jealous, very jealous)  and pretty much just relax.  My awesome 17 year old has helped keep the house clean while I worked these insane hours the last two weeks, she is pretty awesome !! Just thought I should mention that!

 So, right now I am going to grab a cup of Caramel Apple Cider and go catch up on all the blogs I love! 

Have a wonderful weekend!  :)

Caramel Apple Cider...Yummmm

Fall is one of my favorite times of year, and one of my favorite things to drink in the fall is apple cider, well, actually, it's caramel apple cider! 

Last year I was at a local coffee shop with some friends and I tried that coffee establishment's caramel apple cider. I was in love!  I was not in love with the $3.00 price tag, but I sadly admit I drove across town two more times before  I  leaned over the counter to see how they made it  it hit me, that I could make it myself!

I realize this may seem like a no-brainer, but just in case you have never tried this I wanted to make sure you didn't pay $3.00 a cup for it!

All you need is some caramel topping, some cider mix and a pretty mug! (Feel free to drink it in an ugly mug,  it tastes the same either way!) 

I usually use two packets of cider and a big spoonful of caramel-yummy!

Enjoy!

Mirror, Mirror.....A Before and After

It was love at first sight-kind of- when I spotted this mirror at my favorite thrift store.  I knew as soon as I saw it that I was going to paint it, I could just see it in my head,  and let me tell you friends, it turned out even better than I imagined!!

Here is the before shot of the mirror, in all of its gold goodness....:)

Ignore the lady who didn't clean the mirror before taking the picture...

Ahhhh, much better! 

For some reason, I thought hand painting with acrylic paint would let me get all of the detail on the mirror better. It took me about two minutes to realize this was an epic FAIL!

Enter.......

Boo-Yah!! Just what it took to get the job done!  Did I mention that the awesome gold thrift store mirror is a real heavy plastic?  Now that it is painted you can hardly tell.

Now for the reveal.....let me tell you, I am in love, love, love!!

Ta-Da!!

Here they are side by side....

Better? It turned out exactly like I wanted/ imagined it!  This was the very first piece in my bedroom redo-I need to get moving on it so I can show you the rest!

I am so excited!  I am linking this up HERE!

Spooky Much?

Just kidding, come on in!!

I love Halloween!!  Ok, let me be honest...I love all holidays.  I love celebrating and decorating...and celebrating! :)  Halloween is one of my favorites....I'm sure it has nothing to do with the candy! :) 

It seems like I add a little more to my Halloween decor every year and this year two of my favorite additions were my Halloween printables.  I got this one here.  Love it & her blog! 

I happened upon this super cute printable here.  I love creative people that have a such sharing heart! 

My "mantle." I don't know if you can tell, but everything up here is glittery!  I love me some glitter..seriously!
I also love my witch, I have had her a long time, I don't remember how long, but I know she has celebrated more Halloweens than my daughter, so we are pretty tight.  She will always have a spot in my Halloween decor.  :) 

I work two jobs right now so I got my spooky up a little later than normal, and I will probably take it down next week, but until then...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!