Sprucin' up the ol' desktop

And I don't mean my computer.

Years ago my mom was getting rid of her old wrought iron desk that she had her sewing machine on for years and years. It was broken and unattractive. So I asked for it. My husband fixed it. (My love for junk started many years ago, apparently.) So I took the matching chair from my sister my sister gave me the matching chair and it's been in my bedroom ever since.

I had covered the masonite faux wood looking board with fabric and painted it this lovely green a couple years ago. Well-the fabric was dirty and dusty and I thought it was time for a change.

I ripped the old fabric off and duct taped the new fabric on and voilá a new "desktop". It adds lovely color to my brown, woody bedroom, don't you think?

***Fabric is from a nice shower curtain I cut into from-you guessed it-Goodwill!***

Thrifted art

I've always wanted a fruit picture and now I have one. I painted the wood tone frame red and I really like it.

Thanks Goodwill! You're the best.

My clothesline

I love, love, love to see clothes hanging on the line. It just makes me feel good, for some reason.

Well, at my house we don't have a clothesline, but we do have a very large dog-who sheds very large amounts of black hair.

So, I guess I haven't fussed too much over the years about getting a clothesline, because the dryer helps take the dog hair out of our clothes and blankets.

And we need all the help we can get in that department. Believe me.☺

(This is what Duke thinks of this blog.)

Holly's Apple Pie

Not my apple pie, silly, Holly Hobbie's apple pie.

My friend Dawnie picked up vintage, well loved (meaning worn) Holly Hobbie curtains for me-well-because my name is Holly. She thought I could figure out something to do with them.

And I did.☺

My cookbook as a wedding gift

The end of last year I got the idea to make my own little cookbook of really easy recipes that I seem to make quite a bit. So I got busy making my little recipes and as I did, I photographed each dish. I then went to artscow.com and got to work making this little photo/recipe book. Artscow is very reasonably priced and good quality. (They are located Japan.) Anyhow, I ordered a bunch for my family and friends and they all seemed pretty tickled.

I'm invited to a wedding in August, so I got to thinking that I could personalize a cookbook (I love personalized things). Since it is saved on the artscow website I only had to add a little text to the cover (first names and wedding date) and there you go-a personlized wedding gift.

I also made a change to one of the recipes because I forgot to say what kind of crust goes with the Wayside Inn Pie. (Graham cracker, by the way.) I guess that's why there is such a thing as an editor. Thanks, Rhonda!

♥♥♥I'm also giving them money-you know-so they can go buy something they really want.

Hahahahaha. Just kidding-I know they will appreciate it. But I am really giving money too.♥♥♥

☺☺☺And another thing-I know a few of you have thought about writing children's books-you know who you are. Why not make one for your own kids? Who knows-perhaps you will become a famous author someday. And if not-well-your kids will treasure their book forever!☺☺☺

Little treasures

I found some neat little treasures at Goodwill this week.

I really loved those glasses-I thought they would make a very pretty vase, as well as lovely for drinking. They were 49 cents a piece.

I was excited to find the petite red Pyrex bowl. It was either 49 or 99 cents. Love it!

The little brown and aqua crock with lid caught my eye because of it's color.

I thought the instant coffee pot would make a lovely pencil holder.

The tin and the white dish caught my eye-me likey.

The price was right too. Everything besides the glasses and the Pyrex bowl were from the 15 cent shelf.

(Yes-Goodwill raised their prices-the ten cent shelf has become the 15 cent shelf. Oh the horror!)

Little outdoor storage shelf

I made a little area under our deck and against our cement basement wall for a wire shelf that I bought at Goodwill years ago. I'm keeping pots not in use and odds and ends on it-to keep some things out of our already cluttered and dirty basement. I think it's kinda cute.

See that old door behind it? I dug it out of the bed of my husband's truck, one day when I looked out the window and saw it there. He was going to take it to the burn pile. The nerve!

I love garbage salvage!

Life's a beach

Cell phone self portrait by my daughter.

(Looks like there's a miniature boy hanging over the side of her bee-hind, don't you think?)

Before and after

I bought this sewing table from Goodwill on Sunday afternoon for five dollars. Some nice fellows helped me get it into my vehicle. I wrestled it out of my vehicle by myself, when I got home. (Not easy.)

So when I should have been doing other things-like cleaning up my mess of a house or working on Bible School stuff-I got to work on my little table.

First, I removed the hardware. Then, I scuffed it up with some sandpaper to give it some tooth. Next, I cleaned 'er up with some soap and water. I let it dry and then got out the gray primer spray paint. (Didn't use Kilz II this time.) Then I got to work painting with a beige water-based paint. Three coats one right after the other. (I'm sure you are supposed to wait between coats, but I didn't.) Waited a couple hours and had my husband help me bring it in the basement. I then got out the brown craft paint and applied a light coat with a damp cloth and then gently wiped it off, for that rustic look. Next morning-I took the sandpaper to the edges and added the hardware back on.

When hubby got home from work, I had him help me get it upstairs and voilá-
A new sewing table for less than ten bucks. (There is no sewing machine actually in it. That space can be my secret hiding place for stuff.

I even re-lined the drawers with this pretty wrapping paper my mom gave me.

I think it turned out pretty cute. I love it!

Happy Father's Day

Hope and Daddy
Hope and Daddy again.
Poppy B. and Hope
Poppy C. and Hope (going to feed the baby piggies)

Davey and his beautiful offspring.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in my life. You know who you are!

Love ♥ you all!

Watering can love ♥

Some people have a shoe fetish.

Not me! Apparently, I have a watering can fetish.

I like old ones, new ones, plastic ones, tin ones. I like to use them for decoration, or to use them for planting-well, plants-in.

I have to say, my favorite right now is my plastic pink elephant watering can. (He's so darn cute-with his trunk for a spout and being pink and all.) I believe I bought him at Ollies.

Watering cans-I love 'em.

Revamp that ol' Home Interior

I don't know about you, but I have bought a lot of Home Interior over the years. Much of it has made its way to Goodwill. But there are a few pieces I have kept and stored, because I still liked them but I didn't really have a good place for them in my house anymore. But when I saw this I thought it was really pretty. I didn't really feel like painting my dresser, so I dug this shelfy thing with little drawers (it's Home Interior) out of the basement and painted it this pretty blue. I think it adds nice color to my very brown and woody bedroom.

Here are some tips:

1. Use Kilz II primer before paint. It's easy to work with and your paint will stick a lot better with primer on first. I think I just used acrylic craft paint on the shelf above.

2. Also, get out the old sandpaper after the paint dries and start sanding away around the edges and near the knobs/handles where wear would naturally occur. For some reason I think everything looks better after a little sanding.

3. And I like to add a little age to my painted pieces by wetting a rag a little and adding a dab of brown paint to the rag. Rub on then gently rub off.

Don't have any brown paint on hand? Dip a couple teabags in hot water and rub them on and then gently rub off-same as the paint.

4. Also, I'm not really into gold hardware, so I dabbed on some white paint or primer on the screws for the knobs. So don't be afraid to paint hardware if you don't like the color.

Here are two pieces of old Home Interior I dug of my closet and the basement. I may try painting these and see if they fit somewhere in my little home.

***Note: I broke the glass out of my mirror on my dresser. I never replaced it and I'm glad, because now I have more wall space to hang stuff. Don't worry, it's been more than 7 years. More like 15. ☺☺☺☺☺

More storage for a small bath

I know you've been on the edge of your seat-waiting to see the top of my toilet.☺

This wooden toolbox I bought at The Drying Shed is probably supposed to be decorative-but I use it to store make-up, razors, shampoo samples, hair clips and other junque. It's nice and deep so it holds a lot.

And beside it is a recycled pickle jar used to hold some lovely soaps. (I painted the lid.)

And I made a little scarf for the toilet top too. (It matches the curtain and shower curtain and it's just squares of fabric sewn wrong sides together for that raggy look. No finishing work involved.) It stays cleaner looking than your bare porcelain. Just take it off and shake it now and again and there you go!

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

If you like broccoli and you like cauliflower-you will love this. Even if you don't like broccoli and cauliflower-you may after you try this salad.

Here's a little story.

My little family and other relatives of my husband's would gather every Sunday afternoon at my husband's grandmother's house. (We'll call her Goosey. Well-we actually did call her Goosey. She would be over one hundred years old, if she were still living today.) To tell you how faithfully we went-we took our five day old baby there, the Sunday after she was born.

Anyhow, I took this salad there one time and Goosey had some and she looked at my husband and pointed to me and said-she's a good cook. I will never forget that. It made me so happy that I started to jump up and down and pointed at my husband saying-ha ha, your grandma said I was a good cook, ha ha!

So, on to the recipe-

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

Combine:

1 medium onion-diced

1 head broccoli-chopped

1 small/medium head cauliflower-chopped

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled

Dressing:

Combine:

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup Miracle Whip or mayo

2 tablespoon vinegar

Mix 'er up before serving.

Enjoy!

***Jessie-please note the color coordination between food and recipe. Aren't you proud?***

♣♣♣♣♣♣♣

Window sill

This is the window sill in our upstairs bathroom. It's a pretty darn small bathroom too. Not much room for more than a sink, shower/tub, toilet. That's why I love my deep window sills and that's why I don't waste the space it provides. It actually does double duty. I sit pretties on it and they store some of our toiletries. Cotton balls, soap, toilet tissue/paper, Q-tips, and bath salts live in these purty containers.

And since my curtain tended to interfere with my pretties I moved the tension rod to the back of the frame. ***Please note I made the curtain to match the shower curtain. Fancy-I know.

I think it looks good like that. Do you???

***Stay tuned for tomorrow. I may show my other storage spots-you know-like the top of my toilet. Exciting stuff, I know!!!☺

Tulip doily

I received a very lovely surprise in my mailbox yesterday from my friend, Rhonda!

I think I have already proclaimed my love for doilies before-but I will do it again-I ♥ doilies.

She sent me a hand crocheted vintage tulip doily. I love the tulips and all the different colors. It's bea-u-ti-ful.

Thank you, Rhonda, for the nice surprise. I really appreciate it!

I'd better get to work...

on this. ↑

So I can cut some of these ↑ -later this summer.

Ahhhh-zinnias-I love 'em.

Another VBS Project

Camp canteen.

It uses an unopened water bottle, 40 inches of grosgrain ribbon, red duct tape, and foam adhesive backed letters. You are suppose to use glue and masking tape, but we're just using duct tape. I think it will hold better.

Have you been to the duct tape department lately? In Walmart, they have tons of different colors to choose from. I may have to pick up a different color every time I'm there. (Which isn't very often, thank goodness. I hate that store.) Some people have been known to repair their bumpers with duct tape. Jodie?????

Duck brand duct tape comes in:

Aqua Duck® Tape - NEW COLOR!
Atomic Yellow Neon Duck® Tape
Beige Duck® Tape
Black Duck® Tape
Blaze Orange Neon Duck® Tape
Blue Duck® Tape
Brown Duck® Tape
Chrome Duck® Tape
Clear Duck® Tape
Electric Blue Duck Tape
Green Duck® Tape
Island Lime Duck® Tape
Pink Flamingo Neon Duck® Tape
Purple Duck® Tape
Realtree® Hardwoods HD Duck® Tape
Red Duck® Tape
White Duck® Tape
Yellow Duck® Tape

A girl after my own heart ♥

This is my only, my favorite, my beautiful niece Jess. She drags the quilt I made her, her pillow, her umbrella out into the yard and lounges.

Ahhhh-a girl after my own heart. Honest to Pete, we have a lot in common.

I ♥ her. Dirty feet and all.

***photo by her mother, my sister, the great photographer-Jodie***

Can you see His name?

Read between the lines.

***One of our Vacation Bible School craft projects***

This craft calls for wood and glue and sticks.

We're going with foamboard, double sided tape, and straws.

Hope this works!

Another rock

Didn't think so.

Little gifties

Fireworks, big J mug, la la love you print, handbag mirrors, and coaster-all little gifties I will giving to some 'pecial people!

***Fireworks from Aldi, big J mug from Ross, la la love you print from SparklePower's etsy shop (the frame was one I had-I painted it), handbag mirrors and coaster from Artscow.com (la la love that website)***

Sheep

Because my daughter is away right now, my husband made me walk sheep with him tonight.

Well-these are not the actual sheep-but these are the sheep I had photos of. These sheepers are from two years ago, I think.

Below is a photo of my beautiful daughter and her lovely sheep from last year. They won Reserve Champion-County Bred Market Lamb, if I remember correctly, at the county fair.

She's a 4-Her!

Flower pot wreath

In my attempt to make the cement walls outside our basement (our main entrance) less ugly, a couple of years ago, I had my hubby put screws in it so I could hang things. I love to hang things. (Things-not people, people.)

So I bought this wreath at Trader Horn, I think. Added mini terra cotta flowers pots-which I secured with wire I stripped from wired ribbon (because I didn't have any other wire).

Over the years I've lost a pot or two a year and I just replace them. This year I took them all off and gave the gray grapevine a little squirt of white spray paint. Then stripped new wire from some ribbon I had and tied the pots back on.

It's really weathered and rustic (that's what I call beat up and old). But I like weathered and rustic. ☺

Garden Markers

Sad little flowers. ▲
Poor little mater plant. ▲

Hey-I think this would be a fun, quick, cheap, and relatively non-messy activity for young-uns.

Since I didn't think my 17 year old would be interested-I went ahead a made these myself.

1. Go grab a rock from your yard, driveway, the woods, your landscaping-I think you can find rocks just about anywhere.
2. Get out your sharpies. Don't have any? I think the dollar stores have generics relatively cheap.
3. Have your kids start drawin'. Or you can, if your kids don't want to.
4. Take your rock out to your garden or wherever you want to.
5. Congratulate yourself-you have made a garden marker!

Saw these here.

I don't know how these weather, but I shall soon find out.

Rocks rock!

Little Cheesecakes

Did you know you can make cheesecake with only 4 ingredients? Well, you can! Cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla are staples in my house. So-when I'm jonesing for some cheesecake, it doesn't take long to whip some up.

Little Cheesecakes

Cream together:

2 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line cupcake pan with cupcake papers.

Place vanilla wafers, if desired, in bottom of cupcake papers.

Fill cupcake papers 3/4 full.

Bake 15 -20 minutes.

Top with pie filling, if desired.

Refrigerate. Then, enjoy!

Makes about 1 dozen.

Most of the time I make these without the vanilla wafers and pie filling and they are still delicious.

***Warning-unless you eat just 1-these are not scale and waistband friendly. Trust me-I know this from experience.***

May all your weeds...

be wildflowers!

***Like the look of blue or green tinted canning jars, but don't have any? Add a drop of green or blue food coloring to water and voilá-tinted canning jar.***

☼☼☼☼☼

Rocks in my garden

These lovely rocks were gifts and I love them all. My husband's aunt gave us the welcome one. My lovely sister got me the Holly's Haven one for Christmas one year. And I my in-laws gave me the flag one.

Good thing about decorative rocks-they are very durable. Of course they weather very well-they're rocks. Some of my other outdoor decor is ready for the trash after a year or two. Bad thing-the bigger ones are hard to move. My flag rock is too heavy for me to move!

I ♥ rocks!

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

La la love you

I guess this print was inspired by a song of the same title by the Pixies. I have never heard of this song (until I looked it up on the wonderful/horrible thing called the internet) or this group.

I ordered this lovely print from SparklePower's Etsy shop. She was having a 25% off sale. I had seen these prints on another blog and I liked them. I got one for me and one for my niece too, because it just looks like her. I really like SparklePower's blog too.

♥La la love you!♥

If the shoe fits...

Plant it!

I love my cast iron shoe that I purchased at an antique shop (it's not an antique). I plant hens and chicks in it every year and every year they don't do so good. Either they get too much water and rot, or too little and dry up. I gathered up a couple nice hens that had survived the winter and stuck them in there-maybe the hens will produce some chicks. I hope they do good this year. The stuff in the toe is a succulent too, and it's pretty hardy.

My flower garden looks terrible so far. I am dragging my feet to get it fixed up for some reason. Hopefully I will get my act together soon!

Lovely red watering can courtesy of ♥Dawnie♥

Blue tinted daisies

Last night

This morning.

Did you ever tint your daisies or Queen Anne's lace by adding food coloring to their water? I did this every year when I was a kid. My mom must have showed me how to do this.

When my daughter was little we did this too, and I think she was pretty impressed-and she was alway pretty hard to impress.

So here's what you do:

Take a pair of scissors outside with you.

Find a patch of weeds daisies or Queen Anne's lace.

Cut a nice, little bunch.

Bring in the house, find a clear glass, or vase, or little milk bottle.

Fill with water and then add a nice squirt of food coloring.

Add your weeds wildflowers.

Leave and come back a few hours later to witness the magic!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I'm in the Twilight zone.

I've been bitten (bahahaha!) by the Twilight bug. All because my daughter forced me to buy Twilight for her for school. (She never read it-she watched the movie-so I figured I would read it to get my money's worth out of it.) But then I had to buy the rest in the series. FYI-these books always seem to be out at the libraries-I asked. That's why I went ahead and bought.

Anyhow-the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn, arrived today. Can't wait to start reading it tonight.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥