MoRe Snow...

I want to move to Florida and get as far away from all this cold and snow - I don't like it anymore!! It was fun the first time we got 2 feet but this is what? the 3rd snowstorm? or the 4th? This cold weather sucks!!!

I am done whining now......got it out....thanks

Getting Shanty with it......

It is show and tell time and I am gonna show off some of the things I made guided by Shanty 2 Chic!

I have been going a little crazy ever since I sat up till all hours of the night and read every single blog post from shanty2chic!! I have been to quite a few different thrift stores looking for wooden candle holders(cheaper than buying new ones at michael's) and glass jars to make a couple of the things they have posted. i am in awe of how creative they are and I love how other peoples creativity get the ideas going in my own head!!


This is the first official project i did following the rules from shanty 2 chic!!


This bookshelf was my grandma's and it was your standard stained wood with a poly finish. Blah! I love the little shelf and I love that it was my grandma's so the girls gave me some ideas.....
I spraypainted a primer over the finish so I didnt have to sand (worked out rather nicely) then I used this gorgeous turquoise color I had left over from painting my bedroom(yes - my bedroom walls are this color and the accents are RED - love it!) to paint the shelf. I got out my 80 grit sandpaper and gave it some aging then I applied my smoke ralph lauren glaze to complete the shanty.....
I love how it turned out!!!

I did learn a few things from my own shanty2 chic experiences (copying this idea)I would love to share with all of you....so you don't make the same mistakes I did!

None of my stores had Gorilla Epoxy so I had to use Loctite. It came with this great nozzle thing that mixes the epoxy for you - don't use it! It didnt really mix it and I had to redo my first attempt at gluing with epoxy! The second time around I squirted it out onto an old piece of wood, swirled it together with a plastic fork and applied it using the fork - much better results were achieved the second time around! I also did the duct tape trick the girls recommended the second time around! This stuff really works - it is pretty amazing!



Make sure you read all the info on their blog about each product before heading off to the store! I went to Home Depot 3 times for the glaze. The first time I was near there and so I went in to get the glaze and the guy was like - it doesn't have any color to it you need to tint it and I was like huh?? So I left empty handed but I did now know it was going to cost me $15 for a pint of the stuff!!



Trip #2 was the day after christmas. I went in got my glaze, completed the rest of my shopping and came home. Yeah -I can finally start my projects!! No - I then read something about the tint color and realized I had not read all the details and I had forgotten to get the glaze tinted. Trip #3 back to HD to get the glaze tinted! Now - I can get started on my projects!



The Shanty girls use the smoke tint but I did read another blog just recently who uses the tobacco. I think it is darker and I might like to try that color glaze too!


I used my acrylic paints to paint instead of spray paint - it is cold outside and I would never get it done if I did use spray paint. It took a couple of coats and I kept trying to get it perfectly covered - until it dawned on me that I was gonna take sandpaper to it anyways and if it wasn't perfect - it would be okay!



This is my version of the jOy plaques. I have wanted this word somewhere and thought this would be perfect! I love it! I still can't decide of I like it without the burlap or not????

I have done 2 show and tell posts today because I have been rearranging and redecorating since I put away all the christmas stuff and that involves being creative and lots of paint around my house!! So - you will see where Pray ended up in the next post.....

Show and Tell #2

I didn't realize how much I have been doing until I went to post for show and tell today...I have been a little bit busy but having fun!!! It is so much fun to reorganize, redecorate and rearrange after all the christmas decor ahs been taken down...fun, fun, fun!!!

This is where my shanty piece of work ended up! The hutch was moved from the kitchen into the family room and it needed some decor. So....

This is where the bookshelf i talked about here ended up. also in the family room.

This table has needed a special spot since I prettied it up last summer. So - with a little hutch movement we have a new home for the table! And the fantastic shelf wall thing I found at a yard sale last weekend.

The wall shelf was a very country blue color that does not fit into my decor but with a little antique white, some smoke glaze and 80 grit sand paper she turned into quite a nice shelf to display my pics of old schoolhouses and my funky chickens!

the round frames I also found at the yard sale and gave them a nice coat of heirloom white spray paint. They are displaying Winslow Homer and Beethoven - our musician and artist that we have been studying in school! The big picture is the picture by Homer that we have been studying for a couple weeks now - it is time to change it! I love including school stuff in the decor because homeschool is a huge part of our lives but our house doesn't have to look like a class room!

my hubby heard this word and said I want you to paint that and put it up in the house. so - 3 months later - here it is! every time i see the word there is something new i think of that we are victoriuos over and it just speaks of God's amazing work in our lives!!

we hung it on this little wall that you pass under as you walk down the hall and into the kitchen!

i painted the wood and then decopauged different pieces of scrapbook paper onto the board that the letters fit on. The letters are chipboard that I spraypainted black and then decopauged to the paper. i think it turned out cute and fun!

the wall of bookshelves in the kitchen also got an update after the decor was put away!

i love pigs and I have a new infatuation with funky chickens and roosters - maybe it is from living in the country! the silhouettes were an idea I got from a blog last year some time. easy peasy to do! and that empty space in the middle turned out to be the perfect place for our ocean box we made in science today!

the new lantern(the crack in the back piece of glass got me a discount at Ross) paired with my $2 pig is on the top of the left bookshelf.


this is what's on top of the right hand shelves. the flag was a father's day gift a couple years ago and i just painted the little sign over christmas break.


i have been collecting colorful and old glass vases for a couple years now and every once in a while i find a vase that i like that doesnt fit into the collection or is too big to go with the others so I put them in other places around the house - like here!


this stuff is on the other side of the middle shelves! my version of the shanty apothecary jars with an old schoolhouse pic I love because on the chalkboard is written - I will obey my teacher.

The other pic is stick figures of all the boys fishing - done by a friend of mine who has some amazing talents!

i filled the jars with sand i have had from our favorite beaches. my hubby asked me to do something like this a few years ago and the sand has been sitting there waiting for the perfect spot to put it...here it is!! i still have to paint the top of the back jar black and add it's tag but until i get it done it will sit right here!


i made this big fork about 2 years ago. i cut it out of mdf with my jigsaw. it has been ina closet since i made it and i finally put it on the wall about 2 weeks ago! for some reason i have been hesitant about putting up all the things I have made or painted.


a bench from a yard sale that cried out for some chicken fabric and some new paint. the barrel i found at an antique shop - LOVE IT!

well - that is it for now and probably for awhile! coop starts back this week and we have some catching up to do in school so my playing days are over....till I get another great idea I just have to do!!!