New Jammies!

Eleanor needed new jammies. She hit a growth spurt and all of a sudden everything became too small. So I went looking for jammies. PJ's for little girls are hard. If you are three, they are cute and traditional. If you are a size 5-6, all of a sudden you get rock star and "hoochie momma" jammies. And, if you have a daughter like Eleanor, who is all about ruffles and pink and cutsie, then you gotta get creative!Regular easy peasy pants pattern made from clearance fleece, with ruffles added to the legs....
I cut out a picture of the cheerleading monkey and sewed it to a plain, white t-shirt....
She loved them! I did a second pair with ruffles on the sleeves and double ruffles on the legs and a pair for Savannah with ruffles on the legs. C.U.T.E!
Maybe I'll make myself a pair......

Chalkboards....my new obsession

There is something about the thrill of the hunt for me that gives me an adrenaline rush. One is finding a treasure on the side of the road.

This gem was a really fun find. I had to beg my husband to stop for an entire pile of picture frames. An entire PILE! We were late for a social engagement at his parent's house, so he wouldn't stop on the way there. I almost went nuts thinking about all the people who had already stopped and swooped up the frames! Yeah, all 36,000 people who drove by probably didn't even SEE the frames!

Nevertheless, they were mine! Mine! Mine!

We did the pull over, me jump out, run through traffic...(he loves that!)...him do some illegal turn thingy, me pilfer through the frames and take the best ones, he pull up, me jump in and we tear out of there like we were going to get caught! At least the kids were having fun with me!!!

Here's the after-we-got-home-and-it-sat-in-the-garage-for-weeks before picture.....

I went to the hardware store, bought a sheet of metal and cutters. Cut the metal to size, spray-painted it with primer, then chalkboard paint. I used Gorilla Glue to glue the metal on the frame. I also glued a piece of plywood to the back for support. I love Gorilla Glue!

After it was dry, I put the hardware for hanging on the back....

Then hung it up at the bottom of the stairs going to his studio. I LOVE IT!

It's perfect there and it matches the colors in the basement!

And, since it is a chalkboard AND a magnetic board, it is very versatile!

I LOVE IT!

The best part is, he likes it too!!!!!

Another reason to thank the thrift store gods....

The thrift store gods have smiled upon me and I am happy.....I can't find the before picture anywhere, but it was a gold mirror. Sixty-nine cents later, it was mine.

I painted the frame white and spray-painted chalkboard paint on the mirror, then rubbed a little brown paint to age it.....

I LOVE IT!

It's the perfect addition to my window!

Thank you thrift store gods.....you make me so happy for so little cash!

Bella the China hutch turned shabby chic!

OK! Do you remember this beautiful china hutch that I stole from my good friend, Craig? Yep! $50.00 for this beauty! She sat in the garage for a long time....my husband offered to haul her away several times. I began to wonder if I would ever get to her. The east coast weather is so hard to work with sometimes. The minute humidity hits, I am toast for being able to paint, since I have to do it all outside. But, the weekend of Labor Day dawned beautiful and I was ready! So, here she is before........

And here she is now!!!!!

I loved her beautiful lines from the very beginning. I loved her curves.....

I had a vision....I just needed time and good weather! Some people told me not to take off the front glass area, but I needed the open space for books and such.

Now she has a fresh coat of paint and looks like a million dollars in her new white frock!

I was going to keep those beautiful knobs, but when I found these....well, every girl needs some BLING!

Eleanor, the princess, told me that her favorite part is the beautiful sparkly knobs!

Now they match the beds I finished...

The back is just some polka dot fabric I glued to the back and it added so much!

The best thing was I got rid of all sorts of toys and such they don't play with. Now our room is clean and fun and girly and shabby chic!

Next up, chandelier!

Flowers make me happy

I can't exactly tell you when I started creating with flowers. I remember helping my aunt Sandy Butler do weddings as a girl and loving the designs she came up with. I remember the smell of the flowers at funerals and weddings. I guess it all just evolves.....

I've downloaded some random pictures of flowers I have done in the last year or so....no particular order, just things I have been asked to do or created on my own....

Women's Conference 2010 for the Oakton Stake. We did a French theme and made a cafe table of yummy french pastries and some carnations to look like a cafe. The serving table had French "stuff" grouped together.

Oakton Women's Conference 2009 - it was awesome! I loved decorating for this conference! I did daisies and butterflies and on a shoestring budget came up with this....

Yes, I hung those balls from the ceiling! It was amazing! There were big butterflies mixed in with the flower balls...

This was the pulpit in the chapel...
Headbands for babies who are adorable and grow up too fast.....
And headbands for little girls who love to be pretty....
Flowers for all occasions.....
Flowers make me happy and my daughter, Eleanor, loves them also!
Sometimes I have to make flowers for sad occasions, but I love to show them how much they are loved....

These were for a special primary meeting we had with the former General Primary President, Sister Lant...


More funeral flowers for a dear friend....

Stake Conference Flowers are some of my favorite.... I get to do whatever I want and create beautiful arrangements to show my Heavenly Father how grateful I am for my talents....

Take time to smell the roses!!!