Paint'll Make Ya' What Ya' Ain't

I put "the hus" on a little project today.   I didn't really think he'd DO it. But it was cool 'cause he did. Our cabinets in our kitchen are what you'd call "shabby chic" come on ya'll don't hate.  That's my catch all term for "old stuff".
Spring cleaning or spring fever has taken up root. No pun.

It's a good thing too, because according to my horoscope I am going to be useless for all logical and rational thinking until after May 11th?!? Aquarius....This month, Mercury, the planet of logical, rational thinking and communication, will shut down for a rest on April 18 and will resume normal functioning May 11. Apparently, I'll be ok to clean and organize things ...Mercury will retrograde from April 18 to May 11 in your house of home. Aquarius, take time to clean out closets, box up unwanted things for charity, and make needed repairs. Interesting. I put "the hus" on it and he's not Aquarian, he's a Libra. It is interesting bc I was just thinking it was time for cleaning out closets and boxing up unwanted items for donation.  Horoscopes aside... pshaw

This is the content of the drawers piled onto the counter.  Don't panic these are junk drawer-esck items.  Everything will be cleaned before its returned to its rightful place.

I wish I had taken a before pix, thankfully I didn't.  All contents were removed and the old drawer liners gone into the trash byebye.  I was reassured that the drawers were vacuumed and wiped cleaned.  I'm a skeptic, what can I say?  A fresh coat of white paint was applied all prepped and ready for new drawer liner.  We are going to touch-up the blue base cabinets by the sink area.  Wowser it's seems like I just did a facelift to the entire kitchen and everything is just so "shabby chic" already. 

I think he did an awesome job.  Spring cleaning commences!

See ya'll on May 12th (no kidding, I'm still here) when I will resume normal functioning.  Where'd that southern person come from?

RRRRR

Happy Earth Day! ReUSE, Reduce, Recycle! My DH is a Genius- Yay Yay Yay, the Futon Revisited

Originally Posted December 2007 but in honor of Earth Day I thought I would bump this up.  Try using new eyes to see things differently before you throw things away and fill up the landfills even more.  This was a simple wood futon destined for the trash heap.  As we were getting ready to load it up for the dumpster, I stopped my dh and look what we have instead?  An awesome shelf system just the perfect size for my favorite hobby stamping and paper crafts.  Thanks everyone and please enjoy this repost...

I am soooo excited I don't know what to do. This has been the bestest Christmas EVER that I have had in a long long time. I know I am a total dork because I am happy happy (did I say happy) over shelves. First I got my library shelves for the living room for Christmas, so unexpected and wonderful. Then, as if that weren't enough I got 4 count them 4 new CUSTOM made shelving units for (you'll never guess) STAMPERS. Remember the "guess what this is going to be" post? Well they are finished and attached to my wall!! Here are the before and after pictures:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

We recycled an old futon that we were going to just ship off to either goodwill or the trash. We have been cleaning the garage and I got to looking at the futon with my stampers eye. You know if it can be used for stamping or embellished or glittered we always have to keep our eye out for these things. So my genius DH figured out what to do to and did it for me right away. All we did was get some 1x2's, cut the 2 long pieces of the futon (the seat and the back) in half, added ends, nailed the 1x2 shelves to the existing slats of the futon (the stamps are sitting on the added new 1x2 pieces), cleaned them up and walla WE'VE GOT THE CUSTOM SHELVES OF THE CENTURY and we did it by re-purposing a found object. Which to me makes them even more special because they didn't cost me anything and we saved a tree or two. I wanted to take a picture with them empty so you can see the shelves better. I will take more pics when I have them all filled up (that shouldn't take me too long hahaha). Aren't they great? Now off to do more organizing...I get that way this time of year....I told ya'. skipping off whistling happy tunes..no whining even...

and some more after pix click here <----

~best,
misspriss

Turn the Pages...

I like quotes very much.  Anyone who has read my blog for a while knows this and how I love sentiments.  Call me sentimental, I don't know?  I was catching up with the readings from a daily mini-book calendar (Positive Thinking for Everyday ~Norman Vincent Peale~ ) that I have on my desk and it appears I haven't turned the pages since April 15th.  Whew an entire 5-days behind. 

I was going to share a quote for a blog post today, but there were so many good ones that I couldn't pick just one....  so I thought I'd share them all to catch us all up.  Here they are and I hope you enjoy these and they provide positive inspiration for you too.  I don't know about you, but I can use all the help I can get to think positively today and everyday!   

 




April 15th
The magic of enthusiasm can work magic in your life.  Its powerful effect can remake your very existence.

 






April 16th
Life has an if at the center of the word, our world and of our existence as well.  Assume control of those variable and uncertain ifs.

April 17th

Realize that you can in and of yourself do much to make yourself a healthy, vital, and alive individual.  You can do it!

April 18th

The surest way to avoid becoming tired is to get absolutely enthralled in something about which you have a profound conviction.  Throw yourself into it.  Be somebody.

April 19th
Thoughts and words form your mental images.  And since we become what we picture, be sure your thoughts and words express prosperity and blessings rather than poverty and defeat.


 




April 20th Today's Thought for the Day:
Believe it is possible to solve your problems.  Tremendous things happen to the believer.  So believe the answer will come and it will.

~Enjoy

All caught up....now go BE a great day

Wordle?

Anyone ever try wordle?  This is a graphic of my yadayadadayada (a compilation of all words from this blog)  Kind of cool!

Let Us Swap Cards - Bonus Points

A swap and an announcement for Missy about her Kickstart Project:

I love Missy Balance and I love Crafty Carnival.  I'm joining the card swap, that always gets the creative mojo wigglin and a wagglin.  Run on over and join too if you like?  The Dete's to the swap are below.  I did want to mention also, Missy has began a Kickstart Project too.

Read all about it here:  This is pasted directly from Missy's Blog, her words italics...

I launched a project on kickstarter!

Do you know about kickstarter.com?  It's an awesome website where indie artists and people with big ideas can try and get financial backing for their projects!  Well I have been dying to make more rubber stamps.  As many of you know I licensed some of my artwork to A Muse art stamps a few years ago.  It was so wonderful and fabulous seeing my drawings in rubber that I couldn't get enough.  The only thing is that they get to choose what does and doesn't get made into a stamp!  Well I've had a lot of artwork over the years that I really believed in and wanted to use, but it got passed over.  Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for what they did pick... but now I'm hoping to get to make these decisions all by myself.... grown-up style!  LOL!  So please, take a look at my project here, and back me if you can!  If you can't, no biggee, can you spread the word?  By posting this on your facebooks or tweets, you are helping me!  I can't do this by myself.  I need my friends to help me spread the word!!!  Please help me!  :)  Thank you, and I love you!  Missy

She's trying to launch her own line of stamps and that's cool

SWAP DETE'S:

Swap will close at 22 participants

due date: mail cards to me by no later than 4/30/10

card requirements:  handmade only, any theme, please include an envelope for each card, and have at least 2 layers and one embelishment

How to sign up:  leave a comment here, post about the swap on your blog, and when you leave a comment, please make sure to include your NAME and EMAIL!

Bonus points:  For every swapper that posts about my kickstarter project, I will include an extra little goody for you in your swap package as a great big thank you for helping me get the word out :)  You can read more about it on this post here.

FUNFUN!

Car Alarm/House (+ other ideas) Alarm? Pretty Good Idea!

What to take to bed with you - not a joke

I got this in an email (thanks Sally).  Thought it was pretty dern good thinking..

Pretty neat idea. Never thought of it before.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night!

I’m telling everyone who reads this here blog.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.

This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:

1. It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it.
2. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain.
3. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around.
4. After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that.
5. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

P.S. I am sending this to everyone I know (HELLO) because I think it is fantastic.

Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.

Please pass this on even IF you've read it before. It's a reminder.

Happy Monday!

This & That Easter

Are these not three of the cutest little Easter bumpkins ever?  The two little girls on the left are my daughters, all growed up now.  This pix was taken long long ago.  The little fella on the right is my nephew.  Brings back memories. Carefree and easy times. 

I made a birthday calendar book that I was going to use it at the start of each month. Yeah, well the best laid plans... Not so much.  But see the little duck?  Get it? April Showers bring...?  The calendar download is A Muse (I think the one I used here is last years but they have a new one every year and some of the proceeds go to a good cause.  This year its Water First International <----click here and read all about it).

Just thought I'd share a few of the spring items I have about the house.  These make me happy.  Vintage flour sack embroidered towel.  Bluebirds of happiness.

Mr. Man scrambling us up some Easter brunch!! Now that's a Kodak moment ya'll.

I just thought these two little bunnies touching each others noses were so cute.

Two baskets for the girls with lots of PEEPS of course

These are really really large plastic eggs a gift from Easter Aunty

Mish and mash.  These were some of the garnishes we had.  On the Easter Brunch Menu today:  Scrambled Egg Mix with Avo and Grapefruit slices for garnish, Cinbuns.  Done

CinBuns

My famous Cinbuns of course.

Good Friday

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!" - Mark 15:37-39 - 

Happy Wednesday!

Easter Outing

Another one from CRAFTY SECRETS and using NO stamping.  Again, I used a vintage image from Crafty Secrets "Heartwarming Vintage Booklets, Seasonal" and I also used paper from the Heartwarming Vintage "Radiant" paper pack.  (non-compensated bragging).  I hope the googly-eyes don't make bunny look too scary.  He's goofy.  I need GLITTER today.

Happy Easter - Joyful Easter

It's all things CRAFTY SECRETS today.  And everyone must know how much I LOVE CRAFTY SECRETS.   It's hard to believe but yes, I made a card using NO stamping.  It's easy to do with crafty secrets images, see <--- click here...I did it before.  For this card I used a vintage image from Crafty Secrets "Heartwarming Vintage Booklets, Seasonal" and I also used paper from the Heartwarming Vintage "Radiant" paper pack.  (non-compensated bragging).  It was fun just decorating up a pretty image.  The only thing that limits you is your own imagination.  I made my own chipboard frame (blue glitter) using die-cuts.  I also used a mix of epherma/embellishments from my own private stash.  The cloth flowers are old "literally" so they are special because when they are gone they are gone.  The sheer polka-dot ribbon (I have some in every color) is from pink hedgehog website (again, non-compensated bragging) and truth be told I used it because I had an opportunity for embellishment (yep I dinked the glitter so I hid it with a ribbon).  I think it came together really nicely and definitely says Happy Easter and Happy Spring. 

 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine upon your window pane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near to you and
May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

Traditional Irish Blessing

 

 

Happy Sunday!

Yard Fun

Close-up of my mint. I have three kinds, peppermint, spearmint and lemon mint. They've all grown next to each other so I can't tell which is which. All I know is I love it when it's fresh and new. See the pretty dew drops on the leaves? I pack a pitcher of my sun tea with the mint. Literally pack the pitcher full. That's how they do tea in New York. So I copy. Its very good. Maybe I will do a post about it later this summer when I start doing sun tea.

More herb garden pix. Thyme and Rosemary. I can't wait until these get big.

My hubby decided he wanted to dig up the yard to reseed. I decided it was a perfect opportunity to do my bonsai grass idea around the stepping stones. It took some convincing for my husband but after it was in, I made him a believer.

Here is a wider view. We only purchased two little flats of the ground cover, so we ran out. Technically, I wanted to do the outer-sides also. I'll either wait and take cuttings from what I have as it spreads or I will go out and get more to finish it in the next couple of weekends.

Sunday Supper

Blame in on Pioneer Woman (PDub for short) she did it again. She made me cook.  On the menu: Meatloaf, Steamed Green Beans and Baked Potato. Super simple but great food. Here's my take on meatloaf.  Normally, I use oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs but when I saw how PDub used milk-soaked white bread for her meatloaf I had to try it.  I adapted my recipe by substituting 1/2 of the oatmeal I normally use w/2 slices of bread (she used white, I used wwheat because its what I had in stock).  I never thought of doing this and it looked moist... so I tried it.

Liz's Famous Meatloaf (secret ingredient revealed)

All amounts are approx. and to taste~
Click on any pix to enlarge for details

2lbs of lean ground beef (or more if you have an army to feed)

1 pkg of Lipton onion soup mix (secret ingredient)

1 big handful of fresh parsely chopped (pictured below is from my herb garden)

1/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1-2 eggs (I used one)

1 tsp fresh garlic

1/4 cup oatmeal or slices of bread (soaked in milk) I used 2 slices.

1-2 tbls worchestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste
1 small can tomato sauce (pour over top last 10 minutes)

Firstly a pix of my herb garden (right outside my kitchen window/door).  We are getting a jump on things.  That's how we roll in SoCal.  The parsley is the largest plant in the lower right hand corner of the pix. It's what I used in the meatloaf.  It's the oldest plant that's why its bigger then the rest.  It did really well over the winter (cough cough) with all the rain we've been having.  The smaller ones you see were just planted this week.  In the planter, fresh lavender.  We even have two tomato plants in already (back along the fence.  My mint is coming in nicely too (far left).

Cast of characters.  I have really little counter space that's why its all jammed into this tiny little corner with everything else (appliances etc).  What you see in the pix is about the extent of my working countertop space.  I get claustrophobic cooking in here at times.  I've gotten really efficient at conserving space too.  

See the bread crumbs? I thought they turned out so great. I soaked them in milk and then wrung the milk out and crumbled the bread slices into meatloaf mixture. The texture was perfect.

Ready for the oven. I thought the parsley was so pretty.  Wow did it smell good too (the parsley).  I never knew it smelled so strong.  I thought it was kind of neutral.  Not this stuff, it was FRESH.

During the last 10 minutes or so I pour tomato sauce over the top covering the entire loaf. No after pix.  No plate-up.  Just a few random pix of the process.  It turned out yummo!

Home cook extraordinaire Tip of the Week:  I spray the loaf tin with non-stick spray like Pam.  I also cover this with tin-foil until last ten minutes.  Tip alert!!! Spray the inside of the tin-foil with non-stick spray also. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well that was on February 9th.  I told you I had some catching up to do. I think I will schedule some daily blog posts. That way I can set them up and schedule them to publish later. Awesome.

It's a little grainy but I like it. These were the flowers I had on my desk at work.

Gwen Frostic

I can check off another item from my on-again/off-again list.  I had so much fun this weekend, I need at least two more days of it.  Here is an Easter Greetings card! OMGOMGOMG I got me some ART Therapy. Are you kidding me?

I found inspiration for this card from a couple of different places.  Firstly, from my new set of Gwen Frostic (Anthropologies holiday gifts) stamps that my friend Allison (Shadow's Castle Stamps) gave me for Christmas. I embossed the bunny image with a burgundyish embossing powder (I think he looks chocolatey this way). Secondly, I also found inspiration (sketch and colors) from the one the only famous Julie Her Royal Rubberness (see her Picky Purple post over at Paper Trufflez). She requests that we do not hotlink so I will leave that off.  She's pretty easy to find via any search engine.  Nothing like a CASE (copy and share w/everyone) and a new set of rubber to get the creative mojo going. Thank you Pr!ssy Pals for your wonderful ideas.  Re-purpose alert:  the swiss dot paper is a piece of packaging cardboard.  I thought it was such a pretty eggplant color I just had to re-use it.  I embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then sanded it to get the white core to show through.  I used a mish mash of products SU paper, Michael's Ribbon , Sentiment stamp (Kitchen Sink), A Muse Paper (gingham flower), MS punch.  

Gwen Frostic Woodland Stamp Set

Close-up of Gwen Frostic Woodland Stamp Set.  Aren't they just the cutest?  My friend Allison has great taste.

Happy Heart Day!

I've got nuttin' for ya' so I might as well share a pretty vintage image...  I hope everyone is feeling the love this weekend.  It's one of my FAVORITE holidays.  Heart U.