The Best Laid Schemes O' Mice an Men....

Source

So I have been working on this piece I got when I received the revived dresser i previously posted. It is a beautiful mirror. I took it apart thinking oh I will just clean this up, fix the broken parts, and paint. Yeah well I got as far as cleaning it and ran into snag after snag. Turns out it has been painted multiple times, the metal was in horrible condition, and it needed a little more TLC than I anticipated. I channeled my inner Lucy and stuck to it. I am close to being finished and will post about it as soon as it is done. I can't wait to share it with you. It is such a beautiful piece.

In my little hiatus I celebrated my anniversary. Mr. Wonderful and I eloped on Valentines day 4 years ago. We had been together for 6 wonderful years prior to that. We had a quiet afternoon in with our little cuties. Just like we like it. Nothing better than quality family time. I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines!!!

I will be sahring my master piece soon....make sure to check back!

P.S. I will also be sharing some Star Wars birthday ideas soon too. K will be three and is requesting Star Wars and a R2D2 cake.....this should be interesting and entertaining. If you have any Star Wars tips feel free to comment.

Facebook shop up and running!

Ok so i have all my prices and policies up. Tons of pics and hair bows to choose from. I am working on a few other designs I have sketched away in my head. Hopefully I will have them done and posted soon. Here are some pics for you.....

Let me know what you think! Fingers crossed! I hope my prices are fair. I am not out to make oodles of money. I am just a stay at home mom that would like to help out a little every month. Even if that only means taking care of the grocery bill. I would be over the moon.

Here a little personal tid-bit about my self. Before Mr.Wonderful and I got married and had kids I was very independent. I worked full time.. sometimes 50 plus hours a week in an animal hospital. I went in before dawn and came home after dark. I made a decent wage and was able to pay quite a few bills and had money to buy this or that if I fancied it. Well we knew when we decided to have kids things would change drastically. They definitely changed in a good way but being who I was before I feel as if I am lacking. Mr.Wonderful reassures me that I do more than my fair share and I do a great job at being a mother. I still feel that little part of me that was such a contributor money wise before. I love being able to stay at home with my boys and would be devastated if I had to leave them with someone else.  I think i would cry every day that  I was working out of the home. i know that I am blessed in that I am able to be at home with my kids and that there are mothers that have no choice but to work. So I am grateful for being able to be home with them.

Hopefully with this I can stay at home with my children and make a little extra money to help here and there. So I try to keep my prices fair and if you don't think they are let me know and we will talk about it. I am all for constructive criticism.

The link and like button are in the sidebar if you would like to check me out!!

 Thanks and have a great weekend!!

Furniture Makeover!!! Super Excited with this one!

Finished Product

So a dear family friend was downsizing and gave us a some furniture that they couldn't take with them. I went over to take a look at what she had and this little beauty was staring me in the face. Sure it wasn't pretty at the time but I could see past all the ugliness and knew that beauty was just beneath the surface.

Original piece minus a drawer that was sitting in the floor. Ignore the horrible garage floor. It is a terrazzo floor and the previous owner was a mechanic. We have cleaned them endlessly but oil stains are not easy to get off a white floor. I really should pressure wash it again. If you know of any tips for cleaning this floor I am all ears.

Now I say we because Mr. Wonderful really helped me out with this one. We removed all the hardware and gave it a good clean. I sanded it pretty well and Mr. Wonderful fixed the bearings on the bottom drawer for me.

I was a little disappointed to find out that it wasn't really wood. It seemed to be some sort of laminate over wood.  The handles were in horrible condition. I had planned on just cleaning them really well and spray painting them with a Brushed Nickel paint. However, Mr. Wonderful had a better idea. I got my first lesson on the wire wheel and the hardware came out better than I could have ever imagined. Now don't go out and use one if you have never done so. Have someone there with you who knows how to use the machine and where the proper safety items....goggles and such.

I probably should have been wearing gloves. Not my greatest photo and no my tummy is not that big. The machine was kicking up some pretty good air and blowing my shirt up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow man.

My lesson. Really make sure someone is there that knows what they are doing because this machine is no joke. It can and will hurt you.

I can not believe how thay cam out. Here is a side by side view of before and after.

 Isn't that just crazy! I am so glad Mr. Wonderful was there to stop me from spray painting them.Now the handles were a little trickier because of the curves. For the spots I couldn't get with the wheel I just used a small wire brush and a whole lot of elbow grease. ;) Placing them in the vice really kept them steady while I brushed. I also wrapped the clamped piece in a clothe so the vice wouldn't do any damage to the handle.

After everything was painted and polished. I put a few coats of sealer over everything. Even the handles got bout 3 or 4 coats. This was our finished project. It now greets visitors in our entry. It is still lacking any real sort of decor on top but we have two sets of small hands that love to meddle. Especially if it is breakable. The phone is in the middle like that so they can't reach it. I love my little meddlesome monsters! ;)

I am not sure if I am crazy about the black stripe. I was following the original paint job. I think I may need to paint it silver or scrap it all together and maybe do a floral stencil around the edge. What do you think?

I am over the moon about the hardware. I LOVE it! The whole piece is awesome. I love the lines and all the little details. This my kind of furniture. Plus I got some new tricks up my sleeve thanks to Mr. Wonderful.

Now to finish the bookshelf that is taking up space in the garage. I really do love making over furniture! :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Linking Up!

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/02/06/made-by-you-monday-85/

Yay! Facebook Page!

Ok so I have my facebook page up and started!!! I am very excited and nervous. Soon I will be putting up all the products I have for purchase. I still have a few things to finish up before I am ready to post everything. Just got my like button all squared away...so check me out on facebook. I hope to have it all done by next week. Wish me luck!!

~Venturing into something new~

So I have been MIA for a week or so.

I am sure you can guess what I am venturing into by all the photos. Having only little boys I have been getting my feel of handmade girly stuff through my friends. I have been told before that I should sell my goods. So I am doing just that. I am trying to stock up an inventory of different hair accessories that I will sell online and locally. I am really excited I have been a SAHM for almost four years now and a new adventure is just what I need.

I am really digging the large flowers. I think the Peonies are my favorite.

How cute are pinwheels! Everyone loves a pinwheel. I am planning to make all of my headbands in two pieces. Any decoration will be on a clip so that it can be worn 2 different ways. All clips will also be lined with the no slip grip for fine hair.

Of course there will be bling!

I am also doing a few different styles of smaller clips like this. I will also have 2 inch Pinwheels for small clips and a few of my own designed bows.

K, my 3 yr. old, was terrified of the Mannequin head. The girl that rang us up at Hobby Lobby didn't like her much either. She couldn't stand the feel of styrofoam. Pour thing got goose bumps just looking at it. Can you see her nose and the small dents in it? E bit her nose off and i had to do a little cosmetic surgery. LOL!

Just a few different flowers...

Lately I have been feeling kinda ugh and stuck in a rut. I told Mr. Wonderful I felt like maybe if I took a little more interest in myself I might feel better. So I got some new make-up (Thanks for all the help Megan) and took on some new hair styles. I already feel much better. What do you think? Oh and I got the hair tips and some makeup tips from Super Kawaii Mama ...She is Awesome!

I plan on getting the site up and running for online purchasing soon. Keep a look out for a link on here. I plan on just starting a small one of facebook for now until I get a feel for things. Please email me with any questions or for customs. I am more than happy to work with you if you have a certain dress or outfit you my want to match. You can find my email address in the About Me section at the top of the page.

Wish me luck!!!

P.S. Let me know of the pictures are too dark...I need to make a white box for photos.

Almond Joy Whipped Cream!!!

So like most things found in my cooking this was completely on a whim. I had made the Chocolate Cream Pie from this book.

 

It was Delish!! The only thing I changed was the pie crust and the chocolate. I used a plain pie crust instead of a chocolate wafer cookie crust and semisweet chocolate instead of bittersweet.

Now for the Pièce de résistance.....how I made the Almond Joy Whipping Cream. It is quite simple and I am sure it has probably been done before. You make the cream the same way you would normally... 1 cup of heavy cream beat until soft peaks form and then add 1/4 cup of confectioners sugar. This is where I got a little creative. I thought ok  I don't want the same old cream, lets mix it up a bit. So at  this step I got out the Almond Joy coffee creamer I picked up the other day and added 2 tablespoons slowly to the bowl. Then I just beat until stiff peaks were formed. I was SO GOOD! Not to mention it complimented the chocolate very well.  It was simple and quick. Only one extra ingredient and no extra time or steps spent.

Almond Joy Whipped Cream

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1/4 cup Confectioners Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Almond Joy Coffee Creamer

Beat heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form. Make sure mixer is on low or the stir setting and slowly incorporate confectioners sugar and coffee creamer. Once incorporated beat until stiff peaks form and chill or serve. DO NOT OVER BEAT. If you over beat your cream turns stiff and grainy.

I hope you enjoy this! We sure did!!

Linking Up With....

Mangia Mondays Bloh Hop @ Shine Your Light

Sundae Scoop Link Party @ I heart Naptime