Projects...

i have sooooo many projects i need to get done in

my house its unreal actually!  our master bath has been "under construction"

for nearly 3 years now!  lack of money there for a while and

the time to get it done (since we are doing it ourselves).

we have everything we need...just time to call in the plumber :)

i am going for a cottage theme...i love vintage, cottage style...it's me thru and thru!!

the wall color will be an olive green from chair rail up...

and chair rail and down will be a antique cream painted bead board!!

the shower will be all tile...floor to ceiling.  we have gutted the whole bathrrom

and made our single standup shower a double standup shower

the vanity is custom made by Chris Homebuilders (looks similar to this)

the whole vanity is bead board which is so pretty and will def get a

distressed look when i'm done with it

i picked a bowl sink...i love they way they stand out and make a statement

in a bathroom!  i picked this green one to go along with the paint...green is my fav color!

hubby has built me some built-in shelves in a false wall he built!  he

says it will hold all my "junk"!  no woman has junk in the bathroom...

they are all nessecities!!

this is the MAJOR project we need to get done!!  the next and may come before this

one project will be my dinning room banquette!! 

we dont have a "defined" dinning room and our table is kinda in the way when you walk intomy side door, which is the door everyone comes in!  so i thought that a banquette would give us more seating and move everything to the corner and out of the walk way path!

i have the stuff to do it, just need to find the time and get on it!!

Happy Wednesday all....

xoxoxoxo

Amanda



Happy Friday...

TGIF...i have been waiting on this day all week :)

so sad how sometimes we wish our weeks away but then there are times

that we say "man i wish i could go back and change that day!"

thats just it...we cant change anything in our past, but we can always correct

what we did for future reference!!  i've been there many times :)

i know a lot of people who do the "what am i thankful for in November"...

im always thankful for me being able to give everything up

and putting it into Gods hands!  i couldnt do it without him!  i'm thankful for a

wonderful husband who supports me no matter what and who never gave up on me

when i wasnt making the best decisions!  AND most importantly i'm thankful for my

3 beautiful girls that GOD blessed me with! 

they keep me grounded spiritually and mentally!!  parenthood can be challenging

but all in all....its WONDERFUL!!

i am getting sooooo stoked about the release of Breaking Dawn Part 1!  i am a HUGE

"Twi-hard" Twilight fan!!  (my hubby says i'm obsessed)  i've read

all the books 2x's, i have the 2nd and 3rd movies...currently searching

amazon for the 1st at a good price!!  i just love the "love" story of it!! i know most people

say "its just a sappy love story"...well it's not to me :)

every body wants to experience that kind of love, that kind of bond in a relationship!!

i know it's important to me and in my marriage that we are connected on

every level possible and share everything!  we are best friends...soul mates!!

so here's to the new release of Breaking Dawn Part 1...and yes i already bought my tickets :)

Hope everyone has a blessed and fabulous weekend!!

xoxoxo

Amanda



Fall Recipe Link Up...

Fall/Winter is the time for all those "stick to your ribs" kinda meals!!

I LOVE soups, stews...all those hearty meals that put you in what my husband and I

like to call....food commas!!

I would have to say that Loaded Potato Soup is one of our favs!

My husband adores Fatz potato soup so I made it a mission to out-do theirs

and make him like mine better!  I got this recipe from a dear friend of 

mine who is an awesome cook!  She absolutely loves cooking!

2 bags of Real Bacon Pieces

3 Scallions (green and white part)<<can use more if you like

1 whole bag of Red skinned Potatoes

4 cups chicken broth

salt & pepper to taste
1 big block of Velveeta cheese (cubed)

2 cups half and half



Dice up bag of potatoes (skin left on), fill up pot half way with chicken broth and the rest with water to cover potatoes.  Let boil till potatoes are tender.  Smash some of the potatoes, not all, with stirring spoon.  Add half and half and stir, it will start to thicken up.  Next add the cheese (make sure it is cubed, it will dissolve faster).  Last add the scallions and bacon, salt and pepper to taste.  Let simmer and serve.

 Linked up with Alison for the Fall Recipe Link Up.

Princess Mirror...

This past Saturday we had a birthday party to go to. 

This lil girl is on my cheer leading team...her mom and i are the coaches. 

She is such a character and so full of life!!  When I asked her what she would like

for her birthday she said "a princess mirror...

they have them at Wal-Mart"...she thinks everything comes from Wal-Mart :)



Well I just so happen to have a cute mirror laying around my house that

was not being used and decided I would

transform it into her Princess Mirror....one that no other lil girl has!

The back of the mirror was not pretty at all.  I know I know "who's

going to see it anyway" but still...I had to do something with it. 

So I had this fabric left over from re-doing my older 2

daughters bedroom.  This would be the perfect backing.  So I cut

it to size leaving an inch hangover.

I covered up the mirror so I wouldn't get paint on it...or at least

try my best not to!

I ended up having to put about 3 coats of paint on the mirror.  I

wanted a heavy coating so I could scuff it up some...make it

look old...antiqued!!

After the paint was completely dry, I flipped the mirror over

and started on the fabric backing!  All I did was fold under

the inch overhang and hot glue onto the back of the

frame...making my creases sharp & crisp with the iron! 

This is one of the crowns that I made out of felt (2 in all)

that I glued directly to the mirror in opposite corners!

No Princess mirror would be complete without

a CROWN!!

On two corners of the frame, opposite each other,

I added some dark pink and light pink rosettes and a combo

light and dark purple pom!  To the back of the rosettes I added

baby pink tulle to add a lil flare!

She was THRILLED with her Princess Mirror!  It turned out adorable

I must say so myself...my girls are wanting one now :)

The pics really don't do it justice...in need of camera BAD!!!

And also this past Saturday I celebrated my 30th Birthday as well!! :)

Yeah the big 3-0!  My hubby was sooo excited to

embarrass me that he posted this outside our house...

Gotta love him...and I DO!!!  Happy Monday!

xoxoxox

Amanda

Fall Wreath...

I've been meaning to make a yarn Fall wreath.

I bought everything that I needed, started wrapping the wreath with the yarn

and about after 45 minutes of wrapping and not making ANY progress

around the wreath...I gave up!!

I had some burlap left over from my table runner on my dinning

room table.  **light bulb** yes, it came on...I'll cut the burlap into strips

and cover the wreath with that...took me all of 5 MINUTES to do

the WHOLE thing :)

I LOVE felt...it's an obsession of mine I will admit!  So I picked

out my colors that I wanted for my fall wreath and

started making rosettes and pompoms!  I thought it turned out really good!

Now I have to make my mom and 2 of my sisters one :)

These would make great gifts...you don't glue the flowers on, you pin them

on so that they are removable and you can replace

the flowers according to the seasons or holidays!!  BRILLIANT

Sorry, I didn't do a step by step, my camera is not the greatest

but this is my outcome...

You cant really tell the exact colors because my camera is not the best

but I used gold yellow, hunter green, red, cream, brown,

khaki and burnt orange!   

LOVE IT!!

Happy Monday

xoxoxoxoxox

Amanda

Happy FALL...

Ahhhh....I love the crisp air in the morning!! 

Fall has to be one of my FAV times of the year...

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes, pumpkin pies, warm homemade soups,

cool mornings and evenings, watching the leaves change

colors (best part about living in Western NC...yes I am bias),

holidays to look forward to...and my husbands fav...football!! haha

I FINALLY put out my fall decor, well not all of it, last night!

I'm running behind!  We dont really decorate for

Halloween, I just do the fall colors...I can leave them out longer :)

I found this cute tutoriall over at Everything Under The Moon for

Autumn Yarn Pumpkins.  These are SUPER adorable and

so easy to make and the fall yarn options are endless! 

I bought the burnt orange and the multicolor yarn @ Wal-Mart,

pumpkins from the Dollar Tree (love that store), I had

the twine and black yarn left over from other projects.

I also bout a yard of burlap from Hobby Lobby to cut and

use as a table runner!  Love fall colors...hope you do too :)

Hopefully I can get my yarn wreath done before
next fall...that's what I am working on now and man...it's tedious for sure!
But I know it will turn out cute.  First saw them on MrsPRISS...love her site!
These are so versatile and I'm all about reusing things!

Till next time...xoxoxo
Amanda

My darling Vintage Dresser...

Its finally FINISHED!!! 

Went to Lowe's Hardware the other night and when I saw these

drawer pulls I had to have them...not to mention they were on sale :)

Hopefully I can get a better camera SOON!!!

This pretty thing will be moved out of my kitchen and into

my bedroom this evening!  Now I can start on my headboard and

nightstand!! 

I'll add bedroom pics when I get everything complete!

Happy Hump Day & happy creating!!

xoxoxoxox

Amanda



New Hobby....& LOVIN' IT!!

I have always had a LOVE for antiques.  Growing up, I loved going to my grandparents house and looking at all the old furniture and trinkets they had managed to keep all these years!  Furniture was my favorite...all the intricate detail and craftsmanship...they just don't make furniture like they use too. 



Here over the past few months, for some reason friends of mine have been giving away furniture :)  Not that I am complaining one bit!!  But it has really got my creativity flowing. (not that my husband likes that, that means work for him too!)

So here is my latest project:

A friend of mines mom gave me this the other weekend!  My first thought was 'where will I put this?'  But I always find a place for something!  My youngest step sons dresser was falling apart...that cheap particle board stuff doesn't hold up very long.  So i am switching out furniture...this one in my room, my current one goes to my older two girls room & their current one goes to my step son!  See, there's always room for furniture! :)

Before

Drawers: Before

This was the only drawer with the swirl detail on it..I love it! 

BUT I took it off for now and will be making a trip to Lowe's soon t

o purchase this and add to all the drawers :)

Bottom scroll piece...LOVE!!

(not a great pic...I need a new camera to replace my phone)

These are the original drawer pulls!  There was only 4 on the

whole dresser :(  I cleaned these up and put them on the

2 upper drawers for now.  Haven't gotten any pulls for the other

drawers yet...TO DO LIST!!

Hubby didn't want it "stark white" sooooo we add a lil

bit of coca brown to it, to give it an aged/antique color

**both colors are left overs from other projects**

Drawers after 2 coats of paint (sanded 1st of course)

*sorry for bad quality of pic**

Upper drawers...LOVE the curved drawers :)

After paint

NOW...time to sand and antique these some :)

I had to put twine in the drawer holes until I get drawer

pulls...hey whatever works :)

I took a sanding block and ruffed up the edges and corners

and some on the drawer facings.  SORRY my camera

does NOT do it justice!  Very proud of this!  Will post

pics when I get the drawer pulls on!

If you want to see some awesome furniture re-do's, go visit

Liz Marie!  She is an inspiration to me...I love her work and creativity!!

xoxoxo

Amanda

**Upcoming projects:  night stand and head board re-do, built in seating and new dinning room table using current furniture and some scrap wood and re-do of my sewing table and chair**

Trying...

I am trying to learn how to sew...big step for me!!  My hubby's step mom gave me a little sewing machine..and I mean little!!  It's basically like a beginners one but I have SO many things that I want to do and I cant do it on this machine.  SO I am getting frustrated to say the least.  Its not heavy so it moves on me.  I have have been practicing on my lines and pivots and things like that to get better.  So it has helped there.  But I have came to the conclusion that I am going to buy me a REAL sewing machine next week!!  Still going to practice on this little on for a little while longer just to get the practice in.  I did actually sew pleats on it so that excited me...it doesn't take much!!
So hopefully I will be a sewing queen before too long :)

Weekend Fun...

This weekend was very busy for me!  I clean a house on Saturday mornings and this time I stayed a lil longer to get some things done since I didnt clean last weekend there.  Then came home and colored my sister-n-laws hair for her.  Then made our trip to the grocery store and back home...I was exhausted!  Then yesterday something hit me, & I scrubbed my house like a mad woman!!  I am very sore today like I was at the gym for hours or something!  But last night I managed to make some headbands for some lil girls and they turned out really good!  One was just basic...the lil girl didnt want anything too frilly or baby-ish and she loves turquoise and pink, so this is what I came up with (my daughter loves to model these!!)

I saw this looking throw different felt designs and I love owls so I def had to try to make this and I was very pleased with how it turned out!!  Josie loved it :)

Starting to sell some things now which is always exciting when people like what you make!!  I just enjoy making things and seeing what all I can come up with!



M.I.A

I have been sick lately!  My husband started with a sinus infection that he put off FOREVER since he is so stubborn!! :) Then I ended up getting the crud!!  I think I was M.I.A in my own house the past few weeks, at least it felt that way!  I am not a pill taker but I had to take something and WOW...hope I didn't embarrass myself too much at home! But, FINALLY we are over it and I can get back to making some things!!
I have to make some more butterflies and lady bugs for a friend and finish up on my own daughter's headbands they are wanting!  Busy Busy

New ones...

Been working on a few things lately and 2 of these I was very proud of.  Was a little weary at first but they turned out great and *T* loved them for her little girl! (Pics are not great...took with phone!  Need new camera ASAP!!)

Felt Button Butterfly on purple headband

Felt Lady Bug on Leaf

 Made these next two for *A*'s little girl...loving some felt of course :)

I made these next two as just a "trial"...idea popped in my head so I tried it!  I love twine...I used it a lot in my wedding and it's very rustic looking which I love! So I thought "why not us the twine as a headband and just tie it?"...turned out better than I expected!!

This is my FAV!!!  Very vintage looking!  Wore it to work and got a lot of compliments!!

My husband keeps telling me to sell these.  The ones I made for *A* & *T* I did not charge for...they were my "Guinea pigs" so to speak...word of mouth goes a long way!!  But who knows...I would def sell if the interest was there!