MORE STINKIN SNOW

I am so tired of all this snow! It has been snowing for almost 2 full days now and we are officially 'Snowed In' this go round of storms!

Lasy night Stephen and Alex were outside for a little bit and shoveled the driveway, had a small snowball fight and made a couple of snow angels!

The street had just been plowed so the 2 of them laid down and made snow angels!

There is nowhere else they can make snow angels because the snow is so stinkin deep!

This what we woke up to - after it snowed all day Friday and all night!

It sure does look pretty!

After lunch Stephen went out again - can you believe how deep the snow is.......


This is what it looks like out the back door onto the deck! We cleared off the deck before this storm started so this is all from the new storm this weekend!!










Danny and I are headed out to shovel the driveway again - I think he has done it at least 4 times today!! He still is hoping we will make it out of here for church tomorrow! And he will have to go back to work tomorrow! They actually closed Target today so Danny got a snow day today - that was a nice suprise!!!

My hubby just told me that it is supposed to storm again on Tuesday - I am leaving with the boys and going to FL till May!!!

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!!!

Show and Tell

It's wednesday and that means time to show off....YEAH!!! I am in th emiddle of a couple projects that I can't wait to show off so I thought I would link you to some of my older posts that I did before I had a place to share my show offs!!!

http://justalittlehouse.blogspot.com/2009/08/busy-busy-busy.html

http://justalittlehouse.blogspot.com/2009/06/ive-been-painting.html

http://justalittlehouse.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-finished-it.html

As I was going through old posts I realiezed I have been blogging for over a year now - wow. That seems long to me!! It was fun to go back through and see all the things we did! I will have to do that more often!!!

Show & Tell

I do love this idea and have been anxiously awaiting this week's Show and Tell to show off what I did with the nativity and O Holy Night I purchased from I Show Off.

a>
This board is leftover from some bookshelves my dad and I made over thanksgiving. I painted it balck and then sanded it down. I learned a cool technique to crackle so I tried that with the white center. I think it turned out pretty nice! When it was all dry I put on the vinyl and then put a clear coat over all of it!
to do the crackle effect: just use regular old elmer's glue!! i dont know what the actual crackle stuff you buy looks like when it is done but this worked well enough for me so I have done it a couple of times now!! i forgot to take pics during the process - sorry!
step 1 - paint your base color - the color you want to show thru the crackle - Let Dry
step 2 - apply elmer's glue to cover the whole area you want to crackle. not thick but not too thin just a nice coating
step 3 - let it dry but not completely. it will be just a smidge tacky
step 4 - put the top color on top of the glue. do it in one direction. don't keep applying to make it thicker. you are going to want to cover in one stroke going in the same direction and then do the next stroke. the more you go over it and the thicker you make the paint on top the less it will crackle.
dont hesitate to email me with questions - you will be suprised how easy it is and how fast it works! you should see it start in a couple minutes!


I love these nativities and knew I wanted to do something with them so...I bought them! She was nice enough to size them down a little for me so I could put them on this star as an ornament. I traced the star onto a piece of wood and cut it out with my jigsaw. It required a little sanding and then I painted!

on the back I wrote the different names that were prophecied in Isaiah 9:6.

I have a red one on my tree and Ijust love how they turned out - cute!!!

I am looking forward to cruising around all the other show n tell's!!!

Snow......Glorious Snow.......

the Grand Total at our House was 20 inches after snowing from 5pm Friday through about 8pm on Saturday

I love the way the snow looks on the wreaths...so pretty!

of course it would look even prettier if I didn't take a picture of the broken window that is duct taped!!


Stephen and Ben headed out at 830 and we didn't hear from them for at least 3 hours!!

the snow started falling harder again about lunchtime

after lunch daddy had shoveled the driveway and walkway and built some nice walls for the boys to climb on. thomas finally headed outside after lunch...

the snow was a little hard for Thomas to walk in....

Thomas and Shiloh had fun in the snow although I htink Shiloh had more fun than Thomas!

Big Brother walked outside and immediately fell over too!

This is the first mound of snow created by our neighbors clearing their drives and the snow plow. The mound has since doubled in size and will provide hours, days and weeks of snow play for the boys!


The boys wait for the snow plow to come through and create this huge pile of snow for them! This year our neighbor had a little bobcat out here shoveling his drive and dumped all the snow in this pile for the boys!!

As FUN a sthe snow is - I am about to go crazy from all the clothes and towels laying all over the kitchen so they can dry in between plays! I am soooo grateful that everyone but Thomas can dress themselves!! Oh how it is the small things in life that make me happy!!

It is beautiful outside with all the snow covering evrything.....Thank you, God - you Rock!!!

Decorating for Christmas

I do soooo LOVE Christmas! I love everything about it - except the shopping! But - I especially love decorating for Christmas. I love getting ALL the boxes out from under the house and opening each one to see what is inside. I love the moment of remembering those items from last year and the little smile that I get from those memories. I love opening a box that is full of all the clearance items from the year before I bought to use this year and trying to remember what I was gonna do with that??? I must admit that a few items got put back into a box this year because I had absolutely no idea what I was thinking when I bought them and couldn't figure out what to do with them this year!!!
I was so excited when I found this tour of homes hosted by The Nester so I could peek into how you decorate and get some ideas for next year!! But - I missed the cutoff to join in her party and through her Ifound these other Holiday Home Tours to join and visit! Hooked on Holiday House Tours and Home for the Holidays .It is gonna be so much fun for me to look thru all those homes.

I hope you enjoy the tour.......

This is our new card tree. We love this idea and will be doing it from now on! I can't wait to see what it will look like the day before Christmas! It has already doubled since I took this picture!



This ledge just recently got put up in the tv room and has yet to be decorated - except for the window - so it was fun to put all our christmas frames on it and give it some life - finally!! I have painted the frames each year and we try to put our christmas morning pic in them but there are a couple that we missed so it is just the card pic from that year!


The three wisemen are ornaments that my hubby hates putting on the tree becasue they are so heavy! I think they found a nice home!


this was fun to decorate with ribbon and bright little ball ornaments


kitchen table centerpiece




our house is just a little house and we do no thave any mantels so the stockings hang in the front hallway. I did this last year and I tried to put them on a bookshelf this year but Stephen requested I put them here like I did last year - so I did!



Our tree.....when we first got married we went to the farm and cut down our tree and brought it home and it was such fun a nd smelled so good. After child #4 came along it was no longer fun it was just plain torture with a lot of yelling and crying involved from mommy and small, cold children so we bought a fake tree! It is nice to be bale to put the tree up on black friday and leave it up till i feel like taking it down! But we decided this year to get a real tree next year since the boys are older and we do miss the smell of the real tree!

My hubby works retail so putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving doesn't usually happen as he is busy with all the Black Friday madness. So the tree ususally gets put up during that weekend at some point! It is a family event and all must be present before we can start! Mommy is in charge of the ornaments and the boys get fussed at quite a bit to "be gentle" with the ornaments throughout the process but it is pure family fun we all love! It is so much fun to remember the ornaments from year to year and see the ones the kids made from year to year and to open a new one from Grandma each year. The boys take turns each year putting on the star. It was Thomas' turn this year and he was just so stinkin' proud of himself - it was way too cute! I love sitting next to the tree and just enjoying the lights and the ornaments!




I took these pics below because I thought it would be enjoyable to show off the giant clumps of ornaments and the big holes in the tree that have no ornaments! This drives my hubby crazy and when he tried to be all sneaky and move some of them around the kids actually noticed and got upset with him!! So we now have a very badly decorated tree but it adds to the charm and beauty of it and the lights are still pretty!
i wrote on the pic but you can't read it...



Alex started a little tradition of his own with his brothers a couple years ago - He hides baby Jesus in the tree and on Christmas morning the little ones have to find him. They love this and can't wait to find the baby Jesus christmas morning!


front door wreath I just bought at JoAnn's for 75% off and quickly came home and took down the berry one we have had for a few years now! I would really like to have a big P to put on it but I can't find the bigger wood letters around my small town so it will remain bare till I travel to other parts of the world in search of better craft stores!!! I love the rusted bells. I found some rusted stars at Ben Franklin the stoher day that I think I will add to this one of these days!


I love putting up ALOT of christmas lights outside and I especially love driving home after being gone all day and it is dark and all the lights are on - that is my absolute favorite part!!! It is worth all the work for that moment!! I would keep the lights up all year if I could!




not enough lights yet...we are thinking we should put some around the windows too!


I must admit that I do tend to skip right over Thanksgiving and move straight from Halloween(which I could easily skip as well) and go straight into Christmas! I tried to put up Fall decor this year and keep it up till Thanksgiving but I just couldn't hold out - I caved - like 2 days before Thanksgiving!! I'll try again next year!


This is our Advent Log. My dad drilled some holes into a 2x4 for me to put the candles and I decorated it with garland and holly and berries that each have symbolism this season! Each night we do an advent reading and the boys take turns lighting the candles. The white ones are the sundays of advent and the last one will be lit christmas morning before we do presents! This is the first year doing the log. Last year was our first year doing advent and we used a wreath. I saw the log at a friend of ours mom's house and loved it and wanted to do that instead of a wreath. I could never bring myself to use the purple and pink candles that are traditional advent candles - red and white work just as good for us!! They still have the same meaning just not the right color - Oh well! You should see these all lit up - it is gorgeous!
We also celebrate christmas morning with a donut cake for Jesus' Birthday.

Thomas' turn - notice the concentration - this is hard work


My Santa's are one of my favorite things to put out! Quite a few years ago my mom started buying me one of these Santa's every year and I LOVE them! She hasn't gotten me a new one in a few years because they no longer go to SC on vacation! So they are scattered all over the downstairs and even on the bookshelves in the hallway upstairs!