All I want for Christmas is a new beach house...

I was looking through old pics and stumbled upon these great ones from our last trip to the beach house before it was destroyed by the hurricane. What a wonderful place to hang out and spend time with our family. The pic of the boys was the typical picture we started taking each year on the steps. I can't believe how little they each look (Boo Hoo). The other is a pic of our family on the ferry going to dinner. Dionne I know you're asking for the same thing for Christmas right???

Turquoise + glaze= great gifts!

Just finished gifts for the ladies at my husband's office. I absolutely LOVE the turquoise color with the black glaze over it. I used cabinet doors again and added chalkboard paint to the center. I bought some hooks and had my husband add those for me. I made an extra too- not sure if I'll sell it or not. I'm sure I can find a place for it here :)

Christmas in our home cont.

Here are a couple of more pics...

Christmas at our house

This morning it was really cold- feeling more like Christmas time. Evan has been moving the counter on our Christmas train & updating us daily on the days left until Christmas. I remember when Mason did that too. We're all getting excited- I love spending time with our families. When I reflect on Christmases past, those are always the best memories- spending time with family, our boys in their pajamas, and well the excitement I felt as a child. One year when I was about 5 and my brother was 6 months old, Santa came down our snow filled street in a sleigh pulled by horses. That was so wonderful!!!!

Hope you enjoy the pics of our home at Christmas. The ceramic Santa was painted by my mom and is about 32 years old. The fork & spoon hung in my grandparent's house for as long as I could remember (they brought them back from a trip to Hawaii over 40 years ago). When they went to their new home in Heaven, I kept them. They bring back good memories of eating in their dining room. My grandma cooked me breakfast every morning when she watched Mason. My favorite was her pancakes and the little pan of syrup that she heated-yumm! It's the little things that really matter most.

And of course, I had to add both boys Christmas trees they have in their rooms. Every year, they get to buy a new ornament & we write their name & year on it. This has become a fun tradition. It's interesting to see what they choose each year- Mason always chooses a dog :) I love the pic of the living room with Lance reading Junie B. Jones to Evan- love that man!

Merry Christmas from my home to yours!

Science Fair Winner!!!

Whew, after MUCH hard work my oldest son won first place at his science fair. I was so very proud of him. He worked for many weeks to correctly complete each step of the process and then even typed his whole log book (which was about 12 pages) by himself! Way to go MASE!!! You make momma very proud!

Have you thanked a Veteran today?

I found this cabinet door and decided to turn it into a chalkboard sign for my son's teacher. I painted the center with chalkboard paint, then painted on the red, and finally added a black glaze. I also added sawtooth picture hangers to the back. I hope she loves it! She's a wonderful teacher & role model for my oldest son. She planned the Veterans' Day assembly & it was a wonderful way to honor those that have protected our FREEDOM! Remember, Freedom isn't free! Thank you for all you do Mrs. Tinsley!!!

Armoire make-over

Somehow this got deleted from my blog, so here is the thrift store armoire that I found this summer. It was a real find- heavy, made by drexel with retro lattice doors. I found some really pretty cream colored fabric with turquoise, green, and pink flowers to put behind the doors. I was very pleased with the finished product- what a transformation... another piece just waiting to sparkle!

Our Family Soldier arrives Home at Last!!!!

Well, I think the smiles on their faces say it all... Welcome home cousin!!!! We are truly delighted to see your face & know that you are safe at last. Praise God for answering many prayers.

Foggy Fall Morning

This is what I see many mornings on my way to work. Although sometimes hard to see while driving in this fog, I love the way it hovers on the ground & then the sunshine peaks through it. What a beautiful fall morning!

Grandpa's nightstand gets a makeover

This was a piece of furniture brought to me to redo. It is pretty old & I knew it would look great painted. The customer said it was her grandpa's & we know previously loved furniture is priceless. Here is the before & after. She plans to get new hardware so use your imagination.

Customer Request Completed

First of all, I have to say thank you to a previous customer for passing along my information to her friend. I really appreciate the referrals! This is a cabinet that has been painted several colors & crackled previously also. The request was to paint it red, then turquoise- distress it & then finish it with a black glaze. I am pleased with the dramatic difference. What do you think????

Girls Rule

Great memory from August 2003 at my baby shower for Evan. Thank you God for my mom & grandma- they have made me who I am today. They have taught me to be who I am & that I can do anything.

Lots of Curves...

I finally finished this beautiful, curvy dresser. She's quite graceful & a real "head turner." As I said beore, I fell in love with her when I spotted her about a month ago desperately needing some attention. I selfishly want to put this piece in my bedroom, but should probably sell it. I've really been out of sorts not getting to focus my attention on furniture redos since school is keeping me so busy. I can't wait for fall break next week. I have a couple of pieces waiting to be redone for someone & a couple of things I purchased waiting to sparkle as well!

Fall is my favorite. The beautiful leaves, pumpkins, cooler weather, & knee boots (adore the fall fashion) are always a welcome sight after our Oklahoma 100 degree weather. Oh ya, did I mention we had an earthquake this week? Tornadoes & now earthquakes??? What is one to do :)

Remember, October is breast cancer awareness month- do your self-exams & get your mammogram ladies!!!! I have to say thank you to my wonderful grandma for fighting this evil beast for 9 years. I miss you Granny. You taught me about courage, compassion & most of all unconditional love. I miss you everyday!!!!!

A Work In Progress

I've started working on the buffet. The transformation is already pretty amazing. I decided to paint the inside turquoise- just because I think it adds some uniqueness & because turquoise is a happy color. So it will be a bit of sunshine everytime you open it.

Elated about my finds today!!!!

Football season has started- my Sooners are ahead of the Florida State Seminoles, it's no longer 105 degrees & I found some amazing things today! What more could a girl ask for??? I have several people asking for specific pieces of furniture, so I've been on the lookout. It's hard to find any time to furniture shop between teaching & my boys' soccer practices though. Well today, this beautiful, curvy dresser called my name. She was sitting in the entry of a Habitat for Humanity garage door opening- all but taunting me. She has a few bumps & dings, lot of scratches, some traces of paint that has been dropped, and of course- stickers stuck to her that have seen better days. I couldn't possibly leave without her! She will be going home with someone who asked for a dresser for their little girl's room. I believe she will be painted green to compliment a pink room :)

The buffet was just really cool with great details- no top, but will look great as a tv table or used as a buffet. I am thinking cream with some great turquoise hardware??? I'll post more pics when I finish...

A Dresser & a Garage Sale Find Turned Spectacular

Well, I finished a dresser for someone who bought the sweet little rosey pink bed & night stand that I had for sale. She brought me a dresser & wanted it painted a purple w/ the fleur di lis added also to match the other furniture. So I was pretty pleased with the finished product. I forgot to take before pics, but you can use your imagination...

As for the garage sale find...this was the first piece I ever refinished & we commonly refer to it as the "masterpiece". When I first brought it into our dining room I thought my husband was going to go into shock. "How is that turquoise piece of furniture going to match our stuff?" he said. Now two years later he loves it too & gets how we made it work & brought more colors into our home as well. He has become the official sander of furniture when time permits- oh ya & the marketing guru :) So this piece was awful- I mean you wouldn't look twice at it, but now it has a new purpose & makes me smile everyday! Who says newer is better? They know nothing about character!

Evan is Seven!!!!

Well, off to a busy start this Saturday with a soccer scrimmage at 8:00 am & then Evan's seventh birthday party this afternoon. I can't believe my baby is so big- time truly flies! He was very excited and got lots of nice gifts (mostly toys this year), which made him very happy. We thought this would be the 5th year for a Spider-Man party, but the cool Iron Man cake decor changed his mind. Loved this pic of him & thought it oozed "make a wish!" Well, we definitely wished for an amazing son & God granted our wish!!!

Blogging...

So I'm not a very skilled blogger- I don't know how to make my page look fancy schmancy. I can paint furniture, but can't master blogging. I need help, but don't have time to learn- please excuse my primitive blog :)

Green is Great!!!!

I bought this dresser/armoire during the summer and thought it had such great character. I brought it home and instantly mulled over what color to paint it. Of course green always comes to mind. After a bit of time thinking and waiting to finish other projects, I decided on green- shocker, I know. I found some really fantastic fabric at Hobby Lobby (I could spend my entire paycheck in that place :). The fabric has flowers and some turquoise & green too- "What woman wouldn't adore it?", I thought. Anyway, here are the before & after pics as usual. This could be great in a girls's room or any part of the home as storage & it just makes ya smile too! I hope someone loves it as much as I do... I'm listing it for $400 if you're interested. It is a very heavy, well made piece of furniture- made by Drexel. **SOLD

Hope for the Hope Chest????

My friend Marcy brought me this little cedar chest to refinish. It already had great curves & style, but a little sanding, painting, and distressing gave it a facelift. This is the first piece I have actually done for someone rather than just refinishing & finding a home for the piece. She & her husband seemed very pleased, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. It's a lot of pressure to live up to other's expectations :)

Another one finished...

Well after much sweat and even more sanding, I finally finished the full sized girl's bed & nightstand. I am pleased with the finished product, but wish I had some use for it- the boys don't seem to be fond of pink? Anyway, on to more furniture... Sold this set on Saturday. The little girl loves it!