weekend projects: completed

what a weekend. i am exhausted. between putting up the christmas decorations and revamping two, although small areas, has done me in. but WOW do i love the result! please, step into my entry....

this stone wallpaper really adds a warm cozy feel to the entry. my husband said "i feel like i am walking into a castle". i will take a comment like that any day from my husband....because if this is your castle, well then that must make me the queen! ;)

it looks really pretty with the wood floors...oooh i just love it. don't be afraid to commit to wallpaper. it really isn't that difficult to hang and it can make quite a statement.

the diamonds on the dining room wall are gone. and i really like the warm stone paint color. it is a pretty gray during the day, and at night it seems to change to a muddy browny, gray and it is beautiful.

the white legs on the dining table really seem to fit in better with the solid wall color. my collection of drawers have made their way to the wall to create little cubbies to hold small mementos.

i love the different finishes, colors and handles on them. i am on the hunt for one more, because i like things in odd number groupings. easy 'art' especially when you pick them up at garage sales or flea markets.

the shutters on the wall were a folding screen. i took off all the hinges and then just hung each piece on the wall. the clock hangs on a shutter for that layered look. if you are having trouble with decorating, try layering, i think it really adds something to the look. love the white shutters on the new paint color.

and ahhhhh. finally a new chandelier for the living room. my husband kept hitting his head on the old one, so i was on the hunt for a smaller one. i won this cute vintage french chandelier on ebay last week. it is so pretty in person, i absolutely love it.

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up next: photos of my christmas decorations.

weekend projects

a busy decorating weekend. but would i want it any other way?! of course not! we will crank the christmas music and put up the tree on friday.
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highly inspired by a photo in french style at home i ordered some cool wallpaper to give my entry a french villa look. Since putting up real stone isn't even in the budget for this decided on a whim decorating project.

saturday i will paint the dining room and kitchen area with sherwin williams warm stone. and the brick/stone wallpaper arrived today so i will get that up on sunday. i did not even pay for two day shipping but the paper came within two days! so thankful for the postal service this time of year!
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happy thanksgiving to all of you! thanks for checking out my blog on a regular basis. i will post photos next week of my completed entry and dining room/kitchen area. and promise to also get the basement remodel photos posted next week.

40 minutes and some leftover paint

this is my dining room table. sorry for the bad glare from the window, but you get the idea. i loved this table when i found it...at hobby lobby about 9 years ago. at the time, i had no where to put it, but knew that someday i would so i bought it...for the clearance price of one hundred and twenty bucks! it is heavy, solid and i really like the carving on it. most people asked if i purchased this while living overseas because it is quite unique.
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lately i have been still liking the table, but not loving it. i have been wanting a round table, i think it would fit the space better. but, since that is not in my budget i decided on a wee little change for the table.


like the title of this post says i literally had 40 minutes before i picked the kids up from school. leftover paint from the basement project...which reminds me, i don't think i have posted any of those photos here yet...i will ...soon! back to the table, i have also been inspired lately by lots and lots of blogs that decorate with all white. i went mostly all white in the basement and love it. that is slowly working it's way upstairs.


so this is the table with it's little 40 minute makeover. obviously i waited until the next day for the paint to be good and dry before i distressed it. i love the look! i am in love, again, with my dining room table.

i just had way too much brown on this side of the room. now it seems more balanced and i love how the table pops off the floor. before it just blended in. i purposely do not have a rug under the dining room table because with two little ones it is much easier to keep clean with out one.

so in true fashion around here, the decorating flood gates are open again. because as much as i love the table now... i am sick of the black diamonds on the wall! i have big plans for the color on the wall and for my entry way. stay tuned!

just be

i do not sit still well. lately i have been running around like a mad woman trying to get everything done. an october sale, a basement remodel, a november sale, being a mom, a wife, you know the drill. though i know that i should, it is rare that i take a moment during my day and just be. but today, i did just that.
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first i pulled this together on my buffet. it has been cold and rainy for the past few days and i just can not get warm. i pulled out the teapot and some tea, put it all together on one of my favorite trays. i also included my favorite leopard dishes that never get used. my hope is that each time i see this little set up that i remember to take a few moments to relax....and warm up!

so i had my cup of tea and relaxed. the laundry was done, the kitchen cleaned, C was napping and M was at school. it was silent and it was beautiful. i even enjoyed the misty gloomy day, it seemed so peaceful. i used to meditate on a daily basis. it has been awhile since i have done that but i tried again today. the hardest thing about meditating is clearing your mind, it usually takes me a good week to get into the groove of it. my mind usually goes to 'what's for dinner?' but since i have been meal planning and creating a menu each week....

the thought came to my mind and then cruised out because i have dinner covered for tonight. then i thought 'what am i missing on hgtv?' a favorite show? i also even thought of the quilt i should get started for C. i am making him a quilt by recycling some of the cowboy material that was used for his crib. my hope is to have it wrapped and under the tree by christmas eve. then the thought of christmas popped into my head....so much for meditating today. but you can be sure i will try again tomorrow. i think it is important to take a few minutes out of our busy days and ... just be. try it, and then let me know how it goes.

how fun it was

the cure of ars gift gallery is one great show! they do a fantastic job at getting the people there to shop. and shop they did...we had a great day of sales! here are some photos of our space before the shoppers came. a full booth most of the day and even a line at the checkout? who knew so much of our stuff would fly out of there. loved every minute of it!
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our space was in a corner, this set up was smack in the front.

the amount of furniture we took just for infrastructure seemed like a lot. but we needed it to show off all the fun things we had for sale. this old shoe rack held my trays.

shoppers were able to walk around the shutters and see this beautiful display.

trays, tuffets, lamps, flea market finds etc. all flew out so quickly that were constantly rearranging to keep the booth fresh. so thankful that we had cashiers to help us out. Thanks Jennifer and Olivia!

the petite gift bar was a big hit. lots of small gifts, all under $15 . perfect for teacher, hostess, girlfriend gifts.

everyday napkins for sale. great for being kind to the earth. so much better than paper towels or paper napkins and prettier to look at too!

more stuff.....

we also had a drawing for 2 hours of free staging services. we're so excited to draw the winner and start on that project. we'll contact the winner this week, but will wait until after the holidays to rearrange, using what they have, a room in the winners home.

thank you to all that came and shopped, commented how great our space looked, and to those dozen of you that asked "where is your store?!" we are certainly going to be on a high for a few days from this event.

new tray line

i think i have mentioned before that i crave change. i need it constantly. so when i was pondering in my tiny creative brain what kind of papers to look for to create my next line of trays something different popped into my head. what if i did not use paper at all this time? ooooohhh....i love the end result! the one says 'bless this house' in french and the handles i had in my stash. so glad i finally got to use them on a few of the trays.

lately i have been de-cluttering, and minimizing and these trays resemble exactly what i have been trying to do with my life and that is to keep. things. simple. i love how they turned out, they are so me. look how cool these two are.....

thanks to my ever so creative mom for helping me hammer out some of the details so that i can offer these unbelievably beautiful trays at the up coming Cure of Ars Gift Gallery. they will be available saturday in the Burlap JunKtion booth! yikes!! only 4 days until set up....i better get back to my studio. hope you can make it to the sale saturday!

special treats

if you trick or treat at our house you will get one of these special treats. i make these every year and the kids just love them. i am including a tutorial here on how to make them...it is so easy! a little late for this years goblins, but these also are beautiful for the holidays, party favors, teacher gifts etc.

you will need an assortment of pretty papers. you can pick these up at your local scrapbook store.

you will also need toilet paper tubes (or paper towel tubes cut down. i save these all year just for this project), tissue paper, scissors, tape, twine or ribbon, and the candy treats that you want to go inside.

start by cutting your pretty paper into strips. they should be a smidge smaller than the width of your toilet paper tube. for the length, wrap it around your tube and leave a little bit of overlap. cut each one to length.

you will want to cut your tissue paper a bit wider, on both sides, than your tube.

fill your tube with your chosen treats,

and then roll up the tube in the tissue paper.

carefully, not to tear your tissue paper, tie each end with the twine or ribbon.

next, wrap the pretty paper around the tube and seal with a piece of clear tape.

that is it....so easy! i think the most difficult part of this project is selecting the pretty paper. there are so many fun choices. good luck!

introducing: Burlap JunKtion

i have participated in the cure of ars catholic church gift gallery for three years. my dear friend joan has also participated in this same sale with her beautiful beaded serving pieces. we have decided to combine our space this year and bring something new to the gift gallery.
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we both enjoy making our homes beautiful by using what we have, and purchasing new items for our homes through junking. we also love to paint, and re purpose furniture pieces, another frugal option for decorating your home.




i am still enjoying tray bella and will have a new line of trays debuting at the gift gallery. joan will also have turtle soup pieces. but we will also have lots of other new, fun, and fabulous home decor items to mix in with what you might already have at home. sometimes just adding one new piece to your mix is all you need. we will be there to help you with your choices, whether for yourself or for a friend.
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we will also have a drawing for one lucky winner..... 2 hours of home staging services!
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Look for us under Burlap JunKtion! coming up with a new name was a challenge and we think we've come up with a name that fits us. the dictionary definition of junction is the act of joining; combining....which is what we are doing; joining tray bella and turtle soup. the spelling of junction was changed to JunKtion to reflect our love of junking and the capital J is for joan and the capital K is for kathi. we felt we needed something to go with JunKtion and burlap popped into joans head. we love the simple look of burlap and it's natural texture, it is fitting to how we both decorate.
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i am so excited to start this new adventure with such a dear friend. equally excited to bring you something new, fun and fabulous! stop by our booth at the gift gallery and enter our drawing!

terrific toffee popcorn

movie night? happy hour? family gathering? bake sale? super yummy snack?
if you are in need of something addictingly (is that a word?) good this recipe is for you.
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it calls for cheerios, but i think the next time i make it i will just use five cups of crispix cereal. you can also use corn or rice chex cereal.
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and when you gain 5 lbs from not being able to stop eating this....i do not want to hear about it. ;)

TOFFEE POPCORN MIX

3 cups crispix
2 cups cheerios
1 bag of popped microwave popcorn (any style/flavor)
1 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts (sometimes i use almonds instead)
1 1/4 cup pecans (or if you don't like pecans, double up on the peanuts or almonds)

1 cup butter (not margarine!)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

grease a roasting pan.
combine the butter, brown sugar, corn syrup on stove top. bring to boil for 5 minutes.
remove from heat, add vanilla and baking soda. stir for a minute. it should get foamy/bubbly.
pour over cereal mix and toss together.
bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. toss every 15-20 minutes during baking.
let cool.

last of the garden

i cleaned out the garden this past weekend. what a job that is. my rosemary and thyme plants were still looking really good so i just clipped the heck out of them. i then placed them in small bundles, wrapped them with twine and gave a few away to friends. i have some hanging in my kitchen window, drying and the smell reminds me of summer.
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we had good luck with our garden this year. i am excited for spring to get planting again. i will spend the winter digging through books at the library on ways to make my garden better. i am anxiously awaiting those summer garden days....sigh....oh how i dread the cold winter.

carrot pineapple cake recipe

a super yummy cake recipe for any fall gathering you might be attending or just because.
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CARROT PINEAPPLE CAKE
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
beat well in a mixer and then add:
2 cups shredded carrots
14 oz. crushed pineapple (juice and all)
2 teaspoons vanilla
then add:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
bake in a large bundt pan at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

ICING:
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups icing sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
beat in a mixer until fluffy.

ice cake once cool and enjoy!

chair redo

these are some old dining room chairs that we have had. they now sit in their new home around our game table in our newly finished basement. we have a few ends to wrap up today in the basement, i will get some photos out this week. until then, an easy project to update these chairs.
for those of you that might have chairs like this at home, and have no idea how to recover them, you will not believe how simple this project is.
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you will need your outdated chair,

your new fabric. i found this last week at a fabric sale. $5 for a piece big enough to redo all four of my chairs...what a deal!

you will also need for this project a screwdriver, scissors and a staple gun. if you do not have a staple gun RUN to your nearest home improvement store. you will be able to do many projects if you have a staple gun available.
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first you will need to flip your chair over and unscrew the four screws that hold the seat on. you can rip off the old cover and use it for your pattern, or simply cut out a new piece by laying your seat on top of your new fabric and cutting, leaving enough of an allowance to wrap around.

then all you have to do is pull it tight and staple in place. screw your seat back on and you are done. so easy! now that i have these done i am wondering if i might like the chair painted white? hmmm...another project on the project list. i will save that for a rainy day.

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piece of cake project! and speaking of cake.....

we went to the neighbors on friday night for dinner and i made this cake for dessert. it is a carrot pineapple cake with cream cheese frosting. so easy to make and soooo yummy! i will post the recipe later this afternoon. for now my 3 year old needs some attention.

and the winner is.....

PAULA!! send me your address so that i can get this in the mail to you today please.
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thanks to all of you that left comments and read my blog.
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have a good weekend!

a little thank you giveaway

in september i hit my two year blog anniversary. i am amazed every day that there are people out there that actually enjoy reading what i have to write. this started out as a creative outlet for me and a way to stay in touch with long distant friends. i had no idea i would meet so many lovely people. and how strange it is that even though i have not met you all personally, i feel like i have known you forever.
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it is a joy to see my 'regulars' leave comments, and to hear from new and old viewers that i have in some way inspired them. hello to all you stalkers out there too! ;)
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so it is time for a giveaway! with halloween coming up i have chosen to give away this cute halloween tray. the tray is black with orange polka dot paper. it also includes two black kitchen towels and a cute halloween decoration.




leave a comment here to enter your name for the drawing. post this giveaway on your blog and i will add your name twice! i will take comments until thursday night at 10:00pm cst. the winner will be announced friday morning. my hope is to get this in the mail on friday so that the winner can have it in time for halloween.
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i thank each and every one of you for your comments, support and friendship!
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Good luck!

MIA

i have been missing in action lately when it comes to blogging. but i am still here. we are still working on the basement remodel and i had to unplug the computer things to get my paint job done. i have hopes of the basement being completed and plugged back in by the end of the weekend. i will then post photos from the friends of a feather sale (huge success, despite the rainy cold weather), some photos of the finished basement, trick or treats that i have been working on, and tell you about a giveaway that i even won from Paula at Oliver's!
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be back soon!

rain or shine

it rained so much here today in kansas city. setting up for the friends of a feather sale was a bit of a challenge but we will be ready to go by 9am. rain or shine! hope to see you there!

loss

Grief that is expressed and experienced has a potential for healing that eventually can strengthen and enrich life.

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saying goodbye is never easy. but when a situation contaminates your life, sometimes it is the only thing to do.

weekend work

i worked hard this weekend on a batch of trays that i will have at this weekends friends of a feather sale. these photos only show a small amount of them. now to get them tagged, priced and packed up. in addition to my trays, i still have high hopes of getting a few pillows made out of some coffee bean bags that i found. looks like i will be up late tonight. back to the studio.....

big fun sale

if you are in the kansas city area, mark your calendars for this fun event! and if you are a blog reader of mine be sure and find me to say hello. back to the studio, i have lots of fun finds to finish up before next week!

outdoor movie night

this past weekend it was our turn to host dinner club. with the weather being so beautiful lately we decided on an outdoor movie night.

we kept the menu super simple by buying and baking a couple of pizzas. i threw together a really yummy salad and dessert was served during the movie....popcorn and your choice of candy.

we tested 'our system' friday night with a kids movie night. they had a blast watching Bolt. all you will need is a white sheet (we clipped ours to the gutter), a projector and then ran the movie through the laptop. my husband brought out 4 speakers to add the surround sound theatre feel.

both nights were really fun and we will for sure repeat this kind of entertaining.