Project Week Begins!

Alright, so lets get project week on the road! Have some smaller ones leading up to the big reveal! I was very excited to find this wire basket at goodwill for only $0.75.

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So we take this beauty to the garage for a good painting. See in my world, everything is better with a coat of white spray paint; this is a theme you will see throughout the week, so fair warning!

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After two coats you bring it inside, fill it with whatever you have around the house, and POUF! Gorgeous basket! Can't get much better than that... or can it!?

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Come back soon!

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Wire Basket Project Breakdown:

Basket from Goodwill - $0.75

White Spray Paint - Had on hand

Basket Filler - Had on hand

Project Total - $0.75

From Us to You

Happy Halloween

So Before & After week has moved to next week, so I thought I would share some Halloween projects (maybe even more throughout the weekend).

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First, are my little scary jars, aren't they adorable!? I am in love with them. Canning jars, painted and sprayed with a glossy sealant - drop in some tea lights leftover from the wedding and TA DA cute decorations that didn't cost a penny!

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And for the other Big Bang Theory fans our there, remember, TA DA is short for TA DA DA DUNT DA DA DA!!!

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Then, last night I spent all my time making my crayon costume for work today. Me and the girls on my team were all very bright, just missing the box! Supplies: pillowcase, black marker, dollar store mega phones, paint and string - PRESTO - bright ideas ala Crayola!

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Here is me and my mom at work, taking our ritualistic work fun photos!

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Have a happy halloween weekend, and I will try to get up some more posts!

Falling Behind - So Picture Time!

Okay... so I am falling behind on "Before and After" work... been busy night around this joint, but no completed projects yet, hoping to knock some out tonight! For now, I am going to post more pictures!

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The weekend that I took pictures for loved ones, my cousin Casey came and took a few of me and my siblings... so I have decided to share a couple of my favorites (some normal and others that show the real us)!

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Photos taken by Casey Johnson and edited by me :-D

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Thanks again Casey!

Playing Catch Up

So the week got away from me, and I wanted to complete "Photo" Week. I had a great time last weekend taking pictures of my gorgeous sister and her boyfriend of two years, and my brother and his beautiful fiancé! It was a great family day, spent in Lake Benton. We felt privileged to find such wonderful locations in a town that none of us were familiar with.

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Congrats to Tiana and Adam for celebrating two years together!
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And another congratulations to Jared and Caycee on their engagement! Love you both and can't wait to celebrate another family wedding!

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Stay tuned for next week, where I am hoping to share some Before & After pictures!

Wednesday Wishes

Last April, Chris & I bought our first house and one regret I have is that it doesn't have a fireplace... we have considered getting one of them electric ones... but I'm not that enthused about the idea.

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We have discussed just buying a mantle with sidewalls, like this beautiful piece above from FireplaceMantels.com... but it is $534 dollars and that is just too much to pay unless I'm going to get toasty!

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Really I just want a place to decorate with the seasons and to hang our family stockings from... oh the envy of this scene above. So I've been thinking, if this is really what I want... who needs a full fireplace!

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I found this gorgeousness at Pottery Barn (can you see my weekly fixation with PB every Wednesday...). It is still out of my price range at $349... but it got the wheels turning and made me realize that a piece like this would be perfect, until we get a house with a fireplace!

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So for now I will continue my weekly ventures to the Habitat for Humanity store and occasional Craigs List cruisings, to see if anyone is looking to get rid of old mantles or ornate crown molding that I can use to create my own seasonal masterpiece! After all, Wednesday Wishes do come true!

Jackie & DaShawn - Family Photos

Last Saturday I had the chance to spend the afternoon and evening with Jackie and DaShawn. While I was there, we headed down to Falls Park to take some family photos of them. The little guy was is a super mood and did extremely well, I was very impressed. He continues to make my heart melt with those adorable cheeks and sweet eyes. Love you both!

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One Month

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One month ago, I got to marry my best friend.

I love you.

Wednesday Wishes

Last weekend I got the song "Sweet Dreams" stuck in my head (the Marilyn Manson version... I have to admit - I have a weakness for his deep, dark version, not sure why…). Anyways, so walking about the house, growling this song out... and I started thinking about wooden candle pillars...

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That's what my sweet dreams are made of...

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Like these ones from Pottery Barn, however the set of three is $107.

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Or these other ones from Pottery Barn, but they are $117 for the set.

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I found these ones at World Market, the set is still $52… Chris would boot me out of the house if I spent that on candlesticks and I would have to use them to heat my cardboard box!
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THEN – Yesterday during lunch, mom & I went to ShopKo for sheets and I snuck over to the candle department and look what I found! Not an exact match, but surely close enough for me!
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They were originally $49.99… then I saw the sale price and snatched them up for only $12.88! Woot woot!!! I did my happy dance, but spared everyone the gnarly Manson tunes. Wednesday Wishes do come true! Now I just need to buy some candles, or maybe pumpkins to be festive... hmmm...
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Side note! Last night I was feeling superb and had more energy than the pink drumming bunny! So I took it out on the house, all three floors! And... I finally got all of the house cleaned! Number one on the checklist is complete, with the exception of some random wedding stuff that still needs to find a home! Bring on the rest of the list!

Back to the Wedding

Lately, my project list has come to a halt. I have not been feeling well, so really nothing new to blog about... because of this, I thought I would go back to wedding projects that were never posted. So hop in the DeLorean, we are going back to the wedding!

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First up are the gift bags for all the fine ladies that helped out with our special day! I wanted to buy a bunch of damask bags for everyone, but that started to look a tad spendy and with a wedding budget, it just wasn't going to happen... so that's when I started getting frugal.

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I decided I could get the same effect with some black paint, spray adhesive, bags from Hobby Lobby and paper doilies of course!

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Step 1 - Iron bags to lessen the creases.

Step 2 - Spray the back of your paper doilies with adhesive and place on the corner of the bag.

Step 3 - Wash your hands, cause they are now all sticky.
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Step 4 - Paint the edges of the doily.

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Step 5 - Let the paint dry slightly (approximately 5 minutes), and then carefully peel the doily off of the bag. Note: if the paint dries completely, so will the adhesive - making it difficult to get the entire doily off the bag.
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Step 6 - Once the doily is removed, let the paint dry completely.
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Step 7 - Paint an initial, or whatever you choose, in the corner... I painted all my initials by hand, I am sure that there are other ways to do this, such as stenciling, but it really didn't take that long this way. I got some transfer paper and traced a letter onto the bag, then filled it in with more paint.
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Step 8 - Take a step back and admire your work. Give yourself a smile and a nod for a job well done, and a wedding budget met!
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Well that is all for today, hope you enjoyed! And yes, if you did notice, the photos are from different times and bags, the one with the "K" was my practice bag - once I was happy with that, I started the assembly line!

Love is in the air...

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Congratulations to Michelle and JJ!!! We are so happy for the two of you! Can't wait for the big day; wishing you all the happiness in the world!

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Michelle - I don't have a single picture of you and JJ...

so I totally creeped this off your facebook! Love ya! :-D

Wednesday Wishes...

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Woo hoo! I remembered to post this! Praise points for me!
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Anywho... this week has been crazy with cleaning! One thing about a big house, it takes forever to clean... even with only two people in it. So, really still working on checking off the first item on the To Do list... but have some of the others started! Sorry, sidetracked again... happens a lot lately.
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Focus... this week I have been browsing through lamps... there is no overhead light in our living room, and now with darkness coming earlier and earlier, it is time to think about these! Above are some of them that I looked at on Amazon... I sort of like them... but that are all pretty much the same, pretty basic (except one, not sure how the one on the right made the cut... hmmm...). I'm just not convinced yet.
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Or what about one these from Crate & Barrel... instead of Tall & Thin, let me introduce:

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The Short Round

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The Modern Masterpiece

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The Textured Temptress
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The Temptingly Trendy
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The Funky Crystal

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The Conversation Starter
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What do you think!?