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Spring Dreamin’

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Oh, how I’ve been longing for Spring. It isn’t because we get a lot of winter storms or even many days of below freezing temperatures where we live. It is because of the weeks of dark, dreary weather, fog and continuous drizzle, that leave us yearning for a glimpse of the sun.
 I was driving through my neighborhood last week and saw, over the top of a neighbor’s fence, beautiful cherry blossoms just beginning to open their petals toward heaven. Since then we’ve had a few days of sunshine and warmer temperatures and the signs of Spring are popping up all over.
Time for some pops of color around my own home. I took down some of my dried lavender branches and put them in a bucket on my front porch. They almost look like they are fresh blooms. I also picked up a few baskets of primroses and tucked them in a metal container (from Goodwill) with some Spanish moss and some fresh moss harvested from my driveway (one benefit of living in a drizzly climate). As I’m posting this I just noticed the pine cones still in the planter from Christmas. Oops! Need to go take care of that.
Purple and yellow are so pretty together.
I added some moss balls and Easter eggs to one of my porch lanterns and a bright colored candle and dried hydrangeas to the other.
 I had some friends over last week for a little get together and we decoupaged some eggs with bright colored paper napkins.
I made this rosette wreath made with some leftover fabrics. Through the window, hanging at the end of my front porch, you can see the trees are still pretty bare.
 A close-up of the fabrics I used which include lace, burlap, drop cloth material, and floral and solid colored cotton.
 There it is! That touch of blue sky we’ve been waiting for!
 On to the inside, for more touches of Spring. I love cloches for displaying different vignettes. Here I laid down some moss, added two antique books, a nest with tiny speckled eggs and a little brass birdcage from Goodwill. My fancy ceramic bluebird is guarding her nest.
 I wrapped the display in this rusty wire with silver balls that I found on our Seattle shopping trip. I’m not sure what it is about it that makes me like it so much. It kind of looks like I’ve put these eggs in jail!
 Moving on to my dining room is a silver tray from Goodwill, painted with chalkboard paint and some Easter egg candles, also from Goodwill. They have a LOT of good stuff there!
 Here are some tall, skinny bunnies I’ve had for years,
 . . . and some short, fat, nesting bunnies.
 This cookie jar belonged to my mother. She so LOVED this little mama bunny with all the baby bunnies peeking out from beneath her skirts.
Can you see the little bunny tail poking out from inside the log?
So sweet.
If you’ve been reading my blog for awhile you’ve seen this garage sale frame turned chalkboard before. To the right is a wire cloche I found at Goodwill and filled with moss balls.
 More decoupaged eggs with two types of moss, placed in a basket.
 A faux boxwood wreath tied with a burlap ribbon,
 with another bunny peeking out from her hiding place.
 Here are some views of my Easter table,

 

  . . . and a table runner I updated with thrift store fabric and lace.
Rays of sunshine across my dining room table warm me up and make me happy, inside and out!
 Ahhh . . . I’m feeling better just by putting out some of the OLD THINGS I’ve decorated with for years to remind me of new THINGS to come.
Thank you for joining me on a Spring tour of my home. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be following this post up with tutorials for making some of the handmade items you’ve seen here.  I do hope you’ll come  visit me again!
Blessings,

 

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Stemware Dipped in Chalkboard Paint

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2012 – I feel almost guilty that this year has been such a good year for me personally when, for so many others, there has been only hardship, pain, tragedy and loss.  In years past, I have had those times that I was thankful when the year came to an end and where my New Year’s wish was filled only with the hope of something better.  The way of life is a bit like a ferris wheel.  We buckle ourselves into the seat and wait for the ride.  Anticipation becomes reality as we feel the rush of being carried upwards to that highest place, where we can look out over the whole world and delight in the thrill of being on top of it all!  Sometimes the ferris wheel pauses here and we squeal with laughter and enjoy the moment to the fullest as we set our seats to rocking.  Other times there is no pause at all and as soon as we reach the top the ferris wheel begins it’s rapid descent.  We feel the drop in our stomaches as we head back down to the real world at the bottom of the wheel.  Then begins another ascent . . . and the ride continues . . .
Few people I know have perfectly steady and untroubled lives, . . . and those that do I really wonder about!!!  If we are honest with ourselves, and others, we all have problems and we all have things that just plain break our hearts.  I’ve been in places of brokenheartedness and I’m so thankful for those God sent into my life in those times to offer hope for a better future.  This has been a very good year for me.  A year of sweet memories made with family, old friendships renewed, new friends made, hard work rewarded . . . blessing upon blessing upon blessing.  It brings me such joy to be a part of  the ministry of Freedom Session and to be able to offer God’s hope to others.  I truly believe that there is a purpose to all the hardships we experience in life and I also believe that the core of our pain is the core of our purpose. 
So . . . on to a celebration of the year to come!  This is a fun project that I saw on my favorite TV network, HGTV!  It is stemware dipped in chalkboard paint (this is not the same as the chalk paint that I use to paint furniture).  As you toast the New Year, you and your guests can write your names or initials on your glasses to keep track of them.
Since my focus is OLD THINGS NEW I took a trip to Goodwill where I found these glasses on sale for .99 cents apiece.  While I was there I also found a tarnished silver tray for $2.99.  I’ve been keeping my eyes open for one of these, with this specific purpose in mind, so how fortuitous that I found everything together!  You’ll notice from the close-up of the stem that this is not just plain glass but really nice crystal.  What a buy!






I had some chalkboard paint on hand from other projects . . .

. . .  so it was as simple as dipping the base of my glass into the paint like this . . .

 

. . . letting the excess paint drip back into the can . . .
 

. . . and then setting it on waxed paper to dry.  Note:  This will NOT work well if your paint is too thick.  An alternate method is to brush several thin coats of paint on with a soft paintbrush, allowing the paint to dry completely between coats.

 

While these were drying I painted the bottom of the silver tray with three coats of chalkboard paint, allowing it to dry between each coat.  Any chalk will work to write your message but I really like the chalk pens found in the bridal section at Michael’s.  They fly off the shelves fast so I bought two to keep on hand.
 

 

As you can see, our New Year’s toast will be made with a fine Sparkling Grape Juice!!!
 


 
And now, my wish for all of you in 2013 is that family bonds will be strengthened, friendships (old and new) will be rich and rewarding, you will find something positive in every situation (even when that’s hard to do!) and that God will bless you in every area of your lives.
Oh . . . just one more thing!  I want to wish you all the gift of SILLINESS and LAUGHTER . . .
 
 
. . . even when . . .
 

 
 . . . that means laughing . . .

 
 . . . at YOURSELF!!!
 
 
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

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