Sea Glass Tray

When I saw Kim's tray, it really knocked my socks off, so beautiful....and what better inspired project to do, especially since I had all the supplies from tiling the laundry room floor. I even had the tray on hand, a thrifting find, and had sprayed it white....but it was still hum-drum, but not anymore!

I finished it up this weekend and am so happy with how it came out. It was another one of those projects I found relaxing, working a little section at a time....finding the perfect piece to fit. Logan informed me he didn't like the white (clear) pieces, that I should color them blue (too cute), but I like that it relates back to the color of the tray.

I've got it in the kitchen right now, but it would certainly serve purpose anywhere.

I followed Kim's tutorial to the tee, she explains it very well.

For this size tray, it took about 3 bags of sea glass, and I had a little left over. The sea glass is from Pier 1. I looked around to see if any other stores carried it, but the type at Pier 1 is nice and flat, which (obviously) is an important feature for this project . :)

Thank you so much for the inspiration Kim, this is exactly what my tray needed!

Want to follow Kim's tutorial too? Click HERE to see her full tute at Sand and Sisal.

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I worked all day for and at my booth space yesterday...the black hutch that I worked so hard on sold (after I left to pick up the kiddies, of course), so I'm going to be down there again today, I'm sure all of it's contents are on the floor. :) I'm trying to layer it in pretty thick for the coming weeks, I just don't know how I will be feeling. However, I do have a Chemotherapy Education class today, so I'll be learning more about what will be happening to my bod.

Wigged Out!

I had my doctors appointment yesterday...it was basically a consultation about everything I already know. A review if you will. For me, it was an appointment to see if I liked this new-to-me Joplin doctor. I have had so many of you email me stressing the importance of 'clicking' with the oncologist (and staff) (thank you! :) and he wasn't too bad. Between you and me though, after seeing Dr. F at NIH, I doubt I'll find anyone that remarkably affable as he is here or anywhere.

After my appointment at NIH (you can read about it here), Dr. F told me it was a good idea to go wig shopping BEFORE I start chemotherapy and before I start losing my hair. I thought that was pretty strange at the time, but after thinking about it, it made sense. Going wig shopping now while I feel good and not because I have to. So my MIL and I went to the Pink Boutique which is a shop in town that carries hats, scarves, wigs even handbags and jewelry for people fighting cancer. The women there are so nice and caring, we spent quite a bit of time there trying on wigs. I tried on a really short one and a long one but I really liked the mid length the best. I couldn't believe how real they seemed. These are crappy phone pictures, but you see how realistic it is. The color was even almost identical to mine. This is a wig!:

I'm no stranger to wigs...I remembered this picture of me (and my dad rockin' a moustache and a broken hand) circa 1978 and I'm wearing one of mom's 'fashion' wigs. No wonder I had fun yesterday, it was like playing dress-up!

I've got a whole gamut of tests next week..including a MRI, an ultrasound, a cat scan, a mammogram and a echocardiogram. It'll be a party, hu?

***

The fear keeps trying to creep in, and it's exhausting trying to keep it at bay. I can't help thinking about my boys, who is going to take care of them if I'm not here? I've got to be strong though, we still have normal life to live, my thoughts of keeping them home from school just so I can stare at them is just a little unrealistic, or is it?

 We've told Keegan everything from the beginning and I think we are going to tell Logan this coming week. I've been looking for books to help Logan understand a little better, he is only six, in case you don't know. Keegan said he wants to help shave my head when the time comes...is it weird that I'm proud of him for that?

St. Patty's Day Links

 Happy Leap Day! Hope you are enjoying this extra day added onto the calendar! As you probably know, if you've blogged for any period of time, seasonal projects tend to get buried rather quickly. The internet has an exceedingly short memory, much like myself, imagine how happy I was when I ran across my garland today. I had forgotten all about it! I clipped my clover to my wreath on the back door, I still think that is a great project. So since even I forgot these projects, I thought you might have as well....so I thought I would share some St. Patty's day links with you from yore. :) I have recently learned how to make images clickable, so just click the photos that interest you below and you will be taken directly to that post, fun right? If you have visted my tutorial page recently, you probably have noticed I'm converting all my tutes to clickable images. It has become a tedious task, so it's taking me forever, so bare with me.

I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow morning, I hope I like this new guy....I'm just glad I don't have to drive across the state or fly across the country for an appointment!

Anyway, enjoy the links and have a great day!



 

Perking Up the Living Room

So I've been living in Missouri for several years now and have really gotten accustomed to the rough winters....but this winter has been so mild I keep looking around, scratching my head, wondering when winter is going to happen. I mean the little groundhog did see his shadow right? ;) At any rate, we enjoyed the mild temps this weekend...and by enjoying I mean the guys were all outside and I got to take waaay too many photos around the living room.

I've been staring at the Home Goods Urns up on the mantle for weeks now and finally got them placed and accessorized the mantle. I moved the white dresser back in too, that had to move out to accommodate the Christmas Tree. The great thing about it, after shifting everything for the tree....I ended up liking the furniture spaced out. So the sofa stayed put, and the dresser got a little more breathing room.

I look at this photo below, and realize nearly everything is vintage...The mirror was my Mother's, the bamboo art; vintage. The lamp is very vintage, I've had it for many years and remember the funky second hand store I found it in....needless to say, it didn't look like that when I found it and did a lot of cleaning to make it look good (you'll see it better down below). The woven boxes, little brown vase and porcelain antler were all bought new, but I seriously love the mix.
I love a good off set photo don't you? :)

I still love the World Market curtain panels, they add a little global flair.

I am happy with how the mantle turned out, in all it's asymmetrical goodness. I love the color of the urns, so happy and bright. I also used candle holders via Big Lots, boxes that I spray painted orange and a piece of coral that I bought in Key West 20 years ago. Boy, do I hold on to things or what?

For the mantle I typically like doing asymmetrical. The mantle/fireplace + windows are so symmetrical, it wouldn't be as interesting if the accessories were perfect too. Plus, I like a little challenge anyway, asymmetry is not always easy.

In the smaller urn, I took off the lid and did a combination of curly willow, bean sprouts, and silk hydrangeas. I sprinkled some hydrangea blooms on the mantle too. Along with the blooms the lid becomes an intentional detail.

My husband knows the way to my heart is through decorative pillows, meet my newest one...best Valentine's Day gift ever, thanks honey.

I still have a little tweaking to do. I want to add on to the wall collage above the sofa, and I'm playing around with some chair arrangements too.

I'm off to work at the booth today, Mondays are perfect for straightening up after the weekend and delivering a few goodies.

I have a doctor's appointment this week with an oncologist here in Joplin, so I will know exactly when I start the chemotherapy treatments. I'm feeling pretty solemn about it compared to how I was feeling the last couple of weeks. I'm just going to stay busy as usual and keep my head up. I am still getting comments and emails with prayers and encouragement. Thank you for that.

Daffodil Tutorial

So I had a hankering for some egg salad for lunch, and put on some eggs to boil...it was the last of the eggs in that particular carton and I headed out to the garage to put it in the stack of all the other egg cartons that I have been saving. Then I stopped. I always do this. I save and save everything and do nothing with everything I've saved. So I decided to challenge myself, while the eggs were boiling, I'd come up with an idea. If nothing came out of it OK, but if something did come out of it then I could keep saving, right? :)

I knew I wanted to do some sort of flower, and daffodils are what emerged. With spring rapidly approaching, the daffodil is the perfect flower to recreate. I always love to see them start popping up everywhere.

With the full size cartons like this, you can get four daffodils. I wanted to make a lot because I love how real ones look all clustered together.

These have got to be the weirdest pictures on my blog....begin by cutting straight through the cups of the carton. With heavy duty scissors, this is done super easy. You won't be able to use the outer edges for this flower (but I did save it just in case I think of other uses).

You will have four rows of these with usable 'peaks'. Cut apart the 'peaks'......I'm using the word peak because we are in uncharted territory between what once an egg carton but not quite a flower yet.


It takes three of these to make the daffodil.


Of the three peaks, it will take two to make the petal segments. To make the two floral segments around the cup, cut down to the bottom of the peak and then cut the four corners into petal shapes, again it is easy with the heavy duty scissors. Daffodils really only have six of these petals all together, but our little egg carton daffs don't mind the extra two petals ;)



To make the trumpet shape of the corona (or cup), just round off the corners.
To give the daffodil a stem, holes will have to be punched through the center of each segment. Some of the egg cartons I had came with holes, others didn't, I just poked a hole with a small screwdriver.
To make the stem, I used left over cut stems from making wreaths, but if you don't have stems just laying around, used heavy duty wire (like 18 gauge or thicker)....other ideas to use for stems you might have on hand: wire coat hangers, rebar wire.


*I really hope that wasn't too confusing

Layer on one petal segment, then the next and finally the cup. Let the stem/wire create the stamen. I used a touch of hot glue between to secure everything.



Next it's time to base-coat all the flowers. I did this so the yellows and oranges are nice and bright. I painted my first one without priming first, and the colors came out dull (even with several coats), so go ahead and get a layer of white over everything and let dry. I just used white paint, but gesso would be good to use too.

Also, you do not have to be super precise with this process, I quickly swiped on the paint. They are not completely covered...they are very textural and that's what I like about it. Enjoy the process and it doesn't have to be perfect.


Once they are dry, paint the corona yellow and some of the petals too, I wanted a mix. Once the yellow is dry, create the 'ruffle' around the corona with a blend of a dark and darker shade of orange. Using two different shades creates depth and helps them seem more realistic.

Again, don't be too precise. have fun with it.

Once they were all dry, I decided to do a coat of Mod Podge to seal the paint and add a little shine.

I also experimented with sparkle Mod Podge and even glitter. I ended up not liking the glitter, although I suppose it looks like snow....but I'm done with winter-I'm ready for spring. :)

I did like the sparkle Mod Podge and used it sparingly for a little more shine.

I am having lots and lots of other ideas to use egg cartons, and different flowers too. The possibilities are endless! Who knew egg cartons were so thrilling?!

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

Ride the Tide

Well, the last two days have been a blur. My MIL and I flew out of Arkansas Regional Airport and my sister left from North Carolina to meet in Bethesda MD for my appointment at the National Cancer Institute. We arrived in Washington DC around seven and we all headed to the hotel. We were able to have dinner and visit (I haven't seen her in 10 months!) so that was really great catching up (and stayed up way too late!).
My appointment was early the next day. The NIH (as they call it) is a huge campus, a city within a city really.
After some lab work and exams the doctor and his team came in to talk to me about my case. It looks like chemotherapy needs to be started as soon as possible and I will start taking a pill by mouth to try to combat the cancer. The pill will unfortunately kill my other adrenal gland which is the least of my problems, yet what I seem to be thinking a lot about. That's probably weird, hu?
They explained to me the effects of the chemotherapy and what to expect and a whole other host of tests and exams they want me to get.
I can't pretend that I am not scared, I am, but I guess since there is a plan of attack, there is nothing else to do but 'ride the tide', right?

Via

Thank you for your continued prayer and support. I know I can't respond to each and every comment or email, but please know that I read each and everyone of them and thank you so much for reaching out to me. You are helping me face this thing!