Tag Archive | projects

I’ve Gone Mad … Mad for Plaid

Dec13

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December 13, 2016 – Is it really possible that we are already half way through the month of December and just twelve days shy of Christmas day? The year 2017 is peeking around the corner!

Confession time: I have not been as devoted to writing on my blog as I would have liked this past year. A series of other priorities managed to finagle a way into my life and consume my thoughts. Funny thing about writing, when you’re consumed by thoughts one of two things can happen; it can all come flowing out of you  without any hesitation or it can stay bottled up inside you like a surge of water searching for an escape route around a dam. Unfortunately, the latter has become my struggle.

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Recently, following a great deal of reflection, I have come to the realization that writing has always been a really significant part of my life. It is a validation of my own thoughts and beliefs, no matter how crazy they may be. So, as the year 2017 sneaks in at an alarmingly rapid pace, I am making my first resolution. I will to be more dedicated to posting on my blog consistently. Here’s to resolutions and making them last!

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I have not let everything that I enjoy doing in my free time slip by the wayside. I still enjoy ‘crafting’. And, as the month of November rolled into December, I discovered that I have a growing obsession with PLAID….. not just any plaid, but flannel plaid. Oh my goodness, I have made plaid curtains, plaid table runners, plaid pillows, and plaid tote bags. I have appliqued plaid deer and vintage trucks on drop cloth and denim. I ordered most of my precious, flannel prints from fabric.com but when I couldn’t find the necessary  buffalo check, I began purchasing twin flannel sheet sets to satisfy my addiction. Living in Texas, where you can pretty much wear flip-flops twelve months out of the year, it is refreshing to surround myself with a fabric that is representative of an actual season – winter!

So, today as I make my way through this frigid 66 degree weather in Texas, I will proudly strut around in my plaid scarf, carrying my plaid tote bag, while sporting a new pair of flip-flops.

 

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With Love,

sunflower

 

Red, White, and Blue – I Found Something New!

May28

Happy belated Memorial Day! It was great to have a three day weekend and I managed to get some things done due to the rain that we have had. Last week, was a hectic week for cake orders – two baby showers and a baseball banquet!IMG_0872cupcakesphoto

Yee-Haw!!!! 

I had to coach myself to clean up the kitchen on Saturday before I could do any ‘fun stuff’! Buttercream icing has a tendency to get EVERYWHERE – so cleaning up the kitchen involved a lot more than a quick swipe of the sponge and mop.Cleaning up in preparation of making another mess is very discouraging to me; so,  I really had to talk my way through it….

My personal reward for getting it done was a trip to Michael’s and, as always, it was a time of discovery for me! I found this chalk paint from Americana Decor. Note, this paint is not to be confused with chalkboard paint.  They happened to have it in a variety of colors, but I chose this soft blue color for the armoire in my guest room. You might be wondering, what is so special about this paint? Well, let me just tell you that all prep work is eliminated – no sanding, no priming, no waiting a long period of time in between coats! I never knew painting could be so painless! I always thought that was why the word ‘pain’ was in ‘painting’!

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Another ‘aha’ moment that I had was that it only took two of these containers to cover the entire piece of furniture with two complete coats. A little bit of paint went a very long way and the container has a top which screws on so it is easy, peasy to work with.  Initially, I was concerned about how much money I was going to have to spend on redoing one piece of furniture.

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I was even able to paint the hinges at the top because I didn’t want them to stand out. My next step was to sand the edges just a bit to distress it and then add a coat of dark wax

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I am really leery about using any product that has a high sheen to it, so the final step was to apply this soft touch varnish. I am very pleased with the way that it turned out! I will post pictures of the final masterpiece next time!

With Love,

sunflower