My 30 minute craft

Last Friday night, Todd left in the evening to pick up his brother and his girlfriend from the airport and take them home.  I thought it would be good idea to cover my footstool that I had been meaning to do.  I had bought the stool from an estate sale and it was pretty ratty and dirty. I only paid 5$ for it because I would be standing on it in my closet.  

I bought a vintage dress from a thrift store for the fabric alone. I loved the bright I colors and the fabric seemed durable enough to stand on.  

When I had flipped the stool over, there was a hand written note that said - covered for Mary Duncan on her 81st birthday.  I should have taken a pic of the craziness underneath. There was duct tape and clear fishing string all over that was used to cover it previously.  They had covered the stool with a teddy bear blanket.  

I used a staple gun for my recover and it was still a little messy underneath but I think some improvement. 

I'm very happy with it and I loved finding the note on the stool. It took 30 minutes to do everything- cut out the fabric and staple it.   My closet has 2 rods on one side and it's very tall. No way I could reach my clothes without standing on the stool.  

I did the recover in the living room while I watched TV.  

Long Great Holiday weekend

Good morning and happy Monday Yall!

Hope everyone had a lovely and safe July 4th!  My weekend was very laid back and  pretty relaxing.  We had Friday off as a holiday at my company which was awesome! I went to Canton with my friend T to get inspired and see if there was anything I couldn't live without.  I did pretty good. I didn't buy too too much.  Pictures will come later. I bought an old Victorian loveseat and a cool old paper stand. We couldn't stay all day because we had dinner plans with my inlaws. I love Canton and I have gone there for years. Its a famous flea market that has grown to be Huge.  It was a perfect day! We left just as it was getting hot and crowded and then finished the night with family at one of my favorite restaurants. 

Saturday we drove over to my brother in laws and his girlfriend Paula's house in FtWorth. They had a BBQ and grilled burgers.  I brought Watergate salad.  It's the whipped cream with pistachio pudding and fruit and nuts.  It was funny because I kept calling it Nixon salad the night before. When I went to the store I looked on google and realized it was Watergate. I guess when I hear Watergate, I think Nixon.  Hahaha!  I guess you had to be there. My inlaws totally shook their head like they knew what i was talking about.  We renamed it Scandal salad.  It's delicious! 

We took a group family selfie:

We didn't see any fireworks this year which is the first year ever I didn't make a point to watch them.  This is the first year  to have 2 dogs and they are so scared of them. It wasn't worth them being scared and upset.  We watched them on TV in Washington DC and New York.  We had to mute the TV when they would play the pips of the fireworks.  Unfortunately we were 2 blocks away from our towns festivities and we heard them by our bedroom window for hours. Todd grabbed Lila and just held her and that calmed her down.  Jax stayed under the covers near me and barked under the covers. He's so brave!

Yesterday was a fun day. After church we drove up to Denton which is maybe 30 miles north. We ate at Mellow Mushroom which is a pizza place and is so good! It's one of Todd's fave places.  Then we went on a leisurely drive thru the country on some back roads. I used to go the same back roads when I lived with dad in college and went to University of North Texas. I wanted to see if I still remembered and how much it changed.   I did good. I second guessed myself a few times and said I think I was supposed to turn there but I didn't and just kept going.  We had to exchange Todd's wedding ring that I bought him on Father's Day.  That was the direction we were aiming at was to get to the store I bought it at.  We got that done and went home. 

I got a bug to paint.  I painted 3 drawers and a vintage wooden ironing board. 

My goal for the drawers is to turn into shelves.  

The pic on left is from Pinterest and the drawers in right are mine. They're drying outside.  

I painted the ironing board with black chalkboard paint.  I'm thinking of writing Welcome down the length of the board. Or maybe Myers Family..... Endless possibilities. Lol! 

So that's it.  Fun and relaxing. 

This week my team is flying in for meetings here in Dallas.  It's going to be another very busy week at work!! 

Have a fabulous day and if you haven't already, make sure to go vote on my Battle of the bands post from next week.  

My patio chair redo

So 5 weeks ago , we were having a pretty day and I was just hanging around the house.  I have to take advantage of sunny days to do any of my spray paint projects.  I had bought a cute patio chair that was bright pepto-bismol pink with a faded floral seat cushion.  I really didn't mind the pink but I wanted our patio furniture to not clash as badly as it did.  

I spray painted the chair metallic silver and I painted another chair the same color because I was on a roll.  Then the seat needed some help.  I grabbed a cute bag that I had bought from Target last Halloween.  I had colorful skulls on it and I liked the fabric because it's waterproof.  I grabbed out my staple gun and took the seat and placed it in the bag.  I cut all the access off and just stapled it under the seat. Boom! Done! Easy Peasy!! 

And here is the results. I'm pretty pleased  without. Especially with all the rain we've been having.  

So what do you think? Have you covered any furniture before? I've only done outdoors chairs and a stool so far. 

"C" is for Crafty

Good morning and happy Good Friday yall! Today is the letter C and I thought about some crafts I've seen on Pinterest that I want to do soon.  I consider myself crafty but I wish I had more time to do some of the many projects I have stacking up. Recently , I painted my old vintage Singer sewing machine and spray painted some patio chairs and I stripped an old baby mattress and hung it up on my wall.  

Here are a few of my the Pinterest ones I want to do:

I have a few of my dad's old ties and would like to make a few of these for my aunt, stepmom and myself.  

There are dozens of crafts around my house and in garage to do and I will - slowly but surely!!! 

Have a wonderful and joyous Happy Easter weekend everyone. Oh and I have to post tomorrow too.  We do get Sunday off though - thank goodness! 

My cold rainy day project

This weekend in Dallas was just cold and ugly. We got a lot (4inches) of real fluffy snow in Friday and it snowed steady for hours.  With combination of snow and sleet from last week , it was wet outside and best to stay in. 

I have an old vintage Singer sewing machine that I've had for almost 10 years.  It belonged to my second cousin Nita and I'm not sure who's it was before her.  Nita passed away with cancer and before she died she had a garage sale to raise money for her bills. I bought the sewing machine and a cedar chest from her and gave the chest to another cousin.  The sewing machine was in really bad shape and it was in her outdoor she's for a while. Then when I got it, I had to put it in storage for a few years myself. There are huge water stains and some of the wood is lifting and chipped.  My plan is to actually put my portable sewing machine on top of this one and use it more like a table\ desk. 

I painted it with a plaster paint ( much like chalkboard paint) called Poppie. It's a shade of orange and I really like it. Not to mention I love the name Poppie ( my grandfather was called Poppy).  

I painted 3 coats and sanded it to still have the wood show through and look vintage.  Then I added 2 coats of poly sealer.  I'm very happy that it has a new life and it brightens up my craft room . 

Here are some doggy snow pics and even a scary selfie of me with no makeup.  I didn't even mention that last week I was supposed to travel to Ohio for work but my flights were canceled due to sleet. It worked out good for me that I didn't travel because I got super sick with the flu and upper respiratory infection.  I had to go to a urgent Doc in the box places because my doctor didn't open his office due to weather.  I'm on the mend and feeling tons of better this week! Still have a lingering cough but so does everyone else that I know. 

Crafty lazy Sunday

Happy Monday y'all! It's back to school for most all of the schools here in Dallas. What that means for me is tons of school zones to work and back. My step kids started today and they were both excited which is good. 

When I got home from church and lunch yesterday, Todd wasn't feeling so good so he hung out on the couch and watched football. I am actually starting to think about our annual HOLLIween party. Having a big back yard is so awesome and will be fun to decorate.  I had a few metal folding chairs so I painted them. I am so bad about Before pics.  Here is the after: 

After painting those, I tackled a little stool that I bought for 5$ at a thrift store. 

I really wish i had taken a Before pic when it still had the cushion on it. Someone had literally taken a throw pillow and then screwed it onto the stool. It was very high and dangerous and unsteady.  I took that off and threw in the trash.  It was a dark brown color and I have some Valspar red that I wanted to use. I sanded the legs a little bit to help the new paint stick to it. I used a little foam brush and it worked great. It was 102 degrees out so it was drying pretty quickly.  I didn't use a primer but the existing brown base was good to have. After it dried completely , in less than an hour- I cut up a piece of red oilcloth that I bought last year.  I actually used 2 shammy cloths as a cushion and stapled them to the stool.  I didn't want it bulky and they were not too thick put together. 

Then I stapled the oilcloth over the dustrags using the industrial staple gun and staples.  It's kinda hard to get the edges around the stool legs.  I need more practice on that for sure. It was fun to do though and waterproof if I want to leave outside.  It's good to have plenty of seating at parties! 

My next project is to make some signs to nail to my tree in the front yard for the party. I grabbed some pieces of wood that someone had put out on the curb. Score for free wood!! 

Have a great day y'all. 

Some randomness

So last week I got a crafty streak and spray painted some items that desperately needed a makeover.  I am so bad at taking Before pictures, you just have to believe from my After pics that it was an improvement.  I had 2 busts that were just grey and blah and now they are brighter.

The stand on wheels was really in bad shape with brown shelf and rusty legs.  I painted it silver to go in my kitchen. It holds my vintage bread box . 

When I went to Waco last Sunday, I passed this little guy cruising on the highway shoulder. He actually stopped at the antique shop and handed out some religious flyers. He was very committed and was a veteran. I didn't get picture with him on his cart because he already got off before I grabbed my phone. 

While browsing through the antique shop I came across this old birdcage. Y'all know my obsession with birdcages. Anyhoo.... This vintage cage on stand had price tag of 75$ but it was wrapped with black ducttape at the base, and inside the cage was an old dirtdobber nest and it had all this old plastic crap in it.  Now if you were asking 75 dollars for this, wouldn't you at least clean it out first and make it look presentable? I almost left a note saying so but I just shook my head and moved on.  Crazy! 

I had to take a picture of this pin. It's of an Asian woman but has scary Michael Jackson nose. 

I am pretty excited about my new hip purse I made for Sturgis.  It clips onto your belt loops and perfect when you ride.  I bought 2 purses at a thrift store- the one with fringe that will be the main part was 6$ and the 2nd purse was a small black one (2$) that I only bought for the clips.  I cut the strap off the beige one and cut the clips off the black one and asked my friend to sew the ends for me. I say I made it because it was my creation and I did all the cutting and had everything pinned- I just didn't do the sewing. Props to my friend though who doesn't question , she just sews where I ask.  The whole thing cost 8$ and I have a smaller one that I bought from Harley store that was 50$ ( on sale). It barely holds more than my license and lipgloss which is why I needed a slightly bigger one for my trip. 

Haha! I only have the before picture and not the after but you get the idea. 

My stepsister and 2 nieces are in town right now visiting and they came in for dads party. I went to visit after work on Monday and spent some time with them. We took Ava (18mos) for a walk and she went straight to the fence where some horses were. One of them was so sweet and very curious about Ava. My niece Paloma was with my stepmom down at the barn getting ready to ride. She got brand new boots that day that are black and silver zebra striped. So cute! 

Tomorrow is my precious grandma (Nanny)'s birthday and she will be 87. Y'all I love her so much! I'm sending her some flowers today to be delivered tomorrow. 

 Todd's friends sister passed away last week and tomorrow is her memorial.  One of my coworkers lost his wife last week and hers was this past Monday.  On Facebook , there has been a lot of sadness and loss these last 2 weeks. 

I pray that next week is more happier. 

That's all I got today folks. What a strange post I know. Thanks for hanging in there. Have a wonderful and Blessed day!! 

We were drawn from the weeds...

Good morning y'all! Happy Monday to you on this dark rainy gloomy day here in Dallas.  We soooo need the rain though. How was your weekend?  I unpacked A LOT and starting to see a light at end of the tunnel finally. I have one guest room that is pretty scary but it's not priority. I can close the door if anyone comes over.

  

I drove out to Quitman on Saturday where Nanny (grandma )  lives and it's 2 hrs one way.  We had such a great day! I left early and got there around 10:30 am. We went to a  a little hole in the wall and had a delicious country breakfast before we went to the grocery store. Nanny does not have a car  or a drivers license so one of us normally takes her so she can be stocked up. 

After we put away the groceries, we headed towards Lindale so I could go back to the Pink Pistol that's owned by Miranda Lambert.  I knew something was off when we got closer and no cars were there. Unfortunately, they had sign on door that they closed at 1pm just for that day.  I bet money that it was due to high school graduations.  I was bummed because I really really wanted to buy a skirt that I can't get out of my mind. 

On our way back to Nannys we stopped at a little flea market and I bought a cute little rolling cart and 2 mannequin heads that came from a beauty school. I will be using them for my Halloween party. LOL 

The highways were gorgeous out in East Texas. 

Sunday, I came home from church determined to get our master bedroom complete. Todd went to his office to paint  his lobby so I buckled down and got to work.  Jax is so funny because he loves to be held. He was so needy and would jump up on my legs so I can pick him up. He's actually pretty heavy when you're holding him with one arm and unpacking, sorting and cleaning with the other arm. 

I need to get one of those baby holders that I can put him in and carry him around.

 I came across one of my projects I bought recently, and changed it around. 

I had bought a summer dress that would not have fit me in the bust but would make a great skirt. I cut the whole top portion off and Wallah! I have a cute skirt. 

These are really not good pictures but notice the shoulder straps and the top bodice are missing from the photo on right. 

It's been a blah day but Ive been busy at work. Hence the late time of day I'm posting. 

Here are some cute pics of Jax that brighten my day. 

He's using his toy as a pillow. Heehee

I want to post more then once this week so let's see......

Have a great rest of your day.