Bloomin' Tuesday

Spring has arrived in Colorado. Sort of. It's been a very long winter and very cool spring. Yes, we have flowers blooming, the grass is green, and there are finally leaves on most of the trees, but we have a prediction of snow on Wednesday. In spite of all that nonsense, our yard is showing color and a whole lot of promise! Here are some collages of what's happening in our garden this week...

Clockwise, starting top left: Bleeding Heart, Creeping Phlox, English Daisy

Clockwise: Primrose, Primrose, Gaillardia

Iceland Poppies

Clockwise: Strawberry plants, Candytuft, Rockfoil Saxifraga

Clockwise: Apple Tree Blossoms

To see more Bloomin' Tuesday posts,

go to Ms. Green Thumb Jean's.

Oreo Pops

I hope you all had a nice weekend. I certainly did! On Saturday I made some treats for some special women in my life. I'd heard of Oreo Pops, so I thought I'd give them a try. Easiest thing ever!
They are simply Double Stuff Oreo Cookies on a stick, dipped in chocolate, with a few sprinkles added. As with anything, there were a few casualties. There were some Oreo's that broke or separated, but overall it was an simple and quick project!

There are a number of tutorials on the web. If you need directions, go here. These are a quick, easy treat, and they taste delicious to boot!

Enjoy!

Friday's Fabulous Finds...

I spy with my Etsy eye something...
hot pink!


Clockwise, starting top left:
Screen Printed Organic T-Shirt
Vintage Hot Pink Estate Style Earrings
Georgia Fuchsia Pink Satin Clutch
Vintage Vanity Desk
Fuchsia Silk Rosette Trio Hair Clip
Hot Pink Round Fossil Stone Beads

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Ugly Truth about Refinishing Furniture

I follow many blogs of ladies that refinish, refurbish, and repurpose furniture. Many of them have a new item(s) weekly. I don't know how they do it. Week after week they produce masterpieces. Today I started the process of stripping the paint off the desk I bought at Goodwill two months ago for bedroom redo #3. I honestly don't know why I even bother to refinish furniture because stripping a piece of furniture, for me, is the worst job ever. Evvvverrrr. I can only hope the end result will make the effort worthwhile. Here's the little beast before I began the process. Now I know why she came partially stripped. This little floozy had far too much makeup on -- four layers of glopped on paint. Blue. White. Pink. Turquoise.

One thing made the job easier, however, so I would like to give credit to a wonderful product. It has been recommended on many blogs, and by golly for once I took a piece of advice. I'm so glad I did. When I refinished a chair earlier this year I used a gobbily gook stripper that dripped all over everything and made a disastrous mess. I hadn't ever refinished a piece of furniture, so I didn't know how awful it was.

Citristrip is a must-have product for stripping paint. It's thick and stays put. It smells "pleasantly" citrus-like. And, most important, it works. My guess is it's nuclear waste, so you best wear gloves. You just paint it on and whaaalaaa...

And if you wait longer...

Best makeup remover ever. Why that paint practically got up and walked away. Just kidding. I had to work like the devil. Lands sakes it was torture! Nobody ever shows pictures like this next one. Here's the ugly truth about refinishing furniture...

Yup, nasty stuff. Three hours later I had almost all the paint off the drawers and most off the dresser itself.

Hats off to you ladies who do this on a regular basis. I don't know how you do it. I'm so sore it may be another month before I get the rest of the paint off. Till later. I need good, long soak in the tub...

PS - Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that is burl wood. That was a nice surprise!

Shabby Chic Flower and Lace

Do you remember a week ago that I mentioned I went to one of our local flea markets and purchased some items? One of the items was the vase filled with spheres of various sizes and shapes of string. I still smile every time I walk by it. That day I was also looking for vintage hand-worked lace for a muslin pillow I was dreaming up. I was so happy when I found the perfect thing. Take a look...

I thought it was beautiful and the price was lovely as well.

It wasn't actually a tablecloth but a smallish runner. It had a few little imperfections where age had taken its toll, but I knew I could work around those and make something wonderful.

I love the idea of repurposing something of worth. It makes my heart happy. Especially something that originally took someone a lot of time and effort to make. I started by cutting around those imperfections and attaching the lace to the front of the pillow...

Then I whipped that little pillow into shape and added a few beautiful muslin posies...

This little beauty turned out just the way I envisioned her. I'm always grateful when an idea comes together. I'd love to keep her, but she's headed to my Etsy...

Linked to:
Show & Tell @ Blue Cricket Design
Be Inspired Link Party @ Room to Inspire
Boardwalk Bragfest @ Bobbypins Boardwalk
Woo Hoo Wednesday @ Always Nesting

Queen Bee Pillow

A queen bee is necessary for the survival of any honey bee hive. Among humans a mother in the home helps family members not only "survive" but thrive. As we all know this Sunday is Mother's Day, so I've been thinking about a pillow that helps symbolize the importance of a mother. That's a tall order. I'm not sure there is any one thing that can symbolize such a diverse and important position, but here's my feeble attempt.

It's my a "Queen Bee" Pillow. Every woman should have one. And every mother should be treated like royalty this weekend. That's for sure.

Once again I made a stencil to make this pillow. You can go here for the procedure of how to stencil onto fabric. I think this would be really cute stenciled onto fabric and put in a frame as well!

I used Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint "Country Tan" and toned it down with some white acrylic. I wanted a tone on tone feel for this beauty.

"Queen Bee" would be adorable outside on a porch or patio or inside where the mom could be reminded often of her importance!

I've put this one in my Etsy. A number of people have encouraged me to make some pillows for my shop. This is the first, but within the next few weeks more will arrive.

Hope your day is filled with lots of flowers and a few buzzing bees!

Linked to:
Friday Fun Finds @ Kojo Designs
Boardwalk Bragfest @ Bobbypins Boardwalk
Anything Related @ All Thingz Related
DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land
Toot Your Horn Tuesday @ A Silly Little Sparrow
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm
Get Your Craft On Tuesday @ Today's Creative Blog

Bloomin' Tuesday...

I've already mentioned that a week ago my husband and son and I were in California visiting family. While there we took advantage of the gorgeous flowers that were blooming in my mother's and sister's gardens and shot some photos of them. The roses were especially beautiful! Flowers like these won't be available to photograph for a month or so in Colorado, so I thought I'd share these Bay Area beauties with you for Bloomin' Tuesday this week.

My son's photos below.
To say he is a wonderful photographer would be a bit of an understatement.

Brandy (Apricot) Rose

Double Delight Rose

Rio Samba Rose

Freeway Daisies

Brandy (Apricot) Rose

My photos (below).
Roses like these can make even the amateur photographer look good.

Double Delight Rose

Sombreuil Climbing Tea Rose

Chihuly Rose

Double Delight Rose

For more Bloomin' Tuesday posts, go to
Ms. Green Thumb Jeans.

Wishing you a warm and wonderful spring day!

Canister loveliness...

A month ago I mentioned I was in the process of redecorating bedroom #3. I told you about this gorgeous desk that I found for $14.99 at Goodwill that would fit perfectly in the room. Look at the detail on this baby girl. She's just adorable...

She's been sitting in my garage for the last month awaiting renovation. I don't like to strip paint indoors, so I've had to wait until the temperatures have climbed enough that icicles won't form on the edge of my nose as I work on her. Today is the designated day to strip away all that gloppy paint. I might have chosen to paint her the same aqua color had the color blended with the room. I thought the pale turquoise suited her, but it isn't a color I'm using in the room, so it's coming off. I'll post more about this beauty and do a big reveal when I've got her all gussied up.

Meanwhile, when I was at the flea market the other day and purchased all that gorgeous string, my eyes lit upon some pale pink floss in a glass canister. I thought it was lovely, but I passed it by because I couldn't imagine where it would fit in my home. It played on my mind the next 12 hours, until I thought of this bedroom redo #3 and the desk. Perhaps it would fit nicely as an accent on the desk? Or the dresser? Surely I could find a place for the pink filled canister in that room with its shades of pinks and greens. The next day I rushed over to the market and snatched her up before anyone else could. So glad I did. Here she is with a few other things I've picked up for the room...

The metal container and flowers were bought at Real Deals. I'm a walking advertisement for that store. I should get a commission or at the very least a gift card or a lifetime discount!

I also bought a vinyl wall decal to put in this room. I have plans for putting that up today too. My husband is home, and I figured he could help me. I hope it goes well. About 27 years ago we wallpapered a room together, and after that experience we vowed never to wallpaper together again. Let's just say it wasn't marriage strengthening and leave it at that. We've learned there are some things (wallpapering and tiling) best left undone in order to maintain a healthy relationship. Putting up a decal promises to be a little easier than putting up wallpaper. Wish us luck. We're going on 33 years now, and I'd hate our relationship to be taken down by a flimsy piece of vinyl. ;o)

Happy Weekending!

Linked to:
Saturday Night Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Remodelaholic's Anonymous @ Remodelaholic
Friday Fun Finds @ Kojodesigns
Saturday is Crafty Day @ Along for the Ride
Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots and Jello