Silly Saturday

(Photo found on the Internet)

WOW! Now those are some crazy, high-maintenance mustaches!!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we pause to count our blessings and spend time with loved ones today, please take a moment to lift up a little a prayer for those around the world who are hungry, struggling and downcast.

Wishing you a VERY Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Hugs!

I'm BAAAAACK!!! A Little This; a Little That; and a Crafty Project Tutorial...

Hello, friends! I know, I know, it has been waaaay too long since I've written a post, and I've missed sharing crafty projects, recipes and tidbits of my Oklahoma life with you all. So sorry that I've been out of the blogging loop lately...I've just been SUPER BUSY with work and family, so I haven't had time to work on anything crafty or even cook anything spectacular. I haven't even had the time to read many of my favorite blogs...but I am now getting back into the swing of things!

As many of you know, my son Justin purchased his first home last month. Mike and I are so excited and proud of him! He is now officially moved in and really enjoying being a homeowner at last. I've had a blast helping him organize and decorate his new home. It's consumed a lot of my time and creative energy these past few weeks...and I have LOVED every minute of it!

Last Saturday was the opening morning of deer (rifle) season here in OK, so my hubby spent a cold afternoon sitting in a deer stand waiting for a buck. He was very fortunate to harvest a 180 lb., 9 point buck just before the sun went down! Here's a photo of my happy hunter and his buck:

While Mike was hunting on Saturday, I decided to carve out a little time to make something for my dear friend Megan F. She is a SUPER sweet gal, always doing nice things for those around her and willing to go the extra mile to lend a helping hand. Friends like her don't come along very often, and I am very blessed to have her in my life!

Megan is a very family oriented gal, so I decided to make a project for her using photocopies of some family pics that I lifted from her FB page. Here's what I came up with:

I started out with a wooden letter F that was painted black. I then printed black and white photos of Megan's family onto regular copy paper:

I then trimmed the photos to fit onto the letter F and applied the photos to the F using a generous amount of Mod Podge:

Once the Mod Podge dried, I then dry brushed a little Wicker White acrylic paint around the outer edges of the F:

Once the paint dried, I used some tacky glue to attach the F to a round, wooden frame with a burlap background that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. I then added some fun elements to the burlap background, such as a little bird's nest with 3 little blue speckled eggs which represent Megan's 3 kiddos. I also added a little paper heart, flower, button, key, lace, and leaves. I attached tiny typewriter key letters to spell their last name, "Fitzpatrick", and then topped it off with an organza ribbon and a black metal plate stand to display it. Here's another look at how it turned out:

Although I purchased this frame, which already had the burlap background, I really think that a wooden embroidery hoop could be painted to create a similar look. It would be pretty easy to attach burlap to the hoop, simply by spraying a piece of cardboard that has been cut to the right size with adhesive and then attaching burlap. The burlap circle could then be glued to the back of the hoop, and then decorated to your liking.

Thanks so much for dropping by today! I'll be working on some fun things while I'm on Thanksgiving break this week...so be sure to check back to see what I'm up to! :)

Wishing you a blessed day,

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

I know this is so "corny" but I just couldn't resist! Enjoy your weekend, friends! :)

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a fun and safe weekend!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a great weekend!

Old Atlas Tabletop Make-Over...



 

Well, friends, today is the BIG DAY...Justin closes on his house this afternoon! Mike and I are so excited and proud of him! I spent some time over the weekend making and freezing several casseroles to put in Justin's freezer so he won't have to worry about cooking for a while. :) 

 

Last weekend I had Mike haul down a couple of old end tables out of our attic so that I could give them a face-lift for Justin to use as bedside tables in his new home. Mike built these shaker-style, pine tables about 22 years ago:

Through the years, the tops had dried out and cracked. I had first thought of filling the cracks with wood filler and then painting them, but then I had a better, more creative idea...

I have some old books that I rescued from the dumpster...I knew that someday I could put them to good use for crafty projects. One of those books happened to be an atlas from 1943. The pages were kind of yellowed, but I KNEW they would be perfect for this project!

The hardest part of this project is deciding page placement for the table tops! Simply begin by tearing out the pages that you want to use and play around with arranging them on the table tops until you decide on the perfect placement. (You might want to take a photo of how you lay them out on the tables to refer back to...just sayin'...if you're anything like me, you'll get distracted if the phone rings or something on TV catches your eye, and you might lose track of how the pages are supposed to go on your table! LOL!)

Wipe down your tables with a slightly dampened cloth to remove any dust. Using a sponge brush, paint on a nice layer of Mod Podge and begin placing the pages on the tables. If any of your pages overlap like mine do, be sure to put Mod Podge on the bottom pages before overlapping them with the top pages:

Once you've gotten all the pages stuck down, brush a nice layer of Mod Podge on the tops and allow to thoroughly dry. Make sure that you get the edges coated really well, so they won't peel up. (Waiting for the tables to completely dry was the second hardest part for me, because I am an impatient sort of creature and I just wanted to see how they were gonna turn out!! If you are working in a room with a ceiling fan, turn it on for Pete's sake! It will make everything dry faster!! LOL!!)

 

When the Mod Podge completely dries, you can distress the tops even further if you wish. The options are endless...you could lightly sand and ink the edges; rub coffee grounds over the top and then wipe off; or....my friend Cristi O. told me that she recently read where a lady used soy sauce to age/distress stuff! I LOVE that idea, and although I didn't use it on this project, trust me, I will be trying that idea in the near future!

 

I had first thought that I would sand and ink the edges of the table, but after sleeping on it I decided that I kinda liked them just the way they were, so I didn't do anything else to them. A good idea is to spray the tops with a clear sealant to protect your work. (Valspar clear lacquer in a spray can, which can be purchased at Lowe's, is a good choice!)

 

Here's a close-up photo of one of the table tops, with a few accessories added of course!

 

Lastly, here's a full shot of one of the tables...yes, complete with accessories! ;)  (Remember the faux rawhide lampshade tutorial from a previous post?? If not, click HERE for instructions on how I made it.)

 

I really love how these tables turned out, and so does Justin! They are gonna look TERRIFIC in his room at his new house!

Thanks for dropping by today! Wishing you a SUPER blessed day!

Quote Sunday

(Image found on the Internet)

Silly Saturday

HA! HA! Thought this was pretty funny, so just had to share! Have a great weekend, and whatever you do, don't dance badly!! ;)