He Made It !!!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

May on the Front Porch

I got up early this morning to a surprise from a sweet friend.  This makes it

real!  My 5th baby will graduate in a couple of weeks.  The bow appeared during

the night along with a poem that the Boy felt was written only for him.  He liked it

so much that he folded it up and put it in his pocket to take with him to work. 

Mother's Day was made special to me because someone took the time to make my

child feel special! 

 One of the best things about traditional Southern houses is the porch!  We tend to use it as storage space but, today it is sort of cleaned up.  I like stuff on the porch...rocking chairs, plants, and a porch swing...

 It needs a coat of paint this year.  I pressure washed it last week so at least the pollen is gone.

 My favorite corner....

 Love to repurpose junk.... we found this little chair on a junk hunt.  I was planning to take it to Angel's but plans change ....now it is my centerpiece!

 Found the seat  cushion at Goodwill and made the throw pillows from some fabric I found online.  After years of different arrangements this is the best the swing has ever looked!  Ready for a glass of sweet tea and good book!

 I just gave this ladder a coat of Annie Sloan's Emperor's Silk and some dark wax.  After it dries I will put some plants on it.

And here is my graduate ....before

 

And Now......in the blink of an eye!

Pallet Blocks

If you work with pallets, you will recognize these spacer blocks that are on some pallets.  Usually my Hubby just cuts these off and discards them,  If they are real wood (not the pressed wood kind) I snatch them out of the junk pile for projects.

 

 

 

So here is the "Before" shot.  I have to remove or pound in nails and sand them.

 

 

Next is the fun part.  I paint them randomly with paint colors that I want to show through when I distress them.  For SPRING I chose a gray base with emerald and aqua edges.  Then I paint a thin layer of white over everything.  I did not remember to take a picture to the end.... 

 

 

 

So here is my "AFTER" shot.  The steps I left out are to stencil or freehand the letters you choose and then distress them by sanding where you want the color to show through. 

I also glued felt on the bottom of each block so I will not scratch my table! 

 

 

And speaking of the table..... here is the fabulous farmhouse table my Hubby just finished.  It was sitting on top of more pallet spacers to make sure the finish dried before the trip to Angel's.

 

 

I am linking this thrifty project to this party:  http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/2014/03/thrifty-things-friday-151.html

Quick and Easy Trash to Treasure Table Runners

 I have let Valentine's Day sneak up on me.  It seems a waste of time to get out my decorations now, so I used what I could get to easily....and the bonus is...less to clean up and put away!

Somehow these camellias survived the freezing weather.  It was the only bush that the blooms did not turn brown.

I put out a few burlap hearts on my new table runner.

And that was enough!

I did spend some time working on a few table runners.  These are easy to whip up and have been selling in the booth this month.  I saw some on a junking trip a few weeks ago and have sold all that I made.   First I shopped my stash for some fabric:

 

I ended up making 3 runners in a couple of hours.  The French printed burlap was plain without  ruffles.  I just cut a strip the width of the fabric so it was 45 inches long and 12 inches wide.  I fringed all the edges and stay stitched around.  The other two have ruffles on the ends.  They take a little more time but they are also fringed so no hemming....

Burlap is fast to cut. Just measure and pull out a string where you want to cut.

Cut down the empty space which gives you a nice straight edge.

I used some recycled linen for the ruffles.  I cut 2 rectangles 7 inches by 24 inches from an old skirt!

Gather the long sides and sew to the ends of the burlap.  I did over edge them to stop the fraying threads.

I finished by fringing the hem of the ruffle, turning the edges of the ruffle and stay stitching the burlap /ruffle edges.  The next one is a floral printed burlap with a gingham ruffle.  Done the same way!

I forgot to take a picture of one I made last week,  it was burlap with a lace ruffle.  The lace came off some vintage lace curtains!

   I made all of these from scraps of fabric and lace that I already had...so....$0.. Trash to Treasure!!!

Snow Day X 3

 

It started yesterday!  Snow here is rare...maybe once a year.  School was already cancelled... we knew it was coming.  I went to Kroger Monday and it was clear everyone was stocking up to be snowed in for a month.  I didn't get much -just what we needed.  In all my years here we have never had more than 2 snow days.

It was still snowing when I went to bed.

 

 

And it was there when I woke up.  They have asked people to stay home.  I am happy to do that!

 

 

I have a big pot of chili cooking.

Several painting projects to work on.

 

 

And the dogs are happy to keep me company!

The crate is next to the heating vent so Bitsey chose to curl up there.

 

Just found out that school is cancelled for Thursday as well....should have bought more food.......

The Grill Man

One of the events that I missed blogging  about last year was the business venture of the boy.  In May of last year he teamed up with his Dad and they bought out a vendor who was leaving Angel's.  He has his own booth.  Tommy works for him and I am his decorator!

We go pick up grills, smokers, fire pits and accessories at a Charbroil return/outlet.  Some of them are damaged, some are missing parts and some are perfect.  You just never know what you will get.

 Tyler builds the grills.  He can do it on his own schedule as long as his booth stays stocked.  Which works out well most of the time.  How many jobs can a high school senior get that will work around their social life??  He had a busy month in December so he had to build a lot of grills.  This month....not so much.  But spring and summer are coming...

I helped (did) the decorating in a John Deere theme.  We have sold several John Deere items that were really just there for decorating!

Baby, It's COLD Outside

         Alabama has had an unusually cold winter.  Last year we only had 6 days below freezing (which is more than enough for me)....this year we have already had 16.   I hate winter...the cold...the windy...the dark.  I am sure I have that seasonal depression  disorder.  And I think the dogs have it as well.

 

They slept like this for a couple of hours today.   Max was on my lap under a blanket so he didn't get in front of the camera.   Chug and Bitsey had the chair pushed up as close to the fireplace as possible so they were out from under the blanket!

How much longer until summer???