A Quick Project and a Little Wiser

Hi guys!

Do you remember those little frames I picked up for one buck each and used in the Christmas mantle here?   Well, they were too pretty to put away with the Christmas stuff, so check out their ultimate destination:

1.  Cut out a white backing using the previous paper pinned to the fabric as a template:

 2.  Cut the felt into squares of the same size to get letters that are also comparable in size

 3.  Cut out the letters.  (originally I thought I would separate the word, thus the dash, but the whole word fit on the wall, as you'll see below.)

4.  I opted to use felt glue instead of taking the tedious time to sew it together.  I had this on hand, so I used it, but for a project like this where the felt won't be washed, regular Elmer's glue would even suffice.  (Just don't use too much or it will soak through to the top.)

And this is my first gray hair.  Sort of exciting in a way.  I did not expect to see it, as I haven't heard anyone else in my age group talk about gray hairs quite yet (although some people have mentioned it AFTER the fact - I'm kind of going, "How do I not know this already when I've been telling everybody I know three times each?").  To answer your question:  I do feel wiser.  The nickname "Gandalf" has even been thrown around.  /hmm

(This was a hard picture to get.  I had to endure mocking from my family as I sat in the sitting room and took 15 pictures of the top of my head.  Worth it, though - because I look deep in it, huh?)

Our Decorations of Comfort and Joy

Well, it's raining here.  See?

Normally I wouldn't complain about rain.  It's just that I finally finished my Christmas "mantle" last night, and wanted to show you today, but my little point-and-shoot camera really relies on natural light to get a good photo, so I am going to wait another day to see if Mr. Sunshine joins us tomorrow.

(Santa, is there a DSLR in that bag for me?  /please )

I do have a few pictures of a couple other little things we did around the house.

I feel like we keep it simple, and then I don't.  Definitely simple compared to a lot of other things I see out there, but these little projects still take HOURS out of my time - I just don't know how those  amazing homemakers out there do it all.  Mad props to those mamas (and papas, too!)

Here's what we did.  Do you remember my Dollar Store Copycat Owls?  Well, they got a little chilly sitting there next to the window, so we dressed them up a bit.
 

Then I came over here into the kitchen chalkboard and made a Christmas mantle.  (Not to be confused with the aforementioned Christmas mantle, hopefully I'll post pictures of that tomorrow.  Rain, rain go away.)

And, of course the tree.  Although, I do prefer the white lights, Darth Hubby loves the multi-colored.  It's a small sacrifice to make when he gives me his support to "Amyfy" just about every inch of the rest of the house, don't you think?  And besides, the multicolored lights match nicely with my $3 yard sale afghan as a tree skirt.
 

 
Hopefully I'll get my other Christmas mantle up tomorrow.  For now, I'll show you a hint.  It involves these beauts.  I saw these for $1 at Dollar General and hoarded them up like I was stocking Martha Stewart's bomb shelter. /wahaha

Okay everybody, pray the rain away.  I want to get my pictures of the Christmas mantle up tomorrow [by which I really mean, three rather large leaks have sprung up in the girl's room, and my head is filling up with pictures of it all collapsing in - (so yes I am serious about asking you to help me pray the rain away)]

Thanks, as ever, for reading my silly ramblings and looking at my silly pictures!  I'm linking this post up at A Thoughtful Place .

Dollar Store Bowls

Okay, so my previous post was about treasure hunting in dollar stores and the different things you can treasure hunt for.  You may recall, I found these great bowls for a dollar each and told you I would write a separate post on what we did to make them "our own".

I love love love the combination of turquoise and red together.  This is on topic.  Those of you know who know me are thinking..'Oh my gosh, she forgot what she was talking about again...BOWLS, Amy, BOWLS' - but this all comes together in the end.

Here are some examples of this magical color combination I found on Pinterest.

    

(If you would like to know what sites these pictures lead back to, I just searched "turquoise and red" on Pinterest.)

As I was saying...turquoise and red.  Right?!?  RIGHT?!  You can see my point!  So when I saw the beautiful turquoise of these dollar store bowls, it seemed a great option would be to pair them with red.  I simply asked each of the family members to draw their own version of a heart on each one with a Porcelaine China Paint Pen.  I followed the instructions on the paint pen: create, and bake (this, by the way, is the ONLY time I consider myself to put creating and baking together - I am not so much the cook.)

Here is what we came up with:  

(I can guess what you are thinking, but my husband actually considers "Darth" at the beginning of his name a compliment...)

I'm super happy with how individual each family member's heart came out.  They kind of make me think of the individual bowls Goldilocks may have picked up at the Three Bear's table - Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Big Sister Bear, and Little Sister Bear.   Except each one, in my eyes, is "just right".

And lastly, here's how they look on our open shelving:

Treasure Hunting

Since I was a little girl, I have fancied myself a pirate perpetually on a treasure hunt.  Living in the downtown district of my hometown, there were always thrift stores, yard sales, and a Factory 2-U (Oh, yes...Factory 2-U) available within walking distance.

There really is something so fun about going somewhere with $5 in your pocket and wading through cassette tapes, finished Highlights magazines, and cheap wicker baskets to peel back the funky sheets and find that perfectly glazed piece of pottery with a $2 price tag (and just enough room to hold your paintbrushes).  THE TREASURE!  (Is anyone else imagining hoisting it high as light beams and music radiate from it?)

Thrift stores and bargain bins are some of the fun, but it's also great to go to a dollar store on a lazy day and see what they have to offer.  Here are just a FEW of what I think are some pretty great things I have found at Dollar Stores:

So, recently I found some bowls at the "Dollar Tree" that caught my eye.  We needed new bowls, and the color is my favorite.  Of course, the price was right, so I picked them up:

Okay, I had intended to tell you what became of these turquoise beauties, but this blog is already pretty long, and if you're anything like me...you're bored now...so, I think I'll show you the simple thing we did to dress them up in another blog (if you're kind enough to be interested and return)!

Til' next time, folks!