Happy Birthday to ME.......A project finally complete!

November 11, 2015 -- My 31st birthday. Where does the time even go? I feel so old some days but I remind myself the best is yet to be! Chris asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I went the non traditional route requesting a hand made spice rack. I love to cook and bake and my spice collection is forever expanding. The chaos of having random containers was driving me crazy. After shopping in several stores and online, I could never find just what I wanted. Being the amazing husband that Chris is, he graciously brainstormed with me and came up with this design.

On my actual birthday, we had a Lowe's date to pick and purchase the wood we would use.

As it seems to go with our lives, we were busy with plenty of other things so Chris didn't actually get to start until several months later.

 

And then once he completed it, it took me awhile to get it painted. What was I thinking? All those boxes and tiny corners/crevices! Whew.

Over the course of the project build, we slowly worked on the actual spice jar aspect of it. I decided I wanted to use half pint glass canning jars so Chris based the measurements of each hole with that in mind. The actual spice rack was the perfect custom size to fit under my kitchen cabinets in a specific spot on my counter. Here are the labels he designed for me to stick on each jar lid which I am completely in love with!! (All the pictures can be viewed larger and with more detail if you click on them.)

And finally!! After several months of working at this project little by little, our dual efforts successfully completed my long awaited birthday present. :) It makes my heart so happy!!! Every single time I pull a jar out or just look at it, I can't help but smile.

And I even had him make labels for my spices/blends that need refrigeration so they don't get clumpy.

Thank you, Chris, for all the time and love you put into my very special gift! It is even better than I imagined it would be! :)

Spring Wreath

Over the last several years I have been attempting to purchase wreaths for my front door that I can use for each season. Apparently I am extremely picky as this hasn't been an easy task. About 2 years ago I found a winter wreath that I actually liked, and more recently found an autumn wreath that wasn't super cheap looking so I added it to my collection as well. I'm not sure why it's been such a process but I like to find ones that at least look a little realistic and not pay an arm and a leg for them. Even some of the super fake looking ones are ridiculously priced! Okay that's the cheap Mennonite in me talking. :)

With the "summer like" temps that we had last week (50's HAHA!!) and everything in stores being sold two or three seasons ahead of time, I decided I should probably start looking for a Spring wreath. The other day I checked at Michael's and wasn't impressed so yesterday I drug my Mom into Hobby Lobby while running our weekly Monday grocery errands. Let me assure you that she did NOT go in the store kicking and screaming but the scrapbooking paper purchases she made were simply not my fault.

After seeing the price tags on the pre-made wreaths and not really being impressed enough to want to break the bank on them, I thought maybe my door would just remain wreath-less for another warm season or two. Since this seems to be a trend each year, I decided to look around for any pieces that caught my eye that I could use to make my own. I found some pieces that I liked and then proceeded to do what any good daughter would do -- I called my Mom who was on the other side of the store and interrupted her scrapbook paper shopping to come help me decide which color flowers were best. :) We are dangerous, let me tell you!

Thanks to the wonderful weekly Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon and their fabulous sales, my items totaled $32.82. I went home nervous and excited to tackle my new project, hoping that it would turn out at least half decent. My hands don't always create what my brain dreams up. :) I started with the following items pictured below...a plain grapevine wreath, 6 feet of berry garland, and a stem of both purple/cream flowers.

And for a better view of each item...

My blank wreath canvas!

I wanted some color but nothing super bold.

I always love the looks of this berry garland stuff.

Definitely stole Chris' sidecutters temporarily. ;)

As you can see in the above picture, I started with the berry garland, attaching it every few inches with some green wire that I already had here. After I had the garland securely in place, I cut apart the purple/cream flower stems and positioned those around the wreath.

And here is my finished product proudly displayed on my front door!

I was pleased with it for being my first wreath attempt and for the price I paid for everything. And the best part was that I had fun creating it! Now I'm ready if Spring ever decides to show up. :)

Table Makeover

About 5 years ago my aunt informed us of a friend she had who was downsizing and moving. This friend was in the process of selling various things in her house for very reasonable prices just to move things quickly. Chris and I were living at our Fayetteville duplex at the time but knew that we would be moving in a few months since we were planning to buy our current home in the spring of the following year. We decided it may be a good idea to just go check out what she had and see if we could find any new to us, fun pieces to add to our home collections. We had a successful trip that included this small accent table...

I fell in love with the table right away but not so much the colors. I never was a huge fan of peach or gold but thought the table could have some future potential somehow. And so the years have gone by (quickly I may add) and I hadn't found the perfect spot for this table until recently. When Chris and I remodeled the basement area, we relocated the water softener and water heater out of the bathroom/previous utility room so that it wouldn't be so cramped. When the bathroom project was complete, I knew the table would be a great fit for the newly opened space.

So I had finally found the perfect spot to put it but the colors just weren't working for me. Thanks to a few Pinterest ideas and a new find of 'Valspar's Antiquing Glaze' the following pictures will walk you through my table transformation process.....

(All primed and ready to paint.)

(Painted one coat - Ready to sand down some of the edges before the antiquing process.)

(Antiqued and ready to put a coat of Minwax Wipe-On Poly on to protect it.)

(All finished and put back into place! :)

Over all I was pretty excited with how well it turned out. I wasn't sure what I was doing at first but it was fun. :) Now I'm eyeing up more pieces in my house to antique......:)

Another Weekend

I'm not sure where the time goes. It's been a cold weekend here in Pennsylvania so it feels like we're stuck back in winter mode but in reality, April is just around the corner which is hard to believe. Chad and Elana are getting married in THREE weeks. It's still hard for me to wrap my mind around that one. :) For those of you that don't know, Elana is my dear sister in law and Chad is my first cousin. Very cool but super weird to think about your cousin becoming your brother in law. :) I love you, Chad. ;)

Chris and I had a nice weekend together. They always go way too fast but it was nice just the same. Saturday we worked on some miscellaneous projects around here and that always feels good to get some things accomplished. We also took time to go to the grocery store together for a few odds and ends, picked up take out from Brother's, came home to make "Little Fessie's Oatmeal Cream Pies" and relax the rest of the evening. Today after church we dropped off the car at the auto body shop to get fixed. I'm bummed that I'll be without a vehicle all week but I'm so ready for the car to come back in the condition it was before I got rear ended. I think I may open and close the trunk several times just because I can when we get it back! :) We had my parents over this afternoon to watch "Walk the Line". I just love that movie so it's always entertaining to me and I thought they'd enjoy seeing it. We had a nice time together. 

On Friday I started a new knitting project. About a year or so ago I bought a sundress that I'd really like to wear more places but it would be better with a little sweater to go over the top. After searching high and low and not really finding anything I was willing to pay $30 for (or more at times!!) I decided to knit one!! Hoping it turns out as neat as I'm picturing. Pictures to come if the pattern doesn't get the best of me. :) Here are the beginning stages of it...

Not sure what all I'll get into this week but I'm charging ahead hoping for a great week with some sunshine! I close with some of our projects from Saturday.

The last of the intercom system that was throughout the entire house before Chris attacked it:

After he removed the last two that were left in the basement, he drywalled in the holes and put a coat of joint compound on the areas already!! I love my handy hubby!

We also got the first set of bifold doors from the hallway back up thanks to Dad Coblentz's help. What a nightmare the entire project was. I'm glad one is complete but now I have to get up the gumption to tackle the second set for the end of the hallway. Someday. :)

Also finished the wall painting in the garage - just have to paint the doors at a later time: