In Memory of Those Lives Lost on 12/14/12

I was featured on Stop, Look, & Link!

 

 

 

 

So excited ~ it's my first feature on a link party!!!  

Hop on over to All Things Homie: Stop, Look, & Link ~ check out the projects that are linked up and/or link up your own!  There are some amazing things that are shared each week.

Reveal!

Election over ~ not even going into how I feel about the outcome.  I'm just going to go on with the makeover reveal.  If you remember this is what I was working on ~

Something that I have wanted to use and upcycle for a long time, but just couldn't figure out how.  That is until I discovered that it was the perfect size for something that I needed to organize.  So out came the spray paint and ta da! 

A whole new piece of furniture!  I really cannot believe how a can of spray paint changed this.  It has went from something that I couldn't stand to look at into something that looks like it costs a nice chunk of change.  And it fits in this spot perfectly!

So what am I using it for ~ to organize these that the kids are always using.

Their DVD collection.  I've tried keeping it in the entertainment center, in baskets ~ just about anything.  However, it always ends up all over the house, empty cases, DVDs in the wrong cases, etc., etc.  We are a big movie family and it seems like someone is always watching a DVD.  They needed to be easily accessible, but I wanted them to look decent as well.  This shelf has saved the day!

Next week I'm going to try and get back on the Makeover Monday and Finish Friday schedule again.  Already working on Mondays project ~ just hoping it will be done by Friday :)



Linking Up With ~

The Shabby Creek Cottage

The Thrifty Home

All Things Homie

Makeover mania!

So many makeovers to share......so little time to blog!  I've got a few spare moments right now and wanted to share the latest project.  This is a shelf that was left in one of the homes we have purchased.

I never knew exactly what to do with it ~ it was quite ugly, but sturdy and had lots of decorating space.  It's been in many spots since, but it's never looked right anywhere.

With downsizing into this home, I considered selling it because I just wasn't happy with way it looked.  However, I discovered that it is perfect for a specific item that needs a home.  The color, or lack of, needed lots of work.  So, out came the spray paint again and it's a whole new piece!

I'm hoping that it will be ready to share tomorrow ~ so you will have to come back to see!

Basement update

Is anyone else wondering where this fall is going??  I can't believe that October is half over.  Maybe it's because we spent the first week of October in DISNEY WORLD!  It was a great trip ~ our 4th with our kids.  We went to celebrate DD 10th birthday (we went last December to celebrate DS 12th).  It probably was our most relaxed trip there, no overscheduling this time.  Everyone got to do what they wanted, we met some rare characters, and enjoyed Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party (even though it rained).  The kids even had their make-up homework done before we left.

Now it's back to the real world.  Before any vacation we take, I always have the main living areas of our home clean, fresh sheets on the beds, all laundry done, etc.  It's so nice to come home to a clean home.  The basement, however, is a different story.  Try as I have, our basements have never been 100% completely organized ~ clean, yes, but cluttered.  This new home is no different.  It probably hasn't helped that we had to move right after I had surgery and couldn't lift/do stairs for 12 weeks +.  Then summer hit and we were at the pool every day possible.  Check out my first post about the basement here.

I've been picking at it off and on, trying to purge and re-organize.  But I knew that I was going to have to dedicate some serious time to getting thru everything.  I've been selling quite a bit of stuff on facebook and my piles are slowly dwindling down.  This is what it looked like at the beginning of this week ~

See ~ I told you there was a treadmill in this room!

Since the main level is still spic-and-span and it's been rainy the last couple of days, I figured there's no time like the present to tear into it again.  Yesterday, I didn't get much accomplished ~ I blame it on pinterest (anyone else hooked on that?).  But today, I had the energy and started in again. 

Four hours later, I have emerged unharmed and in one piece.  Things are looking better, still not great, but better.

 

More boxes emptied!

Now I have to work thru a new pile upstairs though.  I knew if I didn't haul unwanted things upstairs, they wouldn't find their way into new homes.

So guess what I'm doing the rest of the day and tomorrow.  I'm hoping that lots more will sell on facebook and to take a trip to Goodwill :)

Be watching for my next makeover ~ I've got a few to share!

Makeover Reveal!

Just wanted to pop in and share the results of my "makeover of a makeover".  It turned out so much better than I imagined and I am thanking my lucky stars that this shelf didn't sell on facebook!

If you remember, this is what it looked like before the first makeover ~

So very lovely, I know ~ it's hard to believe that I changed it :)  However, it didn't scream Americana and really didn't fit in with my prim decor at the time.  This is what it looked like after the first makeover ~

Now that we have moved into a smaller home with a different feel to it, I've had to tweak my decor.  My colors lean more towards black and colonial red now ~ so this shelf really had no home.  I listed it for sale and even at $5.00 no one was interested.  The poor thing looked like it was headed back to Goodwill when I had a brilliant idea.  Another paint job and a little work with the hammer and ~ TA DA! ~ a whole new shelf, again ~

Add a few treasures from our trip to Disney World 2 weeks ago, and it's all set for Halloween~

 

Got to love a can of spray paint, don't you!





Linking up with ~

It's A Hodgepodge Life

Vintage Wanna Bee

Six Sisters' Stuff

Coastal Charm

The Thrifty Home

A "New" Makeover!

I'm Back!!

Let's get right to the makeover ~ Remember this gorgeous shelf I rescued from Goodwill  ~

I upcycled it to look like this back when we were living in our acreage ~

As much as I loved how this makeover turned out, it just isn't fitting in the new home decor as much as I would like.  So I've tried to sell it on facebook, but even at $5.00 no one has bit.  It has been sitting in the Goodwill donation pile in the basement for awhile, but it's been rescued once again to have a new life. 

The paint is drying, and I'm patiently waiting.....Can't wait to share the "new" makeover with you!

Look Out!! Makeovers Coming Your Way!!

So ~ it's been a long 6.5 months since my surgery and my energy is finally making it's come back.  With it, my need to get the spray paint out again has returned!  Today I dug a can or two out of the basement (which I haven't touched yet) and started in on a couple makeovers.  Nothing too big, but has it felt good to be outside re-vamping again. 

Because we've moved into a home that's half the size of our acreage, I haven't purchased anything new.  In fact, I've been purging as fast as I can!  So for these new makeovers, they will be items that I already have ~ just tweeking them to fit in this home's decor more.

Now that the kiddos are back in school and I have the energy, I'm going to really tear into the basement.  My goal is to have it completely purged and organized by Christmas.  So be watching for updates on that as well!

At some point in time, I would like to share photos of our new home too.  I'm still not entirely happy with how I have things arranged, but hoping that with the makeovers in progress I can get things in their right homes.

So many things I'm hoping to get posted......now if the motivation will just stick around :)

A Little Disney Trivia!

A little more Disney fun! 
With the heat wave we've been experiencing (100+ for the last week or so), I've been spending a lot of time on Disney boards researching for our next trip!  The kids have been at the pool almost everyday and are so tan.  I must admit that I've been spending time there as well and am quite pleased with my glow :)
Once again I thought I would share something that is found in the Magic Kingdom with you today.

Today's interesting fact is ~


Did you know that there is a statue of Goofy that says "Well, howdy!" every 30 seconds in the Magic Kingdom?  He's located on a bench in front of Tony's Town Square Restaurant. 


We certainly didn't, but he's on our list of "finds" for next trip.  Apparently Goofy has been "on vacation" from this spot for the last few years, but has recently returned to greet guests again.

Scensty Warmer Make-Over

So ~ I've been told that it's been way too long since I've posted anything.  This summer has been crazy busy and I just haven't had the time or inspiration to post.  However, due to some prodding (thanks Hayley), I will share my Scentsy warmer make-over.

This was the first warmer I purchased back when we were living on our acreage.  The color of the star matched perfectly with our master bath.

Not so much with the color in our new home.  I thought it was destined to a tote in the basement or to be sold.  Then I remembered a blog post that I read last year about spray painting a warmer.  I decided to give it a try ~ what was the worst that could happen, right?  Ruin a $35.00 warmer, that's what!  But, I didn't want it to sit unused. 

So I went in search of some high temp spray paint ~ which I found at Menards.

Took it outside and ended up giving it 3 coats.  I was worried that it wouldn't stick because the warmer is smooth and shiny, but it didn't have a problem.

After it completely cooled, I plugged it in and let it warm.  Couldn't believe it ~ no bubbling, cracking, flaking ~ nothing! 

So, now I have an all new, one-of-a-kind, Scentsy warmer!  I'm sure that painting it voids the warranty, but I could care less about that.  It fits in anywhere in the house now!

I'm really loving the black.  It turned out so well that I tried painting a wall plug-in Scensty warmer that I will post about later.

Update ~ the basement has sat untouched since my post about it.  The kids started summer vacation and my free time went out the window.  I'm planning on tearing into as soon as school starts with the goal of having it completely de-cluttered by Halloween :)

A Little Disney Trivia!

I thought that I would start posting a little Disney trivia every week. The kiddos have been spending a lot of time lately researching interesting facts about Disney World. I think they are in withdrawal ~ we went to the World twice last year ~ once in May and once in December. The next trip probably won't be until 2013 sometime, so they are trying to get their fix somehow :)



Did you know that Lady and the Tramp have put their paw prints in the sidewalk in front of Tony's Town Square Restaurant? 

I'm embarassed to admit that during our 3 family trips, we've never even walked in front of Tony's , let alone looked for the paw prints.  However,  they have been added to our "find" list for the next trip!

It's another MAKEOVER!

Apparently the bug has bitten me lately ~ I have paint all over my hands to prove it!  So last week (or maybe it's been 2 already), I gave this mirror an updated look ~

Nice enough, but kinda boring and didn't fit in with my color scheme anymore.

Much better!

At the time, I had it displayed like this ~

This was okay, but I wasn't really happy with it. 

I knew that I wouldn't be leaving here for long.  It just didn't pop.  However, I decided that it would be fine there until I could figure out what wall to hang it on.  DH was a trooper and held that mirror up to every wall in the house (some twice), but it just didn't look right anywhere.  I was about to give up and accept the fact that this would be it's home until I was organizing the basement.  Two little treasures appeared that gave me a brilliant idea.

What were those treasures you ask?  Well, here they are ~

Two plain barn stars! 

The idea came to mind and I was just hoping that I could make it work.  The first thing that needed to be done was a coat of black paint.

On their way!

The excitement was building.  They still needed a little something.  How about these? ~

DH and my first initials

Black on black wasn't going to work, so out came the colonial red spray paint. Add a little glue and some time.  

Custom monogram barn stars!

The arrangement needed something to finish it off.  How about something significant from our lives?

The year we were married ~ almost 15 years ago!

Put it all together and this is what you get ~

Perfect!!

I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!  Personalized and one of a kind!  It was worth digging into the basement for this!

Beware of the Basement!

Our basement has been hit by a tornado!  Okay ~ maybe not.  Maybe it was just a bunch of guys in charge of unloading a moving truck and having no idea how to organize according to labels.  I'm beyond thankful to our wonderful friends that helped us move while I was recovering from surgery.  However, guys just don't get how to move.  These are photos of what our basement looked like today at 6pm.  Almost all of the boxes have been unpacked, but everything is scattered all over.

The treadmill is hiding somewhere in this photo ~ not really sure where though :)  There was no rhyme or reason to where they put anything.  Holiday totes are with toy totes, school supply totes are with gift wrapping totes.  UGH!  I like things in their places at all times, so this has been driving nuts since I've been able to go down the stairs again.  Plus, trying to get the upstairs decorated and pulled together has been challenging to say the least.

I wasn't planning on tackling it today ~ the pool opened and I had planned to spend the day soaking in some much needed sun.  However, DH went for a motorcycle trip with a friend and DD went camping with a friend.  That left DS and me alone (which never happens).  So, we decided to have some bonding time ~ we went out for lunch, hit a new bookstore, and then (oh how I love this kid) we spent 2 hours leisurely strolling thru an antiques mall.  I didn't have any luck, but he found a Jurassic Park movie book that he didn't have.  I did pick up 2 new Disney books at the bookstore though ~ one with Disney World trivia and one about the hidden Mickeys.  DS found the original The Lost World in hardcover.

We got back home late this afternoon and talked about heading over to the pool, but decided it wasn't quite warm enough.  So I browsed thru a few of my favorite blogs and started a quick makeover while he dove into the new books. 

Since it was so quiet, I headed to the basement.  No time like the present, I figured.  It's 5 hours later and I'm just emerging.  I've emptied the last few boxes and have separated everything into categories.  There's a good size pile for Goodwill and a pile that I'm going to try and sell.  I can already tell that I pushed my body's limit too far and will pay for it tomorrow :(  I just got on such a roll, I didn't want to quit!  But, as I turned off the lights, I felt much better and the basement looks much more open.

No after photos yet ~ still want to organize more.  Maybe tomorrow I'll share a photo of the Goodwill pile at least ~ that's if I can make it down and back up the stairs :)

Summer is officially here!

I'm sitting here stalking  surfing thru some of my favorite blogs, listening to the sounds of 3 sleeping in the living room.  We have a tradition that on the last day of school the kids get to stay up as late as they can watching movies.  Well, here it is 10 pm and they are both zonked (as is DH)!  I think this is the earliest they have ever caved.  I, on the other hand, am wide awake and so thought that I would do a quick post.

This summer is going to be our busiest yet.  Softball practices and games, swim team practices and meets, dance camps, hitting the pool (probably every day now that we live across the street), sleepovers, day trips, county fairs and the state fair ~ it's going to be full!  I'm hoping to do a few makeovers, if I can find the time ~ not a lot, as we don't have the room for much, but I can't seem to get them out of my system :)

I'm hoping to do at least 1 post a week ~ before and after shots of our home, some Disney tips.  Maybe even include cleaning out the basement.  We had move so fast that DH and some friends had to do all the packing.  They also did all the moving and unloading without any direction from me as to where anything went ~ I was pretty much confined to the recliner and unable to move.  Needless to say, the basement looks like a war zone.  I have been able to get down there and unpack most of the boxes.  All the junk treasures have been put on the shelving that's down there.  I've been trying to sort thru things ~ Goodwill should send me a huge thank you this year ;)  Some stuff has been sold.  But there is still so much down there that I just need to get thru.  My goal is to spend a minimum of 1 hour per day down there ~ we'll see how that goes once things get into full summer schedule next week.

Keep checking for new posts ~ you'll never know what you're going to find in them!

Finish Friday! And a little Disney savings idea!

It's Friday!  Both kids are on their way to field trips today and there's only 3.5 days before summer vacation starts.  They can't wait for the pool to open ~ we moved to a home that is directly across from the pool :)  For the last week, it's been driving them nuts to watch it being filled and all the prep work that's been taking place.  I was a bit disgusted when it was first filled ~ the water was totally brown!  Now it's finally looking crystal clear and very inviting (especially since the temps have been in the 80s).

The makeover is completed ~ it felt so good to get that spray paint out again!  I'm more than pleased with how it looks.

Remember what it looked like before ~

It was a nice navy blue mirror ~ quite plain and boring.  Plus it didn't fit in with the new home's decor.  So I used some creativity and turned it into this ~

Add some colonial red spray paint and a black metal G ~ it's a whole new piece!  It adds such a nice pop of color and goes so well with everything.  I almost (although I can't believe I'm admitting it) donated it to Goodwill when we were moving because I didn't think I could use it. 

Here's how I have it displayed for the time ~

It's sitting on top of the entertainment center in the family room along with our Disney savings jars.  One for me, one for DH, one for DS, one for DD, one for gas, and one for food.  That's an idea I snagged from pinterest :)  The kids are allowed to put whatever money they want into the jars (money from birthdays, Christmas, etc.).  They can then use the money for their souvenirs ~ we usually buy their special one (or in other words, the expensive one).

We give them opportunities to earn Disney dollars through different things ~ chores, trying new foods (for our picky eater), when we "catch" them doing nice things for each other/us, etc.  DH and I "earn" our money from each other too.  We have decided not to buy cards or gifts for each other, but instead put that money in one of the other 4 jars.  Any spare changes goes in as well.

We just started doing this after we settled in to our new home, so there's not a lot of money in them yet.  Although DD did empty my change jar into hers and DS :)  So they have a little start.  But, since we probably won't be heading back to the World for a year, there's plenty of time to fill 'em up!