A mirror makeover

Happy Tuesday my blog friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend---I sure did!

Today I am enjoying my day and crafting away.  Here is one of my projects!

I found this treasure of a mirror awhile ago at a thrift store for $4.00.  It was gold and a bit beat up but I knew it would fit right into my home with a little TLC.  I painted it a nice soft teal at our old house this winter and then packed it away for our move...

So today I got this pretty mirror out found the perfect place for it---right above our bed....

It is the perfect piece to distract from some of the more modern furniture that we have in the room.  Since the mirror was going to be over the bed and not super functional as a mirror I decided to add some vinyl and a meaningful quote.

I wanted an etched glass look on the mirror so I used my silhouette and the frosted vinyl that they sell.

What do you think?

And I must use my mirror reflection as an opportunity to show off my sweet garage sale finds from the past few weeks that have landed in my bedroom---how do you like the vintage alarm clock and the primitive ladder I found?

Ahhh my little home is coming together one little project at a time and one little treasure of a garage sale find at a time!

I am linking up at some of these wonderful places---they are all fabulous places to be inspired!

Fabulous Followers Featured

Hi guys---I am going to attempt to start a blogging tradition starting today where I feature some of you---my wonderful followers & friends and what you have been up to this week.  I have SO much fun going and visit your blogs it seems like I especially visits your blog when you comments throughout the week... anyways I just want to highlight some of your talented creatively amazing-ness.

Craftberrybush just blows me away with her creativity.  I just found the talented lady's blog this week and have become a total adoring blog fan & the best part is she was sweet enough to stop by my blog and follow me---I am SO honored!  I seriously drool over everyone of her projects!

Then there are my two dear followers who did a blog swap this week---I don't know who you should go visit first---their projects were just great! 

Little Lucy Lu and Love Sweet Love both deserve a feature this week because I love and plan to replicate both projects!!

Love Sweet Love's project on Little Lucy Lu

Little Lucy Lu's project on Love Sweet Love

And then there is my new friend over at Chef in Training so shared this AMAZING looking recipe....I haven't been able to stop thinking about how good it looked!  She seems like such a nice new blog friend I am excited to have met her this week!

Over night blueberry french toast----YUMMUY!!! Ohh and today is her birthday---go tell her I say Happy Birthday!!!

Then there is the amazingly sweet Creative Carmella who make this super super cute sign.  I have to admit that I shamelessly mentioned to her that I adore her sign so much I think she should consider using it for her next giveaway (I am kind of embarrassed now but hey here is to hoping!)---she did the most amazing giveaway awhile back and I missed it---I still haven't recovered!  But really go visit her I promise you will be inspired!

Sooo so SOoooo cute right?!?! go check out how to make your own or just shamelessly beg her to give one away!

And finally for today---I have to share my wonderful blog friends up-cycled foot stool!  Upcycling My Very Ordinary Life is just great and this is a project that is right up my ally- up-cycling and meaningful all at the same time!  Plus this wonderful woman leaves the MOST WONDERFUL COMMENT EVER on my blog and I just adore her for it!  

Beautiful!

Seriously I never though picking projects would be so hard!  But how fun to share these few that I came across just recently!  I just adore all of these great ladies and think it would be SO worth your time to get to know each of them!  

And this weeks talented ladies feel free to grab my feature button if you would like one!!!

I also think that you should become a follower of my little crafty blog if you aren't already and then share what you have been up to lately so I can feature you next week!   

Cafe Kitchen Sign

So, I don't know if you guys really want to see every little crafty decoration I come up with for this new house....but just incase you do here is a little something the silhouette (my dream machine cutter) and I came up with yesterday.

My mother in law gave me a TON of goodies from her house last weekend most of them huge amazing furniture pieces that I am currently working on re-finishing, but she also has some smaller treasures that I just loved at first sight.  This little arrow was on her garage sale pile----ahh and I love it.  I just painted her up in the teal I oh so love, distressed and put her right on the wall.  

Then I added some vinyl.  The dream machine and I had a little fight yesterday (wrinkled and torn vinyl stuck), but I won.  Sooo I shall keep calling it my dream machine...for now.

:o)

What do you think?  Would you like to come to the Cafe?

Linkin here.

Up-cycled bathroom curtains and Make your own scrip fabric

Today's project is two fold, the main purpose was to up-cycle curtains, but I also made my own scrip fabric.  I can't believe I ever spent so much on the stuff before.... because now I know I can make it at a quarter of the cost!

For those of you who are moving pros know that furnishing and decorating a new house always requires a lot of curtains.  This is good and bad.  Good because curtains are great, they add a lot to a room but bad because they cost about a million dollars if you want the amazing ones and about half a million for the target version.  So instead of selling a kidney to afford crazy curtains at this point, I am doing my usual up-cycling.  I have plans for a few other rooms but here is my bathroom version.

{Here is the final product}

Note the purple walls were not our choice...the house is a rental.

(I wouldn't say I hate them but hubs sure does!)

Anyways the curtains were a garage sale find--one dollar for four panels.  This is where I admit I must be a slight hoarder because I picked these up wayyy before I knew I would have a window in the bathroom of our Wisconsin rental home that would need something like this.  Unfortunately when I use the things I hoard it only motivates me to hoard more..... watch for me on that Hoarders tv show in a few years!

(sorry about the picture...night and day lighting differences apparently make it look like I repainted the purple bathroom to a new shade of purple....hummm whyyy would I do that?!?  Anyways I digress, so the originals had purple embroidery stuff on them....  I would say my tastes are a bit more shabby so I decided to add a personalized ruffle.

How to make your own:

1-Cut strips of fabric, sew one long straight line down the middle of your fabric on the loosest straight setting on your sewing machine you can find.  I then when to my computer and came up with a scrip-y messy looking font and so special bathroom words....brush and floss is what I came up with.  Yes that is right, in scrip-y font on my bathroom curtain ruffle it says brush and floss---because I LOVE to personalize everything I make (and just in case you forgot...I love teeth).  I used the citra solv technique I have used here and here to transfer the image.

2-Find the ends of your straight line you sewed and pull one end to create your ruffle.

3-Pin and sew your ruffle into place

What do you think?  

Can you make out the brush and floss????  

I think the wall looks lonely all bare like that, if I had to guess I would say a brush and floss framed something or another will be joining the ruffle curtains in no time!

Linking up here.

How you know your mother-in law is ready for grandkids

4 Words:  Rocking Awesome Puppy Party.

Yes that is right-she threw the cutest party for the pups this weekend during our visit home for my dear sister-in-laws graduation!  I would say that the pups were show stealers but my sister-in-law was definitely in on the party planning!

So let me claim the red-head and the blonde as my furry children.  The spotty brunette is my in-laws slightly spoiled Buckle.

Now I must stop you here---if you do not talk for your dogs....well please don't judge, because I do.  A lot.  Like when hubs and I first started dating he thought I was a little crazy for talking to & for (yes both) my dog so much.  The red-head is my baby--just so you know.

Now let me move on to the fun photos of the dogs version of the weekend.

Let me start at the beginning of the weekend with this fabulous photo montage of the blonde's (Kylie) favorite part of the weekend

{A car ride is Kylie's kind of heaven---Kylie I am pretty sure if you were human you would be a truck driver....if you had a choice you would NEVER leave the car.}

Pure joy in that face right?!?  I mean there is no fear of bugs up the nose from this girl---just pure wonderful joy.

{Onto the party---no staging needed.}

Clearly.

The red-head Quincy (far left) is my baby---my 10 year old baby to be exact.  She is a free thinker.  Her love in life is eating.  She can't stop staring at the birthday treats in front of her....if I had to guess she is wondering how in the world she could scoop up all three treats in her mouth and run far far away where she wouldn't get in trouble and where she could enjoy her treat x3.

{Quincy has also been know to be a jealous one.}

I mean for real, don't invite her to your parties, she will try to steal your party-blower-thing and then decide she wants your hat instead of hers.

{Yes the good dogs hold their party-blower-things in their mouths.}

While Quincy will try to steal their treats and party-blower-things and run away.

{Although the spotted brunette Buckle got a little excited

 when she thought games with balls were to follow the treats}

I mean come on look at that girls smile!

{Ahh yes--the moment of the party Quincy so patiently waited for}

Quincy isn't one to hold back---I mean maybe she is a bit like her "mother" I have been known to gobble down a great treat when given the opportunity. 

Did you notice Kylie the sweet blonde was so distracted by Quincy's gobbling that she didn't dive right into her frozen peanut butter & bone treat.  It just isn't fair to compare restraint because again if you asked Kylie to go for a ride she would lose this sweet restraint and lunge at an opportunity.

{Quincy is defiantly not ashamed to be part of the Clean Plate Club.  Every. Time.}

I must also note that she is not one to wear a party hat for extended periods of time...but working to get it off at this point came in second to joining the Clean Plate Club. 

{Ahhh but her happiness melts my heart}

I love both of my fury children and I love my mother-in-law for adoring them too!  I know she is excited for grandkids and I am guessing based on my wild obsession for my dogs that I too am getting ready for some little ones....someday.

And don't worry.  More Crafts on the way.  A guest post next week.  A blog swap or two in the future.  Have I mentioned that I just love the friends I have met blogging?!?

My up-cycled "Teal Top Table" & some fabulous news

Let me start with the VERY exciting news----drum roll please----my silhouette and I are on speaking terms again!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Now don't think I am crazy just let, let me explain...you see I have had my "dream machine" as I fondly called it (before it arrived and I attempted to use it---the first time) for about 3 months and have never successfully used it until today!  The first attempt was a complete flop which took place soon after my dream machine arrived at my front door (a wonderfully thoughtful and AMAZING gift I got for myself for passing all of my boards---lets just say I would have had to spend A LOT more money retaking boards that this little guy costed me).  And then my wonderful Mac decided to steal my Silhouette software CD and not eject it or let me use it from say March-present (thats right its still not officially fixed or even kind of fixed---lets call me busy)(this also brings me to another great point--why didn't I install it the first time I used it?!? Lesson learned!), until the other night when it magically let me install the software (but still not eject the CD...hummm, I am still trying to figure that one out.  This means that although my Mac is still being dumb, my dream machine is earning its name----I had some fun with it today!!!!  So far thumbs up for the silhouette!  

Looks like there will be MANY more projects using it!

Added some words to my chairs for this little kitchen table makeover, not sure if you can make it out, but it say Thankful (obviously) and beyond words on the other chair---I tried to do meaningful words that would go together from different views.... on the front and back---let me know if you are not familiar with the Silhouette or if you have questions about using your with vinyl---but waring I am SO not a pro!

Anyways...onward to my teal top table!

I should note that I have had and loved my sturdy-but-now-lack-lust-table for over four years and so yesterday I decided it was time for a change!

{and oldie but a goodie table---this is after some sanding...nooo I am not really thattt hard on my furniture!)

As many of you know rental-house living prevents you from doing crazy things like painting wall light teal soooo I had to resort to adding a splash of my new favorite color in a different way----insert some bright-ish teal paint!

Anyways I am not sure if the table will stay as is or get a nice coat of glaze or crackle paint or something real wild like that, but for now I am happy with the table, the distressed miss matching chairs (the two on the sides may be painted sooner or later but they will remain in their dark wood glory for a little longer) and the little words, my kitchen is really coming together and starting to feel like home....

Unfortunately I can't say the same for the dining room-----ahhhh I hate moving!!!  

{just keeping it real}

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend---I will be spending mine celebrating my sister-in-laws graduation in my hometown!

I am linking up here.

Playing dress-up with jars

Well, when I say I am back, I guess that means I am really back, I just can't wait to share more of the crafty fun I have been having in just the last few days....so without a ton of personal life stuff (I think I covered everything in my last post) here is my little project for this morning!  Yet another attempt at organizing my crafty room....but really I think the possibilities are endless with this one!

Really I would have to say this project took me about 10 min. and cost me nothing since I had everything sitting around....I really might be making more of these in different varieties today they were that simple!  I used the citra solv technique I explained wayyyy back in February click here to check it out.

I just used scraps of fabric I had around and transfered my wording, then attached the fabric with a glue gun and a pretty pin for extra security.  I liked the look of the finished top edge so I just folded the top fabric over knowing it would be covered with ribbon later.  But I just love the frayed look of the bottom so I left it.... sewing pros are probably gasping in horror but hey.....I am just a craft-a-ly imperfect girl here, right or wrong!

And finally just add ribbon.  Woo hooo you have jars of junk (or I mean odds and ends) that look cute and you can't even notice the "stuff" sitting around!

And I know I said the possibilities are endless with this idea....because I got to thinking.... wouldn't this be cute if you made a candle and decorated the outside like this with a cute quote?!?  Or what a bout table numbers for a wedding with flowers inside the jars?  What do you think?  Do you have any ideas?!

I would LOVE to hear from you!

I am linking up here.

I am back I am back I am back :o)

Hello blog world and blog friends I have missed you!  I have missed having my usually calm and normal life.  I have missed my somewhat organized life. And lets just face it I have missed not living out of boxes!!!!  But the internet is hooked up again and I am on the road to normalcy once again!  Overall our move went well it just felt like it took forrrreeeevvverrr!!!!  I remember moving to Michigan I hardly had a trailer full of belongings....ahhhhh but wow how times have changed....I didn't even notice until this move---my belonging have multiplied.  I like how my mother-in law refers to this little problem as the "stuff factor"  you know, the stuff that accumulates in closets and drawers.....yeah I am guessing we all have it, but wow does the "stuff factor" make moving to a different state difficult as ever!!!  But I am here, I am alive, I only had a few of my treasures break along the way (not bad if you ask me) and I am finally settling in.  As of yesterday the last big box was unpacked so that means that the fun part of moving is going to begin-----decorating (making a house into a home) and organizing (uggggghhhh I am not so good at this one)!  So as you can guess I will be sharing some of my ideas, tell you about my mess-ups and hopefully inspire you along the way!  

I should also maybe explain:  I am now enjoying my month in a half "off" before I start working (it takes that long for the state you want to practice in, to process your license), this means that I will have time on my hands while being on a tight budget.  My arts and crafts will be up-cycled finds and garage sale treasures, which I think are more fun than buying new anyways!  Also I must note that hubs and I are back under the same roof and are now living in a beautiful RENTAL home until we are ready to buy in the next few years.  I know most of you can understand that rental home living is different than home ownership living, and so of course I will be working with what I have (purple walls and all) to make this place my own (without tearing down walls or adding anything too permanent).  

And to start with I must show you my crafty room (or at least a tiny part of it I am attempting to organize)!!!!!!!!

First crafty project back in blog land is nice and simple:

All I did was find myself a bar from a garage sale....not sure what they were for but I liked them because they looked a bit vintage.  Find yourself some really inexpensive curtain rod hangers to hold the top bar and attach the second with ribbon.  I also found some super clearance fancy curtain holders from JCP for 2 dollars per pack.

That is about all for this project, then I just labeled the buckets---ahhhh crafty room I am loving you already!  I am sure I will be hanging projects or pictures or really anything that I am working on up here also but really anything that is super functional is great in my mind!!!! 

{not perfect, but like I always say, none of my crafty projects are}

I am linking up here

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Hi Friends!  I am SO blown away by the blogging love and support I have received.  I was nervous posting my last post about what I went though to become a dentist and was surprised that I had so many AMAZING comments.  I am loving the blogging world more and more for the amazing people you can meet----you all mean so much to me!  I wish we could just all hang out and be crafty next door neighbors!  On that note I am SO excited that there were 31 wonderful, amazing comments for the giveaway and I want to add a second entry for both Carmella from Creative Carmella and Tabitha from Inspired by giving for both sending friends to the giveaway from their blog-THANK YOU!  

Anddddd the winner is: entry #10!  

 houtz said...

I've been enjoying your blog. Thanks for sharing your crafty ideas with the public. Happy graduation!

Houtz, I would love to get your prize in the mail-just shoot me an e-mail!!!!

I also want to say a warm HAPPY Mother's Day to all of the beautiful, amazing, crafty women out there that are wonderful moms! 

I also should report that I had an amazing graduation weekend which has now turned into a pack-like-crazy Sunday and tomorrow will be a organize and clean day followed by Tuesday the dreaded load-the-truck day......ahhhhhhhhhh the joys of moving a house of stuff to a different state!  

And here is my little photo montage of graduation day

{Quincy my oldest pup, and my lifetime dog has been with me for every graduation-we are talking high school, undergrad and now this....she has gone through every exam, every move, and every hard moment----so she totally deserved her graduation spotlight!}

{Hubs also deserves his graduation spot light, he was in my life during my admission exams, my applications, my moving to Michigan without him....I mean lets give this guy some credit, he married me right after my first year of school.....the worst year of my life!  What a guy}

{Ahh and then there is me.....I did some HARD work to get to graduation!  I am constantly humbled and always grateful for the opportunities I have had in my life!}

{The whole fam.  Isn't it impressive that I had this kind of crowd there to support me...most of my immediate family had to make a 9 and 1/2 hour drive to be there!!!!}

{I finally have that darn peice of paper I can hang in my office someday....but that moment was the most exciting because they called my Dr. Jaime.....I am not sure I will ever let anyone call me that again...I am not much for formalities, but it was a special moment!}

{Annnddd lets be honest I am not always  or maybe really never the super proper, classy, or serious graduate you might expect....oooh no, when my little sister is around me I turn into a little girl again}

You will be hearing more from this crafty girl after this big move, but for now THANK YOU all for being such AMAZING followers and friends.

***I LOVE responding to each comment via e-mail and I cannot wait to get caught up to do so, I am SORRY for being behind but I hope you all know how much your comments mean to me!!!  And you can expect to hear from me eventually.....not sure when this move will next allow me to be at my computer, the hubs is packing as we speak***

:o)