Chalkboard Crazy

Like so many in " Blogland" I have become crazy for chalkboards.

I bought my first chalkboard paint last fall.

My first project was a bit of a bust.

I took an ugly picture that Hubby picked up at a sale ( he thought it was cool, I did not ).

I painted the frame pink ( I'm not really a "pink person") and painted the glass with 4 coats of chalkboard paint.

When I said it was a bust , I meant that literally.

I broke the glass putting it back in the frame :(

Then I found this on Pinterest ~

Trays from the thrift store painted with chalkboard paint !

Eureka !

I just happened to have some ( imagine that ).

I also had a wooden one that I had picked up somewhere ( shrug ).

In my opinion , it doesn't matter what you paint with chalkboard paint , you are going to have to give it 4-5 coats.

I've painted metal , wood and glass.

It's time consuming , but the end product is SO cool.

My wooden tray.

It doesn't show in this photo , but this round tray ( metal) has embossed flowers around the center.

I also picked up the pear plate at the thrift store.

I have a habit of picking up anything with a pear on it . ( shrug again )

White dove. ( thrift store again ).

I found my McCoy lamp last summer at a second hand store .

I almost didn't buy it .

Thank God Emily convinced me to.

She knows me well and said I would regret it if I didn't.

She was right , I would have.

The printable I found on a linky party ( why don't I write these things down ? )

I left a comment thanking them , if you are reading and it is yours , please let me know, I would love to give you credit.

Here's why I love this quote.

Not because it is from an Edgar Allen Poe poem ( he's a little dark for me ) , but for Christmas Sis gave me Stevie Nicks' new CD ( love Stevie ) one of my favorite songs on the CD is called Annabel Lee and she wrote it based on this Poe poem.

So when I saw this , I knew I had to print it and use it in my Valentine decor.

I think I've done more Valentine decorating this year than ever before...

Last chalkboard (s) ~

Two thrift store silver trays.

The smaller one has some awesome floral detail on the edge, but again , it doesn't show in the photo.

I need to add a little more to the China cabinet , looks a little bare without the Christmas light and garland.

Have you used chalkboard paint ?

What have you turned into a chalkboard?

I've seen doors , walls , even a refrigerator painted with chalkboard paint.

The possibilities are endless....

Linking to these great parties :

More the Merrier Monday@DIY Home Sweet Home http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
So Very Creative Party Time @ So Creative http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/
Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
Amaze Me Monday @ DittleDattle http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/
What's in the GunnySack@The Gunny Sack http://www.thegunnysack.com/
Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
Newbie Party @ DebbieDoos http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
Make the Scene Monday @ Alderberry Hill http://alderberryhill.blogspot.com/

Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/

Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ Primp http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com/
Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims http://www.mygirlishwhims.blogspot.com/
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage http://www.abeachcottage.com/
Talent Tuesday @ Vintage Wanna Be http://www.vwbblog.com/
Party Time Tuesday @ Northern Cottage http://www.northerncottage.net/
Trash to Treasure Tuesday @ Sassy Sites http://sassysites.blogspot.com/

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Felt Flowers

Quite a while ago , I pinned these cute little guys ~

I've read several tutorials on making felt flowers.

Various kinds.

Mums, daisies and roses .

I have a couple projects that I'm working on that i thought felt flowers would compliment.

So I set out to create my own.

First , I want to say they are super easy to make.

I did burn my fingers a few times , but that happens every time I use a glue gun ( which is why I try not to use it often )

You start but cutting a LOT of circles out of felt.

The size of the circles depends on the size you want your flowers to be.

I used two different size bowls and a vitamin bottle for the three different sizes I made.

The two larger ones I made felt roses with.

I'll explain that process first.

Once you get you circles cut . You are going to cut them in a spiral.

Like a snail shell ( get what I mean?).

Then you can either start from the outside and roll them up, dabbing a bit of hot glue every now and then to secure it.

If you roll from the outside in , you will get a tighter , taller rose.

If you roll from the inside out , you will get a very open rose, in my experience the open on needed more dabs of glue to keep it formed correctly.

The yellow one on the right is an example of  rolling from the inside out.

I didn't really like these as well ,so  I glued one of the tighter roses in the center and made one large rose.

The second type of flower I made is more like the pinned image.

Some tutorials call them a felt mum.

This is what you do .

Cut several smaller circles ( this is where I used the vitamin bottle as a template).

Put a dab of glue in the center of the circle.

Fold it and hold a second.

Put another dab in the center of that and fold again.

Basically you have folded it in half twice and secured it with glue.

Now take a smaller circle ( i discovered this by trail and error) , put a dab of glue in the center and glue one of you folded circles.

Continue to glue the folded circles until the bottom circle is covered and you flower looks like you want it to.

Examples of this flower are in front.

I also made a combo of the two styles of flowers.

I took a couple of the open roses and glued three of the folded circles in the middle.

I call this my "cabbage rose ".

Can you pick out which is which ?

I know , my photography skills are lacking :(

My tutorial isn't the best.

If you can't understand my directions, here are a couple tutorials I read.

http://www.littlethingsbringsmiles.com/2010/12/felt-fun.html

And

http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2011/11/felt-flowers.html

Hope I didn't confuse you too much.

These really are super easy and fun to make.

Can't wait to show you what I'm going to do with them :)

Linking this post to these great parties :

Show and Tell Friday@ My Romantic Home http://romantichome.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/
Inspiration Friday@ At the Picket Fence http://www.atthepicketfence.com/
Pinning and Singing on the Weekend@ 5 Minutes Just for Me http://5minutesjustforme.blogspot.com
Potpourri Friday @ 2805 http://twenty-eight-0-five.blogspot.com/
Fabulous Friday @ Faith,Trust and Pixie Dust http://michellelunt.blogspot.com/
Weekend Bloggy Reading : Link Up @ Serenity Now http://www.serenitynowblog.com/

A Pinteresting Link Party @ Here's to Handy Andy http://herestohandyandy.blogspot.com/

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Inspiration and The Copy Cat Challenge

Isn't "blogland" great ?

Between "blogland" and Pinterest there is no shortage of inspiration.

Today one of my favorite bloggers Cathy from My 1929 Charmer posted a link on her FB page for DIY terrariums.

That lead me to Jacky's blog Small Garden Love.

INSPIRATION !

Jacky's blog lead me back to something on BHG that I had pinned awhile back.

COPY CAT CHALLENGE !

I had wanted to participate in Debbie Doo's Copy Cat Challenge but had no idea what to post about about, now not only did I know what to post about , but I was PUMPED !

I had these three little plants that I have been nursing along since fall.

They were starts from one of my favorite annuals that I like to use as filler in mixed planters.

I don't even know what they are.

If you know me, you know that is unusual.

I know plants AND plant names.

Can't remember numbers or what I left the room to get , but I remember plants.

Go figure...

Anyhoo...

I gathered the rest of my supplies.

I picked these awesome dishes up at the thrift store, had no idea what I do with them , but you know how that goes....

Some rocks , fake moss , glass pebbles, and  a couple little ceramic mushrooms , again from the thrift store and again I had no idea what I was going to do with them , I just thought they were too cute !

If you read Jacky's post ( and you should ), you will see she used some vases she had around the house. They were really great, but I have my cloche collection, so I figured why keep them packed away when they will be PERFECT for the terrarium project.

I think it took me longer to gather all my supplies that it did to actually create.

Have I mentioned before I'm not very organized?

Well, I'm not.

If I would keep all my craft stuff in one place it might not take me as long to find things.

I know this, but do I do anything about it ?

Um... that would be no .....

Anyhoo...

Let's begin.

Put some pebbles, small rocks , or in my case glass stones ( cause my rocks were too big ) on your plate, dish, etc.

Take a small amount of moistened soil and place it on top of the stones.

Then add your plant and cover the roots with more moist soil.

Now this is where Jacky covered her soil with moss.

My moss is under 6 inches of snow.

So I used polished stones and fake moss.

I added one of my cute little mushrooms.

Misted the whole thing and topped it with a cloche.

You can see condensation started forming right away.

Here it is in it's new home.

My mini botanical garden :)

This one I actually left in the little Shawnee pottery pot it was in.

I collect vintage flower pots, mostly McCoy but also Shawnee and Roseville.

I love these little pots but they don't hold enough water and my plants dried out too fast.

That's why my little plants were struggling so much.

Under the glass , with the moisture held in , I am anticipating rapid growth :)

We'll see.

Here are the other two.

They are on the dresser in the bathroom.

Weird , I know, but I have a great south facing window I think they will love.

Plus the dresser was looking kinda bare since taking the Christmas decorations down.

I think I may be obsessed.

I know , it happens a lot and often :)

I can see one with Irish Moss mixed in with St. Patrick's day decor.

Or some grass or a fern with bunnies at Easter.

OMG I could go on and on ...

If you're not really sure which plants work best ( succulents and cactus DO NOT ), check out this article at BHG.com .

Thank you Cathy, Jacky, and BHG for inspiration for this gardener in the dead of winter.

It really made my day :)

Linking this post to :

More the Merrier Monday@DIY Home Sweet Home http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
So Very Creative Party Time @ So Creative http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/
Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
Amaze Me Monday @ DittleDattle http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/
What's in the GunnySack@The Gunny Sack http://www.thegunnysack.com/
Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
Newbie Party @ DebbieDoos http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
Show Off Your Stuff @ Fireflies and Jellybeans http://firefliesandjellybeans.blogspot.com/
Primp Your Stuff Wednesday @ Primp http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com/
Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims http://www.mygirlishwhims.blogspot.com/
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage http://www.abeachcottage.com/
Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/
Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer http://my1929charmerblog.com/

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A Tiny Bit of Valentine Decor

Yesterday was a snow day.

I had a list of projects to get done and only did one.

It didn't meet my expectations and I kinda lost steam after that.

I did a little cleaning ( very little ) but really didn't accomplish much at all.

I spent another Saturday shopping with Sis.

You probably think we shop all the time.

The thing is , we don't spend much time together during the summer ( cause I spend every weekend at my trailer down by the river ) so we make up for it in the winter.

Anyway...

Didn't expect to get much done today either.

I surprised my self.

First little project was this wreath.

I started with this grapevine heart from the thrift store.

I cut the center grapevine out so I basically had a heart shaped wreath.

Then I took 2 red feather boas from HobLob , attached the end with a little hot glue and wrapped them around it.

Easy Peasy.

Then it was time to change my "faux winter mantle" ( a thrift store sofa table ) into a "faux valentine mantle".

My "faux mantle" sits in front of a window,

which makes it difficult to take a good picture ( along with my meager photography skills ).

I hung my heart shaped feather wreath in said window.

Added back my in my metal tree which you have seen before here and here.

Some nice subway art ( I apologize I don't remember which site I printed it from, if anyone recognizes it , please leave a comment), my metal

deer ( one sporting a new red bow ) and a small canvas wrapped in Valentine scrap book paper.

It was cute paper with "love" written in script.

But it looked just to plain.

Sooo...

I took some chipboard letters and spelled out "love" and added a a little bird to the corner.

Much better , huh?

Pretty simple.

I don't have a lot of Valentine decor.

For years I down right hated the holiday.

I was a florist in my previous life.

So Valentines Day to me meant a lot of stress and  a couple really long days .

People , please be kind to your florist on Valentines Day.

They do their best to bring joy and beauty to your life :)

So glad that's not me anymore !

Last year I even got flowers ! That hadn't happened for years .

Here's a little Pinterest Valentine inspiration.

via pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com

via   lilluna.com

via skiptomylou.org

These awesome heart are made from wax paper and crayon shavings.

Can you believe it ?

Check out the website for directions.

Red Velvet Cake -beautiful AND yummy

via sprinklebakes.com

via google.com

via squidoo.com

Do you decorate for Valentines Day ?

Or is it one of those holidays you just let go?

Linking this post to

Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming http://www.bystephanielynn.com/
Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer http://my1929charmerblog.com/
A Pinteresting Link Party @ Here's to Handy Andy http://herestohandyandy.blogspot.com/

Pinning and Singing on the Weekend@ 5 Minutes Just for Me http://5minutesjustforme.blogspot.com/

More the Merrier Monday@DIY Home Sweet Home http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
So Very Creative Party Time @ So Creative http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/
Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
Amaze Me Monday @ DittleDattle http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/
What's in the GunnySack@The Gunny Sack http://www.thegunnysack.com/
Meet Me Monday @ You're Talking Too Much http://youaretalkingtoomuch.blogspot.com/
Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/
One Project at a Time @ A Bowl Full of Lemons http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/
Talent Tuesday @ Vintage Wanna Bee http://www.vwbblog.com/
Trash to Treasure Tuesday @ Sasst Sites http://sassysites.blogspot.com/
Northern Cottage Party Time Tuesday @ Northern Cottage http://northerncottage.blogspot.com/
Home Stories A to Z
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2012/01/valentines-mantel-link-party-2012.html

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Homemade Hand Lotion

This was supposed to be my (Almost) Wordless Wednesday with Addie post.

But that didn't happen..... for a couple of reasons.

At Christmas , my beautiful niece Spencer ( I've bragged about her here) made some homemade hand lotion.

I loved it !

She told me how she made it ( in my family we are not known for having EXACT recipes).

We just kinda dump....

Well , I used  what she had given me and decided to make my own.

Reason #1 this project didn't happen on Wednesday with Addie ~

She LOVES lotion.

I mean REALLY loves lotion!

*Flashback *

Remember when I was working on the flowers for my nephews wedding ?

(If not you can get reminded here.)

And...

 I was really stressed out ( cause I'm crazy like that )

And...

 I had to get Addie ready for rehearsal ( flowergirl incident).

Well...

 I had the flowers  loaded in the car.

 I had her all dressed in her pretty clothes her Mommy had packed for her.

 And I was finally trying to get myself presentable.

Plus...

 I had totally under estimated the amount of time it took to get one little flowergirl and one Grandma ready.

And of course I didn't know what to wear ....

Anyway...

 I looked up and ...

 NO ADDIE !

I said, " Addie where are you ?"

I hear her little voice on the floor beside my bed , " I over here."

I look over and she has my lotion open and ALL*OVER*HER*FACE* !

Looking back , I wish I had gotten a picture.

 At the time I was just trying to get her to the bathroom before it got all over her clothes!

So I kinda chickened out when it came to having Addie's assistance with the homemade lotion.

Ok, back to the project.

Here are the basic ingredients Spencer used ( and I did too )

Cocoa Butter

Olive oil

Vitamin E oil

Aloe Vera Oil

Spencer infused the olive oil with tea . I'm not sure what kind , but it had an awesome fragrance.

I had some essential oils , so I decided to use them for fragrance.

I used tree containers of Cocoa Butter ( from Dollar Gen)

About 1/4 cup olive oil

About 2 ounces Vitamin E Oil ( Dollar Gen again )

About 1 ounce aloe vera oil

I used too much oil .

It will be great for my super dry legs and arms , but it is too oily for me to use regularly on my hands.

Some people would like it.

I've read blogs ( looking for specific recipes ) where people recommend using straight olive oil on your hands.

That's not for me.

Plus I don't think mine smells nearly as good as Spencer's.

I used some lemon , lavender and a tiny bit of patchouli oil, but it still smells like cocoa butter and I don't really care for it.

But I will use it and maybe try again.

I packaged it back up in the empty cocoa butter jars.

 And added some cute labels, that I found here for free.

Now ...

 Reason #2 for not posting on Wednesday.

My little princess has learned a new thing ~ pouting !

I couldn't quite believe it.

Twice she got mad .

Once at Papa and once at My and she went into the kitchen , put her head down and said , " I poutin'."

Geez....

That was a new one ...

She still won't let me take her picture either.

She hears my camera come on and she refuses to look at me.

These are the best I could get.

She's smiling , but she still won't look at me ...

Got her !

Happy Wednesday Friday !