Welcome Post...

 Halloween Welcome...

 Thanksgiving Welcome...

 The post with sign...

Some people have asked about the post that my mom and dad built.  The main post is a 4x4 cedar post... a fence cap on top and a plate that the 4x4 sits in at the bottom... a 1.4 inch maple square base that should hold up to the cold Utah weather (made by Bob Morrow - the wood man as we like to call him). The wrought iron arm post was from Home Depot and it included the little black sign holders. My dad drilled a hole in the bottom of the base and the 4x4 ... countersink the lag screw to keep it from wobbling. A coat of outdoor paint and voila... a Porch sign holder.

The signs are 2 pieces of cedar glued together... sanded and painted.  Bob (The wood man who made them for us) also drilled a small hole in the top of each one so that we could screw an I hook into the top for the sign to hang from. I then used vinyl for the sayings and some older wood cut outs from The Wood Connection.  The Halloween side has glitter on the pumpkin ~ ghost and star along with cute faces made from vinyl using my Silhouette.  The Thanksgiving side is also an older cut out along with some wire and ribbon for the embellishments.

This year the pumpkins don't have the cute vinyl faces like last year See them here... September and part of October have been filled with lots of fun on the inside my house before painting... and finally seeing the beautiful completed project...  Yeah!  Finally on the 11th of October the house was Halloween/Fall ready (only a month later than normal... but there's always next year... right?)

 

Halloween Wood Letters..

My mom is doing great at getting her Halloween and fall projects completed (I'm struggling... still!).  She was kind enough to send me her pics (sorry... the picture is a little dark).  My mom is not a fan of the bright colors for Halloween... so she changed to the the more "pastel" colors (can you use pastel and Halloween in the same sentence?) The pumpkin does have a cute face cut out of vinyl (I love my Silhouette) as well as the inking around the edges and the cute ribbons for the final touch.  The stackers are the same as the one I posted previously... but I hated how I put the vinyl on the "apples" log... it slanted some.  I like how this one turned out much better... I like having 3 different fonts!

Come In For A Spell...

 My moms cute front porch...

 Fall flowers...

 Autumn wood letters...

I thought I would post some of my moms newest and cutest fall decor. The top picture is of my mom and dads front porch and their awesome welcome post the designed and made. Last Saturday afternoon my mom came down and we designed  the "Come In For A Spell" sign and on the back is the Thanksgiving side (I love two-fers). I will post pictures when she turns it around.... I love how she used the cute scarecrows and hay bales to complete her porch. Thanks mom for sharing your talents!

Dallas Cowboy Star ~ Ooops...

 The "plain" star...

 After priming...

 After spraying it with glitter spray...

The finished star... I have to admit... you really can have TOO much glitter.  I should have just left it with the silver glitter spray paint on the base of the star... instead I went over the top of the cardstock with glitter spray (it was a different kind of spray paint that has a lighter mist)... and this is what it looks like now! You can't tell... but I had white - grey and blue Bazzill cardstock... now it's a mess! I spent $1.99 per sheet on the star paper and it took several sheets because I wanted the stars to be exactly horizontal and look like Cowboy stars (if they are on their side or upside down they look funny).  My mom asked if I was going to blog the star... I started laughing and said... yes... we need to blog about our failures as much as our successes! So this is a post about what NOT to do. I will probably go back over it all again someday ... and see if I can make it look more like a Cowboy star... until then...

Yellow It Is...

The "new" lamp...

I almost forgot to take a picture before I primed it

 

Basket...

 Wood frame...

Lately I've been in the mood for some color... I really like the purple/yellow combo and so yellow was my choice to go with my new bed spread that I got for my birthday from my family. I have to admit it might not be the perfect color of yellow to go with the bed spread... but hey for $5.00 for 2 cans of yellow spray paint I'm not going to complain and to be honest... it really is growing on me!  The lamp I've had for years and well as the wicker basket and greenery.  The frame was one I had on hand... I'm still trying to find the perfect quote to put into it... but all in all I really like my new pops of color!

Commercial Break...

A big Thank You to Suzy at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom for her kind words and for spotlighting my blog today... I haven't posted much lately... but I promise good things are ahead!

My New Love...

Have you all heard about Pinterest?  I'm sure you have.... but if your haven't... Oh my... what can I say?  I'm hooked! If you have a few minutes (or several hours) you should check it out.  You can find anything from crafts to fashion... art to travel and food to nature. I even found some good ideas on apps for my iPhone.

Have you ever found a really cute project that you wanted to "duplicate"... but when you posted your version on your blog and wanted to give the person your "lifted" it from proper credit... you couldn't remember where you saw it?  With Pinterest... you don't have to worry about that ever again! I have a "Pin It" button located on my toolbar so all I have to do is click on the blog post (not on the home page of the blog... or it may take you a while to go back and find the one you are looking for) make my notes and select the "board" that I want it stored under... and... VIOLA!  Pinterest will give the blog that the item came from their proper credit on each and every pin... how cool is that!

You can "follow" people who have the same interests... so when they pin a cute card... it will pop up for you to see on your wall. If they have "boards" that you are not interested in... just un-follow that board... you can pick and choose... it's great and I'm so happy that I found it!


If you haven't checked it out... take a few minutes to check it out... and let me know what you think...

If you have checked it out... let me know so I can follow you! I think bloggers have the greatest ideas... and who doesn't want some great ideas these days?  If you'd like... you can follow me... just click on the Pinterest button on my side bar and it will take you right to me...

I'm off to watch the Cowboy game with my dad... I can't wait to start my new Dallas Cowboy projects this week... I'll be sharing soon...

 

Custom Dallas Cowboy Mailbox...

 Front and right side...

 Back...

 Front and left side... it sits so close to the neighbors mailbox

that I didn't put the street number on this side...

 Front...

 Side view...

 A "thank you" on the inside lid so every time

I get my mail... my mail carrier gets a thanks!

 My inspiration! Okay lets be honest... Tony is a cutie...
but my true inspiration came from his "throw-back" helmet!

I figured it was time for a new look from last years Cowboy mailbox makeover - see it here.  I used my Silhouette to cut out all of the vinyl and Josh put it on the post today so we are ready to go... I don't know about you... but I'm ready for some football!  Woohooo!

Altered Clipboard...

I'm sorry there are sooo many postings today... I've been so far behind and finally decided that it was time to make blogging a priority!  I've been super busy at work!  "Work is the place that we are supposed to be able to go to and work hard for 8 hours to make a living so that we can live life"... instead the last 7 months "I have been living at work and having no life" - I'm not going to lie... I'm BURNED out! I've worked over 190 "comp" hours (since I'm salary) that I will never get back... I still have 240 hours of vacation to take before the end of the year or I lose them... Thus far I have taken 7 hours off... 7 hours in 7 months and that time was part of my "comp" hours.  What am I thinking... what am I doing... Does anyone at the office appreciate my personal sacrifice for the company... I don't think so. I called my dad the other day when I left work at 3:00 and he said "Did you get fired"?  He's used to me calling him at 8:00 at night.  I had some injections in my knees a few months back... I didn't take sick leave... I went right back to work and worked straight through the day with ice bags on both my knees. I am so tired of coming home at night and being mentally exhausted... I'm too tired to go down the stairs to my studio for days at a time. Weekends... I just want to be a bum... I don't want to go anywhere or do anything!

I made a big decision this past week... I am no longer going to work more than an 8 hour day... and I am going to use my vacation... all 30 days before the end of the year. I'm going to make sure that I make it to my studio each and every night... if for nothing else but to "catch up" on my friends blogs.  I've got so many projects I want to get started on... I'm hoping by putting this in writing I will make sure to follow through on my decision... and not feel pressured to have to stay at work to complete the next project handed to me... if it can't work it in to my 8 hours... oh well, I guess someone else will have to do it instead...

With all that said... we have all new pricing which gets really confusing.  I made us all binders with all of the pricing in it... but it's so big and bulky and the customer feels like we really don't know what we are doing or talking about.  I remembered I had bought a clip board years ago and one night decided to hit the studio and make a board that I could put a "cheat sheet" on that would sit off to the side of my computer and away from the customers... so I can actually quote prices and sound like I know what I'm talking about. 

First I painted the edges and in about an inch all around with purple paint.  Then I traced the board onto the back of my scrapbook paper and cut it out.  I used Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the wood on both the front and the back and let dry. I ended up cutting a little too much off of the top in the front... so I used some sticky backed mesh over the top...  I can't decide if I like just the ribbon on it... or if I am going to go back and put silk flowers on instead... since I'm OCD... I'm betting I will be adding flowers later... lol.  But can I just say... it works like a charm.

 

Rooster Plate...

I thought the plates were a little plaint and needed a little something... since the majority of my "rooster stuff" is on top of my cabinets... I thought I would just add this little pop to the plate to keep the rooster theme continuing down below too...

Altered S&P Shakers...

 I bought a new set of dishes at Christmas so

these just don't match anymore...

 Red...

 

Since I have changed my kitchen into the "rooster theme" a few months back... I thought it might be fun to change my old salt and pepper shakers up a bit.  I didn't have any primer... so I just sprayed away.  I plugged the holes with toothpicks so the paint wouldn't get inside of the shakers. I added "bling" and I'm still surprised how long it has lasted... I thought for sure with as much use as they get they would fall off quickly.

 

Altered Glass Bowls...

What fun... I am so in love with spray paint these days.  Josh loves to make fun of me and I keep teasing him... you sit still long enough... I will spray paint you too! These are just the glass bowls from the $1 store... so simple but adds that splash of color... love it... love it... love it!