Working with Pallets

Over the past week and a half, I've gone scouring the backs of buildings and old farms, digging thru people's discarded pallets.  (I've had permission!  I wasn't just randomly trespassing, mind you.)  It's so much fun, finding that perfect looking piece and envisioning the many things you can make with it.  Since we don't own a truck, just an SUV, I've had to load these pallets into my very clean car and pray all the way home, that no random spider or bug had come as an extra "gift" with my findings.  Today, I made poor Chris go with me all the way across town (I mean a 45 minute drive each way) to get $2 pallets, that were in great condition.  He didn't seem to mind going, but what he did find objectionable, was me asking him every 5 seconds...."Do you see any bugs???  Look behind my seat!  See anything?  Are you sure??  Did you really look?  I think I have fleas!"  My poor Husband!!  I have no idea why he puts up with my goings on, but he does.  Thankfully, we made it home, without any "bug" incidents!  (Just a side note: Anna, Chris would like your mailing address????  I think he has a very special "Thank YOU!" he like to send you.  If you could just forward that on to me.................LOL!)
I We started the chore of taking each board off the pallets to begin rearranging them a little closer together.  I have become obsessed with each rusty nail, trying to save it, so we can hammer them back into the wood, you know, for authenticity's sake.  I've been wanting a recycled pallet headboard and now I have one.  It's taken shape pretty well.

Recycled Pallet Headboard

I am in love with how the wood looks, worn and weathered, with knots here and there.  I might add a burlap type of flag, spelling out the word 'relax', but I haven't decided yet.  Anyone know how to finish off this headboard, so when company comes, they aren't getting splinters in their heads?  We really can't afford someone else's medical bills and not exactly sure how to explain that type of accident to the insurance company......
Chris wants to find a giant compass to go above the headboard.  He thinks that will really give it the finished look.  His other suggestion was to cut off a front of a real boat and mount that to the wall.  He thinks he's Ty Pennington (Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition).  I asked him where he thought we'd get that and he said we'd just go down to the docks.  I'm not sure if Chris realizes it or not, but for the last 7 years, we've lived in ARIZONA, not California.  We don't have a lot of docks here!  Plus, what is his idea here?  Cut off someone's boat and run??  LOL!  Good thing I'm not letting him decorate this room!
Tried out a new dessert tonight.  Something fun, easy and light.  I bought some strawberry's and some Angel Food Cake, cut them up, skewered them and put some melted chocolate over them.  So good and definitely not overwhelming after a big meal.  Use sugar free Angel Food cake for an even healthier snack.

Strawberries, Chocolate and Angel Food Cake

Curtain/Window Covering

I think I've been rather productive since Chris has been gone.  Aside from the little paint disaster last night, I've got quite a bit accomplished.  Today, I was determined to finish my curtain for the guest bedroom.  Piece by piece, that room is starting to look completely different.  The curtain gives the room something it was so lacking.....depth!  I find it amazing how much one little item can complete a room.

Navy Blue & White Stripes with Knotted Rope

I saw something similar on my new favorite site pinterest, but didn't really care for the way they had done the top of the drawstring up.  So, I crafted my own version and came up with the knotted rope as my drawstrings.  It fits into the room really well.
Time to move on to my headboard.  I want to make a headboard out of old wooden boat paddles, but am having difficulty tracking paddles down.  Craigslist doesn't seem to have any and ebay has few and far between. I've looked at the local thrift shops, but am yet to even come up with 1.  I think I need 8-12.  If anyone has any ideas on where I might look for these, let me know.
I've started working on my t-shirt rug.  I saw a design (again on Pinterest) that was really fun, using old towels to make a knotted rug.  Well, towels just seem like they'd be a little rough, so I thought using old t-shirts might be a good idea.  And, while it is a fantastic idea, it's going to take me until next Christmas to get this thing done.  Two nights ago, I did 2 rows of knotted pieces and it took me over 2 hours.  I've only got 110 rows to go.  This is what I have so far:

Knotted t-shirt rug for guest bath

All I can see are all of the rows ahead of me.  It's a very large rug (27" x 43") I love how it looks, thus far, and it feels so soft.  Should be easy to take care of to.  Just throw it in the wash and go, that is, if I EVER get it done!!  With how long it's taken me so far, it will be time to redecorate again, once it's finished.  Any volunteers to finish this off for me???  Lol

Shower Curtain - DONE!!!!

First off, I have to give myself a pat on the back.  I am so excited that I could make my own shower curtain, exactly how I wanted it!  With my new machine up and running (there was no manual for the machine that I got, so I really had to study it, to even figure out how to thread the thing!), I wasn't sure I was going to remember how to sew anything.  But, I found that it's sort of like riding a bike.......You know what you know.
While I do remember the Sewing 101 basics, I have to say, that I'm not sure I ever knew how to sew an exact straight line.  Working on a project as long and as wide as a shower curtain, makes it difficult to be perfect.  But, it's close enough for me and I don't think anyone will notice my imperfections.  I am also thrilled that I sewed two panels together and you can't even see the seam, unless you're planning to make a study out of my shower curtain!  (If this is the case, don't come to my house and use my guest bathroom!)  Here's my first sewing project in 24+ years!

Red & White Striped Shower Curtain

I really do love this shower curtain and it turned out exactly as I pictured it in my head.  Now that this one piece of the project is complete, I can't wait to finish off the bathroom.  I'm working on a rope shelf that will go over the toilet and hope to have that finished before Chris gets home from Maryland.  Painting and sanding all takes work.  Who knew???
Finally finished my shabby-chic picture frame as well.  Some scrap wood, paint, material, burlap, printer, a starfish, and some rope.  Ties all in together to make this beach wall decor:

Beach Wall Decor

Evidently, I am moving too fast and something needed to slow me down.  I picked up some paint that was sitting in an old plastic tupperware container and was headed out to the garage to put on a final coat, on my shelving project......The rim of the tupperware broke off in the kitchen and paint went EVERYWHERE!!!!  I'm talking on the kitchen table, chairs, walls, grout and tile and on the kitchen cabinets!  Talk about mass panic.  I knew that time was not on my side and I needed to get all the wet paint up before it started to soak into things.  And, of course, the dogs weren't going to cooperate, by staying away.  I had to call the neighbors to come get them (John and Lori - Thank you!), while I frantically tried to mop, scrub and rinse all at the same time.  I was okay with getting the paint off of the tile and grout, but when it came to getting it off the furniture and cabinets, I was having a tough time.  I tried water and soap and that just made a circular mess.  Then I tried some goof-off.  Still nothing and I seemed to be spreading paint around farther.  (I'm not sure how much farther I could have spread it.  It was already all over the place)  Finally called my neighbor and she sent her husband down.  Did you know that you can get paint off wood with pledge and a scrubber?  I didn't.  Works pretty well and now our house has a pledge-y smell to it.  We are so lucky to have neighbors willing to help out so quickly.  I don't know what I would have done without the help.  It took almost 2 hours to clean up that mess, but I learned something about pledge that I didn't know.  Thanks for the lesson and help, Carpet Guy!

Armed & Dangerous!

I am beyond dangerous now......I'm armed AND dangerous!  I bought a sewing machine off Craigslist today.  Now granted, it was cheap, has no manual and will only do a couple of stitches, but that's really all that matters at the moment.  I'm just happy that I can actually sew things together with a running machine!!!  It has been years since I have put my skills on a machine to work.  I hope I can still remember the basics.  If I do, be on the lookout for an array of new decor for the house!  I'm going to start off with my shower curtain.  How difficult can that be.  Press and sew the ends under, sew down the middle, press and sew the top for the rod.  Seems like I've got it all worked out in my head perfectly......Now to translate this into the actual shower curtain....!

Here's the other project that I started and actually finished.

W-I-N-E out of Corks

I did this with wine corks that I've been saving for over 10 years.  Not ever sure what I was going to do with all of the corks, but now I know why I kept them.  This took me all of 10 hours to do.  It may look easy, but it's a lot like a puzzle, that involves a lot of cutting!  The first letter I did was 'I'.  Easy enough, right?  It took me 10 minutes at max!  Then I started in on the 'W'!  Ridiculous!!!!  But, I love how it looks.  When I have more spare time, I think I'll do the word 'bar' to go with this.
This project doesn't require much, but patience.  Here's some basic instructions:

Cork Letters

You'll need the following items:

MPI Wood Letters of your choosing  (you can find this at your local craft store.  I got these at Hobby Lobby for $1.20ea, on sale.)
Wine corks (new or used)
Hot Glue Gun
Xacto Knife (not shown)

Cut corks and arrange on lettering.  When cutting cork, be sure to save all pieces, as you can use the little pieces to fill in any gaps you might have.  It's best to cut and arrange your corks first, before gluing onto board, so that you can see what might work or not work.  Also, when cutting corks, remember that you want all different sizes and thickness of the corks.  Don't cut everything the exact same size and it will give the letters added dimension.  When you've got your corks arranged, glue each piece with a thin line of hot glue, using pressure to make sure it adhears to your MPI Wood.  There are no right or wrong ways to do this.  If you have a cork that sticks over the edge a bit, that's fine.  I doesn't have to be perfect.

Too Much Going On, Must Redecorate

It seems like it's been forever since I wrote in my blog, but I guess it was just a few days ago.  With everything that has happened since Sunday, I feel like months have gone by, instead of days/hours.  My mind is swirling and I have no ideas on how to keep up.  It's a good thing I took a little down side from baking.
With chaos going on around me, I've had to do some things that keep me focused on the bright parts of the day. I've been in a redecorating phase, and while my Husband is none to pleased with his "please cut this" and "please do this" list..............

Chris...so not happy!  Anna, how's Australia???

......it's all coming along nicely.  I am starting in one of our spare bedrooms (we have 3) that we call the "beach" room.  When we first moved in, I felt it necessary to hang up a wallpaper border.  I've hated every single inch of that border since I put it up!  What was I thinking????  That's not even me.  Here's to taking that down and off.....

Wallpaper Border - YUCK!!!!

Almost gone.  YEA!!!!

Taking this off, was not near as difficult as I imagined.  With a little research, I found that if you mix fabric softner with water and spray directly onto the wallpaper, it comes off really quickly!  While you do get high on the wonderful floral fragrance, it makes for super quick removal.  And, it barely left any markings on the wall. I thought we might end up yanking sheet rock right off the walls, but it didn't happen.  Now the room is rather plain looking.

Before redecorating.....

I really wanted to stay with the beach themed room, but just wanted to update it and make it a bit more shabby-chic.  My inspiration for both this room and the spare bathroom came from the striped pillow on the bed.  I found that pillow one day while we were wandering thru TJ Max.  I got it months ago.  It's been my favorite thing about this room.  Something about bold, wide stripes, just makes me feel happy.  And with a nautical/beach theme going on, it fits right in.
As some of you may know, I've been looking everywhere for red and white striped material, to make a shower curtain.  It was not to be found anywhere I looked.  I finally located some online, from a nice lady in Texas, but wasn't sure the fabric was thick enough.  So, the other day, I went all the way into Tempe, looking for a fabric store.....ended up being out of business.  Great!!!  Well, since I was out that way, I decided to hop into IKEA and take a look around.  Maybe they'd have some strange sheets that I could use as fabric.  Low and behold, I found the jackpot!!!

My IKEA Fabric

Of all places, who in the world would think to find fabric at IKEA????  It was perfect.  I was so excited, I laughed out loud in delight, as I stood there like an idiot, smiling down at my find.  (I had to look up and explain to the other people staring at me, that I had been looking all over for this fabric... a little bit embarrassing, but so worth it!)  Not only did they have red and white stripes, they had navy blue and white too!!!  I swear, I practically danced to the check out, with a huge, goofy grin on my face.  It turned out to be quite a day.
As I said, the red and white fabric is for the shower curtain.  The blue and white stripes are for a curtain I'm making.  While all of this seems all well and good, I should mention that I don't have a sewing machine.  It puts a little kink in my decorating plans, but I'll be okay.  Luckily, I don't have to have it right away.  As for the curtain, I think I can make it without any actual sewing involved.  I'll post a picture when I'm done.....
I've [Chris has] also made a frame.  Stained it and then applied some very watered down white paint to it, wiped it away and got a wonderful shabby frame.

Frame in the staining process

Painted (weathered) Frame

When I finally get around to finishing just one project, before jumping to the next, I'll be one happy camper.  Right now, I've got so many ideas floating around my head, I can't seemed to stay focused on one thing for too long.  Now I'm off to paint a bathroom shelf and play with 30 feet of rope.  Oh, the fun!!  "Chris!!!  Get the drill....I've got another project!!"

DIY - Tiny Flowers Wall Hanging

Made from misprinted business cards

I hate for things to go to waste.  A few months ago, I got some business cards, that the printer ended up doing a little off center.  The printer didn't want them back and they were sending out new cards, so I kept the bad ones, figuring maybe I could use them for something......someday.  So, they sat in my bottom desk drawer for a bit.  Then I got this idea.  What if I cut them up and did sort of a mosaic design out of them, to make out my business name?  After all, they were the colors of my logo and how fun would that look in my bakery room!  I cut out several cards, just randomly cutting little pieces, when another thought crossed my mind.  Why don't I use a punch, in the shape of a daisy (A couple of daisies are on my cards), and use those, instead of random mosaic pieces?  I loved how it turned out and believe it or not, it was a fairly quick and easy project.  The hardest part was, punching out all of the daisies.  Luckily, I always have a helper near by.  While my Husband was watching TV, I had him punch, while I was busy gluing on these cute little things.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  I might add a boarder around the canvas, but for right now, I'll just give you the instructions.  (This is my first tutorial, so please excuse any mistakes or omissions I may make.)

Here's what you'll need:

Tools

Blank Painters Canvas - (Any size you choose.  I used a 20x16")
Old Business Cards -  (Anything of your choosing...scrapbook paper, old calendars, old photos)
Crafter's Daisy Punch - Small
Hot Glue Gun
Pencil
Print out of your letters or Stencils - (I used Photoshop to print out large letters in the font that I use on my bus. cards.  You can print and cut out this way or if you have stencils, you can use them as well.)
*Optional* - Embossing Stylus


The first thing you want to do, is punch out a bunch of daisies.  While this takes a bit of time, you'll be grateful to get this part of the project over.  I think I may have only used about 20 business cards or so for the whole project.  Once you've got the daisies cut out, you have the option of leaving them flat or making them a little more 3D.  I choose to give them a little pop from the canvas, so I took an embossing tool (not pictured above) and just pressed down in the middle and the petals sort of just lifted up.

Now you want to take your paper print out of your letters (or your stencils) and line them up on your canvas, to ensure proper placement and adjust for size and height.

Aliegn Paper Cutouts/Printouts

Once you have it all aliegned, you now want to trace this onto the canvas.  Remove one section at a time and use your pencil to lightly trace the outline of the cutout/stencil.  If you make a mistake, you can always erase!  :-)  Be sure not to press to firmly on your pencil, as you only want to use your outline for a guide, on where to place your daisies.

Outline

Once you've got the whole thing outlined, you are ready to go and you can start glueing on your daisies.
I forgot to take a picture of the gluing process, but I think you'll understand how to do this.  Dab a SMALL amount of hot glue on the back of your daisy and quickly put it into position on your first letter.  Work your way thru the letter, making sure you cover up the entire letter.  Try to place your daisies within the outline, but covering up your pencil markings.  Place enough daisies on your letters, so that all white background is covered.  The beauty of this project is that you can't really mess up.  If you get a daisy on there you don't like, just tear it off and use another daisy to put over it.  Your final project will give your room that little personal touch.

Recipe - Spicy Guacamole

Spicy Guacamole

If you love Guacamole, then you know there's nothing like making it fresh.  And since I love spicy, I had to break out the serrano peppers for this recipe.  If you're not a fan of that much "fire", then you can either omit the peppers or substitute them for something more mild....maybe a jalapeno, if you're daring.

Spicy Guacamole

4-6 medium size Avocados
2 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 Red Onion, diced finely
4 Serranos, diced
1/2 bunch of Cilantro, chopped
2 Fresh Garlic Cloves, diced
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Juice of one Lime
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a bowl, mash avocados with the lemon and lime juice.  Add in diced tomatoes, onions, serranos, garlic and salt and pepper.  Mix well and season to taste.  (If too dry, add a little more lemon juice)  After all ingredients are incorporated, mix in your cilantro.  Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before eating.  Serve with warm tortilla chips.