tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70912468921759491082024-03-25T06:51:03.174-05:00Tres French HensMyklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-72108474635268370152011-12-25T20:31:00.002-06:002011-12-25T20:31:58.781-06:00Merry Christmas!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">From my family to yours,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Merry Christmas!</span></div>
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<br /></div>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-38753567428992437772011-12-14T11:59:00.001-06:002011-12-16T12:07:32.952-06:00Insulating Your Garage DoorsRecently I decided it was high time to make my work space more workable (<a href="http://tresfrenchhens.blogspot.com/2011/12/i-need-new-craft-studio.html">see post here</a>). Since winter is here and it's way too cold to work out in the garage/work shop, I decided insulating the garage doors was the first step.<br />
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So here are the steps to getting it done.<br />
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There are a couple of options when it comes to the type of insulation you can use. We decided on the foam panels. It gives a nice finished look once installed. We weren't able to find these at our local home improvement stores but we did find them at a garage door specialty store and were able to buy them there. They can also be ordered online.<br />
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Before you go to buy your insulation panels, you will need to know the height of your garage door panels. They generally come in about four different heights (18", 21", 24", and 27"). This will allow you to determine the size panels you need.<br />
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Next, you need to know how many insulation panels you will need. Most garage door widths are pretty standard. We told our guy we needed enough to do (1) two-car garage door and (1) single car garage door.<br />
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Here are what the panels look like.<br />
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Now it's time to measure how wide your panels need to be. <br />
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On our garage door, the two end sections were different widths than the two middle sections.<br />
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Using your tape measure, measure off this width onto the insulation panels...<br />
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and use your straight edge and box knife to cut them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltVAnSLct71cpsd2h10S_sSzUJO6nAiLFuUfCDAjWkwlDNon8j101oSsG1vv_y4XPBrwwSnRM8LH4tdN3Pvn9cM7GGoBdc_8d-JPBj2HmhVHb-FV9-uWM0uAby-KNA2yqtCbqbL1tGqYC/s1600/IMG_9265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltVAnSLct71cpsd2h10S_sSzUJO6nAiLFuUfCDAjWkwlDNon8j101oSsG1vv_y4XPBrwwSnRM8LH4tdN3Pvn9cM7GGoBdc_8d-JPBj2HmhVHb-FV9-uWM0uAby-KNA2yqtCbqbL1tGqYC/s640/IMG_9265.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It doesn't cut all the way through, so you can gently "snap back" the panel for a pretty clean break.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPE8awK_UrpuqddGyUzmzsTrsakFE0b7vaRFD0H97FEEwU2UfqKLX6dvPW6GRtMg95gfiWg4kl1fXLtFqsyemqMKtgTgJopuf4ayq8LaKTkc7LbJtyHm6v-RtpWiy8S75QcE0kTokYTwtC/s1600/IMG_9267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPE8awK_UrpuqddGyUzmzsTrsakFE0b7vaRFD0H97FEEwU2UfqKLX6dvPW6GRtMg95gfiWg4kl1fXLtFqsyemqMKtgTgJopuf4ayq8LaKTkc7LbJtyHm6v-RtpWiy8S75QcE0kTokYTwtC/s640/IMG_9267.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now it's time to install. Slip the bottom in the "notch" on the garage door panel and gently bend the insulation to pop it into place.</div>
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For a finished look, you can install these end pieces. They install in a similar manner (these were pre-cut to the height of the panels)</div>
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And that's really all there is to it! My husband did both doors in about 2 hours time and the cost was a little over $225.<br />
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We have noticed a definite difference in the temperature of the garage - about 10 degrees F warmer than the exterior. And it's much quieter now (the stereo sounds better, too!).<br />
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It's not the most glamourous upgrade but it makes working in the garage in the winter much more bearable!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-27770106413393494872011-12-14T09:51:00.000-06:002011-12-16T12:08:51.926-06:00I Need a New Craft Studio!One of the blogs I follow (<a href="http://www.theivycottageblog.blogspot.com/">The Ivy Cottage Blog</a>) recently revealed her craft studio remodel. <br />
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I love it! So I decided it was high time to redo <strike>my space</strike> our space (my husband does wood working in here, too).<br />
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Now, to call my space a "studio" is a stretch, to say the least.<br />
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Nauseating, isn't it? I'm twitching just looking at it!<br />
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My hubby loves turning wood on the lathe (check out his<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/spaenywoodstudio"> Etsy shop here</a>) and this used to be his work area. When all you're making is pens, bottle stoppers and duck calls, this was plenty of space. <br />
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But I do furniture. It takes a lot of room! So currently, every time I work on something, I have to back out our vehicles (this is a three car garage) drag my projects to the middle of the garage, dig around to find the stuff I need and then put/stack everything back at the end of the day so we can fit both cars back into the garage. Exhausting, isn't it? And not conducive to creativity.<br />
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Plus, our garage faces the north and in the winter it gets COLD in there! We decided the first step of the remodel should be insulating the garage doors. See the post on how to do that <a href="http://tresfrenchhens.blogspot.com/2011/12/insulating-your-garage-doors.html">here</a>.<br />
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Here are some ideas I would like to incorporate into my remodel.<br />
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<a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGaanAvHwMzi0kSw9v4r4Gyrot7-15g95cE1PeRSp4EuRiZ7A-" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQGaanAvHwMzi0kSw9v4r4Gyrot7-15g95cE1PeRSp4EuRiZ7A-" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our garage has no windows so the lighting is horrible! I would like to replace the current solid door leading out to the back yard with something like this door. A little natural light would be nice!<br />
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Love these floors!<br />
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I'm wanting to do black cabinets on the bottom and white cabinets on the top with a "latte" color wall. similar to this.<br />
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I love this work island! I would need to put mine on locking castors so I could move it around easily.<br />
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Alas, all that has been done is the not-so-cosmetic/not-so-fun part of this remodel and it's the insulating of the garage doors. (s-i-g-h)<br />
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(I told you the lighting was terrible!)Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-45026794958153053172011-12-12T11:08:00.003-06:002011-12-12T11:08:56.441-06:00It's One of Those WeeksDo you ever have times where it seems everything starts to fall apart all at once?<br />
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This is one of those weeks.<br />
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1) Vacuum cleaner exploded after vacuuming only one room. On the hunt for the perfect vacuum now.<br />
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2) Spent two days trying to figure out how to wire two GFCI switches. Not how I wanted to spend two days and $30+. In the meantime, no bathroom lights...they were connected to the GFCI switch. The upside is I could wire one in my sleep now!<br />
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3) Replace the "guts" to the door knob on the door going out into the garage. By the way, Weiser (my door knob manufacturer) has been bought out and is no longer in business. You can probably figure out how I found this out.<br />
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4) An old mirror turned chalkboard (from my Etsy shop) shipped via UPS to Connecticut and arrived in a million pieces! Still dealing with this one. I have a strong opinion of UPS right now!<br />
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5) And I got up this morning and a light was out in the kitchen. Normally not a big deal but after the week we've had around here...! Much easier to fix than the GFCI switch.<br />
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Yet even after these hiccups, I'm still feeling blessed.<br />
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Have a wonderful day!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-75099077250987742802011-12-09T06:26:00.001-06:002011-12-09T06:59:39.464-06:00Ravioli LasagnaDo you ever has those days when dinner time sneaks up on you and you're just not ready? I've had a lot of those days lately!<div>
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When that happens, a quick and easy meal is always in order. Spinach & Pesto Ravioli Lasagna was our go-to recipe last night.</div>
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This is my adaptation of a recipe found on <a href="http://myrecipes.com/">myrecipes.com</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://img4.myrecipes.com/i/recipes/sl/08/08/spinach-lasagna-sl-1823305-l.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://img4.myrecipes.com/i/recipes/sl/08/08/spinach-lasagna-sl-1823305-l.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo: Southern Living</span></div>
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Ingredient List</div>
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1 (16 oz) package frozen chopped or cut leaf spinach</div>
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3/4 cup basil pesto</div>
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2 (15oz) jars Alfredo sauce</div>
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1/2 cup chicken broth</div>
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2 (25 oz) packages frozen cheese ravioli</div>
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2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend</div>
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Preheat the oven to 375F. Combine frozen spinach and pesto in a medium bowl.</div>
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Combine Alfredo sauce and chicken broth. Spoon 1/3 of the Alfredo sauce mix (about 1 cup) into the bottom of a lightly greased casserole. I use a large 4 Liter Corningware roaster. Top with half of the spinach and pesto mixture. Spread one bag of the frozen ravioli over the spinach mixture. Repeat layers once. Top with the remaining Alfredo sauce.</div>
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Bake, uncovered, at 375F for about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Bake another 5 to 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly.</div>
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You don't have to thaw the spinach or the ravioli before baking but make sure the center of the lasagna is hot before serving. Try sliding a knife down the middle of the dish and pull it back out. If the knife is not hot, the dish is still cold in the middle. If that's the case pop it back in the oven for a little longer. Cover if it begins to get too brown.</div>
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Add a salad and some garlic bread and dinner is on! You can easily cut this recipe in half and still have delicious results.</div>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-89189282135816001842011-12-05T10:22:00.001-06:002011-12-05T11:23:55.161-06:00Must Haves At My HouseRecently, I have been pondering what are my favorite things that I just couldn't be without? So here is what I have come up with.<br />
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First off, I love Clorox wipes. I keep a container of these in each bathroom for a quick wipe down a couple times a week. And for sure a container under the kitchen sink!<br />
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<a href="http://www.clorox.com/img/products/cdw/hero_product.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" src="http://www.clorox.com/img/products/cdw/hero_product.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next up would be a tube of my favorite adhesive...E6000. There is nothing that this stuff won't work on! A must have for any self respecting crafter.</div>
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<a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/thumb/get?bid=aqsxzkVaGziWAA&bn=CC&fbid=7wIR63%2bClmj%2b0A&fbn=CC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/thumb/get?bid=aqsxzkVaGziWAA&bn=CC&fbid=7wIR63%2bClmj%2b0A&fbn=CC" /></a></div>
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I love this spray paint! It has an easy to use nozzle and goes on evenly with a nice spray pattern. The coverage is good, too. And it's priced cheaper than the other name brand spray paints. The only down side is the limited color selection. I love the gloss black.</div>
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31MV-jGTgnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31MV-jGTgnL._SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div>
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I know this probably isn't very green but I love bleach! I use it in my sinks, the shower, the laundry and I mop the floors with it. Plus, the smell of bleach makes me feel like the house is clean.</div>
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A great cleaning product that cleans more than just your wood is the Swiffer Dust & Shine. I use this to clean my furniture, leather sofa, stainless steel fridge and granite countertops. Love it!</div>
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So, that's a few of the things that my house is never without!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-34694861592673341242011-11-29T07:04:00.001-06:002011-11-30T04:49:18.658-06:00My Favorite Silver PolishChristmas is approaching so we have been busy around our house getting ready for the big day. My Hubby is in charge of the outside and I head up what goes on inside. This not only includes decorating but also cleaning to get ready for family and friends.<br />
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One thing that needed done was some silver polishing. Here is a before pic.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3A4CY6SPHBY3MLZ53ouVRIB6KhYPiiW2Wo_J6pDH3cdQJUGWglxRm3JhuV1yDhb3TJ7g40oya1DR2SmgiR_9Sx5mRu9-4zqouBQm62P8T_iYZn8OoXgMvCcfKLT2Yhj2lCaOzKjRSib-/s1600/IMG_9234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3A4CY6SPHBY3MLZ53ouVRIB6KhYPiiW2Wo_J6pDH3cdQJUGWglxRm3JhuV1yDhb3TJ7g40oya1DR2SmgiR_9Sx5mRu9-4zqouBQm62P8T_iYZn8OoXgMvCcfKLT2Yhj2lCaOzKjRSib-/s640/IMG_9234.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
As you can see, it was long overdue for a polish.<br />
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Here is what I love to use.<br />
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<a href="http://www.weiman.com/getmetafile/644a532f-26a9-40ed-94f7-871df37a10f1/Silver-Cream.aspx?maxSideSize=350" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://www.weiman.com/getmetafile/644a532f-26a9-40ed-94f7-871df37a10f1/Silver-Cream.aspx?maxSideSize=350" width="400" /></a></div>
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It so easy to use and there is no smell. Just dampen the sponge that is included, add some silver cream and start rubbing (no elbow grease required)! Then rinse with water and dry. That's it!<br />
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Here are the results.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU36Ow7NhjKwJcTiP3SYlGf4_GWLe2jOnLkabIenY7DxidoFL4q3u6-NX5UYwZnN0ZVp2C94uuJgDYporjSFJCOi76oYf8Yiim7juXWTlW9ItpWdCwPKGn4NFAiomNNf3cL_CeofR93Iid/s1600/IMG_9235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU36Ow7NhjKwJcTiP3SYlGf4_GWLe2jOnLkabIenY7DxidoFL4q3u6-NX5UYwZnN0ZVp2C94uuJgDYporjSFJCOi76oYf8Yiim7juXWTlW9ItpWdCwPKGn4NFAiomNNf3cL_CeofR93Iid/s640/IMG_9235.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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In addition to cleaning and polishing your silver, it also works on stainless steel, flatware, chrome, porcelain, fiberglass and pewter. The web site says it's great for shining motorcycle and automobile chrome and it even claims to remove surface scratches from CDs and DVDs!<br />
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Here in Oklahoma you can find it at Ace Hardware, True Value and Wal-Mart.<br />
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It's a must have for getting ready for company!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-47275665125222783312011-11-21T19:26:00.001-06:002011-11-21T20:41:39.534-06:00Antler Love!Awhile back I saw some antlers on <a href="http://www.missmustardseed.com/">Miss Mustard Seed</a>'s blog.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxeo0W97cWpGRn9lI17iRWXJGG5cZaGxfyUXgRUZSFZAvMEporqeGlhCRL6Z-rlbgLURH8m3GWOwCrvM_T78CxvV-sXyN_VYqDOBtBXj0Kd9JrwIIGsLoI2E_QABIO1Rl6CMm-QFqvtdU/s1600/DSC_0090_edited+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCxeo0W97cWpGRn9lI17iRWXJGG5cZaGxfyUXgRUZSFZAvMEporqeGlhCRL6Z-rlbgLURH8m3GWOwCrvM_T78CxvV-sXyN_VYqDOBtBXj0Kd9JrwIIGsLoI2E_QABIO1Rl6CMm-QFqvtdU/s640/DSC_0090_edited+copy.jpg" width="424" /></a></div>
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I got so excited! Let me explain why. I'm a gal who grew up in the country with a dad who hunted. I wasn't too into the mounted heads but I really did love the antlers! It seemed a little "hick", though. So I put that love behind me until I saw MMS's blog. Who knew antlers could be so sophisticated?!<br />
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So I'm back in love!<br />
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Now, where to get some antlers? Enter the men of my life!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnd15VQwJzn_2cf2p-z-Oym3DCZd7_r-5q7sw8kqYOHW4KCM-X9ln2BfLIrJhARdODct5dtQZruqGJllpWZxZxyJ7QPqnexeoucVYjlagocHgYDLKmq8A04oqk9vkbkPnGhwDrddTdqzrS/s1600/Butler-20111119-00158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnd15VQwJzn_2cf2p-z-Oym3DCZd7_r-5q7sw8kqYOHW4KCM-X9ln2BfLIrJhARdODct5dtQZruqGJllpWZxZxyJ7QPqnexeoucVYjlagocHgYDLKmq8A04oqk9vkbkPnGhwDrddTdqzrS/s640/Butler-20111119-00158.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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(Sorry about the quality of this pic. It was taken with a Blackberry.)</div>
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Saturday morning my boys (and man) headed to western Oklahoma to go hunting for White Tail Deer. No luck that morning but they stuck around and gave another shot that evening and...</div>
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Well, I'll spare you the "could be construed as gory" picture of my manly hubby and my boys with a rifle and formerly breathing buck but suffice it to say, I've got my antlers!</div>
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Here are some great ideas on decorating with antlers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcqVXpz8dS9aGlv4YPe_s8yhpNro_-9L2zHdOIcze_2PHToH0bHk_2oMGBwD_iaDQArPAYdf1HBTXQwpfOk5MM1vo4r2FOLRI2Ie6dBh7NIOkOTqPcmkJhTvjV0Os4H9lUzeO_bWzar4/s1600/IMG_7976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcqVXpz8dS9aGlv4YPe_s8yhpNro_-9L2zHdOIcze_2PHToH0bHk_2oMGBwD_iaDQArPAYdf1HBTXQwpfOk5MM1vo4r2FOLRI2Ie6dBh7NIOkOTqPcmkJhTvjV0Os4H9lUzeO_bWzar4/s640/IMG_7976.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Source: Savvy Southern Style</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/CLX0907SPM006-de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/CLX0907SPM006-de.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Source: Country Living</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz90NFf_LUFlg_UY_Udtm3WgZqyvsMyc0Pyrk_gV2bxi1nHPAjSmH9D9aXDsxXB5rVCsPGTisGXScOzOqPLsZR8ot5zu7Fb4HrjnbY0EQ5QzgwqETuGlA2ajsrebQYoP7vAsSHhxpL2GN4/s1600/atlantabartlett..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz90NFf_LUFlg_UY_Udtm3WgZqyvsMyc0Pyrk_gV2bxi1nHPAjSmH9D9aXDsxXB5rVCsPGTisGXScOzOqPLsZR8ot5zu7Fb4HrjnbY0EQ5QzgwqETuGlA2ajsrebQYoP7vAsSHhxpL2GN4/s640/atlantabartlett..jpg" width="482" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Source: Unknown</span></div>
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<a href="http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/03/10/1/192/1922794/804dde96e9ca2a8d_antlers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/03/10/1/192/1922794/804dde96e9ca2a8d_antlers.jpg" width="428" /></a></div>
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Photo Source: Casasugar</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXW20ZFVnQn_ARn545SoPU05gzqySXcXgdJMHhcho2SwELgrvygus3pzJj4qmiaRIlnkiGl1KHxN_Vr_5RjxFXgj7lJffz0JWj7erfr8H6479vdAn61VEFILSJt66rak2Oz85lncR0gxI/s1600/Antler+Tablescape.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXW20ZFVnQn_ARn545SoPU05gzqySXcXgdJMHhcho2SwELgrvygus3pzJj4qmiaRIlnkiGl1KHxN_Vr_5RjxFXgj7lJffz0JWj7erfr8H6479vdAn61VEFILSJt66rak2Oz85lncR0gxI/s640/Antler+Tablescape.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Photo Source: Pottery Barn</div>
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Wishing everyone a blessed Thanksgiving!</div>
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<br /></div>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-72358969678131378662011-11-13T13:41:00.001-06:002011-11-13T14:50:30.000-06:00A Thrift-ful WeekDoes anyone else out there crave a good thrift store shopping trip the way I do? It's like an addiction for me. I used to go multiple times a week but hubby said "no more." Now I only go every couple of weeks or so. I do pretty good for a few weeks then it turns into a compulsion! And when I go and don't find anything good, I have to keep going to more stores until I <i>do </i>find something. Then if it's a <i>good</i> find, I feel like I'm on a roll and need to find more stuff which leads to me searching out more stores! Now if that doesn't sound like an addiction...<div>
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Well, this week in pursuit of getting my "fix" I found some new thrift stores. I'm too embarrassed to say how many miles I traveled just to hit some new stores. Probably far enough to spend in gas what I saved by shopping thrift stores!</div>
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Anyway, I found what <i>I </i>think is some good stuff so I thought I would share.</div>
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Here's what I found at my local Goodwill.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0Du8HXGITcwRyM0IIyS3ieETJoTX7dm8oLdFPFNoe2CQG4cQJ0k6pXMR1CAmlTqS8lqUEDAJnR7ch7JxkXFYdOknBrleJt8xaVOUbDUoZyuWno1h_vPzK34So__dKgH-J3plu5LchgFl/s1600/IMG_9132-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs0Du8HXGITcwRyM0IIyS3ieETJoTX7dm8oLdFPFNoe2CQG4cQJ0k6pXMR1CAmlTqS8lqUEDAJnR7ch7JxkXFYdOknBrleJt8xaVOUbDUoZyuWno1h_vPzK34So__dKgH-J3plu5LchgFl/s640/IMG_9132-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'm thinking I'll frame it and layer it on my mantel for Christmas. It was a whopping $.50. I wish this was what my house and barn looked like. Oh, well. I also picked up a couple pair of flannel pajama pants for a a buck a piece. I love a pair of comfy pjs!</div>
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After grocery shopping in OKC Friday, I had just enough time to swing by another Goodwill. I picked up this piece for $4.99. (Sorry, this isn't the greatest picture)</div>
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It's in pretty good shape but I plan on taking it apart and using the hooks and the numbers on some different projects. The number plaques and the ends of the hooks are white porcelain.</div>
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Friday afternoon I headed over to the Habitat for Humanity Renovation Station for some old hardback books.</div>
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They have the cheapest prices on books I have found so far. Each book was only $.50. I'm going to take the covers off, tie them up with twine and use them for decor. </div>
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At one of the new stores I found I picked up these pieces.</div>
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I paid $7.48 for this little urn. It's cast iron! I couldn't believe how heavy it was when I picked it up!<br />
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And this tray from an old tool box was $3.49.<br />
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I have a lot of red in my house and thought this would be cute with some candles or plants or knicky-knacky type stuff on the mantle or coffee table. I love old, rusty, beat up stuff!</div>
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Then at the Goodwill "mother ship" I found this wooden candle stick. It was $1.99. It was strange walking into this huge store and only coming out with this one, small item. But I've been on the hunt for something like this specifically.</div>
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I plan on using it to make another cloche on a pedestal.</div>
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After leaving the GW I was headed home when I drove past another thrift store. There was a bunch of stuff out front and I just couldn't help but turn around and go back. Once I stepped inside it was almost like an episode of Hoarders! It wasn't a dirty place but it was packed with stuff! I kid you not, they could have had a store twice the size and still been stocked full. It took a while to get through the store because of all the stuff but they had great prices and I found these things.</div>
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I was very excited to find this silver ice bucket. A few months ago I spied one like it at another thrift store for $25. I didn't buy it thinking I didn't want to spend that much but ever since I've been wishing I would have gone ahead and gotten it. This one I snagged for $9.99! Yea for waiting! It should polish up nicely.<br />
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And this rusty old milk crate was only $5. I'm thinking of using it in the living room.</div>
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Well, that's what my thrifting this week looked like. I felt like a junkie sneaking around town hitting <i>every </i>thrift store I passed. Fortunately, my habit isn't very expensive!</div>
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<br /></div>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-41935147583325198412011-11-10T15:58:00.001-06:002011-11-10T16:39:43.815-06:00Cheese Cloche RedoOkay, I really wanted to title this "Nacho Cheese Cloche". Get it? Not yo cheese cloche? Anyway, it was funny in my head.<br />
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I found this great blog, <a href="http://maidendshade.blogspot.com/2011/10/cheese-cloche-hold-cheese-thrifty-to.html">Maiden D'Shade</a>. She shared how she turned a cheese cloche and a candlestick into a wonderful pedestal cloche. Well, it just so happened that I had a chunky candlestick I had picked up at Goodwill and a cheese cloche I snagged at a garage sale a few weeks before.<br />
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So I busted out my saw (note the line around the fat part of the candlestick) and cut down the candlestick to the fattest part. The proportion seemed to make more sense when the cloche was setting on it. Next, I sanded it down and glued the two together with my trusty E6000. This stuff holds everything together!<br />
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Once that was done, I spray painted it gloss black, my go to color. By the way, if you haven't tried Ace Hardware Premium Enamel spray paint, you haven't lived! This stuff is my new favorite spray paint! Not to mention I love shopping at my local store. The are so helpful and friendly. Ha! I just had their commercial pop into my head..."Ace is the place with the helpful hardware man." It's so true!<br />
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Anyway, a coat of black paint and this is what my cheese cloche and candlestick turned into! A cheese cloche <i>on </i>a candlestick!<br />
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I still think Nacho Cheese Cloche is funny.<br />
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Thanks Kim from Maiden D'Shade!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-26111980264627777812011-11-09T17:27:00.000-06:002011-11-10T07:51:31.409-06:00The Big 4-0 Bucket List<div style="text-align: center;">
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Dear sweet readers, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Work, school, kids, blah, blah, blah, right? I'm still trying to figure out how those other bloggers do it all!<br />
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Anyway, let me explain today's header. I have a birthday coming up in December. This will be number 39 for me. Now, I'm not the kind of gal that is afraid of getting older. The way I see it, my life as a 30-something was soooo much better than my life as a 20-something. And since I seem to be trending up, I say bring on the 40s!<br />
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Everyone gets older. It's a fact of life. Embrace it. It's coming regardless (God willing!).<br />
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I have gray hair. And I seem to be getting more everyday! But you know what? Everyone gets gray hair. That's what happens when you get older. I don't try and cover it up with hair color. It is what it is and I'm not ashamed. Why would I spend money trying to cover up what most women of my age have? I'd rather spend my money going out to eat dinner (I do love a nice dinner)! I'm rocking this gray, baby!<br />
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And guess what else? I've got stretch marks, too. But that's kinda like getting gray hair. If you've had babies, chances are you've got stretch marks. They're my battle scars and I love them. I've earned those bad boys!<br />
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Okay, I'm stepping off my soap box now and getting back on the subject.<br />
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So this bucket list of things to do by the time I turn 40 isn't one of those "dreadful" things but more of a "marking a milestone" kind of things. When I decided to do this, I had a hard time coming up with stuff. I guess means I'm doing everything I want to do already!<br />
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I still have about a month before my birthday, but here's what I've come up with so far:<br />
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<li>Knit my husband a cable knit sweater. (He's been asking for one of these ever since I learned how to knit a couple years ago. This is the year!)</li>
<li>Sew myself one article of clothing I will actually wear out of the house! (I took one semester of sewing in Home Ec in high school and made a jumper that was awful. I haven't really sewn much since so this may take the entire year!)</li>
<li>Be completely self employed. (I currently only work part time but would love to make my blog and my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TresFrenchHens?ref=ss_profile">etsy shop</a> my full time job, which means replacing my salary with etsy sales!</li>
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Not much yet. I'm trying to keep it on the "cheap". No big, fancy trips or skydiving here. Just some things that I feel will enrich my life or give me a sense of accomplishment. Anybody else done this before? What did you do?</div>
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<br />Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-83911294952063274762011-10-16T20:50:00.000-05:002011-10-16T20:50:55.621-05:00My latest projectsI don't know about you, but I can't have just one project going at a time. Kinda goes back to the ADOSD (Attention Defecit, Ooh, Shiny Disorder!). I start something, then start something else...then start something else. You get the picture. The good news is, I can put out lots of finished products at once!<br />
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So here are some of the things I have finished.<br />
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I'll start with my favorite.<br />
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I found this beauty on Craig's List. It used to be in a hotel. Solid as a rock! I knew I wanted to try out the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on this. Love that stuff! I'm definitely a dedicated user now It makes distressing a breeze! The paint is expensive but well worth it, in my humble opinion. Still trying to convince hubby to let me buy the high dollar wax brush! The blue drawer was kind of an after thought but I love it! This is for sale in my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TresFrenchHens?ref=seller_info">Etsy shop</a>.<br />
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I also finally got a few things (that I already had made) staged to list in my shop.<br />
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I was taking pictures of my word signs to put in my shop when Ruby found her way into the picture (she may have had some help). This isn't the best pic of the signs but it sure is a great pic of my boy and his chicken!<br />
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I collected these signs from the Hobby Lobby clearance rack and thrift stores and decided to cover them in scrapbook paper and antique the edges with ink and add a ribbon. I just laid the letters down on top of the paper, traced it with a pencil and cut them out using scissors and Xacto knife. Next I glued them on using Mod Podge. Super simple!<br />
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Here's my recent obsession...pallet shelves! I'd been kicking around this idea for some time in my head when a pallet was left at the dumpster of my church and I texted my hubby to have him bring the truck and we loaded it up.<br />
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I now have 3 of these shelves (one sold last week) and a good half dozen more pallets. This one is being used as decor on the back fence by my patio.<br />
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Here is another side of the ever versatile pallet shelf! This one is on the kitchen counter holding cook books and such.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXkBNwxi_E0aK_NFKKp1QwRTOQdl0vC_5z0o5vnFRuwVbk6__KETXlGkb9kqlCtfFoG7w_g6BGKjS1m1jgRXCBu3zz7MrZQmmL9gCumMGRpAHmRsyooe68nL5z34XqUPnVcCCDfWIDYBB/s1600/IMG_8880-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnXkBNwxi_E0aK_NFKKp1QwRTOQdl0vC_5z0o5vnFRuwVbk6__KETXlGkb9kqlCtfFoG7w_g6BGKjS1m1jgRXCBu3zz7MrZQmmL9gCumMGRpAHmRsyooe68nL5z34XqUPnVcCCDfWIDYBB/s640/IMG_8880-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
This one is being used as a hanging book shelf.<br />
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And how about this cutie?! I call her the "little sister" of the pallet shelf. She's about half the size and perfect for a desk top or hanging in a small space. This was the idea of a friend of mine who loved to pallet shelf but needed one about half the size...genius!<br />
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And I hate to admit, but I have about half a dozen more pallets waiting for me in my backyard! I told you I was obsessed!<br />
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So that's what's finished. And as always, there are more projects in different stages of completion in the garage! I'll post as I complete!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-55343484387195469852011-10-03T18:38:00.000-05:002011-10-03T18:38:36.192-05:00Why is shipping so hard?!A couple posts back I showed you the coffee table I made and (finally) listed in <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TresFrenchHens?ref=pr_shop">my Etsy shop</a>. One of the reasons it took me so long to open my shop and list some things was because I wasn't sure how to figure out the shipping costs...especially for an 80 something pound coffee table!<br />
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I found out that the USPS won't ship something that big and most freight companies charge an arm and a leg to ship. Well, did you know that Greyhound ships packages? Pretty cool! They have a <a href="http://www.shipgreyhound.com/">website </a>that is pretty user friendly and it tells you where they have stations and what the price will be and when the bus leaves, yadi-yadi-yada.<br />
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Anyway, I was pretty pumped to have sold the table and excited to be sending it to CA. That excitement started to wain as I began the whole shipping process. The trip to Budget Box and Bag this morning went pretty well. The gentleman there was very helpful. He looked at the picture of my table and suggested a couple items to use to pack it. He also mentioned that he has other customers who ship stuff via Greyhound and they've had much success. Yeah!<br />
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Okay, so my packing supplies are purchased and I'm headed home to do the "handling" part of shipping and handling. Let me just say I know why they charge for that! It took me two hours and four hands to wrap that puppy up in bubble wrap, cardboard, packing tape and stretch wrap! I was literally sweating by the time I was done!<br />
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But my spirit is still high! (I forgot to mention a very important detail. Remember the napkins I sold on my shop? Well, I underestimated the shipping and ended up paying more than twice as much as what I charged the customer. Well, I ate that cost and chalked it up to experience.) I still have $100 left from the shipping amount I charged my customer. Now it was time to take it to the bus station! Hubby agreed to go with me (since this was my first time and I didn't know if they would help unload it <i>and </i>I wasn't sure where the bus station was). I opted for the bus station in El Reno, which is a relatively small community. My other choice was the downtown OKC bus station and the mere thought of going there made me urp up a little. No thanks! I don't do the downtown traffic and one-way streets!<br />
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" 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Well, we arrive in El Reno and guess what? They don't ship packages from there anymore! REALLY?! Ugh! Looks like I'm headed downtown after all. But that's okay...I still have my <strike>security blanket</strike> hubby to drive me. So off we go to downtown.<br />
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Once we get to the downtown area, Hubs is playing tour guide and pointing out all the buildings of downtown and we miss our exit! So two extra miles out of our way we go but I'm not driving so it's okay.<br />
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We double back and hit downtown and there is TONS of road construction going on...nice. Then hubby pipes up, "I'm pretty sure the bus station is somewhere in this area." What? You don't know where the bus station is? Okay, full blown panic now! Oh, wait. There is a giant sign that says "BUS". This is good. But wait, it's not the <i>new </i>bus station. But people are standing out front. Maybe we are in the right place. Where do we park? All these thoughts in about 3 seconds. Now you see why I don't like to drive downtown.<br />
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I go inside and wait in line and when it's my turn, I ask and praise God, I'm in the right place! My breathing is deeper now and my pulse has slowed slightly. We go outside and load it on a carrier and they take in the back. I go to the counter and he asks "Did you label it?" What? No I didn't <i>label </i>it. I don't know what to <i>label </i>it with! I thought that's what we would do here - together - you and me! Seriously? <br />
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Pulse going up, breathing shallow! "That's okay. Let me get you a label." Pulse going back down. Oh, snap! I put the receiver's address where I should have put my address! "I think I messed this up." Breathing is shallow, palms are sweating. "It's okay, I'll go get you another label. It's your first time." Yeah, and maybe my last! <br />
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Okay, label is filled out correctly. I hand it over and confirm the receiving bus station. He asks what the package is and how much insurance. He begins typing on the keyboard and this is where I think my breathing stops all together. The moment of truth. How much will it cost. Remember I said I still had $100 left for shipping? Will I come in under the mark? Total to ship to San Fernando, CA - $104. 80. Now I know I'm only over by about $5, which isn't bad, but I still underestimated my shipping. Not to mention it took me a quarter tank of gas. <br />
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So I'm 0 for 2 on the shipping thing. But I did learn a lot. If you have never used Greyhound PackageXpress but are considering it, let me tell you what I learned.<br />
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<li>The PackageXpress website is really very user friendly (except they still show El Reno as a shipping location!).</li>
<li>I weighed my table unwrapped and it came in 9 pounds less than what they weighed it at the station wrapped. I'll just add 9 pounds to my next estimate.</li>
<li>Be sure to enter the value when you are getting your estimate online. This will make a difference in how much it costs.</li>
<li>Allow about $10 for a fuel surcharge. This should be about right.</li>
<li>If you do all of this you should be within just a few dollars of the actual shipping cost.</li>
<li>The beginning of the month is busier than any other time of the month (that's what the guy at Greyhound told me). This will slow down the delivery of your package (it only gets on board if there is room in cargo after all the passenger's luggage is loaded.) He told me weight makes it slower, too. I don't know why but apparently it does.</li>
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I told my husband that he is officially hired as my shipping and receiving guy! If he can't take me and my furniture to the bus station, we don't go that day!</div>
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And on top of all of that craziness, this afternoon a suspicious package was found about one block away from the station we were at and they evacuated downtown. REALLY?!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-80336098501924096792011-09-21T06:51:00.000-05:002011-09-21T06:51:45.424-05:00My First Etsy Sale!As you may recall, I finally opened my Etsy shop on Sunday. I had a few things made up to list including the <a href="http://tresfrenchhens.blogspot.com/2011/09/long-time-no-see.html">coffee table</a> from my last post and a this set of cloth dinner napkins.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kNu2FL_8T-0amvesjXZNqr-Vr7Dn4hAkwEk_SMZUv4iK5GYU8uu-ErHCsvDimfx5rEIF-r7vbLxi3AaRLq2oIp34jggYl7NyHpURVdeW6Pbz1U1cjQWrOVb9GwAu7IREP9KnUj-0HNDc/s1600/IMG_8726.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kNu2FL_8T-0amvesjXZNqr-Vr7Dn4hAkwEk_SMZUv4iK5GYU8uu-ErHCsvDimfx5rEIF-r7vbLxi3AaRLq2oIp34jggYl7NyHpURVdeW6Pbz1U1cjQWrOVb9GwAu7IREP9KnUj-0HNDc/s640/IMG_8726.1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Well, today I'm busy packing and shipping my first sale! Yep, two days after opening my shop I sold these great napkins! My crafty husband has an <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/spaenywoodstudio">Etsy shop</a> that he opened a couple of years ago so he could totally relate to how excited I was! What a great start! I'm even more excited now to start working on some other projects! I'm searching this week for some dining room chairs to refurbish for Little Bit's teacher. Does anyone else love Craig's List as much as I do?<br />
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So today will include a visit to the post office to ship these napkins off to Edmonds, WA! A big thank you to the gal who bought them for supporting "hand made". And a big thank you to my followers for sharing in this exciting moment with me!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-55350724061610474242011-09-18T21:08:00.000-05:002011-09-21T06:18:52.706-05:00Long time, no see!Hey, Peeps! I'm baaaaack! Did ya miss me, cuz I missed you guys! Last time we "spoke" I had more jobs than I had good sense (which wouldn't take much, really)! Well, I'm down a job, school's back in session and I'm able to squeak out some free time here and there. And who would I rather spend it with than you guys!<br />
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So here's what I've been up to!<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8dgkYnoBRhQlGQpAtyIl-I9zUfAHJoKl3vupKC5nKfZXy2tyX9O9bdP57PgZ5xYeRLZSl-OLBGeSW1EpLDUoEbRV_5LqxOmzcF4prwJfN0z07Grio8L41HWxMcETtbChL8x9MlH1RG3NQ/s1600/IMG_8565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8dgkYnoBRhQlGQpAtyIl-I9zUfAHJoKl3vupKC5nKfZXy2tyX9O9bdP57PgZ5xYeRLZSl-OLBGeSW1EpLDUoEbRV_5LqxOmzcF4prwJfN0z07Grio8L41HWxMcETtbChL8x9MlH1RG3NQ/s640/IMG_8565.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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I created this table for my Etsy shop (which I opened nearly a year ago and never listed anything for sale!). My husband says I've always got great ideas I'm just not good at implementing and that's where he comes into play! I'd had grand ideas of what I wanted my shop to be but then life got in the way (and school tuition came due!) and I had to go find work to supplement my part time job. Well, the grind got to be too much and the blog and my Etsy shop had to wait.<br />
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Thankfully, through the encouragement and support of my husband, I'm back on track! I came home from work this afternoon and my sweet hubby told me he was going to take the boys off my hands for the afternoon but that I had to complete a checklist he had made for me. Well, if checklists are a language, I am fluent! And guess what was on that checklist? My Etsy shop and you, my followers! Isn't he sweet to think of you? That's just the kind of guy he is. Truthfully, I think he was tired of all my finished projects (and almost started projects) piling up in the house and in his garage! Again, he steps in and keeps me on track.<br />
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So head over to my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TresFrenchHens?ref=pr_shop">Etsy shop</a> and check it out! There's not much there right now but I'll be adding things as I get them staged and photographed.<br />
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In the meantime, thanks for sticking around! Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-69254478322040853342011-02-01T21:49:00.000-06:002011-02-01T21:49:11.577-06:00Winter...Oklahoma style!Here in Oklahoma we just don't get much winter weather. Ice is more common than snow. But last night a serious (by Oklahoma standards) snow storm rolled in and <i>it's winter</i>! We ended up with just under 12 inches. We have a temp of about 9 degrees and a wind chill of about -15 degrees with 60 mph winds! We've got some snow drifts around our house bigger than my husband!<div><br />
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</div><div>Again, that may be no big deal to someone from up north. But down here, we are not prepared for stuff like this!</div><div><br />
</div><div>The chicken run got enclosed with scraps of plywood yesterday in hopes of keeping the drifts out. No such luck. They even had snow drifting up into the coop so my sweet husband took them out some fresh water and fruit scraps and cleaned out all the snow and gave them some fresh straw. The dogs are hanging out in the garage with a radiant heater. Hubby captured these little guys perched above our back door.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSXu5hYd8KoLZQ6VyXPZMYELZlR_qugpafh2D7uUDkyB02gplzIsiBAozbd26wpNAfma1RG2inJCVAoe9BW5OibHV3XM3PGyriTBj3EnENz-M4DKL44DlFR7x_2q5tUKu7sy63_knJEJA/s1600/IMG_6295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsSXu5hYd8KoLZQ6VyXPZMYELZlR_qugpafh2D7uUDkyB02gplzIsiBAozbd26wpNAfma1RG2inJCVAoe9BW5OibHV3XM3PGyriTBj3EnENz-M4DKL44DlFR7x_2q5tUKu7sy63_knJEJA/s640/IMG_6295.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>School was cancelled today and tomorrow and no church Wednesday night. I've been knitting, cleaning house, doing laundry and working on Valentine's with the boys. Tomorrow there will be more cleaning house, laundry and working on Little Bit's shirt for the 100th day of school next week (we're painting 100 stars on it)!</div><div><br />
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</div><div>Local television stations have streamed live shots of the weather all day. The poor "B-string" weather folks get thrown out in it with a camera man to capture shots of them wading into the <i>biggest</i> drifts they can find and sticking their rulers in the ground to show how deep it is. They drive around all over the metro capturing pictures of people shoveling their cars out of ditches and telling us how they are "<i>wearing five pairs of pants and three coats and I'm still cold!</i>"</div><br />
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<div>You can tell the weathermen are stoked, though. They live for this stuff. Well, this and tornadoes! The "community correspondence" people at the station are telling us about tweets and Facebook comments people are making and reminding everyone to send in their pictures of the "<i>Blizzard of 2011!</i>"</div><div><br />
</div><div>It's silly, really, how excited we get down here over our weather. But it's been fun. There's something about extreme weather that we Oklahomans sincerely enjoy!</div><div><br />
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</div></div>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-22027937484962117182011-01-18T21:17:00.000-06:002011-01-18T21:17:44.019-06:00My Not-So-Original IdeaThe week after Christmas, I was thinking about making a felt flower. So, I went to my Google toolbar and started looking up "felt flowers" trying to find some tutorials I thought this might be easier than going to each of my favorite blogs and seeing what they had.<br />
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Well, I was wrong.<br />
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I literally went through pages of links. Yet still, I couldn't find quite what I wanted. So I pulled out some felt and got started.<br />
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I wore <a href="http://tresfrenchhens.blogspot.com/2011/01/felt-flower-tutorial.html">my new flower</a> on New Year's Day (and many days since!) but it wasn't until yesterday that I finally posted what I came up with.<br />
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<i>Now</i>...<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">I have a confession to make. Last night (during my bout of insomnia) was the first time I have looked at <i>any </i>blogs since before Christmas. (<i>gasp</i>!) It's awful, I know. I can't believe I just admitted to it. I've been in a funk - don't judge me!</div><div><br />
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So last night I started catching up on my favorite blogs and you know what I came across in the side bar of <a href="http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/">Tatertots and Jello</a>? A flower that looks <i>very </i>close to mine (or maybe mine looks <i>very </i>close to hers)! She actually used a template to cut her petals and only used two layers instead of the three I used. Her center was a little different, also. But all in all, our flowers look the same.<br />
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I was so embarrassed (and frustrated!) I was pretty pleased with the flower idea I had...turns out, someone else thought of it first! Huh! Story of my life!<br />
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So go visit Jen over at <a href="http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/">Tatertots and Jello</a>. Maybe she's already done something you've been thinking about, too!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-76394622231882177382011-01-17T20:47:00.002-06:002011-01-17T21:04:08.723-06:00Felt Flower TutorialI love big flowers for embellishing most anything and everything! With winter here, I wanted felt flowers instead of the silk flowers I've been using. I searched the internet and kind of combined some ideas from some of the flowers I saw. This is what I came up with (some pictures are of my red flower and some are of the purple.)<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Here's what you will need.</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 sheet of felt</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 large button</div><div style="text-align: center;">complementary colored yarn or embroidery floss</div><div style="text-align: center;">hot glue gun</div><div style="text-align: center;">hair clip</div><div style="text-align: center;">lapel pin</div><br />
First I cut five petals about 3 inches in length. (This is done completely free hand. Don't sweat the shape too much. It will look good, I promise.) Then do five petals around 2 1/2 inches and five around 2 inches. The red flower I made with a bit of a pointy petal. This gives a poinsettia look. <br />
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To give it some "oomph" I decided to sew a seam along the back. It gives a little more depth. Just fold them in half and line them up on the sewing machine and do one after the other then cut them apart.<br />
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Next, cut a circle from the felt to use as base for the flower. Start gluing the 3 inch petals around the outside. Then glue the 2 1/2 inch petals and finally the 2 inch petals. <br />
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Finish off with a button laced with yarn or embroidery floss hot glued to the middle.<br />
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Flip over to the back and use a scrap piece of felt to attach the clip and pin with hot glue.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosUDpZwWawYJHxXuWSyf9_yUDZiqyVlGjny-EWajLsw54URc4uMuJD9YZJnoxvra8KIq7KI58mnzFn_zJslsfapeiAofmUc0v8rNRYQAES1sFTF1hJ0dBXRVDfrRIB_V-Gj2tTP5OjOhs/s1600/IMG_6244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosUDpZwWawYJHxXuWSyf9_yUDZiqyVlGjny-EWajLsw54URc4uMuJD9YZJnoxvra8KIq7KI58mnzFn_zJslsfapeiAofmUc0v8rNRYQAES1sFTF1hJ0dBXRVDfrRIB_V-Gj2tTP5OjOhs/s640/IMG_6244.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Your flower is finished! I hope you get as much mileage out of your flowers as I already have from mine! <br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">One way I use mine is on my favorite knit beanie!</div><br />
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And as a lapel pin to dress up my jean jacket!<br />
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I'm linking this idea to these wonderful blogs!<br />
<a href="http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/2011/01/making-monday-marvelous-39.html">C.R.A.F.T.</a><br />
<a href="http://decormamma.blogspot.com/2011/01/frugalicious-friday-giveawaypocket-full.html">Finding Fabulous</a>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-72292379797368917942011-01-12T14:31:00.000-06:002011-01-12T14:31:48.414-06:00I'm still here!Hello, friends! Sorry it has been so long since I last posted. Let me catch you up on what's been going on (this is the part where you pretend to care)! <br />
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As of January 3rd I have started working my third job! Yes, that's right, third. My 6 and 8 year old boys seem to have a problem finding employment to help pay for their private school! So I decided to step up. I'm working as an aide in the Pre-K classroom at their school and I love it! The only problem is, I'm still trying to figure out how to fit everything into the new schedule! But it's coming along.<br />
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On a similar note, you work-outside-the-home moms...how do you do it? Getting up every morning and shower/make up/hair and put together an outfit. Make breakfast, pack lunches, get out the door at exactly 8:08am (1 minute later and you catch <i>all </i>the stoplights.). Come home from work/school, make snacks, start homework, practice spelling tests, practice Bible verses. Now start dinner, start a load of laundry, clean up dinner, fold laundry. Start the boys on their showers and teeth brushing so as not to miss 7:30pm bedtime. Is 7:30pm too early for me to go to bed, also? Start another load of laundry. Monday night, Boy Scouts. Wednesday night, AWANA. Friday night, <i>woo-hoo!</i> Mom's day off is tomorrow! Oh, yeah...more dinner and laundry. <br />
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Work-outside-the-home moms, you have my utmost respect! <br />
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In my spare time, I have managed to make a couple of things that I want to share with you so I will be working on some pictures of those things and hope to have them posted soon!<br />
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Again, thank you so much for your faithfulness. Many of you I don't know personally but I feel blessed to know you as my blog friends! Thanks for your patience and for sticking around while I figured out this new "routine"!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-32439594546544744672010-12-28T06:24:00.000-06:002010-12-28T06:24:35.444-06:00Sausage Ring for New Year's Day BrunchHello, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! It was busier (and more exhausting!) than I anticipated and I'm just now feeling like I'm caught up again! Well, sort of!<br />
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With New Year's Day just around the corner I wanted to share a delicious brunch recipe with you all! This recipe has been a holiday staple in my family for years (starting with my grandmother making it every Christmas when I was a child). In fact, this was a special request by my dad for our Christmas get-together this year!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Sausage Ring</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">2 pounds breakfast sausage</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup diced onion</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 cup diced apple</div><div style="text-align: center;">2 eggs, beaten</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup milk</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 1/2 cups soda cracker crumbs</div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press into a bundt pan (I line mine with plastic wrap to make it easier to remove the next morning). Refrigerate overnight.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4fNMw_ihP46lsNFZDjtQHt7Z_1n_NqVVxnA9P_0X8AGyWkE4bOPuhxvzOKs1vLZ0luUbNWBn4eMEEyeqjp6fjQTFGIj8PEzIJMgtqPd_WpBiEsPxIBEa2CkH3gaHh5yak4UR9B8p8QeB/s1600/IMG_6099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf4fNMw_ihP46lsNFZDjtQHt7Z_1n_NqVVxnA9P_0X8AGyWkE4bOPuhxvzOKs1vLZ0luUbNWBn4eMEEyeqjp6fjQTFGIj8PEzIJMgtqPd_WpBiEsPxIBEa2CkH3gaHh5yak4UR9B8p8QeB/s640/IMG_6099.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
To bake, preheat oven to 325F. Remove sausage ring from bundt pan (don't forget to take off the plastic wrap!) and place on a rack inside a rimmed baking sheet (water in the bottom will help with clean up). Bake for approximately 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiq_DMT43av5tRqicIwFO-_bsgqT_ihL7FEoAttEs55AubteV_aJn8Fpu-pUwnQR6cew8p5MoqHK_JoLBMnKut8SLQwiB_0phUlDS2j8o4CQfzhl0fy04UtTPwvmlGgs8ynsf1jLyRJwxk/s1600/IMG_6103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiq_DMT43av5tRqicIwFO-_bsgqT_ihL7FEoAttEs55AubteV_aJn8Fpu-pUwnQR6cew8p5MoqHK_JoLBMnKut8SLQwiB_0phUlDS2j8o4CQfzhl0fy04UtTPwvmlGgs8ynsf1jLyRJwxk/s640/IMG_6103.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
One fun way to serve the sausage ring is to fill the center and outside edge with scrambled eggs.<br />
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Add some cinnamon rolls, fruit and Champagne Mimosas or (Bloody Mary's if you're my husband's family!) and you have a beautiful, delicious and satisfying New Year's Day Brunch!<br />
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Why I love this recipe? It's <i>de-li-cious</i>! You prep it the night before and throw it in the oven the next morning and forget about it (ideal for Christmas morning while opening packages!). And it's kinda fancy-smancy filled with scrambled eggs. This recipe freezes well, also. Just thaw completely in the fridge before baking!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-24485036191990852742010-12-22T08:00:00.000-06:002010-12-22T08:00:39.872-06:00Christmas KitIf you have kids then you know how important it is to get all those new Christmas toys up and running as quickly as possible on Christmas morning!<br />
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Well, my obsessive-compulsive need to be <i>completely </i>prepared led me to this idea our first Christmas with a little one. A Christmas Kit!<br />
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I just used a plastic container large enough to hold everything (it may have even had a former life as a lunchmeat container). Then I filled it with all the things I thought we might need.<br />
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Here is a list of what I came up with:<br />
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<ul><li>pocket knife (how many times have you cut your finger on the shirt box trying to break the tape?)</li>
<li>batteries (check what batteries you will need when you purchase the toy...and buy extras!)</li>
<li>screwdriver (phillips <i>and</i> flat head)</li>
<li>wire cutters ("Wire cutters?" you may ask. But have you seen the way they attach toys to the packaging nowadays? With either black box quality zip ties or twist ties that are so wound around the toy you need to be a rocket scientist to sort it all out! And scissors just won't "cut" it! Plus it dulls them. Just pull out the wire cutters and give them the "what for"!!)</li>
</ul><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">This is what our kit looks like:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApZspYWDpXKejBMV_-AAnZkQ9zxAgyKNRr1r3C-bjjhXmOlmzGnFBgD8EkiFhkhi0jkzbNqk1I7pmutpPIp1Kx-gCZ3xV6NmdWXuiglM2bNvHj_vHPOp95DT7twkRw3EswLH0Bt8bHxgU/s1600/IMG_6092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApZspYWDpXKejBMV_-AAnZkQ9zxAgyKNRr1r3C-bjjhXmOlmzGnFBgD8EkiFhkhi0jkzbNqk1I7pmutpPIp1Kx-gCZ3xV6NmdWXuiglM2bNvHj_vHPOp95DT7twkRw3EswLH0Bt8bHxgU/s640/IMG_6092.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
We just have the four of us on Christmas morning and usually the only gifts are ones from each other or from my grandmother. Consequently it's easy to keep up with who gave what. But if you have a big Christmas shindig, a notepad and pencil for writing down who gave what (for thank you notes later) is a good idea.<br />
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Something else I do is keep all the kid's owners manuals (for their toys, not the kids themselves!) together in a separate file. To do this I just slide them in a gallon sized zip top baggie and drop them in a hanging file in our file cabinet. Then if you need to refer back you just grab the one with all the kid stuff!<br />
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Hopefully this helps keep the Christmas cheer going on Christmas morn for you and yours!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-88576320809521908172010-12-19T00:00:00.004-06:002010-12-19T00:00:05.614-06:00BBQ Spice RubMy youngest son is all about food! I think he inherited this from me. We wake up thinking about food and before we're finished eating breakfast, we're thinking about what's for lunch! When he was only about three, he asked me if I would teach him how to make goulash when he grew up...already thinking about what he's going to eat when he goes off to college!<br />
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Well, he and I were discussing what we would eat on Christmas day and he suggested ribs. Yummy! My husband and I split duties when it comes to smoking meats. I'm in charge of perfecting the "prep" and he's in charge of the smoke.<br />
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In my pursuit to find the perfect rub, this is what I ended up with. This rub is so delicious, in fact, that I have quit using barbecue sauce all together (however, that is my next endeavor - homemade barbecue sauce)! I found this recipe online but it's been a few years and I can't remember who it came from...sorry.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>BBQ Rub</b></div><div style="text-align: center;">2 cups sugar</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/4 cup paprika</div><div style="text-align: center;">2 tsp chili powder</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 tsp cayenne</div><div style="text-align: center;">1/2 cup salt</div><div style="text-align: center;">2 tsp black pepper</div><div style="text-align: center;">1 tsp garlic powder</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>And that's it! It really is fantastic! So much better than anything you can buy in the store. It will work on all kinds of meat, too.<br />
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And this would make a nice gift for the Grill Master in your life, also. Be sure to include the recipe because once it's gone, they're gonna want some more!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-22397518843091732122010-12-17T08:23:00.000-06:002010-12-17T08:23:09.599-06:00Jesus' Birthday PartyYesterday was the last day of school for my kids. Yippee! <br />
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It was also their Happy Birthday, Jesus! party. This is such a sweet celebration. The entire elementary school meets in Fellowship Hall. Each class has a birthday cake, scripture is read, carols are sung and the principal tells a story about the different symbols of Christmas. We end by singing Happy Birthday, Jesus and going off to our individual classrooms. Truly a sight to behold<br />
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Let's start with Jesus' birthday cake. There is significant symbolism involved in it. We started this tradition with our boys when they were little (well, they're still little - only 6 and 8!) and it now continues at their school. First you bake a chocolate cake. The dark cake represents our sin. Then you frost it with white icing. This represents the cleansing of sin through Jesus on the cross. Then we place red M&Ms on top in the shape of a cross representing His death and resurrection.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLcOW6wfX90G7So5DX90QfqpDNbOuriE6uRH0TEOuEtVZGA4XhM5ieegsVyrBrqXjqlkP6ZQa67XM9zLAiGLdiPYj2Rvfcy9uZDd5Qx6-hfrmgHuuskM8rNxcBP_SUlTSyll4HMnsy6-t/s1600/IMG_6067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLcOW6wfX90G7So5DX90QfqpDNbOuriE6uRH0TEOuEtVZGA4XhM5ieegsVyrBrqXjqlkP6ZQa67XM9zLAiGLdiPYj2Rvfcy9uZDd5Qx6-hfrmgHuuskM8rNxcBP_SUlTSyll4HMnsy6-t/s640/IMG_6067.JPG" width="426" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The cake is a bit "homemade" looking. Not all fancy, like a store bought cake. But I labored over it non-the-less! In fact the morning of the party, I'm driving the boys to school with the cake sitting on the armrest in the middle of the front seat. I stop at the stoplight and one of the boys backpacks falls forward and hits the armrest. I plainly told the boys (as calmly as I could) that heads would role if they messed up the cake! Oops! Sorry Jesus. Sorta lost sight of what we're celebrating! But it's okay...I'm back on track now!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Next, the teachers take turns reading the Christmas story from the Bible. Luke 2:1-20, Matthew 2:1-2 and Matthew 2:9-11.<br />
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Then the principal tells a story <a href="http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/meaning.htm">similar to this one</a>.<br />
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Finally we light the birthday candle and sing Happy Birthday, Jesus.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oar123wgUH4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>If you've never heard this song before, you're in for a real treat. It chokes me up every time. Now imagine Pre-K through 5th grade kids singing this in a darkened room lit only by the candles on Jesus' birthday cake! Grab some tissues and press play.<br />
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This is such a wonderful tradition that really puts Christmas in the right perspective. <br />
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Here's wishing you and yours a blessed, Christ-centered Christmas!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-9791338544905170622010-12-13T14:42:00.007-06:002010-12-13T19:09:26.392-06:00The Making of a Christmas MangerFor three years now, I've asked my husband to make me a manger. I want a big one to put outside during Christmas. I know he can do it. Four years ago he made me a giant red sleigh. I loved it! But it was so big that you had to disassemble it to put it away every year and the screw holes had started to strip out. This year he said "no red sleigh." So where is my manger?<br />
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Well, I <s>don't</s> try not to nag and I know there are other projects he would rather be working on. So this morning after I dropped the boys off at school I decided to make my own manger. Now, I'm good at a lot of things...but apparently wood working is <i>not</i> one of them!<br />
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I headed out to the shed and found some scrap pieces I thought would work. They aren't quite the size I was wanting but I figured smaller would be easier to work with (since I'm doing this by myself). I needed slats for the sides and some pieces for the legs.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kLVmBWlPyrfEkCWVxk0XzD48ZQ-wNOSmEOWzFSkJe2FPL3OFbEqolqXXYBzRzoXdAiQpDSF_A1ir9rxCmOZxxL0iuabFC0sNs1pmju1lAFFwCCVy-0vuRyihmFUIPoHcA_jD1XC5ZRCF/s1600/IMG_6033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kLVmBWlPyrfEkCWVxk0XzD48ZQ-wNOSmEOWzFSkJe2FPL3OFbEqolqXXYBzRzoXdAiQpDSF_A1ir9rxCmOZxxL0iuabFC0sNs1pmju1lAFFwCCVy-0vuRyihmFUIPoHcA_jD1XC5ZRCF/s640/IMG_6033.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>I was in the driveway cutting wood when the "bug guy" showed up to spray the house. He was probably afraid to leave...afraid I was going to cut my leg off and no one would be here to help.<br />
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Now, how does someone build a manger? This I do not know. But I figure I'm a smart gal, I can figure it out! Well, I guess I can. <i>Eventually</i>.<br />
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This is what I came up with initially.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6DHsFQIjBJtk7UWiEHmkf0Kuq9OEvUwaJZsPawGlYX3RvEbBdG89cPiPEIseajW7bHo9Rf_ye8pydFnrDZKsFxnDR3gjTp_y-a_NYBwi_J61rkTl5oVZ_RmHTL3x7S9g7DdNNnIHl0vW/s1600/IMG_6036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6DHsFQIjBJtk7UWiEHmkf0Kuq9OEvUwaJZsPawGlYX3RvEbBdG89cPiPEIseajW7bHo9Rf_ye8pydFnrDZKsFxnDR3gjTp_y-a_NYBwi_J61rkTl5oVZ_RmHTL3x7S9g7DdNNnIHl0vW/s640/IMG_6036.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Great looking except for one thing...what do I do for legs? Hmm. Hadn't thought of that. Disassemble. Back to square one.<br />
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Now I'm thinking I need to work the legs into the top some how. Make it all one piece. So this is what I decided to do.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRbtOEzlXQBVQ6cWqHtNcAAphyphenhypheno-BOPfleoZybHk_iofqKJGJBIxeM4ZAomrl4l-V5wPqKgUgd6pduH4nU8RIKsJC0urTr_YfGHFU4Q1CIhypn31CyXPEy_6Ca7LKrcZ3L6fKYAIGjyky/s1600/IMG_6040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRbtOEzlXQBVQ6cWqHtNcAAphyphenhypheno-BOPfleoZybHk_iofqKJGJBIxeM4ZAomrl4l-V5wPqKgUgd6pduH4nU8RIKsJC0urTr_YfGHFU4Q1CIhypn31CyXPEy_6Ca7LKrcZ3L6fKYAIGjyky/s640/IMG_6040.JPG" width="426" /></a></div>I took an old section of fence and ripped the pickets off. Four pickets, four legs. Then I cut the tops off. Next I laid one on its side and lined three slats up from the top down. I just eyeballed the space in between but would recommend measuring. The next one my husband makes, I will measure. I think it will help ensure that it's mostly level that way. Then I attached another leg to the other end of the slats. I repeated this process (be sure to pre-drill your nail holes). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKaEgh7eLqfaQD4eEVhjcudXTUNamfjldLMz-qNx98a21pwOWDU51K19-JuWkfD9pZQqtAJ_hdoF4j3DfAnRBnbMUVGWlP8yuAIxlgerwBP_8BCvGNddKWC_p3nUdnCbdVyxORAe0Eb_l/s1600/IMG_6042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCKaEgh7eLqfaQD4eEVhjcudXTUNamfjldLMz-qNx98a21pwOWDU51K19-JuWkfD9pZQqtAJ_hdoF4j3DfAnRBnbMUVGWlP8yuAIxlgerwBP_8BCvGNddKWC_p3nUdnCbdVyxORAe0Eb_l/s640/IMG_6042.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>Now I have two sections that I can overlap and make into an "X" shape. Looks like a manger <i>and </i>it has legs! I positioned them at a 45 degree angle and inserted two screws where they overlap (on each side). The two screws lock it into position (just one and it would open and close too easily). Screws allow me to disassemble the manger and store it flat for next year. Plus all the nails I could scrounge up were too long. Remember, I'm working with what I've already got!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXx-66GxJE-5Jquk6KIPUvySpiWK3bsj7KR_Hs6NnRi6Mj3vZFB38cumJd8cyVV1x4PKu-Ex6-m-H5DH9HSEGAVjGdNnuqobu2nGwsWeG_0qoUwqo0Pmt-ReWTw-xRWDOffpgScmL38-d/s1600/IMG_6043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimXx-66GxJE-5Jquk6KIPUvySpiWK3bsj7KR_Hs6NnRi6Mj3vZFB38cumJd8cyVV1x4PKu-Ex6-m-H5DH9HSEGAVjGdNnuqobu2nGwsWeG_0qoUwqo0Pmt-ReWTw-xRWDOffpgScmL38-d/s640/IMG_6043.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's not at all fancy but I figure it is authentic. What is a manger, after all, but a place to hold hay? This one will do just that. I'll borrow some fresh straw from the chickens...baby Jesus needs a soft place to lay!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The dimensions ended up being about 2 ft x 2 ft. Now my husband has an idea of how to build the big one I'm wanting for the front yard. This one will just go in the flower bed for now and can be moved indoors when Manger #2 comes along!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He came home about the time I was finishing up and literally cringed at the sight of me using his power tools. That'll teach him to put me off!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sharing this idea at these other wonderful blogs:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/2010/12/motivate-me-monday-48.html">Keeping It Simple</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/2010/12/making-monday-marvelous-34.html">C.R.A.F.T</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://thediyshowoff.blogspot.com/search/label/Christmas">The DIY Show Off</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2010/12/just-something-i-whipped-up.html">The Girl Creative</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://makingtheworldcuter.blogspot.com/2010/12/making-world-cuter-monday_12.html">Making the World Cuter</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/12/sunday-showcase-party-with-ceiva.html">Under the Table and Dreaming</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Please stop by and visit them to find other amazing ideas!</div>Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7091246892175949108.post-91631408901804581952010-12-09T01:52:00.000-06:002010-12-09T01:52:02.076-06:00Ceramic Tile Dry Erase BoardScripture memorization is a big thing in our house. Both of my boys memorize bible verses for church on Wednesday nights and for school each week. I needed a way to keep the assigned scripture for the week handy without having a piece of paper floating around on my kitchen counter (my kitchen now has twice as much counter space as my previous kitchen and I swear we could still fill up more!).<br />
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It needed to be easily accessible, it had to change weekly <i>and </i>it had to be nice looking. Well, this is what I came up with and I really have enjoyed it. And it was inexpensive, super simple to make and it took only minutes from start to finish.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGymsxqy2a6jyuQiLtjC0IDCw9ptEA407-So_-YcemgfXBJqtN5c9vBuh4NSDgFiLvgdSeoe5MhlY1uQGvaowSuwXMsVyH8COef_eXoEqTXlvCQyYro1q4_Q6RQElXqS-_Gtr2nJuZDCeC/s1600/IMG_6004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGymsxqy2a6jyuQiLtjC0IDCw9ptEA407-So_-YcemgfXBJqtN5c9vBuh4NSDgFiLvgdSeoe5MhlY1uQGvaowSuwXMsVyH8COef_eXoEqTXlvCQyYro1q4_Q6RQElXqS-_Gtr2nJuZDCeC/s640/IMG_6004.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
I bought a 6x8 white ceramic tile from the hardware store (less than a dollar). I decided I wanted to tie a ribbon at the top and chose to drill a couple holes with a masonry bit. I just eyeballed the spacing. You can tell I spent a lot of time making sure I got them level (my writing is as wonky as my "eyeballing"!). It isn't noticeable once the ribbon is in.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhwxJ17mg8yhfm6h7l567n_WmhyBVNVP9fTV7TlF5W5xEC0B00MFaWTnvUGZ0jdKM0u4G6_WSMY2mbChnigiUdQKXvZemU3-NEVt2FQV-fi0zHRHvM4QdbGu_1tMPrtLACKkQChSjhOah/s1600/IMG_6007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhwxJ17mg8yhfm6h7l567n_WmhyBVNVP9fTV7TlF5W5xEC0B00MFaWTnvUGZ0jdKM0u4G6_WSMY2mbChnigiUdQKXvZemU3-NEVt2FQV-fi0zHRHvM4QdbGu_1tMPrtLACKkQChSjhOah/s640/IMG_6007.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Of course, you could skip this step and just hot glue the ribbon on but I wanted to impress my husband by asking (imagine serious tone, thoughtfully grasping chin and furrowed brow) "Do you think I should use a masonry bit to drill into this tile?" I think he was pretty impressed!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguy6qFrVWYhy6LToyNgguyNyNW-riXli5fViIFaDl4OPCQ6_lmBbBySMYzBhw_A8lzVx5WzvrcoXE-1w4kstYRsUsph6SMj-dxFEN0iITYfxwjdQGm4F5k0Y5DoEvixk6W53Ro-sbUKIcF/s1600/IMG_6006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguy6qFrVWYhy6LToyNgguyNyNW-riXli5fViIFaDl4OPCQ6_lmBbBySMYzBhw_A8lzVx5WzvrcoXE-1w4kstYRsUsph6SMj-dxFEN0iITYfxwjdQGm4F5k0Y5DoEvixk6W53Ro-sbUKIcF/s640/IMG_6006.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Then I laced through some ribbon (this is just what I had on hand that would match the kitchen) and tied a bow. I like that the ribbon softens it up a bit. Then I cut a fleur de lis on some black vinyl with my Cricut (I love that darn machine!) and put it in the lower corner.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRWIZ-FxEW0L9RniNhp7PAPCQiQ81kpRoPTYz_p-k1e3kCohnroers1cAgqhOEzjSQASAuwjyMFUXGllSxFEIB6OYgBjST1vNdeVGx6WhKKi8W6AAtXX5VOzTEAu-iujb6Ny7nO9VeVa7/s1600/IMG_6012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRWIZ-FxEW0L9RniNhp7PAPCQiQ81kpRoPTYz_p-k1e3kCohnroers1cAgqhOEzjSQASAuwjyMFUXGllSxFEIB6OYgBjST1vNdeVGx6WhKKi8W6AAtXX5VOzTEAu-iujb6Ny7nO9VeVa7/s640/IMG_6012.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Next, I needed a way to display it. I thought about hanging it but decided to keep it on the counter instead. This way I can lay the tile flat to write on it. I had some of these picture holder thingies (for the life of me I can't think of what these are called!) and decided this would make a great stand (and it keeps the marker handy, too!).<br />
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Now if I were going to give this as a gift, I would take the time to cover the back of the tile with some coordinating felt. But it's just us and I'm the only one who writes on it (maybe it's a little too "femmed up" with the leopard bow and fleur de lis for the guys!). We keep it in the kitchen on the counter and the boys and I go over their verses while they eat breakfast and I <s>gulp</s> sip my coffee in the morning. It's a great way to start the day!<br />
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We use ours for scripture, but you could also use it for honey-dos, love notes to your hubby, jot down notes by the phone...lots of things,really!Myklhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17562127763841604203noreply@blogger.com5