Re-purposing a Christmas Card

I generally keep Christmas cards from special people or if I really like the message or picture or think I can re-purpose it some how. {Don't you know my husband loves that about me!} Actually, I don't think he minds.

Take a look:

Last year, we received this card from our Aunt Willie Sam and Uncle Louis. I loved that it was a shape card and beautiful! I knew my Stickles were going to glam it right up!!! (Apparently I was too excited to get started...I don't have a before picture...image the above without glitter...I know it's hard. Everything is better with glitter.)

Anyone have any tips on fussy cutting chipboard?

I loved Jonathan's Aunt Willie Sam instantly. She reminds me so so much of my Nana. Even her hand writing is similar so I knew I had to save and re-porpose the inside of the card too! Really, it's the way she makes her "L"s.

I cut a piece of patterned paper to fit the chipboard on the back of the card front and mod podge'd the pieces together with the inside of the card in the middle. A little Tim Holtz distress ink around the edges and I thought it turned out great!

I intend to lean it in my kitchen window at Christmas time this year. But it was dark when I finished it all up and got it dry enough to handle so I changed up the photo shoot.

I love that little shelf area in my bathroom...yes, I was taking pictures in the bathroom. :)

It's the bathroom right out side of my craft room. It has a cute pedestal sink and is just quaint. Our guests don't use it because there's a larger one across the hall...but I pretend they do. :)

So, do you save Christmas cards too?

Partying at Jennifer Rizzo's place. Check it out here.

Thank you, birthday, etc

I have several cards that I have yet to show off. All of these I have made for one challenge or another over at CardSwaps. Have you evert been over there? I love that forum...great people, great talent, fun crops...just all around good!

Please allow me.

This thank you card, I made for our Uncle Brandon. He took me junking in far north Missouri. I had a BLAST and have several tasters to show off as well! ;)

Noww this box!!! In love this box. I made it for my Grandma's birthday. I am going to try to fit gift tags in there....like this.

I also made this card which will be for my Grandma's birthday later on this year.

If you have been reading here for long, you know that I always make her gift tags for her Christmas gifts for her birthday, which is December 7th. Here's a couple that I made this year:

You can see ones I have made in past years: Here,and Here

Have you made any gifts lately? I'd love to see them. Leave a link in the comments.

Treat Yourself Crop {Blog Hop}

Welcome to the Treat Yourself Crop {Blog Hop}!

I trust you found your way here from Colleen's. Doesn't she have great style??

Check out the crop at CardMaker Magazine's message board. You will have until 11:59PM EST August 14, 2012 to get your projects done and uploaded to the challenge thread. Check it out! You will be glad you did...lots of great inspiration plus a nice group of people!

We were suppose to create a project aligning with the theme of {Treat Yourself}. Hmmm...I'm pretty good at taking care of me. I like Sunday afternoon naps with my Husband. I like sugar scrub, pretty fingernail polish, the occasional pedicure. I like to sing hymns to myself around the house. I like lunch with my girlfriends, a great junk store, estate auctions and porch swings. I like old furniture and spray paint. I like old houses and front porches. I try to turn the things I do into treats for me...even the laundry.

And I lie. :) About the laundry. I hate to do laundry but I tell myself that when it's done, I can do something I like to do. Like sit on the porch or swing in my hammock or explore a junk store.

And I digress....

Anyway, I recently got a new hammock and I love hammocks! In my card, below, I substituted a tire swing. :)

Stamp set: Branch Out (retired Stampin Up) Paper: Red (SU), card base (recollections), patterned paper (My Mind's eye)

This post is brought to you by the letter: R.

Your next stop: Ivanka Enjoy!!

The path...in case you have lost your way:

CardMaker Blog

Jane

Susan

Margaret

Golda

Meredith

Jeanette

Colleen Schaan

Laura <----Here!

Ivanka

Marlene

Anya Schrier

Angelina

Ana

Ashley

Lora

Oh I wish I were...

Say what??

Look up ahead. Do you see it?

Of course I see cool things on the highway when I'm by myself...no one to focus on photography!

Can you believe it?

Any of you Moniteau County kids remember when the Weiner Mobile ran off the road in Tipton, right across from the football field? I think it was maybe summer of 1999 or so.

I wonder how you get to drive the Weiner Mobile? That would be fun!!

If you look closely, you can see my Sister's birthday present in the back of my car. :)

When was the last time you saw the Weiner Mobile??

Front Porch Sitting Accessories

So, I went to the Salvation Army's in my work town today. I was hunting an ice cream freezer. My Dad's gave up the fight this weekend.

I didn't find a freezer but I did find a few treasures!

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know that I pin a bunch of junk to a board called "front porch sittin". Click {here} to see my board. I'm working on an easy space that's pretty but not fussy. Comfortable but not sloppy. I'm getting closer, I think.

Today, I found a couple of plant stands. They are really tall so I'm going to use them for side tables. For a buck each, I got both!! :) One may make it to my sun porch so I have a coffee perch...we shall see.

I just set them out on the porch...found condition. I think I like them as is....we shall see what Jonny says.

So anyway, before you get bored...

That's a tiny glimpse of a Church Pew my Mom picked up for me at an auction a couple of weeks ago...$50. Score!!!

I'm a sucker for legs and that green leg is just beautimus to me!

Here's my other table:

That's a whole vingette of second hand finds. I got the wreath, covered in grapes and weird ribbon at a yard sale for a quarter. The chair I got from a road side junk store for around $25. I probably over paid for it as it is in pretty rough condition but I still like it. And so far, it has held me up. :)

I'd like to find a small area rug for this corner. Maybe like 4'x6' or so.

Here's the table a little closer.

Here's the burning question...with my purple house and eclectic tables and chair...what color would you paint my Church Pew?

And, I'm linking up over at Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures party. Click {here} to play along!

I was FEATURED!!!

Can you believe it!?!

Rhoda, from Southern Hospitality featured my tea cart in her Thrifty Treasures recap.

I'm talking about this cart:

Here it is currently...still not completely painted.

{Here} is the original party I linked to. And {here's} where she featured me! ME!! Woo Hoo!!! Thank you, Rhoda!

If you like finding great deals, yard sales, second hand shops, etc, etc, you should totally check out Southern Hospitality. You will be glad you did!

Pretty on Paper

I really, really like this card!!!

And the inside is so so cute! If I do say so myself. :)

What have you seen that's cute lately??

Happy Anniversary!

Three years ago today, I married my best friend. It's a good thing we enjoy each other's company considering for almost a year now, the nearest person we know is at least an hour car ride away.

I just love this guy. Silly mouth noises and all!

Patio Furniture

I don't know about you, but I think patio furniture is horribly expensive!!! I've been looking around for furniture for our tall deck, the one Jj has been repairing. I'll show you progress pictures of the deck...pretty impressive, if I say so myself. That guy is super handy and talented.

Anyway, back to the fur other hunt. I had already decoded that I was going to have to wait for someone to discard their furniture either via garage sale, Craigslist or good ole estate auction!

Enter my sweet Momma and an Auction at Larry Petree Auctioneer in Tipton, MO. And check out this beauty!!!!!

I know! Just wait...it gets better!!!!!!! It was only $20!!!

A couple of weeks ago, on a routine Wal-Mart trip, I perused the spray paint and selected a color that was pretty to me. I didn't have a plan for the paint...I just knew that I liked it and it felt like the Beach to me. If you have been around here much this year, you know that I'm trying to add A little Beach to every room in our house. You can see my progress {here}. Anyway, here's the color I had...just waiting! And here's a sneak peak of the painting:

I only had one can of paint...so I'll have to finish another day. But! I'm liking up with Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Finds party. Check it out {here}.

Re-purposed Ink Holder

My inks have always just been kind of all over. :) Awhile back, my friend Lora, told me about using an old tape cassette holder...got me to thinking!

Enter a trip to the Red Racks!

In case you don't know, Red Racks are trift stores ran for the financial benefit of the Disabled American Veterans. When we lived in Columbia, MO, a couple of times a year, they would pick up curb side and sell the stuff at their markets all across the Kansas City area. Now that we live in the KC area, I have developed an affinity for these shops.

The junk is good, the prices are good and so is the mission and purpose of the shops.

I think this thing was $2.95. Probably not as cheap as a yard sale but definitely do-able!

I started after it with several light coats of my favorite Heirloom White.

Just like the bird cage, it took FOREVER to get the insides covered!!!!!

SIDE NOTE:

When I turned this dude over on the back... it was manufactured in June of 1980! This crate is officially vintage...and officially older than me!

See what I mean? It's rough and narrow and just plain hard to paint.

But the final result was worth it and I don't think you can tell that I didn't get the inside painted well. :)

Stampin Up! and Close to My Heart inks both fit great! On top, I have Tim Holtz Distress inks.

To the right of this tape case turned ink holder, there's a book case that I got at a yard sale for $5 and painted too. It holds my stamp sets.

Do you have any great stories of junk you had from your kid-dom that you re-purposed into cool stuff? I'd love to hear the stories!

I linked up at Jennifer Rizzo's Thrift Store makeover party. Check it out {here}.

Master Bathroom Decor

I knew I wanted to get to work on our master bathroom. It is just blah! But I didn't know quite what I wanted.

You can see the things I like by checking out my Pinterest board titled Master Bedroom.

Here's the picture that started it all!!!

SOURCE...as far as I can trace the pin.

I knew I wanted to use lanterns rather than bird cages so I set out chasing them down...and I'm still doing just that. However, I've made some other progress that I wanted to share. Just so you know, I'm probably not going to be putting barn wood on my walls anytime soon. Not that I can't appreciate the look; it's just not my thing...at least not right now.

I couldn't find a completely bare picture but this is pretty close!

I'd like to paint our whole bedroom/bathroom. I'd also like to have a different back splash. But for now, we are talking decorations.

I love that clock for a lot of reasons. One main one is that it doesn't have a second hand! This space is open to our bedroom and I knew from our old house that I did not want a clock, no matter how cool, with a second hand in my bedroom! I think the clock came from Jost & Main but I could be wrong.

I got this shelf from Celebrating Home when my friend, Leslie, had a party. There's nearly no natural light right here...or at least that's on what I'll blame the shadow.

Then, a little online shopping at Kohl's landed me these scones...which were bigger in person that I really thought they were going to be. However, I think I like them.

And I got that big shell at a junk store in Oak Grove, MO. I think this little area needs some more accessorizing but I haven't found just what, just yet.

That door opens into the commode and shower. Directly opposite, opens into our bedroom. Straight across is a double vanity...which is ugly...hence you didn't get to see it. :)

So on the other end of the tub...what shall we see?

There's the first of my lanterns. I want to get the second one and find a light before I do any hanging from the ceiling so...I tied to make it look like I intended for a random lantern to sit next to my bath tub. :)

Upon closer inspection, there's a lot of second hand and re-purposed junk in there. A liquor decanter to hold bubble bath, a fisherman's float Christmas ornament, old broken jewelry in a jar and a great little quote by Lucille Ball.

If you are still reading...THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm glad you are here.

What would you add to that little shelf? Place in the scones? I'd love to know.

Sun Porch Eye Candy

Remember waaaayyyyyyy back when I told you about getting my sun porch together?? Well, I had to google to find it, myself! :)

Look {here}.

Ok, so it's not much...so far but...

I had this bird cage from our wedding. Mom bought it back then at an auction and spray painted it to match our decor.

I love this thing!! Jj thought it shouldn't make the move from our old house...obviously, it came with! :)

Oops, there's my shadow.

Here we are partially painted.

And here it is pretty much done.

Let me tell you! Painting the inside of there was a royal pain in the patoot!

I also rubbed it down with a little wax stuff to take the *glare* off. I'll show you that when I get the porch shaped up. I need to do some serious sewing!!

A Jar Full of....Birthday Wishes {of course}

Back last fall, I met Judith, of Stamps by Judith...and it was love at first site!!! I fell straight up in love with this little jar.

LOVE! I'm telling you.

The little *happies* in there are Stamps by Judith too!

I'm pretty sure it's the snowflake seen {here}, second row.

I just love Judith! And I hope to see her at CKC this fall in Kansas City, MO again.

What would you put in your jar??