Recycle or Upcycle?

so since I have lost so much weight I have been donating clothes like crazy to the local charities but I decided to keep this sweater for crafting. My painted pillows from this spring neede new seasonal clothes.Here are the handpainted spring pillow covers

cute right? But not very Christmas-y.. So, I stripped them down and pulled out my sewingmachine.

there they are, thrown in the floor, you can just see the sweater I am about to cut up in the left side of the picture.
And finished product...................

not bad for an old sweater!!
And here they are in my living room

I think they give the couch a cozy warm feel. And now on to another project

How many reindeer were there????

Alright I am going to admit something to y'all because I know no one is actually reading this but my husband and he already knows! I made the cutest little sign that listed all the reindeer names. At least I thought it did. Until 2 days later when the song came on my holiday Pandora station while I was making dinner. When I very tragically realized I forgot one. Can you tell who it is?

Post your answers in the comments to win a thousand dollar gift card to Target! Ok, that's not true, all you get is the satisfaction of knowing you were right. Congratulations!!!!

My continuing obsession with reindeer silhoutes for Christmas decorating!

hey y'all, I got this idea from Pinterest, just knew I had to make it as soon as I saw it! Took me all of 10 minutes to make too! Gotta love the quickie projects, especially those with big impact!

I know it is off center but I hung it where there was already a nail. Still looking for the perfect thing to hang next to it!

Decorating the Chandelier for Christmas? Overkill?

I always decorate the chandelier in the dining room for Christmas. Whenever I see pictures of dining rooms decorated for the holidays with their chandelier all festified( I just made up that word) I always feel like it adds to the room. So over the years we have been in this house I have done simple vines with red berries. I did live evergreens one year, silver reindeer ornaments another year. This year to go along with the Days of Christmas theme I did silver birds.
 Have you ever noticed how many birds were delivered to the songs true love? Seriously! I am sure she probably cooked them and ate them and was happy for the free food but dang that is a lot of fowl! Imagine if you sent your true love that today? You would be sitting in your cubicle tapping away on your computer when someone says you got a delivery and you look up and some guy dressed in UPS brown is carrying animal cages full of turtle doves and swans! Holy crap!! What would you do with them? It's not like now a days the average person knows how to butcher and de- feather their own food, hell, we pick it up at the drive thru on the way home. We can't even be bothered to get out of the car and walk in the store let alone debone it!!! Sorry, lost my train of thought there for a moment.
 Anyway, chandeliers! Here is this years version of a decorated Christmas festified chandelier

I promise to work on my photography skills in the new year!
 Do you decorate your chandelier for the holiday? If so, share a picture in the comments!!

Trending Now!! Peacock themed Christmas

The last couple years I have had a 12 Days of Christmas theme in the Dining room for Christmas. I even made these cute little ornaments

This year I wanted to change it up a bit and a loved the peacock feathers I used last year for the topper so I decided to go with those colors. Then I ventured out to Hobby Lobby and saw all their adorable peacock ornaments this year and my Home Decorators catalog came and it was FULL of peacock everything for Christmas! So of course I went to Pinterest and started trolling for inspiration. I saw an image of an amazing ribbon technique and knew that is where I had to start. So I was off to shop for just the right ribbon. Totally scored at Dollar General and got 40 ft for $5! I ran to Walmart hunting for peppermint sticks for the kitchen's hot chocolate bar( I will tell you about that soon) and happened upon these bright green peacocks, perfect color and there was a ton of them in a box for a couple dollars, gotta love it when an idea comes together inexpensively!

See the way the ribbon comes together? And those adorable little owls in the front were Halloween clearance at Michaels. I think it turned out pretty cute. It certainly has it's own personality. I wanted it to be very different from the kitchen tree with it's reds and Santas. I think I succeeded!

It's a bird? No Its a Giant Airplane Painting!

Pinterest, how I love the, let me count the ways??? Endless ideas and images to inspire, copy and admire! Here is the inspiration for this one! Thank God for those fabulous lady bloggers out there who take the time to create tutorials  and take all those step by step pictures of their projects! I on the other hand am doing well if I remember to snap a picture of my kids on their birthdays! And here is my latest project a'la Pinterest.

I am head over heals in love with it!
 It took me way longer then this illustrious crafter and creator to do it!    http://thecre8tiveoutlet.blogspot.com/2011/02/plane-project-tutorial.html


  I ran into some snags and ended up with a variation of her project but I am happy with it and I am a fan of imperfection so it suits me just fine. What do you think? Are you in love too!

And check out this little pillow I found to carry on the theme! How lucky is that? And wait till I tell you it was clearance for $5 at Garden Ridge. It's like the heavens opened and the decorating Gods smiled upon me!

 So do you think it's to cheesy for the wife of a pilot to have an airplane theme in her house?

Elf Unleashed

Hey y'all.
It is November and it is time to begin the Christmas decorating! Let the inner elf out!! No holds barred, every surface will be be Chrismasified!! Yeah, I made that word up just now, that just happened.

The process began with going thru all the boxes in the dark scary basement, of Christmas trees, towels, ribbons, santas, well, you get the idea. I like to go thru and separate into boxes designated for each room of the house. I make a list of what tree goes where this year and decide before hand on colors/ theme etc.. for each room. And then I start sorting! It takes me a few hours to go thru all the boxes and get everything assigned a perspective home. Then I go to the room I want to start with and clean it like crazy and remove as many accessories, art, pillows etc.. that I think I will replace with Christmas options. I box those up and down to the basement they go. And the 7 million trips up and down the stairs begins. I start bringing items up a few at a time and placing them in their new spots. These pillows on this couch, this santa on that shelf. One room at a time.

 I LOVE to start in the kitchen!! Especially this year with my new beautified kitchen!! This is my first year decorating with the new layout, floors, paint, and counters!! So I am super excited about it.And for the third year I have my full size white Christmas tree in the kitchen! I just love it with all the kitschy Santas and rudulphs and old ornaments from the 50's and 60's I have unearthed at a million garage sales and thrift stores over the years!

Don't you just love all those Santas??!! It makes me feel festive every morning when I plug in the lights!

Painted Wallpaper? I am in love!

Trolling Pinterest on evening after the kids were in bed I stumbled upon an image I was struck with. I just had to know how to get that look at my house, it was perfect for the front entry hall wall. (that rhymed!) And lucky girl that I am, there just happened to be a tutorial AND a printable pattern to get it! So I was off to the races! One night of painting, another night of tracing and a night plus a morning of finish painting (and an hour of erasing tracing lines with a giant pink school eraser) and I had it!!!! Just the look I had been searching for and didn't even know it!!! Here is my before and after

And here is the link to the fabulous idea and pattern!
 http://jonesdesigncompany.com/decorate/painted-wallpaper-a-tutorial/

Thanks for sharing it so I could beautify my hall! What do you think? Dramatic change for the good or not??? Hahahaha, either way you think, I just LOVE IT!!!!

New and Improved Kitchen Reveal!!!

Renovations can take so long, you begin to get used to the chaos, cooking in just the microwave, washing dishes in the bathroom sink, stepping over air compressors and tools. You may remember in January of 2012 I went a little crazy and took a circular saw and crowbar to the kitchen cabinets and counters. After a holiday season of parties and entertaining with a dysfunctional kitchen I had enough. So over the course of two weeks I redesigned the layout of the kitchen, moved electric and plumbing, painted my cabinets and added in a moveable island. Then I ran out of money. So I waited...and waited....and waited... until finally my husband said yes. And I started shopping, I picked the granite slab I wanted, I picked out the flooring I had been dreaming of and I picked out the cabinets for the new permanent island!!! And tools, tools, tools. Then I found a contractor who would work WITH me and teach me how to lay the new flooring. In 2 days we laid 1000 sq ft of floor. I LOVED IT!  What a huge change from that ugly linoleum.

 Shiny and new.
It was time to add in the new island. Once I placed the cabinets and secured them it was time to run the electric. Husband and I argued over whether or not to add a second outlet on the opposite end of the new island and thank God I let him win. I use the added in one more then the original one. And finally the crown jewel, the granite counters!!!

So long awaited they lived up to the anticipation with their shine and sparkle! They elevate everything in the kitchen to a higher status of style!! And so without further ado here is my newest  before and after picture.

After initial renovation with temporary island and formica counters

and again...all done! Except for putting everything away, lol

 And just for fun, here is the kitchen as it was the day we bought the house(shield your eyes) and as it was on the day the new counters were installed!

yes indeed, the previous owners painted the entire main floor pink with gold sponge paint finish!

So what do you think? Pretty serious change, isn't it???

New Name!!!!! Same Story!

Hi y'all, I decided to give my blog a little different spin and a fresh new name to go with it. But it's still the same old me with the same old lines. Just trying to find my voice and my focus for this blog to make it easier to maintain a consistent schedule of posts. So I hope ya like me now!!!