our halls have been thoroughly decked ...

One of my favorite hashtags  I use all of the time is #dontjudgeJesusdoesntlikeit {for the over 60 crowd ... don't judge Jesus doesn't like it}. That should really give you an insight into my soul that that happens to be my most used hashtag. ANYWAY, I am going to preface today's post with this ...


#dontjudgeJesusdoesntlikeit


I have fully decorated my house for Christmas .... an entire week before Thanksgiving.

Don't send me hate mail ... don't egg my house ... & for heaven's sake, don't put me on the naughty list!

Neither Mister or I work on Fridays & this past Friday was declared the day to deck our halls. And y'all, they have been thoroughly decked!

Mister is in charge of outside décor. I leave it all up to him, because Clark Griswold does NOT need me all up in his grill trying to dictate where spotlights need to be placed. Do you think Mrs. Beethoven tried to tell Wolfie how to play the piano???  When someone is in their spiritual gifting, you let them be. And Mister is spiritually gifted in exterior illumination.

So, while cords were being extended & lights were being strung outside ... I popped in my Les Miserable dvd {nothing says "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" like the French Revolution & prostitution} & I had all sorts of fun on the inside ...

2 trees ...

1 mantle ...

a nativity ...

& an asundry of zushing later we were all decorated!

Now, rumor has it there is nothing that will make you want to break out in a moving rendition of "Mary Did You Know" than plugging in your Christmas lights & having them all work ... However, I wouldn't know, because IT. HAS. NEVER. HAPPENED! I swear, it's like the Grinch himself sneaks into my attic mid-June & tampers with my strands of lights! Never fails! Bless!

After tugging & twisting & a trip to Michael's to just buy new lights to put over the dead lights ... all is well ... peace on Earth, goodwill toward men!

perusing the streets of Pinterest ...

{source}

 

I've been perusing the streets of Pinterest & have been making a list of projects I want to get done over the next few months. I figure if I share them with you I'll be more likely to get them done!

Here a few I've got in mind ...

{a pair & a spare}

Would love to make this with chicken wire instead of net. Perfect in Priss's room ...& super cute for her to hang her little momentos.

 

 

{makely home}

This book page wreath ... I can't even tell you how much I love this! I collect old books & haven't had the heart to rip the pages out of one to make this... yet!

 

 

{source}



I don't know why, but I love these paper feathers. Think these would be great in a Fall wreath or in a glass vase on the mantel.

 

 

 

{source}

I've got tons of scrap fabric I could use to zhush up a plain pillow ... I'm thinking with words like Y'all or bless ... perfect for my little pink couch!

 

That ought to keep me busy for a little while ...

How about y'all??? Found any cute projects lately???

 







stumped ...

I'm going to share with you the cheapest project I have ever done ...

... a stump table!

If you are familiar with The Nester {& if you are not, you should be}, you'll know that she & the stump table go together like ... peanut butter & jelly ... Victor & Nicky ... Peter & Jesus. She took something most of us would haul off to the dump & turned it into something quirky & beautiful!

Take a look ....

{source}

painted & natural together for side tables

{source}

paired with another table

for a catch-all area

{source}

this one is my fave!

painted top with the paint

dripping over the sides!

I had to get in on this stump table goodness ... & lucky for me, I have a father-in-law that loves firing up his chainsaw!!!!

There are a ton of tutorials out there on how to convert your lump of wood into something pretty ... some are really good & some are really awful, so be careful if you decide to do this. Read a few before you start your project. THIS is the best tutorial I found.

Now, I will caution you, this is not an overnight project & it is also not for the faint of heart. Once you have your stump, you need to let it sit in the garage for awhile so all of the nice creatures that live in your new end table can find a new place to live. I let mine sit for about 2 months, or so, & I still had to evict a rather plump, nasty looking worm. Bless him.

After all the of stump sitting, I used a large flat head screwdriver & a hammer to strip off the bark.

Next, I sanded the sides, top, & bottom to smooth things out.

(I carved a little heart with S+E in it)

Then ... I painted the top of mine & let the paint drip over the sides (like the photo above) & sealed it with poly.

(I love that this looks like cake frosting!)

After the poly dried, I attached felt & rubber pads on the bottom to protect my hardwoods. & finally, the most important step in the entire process ... before you bring it inside, pray that no creepy crawlies still live in it! Amen?!?

Stump tables aren't for everybody, but they are definitely for me!!!! Love how perfectly imperfect they are!



did the best i could ....

Ever had to make lemonade out of lemons? Make the most of it? Do the best with what you've got? I found myself in this predicament yesterday ...

I've been eyeing the $ bin at my Michael's for several weeks. They've been carrying cute wood blocks with bright wooden letters on one side. How cute would it be to have these spelling out "HAPPY" or "YALL" or "SMILE" ... well, it would be precious if they carried all 26 letters of the alphabet, for the love of the Lord!!!! Not that I am bitter, or anything .... well, maybe I am a little.

Apparently the letters Y & E are not important to the English language once you enter through the doors of my Michael's, because for 3 weeks nary a one has been found in that $ bin. I know this because I have emptied out those bins & spread out all of the cute wood blocks on the floor for 3 weeks straight.. No Y ... No E ...

Now, do you remember in elementary school when the teacher would write a list of letters on the board & you had to make as many words as you could with all of the letters? That's what I had been reduced to ... right there in the $ aisle of Michael's. Trying to think of cute words I could spell without a Y or E.

Then! It hit me! Make lemonade out of lemons ... make the most out of it ... do the best with what I've got!

No E? No problem!

I found an extra M & turned it sideways ...

& just like that a special E was born! & I love it more than I would had I been able to conjure up an E block from the $ bin. Because when I look at it ... I do smile. AND it's a great reminder to make the best out of what you've got!

playing hoops!

No, sorry men, this isn't about playing basketball. It's about embroidery hoops ... but don't you love how I reeled you right in!?!?  If you really need to read a story about me playing basketball CLICK HERE!

 Embroidery hoop art is everywhere and it is super easy & inexpensive to make. Waiting for your glue gun to warm up is the most tedious part of this little project.


Ready for a quick, easy, really cute little craft?

all you need:
embroidery hoop (any size!)
scrap fabric
hot glue gun
something cute to glue to the fabric (pom pom, tassel, buttons, etc)
about 15 seconds of your precious time!

Cut your scrap fabric just a tad bit wider than the diameter of your hoop.
Fit the 2 hoops together & tighten.
Use your hot glue gun to glue down the edges of your fabric inside of the hoop.
Glue whatever you want on the front.
DONE!

I have a few of these hanging around the house ....

in the foyer ...

on the staircase gallery wall ...

a huge one in the laundry room ...

hanging on my bulletin board in the sitting room ...

simple & cute! my favorite kind of projects!

the cake stand in the office!

Let me just be honest about something ... I have never cooked any sort of  baked good that required it's own fancy glass stand for it to be displayed. However, a fancy glass stand for cute office supply storage is right up my alley!

 

The Mister & I received this cake stand as a wedding gift ... 15 years ago ... & it has never seen any sort of confectionery goodness. As a matter of fact, it's been sitting all alone in the kitchen cabinets above the stove {the wasteland of kitchen cabinetry} ...until I was in need of a good way to corral my office supplies without taking up too much table space!

 

That cake stand was the perfect solution! Because it has a small base, it takes up minimal table space. AND there's still plenty of room up top for all of my goodies that I like to have close by! Tah-dah! I love finding an alternative use for something just lying around.

 

& also, I may be in need of a Sharpie intervention!

Great Target Deals!!!!

Today is my BIRTHDAY!!!!  The 20th anniversary of my 18th birthday, to be exact!

So, as my gift to you, I wanted to let you in on a couple

of reeeaaaalllllyy great deals that Target has right now!

 



 

GREAT DEAL #1 ...

A lot of their Threshold furniture is marked way down right now. I bought this bookcase this week & got a huge deal. The original price was $71.99, but this week it is $50.

{target}

You can get an even bigger discount on Target Cartwheel (the app I told you about HERE) ...  an additional 15% off. AND you can text "DECORATE2" to 827438 to get a $10 gift card when you spend $50 or more on furniture! So, with all of that & the extra 5% off using my Target Red Card the $71.99 bookcase was mine for $30!!! I am sorry to tell you I had another $10 coupon that I forgot to use. BUT I took Frozen's advice & let it go.

GREAT DEAL #2 ...
The Bestie called yesterday to let me know about this deal on the perfect tank top! Mossimo long & lean tank ...

 

This week they are marked down from $9 to $5 ... the Target site has a coupon for $3 off 2 articles of women's clothing (you can print it HERE) .... Target cartwheel has 10% off Mossimo tanks.... so, with the markdown, coupon, Cartwheel discount, & 5% off with Target Red Card the tanks end up being LESS THAN $3 a pop!!! If you go to Target & all of the tanks are gone, you'll know I beat you there!

So, get to a Target, people! It's the perfect way to celebrate my birthday!!!!

spring is coming ... isn't it

  

Since yesterday we were all home for another day of inclement weather (I have no words), I decided to get the house ready for Spring.  You know how the old saying goes ... nothing says Spring is coming like a sheet of ice covering your driveway!!!!

I got the mantle all ready for warmer weather ...

 The pineapple print is one of my favorite prints from Servant's Heart. It reads, "a rich welcome" which is what I plan on giving Spring, should it ever decide to show up.

  

 

Mama's best friend gave me this cute little rocker & I love it!

Looks just like Spring to me!

If you've been reading for a while, you'll remember Bruce the Buck.

I even got him ready for warmer weather, too!

 

I replaced his snowflake ribbon & pom pom scarf with some nice pastel ribbon ...

{real bucks wear pastels}

 I'm not sure if Spring is actually going to show up on March 20th like it is supposed to .. but if it does, Buck & I will be ready!



don't be afraid to trust your instincts ...

{source}

I don't know anything about decorating rules .... not a thing! I just try something & if I like it, then it stays .... if I don't like it, then I try something else. I know it can be completely paralyzing to look at a room & not know where to start. Well, JUST START! What's the worst that could happen!?! You won't like the couch on the other side of the room .... well, then move it back!

When I get asked to help with decorating projects, about 90% of the time the person already knows what they want ... they just want someone to tell them it will look ok when it's all said & done. Trust your instincts & don't be afraid to go with your gut when you want to change up your décor.

I'm sure if an interior designer came through my front door, they'd see a long list of decorating rule violations ... but I like where things have landed in my home. Our house is well lived in & fits us like a glove.

One of the most liberating decorating choices I made was to get rid of our formal dining room. We are not formal dining room people ... at all!  It was wasted space. It looked pretty, but it had only been used 2 or 3 times in 6 years.  It was a dining room because that was what it was supposed to be ... not what we needed it to be. A couple of  years ago ... we took the leaves out of the dining room table, changed out the hanging chandelier, moved in my little pink couch, a bookcase, & a set of lockers.

 

 

Now we use the fool out of that space.

Guess what .... I haven't missed that dining room one bit!

Don't be afraid to try what you've been dying to do ... move that chair, paint a wall, buy new throw pillows. JUST TRY SOMETHING! Live with it for awhile ... like it? leave it! hate it? change it again! It's not life or death ... It's just decorating!

snow day makeover ....

I told you guys I had a plan to preserve my sanity during our Snow-tastrophe in the South. I'd been planning on repainting my nightstand & so, that's what I did …. in-between adding on layers of clothing, eating cheese grits, & watching my children get pulled around on an old car hood behind a 4-wheeler (welcome to the South).

Some of you asked for a step-by-step of my little project, so here ya go ...
{NOTE: I am not a professional anything, so just take that for what it's worth}

Here's the little lady's before shot … OK, but not great.

I started out by removing the old pulls, sanding the entire piece & then wiping it down with a damp cloth.

Then, used a small roller to apply Valspar's Sonora Rose.

I prefer using a roller rather than a brush because it leaves a smoother finish … just my preference. I didn't want any of the woodgrain to show, so it took four coats to get the coverage I wanted.

I let the final coat dry overnight & then I applied a couple of coats of clear polyurethane to protect the paint finish & also give it a glossy finish.

After the clear coat, I let it cure overnight.

& then the fun part!!!!! The after ….

 

 

sources:
paint:  Lowe's Valspar - sonora rose
pulls: Hobby Lobby
lamp: Hobby Lobby
bedding: TJ Maxx

linked up with Remodelaholic!
 

snow day priorities ...

While the rest of the world was at the grocery store buying milk & bread for the snowstorm, I was at Lowe's purchasing paint supplies so I wouldn't go out of my mind while we are snowed in .... priorities, people! Mama needs a project or this party is gonna break down fast!

I'm planning a little nightstand makeover & this picture from Pinterest is my project inspiration ....

{source}



I don't plan on doing the stripes or the leaf detail around the pulls .... but you never know how a project will end up.

Real Simple Magazine often has coupons for free 8 oz. samples ... I used mine to get Valspar's Sonora Rose ...

& I bought new drawer pulls {ridiculously cheap} from Hobby Lobby. They usually have their pulls 1/2 off & they have a great selection ... very Anthropology-ish!

So ... while the rest of the South is covered in a blanket of snow I'll be in the garage sanding & painting away!!! What are you doing to keep yourself busy?