Winter blues

I cannot tell you how tired I am of the snow and cold.  To top it off, we have ice moving in tonight.  I am tempted to do some tanning bed light therapy.  Okay, not really, but I could use about 5 full days of sunshine.  In all of my dreaming of spring, I decided to introduce a little bit of living flowers in my decor.

My flowers of choice are paperwhites just for the fact that they are white.  I pulled out a couple of different things to plant the bulbs in.

It has only taken about 2 weeks to grow.  I am thoroughly enjoying seeing them grow.  It makes me really want spring to hurry up and get here!

I am especially enjoying them on top of my jelly cabinet.  I had to rig up the wooden box thing with plastic lunch bags to plant the bulbs in there.   I'm lovin' it!  Seeing the green stems with the blooms just starting to poke out has me dreaming of warmer days ahead!

Going to show some spring love at:

  

Birthday Girl!

My birthday girl. 

I looked away just for a second and she turned 4!

Can I do that?

I have always wanted to make a solder glass pendant.  I've forever seen them in various magazines.  I've actually had all the supplies for an entire year but just now got around to trying it out.  So, what do you need you ask.  Here is a list of my materials: appropriate size art, 1"x1" glass squares (got Memory Glass by Ranger @ Michael's), jewelry jump rings and beads, copper foil (got from Hobby Lobby with stain glass supplies), flux (from Hobby Lobby located with stain glass supplies), solder, solder iron, clothes pin, and safety glasses.

After watching a couple YouTube video tutorials, I felt confident enough to give it a go.  Now, keep in mind this is my first try ever with a solder iron.  My mom use to do soldering at a past job.  Her pearl of wisdom for me was not to burn myself.  Gotta love that kind of advice.  I managed to not burn myself.  This is what I came up with:

Because I like to really make things usable, I put a different art to use on the other side making a double sided pendant. 

It was pretty difficult for me to get the jump rings soldered onto the pendant.  It's not perfect but good enough for my first try.  I would love to know what you think!

I'm linking up to:

 

Just add glue...

Just needs a little glue.  Yes, that was all I was thinking when I saw this piece at the Salvation Army.

I asked the clerk how much.  She said, "Well, I don't know what it is.  How about 99 cents?"  I said, "Great!"  Once I got home, I detached the base, pulled out the staples, gave it a quick sanding, and gathered my materials for the repair.   

This was pretty easy.  Just apply the wood glue.  Weight it down and let it dry.

Spray paint it black.  Dress it up with a little color and the perfect base has been born.

As you can see, I decided to use a cloche and add some spring cheer.  The possibilities are endless. 

I plan on sharing this easy makeover at:

  

$10 and a little luck!

You might have heard me say this before but here I go again.  I confess.  I have an obsession for chairs.  It's funny because I never have company over but yet I keep buying chairs. 

I saw a chair at the auction that I just had to have.  Of course, my luck and all, it was moved to the end.  I spent the entire day at the auction!  Yes, you know what that meant?!  That chair would be mine!  I was prepared to out bid whoever got in my way!!  Apparently, no one else seemed to see the jewel that I did.  I walked out with my chair for just 10 bucks. 

Let me show you what drew me to this lovely chair.

Don't you just love the natural wood with remnants of old paint? 

Here is the full view of it before I worked on it.  Yes, the fabric is stained and needs to be replaced.  All this girl needs is a little love.

Well, that is what she got. I bought some white canvas, trim, and new foam for the cushion.

Would love to know your thoughts.

I'm linkin' up to:

  

Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello

Frugal Friday @

Diggin' for a treasure

This past weekend I went to an indoor garage sale at a fairgrounds.  It was more like a flea market than a garage sale.  You know the kind.  It had a bunch of antiques, craft booths, belt booths, etc.  My husband had asked what I was looking to find.  I said, "An old milk carrier and anything that is old and really cool looking."  He didn't quite think that was an appropriate answer but that is what he got. 
Although I did find a milk jug carrier.  I felt it was too big as well as too pricey.  But just then, I spied something out of the corner of my eye and felt a little pater of my heart. 

Once I saw these, I just had to know the price.  $10 for all.  I said there mine!  I just love how chipped up they are.  I feel it gives them a sense of history. 

I now have a start for a new Easter vingette.

Linking to:

Feel the burn!

Feel the burn!  That is what I've been telling myself this whole week during my workout DVDs.  I can't tell you the number of times I thought about putting a chair lift on my staircase because my legs ached.  I definitely was feeling the burn this week!  I have become utterly aware of how out of shape I have become.

Never fear, Bob and Julian are whipping me into shape.  I am doing their 6-week cardio max and sculpt DVDs.  Yes, I am trying to curb my eating habits as well.  Although, I have found that utterly exhausting.  Apparently, I have poor self-restraint when it comes to choosing healthy foods.  That was obvious when I asked my son if we should go to McDonald's.  My wonderful 6 year old said, "Mom, that's junk food.  We should get Subway.  You know 'eat fresh.'"  Wow!  That last bit just shows you the power of advertising.  Anyways, I thanked my boy and knew I have so much work to do.

So, here I am.  One week into this "I gotta get into shape" mode and I'm looking to you for advice and encouragement.  I want to be successful and stick to this.  My goal is to lose 15-20 pounds.  Any suggestions, advice, or encouragement would be greatly appreciated.  Don't worry.  I have a couple small projects to share for next week.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.   

Rich and warm to light and bright!

On one of my many excursions to my local thrift stores, I came across this lovely frame.

Although it is plastic, I couldn't pass it up.  It is an 11 x 14 for 2 bucks.  I really love all the details.  Once I took out the print, it was a breeze to clean.  Being plastic, I was able to suds it up in the kitchen sink.  After I got all the dust washed off, I pulled out one of my many cans of white spray paint.  (I think have about 4 cans of white alone.) 

After a few coats, she was ready to hang.

Much better don't ya think?  I could use a little glaze to bring out the details but I don't want it to take away from the picture of my treasures!  I can always do that later.  Now I have the perfect frame for a perfect picture!

I plan on sharing at some parties.  I will be editing to add them as I link up.