My busy December

I havent bloged in a while and so I thought I would sit down and quickly post a pic of just ONE of the reasons why I havent.

The above pic is my darling daughter.  Who happened to come home from school the other day with a broken arm.  She fell on the way home.   She was bummed that she would miss her hip hop recital and that cheerleading would be out for now but otherwise is doing well - although her arm is giant and heavy.

I have also been selling Christmas trees so I have been busy.  Plus we seem to be passing around colds like you wouldnt believe.  So it has been hectic to say the least.  Im hoping to get my Christmas stuff out and my house quickly decorated over the weekend and make some holiday cookies with the kids as well.

Always too much to do....... Happy Holidays Everyone!

My Thanksgiving table...

I have seen some of you decorate lately for Thanksgiving.  I drool over your table decor ALL the time. I LOVE the brown and cream dishes so many of you have. 

One morning while waiting for my son to get on the bus I decided to pull out my sweet hubby's dishes.  We brought them here when we got married almost 3 years ago.  Considering we drove from Idaho to New York with 3 tweens in the car (and yeah it was our honeymoon) - loaded up his house in a trailer and drove his things ALL the way home - I sort of liken the experiance to carting these dishes out west on a handcart.  That I pulled -  by myself.  Might have been eaiser than trying to change a flat trailer tire on the side of the freeway while one of my kids kept repeating we were gonna die!!!  Oh and we did this not once but TWICE! 

Anyhow after tinkering for the morning - I called it good.  Im not having Thanksgiving at my house this year, and I dont have the kids this year for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Which at times I go back and forth between this being a good or a bad thing.  Bad because I will miss them a ton like I always do, and good that I have a chance to curl up with hot apple cider and a good book- if i dont just spend the weekend cleaning out the kids rooms waiting for them to come home (which is what usually happens)

These are the dishes.  They are a bit chipped. but Im just calling them antiqued.

I then tried to put together a center piece - Well, Its not fabulous by any means but it is something.

I then called it good and havent done much since then.  Soooo - (and this is really why I'm blogging!!) I was really surprised last night when my neighbor came over to tell me how wonderful (oh yeah, wonderful!) my table looks through the window.  It almost makes the whole table seem a bit prettier!  It was just so dang nice of her!

Lanyard project for Andrew

This is a picture of my lastest project.  Its a lanyard.  I didnt even know what they were called until my son hit high school and has to wear one everyday with his school ID on it.  (Just saying the words high school and my son makes me feel really OLD).  Anyhow he has been complaining loudly and often that his lanyard was ugly and dull and didnt really reflect his personal style.  Im just glad he considers his personal style "Gamer" and not "Chick magnet" or "Party Animal"!

Anyhow since he is a great kid, very good student and I all around love him to pieces (even when he is a moody teenager!) I have been thinking for some about redoing his lanyard (what a dorky name for ID necklace).   I realized while redoing my craft area that I had an old roll of strap material.  I layed it out on my craft table and then went and got some of my sons xbox games for inspirations.  Once Andrew caught wind of what I was doing - MAGICALLY a book appeared by the cording.  This was a bit hint.

This is the part that makes me laugh,  See the logo on the top?  The tiny tiny logo. get close so you can see it - yeah thats it - Warhammer 40,000.  THATS what I was going to have to duplicate.  Talk about tiny inspiration to work from!

So late last night I set about drawing on the pattern and then using markers and acrylic paint I tried my bast to transfer the concept of the book onto the strap.

Serveral hours later I had to call it a night and so I finished it today.  This is what it ended up looking like....

This is the other side....

I put his name on the back and then a few of the war like pictures from the front of the book.  I then cut off the clip from an old lanyard and attacked it to the end with my trusty glue gun.  Im kinda excited for him to see it when he gets home.  Hopefully it will do the trick.

If not im glueing the old lanyard back together and handing it to him...

I do think I started something because I did catch my daughter wrapping it around her waist this morning and musing about how she could really use a new handpainted belt.......... Oh the work I create for myself. 

A New Moon giveaway!!!

Tatertots and Jello is having a giveaway.  My daughter Libby would absolutely die for this!  She is 12 and she loves ALL things Jacob!  This is the photo she has by her bed!

And this is the framed poster by her bed.... (I will add that it was an old frame I painted so we were both happy with the results)

And this is the inside of her armoir.

Please excuse the mess lol.

My tray project

This is the serving tray I redid today!~

When I got it, well lets just say it was in sad shape. ...

It not only was falling apart, but the giant ceramic tile with the painted flowers (ok, I think they are ugly) were scratched.

I took it apart and turned the ceramic tile over - It was the same on the back so I modge podged decorative paper over it.  I then let that dry and put an antique glaze over the top.  I wanted something more so I then freehanded an R in the center with Dark Brown paint.  All that was left after it dried was putting it back together and then hammering tiny nails into the corners to make it solid.  I then put a stain glaze over the top.

I think it turned out pretty good.

I put it over the cabinets in my kitchen....

Kids craft time - fall acorns!

My neice and nephew have been over for the day playing while my sis and her hubby are on vacation.  They were all playing very nicely while I worked on odds and ends projects and painted.  Then they hit a wall.  That point where they all start drifting in......"Im Hungry"....."Im bored" 

At that point I knew it was time to stop painting and time to do a craft.  I had seen these earlier today on Family Fun and though they looked cute easy and yummy so I sent my hubby on an errand run to the store for supplies.  I love crafts you can do with only a few things and hubby can get them at our local grocery store.  He is so sweet for running and grabbing the stuff for me.

This is what they looked like in the magazine.

I set all the kids down and they got to work.

They all laughed and chatted and had a lot of fun.  It was a hit.  Please dont think bad of me but they thought was the funniest joke was that my oldest son thought that if he totaly covered his with chocolate and nuts....well they would resemble deer poo.  They all about died with that one.

This is my kids plates when they were done.  Every was very happy with the results and ate a couple as well.  They then ran over to grandmas to go to the movies so the house is all quiet now so......

Back to painting!!!

Turning old clock into new clock.

A few weeks ago I was helping my sis move.  She had a pile of clocks that she didnt want anymore.  One of them was this clock that we made at church.  I cant pass up another clock so I took it home.

Over the weekend I decided to tackle painting the clock.  The picture above actually makes it look better than it was - it looked alot more monotone and gray.  I had seen a clock before that I drooled over so I tried as best as I could to try and repaint the whole board to make it more like my memory.

My finished look turned out like this:

I really loved the way it turned out in the end ( please forgive my camera - Im waaaaaay overdue for a new one).   I ended up hanging it over the arch entryway into my kitchen. 

I am very happy with how it turned out!!  And ya gotta love that it was free!

Color of my kitchen

Beth at The Stories of A to Z posted a picture of her kitchen that she wants to change the color.  Her kitchen is really cute and the colors she is picking are really great but I wanted to show her my kitchen color.  Not because I have the best kitchen in the world - i love it and for me thats ok.  But more that I think the concept would look really nice in her kitchen.  Its a faux finish.

Here is a close up showing the layers (and I mean layers - like 6 lol) of paint.  Actually the first layer was a bright burgundy and the several other layers were more of a putty/paste consistancy.  It was troweled on and scraped off over the course of a couple of days. 

And here is the other side of the room.

The paint was ordered before we decided to buy the home.  We would walk through while it was being built as we decided to buy.   Once we did then the kitchen was finished.  Everday my mom and I would come in and see the kitchen being finished.  One the first day we were like " Oh nice, the kitchen is going to be red" then we would come in the next day to find that a light cream was scraped over the top making the kitchen look very light but speckled with the burgundy color.  Then the next day there would be a glaze over it.  This went on for several days.  Aparantly the guy hired was an out of work artist - SOOO lol he took his work very seriously.  It wasnt until everything was done and a finishing glaze was put over the top did I really know he was "done".  At first I would get mixed reactions from women coming over - alot of them would touch my walls.  It is very textured but surprisingly not heavy looking.

I do think that it could be done by a homeowner by just masking off the cabinets and using the same type of thick paint. 
Whatever she picks im sure it will look great!  Good luck and happy painting!!

Annie

Feeling Mossy

This weekend I decided to add moss around my plants - I was amazed at how much nicer it made them look instead of just looking at the dirt.  Plus it was a VERY easy thing to do.  Gotta love that!

The house where I lived.

A few days ago I got a call from my mom. The house I grew up in is for sale. Since my sis is now a realtor we scheduled an appointment to go see inside. I haven't seen the inside of this house in 20 years. It was very strange experience for me. I am VERY emotionally attached to this house.

My parent built it when I was in first grade. They then later added on 3 additional bedrooms and another bathroom when my sisters started hitting the teen years. I always felt like it was soooooo nice. So homey. For years I regularly have dreams about this house. Sometime I would wake up and cry. If anyone can explain this to me - please do!

It was always my dream to buy this house back and live in it until I died. It was agonizing the first time I learned it was up for sale for $350,000.00. There was no way I could afford that. It was crushing but over time I got over it - we all do ya know! This time it is for sale for about the same price. Still cant afford it but I was hoping being able to walk through it would put some of my demons or dreams to rest.

I made my hubby go with me for emotional support. He didn't get what a big deal this was for us until we pulled up with my parents and both my sisters cars were there as well as my brothers. It was like a mini family reunion. We were all so excited to see inside. We then spent the next hour walking around, talking and laughing about memories, the house, etc. It was very bonding for us I think.

First off, mom noticed right away that they had painted her marvelous Oak door red. Let's just say she was not happy. We then had to point out that the door probably needed something after 20 years. Although I will say I was not a good red. A strange Rosy red that didn't quite match. Secondly, the house smells OLD. Seriously - we are talking museum old smell here. I noticed major visible carpet pet stains so I'm sure that didn't help. Plus I was amazed at how much of it was still the original house I grew up in. I'm 38 now so yeah - that's a long time to not really update or repair.

The house does have alot of redeeming qualities that I would really love now. Its very secluded, lots of big trees, ALL on one floor (my hubby literally cant go up our stairs due to really bad knees), Has a big shop in the back for crafting, etc, and lots of room for our camper and boat. Plus I could actually have a couple chickens. Yes, its my secret dream to own chickens - I will one day I swear!! The problems however, outweigh the pluses. I cant afford it is a big one for me lol. Plus everything, and I mean everything, needs some sort of work done. We are talking new carpet, paint, (cabinets are flat dark brown and beat up) cabinet makeover, concrete repair ( its all buckling), pool repair (tiles are falling off), new deck (lets just say there were spots I thought I would fall through), landscaping (lots of trimming and cutting back) etc - you get my point. Even if I got this for a great deal - I would spent thousands more just restoring it to what it was or the dream that I know it can become.

I'm still numb from this whole process. Hubby knows that I'm still up and down about the whole thing. I guess its true that when you go back things never are the same. I always remember it being such a beautiful house. But for now I'm concentrating on the memories I have there.

Walking home from school with my sisters. That moment when you would reach our house and cut across the front lawn. Seeing the lights on in the kitchen and knowing mom was waiting for us.

Playing with my sisters all over the place - too many memories to mention...

Walking into the kitchen and finding my little brother playing in the crisco right before we were due to have family pictures taken.

All the animals we had, the dogs, sheep, cows, chickens and turkeys that lived on our small 2 acres from time to time.

Floating down the ditch along side our house all summer. Or swimming in the pool.

I have to stop or Ill start crying.

Here is a shot of the backyard.

The shop that my dad built.

The back patio- one place that didn't look the way it did when I was a kid.

Seriously tho , I probably have mental problems already since I really think living here would also be fun.

Blue Cricket Design giveaway...

Blue Cricket Design is having a giveaway. It is the cutest tassel. I really want to learn how to make one. They are just really cute and fun and seem to look good everywhere. Plus I'm loving how people are getting more creative with them and they are like a tassel explosion.

Welcoming November......

We made Carmel apples tonight to welcome in November.

Melissa's Heart & Home is having a giveaway!

Melissa's Heart & Home is giving away the cutest stuff I thought I would pass it along. Makes me think about coming up with something fun for a giveaway of my own. Really cute!

Severed Finger mac and cheese for dinner tonight!

I served a severed finger (cut up hot dog) im my kids mac and cheese. The oh gross mom was soooo worth it. Im trying to relax and enjoy the holiday.

My daughter is still trying to decide if its "cool" enough to go trick or treating like this. I think she makes a cute hunter girl and I want her to stay warm outside. I know the pic is fuzzy but it was hard taking a picture of a moving and complaining target.

Earlier we were bored and decided to try some fun face painting. I love this one!

Later on we went a bit crazy and I did an entire underwater scene. See what we do on a day off from school! LOL

Just for Rachels giveaway!

Just for Rachel is having a giveaway. I thought I would blog about it and link it up because I love her super cute push pins! I think cork boards are my weakness - doesnt everyone need a cork board like this?!

My craft weekend is cancelled

I'm so bummed this weekend. I had a full weekend planned of listening to music, working on my craft projects and learning more about blogging. Plus I really love reading and absorbing all the cute craft ideas I have been seeing on other's blogs. Unfortunately, all that is cancelled. I have swine flu. Most moms out there know that when you get sick, you take an extra cough drop, a dose of dayquil and go about your day. At least that is what I usually do. This one however has me beat. Aside from the fever, coughing terrible body aches, and sweats (I feel like I'm prepping for menopause) Ive had a migraine that I could seriously do without. My wonderful hubby has been taking care of me, even when I have those moments where I am just plain grouchy, tired and bored. Im glad that my kids are at their dad's this weekend and hopefully wont get this - I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Sooooo not fun. So for now Im drooling over everyone else's projects when I have the energy to and sleeping. My projects will have to wait.... UGH

Makin Cookies!

If my kids could have their way (and my husband for that matter), they would have me making peanut butter cookies every night of the week. After spotting these peanut butter cookies at the idea room, well I knew I had to try them. It was actually easier said than done because I ran to 2 stores looking for them before my hubby picked me up a bag at Albertsons. I figured that peanut butter cookies would really hit the spot after a long day at school and homework after school. My son lighting up when he saw the recipe sealed the deal.

I made the peanut butter cookies and this is a picture of them cooling on the racks. My kisses ALWAYS seem to melt flat, but trust me no one seems to care! Another really good idea and my hubby's all time favorite is using Carmel kisses on the peanut butter cookies.

I wanted to add this picture of my niece and nephew having desert at my house tonight. Sammy had come over to play while my kids were eating their desert (skinny kids = pushing a big dinner AND desert). She kept walking around my kitchen making little comments about how she wished she could have one too. The desert was leftover chunked chocolate birthday cake layered with pudding. When she left to go eat dinner at my parents I made another one really quick for her brother. They were very excited when they walked in and I had theirs ready. Too cute!

I seriously LOVE clocks!

I was recently shopping and found a fabulous clock that I really felt I NEEDED for my house. My problem is when I thought of it, I couldn't figure out where to put another clock. It was when I got home that I realized that I LOVE clocks. You just can never have too many. The above clock is on the wall in my family room - so many clocks all on one clock! How cool is that?! This one my hubby got me for my birthday. I love it but I cant seem to fix the pendulum. It works but the dang thing wont swing. I keep thinking that I need to paint the wall behind it so it will stand out more. Do you paint a wall just for a clock?

I have this clock in my dining room. It belongs to my Aunt but I get to keep it in my house. I love, LOVE the chime. I would have a clock chime every 5 min if I could. The best sound on the earth!

On the wall between the kitchen and family, I have this clock. Just so classic and simply charming.

This last picture is the big clock in my kitchen. I have 2 of these, the other one is upstairs. I also have another smalled one in the kitchen as well. I do not like to not know what time it is before I have my coffee.

There are several more clocks in my house. Too many to put them in my blog. I am still trying to find rooms to put them in. Oh well.

What do you love?

More Halloween decorations

The kids and I added a few more things around the house for Halloween so I thought I would post them to my blog. We hung a blood bag above the kitchen table (from walmart its really fruit punch mix). We also made our bloody candles and added somefunky plates from the dollar store.

We then moved on to our firplace mantle in the kitchen. We used different sized bottled filled with colored water and glasses filled with chocolate eyeballs. I want to add some labels to the jars, but overall the look is good for now.

Since my kids are all on the small side I push desert at our house. As it is October I have been trying to make Halloween or fall deserts. The other night I made Halloween puddings.

Here is a finished one.

Here is a piture of the Halloween tree in the dining room. Im just loving all the Halloween decorations!