Friday, April 15, 2011

Spring Herb Box on Wheels

I went to the most wonderful Farmers Market a few months ago. They sold wonderful produce, indulgent toffee and a great herb box on wheels. The only thing not so great was the price tag...$250 for the herb box. I took their card which had a picture of the box on it and thought..."it can't be that hard to make this". It's difficulty to grow in Arizona due to the hard soil. We also don't have a space where the javalina  wouldn't eat our goodies being grown.

So,on a family outing to Home Depot I snuck away and had the wood cut(without informing the hubby). He walked up and I had a ton of wood cut with no real plans. I just had the nice man cut them in 2ft and 4ft  pieces. After the shock wore off my hubby started brainstorming about what we needed to build this box.
Here's what we brought home...
And here's the best hubby in the world working away...
And here's the finished product...and it only cost $85!
I like the fact that it's on wheels so I can move it in and out of the sun. The sun is very intense here in AZ when it gets in the 100s!
I'm struggling though. I don't have a green thumb:( My tomatoes plants are turning yellow. Someone said that it's because I'm over watering them. Oh well, I'll keep trying!

I'm linking to the following parties:
www.missmustardseed.com

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Twin Headboard

So, I found this headboard at the Goodwill. I really like the feel of it but it obviously needed work.
I can never remember to take  a picture before I start!
I love those curves!
I primed it with Valspar white and painted with Behr in Powdered Snow and then I distressed with sandpaper...pretty basic. I decided to not put a glaze over it. Just liked the white:)
Here is the finished product. The lighting isn't that great...sure wish I had some photography skills:(
And the close up.

I'm linking to the following parites:

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Soldered Necklaces and Bottles

A few years ago I took a class to learn how to solder jewelry. There was a huge learning curve but it was really the beginning of all this creating for me. The first necklace I made was a little crude...rough around the edges, if you will. I made it for my mom. One side has my girls and the other is her mother with her when she was a baby.
The class was so fun to take and if you're interested it was with the wonderful Terri Brush and her link is here...www.terribrushdesigns.com
She travels around and teaches these amazing classes. I also took a class on making a silver bracelet...I don't have pics of my bracelet but will post another time. 
So this was the start of having a creative outlet. I bought a solder and ended up buying 3 of them. You can't just go buy a solder at Home Depot. (Dah!)I learned that after 2! 
Now I love soldering old bottles...




So, lastly I have to give a shout out to my girlfriend April. She kept hounding me to do a post about my bottles. So here they are:)

I'm linking up to these parties:
www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com

Krista:)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Sheet Music Magnetic Board

So my obsession with sheet music continues. It's just so easy to use and makes most things so CUTE! I found this magnetic board(with the blingy magnets) for a 1.99 at goodwill. Seriously, the magnets alone would've cost twice that and they were in perfect condition.
First off, I painted it white thinking I was going to stencil something on it. It didn't look so great. So I went with the old standby...sheet music. I modge poged the magnet board and placed the sheet music all over. After it dried I put another coat of modge podge and I was done! So easy!

I'm linking up to the following parties:

Friday, February 18, 2011

Fleur de Lis Chair

I already have an admitted obsession with sheet music. The new one is recovering anything I can get my hands on with canvas and putting a Fleur de Lis on it. Here is the chair I got for $5 at an auction.
I really liked the legs and the back on it. First, I took the cushion off. I have a HUGE drop cloth canvas I had bought for something but never used and I have used this for at least 4 other projects...it goes a long way! I stenciled the Fleur de Lis on it and used my handy staple gun to attach to the old cushion. I didn't even take off the old cover...so lazy. Then, I spray painted the chair black, reattached the cushion and I was done!


Chairs and footstools are my new go to project. They don't take too much time and you notice a huge difference!
I'm linking up to the following parties:


Sunday, January 30, 2011

A Dreamy Bed

I bought this bed at the Goodwill for $8. I followed the instructions from the Altar'd Painting book that I won. It was so helpful!



Anyways, this was waaaay more work then I originally anticipated. The sanding took a long time due to some glue they'd put on the back(I forgot to take a picture of this). I also had a difficult time getting the brush strokes to be smooth as I went across the large area. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.
I sold it on Craig's list to someone that was staging a house. My hubby was home when the woman came to pick it up. He said she literally threw it on top of a bunch of other furniture piled on a trailer. It made me a little sad...like I should've picked a better home for her. Seriously, I think I need help that I'm emotionally attached to the furniture:)

I'll be linking to the following:
www.sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com
www.thediyshowoff.blogspot.com
www.linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com
www.missmustardseed.blogspot.com
www.funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com
www.todayscreativeblog.blogspot.com
www.tatertosandjello.blogspot.com
www.storiesofahouse.blogspot.com

Krista

Friday, January 28, 2011

Reckless Driving!

I know...it's a strange title, but let me explain. I use the analogy with my girls friends that I "drive the bus" on most things in our house...meaning, I'm the driving force. After school activities,going to church,doing homework,meals,planning vacations,birthday presents,the house,the dog,the kids...you get my point. To be fair, my husband is very helpful. I don't want to give the impression of "poor me, I have to do it all by myself", I don't. And I have soooo much respect for people that do it alone(single parents).  Seriously, I'm in awe of you.

This week I became sick. Very sick for me.  I've had a HACKING cough and fever for 4 days. And I still tried to drive the bus. Activities,dinner,breakfast,homework. Obviously, I was driving reckless. Equivalent to having a few drinks, in fact. My daughter got a no homework slip home, lost another homework sheet and I found my youngest daughters homework on the kitchen floor today after I got home from dropping them off at school. Our dinners have been lousy and I've forgotten to feed the dog a few times. In fact, the dog was begging for water last night...literally begging!  Finally, I gave up and went to bed at 7pm last night and left the girls to be read with and tucked in with my hubby. Something I've never done in the 10 years that we've had kids. And I felt a little guilty. When my hubby gets sick he's laid up in bed for 2 days and I bring him toast and Gatorade. Make sure he takes his Advil. All I got was a dose of guilt...from myself. Why is it so hard to be sick as a mom? Is it giving up the control? Does it really matter that they got to bed a few minutes later last night because Dad let them read a little longer? I'm not sure the answer but the one thing I do know...the next time I get sick I'm giving up the wheel much sooner next time. My husband is a fine driver. I just have to learn to be a passenger once in awhile:)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Cedar Chest Reveal!

I posted about this cedar chest I had found at the Goodwill months ago. It sat in my garage for a long time. I actually sanded the top and stopped, unsure about what I was going to do with it. You can see the damage on the top was not really repairable(at least by me).
My inspiration came from Miss Mustardseed's Sheet Music Dresser. Go and check it out here...sheet music dresser.

I primed her first with a roll brush and then painter her with Behr in powdered snow. (from my Altar'd Paint Book!). I gave her a light sanding and then glazed her. The last step was to put the sheet music on her top. And this is how she turned out...

And here is one where she's open.

My daughter wanted to keep her but she has no room for her and she doesn't go with the decor. I tried pushing the shabby chic on my daughter but she was done with that at a young age. Now it's all about peace signs! Anyhoo, she's for sale at the wonderful place I have a booth...Everything Goes in Phoenix. I hope she goes to a good home!

I'll be linking up to the following:

Friday, January 14, 2011

A New Respect

I have a new respect for bloggers. I remember last Holiday season I would be disappointed if one of the blogs I followed missed a few days because the craziness of the Holidays. And the fact that their kids,husband and in-laws were probably all at home and they wanted to spend a little quality time with them.

Anyways, enter this past December. My 10 year old had a birthday,my husband had a birthday and we had family visit 3 different times in 2 weeks. Add in there that I'm the "room mom" for my 2nd grader and the Brownie leader. We had parties...lots of them. And I was overwhelmed. It got to the point that I couldn't even think about posting. I had all these great posts I was going to do and a tutorial on making music sheet snowflakes. I had even taken the pictures and downloaded them. But I couldn't do it. I just shut off.




Here are a few pics of what we did during our break. Yes, I live in sunny Arizona. But we got a snowstorm at my Dad's (he lives in Prescott,2 hours north of us). The kids had a BLAST sledding right outside my Dad's house.

Hence, the new found respect for all the Blogs that I follow. I know that they are moms and just as busy as I (if not more,considering some of them have way more kidlings!). Hats off to you ladies for being the worlds best multitaskers and bringing so much joy to the blogging world even during the craziness of the Holidays!

I have so many great things planned for this year and so much to share. Now that I've got me feet back under me I'm ready to charge ahead:)

Krista