Sacred Space Layout

Oh my! Finally got some time to make a layout. Lexi went to this fabulous church when she was in Italy (I think it was in Arezzo) and I loved the photos. In fact, I really want a candle tree. Check it out below! It's the perfect picture for a project life page and I finally started working on one! (phew!)

Really love that tree! More on the project life page later!

Really digging these new Close to My Heart papers. They work well with some gold paint and some little splatters.

Fussy cut a couple of the project life papers so get these flowers. Then I glittered them all up!

Happiest of Thursdays to you!

Happy Belated Earth Day

My friend Tom Cook is at it again. He made us some pretty planters with upcycled coolers in honor of Earth Day this past Saturday at work. I planted them up and I thought they were pretty so wanted to share!

I'll stain them up some sunny day, but for the time being they are busy holding posies! Well, and a couple of tomato plants.

He cut our logo on the one planter with a CNC Lathe. Kinda makes you want one, don't you! Now we are hoping those chairs don't sell at the store!

Happy Hump Day!

A Bowl of Vintage Treasures

The other day I was walking through the construction side of the Corning ReStore when I was distracted by a box full of vintage goodness. I picked a handful of yummy stuff and for $5 managed to really score some pretty vintage knobs, some metal pieces, and some glass stoppers.

Some of the knobs came with those metal pieces that attach to the door so I snapped those right up too. That pretty white covered tureen was a cool find a different day, but I can honestly tell you that I think my vintage ship came in this past week!

Pair that up with lawn mowing weather and flowers in bloom? I'm totally winning at life over here!
I'll leave you with a photo of a pretty purple hyacinth I found blooming and I'm enjoying...

Happy Tuesday!

Golden Hammer Card for Bill & Memorandum Monday

I had "make a card for Bill" on my work to do list the other day. See, this guy Bill works for the local heating and air conditioning company and on his off hours (or when someone at his company needs a little filler work) he comes over & works on the furnace at our Habitat House for free. We pay parts, but we don't pay for any labor. He's a really good dude.

See, his Dad passed unexpectedly the other day and I didn't know what else to do. He's just one of those good guys that emails you and says, guess what...your house has heat now. Since we worked though the winter, this was epic news. Can you see that I tucked a little gold hammer in amoung the flowers & thread?

One more photo of my shabby little butterfly card complete with fabric washi and some gold paint. Hope it made Bill feel just a little bit better. We think pretty highly of him over in Habitat Land!

We are talking about mail this year over at Memorandum Monday so I'm happy to report that this got mailed and he received my card. Waving a hello to Sian over at From High in the Sky.

Mitra's Magic Room for THE CUTTING CAFE

Miss Regina over at THE CUTTING CAFE asked us to post photos of our craft rooms. I have blogged about my room before, but usually when I'm writing about a specific piece of furniture I've made or painted. In fact, the latest project you can see from here, that tall black shelf in the very back and I blogged about it here.

The tulip leg table was another project of mine as was the tool box sitting on it.

But, since there is a LOT to my office, instead of just showing you photos, I made a video. It's terrible, corny, and I don't make sense. In fact, maybe just watch it without listening....

I guess what I'd like to mention is that I've been adding things and tweaking things in this room for nearly three years. I actually rehabbed the one desk prior to moving in based on what the room looked like, so OVER three years. These little private spaces take time to really make homey and just so. 

Well, hope you enjoyed your tour! If you get really bored, you can take a peek at some of my other videos...there is a fascinating video of a roof that you might want to watch too....

Happy Thursday!

Wine & Design Layout

A couple of weekends back, my friend Teri organized another trip to Wine & Design. She's good like that. If it were up to me, I'd never get out. Anyhow, it then later coincided with THE AUNT coming, which then coincided with THE PARENTS coming. This is what happens when you live normally on the West coast and make a random trip to DC and decide to go visit the folks back East. You also then get to paint a sunflower with your sister.

Aren't they cute? I mean my friends are adorable too! Thought those pretty sunflowers with glitter were awesome. I'm not sure where I even got them. The very depths of the stash. They worked well though as did the project life cards that I cut up to make a page with. Baby steps here. Someday I'll put them in the little pockets where they belong.

I like the paper I used. It's a fall pack from Close to My Heart and this was the last of it. The swans worked well because well, everyone was kinda painting in pairs. I myself was supervising from a stool with a beer and some cake. Doesn't everyone subcontract their painting these days?

I would like to direct your attention to the fact my that my mother and aunt did not paint a sunflower like everyone else. They found the box they were supposed to be working in, turned it over, stood on it, and then switched things up. Which of course explains a lot when you get to how I work...

Happy Tuesday!

Eastering & Demoing for Memorandum Monday

We were Eastering around here this weekend. Two older kids mean that I don't carefully collect cool things months out and then artfully arrange them in baskets and then hide them. I mean, it would have been fun, but then the eye roll. Instead, the bunny just left them in a pile on the table and hoped that Luke didn't eat too many snickers at one time because for sure Lexi will tell him that he has.

THE MAN was on break week with the kids so has been working on all kinds of projects around the house. This one has been on the list for quite some time because let's face it, my laundry room is not a destination. In fact, during the first tour of the house, it was mainly just mentioned and I poked my head in because ICK. Usually demo work is fun, but sadly not in this case. The floor tiles either came up really easy and smelled rather badly or came up kinda hard. A whole lot of scraping & the shop vac came later, with several coats of a spray cleaner with bleach. I think we won though. Time to put it back together.

I am running with something like above. I wish I could find the original link so I could give the blogger credit for having such a pretty room and read more. The photo is from a collage in an article, but nothing linking back to the original room. Pet peeve of mine for pinterest. Anyhow, I have left over gray paint for the walls, gray and white tiles left over from another project, and we're building a structure out of 4 by 4s like above to hold the sink. So far we've got the tiles reinstalled and one corner painted so we can get the washing machine back so we can keep up with the laundry. So far it's really turning out nice. Means there will be work to do after work all week. ;-) 

I'm off to Monday, which is bright and sparkly full of promise and left over Easter Candy. 

Hoping Sian enjoyed her Easter over at From High in the Sky where she hosts us for Memorandum Monday. 

The Glass has Class

As always when pairing two objects that weren't originally designed together, you always wonder if they will really go. That's how I was feeling when I was waiting to put this lampshade frame together with the base. A spray paint that is the same color as all of them of course helps pull things together, but I wasn't sure. With this in mind, I was extremely pleased when this pretty opal glass worked so well in the shade and the shade worked so well on the base!

I was then doing a happy dance with the new floor lamp worked so well in the space. I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but it's actually got four light bulbs and since a different switch turns the "candles" that circle the main bulb on, it required some special wiring by THE MAN. This was pretty cool since I hadn't ever taken a lamp like that apart.

Since my Mom was here this past weekend, she got to do the honors of fitting the glass she had picked out and cut in the lamp. I think she was pretty pleased how it turned out too. We had to do some special work on the very top of the shade to allow the base & the lamp finial to do it's job of holding the shade. Rock star work with the epoxy!

Loved having help with this project! Huge thanks to THE MAN and THE MOM for lending a hand!

Happy Hump Day, peeps!

A Joyful Easter Card

Oh goodness, it was so nice to work with a little paper and make these cards. I'm seriously wanting a nice long stretch in my office with some paper, but alas, life has been busy these last couple of weeks so I must be happy with a little washi, a bitty flower, and some sparkle glue.

Downloaded a vintage graphic, printed a whole sheet of these chicks and got all EASTERY making these cards. I'm pretty pleased with them, especially since I was using scraps and not any specific layout. I'll be even MORE pleased to get them in the mail prior to say like..EASTER?

Please note, they are also pretty darn flat! Happy postage dance!!

Alright, wish me luck in the sending part! I'll need it!

Happy Tuesday!

Baby Bunny & some Blooms for Memorandum Monday

We had a little baby bunny visitor at Build Club this past Saturday. Bunny was hiding under some trash and took off like a rocket as soon as the coast was clear. This little guy was about as big as my fist and I had to zoom in with my phone so I didn't scare him further. Don't worry, I made him sign a waiver before he could volunteer with us. ;-)

Speaking of things that happen in spring, I have a few of these pretty little flowers hanging out in my garden, plust I saw my first daffodil today. So pretty!

My big exciting news from the weekend was having my Aunt visit from California and my parents came too. It was like Easter happened all kinds of early which was so fun. I even made a ham dinner and we worked on a couple of projects. I'm hopping up and down in excitement for you to see our projects! It's awesomeness!

Well, usually I'm writing about mail for Memorandum Monday, but we'll have to save that for tomorrow's post. Well, not exactly. The Aunt still has AOL, so we must have heard YOU'VE GOT MAIL about eight times. It would have been less funny but every single Pratt here picked on her about being old school. ;-)

Well, I'm off to read Sian's post for Memorandum Monday. Looks like a good one, she mentioned biker boots.

Lovely Spring Bunny Bowl for THE CUTTING CAFE

Ran across this silver bowl at an estate sale the other day. It really needed a good shine. I was in love with the top scroll work and thought it would make a nice base for something pretty since the bowl part was all scraped up.

Turns out it made a perfect base for these bunnies from THE CUTTING CAFE! They are part of a file called BUNNY FAMILY SHAPED CARD SET and I thought were so cute setting in among some pretty pink flowers.

Really digging the milk glass base that is also upcycled and those clear sequins I used around the outside. The whole thing makes me happy with those rock star bunnies!

Happy Thursday to you!

Gryffindor Upcycled Orange Framed Snitch

Been hoarding this little pile of pretty stuff that Luke's friend Megan gave me since my birthday late December. I might have begged for my very own snitch, after I spotted the one she made for a white elephant gift. This perfect square frame turned up at the ReStore and with a little copper spray paint and I was ready to make something pretty.

Megan made some cool background paper, painted those letters, and fussy cut that lion on top of making that epic snitch. She mentioned to Luke that maybe I could put it all together and I thought that sounded like a terrific idea. Of course I had to find the right frame and get motivation...which took (cough) like three months....

Used some music paper as other background and of course added lots of pretty flowers and some orange thread. Ohhhh love it! This little frame is hanging out in my office to remind me to be be Honest, Brame, Courageous like Gryffindor! Do love Harry Potter!

Hope your Hump Day is quite epic!

Bridge Troll

So, the other day I got that text message all parents dread. Can you pick me up from school? I have a headache and I can't concentrate. Can probably make it through the day, but would rather be home. Sure, no probs kid, but it's Build Club Day here at work and I'm making lunch for the guys. Let me see if THE MAN can do it. The text back was no can do, staff meeting. So having drawn the short straw, as soon as I was able to break away, I ran up to the school.

Now, keep in mind we may have had a small fire in the backyard to keep us warm. We are in town and not supposed to necessarily have one, but it was during the day and we had some wood to burn. Since I like a good fire, I might have smelled like bon-fire smoke and also quite possibly had singed my bangs getting too close.

Of course on the way across town I looked in my rear view mirror. Dammit. I looked like a bridge troll. I thought the bangs might be salvageable if I brushed them (while at stop lights) and then pushed them up with my sun glasses. Ran with that method. Couldn't fix the extremely ratty sweatshirt, soot stains on my face, or jeans that are only for yard work. See, we were getting down and dirty at the Habitat House and my friend had just dropped off a dump trailer. Since the house had burned in the back, we had a ton of burnt wood full of nails to have hauled off and were in full whip this house into shape mode.

See, we're at that really cool tipping point where the house goes from being a shell full of possibility to morphing into a real house as the walls are being mudded at this very moment. The transformation is stunning, but also if you are in the midst of working on it, you can see the end in sight which involves flooring, kitchen cabinets, lights, and all the trim. The frosting if you might.

Pull into the school and try to buzz in. People in office are suspicious of crazy bridge troll lady so spend a couple minutes thinking about it. Finally in, I ask nicely for Luke since he's sick. Is he in the nurse's office? No, not sure lady where exactly he is. This is your place where you keep him, not mine.

It was at this the very point I got the lecture about kids going to the nurse first, not texting, blah blah blah. I had forgotten he's still in middle school where we monitor their every move and don't trust them. Since I gave that whole line of thought up years ago since both of my kids are very trust worthy and I know Luke has good habits with his phone, I smiled and listened all the while hoping she wasn't looking at my bridge troll hair and would just hurry up.

First lady being done chewing on me, I get to move on to the second lady who is actually trying to find him. She gives the same lecture because well, why not. Finally they give up and suggest I text him. I retreat with my bridge troll self to the car to nurse my wounds. THE MAN asks later why I hadn't just lied and said he had an appointment. The hair I explain. I was too worried about being judged for looking like a bridge troll.

Of course Luke has no trouble escaping because once he shows up, they realize he's the tall quiet one that is never in trouble and extremely polite. Oh Honey. Make sure you go to the nurse next time. Or the other possibility being they felt extremely sorry for him due to the short straw he drew for having a bridge troll for a mother.

P.S. The hair is fine, thanks for asking.
P.P.S. One should not judge bridge trolls, just sayin.
P.P.P.S No pink hair was harmed in the great burned bangs incident of 2017, which is good because Kristen who does my hair might not be pleased.

Let there be Light, Raking, and a Show

When you live somewhere that it snows and then thaws and then snows and then thaws with an interlude of rain, more snow, some thaw, rinse and repeat, you tend to get sick of walking past the same old sticks, pine needles, and general grunge in your yard week after week. You don't dare rake it as more will be joining it soon. Well, I took a chance anyway and raked yesterday and boy does it look better out there. I said hi to some crocus, enjoyed the sun, and had a little exercise.

Couldn't work too hard though as we had a show to go see. Our high school was putting on Les Mis. Lexi and I went down to see it. So thankful a friend talked us into going. Brought all kinds of good memories back from when I saw it as a kid WHICH JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU how old this show is. I was probably around her age. So awesome!

Came home in time to eat sushi and hang my newly painted light. Of course Duncan had to help since he was very excited to have light in the entry away again. I really like the rose gold I spray painted it. Matches the tile.

Well, I'm off today to check the progress on the mudding at our Habitat House and enjoy the sunny weather....please join me in a quick wave over to Sian who hosts us for Memorandum Monday! And keep your fingers crossed it doesn't snow anymore!

House Layout for Another Freaking Scrappy

It's no secret that I like working on houses. Well, most of the time. I can do without plumbing issues. This work project I'm pretty fond of. I think it's because we're nearly ready for paint and I can finally see the end in sight....or that the lawn in the back is a gardener's delight and bulbs are popping up all over. The past owner loved roses and I agree they are pretty awesome. She also had this huge patch of Snow Drops which are delightful even when it keeps spitting and sputtering snow out there. Lucky for me Anne over at Another Freaking Scrappy is asking for spring pages so I made this one so you could enjoy them too!

I really enjoyed printing a large photo on plain white scrapbook paper, adding some shimmer spray and then cutting out these egg shaped spots for journalling and my title. I then printed out a very small photo of the house on some kraft paper so it would look really old. This house was built in the 1920s and even survived the 1972 flood in Corning, so it's now on it's third revamp. I think we can get another hundred years out of it.

In fact, talking about spitting and sputtering, it's snow raining out there today, so I had to take this photo under the overhang on plastic so I could get the benefit of daylight, but not get my page soaked! My actual title was partially printed on the white paper so I could use our logo.

I snuck some clear sequins that are on a string up there in the corner. LOVE THOSE!! Almost as much as I love that pretty fabric washi...

And one more photo of the snowdrops. They won't last long, soon the daffodils will be taking over and I'll be in love with them!

Enjoy your Saturday! I'm off to help install windows and cedar siding.