Breathing Space Retreat 2012

Breathing Space Retreat 2012 as a volunteer.

Tami & I at Cinco De Mayo Party.

That's me dishing up Cafe Rio and standing next to Shelley Smith from House of Smith's

Topsy Turvy Cakes

Me, Jennie, Courtney & Sara.  Courtney is my talented sister
who did all the decorations.

Me, Courtney & Jennie Cinco De Mayo Party

This is my Schwinn used as decor.  I love this bike!

Jennie & I on our lunch break. Thank you Olive Garden!

Bookshelf Barbie House

I was inspired by some pictures I found on Pinterest for bookshelves made into Barbie houses.  The more I thought about making one, the more idea's I came up with.  This is just a sneak peak as it's 2 days before Christmas and my twins haven't opened the rest of the furniture. 

I bought a IKEA shelf for $39.99 and modpodged scrapbook paper to each wall.  The scrapbook paper didn't quite cover the whole wall but I still liked the way it looked so went with it anyway.

 I have twin girls and this is their Christmas present.  I liked this shelf so they can pull it away from the wall and each sit on one side of it to play together at the same time.  So picture it away from a wall.  I might play with it more then they do because I am in love with how it turned out.

 This is the living room decorated for Christmas.  I added 3M hooks to hang the chandelier and family picture above the fireplace.  I found some pictures I liked in magazines and laminated them to add some pictures to walls, floors, etc.

 This is the kitchen which will have a fully stocked Barbie fridge on Christmas day.

 My husband made this table with 4 screws and a scrap piece of wood.

 This is a picture that will hang over the tub in the bathroom (which will come on Christmas day).

 There is a piece of astroturf out front for the yard. 

I will be taking a picture of fire to put in the fireplace but that will have to be seen in an update.  I can't wait to have it set up by the Christmas tree with the VW Beetle parked out front.

Berry Smoothie

This smoothies turned out so delicious and there were only a few ingredients.  I added about 1 C strawberris, 1 C. blueberries, 1 C Raspberries, 2 C. milk and about 1 T. of splenda.  I mixed it in the smoothie maker and added a little bit of whip cream to the top.  It was declicious and my kids wanted more and more! That's always a good sign...
And it was pretty healthy.

FuNkY Sideboard

My husband didn't bring many material objects into our marriage other than an 11 foot Bermese Python, a sideboard he got free from a job he was working and well....that's about it.  The snake is gone and the sideboard stayed in the basement till recently when I decided it had potential. 

I had my husband add these legs.  It used to just sit on the ground.  He told me it looked like Allison Wonderland furniture but he had no idea how true that would until I was done with it.

I used Benjamin Moore in chartreuse 2024-10 but color matched it at Lowes.  The best part is that it only took me one sample size which was $2.94!

After the paint was dry, I traced the shape of that panel by taping paper over it and running a piece of chalk over the edge .  I then cut out fabric from IKEA to the size of the panel and did about 2 inches of Mod Podge around the edge.  I should have covered the hole surface because I had to cover it all later in the process.  I read on Modpodgerocksblog.com how this helps the fabric not to fray when cut.  I dry measured it up against the shelf and trimmed off extra material.  I brushed a coat directly onto the door panel layed the fabric right over the top and then added a top coat.  I let that dry over night and then the following day I added about 4-5 more coats letting it dry at least 20 minutes in between coats.  I also used Hard Coat Mod Podge over the fabric that is made for furniture.

 I roughed up the edges with 220 grit sandpaper.  The previous paint was gray around the edges as you can see if the "before" picture which added a lot of character when I sanded through.

 I had the shelf on its side while I painted the first coat but I did the following 4-5 topcoats upright and it worked just fine with no running.

 I got these knobs at Hobby Lobby for half off making them $2.50 each.  They are black glass knobs.

Recycled Chicken Wire & Frame=Earing Organizer

Jewlery Tree that I love on my bathroom counter to organize all my braclets, rings, watches, etc.

I made this with an old frame that I spray painted and stapled some chicken wire (leftover from our chicken coop) to the back.  It hangs on my closet wall and keeps all my earings organized.  It's so nice to not have to dig through a box.

Garden Fresh Vegi's

I love this idea of Salad In a Jar and went a little crazy with my Foodsaver today.

 After I was done getting all my salad and my garden pea's sealed up I even got my seed's  ready to store till next year.

Our Chicken's & Coop

Meet Oakley, Bunny Head, Galinia & Cinnamon.

My husband built this coop after our son caught a chicken at a children's rodeo.  We now get about four eggs a day and we enjoy watching the chickens.  I plan to paint the coop a fun color but haven't quite gotten to that.  I am thinking turqoise so when I finally get around to painting it, I will post pictures.