Radio Gifts

Remember this frame that I had made to giveaway on the radio program I co-host? Well on that same post I shared that I would be making 4 more to giveaway on that same program. This last Sunday we hosted another giveaway and here is what the winner received:

I am so pleased with how it turned out!

Last time I made these little flowers I found round objects to trace around and cut the circles out with scissors. This time I wised up and used my scrapbooking templates with little blades. {Is there an official name for those?}

And just to prove that I am pretty much always a crazy-haphazard-crafting-housewife, here is where I worked:

on the floor, in a dimly lit bedroom, next to the clean laundry pile.

It was 12:30 at night and I had been reading my scripture to finish preparing what I wanted to say on the radio the next day. The theme was " Establish." {Psalm 90:17} Asking God to make the work of our hands fruitful for His kingdom and for future generations. It is a word that has been such an encouragement to me for several weeks now. And as I shared on the radio, it has become the word for our home. One which we have been praying for and He was faithful to give. I'll be sharing more on that later on... along with a beautiful reveal of home decor that reflects that. 

That cream paper is textured with little polka dots. So Pretty!

Since the the majority of our audience is Spanish speaking, the words on any frame I make are in Spanish.

This one says, "Confirm the work of our hands." It's the second part of Psalm 90:17 Spanish NIV.

Today my challenge for you is to take any and every task that you may face - no matter how small and insignificant - and see it as an opportunity to impact someones life with love and service. Ask God to Establish the work of your hands, so that any task you do will have a positive impact on someone.

Maybe you are crafting/decorating your home. As you do, pray for the people who will enter your home and be blessed by the peaceful and lovely surroundings. That they would feel comfortable in the nest you have so lovingly made.

What everyday task could you change

into a blessing for someone today?

All photos taken by yours truly.

The Crazy Housewife

Yup, that would be me.

The crazy housewife.

The one who jumps up from the couch at 10:15 last night and announces to her hubby, "I feel like spray painting something!"

To which he laughs hysterically, says I am the cutest ever and that he loves my spontaneity... Somehow he did not seemed surprised, though... as if this were a regular occurrence in our home. ahem.

The spray paint victim this time:

A light pink and white spattered pedestal/holder found earlier that day at goodwill for $2.99. Love me a good deal!

Although the pink and white motif could have worked for valentines, I wanted to be able to use this year around. So it was off to the garage to tackle the pedestal with two light coats of fast drying left over spray paint from the cupboard.

I think the color is called almond. and it is a lovely creamy white... just like the inside of an almond. It was left over from painting some little frames and we've had the leftovers for 7 years. Yea, paint gets used down to the last drop before it is allowed to leave these premises :)

I had to paint here:

Because the rest of the garage looked like this:

Don't freak out on me now. All that is for the garage sale.

Yea for us!

Anyhow, this morning I walked out to get my newly transformed beauty... and loved it!

Don't you just love that shape?

Just for fun I used the decor balls from this post so that I could put the pedestal on display in the entryway.

Isn't it great how a simple coat of paint can totally change the look and feel of an item? *sigh* I'm really diggin' it!

What have you attacked lovingly changed with spray paint lately?

All photos taken by yours truly.
Linked to "the Girl Creative" and also Linking to "so very cheri." head on over and party with us!

Corner Bookmark

These are two sweet little girls that a dear part of our lives right now. Whenever we see them we share many giggles, have adventures playing games and read books together. It's great fun! The older of the two is now reading her first chapter books and along with that came a love for bookmarks. She doesn't need anything fancy, just a piece of paper to "keep her place." So cute! So when I saw a corner bookmark here, I just knew that I needed to try one out for her.

Isn't this just the cutest corner bookmark? It's handy to have around and is a great use for all those left over pieces of scrapbook paper.

To make one, cut one 4"x4" piece of scrapbook paper and another 2 3/4"x 2 3/4".

Find the center on the 4"x4" piece and fold down the tips to make two little flaps. 

It kinda looks like a little house. {don't ya just love the precise "house explanation? heehee!} Then cut the smaller square from one point to another so that you have two triangles.

{front}

Use a strong scrapbooking adhesive to attach one triangle across the back of the larger piece where the little flaps are to create a pocket and anther across the front to embellish. 

{back}

Make sure you can slip your fingers inside the little pocket on the back and that it is not glued shut! {This is where you will slide the page of the book into.}

Then use punches, colored pens and corner punches to embellish.

Isn't this punch great? I got it a Craft Mart {it's usually available at Michaels as well.} It makes a darling heart pattern and leaves a little corner to slip another piece of paper into.

So sweet!

What little projects have you been working on?

All photos taken by yours truly.

I'm Getting My Craft on today here... are you? :)

Do We Have Glue Sticks In The House?

Since it rained all day Saturday, we had to postpone the garage sale. So then the question became, What to do with all the time that had just been freed up?

Clean and sort some more for garage sale next weekend?

Of course not!

It was off lunch with my love and then....

off to the thrift stores!

What?!?! 

For real?!?!

We just cleared out the house and now we're filling it up again?

I know - shameless!

But in our defense, we went in with a specific list and a very limited budget. no crazy, impulse shopping allowed! And we shopped at the uber-extra affordable Fancy Store {AKA Goodwill Outlet.} Hubby scored a speaker-woofer-tweeting-box-sub-thing that has been on his wish list for a while. Price? $3.99! Love a good deal! He took it apart {as in tore it to pieces!}, removed the damages parts, and rebuilt it. Such a handy man! {and cute to boot, too!}

Apparently there were several holes that needed to be filled on the back, so here is conversation that went down:

Hubby: Do you have any glue sticks in the house?
Me: {Shocked and in disbelief at the question} Do I have any glue sticks?
Hubby: yeaaaa...
Me: {still shocked} for real?!?!
Hubby: {confused}
Me: oh-ho my little pigeon, do I have glue sticks? Is the sky blue? I am a crafting, repurposing housewife who lives in an ever changing DIY space. {laughing now} Do I have glue sticks... heehee! You know this house is never low on glue sticks... or glue guns for that matter! In fact there is one right here:

See who's awesome blog I was reading at the time? :)

See that white bag? See how close I am to it - 5 feet away at the most. That is where my mini glue gun is. With me. Almost everywhere I go. It's a sickness I know.

There is even a designated drawer in my desk for glue guns and glue sticks.

So hubbster glue gunned the evening away, while I tried out my new Fancy Store purchase:

A Vortex Steamer for..... get ready for it.... $3.99!!!!!!

HELOOOOOO AWESOME DEAL!

Since there were no microfiber pads included, Hubby just tied a clean rag diaper style around the base, and I got to cleanin'!

It worked great. {squeal with joy!}

Did you find any great deals this weekend?

All photos taken by yours truly.

Head on over to see other great finds with Souther hospitality readers :)

In the Meantime...

UPDATE: It has been found! the charger was... in the misc. clothing drawer. You know, swim suits, gloves, winter socks, tights, etc. And I even looked there two times last week. This time I dumped out several drawers, bags, etc and FOUND it!!!! Back to regular blogging with photos SOON!!!!

Two things are on my mind today...

1. Where is the camera charger? {If you were a camera charger, where would you hide? Any ideas? Please!}

2. Garage sale has been postponed. Major bummer. But the forecast for tomorrow is looking dreadful. Silver lining though, this way we can host a two day sale next week - Friday and Saturday {since I have to be here anyway waiting for the AC/heat pump guy to come fix our wacky air flow system.}

With that said, I have WAY to many awesome projects all done and ready to show you but no camera to take photos with! So since I will be continuing the Major Overhaul of cleaning for another week around here, just thought I would redirect you to a post from earlier this summer with tips and ideas for major decluttering. Fitting, huh?

Click here to read my tips, some AWESOME tips from readers and to add a few of your own.

Another! oh my I'm blushing!

Guess who gave me another award? Sweeter than life Sarah from Crafting and Creativity. She just did two of the cutest baby girl headbands... of course it's just extra icing on the cake that she has the most darling little model! Be sure to check it out.

So, I am to share 7 things about myself before passing it on... so here we go:

1. I can {and often will} listen to the same CD or playlist over and over.... and I love it. Although I love all kinds of music, it kinda gets me in a groove when I work to listen to the same thing over and over.... and somehow more work gets done. Strange, I know.

2. Apparently {according to the most handsome husband ever} my excitement can sometimes be worse than a caffinated Chihuahua! haha! I love it :) And to be totally honest, when I am excited about something home or craft related, there is no stopping me! {woof}

3. I had to look up how to spell Chihuahua. I am ashamed to say that my lame attempt in Google was "Chiawawa." Yes, I Googled. For shame....

4. I get a thrill out of decluttering, organizing, and labeling.... oh my little DYMO labeler has a special place in my heart.

5. If I find a good deal at a Boutique {Goodwill} or the Fancy Store {Goodwill Outlet} I will more often than not do a little jig, and may or may not let out a squeal. I'm just expressive about a good deal, I guess :)

6. I really don't like to iron. I will throw something in the dryer with a damp washcloth for a few minutes and try to get the wrinkles out that way first before breaking out the iron. But I do have a secret ironing love - Napkins. I L.O.V.E ironing linen napkins. It gives me joy and is relaxing. weird I know...

7. And lastly, I am a list maker. Like OCD list maker of the ages... but I often forget my grocery list or lose the "to do" list... but at least I wrote it down... right?

Whew! That's a lot of talking about me... and now that I read them over I really do sound kinda like a caffinated chihuahua! Please don't leave me now that you know my crazy habits....

In fact would you share one of your own?

Please?

It would make me feel better :) haha!

It is a pleasure to pass on this award to:

The Painted Parsonage. One word for you about this blog - SWOON.

A Place for us 5. Check out the baby nursery. You will be in sweet little girl heaven!

And House of Smiths. I know she probably has a bagillion awards, but she inspires me day after day. If I am in a decorating/cleaning funk I just take a quick 5 minutes to re-browse her blog and Presto! I am revived.

Congrats ladies! And feel free to pass on the award if you like.

Garage Sale-ing

Oh how I wish that this title meant that I was merrily skipping up and down other people's driveway hunting for treasures.... instead it means that I am currently knee deep in stuff in our garage sorting to host a garage sale.

Crummy camera phone pic, sorry but camera battery is LOST! ahhhh!

***sigh***

On the one hand:

I am tired, sweaty, covered in dirt and while the finish line is near.... I'm still not done.. and it feels as thought it may never get done!

On the other hand, I can look at the bright side:

My house and garage will be clutter free, I may make a few bucks at the sale and I have learned that in a case of extreme emergency I can kill a spider on my own.... if I absolutely have to and there is no one else around to save me from the heart palpitations and girly screams. No, I am not afraid of spiders... I just really really really don't like being near them and may or may not have a slight aversion to them. 

So, all that to say that this week we will be gearing up for this sale with lots of sorting, clutter control, and the best part of letting stuff go.... moving furniture around and redecorating spaces! Our bedroom furniture got shuffled around last night and we are LOVING the change. More on that later... when I find my camera charger... that's a whole other story.

Any time we have a garage sale, there are a few little things that help make the day easier:

~ Make sure we have plenty of change. Dimes, quarters and ones and fives are what we usually get. And we don't wait till the day of the sale to get the change either... no matter how much time we may think we have, it is never enough. So someone always make the change run the night before.

~ Super clear, easy to read signs. It really makes all the difference. Same goes for prices too. It is so annoying to go to a garage sale and have to keep asking over and over how much things cost.

~ Plenty of bags, left over bubble wrap and  newspaper to bag up and wrap purchases. Some people want it wrapped up others won't - either way it is a friendly gesture :)

~ Windex or wipes to shine up glassware such as candle holders, lamps, vases, etc. Basically anything that will not be used for eating.

~ Lunch in the slow cooker - soup, stew, picnic roast, chili for hot dogs, etc. Every garage sale, we'll be going along just fine... then we sit down for a break and it hits us just how tired and hungry we are. With lunch all made in the slow cooker, there is no need to wait for takeout. Just serve up some soup, add a piece of french bread and grab some fresh drinks.

~ Make our bed. Even if no one is going to see it and if it is so messy a biohazzard team wouldn't approach it with a ten foot pole - make the bed. That way after a long day all we have to do is wipe off the dirt and climb into a freshly made nest. ahhhhh, heaven!

~ Have a plan for hauling off all the stuff that didn't sell. For us, that means extra boxes, bags and a securing the little trailer from hubby's work. Goodwill is only a few minutes from our house, so as soon as the signs are down and it's packed up we take it all to the donation center....

......................and then we pull around to the front

and take a quick run through the store

to see if there is anything we just absolutly can't live without!

oh wait , did I just admit that out loud?

oops!

Shameless I know :)

What are your best garage sale tips?

Linking to WFMW with "We Are that Family"