Versatile Blogger Award, Me?

Yes, me?  Diane over at The Checkered Apple nominated me for the:

Versatile Blogger Award!

I am so honored and grateful, Thanks Diane!

Can you believe it!  Here is what you must do should you choose to accept the award:

1. Thank the Blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other Bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other Bloggers know they have been nominated.

 

 

So, 7 random facts about me, hmmmmm.

 

1. I have been to Alaska 4 times.

2. I love to fish.

3. I am a 3rd generation Californian

4. I just recently joined DAR.

5. I love to garden.

6. I have over 6 hummingbird feeders hung and filled!

7. I love my daschund.

 

So here are my Versatile Blogger Award nominees:

 

Isty Bitsy Paper Blog

 

The Tarnished Crown

 

Bird on a Cake

 

Bles-Id

 

Made in a Day

 

Sew Incredibly Crazy

 

Fox Hollow Cottage

 

Lake Girl Paints

 

Under the Table and Dreaming

 

A Walk in the Countryside

 

Fit, Craft, Stylish and Happy

 

Serendipity Refined

 

Havoc to Heaven

 

Big Bears Wife

 

This and that from Tami

 

 

Congradulations Ladies!

 

Have fun visiting their awesome Blogs!

 

 

 Have a great day!

 

Laura

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trash to Treasure

Bewteen Doctors appts the other day I hit Marshalls.  I hadn't been there in a while and wanted to kill time.  Well I found this frame.

It was on clearance cause it had a few scratches on it.

Well I saw that as potential so I snatched it up for $5.
Using a few sharp tools I had around I scratched it some more!  Yes I said that, I scrapped, and gouged and scratched this new frame to old!  I love how it turned out!  I then discovered that the glass was etched around the frames, bummer.  I was going to use 3 pictures but one was landscape.  So I improvised and printed out an old pic to look like a postcard instead!

What do you think?

The pics on the right and left I took years ago at Yellowstone.  I have been meaning to either enlarge them or frame them.  I wrapped burlap around the matting and just taped the pics to the burlap.  Works for me!

Here it is on our feature wall in the family room.  I still need to find some special items to fill it in, but it is getting there.

Have a great week!

Laura

Doctors, Drs. Doctors

Sorry I have been missing for a few days, we have been visiting so many doctors. DS has had pain behind his knee off and on for a few months. Finally he couldn't take it any more. So last week we went to the orthopedic who couldn't tell him the cause and sent him to therapy. After working the weekend, he is a manager at a CVS, and being on his feet for 8 hrs a shift he was dying. So we went to primary care, had blood work done, went to chiropractor, to rule out pinched nerve in the back, and back to the ortho. Still no cause. He is scheduled for a MRI tomorrow. Hopefully they will find the cause. He had to apply for disability today cause work said until he was better the couldn't schedule him. After that I had my 2 drs appts today. I am so done with Drs, no offense. OK over my pity party, just tired. Toodles, Laure

Flag art

So I am still on the decorating with Red, White and Blue kick!  I usually put our stuff up around Memorial Day, and it stays pretty much until Labor Day! 
When I saw this awesome Flag over at Lake Girl Paints I had to make one for me!  Deb did an awesome job, but I wanted to put my touch on one.  So like last year's Flag, I went over to my neighbor to bum some wood.  I decided this would be a use what you have project.  I thought about getting new paint, but I have a basket of paint in the garage, so I would make do.  He gave me 2 pieces, so I set about making one with the narrow one first.

First off I gave it a coat of gel stain in walnut.

Then I taped off the top for my blue area.  Then I selected my palate of blues and a little white.

It took a while getting used to using cardstock to drag the paint, but I love the texture of all the different colors.  Here is my finished blue.

I then taped off for the red, then white.  Here are a few pics of that.

The star stencil gave me a little trouble, but I switched from the card stock to a foam brush and then it worked fine.

After the stars dried I splattered some black paint on for effect, then sanded the edges to show some of the wood.

I really loved how it turned out!  I just added a few eyelets at the top for some twine and then a few coats of poly and it is finished.  Here are a few pics of the flag hanging from the side gate and all my red, white and blue! 

Hope you have a great weekend.  Maybe you to are getting ready for the Red, White and Blue holiday!  Have fun!

Laura

 

 

A little secret

Do you have a list of things you want to do in your home, but think they aren't really necessary?  I do.  Even DH doesn't know my wishlist, well my true wish list.  We live in a 1980's tract house.  We are the original owners, so it has evolved as we have!  When we moved in there was just 2 of us.  Now it is us, albeit a bit older "), and 2 young adults!  Yikes!
But along the way we have put our stamp on the house, by adding moldings, paint and character!

But as to be expected, there are a few things I wish I could still do.  I told DH I wanted to finally fix up the master bedroom this year.  While we have painted in there and added moldings and a new floor, the furniture is 28 years old and heavy and broken!  The ceiling has never been painted!  I know, shock.  and since we have a peak in the roof in there I would like to add a faux beam!  Add that to the list. 

Twelve years ago Septemeber our master shower began leaking into the kitchen downstairs!  Always when I was taking a shower!  Go figure ")  Turns out the builder put the tile on drywall!  No green board or any water barrier!  Anyway, we had to get that fixed, but we tried to use materials that we would love along the way.  And while it is fine...I really would love to redo the floor in the shower.  Is that even possible?  I know they hot mopped the floor, and the tile on the walls is floated, so not sure if it would be a total pain and lots of bucks to do.  Back then I knew nothing about design and such, and they cut some of the tiles wonky and they just bug me now!  Not to mention that they totally messed up the curb, to where it was sucking water out of the shower and rotting the door frame!  While that has been fixed, I would really like a new floor, possibly the pebble floors?  and a new shower door.  I hate cleaning that thing and it never stays clean.  Oh and since we put the tile to the ceiling when we had it re tiled, we now need a fan, never had one in there.  No overhead lights in any of the rooms.  DH shaves in the shower so there is a lot of moisture, and even with the window opened wide...

Ok I am off my wish list for now, but I do have a whole pinterest page dedicated to it!  A few of the wish pics are below!

What is on your wish list?  Is it something you are able to do, or need to save a bit to get er done. 

Toodles,

Laura


Love it!  Wish I had brick walls.

This is Miss Mustard Seed's room.  Love the wall treatment.

A little side reading.

I am back!  Computer issues are a pain.  Finally  had a friend come over and take off Vista and install Windows 7.  What a huge difference!  Love it!  Anyway...

Back in 2008 I found this cool desk while DH was on a fishing trip!  That's what happens when I get left alone!  I posted about it here.  I loved how it turned out then and still do.

Just need to try and keep in cleaner!  ( never ending process ")  Anyway, the little side pull outs had these like mouse pad inserts that I ripped out and was always going to do some thing with.  Well fast forward 3 1/2 years later...  Here is a pic of them before I transformed them.

I was in the process if taking off the glue and part of the rubber backing of the inserts.  I had a grandiose plan of painted them hot pink and using a cool vinyl covered fabric I have, but then I remembered I had to live with it and hot pink maybe was a bit much.  So, I decided to sand and then stain the pullouts, here is a pic.  Sorry for the shadows I was outside.

I wanted to cover the insert with burlap, but it made it to thick and it wouldn't fit.  While I liked the stained effect, I had another idea.  I have been saving a few old dictionaries for this project I found on Pinterest. 
My kids love to play Words with Friends, so was going to make it to go in the hall so they can play each other, even if they don't see each other!  Haven't found the right frame for that yet.  Anyway I got the mod podge out and went to town.  I loved how they turned out.

The pages were already a bit yellowed, so no need for staining.  Now what to do with those darn inserts.  Finally I decided I would paint them!  Would't hurt to try, so I broke out the black gloss spray paint and gave them a few good even coats.

It covered up the grid pattern great.  So now on to gluing them in.  I just used tacky glue and a few heavy books.  Here is a pic before I glued them down.

And they are all finished!

I really love how they turned out and it adds a bit of whimsy to the desk.  They are a little rough on the top so I may give them a light sand, but I think once they are dry and can be closed hey will be fine.
I really hadn't planned this, but since I was dealing with the computer and had to take the tower out and clean the desk, sometimes things just happen!  And it cost me nothing!  I had it all on hand!  The best kind of redo!

Have a great week.

Laura