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. 

The beginning of my bedroom transformation!

I have FINALLY decided on the 'design' for my bedroom! I am going with a 'shabby chic' feel. My actual style is a little different but I couldn't pass up the pieces of furniture I have recently acquired - so here we are!! I will post as a complete the furniture and will TRY to remember to take before pictures. I have had the worst time remembering to do that. LOL! ...and without further ado.

FIRST... I primed the night stand. I prefer not to sand it down (it's too much work :-) ), you get the same result by using primer. I also prefer to use Valspar spray paint (from Lowe's) rather than brushing it on. From my experience you get a MUCH better finish and again... it is easier, a little more expensive but not enough to matter and AGAIN... easier!!

I forgot to take a picture of the before... but picture an old 70's nightstand... ugly brown (semi-wood stain). YUCK! I primed with the above primer and let completely dry. Sometimes it requires a second coat of primer depending on the previous condition and color or the furniture.

After the primer dried. I painted (with Krylon spray paint, the color was Celery - I FELL IN LOVE with that color) the night stand. When using the spray paint to actually paint you have to be careful to follow the directions on the can so you do not get 'puddles' and too much overspray. Spray in long lines all the way across the furniture for the best results. NEXT... after the paint color dried, I used a faux glaze (again, valspar from Lowe's) and 'slathered it on', making sure to get into all the creases and crevices.

Only paint the glaze on in small sections becasue you are going to wipe it off fairly quickly before it has time to dry. I used an old burp rag. :-)

My finished nightstand!!! A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!

Blessings!

A Sap for Burlap

Recently, I have found a new love....BURLAP! I can't seem to get enough! For those of you whom do NOT live in the world of Pinterest - you are missing out! I have redesigned my entire house from this website. I love it! Super fun ideas and I have 3 pages on my "Things I Need to Make" list! Here are the ideas I have for my dining room. I'm really EXCITED to start on it!

The Curtains...

Wall plaques...

I like the damask chairs, not so much of the back