I found the perfect spot for my Angel

Sorry to be posting so soon again...but I found the perfect spot for my Angel and changed things up a bit with her.  I like her so much better this way!

I am loving the soft glow of the lamp with it.

I like the green berry garland with the white pearlescent berries and tiny flowers.  So much softer and I think this is perfect for all year long!  My Mom bought me the believe sign a few Christmas's ago and I painted it white.  She knew I'd paint it, lol.

This corner is always a pain with this table...now it feels filled in and I was able to pull the table out for better usage.

My sofa is really large and has those tall arms....making it hard to sit a drink down without reaching way over.  Now it's working with the table pulled out a bit.

It balances out the room since the huge armoire is on the opposite side. Now I am ready to start doing my Christmas decorating...won't the twinkling lights look beautiful with this Angel?

Thanks for putting up with me.  

Until next time...see ya!

An Angel made from an old porch column

I bought 3 columns over the summer and have had them stored away in the garage.  

I had planned flanking them on either side of our bedroom opening but they didn't look right and I felt were too big.

Plus I like my chairs there and I would have had to move them.

This is my husbands buddy and he wanted to pose by the 2 columns...you can see they are pretty big.  I had bought 3, one was in worse shape.  But I knew I could do something with them all.....eventually. 

So tonight as I was working in the garage, sleep deprived I might add...another idea hit me!

Make an Angel!

I remembered I had some old Angel wings from costumes from when the girls were little.  They were perfect!

Then I needed a head...what the heck was I gonna use?  A Ball!!!!

I found an old beach ball blown up laying in the garage and then painted it white.  Put it on top, added some berry garland and here she is...ready for Christmas!

I am in love with it!!!  The cross finished it perfectly!

Now, hopefully someone will want to buy the other 2 once they see mine!

One way to make a sign

When I was a little girl, my Mom saved every card and calender that spoke to her .  She would cut out what she loved and would make gift tags, adorn a package or make a picture.  I remember watching her carefully cutting around delicate edges with so much patience.

Well, I don't have that much patience!  

I had a sign that I had bought over the summer because I loved the shape of it.  

I hung it over my stove, but if you all know me..it didn't go with anything in my kitchen.  

So, I've had it in storage for a few months and decided to make a new sign with it...

So of course I get on the internet, start getting ideas and it came to me!  I know it has to do with me only having 5 hours of sleep in 3 days.  But that's how I usually get my ideas...sleep deprived!

I found this on Pinterest under Printables.  Loved the old look of it!  I planned on painting it since my printer never gets the colors right.

Then I found this printable of roses...aren't they pretty?!

Then I painted my sign a flat white...3 coats to be exact.

While it was drying, (this is where I thought about Mom and her patience), I cut out the Merry Christmas and the rose printables.  I was seeing double by the time I finished!

Then I laid everything out on my sign and then modged podged the back of it, not the top since I still wanted to paint.

I thought the blue was perfect until I finished it....YUCK!  Definitely didn't look right with those roses.  The color of the roses were purple, so I started painting over them with some of my hot pink watered down paint so that it wouldn't cover it up...just add some color.

I added some green and definition to the leaves then made the whispy vines to make it more like I had hand painted it all.

That's when I started trying to change the blue Merry Christmas and adding more pink to the roses.

Here you can see it's starting to shape up.  I kept adding to get more definition.  I just played around with things until I liked it. 

Then I sanded the edges on the sign to make it look worn.

And here it is...all finished!  After everything was painted and dry, I went over the whole sign with modge podge to seal it all.

Didn't it turn out pretty?!!!  

I love how it turned out looking really vintage!

Here's another sign I did the other night but it is all hand painted..no cheating here.

So there ya have how I cheated on making my Merry Christmas sign.  Really, the hand painted one took less time than it did....so really cheating wasn't that easy! lol

My last few days have been busy

It was really cold last week so all of my flowers died except the mums.  We were letting Gabe and Oliver in the garage to sleep but knew it couldn't stay that way forever because of Sara's allergies.

So we moved Gabes doghouse to the porch since he wasn't going to use it under the stairs.  This past summer we built in under the stairs and added a doggy door for him, but he wasn't about to go in there because he wants to be on the porch with us.  I think he thinks he's gonna miss something.

The porch looks so bare!  We had to take the swing down to have room for his HUGE doghouse.  The girls aren't too happy about that...and eventually Gabe will figure out his swing is gone too.  He loves laying in it!

But for now I think he loves his house!  He even had a little spring in his step today....something he hasn't had very much of lately.  He's 10 years old and our big baby!

I did manage to bring this little table set up the stairs with the hubs help.

And put out a few of my inside Fall decorations out there to spruce it up a bit.

We had a Halloween party to go to.  We thought long and hard and didn't want to spend money on costumes.  So I went as a geisha girl.  You can figure out what the hubby went as...I think he had wishful thinking with that shower cap!  It's so nice to make your own costumes from things we have laying around the house.  I always made the girls costumes...so much more special!

We lost Wilbur and Oliver and has became a whole new cat.  He is an absolute lover now, wanting to be held and loved on.  It's been so hard losing Ozzy and Wilbur...it makes me sick not knowing what happened to them.    

You all know how much I love to sew...so I started making Christmas stockings to sell for some extra Christmas money...something everyone is in need of I'm sure.

Love these pink ones!

I am getting really excited about Christmas!  I think I'll start decorating after this weekend so I can actually enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas without feeling rushed.

Curtains

As I added a curtain to this piece trying to hide it's barren state, it hit me. So many people in this world put up curtains trying to hide flaws or to make something prettier or to provide privacy. This goes for us as people with our emotions, feelings, thoughts, opinions, spirituality, our beliefs. As a girl I saw many people put up curtains and it never really did what they were supposed to. All it did was hide the problem for a time being, but the curtains faded in their color, got holes, became thin and lost their beauty entirely...all to come back to the very same thing they were trying to hide. Why do we do these things? Are we scared of rejection or not feeling loved? When someone comes to you asking to be loved, do you turn them away because you are scared your curtain will come down? Love is the greatest gift of all. Love is always there, ready to show flaws and all, to make you feel welcome, safe, secure, and gives you hope and answers to your problems. It does so many wonderful things, but we tend to shut it down because we are so scared of being hurt if it is not given back when we give it. I decided to tear my curtains down throughout my life and it is the most wonderful liberating feeling! But when you put those curtains back up, the air cannot flow through, it blocks out the light, it hides the view outside....lets tear down our curtains and be free...free in God to feel His love and enjoy life! ~Sweet Melanie~

I'm in a Blue Mood

Do you ever have one of those days where things seem to get under your skin?  Well today has been one of those days for me.

I won't go into details because it wouldn't be "nice" of me...but ya know, sometimes I would just love to let loose on a few people!  God forgive me for even thinking that way...

And yes, even Sweet Melanie isn't always so sweet. lol

I had finished sewing for a sweet lady in Texas, so my sewing machine was already out.  It kept calling my name as I puttered around the house feeling bummed.  It's one of my ways to cope along with painting and cleaning, then I can talk to God and ask for help.  

So here's what I've done tonight.  I had a little skirt the the girls outgrew that was the perfect shade of blue.  I held onto it for years just waiting for that perfect way to use it.

See those little ruffles?  

Well, I thought they'd look really cute added to this napkin that I made into a pillow a long time ago.

It just gave it that special little touch and now I have a keepsake from the girls.

Then I added a different ruffle to this one because I didn't have enough of the skirt left.

I love them both!

They kinda remind me of candy....

Then I remembered a photo I had seen on Pinterest of a Union Jack pillow that I fell in love with.  So I went through my fabric and this is what I made.

I'm making some more in pink before I go to bed.  I love this!

I think I'll make another one like this for our bed...maybe make it oblong instead of square.  

So now I'm off to do more sewing...if you all think about it, say a little prayer for me will ya?  God knows I can use them when I get irritated!

A Little Distressing Goes a Long Way

I finally did the distressing on the china cabinet today.  I wanted to share what a difference it made!

This is before distressing...

Now, after...

See the difference?  The handles stand out better.

I just can't believe I've went this long on not painting this sucker!

So much better...I can't stop staring....

And the top got a fresh new look.

Sara goes to the DR in the morning.  There has been a little improvement, so I thank you all for your prayers.

Now, I can get on to other things.   

I have a slipcover I am working on for a dear sweet lady in Texas.  This will be my first time doing this technique and I am so very happy that she entrusted me to do this. 

So stay tuned!

For a Dear Friend

A dear friend of ours was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease some time ago.  It was a shock to all of us...such a wonderful woman full of life and zest!

I know she must have been devastated with the news but has not shown any sign of sitting down and giving up.

  Her husband, Pat, is a co worker of my husbands and that's how we all met.  I fell in love with Connie from the beginning!  Her amazing blue eyes show you the love and compassion she has for others and the fire and determination of not letting anyone or anything to mess with her and her family.

She's a mother of two wild and crazy boys, Patrick and Andy that love her dearly!  They both have her amazing blue eyes...such handsome boys!

Recently, they had a walk for Connie in support of Parkinson's and Momma Jones. 

Everyone wore their shirts proudly.

When I was first taken to the ER two years ago, Pat and Connie were right by my side.  I will never forget them..the worry and love they had in their eyes was just something I will never forget!

They are having a fundraiser this weekend in support for The Michael J. Fox Foundation for      

 Parkinson's Research.https://www.facebook.com/michaeljfoxfoundation?directed_target_id=0

I thought I'd donate something to try and help.  I have always been a huge fan on what Michael J. Fox has done.  This disease is awful for those dealing with it on a daily basis.

One of my pumpkins, lace jar tart burners and a picket fence frame all in a cute pink basket.  You all know how much I love pink!

So if any of you are in the area 7:00 pm Saturday October 12th, check out the fundraiser.  It is being held at Fraternal Order of Eagles, 402 Virginia St. Charleston, WV

  I know it would be greatly appreciated by so many! 

Painting My Woes Away

On top of all that I have to do, our car had to go into the shop Monday...$$$,  Wilbur is missing and Sara is highly deficient with Vitamin D.  

She called me from school telling me she almost passed out.  Any mother's nightmare!  What if she had been driving?  Luckily she was able to lay down and it subsided.  I told her to get home.  Of course I prayed and called, prayed and called until she pulled into our driveway.  She barely made it up the stairs from being in so much pain....poor kid! 

 Now I don't know if you all remember or not, but back about 2 and a half years ago, she had something similar happen and had to be rushed to the ER in an ambulance.  We found out after numerous tests that she suffered with vasovagal, hashimoto's, hypothyroidism and her antibodies were high meaning her body was attacking her thyroid.   Well long story short...here we go again!

I needed an outlet this evening!  So I made the commitment to "finally" paint this old cabinet.  I have loved it for over 10 years, but lately it has been bugging me.  I love wood for awhile but always end up painting.  I just love painted furniture!

It is a pretty piece...but maybe in someone else's home?  Nahh, I wasn't going to get rid of it...I just made it fit into my home!

Our downstairs has one window so I am always trying to make it light and bright.  This wood just wasn't working.

Now it feels more calm...like it belongs.  My eyes don't stop like they used to..it just makes me feel easy breezy!

I couldn't wait to get it finished to see how my hodge podge of china would look.

Pardon the dust...it did look pretty but once the doors were closed, you couldn't see them.  And the doors have to stay closed or we'd end up killing ourselves going the the bathroom and our closet.

Now isn't that easier on the eyes? I still want to distress the cabinet, but Mike was asleep...don't think he'd much appreciate me sanding, lol.

I love it now!  It's got broken pieces, splits that have been repaired, legs missing, it leans back...but it has character now and you can see all the blemishes.  Something I love!  It'll look perfect distressed!

It just blends right into the wall!!!!

Now it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb!  It blends with the office so much better!

And one thing I have to point out and I'll shut up...see how the wood bled through the paint making it creamy instead of white?  That wasn't planned, but a very happy mishap!  

Now I can go to sleep not so wound up with worry...Sara was feeling a little better when she went to bed.  But if you all will, I'd greatly appreciate some prayers for her.  She's had a time health wise.  I know it's one more thing God will get the glory for so I am praying and believing for a healing!