Free Cards

Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas Cards. Whoo-hoo! I'm going to pick out my favorite 50 people to send mine to. :) Check it out at Shutterfly.

I'm a bad blogger.

I know, I haven't been on here in awhile. I thought I would be really good at this...but I'm not. I have been busy making things. Danielle made these apothecary jars she saw on a blog. I had to make them, they are awesome....a vase and candlestick from Dollar tree. So for $4 I have two really cute decorations. I took pictures. :)

A little hot glue, and in less than 5 minutes you are done. Can't get easier than that!
I have been busy making necklaces. They were fun to make....but sometimes they cause me trouble. I use resin and it has a mind of its own. Sometimes it doesn't harden right, sometimes your picture will change color, sometimes bubbles form that destroy the look of all that you have done. I have tried several different products and techniques....lots of trial and error.

These are necklaces that didn't work. I decided to decorate for fall to make myself feel better. :)

My fall dining room table. Sometimes I miss my kids being little. Then I get to decorate for holidays and I don't have to worry about them pulling things off the table. Then I'm happy I have older kids. :)

So, Danielle did a mantel makeover at her house. It inspired me to look closer at mine. My mantel has been the same since we moved here in 2003. I walked into Kirkland's the other day and they THE perfect clock. It was marked $150...on sale for $89. I asked the clerk if she had another one besides the one on display. She didn't....I was hesitant to buy it right away. I asked her if it was going to go on sale next week if I buy it that day. She typed in the number on it and said it was actually on sale for $79. SOLD!! She took it right off the wall and I loaded it up. I love the way it looks with my jars, candles and pictures. :) Now I just have to find a home for my old wreath. (Not here.) :)

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack! :)

I really love blogs, and just knew I would be able to keep up with my own. I was wrong. I'm so busy reading other blogs. So, here we are again....back to my things I love. Let me tell you, I love my LG front load washer and dryer, (as much as you can love appliances)---but lately my clothes have not been smelling fresh. There is nothing worse than washing your face with a sour smelling towel. I really didn't know why they were smelling bad. I am good about making sure they go straight from the washer to the dryer. (They may sit in the dryer and wrinkle, but that won't make them smell.) :) One day I gave Larry a few of his shirts to put up, he smelled one and quickly brought them back. I was so upset because I had tried all the tricks of wiping out the seal on the washer and used the great smelling fabric softener. I got on the internet that night and started reading about front loading washers that make clothes smell. I learned that LIQUID detergent has some animal fats in it that make it slimey, and that fat gets rancid. (Don't know if that's true, but it smelled that bad) . I read over 100 comments from people who said they had to switch to powdered detergent for their clothes. And they said it made all the difference. I went out the next day and bought a small box of tide for HE machines. It has changed my laundry!!! The clothes smell amazing and it works great against stains. So that's what I love right now. :)

Things I love

I decided to start a new "thing". I'm calling it "things I love Thursday's". I'm not talking about kids, hubby, friends, family, pets, etc....I'm talking about products I have bought-and appreciate. :) Today's product is super important and life changing. Nail polish. :) Nothing new to find nail polish in a pen, but the tips are either really thick or so thin you can barely make a line with it. This pen is the perfect tip for painting french tips on short fingernails. I paint my toenails with it because I am too cheap to pay someone to paint them, especially if I can do it myself. I found it at Walmart for around $5.00....I think I can paint lots of nails with this thing. :) So, there you have it...my first "things I love Thursday". I have so many products I love...this should be easy to keep up with. :)

My life is so exciting.....ha. :)

I haven't updated my blog in awhile....again. :P I have made a few things here and there, but all in all-I've been busy with pool stuff. I am so glad we have the pool, I just wasn't expecting the amount of time it has taken for us to put it all together. And when I say we....I should say, I've just been bringing drinks out to keep the guys cool. :) I can't wait to get it all done to post pictures...but for now--enjoy this picture of the before. :)

New post :)

So, Brooke encouraged me to update my blog and do something crafty. I actually have been needing to do this for a while. I just needed her to jumpstart my mind. So thanks Brookie. This craft is easy...but I needed it for my room.

Started out with a plain candle from Walmart. Next I taped off the bottom third of the candle, covered it in modge-podge.

After giving it a good coating of Modge-podge I sprinkled beach sand all over it.

This sand was from our Florida vacation last year. Melissa and I always bring home sand

and shells when we go to the beach. I have decorated a lot with shells already...but

still have more to use.

I did the modge-podge/sand layer twice then let it dry. Next I wrapped some plain brown twine around it and added a shell on the bow. So far so good...but now for the whole reason for making this......my IKEA lantern. I found it for around $8.00 and love it. I bought it without knowing what I was going to do with it. My sandy candle will be perfect there. I finished it off by adding shells around the base. So beachy.



My awesome hubby hung it in our room on a cool hook I found at Big Lots. I love it, I can look at it all the time and think about the beach. Sometimes that's a good thing...sometimes it makes me miss the beach, dolphins, shells & vacation. Either way, I'm happy with my little part of the ocean in my room.

It's time for Make-over Monday!!

For awhile now, we have needed coasters for our bedroom. I loved the tile coasters we stamped a few years ago at church, but they weren't very absorbant. We found ourselves putting magazines down to put or drinks on. Not crazy about that cluttery look either. So, while blog surfing I found a tutorial about making these.....

Plain terracotta coasters for plants (obviously the small ones). I liked this idea because the edge will keep any moisture from dripping onto my furniture. The first step in this process is to paint them, it makes them pretty and it keeps me from having to touch the bone chilling terracotta.


I painted mine with leftover paint from my bedroom, a light dusty blue.

I then used some of my favorite scrapbook paper....it looks like bubbles-reminds me of the beach. I cut a circle to fit in the center of the coaster, and used modge-podge to adhere it to the painted coaster. This was followed by about 5 layers of modge podge to make it waterproof.
When dry, I ran a bead of hot glue around the bottom to keep the coaster from scratching my nightstand. I know I could have used felt, but I didn't have any. ;)

The final product: love them !! Excuse the clutter on the nightstand. I should be cleaning, but I'm blogging. I know the 3 of you appreciate it. :)