Carving Up Some Memories

Now is a good time to share my Carved Santa & Angel with you.

A while back I took a couple of wood carving classes.  I thoroughly enjoyed them. I have keepsakes that will be in my family for years to come. 

Here is the Santa I carved from a block of wood.

All this cost me was the cost of a class, and a few sore muscles.

and from another block of wood, came this beautiful Angel.

(No injuries to report on this one)

While I'm at it... let me show you a couple of other carvings I did.

My little Cafe Sign.

(In case you don't know, I have a thing for Cafe and Bistro signs)

And of course.. A Bistro Sign!

All this one cost me was the cost of the class and a nasty scar on my hand.

Yep another of myTeacup Lamps.

Such a pretty colour

ok, back to the carving...

If you ever get the chance to take a wood carving class, try it.

It was an enjoyable day and I came away with a few things that I'll always cherish.

This post is linked up to Miss Mustard Seed's

Furniture Feature Friday. Click here to link over and have a browse!

As Good As Gold!

This cute little night stand was dated but still oh so cute.

The before picture.

This piece already had a home, so we matched a colour that would go with a metallic comforter.

We decided on GOLD.

Even though I loved the look of the Gold paint, I glazed it with some Antique Glaze, just to tone it down a notch.

Because this is going to another home, you wont get the full effect with the metallic comforter beside it, but I dressed it up for its photo shoot anyway!

(I just couldn't get my lighting right)

That's all for now !

An Intermission of Sorts....

You've probably noticed I've taken a bit of a break lately.

I am working on a few projects that will be posted shortly

For now, with Christmas season in full swing, I thought I would post a few inspiring pictures.  For those of us who are do-it-yourselfers, these little projects can be easily assembled in time for Holiday decorating! Today I'm concentrating on Christmas Wreaths. 

(You can never have too many wreaths in my opinion)

Hang any small wreath in front of a mirror

Courtesy of Good Housekeeping

This nifty wreath is made from cutting old Christmas Cards into holly leaves.

Start drinking.. you'll need 22 corks for this one.

Cookie Cutter Wreath.. how clever!

I'm sure every man's closet holds ties he'll never wear again.  Round some up for this project.

You know, I bet if you stuck anything to a grape vine wreath and spray painted it white added a bow, you'd have one fantastic wreath. Go ahead, try it.. glue ANYTHING to it!

This is always a holiday favorite and SO easy to make.

Courtesy of Good Housekeeping

For instructions on how to do any of the above wreaths

click here

I had to add this one cause I love the idea so much

Cover the label of any wine bottle with silver wrapping paper, tie with a ribbon and use as candle holders.

Amazing!

Courtesty of Good Housekeeping

Tea Cup Lamp Tutorial Coming Soon !

I linked up to Funky Junk Donna's Saturday Night Special last weekend with my Blue Tea Cup Lamp.

I have received many thoughtful and wonderful comments on it. Thanks to all!

But I have also received many requests to post a tutorial on how to make the lamps.

I will post one soon, as I am just starting another.  I have more very different lamps coming up soon.

If you 've been following my blog you've probably guessed that I have a penchant for making anything into a lamp.

Tea Cups

More Vintage Tea Cups

A Bucket

An Old Radio

Thanks again All !

Veggie Centerpiece

Here's a little something I whipped up for a family holiday dinner. It's so easy, anyone can do it. All it takes is a trip to the grocery store.

2 Medium size artichokes

Handful green beans, enough to go around the candle of your choice
1 bundle of asparagus
4 candles, different heights and sizes
Ribbon to go around beans and asparagus
Any fresh flowers in season. Use fall colours for Thanksgiving or spring flowers for Easter!

Hollow out enough of the artichoke to fit the candle of your choice. Put it all together on a fancy plate, or even better, use a flat pedestal dish.

Use an elastic while putting beans and asparagus around candle. Place the veggies under the elastic to keep it all together. Put ribbon around the elastic to cover it or remove elastic after tying with ribbon.  I did this at the last mintue and didn't have candles that were different heights so I used several little espresso plates to bring them up. Anything goes!   So Easy.

A Great Big Thank You!

I truly feel blessed to have received another award.
This one I received from
Lori at Wildflowers
Please visit her, she has a wonderful blog with a collection of breathtaking photos.

Lori, thank you so much for passing this award on to me.

Every day when I see new emails, or new followers, faces and names, I really feel honoured that people choose to spend some time here.

Now onwards and upwards

Here is what I do:

~thank this person who nominated you for the award

~copy the logo and place it on your blog

~link to the person who nominated you

~name 7 things about yourself that people may not know

~nominate 7 creative bloggers

~post their links

~leave a comment on each

Here are 7 more things that you could probably do without knowing about me;

1. I make beautiful things for other peoples homes but rarely my own.

(it's the shoemaker syndrome)

2. I have a hard time convincing my friends that at my age I don't have a grey hair on my head.

3. I must see the opening credits of a movie or else I can't start watching it.
4. When I hear my daughters come in at the end of the night, I silently thank God for another safe day.
5. I have a phobia when it comes to public bathrooms. It stems from a reoccuring nightmare that I have about miles and miles of dirty stalls in bathrooms.  (are ya sorry you asked yet ?)
6. This list of 7 things has taken me two days to write!
7. I honestly believe that if I were running this world, it would be a totally different place. (That's right I said world not country!)  ;)

Now if THAT wasn't enough torture
take a read at this !
CLICKERS
(from my other blog)

Now for the fun part

Here are 7 more blogs that I am passing this award to.

1. Everything Creative

I am a new follower here, just discovered the amazing tutorials and great projects from this very creative site.
2. Trash to Treasure Decorating

Again another just discovered site.  Great projects as well!

3. Ticking and Toile

I just adore Shellagh over at Ticking and Toile. She always spreads her good cheer and encouraging comments.  Take a look at her professional slip covers...I am totally envious.

4. Tattered Hydrageas

Antoher new discovery for me.  I've really been branching out lately. Simply a beautiful blog!

5. Ruby Moon Designs

Yup, you guessed it, another new found friend! Please take a look at Grace's blog filled with a mixture of  home crafted jewelry and home designs.

6. Let It Shine

Of course, very newly discovered for me. ..(really.. where have I been??)

I am toally in love with this blog.  Click on over there and fnd out why.

7. Funky Junk Interiors

And last but most certainly not least... one of my most favorite blogs. Donna is everything a creative blogger should be and more.  She has also encouraged me and inspired me, even though she may not know it.

Every picture, and every post is a delight!

Thank you again Lori~

Gratitude

Since I have joined the blogging community I have come in contact with some incredible people.  Incredibly nice, incredibly talented and incredibly uplifting.

I have been honoured with a Feature over at Funky Junk Interiors.

Creating, revamping and reinventing is a passion of mine, but when you get recognized by others who do their own amazing work, it really is humbling.

Thank you again to Donna.  I am a big fan!

If you would like to see this feature please click here.  Don't forget to take a look around at her work and all the other talented bloggers she features.

This is also a good time to thank all my followers. It just makes my day to see more new faces and names on that list.  Much appreciated!

Thanks Again!

Art Deco Cabinet Makeover

When I saw this cabinet, I fell in love with it.

Even in this orginal condition it had flair.

Although, in the original condition it also had its limitations.

None of the inlay was in very good condition, so it wasn't really worth saving.

I took it apart, primed it, painted it and then with a warm brown, glazed it all over for a very soft aged and worn look.  I opted not to distress it as I wanted it to look like an old piece, but an old piece in very good condition.  As you can see in the middle, when I covered the inlay, it just looked too plain. So I added an applique.

Also, I decided the design on the glass was a bit dated and really didn't fit in with the new colours and the new look.  I replaced the glass with plain glass.  I cut my own fleur de lis and frosted all around it.

The green pattern you see on the bottom shelf is just a couple of grass placemats placed in there to give it some colour. 

The two outer drawers were lined with pretty paper.  The middle drawer had red felt that was in great condition and just required a little cleaning.

The bottom cupboards were painted and provide a lot of extra storage.

Well, there ya have it.

All fresh and pretty !