Painted Desk Tutorial...

This idea turned out so cute! Sorry i don't have any "Before" pictures. Remember the OLD school desks. This is a great way to make them look "new" again. I just love turning something old into something new again...don't you? Just takes some paint and a dash of creativity.

Supplies Needed:
Paint/Spray Paint (colors of choice)
Brushes
Stencils (if you don't feel you can free hand it)
Black chalk paint
Old Desk

Sand any places that may need it...and then clean off the desk well.

Tape off the top of the table area.

Then (in you color of choice) spray paint entire area of desk. Make sure to get in all areas...even inside the cubby hole under the seat. Let it dry overnight.

Take your stencils and start making a pattern. (paisleys & polka dots are always fun). :)
My advise is to let this dry overnight too.

Then when you have all that finished to your liking... it is time to start on the Table/Writing area.

Using the Black chalk paint...cover the entire area, let dry and reapply (better coverage).

Then paint any accents you would like on that area. Mine are Monogrammed with my child's name. Of course i loved everything monogrammed. :) Make sure to follow the directions on the chalk paint. Mine called for you to take and cover the entire area with chalk then wash off before use.






This one is for my son...it will be several months before he is able to use it.





Aren't they just adorable!! I loved how they turned out. My little girl absolutely LOVES hers!

Cup of Joe....

It's Friday...and it's raining. Went down to the kitchen this morning to brew my morning cup of joe and found this recipe for a Caramel Macchiato. YUMMY! If you are a coffee fan or shall i say "Fancy" coffee fan. You should give this a try...

Perfectly steamed milk

Shot of Espresso

Laced with buttery caramel

1. Put 1-1/2 Tbsp of Vanilla syrup in a mug

2. Fill mug three-fourths full with steamed milk

3. Top to the rim with foamed milk

4. Add 2 shots (2 fl oz) brewed espresso over the top of the foam

5. Drizzle with Caramel Sauce

Oh so very yummy. I have lots in store to do today. I have to finish my son's curtains and i also have a mural in mind to go over his bed. And possibly alittle something for my daughters room. I'll be back Monday...have a great weekend!

xo

Busy Hands...

I have a 2 yr old and it is getting quite the challenge these days keeping her still at church. She is pretty good most of the time but it is those last few minutes that are the toughest for her. She is 2 and she wants to explore and jump and talk. She had a baby doll that worked like a charm for a while but now she wants to talk to the baby and tell her "It will be ok...mommy's here". While i think it is the sweetest thing on EARTH...it is distracting to others. So we moved on to Crayons and Coloring books. Well that has been a pain for me cause she is at that stage were she wants to EAT the crayons or mark on her beautiful dresses. While most are washable...she found the ones that for some reason are NOT washable!! So i got online to search for something else when i stumbled upon something that might just work for her inquisitive mind. An I SPY BAG. So i jumped in the car and went to my most favorite place to shop...HOBBY LOBBY! I went isle to isle looking for what i may put in hers. Jack Pot...i found every thing i needed. I came home and put the kids down for a nap (that is the only time i have these days for crafting) and sat down to put this together. Material i used was this sweet pink with Cupcakes all over it. So i sewed all that together and next i put in all the "goodies" for her to find...princess castle, princess carriage, dress, glass slipper, ice cream cone, cotton candy, popcorn, fries, shake, coke, flip flop, surf board, palm tree, umbrella, boat, horse, pig, cow, whale, rooster, watermelon, cookies, button, pizza slice. All the things i put in hers was inspired by what she likes and what is to come this summer...BEACH VACATION! Also thru in some "flip flops" for the Kenny Chesney in me. :)
I plan on putting this in her Easter Basket this year. Along with other Hand made items. I can't wait for her to get her hands on this! She is going to love it.

I dug thru and "popped" all the things to the top for the pic. They usually stay more hidden than this.

For my Princess......



She loves all the animals....


It's gonna be another flip flop summer......... :)

I plan on making one of these for my little boy when he gets a little older. His of course is going to be ALL things BOY! Cars, trucks, tractors, airplanes, space ships, aliens, Pirates loot, and animals...i can't wait to put his together! This is also a great idea for gifts.

Finished....

A year ago the hubby and i set out looking for a new house.... when i say new i mean "New" to us. We wanted to get out of the city so we could have more land. We wanted an older home so that we could put our mark on it and remodel. Older homes have sooooo much more character. Once we found and bought our house we started in right away with the remodel....and when i say we...i mean my handy man husband. I was 8 Months Pregnant! It has been slow but we are finally seeing progress. We almost have the living room done.

After a LONG hard 4 day weekend....me and the hubby finally finished 1 of many projects in the living room. The hubs wanted to put pine boards on the ceiling and enlisted me to help on this project. I spent a week polyurethaning the boards and then it took us a few days to get it up. But i Love the finished look. It warms up the house so much. Gives it just a little something extra i think. No pics of the finished ceiling yet....waiting to get up all the molding. :) Hopefully that will happen this week.

Work Day...

Today the hubby took off work to work on our ceiling project. So i'm off to help with that. I'll be back Monday. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

xo

Score...

Yesterday afternoon i waited for my hubby to get home. He came in the door i passed off one kid and said the other was sleeping, kissed him goodbye and went on my way to something i look forward to that only happens twice a year. CONSIGNMENT SALE! This is the place were savvy/thrifty mothers go to stock up on their kids wardrobe for the upcoming season. Not only the wardrobe but toys or other baby or child items (bedding, strollers, highchairs, walkers). I'm lucky to live in a place were there are multiple consignment sales. My husband loves that i'm a thrifty/frugal mom. So he gladly lets me take part in all this madness. I say madness because their are some mothers out there that are serious about the sales....they will knock you over for a pretty dress. I'm not THAT serious about it....but i do enjoy going. I go looking for those otherwise "High Dollar" Items. I'm not going to spend $60+ for a dress or outfit at one of those boutique stores. And this allows me to get that dress or outfit for a third of the price. I had a few items i wanted to look for....walker for my 6 month old, Dora DVD's, Easter Dress, Smocked dresses, Smocked John Johns. I'm a southern mother...i love anything and everything smocked. :) I totally scored some knockout dresses for my girl and matching John johns for my boy. They are set for spring and summer. AND lil'miss got a Dora DVD to watch today. I spent ALL the money my hubby gave me. Oops....i have another sale to go to Monday! I'll have to scratch up a little money for that one. But all in all i found everything i was looking for at this sale. If you have never been to a Consignment sale....look online and see if there are any in your local area. You might enjoy it...i sure do. And so does my husbands wallet....HA! Here are some pics (sneak peek) of SOME of my Loot!!

Blue and White Strasburg (I love putting blue on my girl)!

Green & White Set.....just to cute for words....

This isn't a set but i made it one...the pink poodle dress is one that i have been looking for for my sweet girl...and it has this shade of sea green in it...so i put this with it. I think it looks good together.

This is the Easter dress....

Close up....sweet little chic and eggs...perfect!!!

A few of the outfits......didn't take pics of all of it. Just to much.

Cute -E-Pie John johns.

4th of July and Beach wear.......

DVD's for our many road trips this summer......

Senior Photos.....

I love Photography! It gives me such joy to be able to capture a moment in time... to be remembered forever. I love making people feel comfortable and bringing out all the beauty in them with my photography. Staging and Posing are not my thing...i prefer "Real Life" Photography. I am an artistic photojournalistic photographer that shoots mainly the natural and real moments... using Nature and Landscapes or Architecture for "backdrops" tell such a better story. I will shoot formal pictures if asked...i do understand that everyone needs a few of the "Stand and Smile". I have photographed Weddings, Brides, Maternity, Babies, Families, Pets and Senior Portraits.

I had the pleasure of Photographing Katie's Senior Portraits. This young lady was so great to work with. Here is Just a sneak peek of the day.