I am LAZY!

I have been SO lazy about updating this blog... but as New Years approaches I am convinced that I will do better in 2012! Or so I will try! Here are some of the projects I have done lately (i.e. Christmas presents, birthday presents, just plain ol' projects)

Disclaimer: These photos were ALL taken with my camera PHONE so the quality and color are WAY off. Note to self - next time, take the time to get camera out!

First, are the two projects Brian gave to his Secret Santa. They were supposed to be $1-$2 each... SO... the snowman is a packet of popcorn made into a snowman by covering it with a plain piece of white paper and then drawing on the features with a sharpie. Add a glove for the hat and a ribbon. Ta-da! Super cute!!!

Next, another Secret Santa gift... Lightbulb reindeer! I used a lightbulb that just burned out. Painted it brown, and added features. Used scrapbook paper for the antlers and add a ribbon! Cute ornament for your tree!

Because our finances were SO tight this Christmas, I decided to make ALL of our Christmas gifts this year. Except for my son, of course. SO... here are some of the gifts that turned out ok and ones that I REMEMBERED to take pictures of.

This one for my best friend is a mix of two family names because they are a blended family. This picture is not the finished project, but you get the idea. It turned out pretty cute.

The cute boy was a creation from God above and I am so blessed for that gift! BUT... the sign is the one we are speaking of here! :-)

This one still needs the holes in the top and a pretty ribbon to hang it from but it may be my favorite right now. Very simple but I LOVE IT!

The next three pictures are the gifts I gave to my brother and his girlfriend. She collects Wizard of Oz things so I thought these would work!

OOPS! Notice the bookmark is inaccurate. The Witch of the East, too, was wicked... SO I took a red sharpie marker and marked through Good and wrote in Wicked and it turned out REALLY cute as if it was supposed to say that! YAY! Go me! The legs were formed with polymer clay and baked and then I painted them with the stocking and shoes. Really fun project!

Bookmark being used and where I got my inspiration!

My cousin and Aunt have a ceramic/pottery/fired arts Studio in Fort Worth called Brushstrokes and they helped me with these gifts. I painted the design and they were so kind to finish them up by glazing (clear coat) and firing them for me! I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

My son has ALWAYS be a University of Texas fan (Hook 'em!) HOWEVER, due to the brainwashing ;-) of my best friend and family he now is a die hard Alabama Crimson Tide fan... so EVERYTHING is Roll Tide now! EVERYTHING! So when I went to do his plate he, expectantly, wanted Alabama. BUT I added my part at the end. Hook 'em Horns at Heart.

A friend of ours is from LA and loves the New Orleans Saints so I borrowed her daughter and we made her a Saints Who Dat plate for Christmas.

Each year I like to do a plate for my son's birthday. I started this on his 3rd birthday (sad that I don't have 1st and 2nd) but his 3rd birthday was a train birthday... and his 3rd was Superheros.

not glazed or fired yet so it looks very pale. It will be very vibrant once finished. 

Anyway, so that is what I have been working on and I have a few more projects in the works as well. I am hoping to update more int he coming year. I pray everyone had a GREAT Christmas and cherish your loved ones, they are only here a short time. I cherish the Christmas I was able to spend with my daughter! Have a safe and happy new year! I pray the Lord's blessings on each of you!

much love and prayers,

Amber

A New Day...

Oh what a day it is going to be! I have to admit, I'm a little excited about today! I have come up with a great plan to expedite my Christmas gifts this year. Three letters...D - I - Y! Do it yourself! I have found some AMAZING items on Pinterest to complete for all my loved ones this year, all costing $10 or LESS! Sure, I will still have to purchase some gifts but what a way to save on money! I went to Lowe's last night to price wood of all things... 2.89 for a LARGE piece of 2x4! I was SUPER excited! Here are a few of the projects some of my 'peeps' will be receiving this year!~ What do you think? Good gifts? I think so!!! I have already made some and am in love (all found on Pinterest). By the way, have I mentioned how much I ADORE pinterest?!?!?! :-)

Trunk or Treat...a Success!

Last night our church had trunk or treat and it went GREAT! Everyone really did great decorating their trunks and cars! My family did a theme of Angry Birds and we had the back of the truck set up as an Angry Birds game with paper boxes spray painted black and stuffed Angry Birds to launch at the homemade Piggies. It was a hit as well! The children LOVED throwing the birds at the pigs and especially my husband whom was dressed as the King Pig! Take a look at some of the pictures from the amazing people that I call my church family!

Me aka Rad Angry Bird and my Son aka Yellow Angry Bird

Angry Bird Family

My husband aka King Piggy

Aladdin & Jasmine

(Craig & Tammy)

Pumpkin Patch

(Karen)

The Cave People

(Robin)

The Medievals

(Katie & Derek)

The 20's Flappers

(Lindsey & Tiffany)

The Flintstones

(Jake & Julie)

The Firefighter & Dalmatian

They had the local Fire department to bring a fire engine to the church... it was so neat!

and... finally... my best friend and I. Whew! What a night!

Trunk or Treat

Each year our church gives the community an alternative to celebrating Halloween. Last year, we go HUGE cardboard and cut it out in the shape of a whale with the trunk being the mouth of the whale and stuck my son in it as Jonah. It was ADORABLE! We learned that it did not necessarily have to do with Bible stories although we enjoyed it, this way we were able to tell little children about a Bible story as they came to our car. BUT, this year my son wanted to do Angry Birds... so he and I decided that every other year will be a Bible story for us. He was excited! He then assigned all the birds to their rightful people. His daddy is going to be the Green Piggy (I laugh a little inside on this one). I am the Red Bird, he is the Yellow Bird. His grandmother is the Blue Bird (I laugh at this one too) and his grandfather is the Black Bird. So without further ado....ANGRY BIRDS (the homemade kind) :-)

I bought red, blue, yellow, black and green felt (and in the green's case... I used Fleece). I then folded the meterial in half and then in half again. Measuring out 16 inches and then cutting a quarter circle. (see below)

I then unfolded the circle and started to cut out the features of the bird (I used $0.25 felt squares from the art department)

Hot glued them on...

I did the same process for the remaining birds (other than the yellow bird)

NOW, all that is left to do is sew the back on it like I did for the yellow bird and stuff with batting/padding/stuffing... ALMOST done! YAY!

Jars for ALL occasions

I have stated before with NO hesitation....I'm ADDICTED to Pinterest! Recently, I found the CUTEST jars found here. I then came across a great find at the boutique/garage sale my church was having to benefit our local pregnancy crisis center! It was meant to be - I was to make these jars! LOL! The example given was for Christmas, however, they can be changed VERY easily by changing the letters and the contents inside the jar.

The example I went from...

So here is what I found...

natural wooden candlesticks (3) $1.00 each at Michaels

natural wooden circles (3) $1.00 each at Michaels

apothecary jars (3) $5.00 for the set at a boutique/garage sale

wooden finials (3) (NOTE: I used a mini candlestick & wooden ball for 3/$3.00 vs. $1.99/finial - I'm cheap)

wooden letters (3) $1.00 each

black art paint $0.50

black ribbon $0.50

E6000 glass/wooden glue

I then, painted the wooden items with the black paint and let COMPLETELY dry... I emphasize that part - trust me! :-). Then I used the E6000 glue to attach the mini candlesticks and wooden balls together and then to attach them to the jar lids. Also, attached the large candlesticks to the wooden circles for the bases.

My finished project (minus the candy and the decorative ribbon around the finials)... I'm a happy camper!

The Liebster Award

GERMAN: LIEBSTER (N.) BELOVED, DEAR, DEAREST, LOVE {DEFINITION VIA}

My COUSIN, BETH, AT FOOD FOR RUN AWARDED ME THE LIEBSTER AWARD, A super sweet blog "shout out" for newbie bloggers. LIEBSTER IS A GERMAN WORD MEANING DEAR, SWEET, KIND, NICE, GOOD, BELOVED, LOVELY, KINDLY, PLEASANT, VALUED, CUTE, ENDEARING AND WELCOME.

THANKS, BETH! 

To keep this award going and pass it along to other new deserving blogs, the recipient must now recognize five other bloggers with less than 200 followers that have really stood out in the crowd.

The rules for the Liebster Award are:
1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top five picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love too!

Here are my handful! Drop by and give them some love!

1.  KATIE @ And Alligators Alligate She is a sweet, funny girl I attend church with. Her blog is witty and entertaining! She writes about experiences she has had and life in general! Check her out! You will be amused!

2. JULIE @ Potluck Diaries Julie, is an expert blogger! I also attend church with Julie and her family has become so dear to my heart! She also writes about her life experiences and somehow adds every detail to it! Her stories will make you laugh and have even made me cry. Great blog! Check her out!

3. NIKKI @ Mommy Zone Nikki, was my first friend when I moved to North Carolina. She has a very special place in my heart! We have helped each other through SO much and I know I can always count on her. Her blog is the day in the life of a mommy! She has 2 children and what mommy doesn't have stories. She updates about entertainment, great deals and mommy stuff! Check her out too!

4. ALEXIS @ Lexey &  Company Lexey! Lexey, is my step-daughter and has recently started blogging as well. Her blog consists of several things. She writes about life stories, book, etc. Some of them will make you laugh. Sweet, sweet girl! Love her! Check out her blog!

5. MICHELLE @ Two Buckaroos Michelle is someone I went through school with. She has a blog about her life as a mommy to two adorable kids. She is also a Christian. Check out her blog.

Projects in the WORKS...

Hello again... I actually have missed blogging this past week. My mother and I took our annual mother/daughter trip and this year we went to the Ozark Mountains and I had ZERO signal! :( It is sad that we rely so much on technologies of today!

So, what am I working on??? SEVERAL things! I am still in the process of a redesign to my bedroom and I will post as I finish the individual projects then at the end I will post a bedroom full view before and a redesigned bedroom after! I'm a little excited!

These are some of the posts that are ON THEIR WAY...
   antique wardrobe
   custom coasters
   apothecary jars for EVERYTHING
   fancy journals
   damask dresser

For now... here is a picture of the antique wardrobe I got for FREE! This is one of my VERY favorite projects!

^ BORING! :-)

^ Boring again.....

^Nice detail work

I decided to first prime the wardrobe (of course - this take WAY less time to prime than to sand the entire thing... THAT is for the birds!) THEN, I decided that because it was so BLAH I would get a stencil (found at Micheals and had a COUPON so I got it very inexpensive) and used texture spackling to smear onto the stencil... but........

^be careful! It may take a few times to get it right. I kept having the spackle slip under the stencil...so I think this may have been the third time. LOL

^ FINALLY got it! :-) Don't worry...it dries white PLUS I painted it anyway.

^ I recommend using the same primer. I happened to run out and had a spare can of Krylon Primer... a little harder to coat with your final color. Just a suggestion.

^Painted it Krylon (Walmart) Heirloom Ivory (basically off-white). I then glazed it with faux antique glaze the same way I did HERE.