Giveaway!

I think it is time for a Giveaway! 

PrintRunner is a 10 year old printing company based in southern California. The company offers high quality printing services. PrintRunner contacted me to do a sweet giveaway of 100 yes 100 Color postcards!

Who needs postcards? Anyone!!! They can be used to get the word out about your business or Etsy shop. 

You can also print up an invitation, calling card for a blog event, or vintage sale you might be having. So many possibilities!! 

What you get is 100 4/0 color 5x7 postcards (front only)

printed on 14pt. UV coating on front printing paper with rounded corners

It is shipped in 4 business days !

*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above

A winner is allowed to win only once over a two-month period.

All you have to do is follow me and leave a comment!!

Giveaway ends on May 17th! 12pmCST

Winner will be notified by email so please make sure you leave it!

Check out PrintRunner and Try PrintRunner's online postcard printing and other printing services.

 

Disclaimer:Thank you to PrintRunner for providing us this giveaway, I will receive a set of postcards for hosting this. 

It's About "Time" Bumble Bee Clock

Trash. Isn't that a word with different meanings to each of us? Many items go unnoticed for its true potential. The out-side-the box thinkers turn many things into treasures. When I see something on a blog or in Pinterest that someone turned into something amazing, I think, "Why didn't I think of that?"

I have the most fun transforming a piece. I thing that is what sets us apart from each other. The vision to create something out of nothing.

Over the summer I bought a vanity to paint. It was stored in the garage for months till I was ready for it. My husband was getting agitated with all the potential paint jobs lined up in "his" garage. So I decided to start clearing them out. We were moving things around when I heard a crash. The perfectly good vanity mirror came down and broke in a million pieces. I know 7 years of bad luck!! Yippee! My husband felt so bad. He started to throw everything away. Yes I could have got another mirror cut for the piece but I decided to do something different with it.

I turned the vanity base into a desk and saved the broken mirror for something special.

It sold the week it went into the window! I just changed the top knobs. Find full post HERE!

So there sat the broken mirror base. And there I sat staring at this thing wondering what to do with it!!

There were several options I came up with. I will write them down to use for another time. This one though. will transform into a clock.

I painted the base in a charcoal and grey. Then I had a piece of 1/4 inch wood cut in the diameter of the mirror to fit.

There are several ideas out there for clock faces. I wanted something different. Then a friend gave me this bee graphic that I drew in the center. I did roman numerals around it. I have to say it wasn't easy. I hand did it and working in a circle to get everything lined up was hard. I just eyed it all.

I wasn't perfect but I wanted it to look old and hand done. Then I painted it with Americana Acrylic Paint in Black.

The black was too stark so I made sure to distress it after I painted the image.

When I stepped away from it I knew it needed more depth. So I used some gesso and dry brushed it in certain areas. With watered down black I rubbed it around the front to soften the look.

Then I found the center and drilled a hole for the clock hands. I bought the largest kit Hobby Lobby had.

It keeps perfect time!! I love it! It is so different. I can't wait to wire the back and hang it. This was truly taking a mishap and turning into a treasure.

What are some of the ideas that you came up with? I would love to know!! Always look at something in a different way!

This is like a piece of art!

Let me know what you think!

>

It's A Small World

Over the weekend I went to a party to celebrate my friends accomplishment of running in the Country Music Half Marathon. They trained for a long time and they made it to the finish line.

Flashback a few years ago. I was on Facebook talking to some friends. You see when I was in High School in New Jersey my parent's decided to move to Tennessee. I was going into my Junior year of school. It was summer and I didn't get to say goodbye to a lot of my friends. It was not like today. No cell phone, No Facebook, No Skype, just a few hand written letters. (Remember those?) Needless-to-say, it was very traumatic to me.

Then a few years ago I got Facebook and was once again connected to the many friends I had left. Some looked different, some still the same and some I can remember the name but not the face.

I go back home to see family and friends from time to time. Leaving NJ kept me holding on to memories that most forgot. After all it, was the place where I grew up.

One day I was commenting on a friends status from NJ and my girlfriend Colleen wrote that it was hot in Tennessee. I commented, "How do you know?" She said, "Cause I live here!" When I asked where she informed me that she lives close to me! ........WHAT?!!....... It is a small world!

So this weekend she invited me over to celebrate her accomplishment and said that another one of our friends was flying in to join her. Colleen and Tara are best friends. I haven't seen Tara in 32 years! Yeah I said it!! YUK! It really freaked me out that it had been so long!!!

I surprised her. It was weird how everything just kinda fell in place. We talked about school and friends we had in common. The strangest thing though was how our daughters were so much alike. It was so much fun. It is great to rekindle friendships. I have some really great friends. I hope to keep in touch with these girls.

This year I will be celebrating my 30th reunion. Looking back I realize that things are different now that I am older. There are a lot of things that mean more to me now. One thing is I cherish my friendships even more!

I love making new friends too. Blogging has introduced me to a lot of new ones!!! What kind of "small world" experiences have you had?

You are never too old for friends!

Thanks for being here!

I Need A Little Help From My Friends/Summer Chair

Now that Picnik has gone away (boohoo) I am asking for help!! All my friend out there please tell me what is the easiest thing to convert to? I have heard of a few but you are the ones that have tried them so PLEASE let me know!!

I am getting excited because Haven is just around the corner and I get to meet some of you wonderful bloggers in person! I am leaving for Atlanta to pick up my daughter from school...packing etc, for the summer and I am going to the beach for two weeks!!! Yipee!!! My love for the ocean runs deep in my soul. I cannot wait!

As I sit here dreaming of the day I leave, I decided to add some beachiness to some furniture. I already painted the china hutch in a blue with a white wash. Now, I found this checked blue chair that needed a little updating.

The upholstery was in excellent condition! I wanted to paint the wood in old white and distress it.

Tried to distress it in all the right places. Then waxed in a clear wax.

To me it looks like something out of Ethan Allen. It is not over done.Would look great in a beach house!

I guess the mood took over and now everything I look at I want to remind me of the sea.....

Don't forget to tell me what you are using for picture editing!! Thanks my dear friends!

I am feeling like doing a giveaway soon.........it's been awhile!

(Mary if you are reading this, my fingers are still crossed for RL!)

Banana Trifle with a Kick and a visitor

Second attempt to post

I love to cook and bake! Pinterest has really been a great place to find inspiration! From time to time I like to search the internet for something to try and that is how I came across this recipe.

This is a recipe that I will definitely do again. It takes a traditional banana pudding and gives it that extra something to send your taste buds crazy!

What makes this so different is the rum and bourbon. The tastes combine with the sweetness of the bananas and the toffee crunch!

Combine first 3 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan; whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove mixture from heat

Beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into yolks; add to the remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in vanilla

 
Layer one-third of wafers in the bottom of a 4-quart baking dish. Stir together bourbon and rum; brush over wafers. Top with one-third of banana. Spoon one-third of custard over banana, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup crushed candy bar. Repeat procedure twice

Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. (I used Cool Whip) Spread whipped cream over trifle, and sprinkle with remaining crushed candy bar. Cover and chill 3 hours

 I promise you will not be disappointed! The recipe is below:


Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups milk
• 8 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 (12-ounce) package vanilla wafers
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 2 tablespoons rum
• 6 ripe bananas, sliced
• 6 (1.4-ounce) English toffee candy bars, crushed
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large heavy saucepan; whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove mixture from heat.
2. Beat egg yolks until thick and pale. Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into yolks; add to the remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in vanilla.
3. Layer one-third of wafers in the bottom of a 4-quart baking dish. Stir together bourbon and rum; brush over wafers. Top with one-third of banana. Spoon one-third of custard over banana, and sprinkle with 1/3 cup crushed candy bar. Repeat procedure twice.

Beat whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream over trifle, and sprinkle with remaining crushed candy bar. Cover and chill 3 hours

 Remember this guy! He is getting big! He is turning 1 this month!

What a year! He is still in the puppy stage but he has been the most precious dog! So lovable! He has tore up my side yard. He ripped apart a beautiful bush and rose bush outside our door. I have never seen a dog do that before. He is a disaster at times! But look at that face!! He is like having a two year old. He keeps us hopping but the love given back is unmeasurable. He was adopted from a shelter. People don't believe us when we tell them because he is so handsome. I have adopted animals all my life. They are the best! Probably because they are so grateful.


Now its time to plan his party. I go get my daughter from college this week. We will plan it together.

Fun times!!

 

How to Remove Wood Veneer/Laminate

Sometimes I feel I have projects that overlap each other! Many stay captive to my Nikon or computer! One day I will sift through them all and post the ones that never have been seen. Does this happen to you?

I can take pictures everyday but I procrastinate on my posts. This is a project that I started a few months ago and just finished this week.

My sister gave me a little antique table that had such sweet lines. There was a big problem. The top had a big chunk of laminate out of the corner. My first thought was to cover it with some paper to hide it but felt that it would still look uneven.

This was a perfect candidate for paint! I was puzzled on what to do. Then I remembered the little old man that put in our laminate counter tops years ago at our old house. He talked about how heat molded the laminate to the top of the wood. He told me that he removed wood laminate the same way. With HEAT!

Soak an old rag with water and wring out. Lay on top of table and iron over it. The heat will loosen the laminate enough to peal off!!

What would have taken hours to chip away took minutes to scrap off because it came off in big pieces.

After completely dry I sanded it smooth. I painted, distressed and waxed it.

This is the corner that was chipped! Not bad huh?

I love the way this method took a piece that was tossed for garbage to a beautiful accent table!

I added my pattern puff to a stained terra cotta pot for some easy eye candy!

Maybe you would want to paint this like I did with my butterfly table
from last year

Wanted to share this with you so you can try it!

Remember think twice about passing up a piece like this!!

Another thank you.....

Thanks to Knock Off decor for featuring my Chalkboard Art!!

Thank you for being here reading my posts and all your sweet comments!!!

Painted China Cabinet

I am doing a lot of cleaning out these days and getting projects finished! In the late summer I like to stock up on various pieces for the fall and winter months. By doing this it allows me to pick and paint what I want for the store. Some of my earlier pieces needed some work so I put them off. Now with spring here I want to clear out so I can start new and fresh.

This little china cabinet needed some love. It had a hole cut out of the back for a TV. My hubbie replace the wood for me so I could begin painting. The shelves went MIA and I was so glad to find them the other day. So there was no excuse!

This is what I started with after he fixed the back. I took this pic at night sorry.

I don't know about you all but it takes me awhile to come up with paint color. I have to stare at it awhile.

I decided on Duck Egg and Old White with some dry brushing and distressing.

I painted the shelves Duck Egg and the back ot the inside with Old White. I actually kept the knob!

I used the Old white to highlight some of the details. I also used it to dry brush.

 

You can see it better in this close up!

 Love the distressing around the knob!!!

The inside finished and ready for some decorative items.

Placed it in the kitchen and added some color!

Another amazing transformation with paint!

I want to thank Kim Too Much Time on My Hands for featuring my Paint Stick Flag and Utensil Draw Organizer! So Sorry I forgot to mention it!!

Also I want to thank Claire from Bless My Nest for featuring my Nesting Bird Table!!!

Thank you ALL!! It is always a thrill!!