Holy Cow....Has it really been that long????

Just a quick post to show you my "last minute...use what you got" table display for my niece's birthday party! The WRINKLES are the last minute...as I did not have enough time to iron! :)   Everything was something I already owned... 

The table cloth was a twin bed sheet...

Flowers were from my garden...

Chalkboard "Lemonade" label was a gift tag I had left over from a teacher's gift...

Plates, silverware, cake stand, take out box were all things I had stored in my basement...

The only thing I made were the cupcake tags and subway art...which I downloaded and just printed...

My niece was very surprised and felt very special that day!

Just thought I'd share...

Hugs,

 

MIA....

I am so sorry that I have been MIA for the last month.  Our busy schedules have completely taken over and unfortunately, I have not been able to keep up with posting on my blog!  :(

That brings me to asking you all out there in blog land...how do you manage working your job, taking care of the family and home and yet still find the time to blog?

Please do share your wisdom...I would love to hear it!  :)

Ballard Design Knock Off...

  I was inspired by Traci from Beneath My Heart with these and her awesome tutorial!  I love a knock off and these magnet boards were just the perfect thing to try!

Here's Ballard Design's Bulletin Boards:

Sorry for the blurry pic...

First thing I did was... grab my 3 pieces of craft metal and cover them with painters canvas that I had left over from another craft project...that didn't go so well.  :)

Next,  I followed Traci's awesome directions and watched
this video.

Then I decided to jazz my magnet boards up a bit with some stencils.  I used fabric paint and added a pattern to make these:

See those cute little round magnets...yep, made those too!  I took some scrapbooking "buttons" and added a round magnet to the back with some glue...pretty simple and quick!  I bought the green clothespin in a package of 6 from Michael's...found in the dollar section!  :)

What do ya think? 

Hugs,

Tracy

I'll be linking up to these AWESOME parties:

http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/
http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2011/04/whatever-goes-wednesday-62.html
http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/creative-share-features-too_19.html
http://www.mybackyardeden.com/
http://nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/

A gift for my Senior Friends...

I am the Recreation Coordinator for our Town's Senior Center...and have been SO busy at work!  I love what I do and working with the seniors!  They are truly amazing individuals ~ with so much knowledge, experience and compassion! I learn something new everyday!  :)

Anyways...I have a huge event coming up next week.  We are celebrating the 27th Anniversary of the Senior Center!  The event features a dinner, entertainment, complimentary photos and of course raffle prizes!  I usually try to pick raffle prizes that the senior's can actually use (or eat/or drink)...food and wine are always good right? :)  Anyways, I made this with the hopes that who ever wins this prize will hang it on his or her front door...

Spray painted a brown $3.00 frame from Walmart a pretty Spring green...

Glued on the ribbon for hanging...

Used up some scrapbooking paper on the inside of the frame and used my Sillouette machine to create the saying...which I put on the outside of the glass...

Quick...easy and inexpensive... :)

Hugs,

Joining these parties:

http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/

http://www.thegirlcreative.com/

http://www.justagirlblog.com/

What A Nice Surprise!

Look who nominated me...stop by

http://lambaround.blogspot.com/

to check it out.

Home Tour...

I'm joining here today http://poppiesatplay.blogspot.com/

to join the Home Tour...I must admit, there is SO much talent out in blog land...I'm in awe of the homes I've already toured...

Our house is rather small but it is HOME to us... well at least for now!  :)  Enjoy the tour...

Our Front Door



When we sided the house, we decided to make it a bit different from all the others by adding the cultured stone.  My hubby did the stone work.

The Living Room...

Not much to add here... just an L-shaped living room that goes into a dining room (which we use as a computer room) :)

Family Room...

This is the view sitting in the "dining room"...were our computer is...same stone work on the fireplace as on the front of the house. 

Here is the full view of the family room addition.  My dear hubby built this...the floors are southern pine he picked up from Georgia while on a hunting trip.  :)

Master Bedroom/Bathroom

New Mudroom

The Backyard and Pool

My husband owns his own business building inground pools along with stamped/colored concrete.  It is back-breaking work, but he is meticulous with his work!  He truly works so hard to provide for our family!!  :)

That's it for the home tour...hope you enjoyed our small HOME!

Hugs,

Mudroom Link Up...

The mudroom is finished...

I'll be linking to these parties...come on and join ~

http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2011/04/sunday-showcase-party-w-suckers-by.html

http://iheartnaptime.blogspot.com/

http://lambaround.blogspot.com/

http://lambaround.blogspot.com/

http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/

http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-no-sew-pillows-newbie-party-started.html

THE BIG REVEAL...MY MUDROOM

Are you ready for the BIG REVEAL...?

Let's recap...and check out the BEFORE:

Remember, this was a first floor laundry room for the previous owners...so we couldn't get rid of the outlet and laundry hook up...I'm sure it will be hidden once the kiddos hang their jackets on the hooks.  :)

And now the AFTER...

WOOT!! WOOT!!

I'm so happy with the way it turned out!  Here's the breakdown:

~ Hubby & my dad built the benches and cubbies

~I primed & painted...it only took forever a few days...

~ Had the baskets already & hot glued the chalkboards to each one (chalkboards were Christmas tree ornaments from JoAnn's)

~ Hooks are from Home Depot

~Rug from Kohl's

I had the pillows in my basement...and thought that the colors/pattern might work.  I am still thinking about adding a cushion to the bench...what do you think????

See that HOME sign...I bought the wall vinyl decal from The Christmas Tree Shop...there were 6 different decals on one sheet all for $1.29!  :)  Gotta love that store!!!!!

I just painted a piece of wood I found in my basement and added the decal once the paint dried!  Super easy... :)

Wall Color is Nomadic Desert by SW

B&B wall color is Swiss Coffee by Behr

Oh...here's one more picture...just for good measure! :)

Darn that garage door...I can't seem to get the picture any wider...the backdoor keeps getting in the way!  :)

Hugs,

TRACY  :)

SPRING INSPIRATION AT OOPSEY DAISY...

HEAD ON OVER TO HERE IF YOU WANT SOME GREAT SPRING  INSPIRATION!!!!  http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2011/03/wednesdays-wowzers-all-kinds-of-spring.html

THANKS ALISON FOR MAKING MY DAY!  :)

HUGS,

TRACY

Linking up...

I'm linking up to this party...Courtney is a very talented, crafty lady!  Check out her original idea with the spring wreath...http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/

Thanks Courtney for the ideas!!!!!!  :)

Tracy :)

MY "SPRINGY" EASTER WREATH...

Linking up to here:  http://www.skiptomylou.org/

Is "springy" even a word????!!  :)  Well I finally got around to making my "SPRINGY" Easter wreath this weekend ~ in between priming and painting my mudroom.  

Started with this:

which I first painted brown...but then decided on a creamy yellow.

I then headed to my favorite store...HOBBY LOBBY to pick me up one of these...

I cut out the center to make a square and hot glued some Easter Eggs in random spots.

I placed it on top of the box ~ kind of looks neat as a centerpiece, don't ya think???

I finally hot glued the wreath to the yellow box ~ hung a pale yellow/creamy ribbon from it and presto...my "SPRINGY WREATH"! :)

What do you think???!!!??  :)

Here's a sneak peek of my baskets in the mudroom...hope to be finished by this week!

Happy Monday All...

Tracy :)

THE SIMPLE THINGS...

I'm joining up at this link...

http://rebeccacooper.blogspot.com/

Come join the party...

Just link up something that captures a "simple" moment in your life this week...sometimes...all it takes is that "something simple" to bring us back to reality in our busy busy lives!

My simple moment is a picture of tulips that I took while on vacation. 

The sun was coming in the balcony truly highlighting the tulips beauty!  Plus, it makes me think of Spring ~ which I am deparately wishing for!

Go find your "Something Simple"... and enjoy!

Hugs,

Tracy :)

I THINK I CAN...I THINK I CAN...

...finish my mudroom that is!  :)  The end is almost  near...I can see the light at the end of the tunnel...

OK - you get the idea!

Although I'm not ready for the final reveal...let's take a sneak peek...

Here you can see the bench, shoe cubby and top cubby...you'll also notice that darn outlet and laundry hook up.  We had to work around those...as this used to be a first floor laundry with the previous owners.  We thought it might be a good idea to keep these in place in case the next owner wants a first floor laundry room.

The board and batten is up...ready to be primed!!!!  Yes, my wonderful hubby decided to use real wood (not primed MDF board) which would have been a bit easier...not to mention a whole lot quicker!  :)

Anyways...I've been priming the wood today and will get my first coat of paint on later tonight! 

Like I said...I'm almost there...  :)

On a side note...in between coats of paint, I've been working on another spring wreath. 

 Here's the link.  http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/2011/03/square-grass-wreath.html

I stole  borrowed the idea from Courtney.  She is super talented!!!!! 

Mine will be ready to go by tomorrow!

Now back to painting...

Tracy :)

Party at Tip Junkie...

Come join the party at Tip Junkie...

http://www.tipjunkie.com/

She is one incredible blogger...if you haven't met her yet, stop by and take a look...I'm sure you'll find something you'll like!!!!  :)

Tracy :)

Newbie Party...!

Joining in over at:

http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

for her Newbie Party!  Anyone new to blogging...6 months or less can join!  Come on over to the party!!!!!  :)

...Wait until you see the mudroom...it's coming together very nicely!

Can't wait to post pics!

Hugs,

Tracy :)

My Love for Letters...

Happy Spring!

Just in case you were wondering...I LOVE anything done with monograms and letters!  I did a very quick craft with the letter "L"...(my last name)... and a picture frame I had in the basement.

First, I must tell you I found the self-sticking "L" at JoAnn's...$2.00 on clearance!  :)  Then, I grabbed the white frame, some extra scrapbooking paper, and turned it into this:

I decided not to use the brown trim...but still think it might be missing something...hmmmm?!?

I think I'll leave it for now...unless you guys have any ideas??!!

Hugs,

Tracy  :)