Blessings in my Life

It's Christmas Eve day and I'm getting ready for the big day. May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a great New Years.  Here's a few pictures of  the reason Christmas is so special for me.

cake stand

I bought a unfinished cake stand at the scrapbook festival in september. I finally decided to finish it. I covered the whole thing in fabric and then I put trim around all the edges, I then put a finial on top.  I think it turned out really cute.

chair covers and tree skirt

I have been busy sewing and I'm really not that good at sewing. But decided to make chair covers to match my table runner. I used burlap which is a little difficult to sew. I cover the top of the chair with a burlap runner about 15 inch long then  added a 5 inch ruffle, then I put a burlap ribbon around the middle of the cover and tied a knot in back and hung a bell from it. It turned out  pretty cute.  I read Miss mustard seed all the time and she made a ruffled tree skirt that I loved. It's a no sew project so I decided to make one. It was really easy to make but it just takes lot of time and hot glue. But so worth it in the end.

coffee bag ottomans

I bought 5 used coffee bags from the internet and had my ottomans recovered with them. I saw a tv show with burlap ottomans and it got me thinking, I bet I could find some old coffee bags on line ,which i did.  {because I looked online for ready made and they were a lot of money]   Their are tons of them out there. I think they turned out great. I just love them. They were pretty cheap as well.

antique table and chairs

Me and my daughter just got done finishing this table and chairs. I absolutely love love love them. We forgot to take before pictures. [oops] The table was a brown color and the chairs were white with ugly green velvet cushions. I think they look a whole lot better now. It will be sad to let them go, because we both love them so much. But we are on to other things.

Halloween Mantle and Witch

I made this witch about 10 or so years ago. I dried tons of apples for her face. Then I glue them on to a mannequin head.  After about 6 years the apples kept on going darker, so I didn't put her out anymore.  But this year I decided to get her out again and paint her face a lovely purple color. I think it suits her don't you. I love Halloween, it's so much fun!!!!

Chalk painted desk

before

after

after

purple painted drawers

Well i finally finished my desk and I love it. It was really a lot of fun to do. I painted the inside drawers purple and I did the outside in Annie Sloan's cream then I distressed and waxed it.

More Chalk paint

Here is the latest in my painting adventures. We had two old chairs from a old  kitchen set, so I decided to paint them with cream colored chalk paint. I put on two coats. then I waxed it with clear wax then added a little of the dark wax for an antiqued look. I love it. I didn't think anything would make them look good but I was wrong. The picture is of one before the paint and one after. Also I found this desk at a consignment shop. I can't wait to get started on it. I will post a picture of it when i finish it. This Annie Sloan chalk paint is so much fun to use, and so easy. Did I mention I love it.

Burlap Table Runner

I found a new blog called Confessions of a Plate Addict. She has awesome tutorials. So I decided to try and make the burlap table runner, it was pretty easy. She has really good instructions, and good pictures to follow. So here's a picture of how my turned out. Have a good day.

I'm in love with chalk paint and milk paint

I'm hooked on distressing furniture. First i tried Milk paint  then I tried chalk paint by annie sloan- it is fabulous. The yellow table is milk paint [the table used to be purple and light blue . I forgot to take before shots] probably because I was so excited to get started.  then I painted the cream table [ it used to be black]  with annie sloan's chalk paint. You put a wax finish on last, it is so much fun. I must like it because I bought it on the way to camping. And while we were at the lake,the paint got smashed and spilled all over my bedroom carpet in my motor home. Luckily after many hours and a lot of elbow power we got it out. I'm now painting a bookcase and then after that I'm going to tackle my kitchen table and chairs. Never a dull moment.

Thrift Store Find

it was plain oak before painting

coffee table before

chair before

chairs and bar stools after paint but before distressing

chair being painted my my granddaughter

We [my daughter and her kids] went to DI our local thrift shop and found tons of stuff for my daughter's new place. She really likes shabby chic now days. We came home and painted them and we are going to distress them too. I will show the finished product when we get done.

Flowers for Belt

My granddaughter saw a flower  in a catalogue  she was looking at, to put on a belt. So I made her a couple of them.  They look really cute on a thin black belt. Her brother let me borrow his belt just for the pictures. I will post pictures of her when I get some. They are fun to make and make up fast.

Rockport

My husband getting ready to windsurf

My Grandkids Bella, Harrison and Tristan

Looking down at camp ground for our hike

We went camping to Rock port reservoir last week. We love it up there. Our daughter and her children went with us. They had a great time too. It's so green and beautiful this year, and the lake is as full as I've ever seen. We hiked the mountain, and played in the water, and ate really good food. I love summer.