I found this adorable, albeit incomplete, little stool at a thrift store for $12 and thought it was the perfect piece to try my hand at a furniture makeover! Although it didn't have a top, I saw potential!
I sanded it down.....
Here's what it looked like after sanding, and before painting. I had already began painting the other side so you can see a little white paint. I didn't take pictures of the making of the top, SHAME! But the hubs measured a piece of plywood and I then covered it in some cheap cotton fabric to put the batting in. I then cut my fabric; (don't you LOVE the fabric!?!? I do!) and began stapling away with my staple gun. Tah-Dah, here she is!


I am absolutely in love...maybe because it was my first one! I hope you enjoyed!

Love and blessings,

CAUTION!! Object in picture is way cuter than it appears!


A few weeks ago I was totally inspired by a beautiful tulle wreath that Courtney made, over at Between U & Me. I rarely meet people who are as obsessed with tulle as I am. (did you SEE my wedding dress. Hello.) But when I do, its instant BFF! So I've been dreaming about doing one and I finally did!

After a mere, say four-ish hours of work??? But WELL worth it, I absolutely love it!

Here's what I did:

I began with a wreath i found at a thrift store for a dollar. Nice.
I bought five yards of black tulle and cut strips about 3 inches thick and cut to the length I though would look good.
One spool of orange ribbon.

I wrapped the entire wreath in tulle so I had a black base to begin.
I then cut my orange ribbons, spaced them evenly and tied them in a double knot spaced evenly around the wreath. (See pic below.)
I then took my strips of tulle and cut each end to create points. (hence the four hour timeline!)
I then began tying, and tying, and tying some more until it was as full as I wanted it! I used all but maybe half a yard of the original five yards!


My hubs plopped down in our 'dining' room with me and cleaned his guns....for those of you married to hunters, you know. Hunting season! He's so sweet, its great having a partner to share hobbies with, even if we have different hobbies.
Once it was done I used my Cricut and cut out several size spiders and hot glued them on. I also added a little bling with some table rhinestones I had left over from the wedding!

Tah dah!!!!!!!!!! The pictures absolutely do not do it justice. It appears blury, but its only the tulle and the shadows. Its so cute, I even took it to work Monday for 'Show and Tell.' Yes, I brought back show and tell, just so I could show it off. ;-)
Thanks, and I hope you like it! Its holiday season, so go make some wreaths!!!!!!
Love and blessings,

Dyna

Here is my kitchen and new shelving for all the awesome wedding gifts we got. (Thanks again to everyone, I am totally enjoying cooking now!) I still have so much I want to do, and this is prior to Halloween decorations but this is where we cook. (And when I say we, I mean me, and the hubs makes a mean scrambled egg, and Kraft Mac and Cheese...not together of course. ;)

kitchen design

Doesn't this just make your heart sing? The organization, the order, the color, the space!! LOVE IT!!

traditional kitchen design

I just love this table runner from by Stephanie Lynn. I think this might have to be my first sewing project.

Aren't these cute? I made a few labels for my sister's canisters while I was at her house last weekend.

Here is my updated Halloween display... its getting better! This is displayed in the ~24" extra space I have above my kitchen cabinets, perfect for more decor!

SUPER excited that I finished Chore Chart today! I had so much fun making it. I used an old framed cork board, painted it Heirloom White and antiqued it using brown acrylic and glaze. I cut 'scrappin' paper out and used spray adhesive to adhere it to the cork board. I printed the words on our printer, and covered in Mod Podge to get the shiny look! Then I used my Cricut to cut out all the shapes, and hot glued the words to the borders to create the chore tab. I then hot glued each chore tab to a flat tack and stuck it next to its corresponding day, which are stickers from my 'scrappin' stuff. Yay, so glad to have it done, now we get to start on chores. blecch! Want to create a chore chart of your own? Let me know if you make one, I'd love to see your take on the project!

Sister Sister Sunday

Starting sanding this super cute stool we found for CHEEEEAP!
Working on some Halloween decorations...definitely not done yet.

This is foam board that I traced the cat onto with Sharpie Paint Pen, then used Harvest Orange acrylic paint for the background! I have a moon to add, just haven't gotten to that yet!
Up top is the fence I made, along with the helpful cutting of the hubs (so subtly pictured here) a few cute things you cannot see because I need more color up there! Its still a work in progress...but this was a lot of progress for one day! Cheers!

Good morning! Still super excited about my sprouting baby spinach and thyme, still super lazy and haven't uploaded pictures! I stumbled across this fantastically magnificent furniture at greenfrogart.com. Wuh-Ouw. The sheer beauty and oppulence of these pieces and this room got me thinking, If I ever have a baby, I want the room to suit the style of the mommy for the first few months, at least! A calm, peaceful, serene environment to spend time in for late night feedings, and quiet time with the little one. Just a thought...I simply cannot say enough about this furniture. Love. Love. Love.

Today is day 2 of constant rain from the tropical storm. I have to say I'm totally enjoying it!
I trained clients this morning, but got done early and met the hubs at local thrift store for some bargain hunting on a few projects I've been wanting to try!
Fall Craft-O-Rama 2010 began Labor Day weekend at my sister's with two full, gloriously infuriating days of Scrappin'. We had the best time, comparing pages, laughing and having girl time.
Then, two more days spent with my sis-n-law, (that title is lame, she is way more of a BFF), shopping for plants and fall decor! I planted a ton of stuff, mostly herbs, and a few vegetables...(baby spinach and thyme seeds already sprouting!!)

After all that, of course, I got bored. So I stumbled on some crafty blogs. These girls ROCK! My creative juices starting pouring harder than its raining and I decided I wanted to try my hand at some furniture projects...painting, sanding, refinishing, not in that order...

Sooo thats why the hubs and I were thrifing today! And what, you ask, did we find?????
I'll tell ya. Nothing. but. awesomeness. Baby crib. check. super cute stool, check. other nick nacks I simply must show you to believe. Check! I feel like I've found a whole new world. My eyes have been opened, and that ten year old girl that first discovered poetry that I thought was no more, has been UNLEASHED!

I couldn't wait to get home and get to work on my projects, but with all this rain, there was no way I could start today. The next obvious thing was to call Steph, (sis-n-law/BFF...must find snazzy blogland title for her...Check out her blog at williamthomasdonnell.blogspot.com and see my cutie pie nephew!) and see what she was doing for lunch. "What's that? You wanna go to a thrift store? Ok, if I HAVE to!"
After we twisted each other's arms to go during her lunchbreak I picked her up and off we went. And what, you ask, did we find? MORE AWESOMENESS. I'm not sure if the Thrifting Fairies came out on my first two trips just to lure me in or what, but I can't believe my luck!

I am looking for old wood to make a small fence like this one I saw at dejavucrafts.blogspot.com:Isn't it fantastic? Well, we walk in and leaning against a wall is a two-picket fenced mirror. It was like the thrifting fairies had flown in ahead of me and put it right there in the store. I couldn't believe it.
I also scored two shelves that I'll be using on the patio after a few coats of paint ;-)

And then.....yep. there's more. We were headed back to her office when I heard Steph say something about "is that a thrift store?" Well, one stomp on the brake and a hard right turn later we stumbled into thrift store heaven. I got three planters, a finial, (CRAZY about finials) and some wall decor.
She had the cutest stuff ever, and it was in, get this, the back of a nail/hair salon. Yes, ma'am. We couldn't believe it either. Will definitely be returning. Now THAT's how you decorate on a budget!

So today, Wednesday, has been an awesome day, and the past week even better. Just getting to spend so much quality time with my sister, and sis-n-law, over super fun projects and thrifting was such a joy. I figure if anyone ever asks me how to make friends I'd probably say, A. ask me, I love making new friends!
B. start crafting, start a hobby and find others that are interested as well. Its an instant conversation, and and easy way to spend time together while doing something you enjoy. God is good!

I got the Green thumb!

Sooo, we've decided to stay right where we are for one more year, which is fine with me. Moving ranks right up there with doing a resume. So, I have made it my mission to not hold back, and treat it exactly as I would a house that we owned. We are fortunate, this apartment is rather large, two bedrooms, and my favorite thing, a nice-sized, secluded patio.

My latest project has been to get my sweet potato vine something to climb on. My hubby came up with a nice little contraption that is working nicely, isn't it so cute! I put it through the screen to start training it about two weeks ago and taaaddaaaa....it just took off!


This is my lantana and some lovely grass in a pot... I always like the simplicity of that.
This is a fern that Lonn's grandma gave me. She told me how this fern is from cuttings of a fern that was given to her in 1974 by her sister-n-law! She's continued duplicating it, and now I have one!
Of course I couldn't wait to do the same, so here are the beginnings of my first baby from Grandma's fern!
(Oops, got distracted blogging. Pretty sure I just burnt the quiche in the oven. Blogging is definitely a cooking hazard... :-0)

Ohhhh what a bad, bad blogger I've been! It has been way too long, and I barely know where to start... However, I did just get married so I'm hoping for a reprieve on that excellent excuse. Mostly, I have just been busy nesting. Big. Time. I've been cooking, and cleaning and organizing and even started um, a 'garden' on my patio...(pictures to come.) More cooking, taking care of the household finances, still training my clients, and also starting to work a bit on marketing for the hubby's business. Oh. And now I'm a 'Scrapper' too. (Must see New In Town to fully understand.) That's short for one that works on scrapbooks.

There. I have somewhat assuaged my guilt for neglecting my blog. Although, I haven't gotten any complains that I haven't updated..., so apparently noone reads this but me! Ha, that's ok. Its rather therapeutic. So, with no idea where to start with the update, I'll begin with the following triumphant day.

My sister Dana is famous for her Sicilian Chicken Spaghetti, and I managed to make it one afternoon, and it was gooooooood. Its probably the biggest accomplishment since performing the heimlich on my goldfish last month.(joking, but it was a big deal to me!)
Here it is!

I waited impatiently and nervous in the bridal suite for it to begin...


My nephews put on a great show for the audience...


The music began and my dad walked me down the aisle...
I finally looked at him, afraid I'd start crying...I did. How could you not when you see that smile, and know you'll be seeing that sweet smile for the rest of your life?
Which of course makes me smile...

The cake was beautiful...
The kiss was sweet!
And the dance I'll never forget. We danced to Stand By Me, the words fit us perfectly.
Everyone was all smiles! What an unforgettable night.