I wanna hold your ha-a-a-a--a-and....

I scored some sweet scrap wood pieces from my grandpa's "woodshop" behind his house. It didn't take me long for the ideas to pour out. Actually, Coop gave me the idea for this one, in a way. He saw the wood, he saw the paint, and said "paint my hand, mom!" Soooo.....the idea was born!

I'm totally into the green/blue combo these days. And, while the rest of my house is very thoughtfully decorated, my bedroom has suffered a bit in that area. Since blue/green won't match a-ny-thing in the rest of my house, I thought.....you know?? Favorite colors in my bedroom....not such a bad idea! :)

I don't have step-by-step pictures for you, but the process is pretty easy.

• First, sand the piece of wood you'll be working with.

• THEN, paint the base color the color of your choice (I just used craft paint!) and let dry

Sand a little bit, especially the edges.

• Next, stamp your hand with a different, coordinating color. (I painted my hand, then stamped it, I didn't go for the dip/stamp method) and let dry. FYI, I don't have a forked alien double pinky. Cooper decided to help during that part.
  

Sand again

• It's your munchkin's turn. I painted his hand, then stamped it. And it's super tickly when you paint their hand!

Yoouuuuuuuu guessed it! Sand, again!

• I added a little heart that I painted with a Q-tip. I wasn't super thrilled with how the heart turned out, but the perfectionist in me just decided to be "ok" with it.
• Add a little clear varnish on top to seal in all of the cute-ness, and voila! All done!

I paired it with another project that I'll show you soon and it couldn't be more perfect in my room!

Total cost? $0. Even better!

I'm linking up here (my first time to link up!) at A Diamond in the Stuff. Check her blog out while you're there....today's post is AWESOME!!! Anybody have some extra circle frames lying around??

A little Valentine action

A little paint, some scrap wood, vinyl cut out using my Cricut (and mini monograms cartridge) and suddenly there's a lot of kisses and hugs in the air. Even with my anti-Valentine's day campaign that is currently running from now until...........forever, I have to admit, I kinda love it!

Sugar - part II

I l-o-v-e the sugar scrub.

During one of my most recent cooking disasters, I discovered that it works wonders when scrubbing a thick layer of burnt grossness off of a pan. Smells great, feels good, and it's HANDY! Who could ask for more??

So, a friend made some for her mom in a large Mason jar. And she called me with a question: "Ummmm.....how's mom going to reach the sugar at the bottom of this huge jar?" Not real sure why I haven't thought of that. SO......

During one of my most recent Goodwill adventures, I found some GREAT spoons! 8 for 99 cents. What?!?!
and, then.......sad face......i took a closer look once I had already made the purchase and sealed the deal.

Whoopsie. Really?? United...like, the airline??? Have you ever seen a real spoon during a flight? Not me! Dilemma. But nothing that some seed beads and ribbon/lace can't fix.


Speaking of sugar....my sugar bowl got a little makeover a couple of weeks ago. I happen to love it, too! :)

We're breaking up...I hope

I have a love/hate relationship with my Cricut.

I love that I can do a lot with it (scrapbook, vinyl, paper crafts, etc.)

What I don't love is that cartridges are so stinkin' expensive! I almost peed my pants the day I found one at Goodwill for 5 bucks. And....do you know that I bought one for $35 (plus shipping!) just for my son's birthday party decorations?!?!? Haven't used it a single time since!

I'd like to break up with my Cricut and focus on a new friend: The Silhouette.

One of the Blogs I follow is 'Keeping it Simple' and I love it. Kaysi (great name, right? :) announced that she has a GIVEAWAY for The Silhouette!

I entered, so you go there and enter, too! I'll give you the link, you do the rest! Good luck! I'll only stay mad at you for a little while if you win, instead of me. BUT, I'll let you use it sometimes if I win! :)

Somethin' Special

I've been on a craftin' rampage this weekend. So many ideas!

I've recently fallen in L-O-V-E with finding deals and bargains and treasures at antique shops, Goodwill, and other resale shops. I found a SUPER cool frame (plastic...whatever!) at Goodwill for 39 cents and had my heart set on an earring holder, like ones I've been seeing in blogland. HOWEVER, creativity struck and I found an alternate use for it that I think is pretty stinkin' cute!


I love it!~

Pay no mind to my poor, poor berry wreath that I've had for 10 years (10 YEARS!). Touching up those faded berries needs to be higher on my list.

The heart says "YOU ARE SPECIAL" and it was attached to a Bath and Body Works gift set that I got when I was a freshman in high school.... Yep...back in the "Sun Ripened Raspberry" days!

Umm...wondering if it's more of a problem that I hold on to things for so long or that I can remember the exact moment I got them?!?

Anyway, here's a close-up!


I think I'd be happy to walk in to a home that reminded me just how special I am! :)

Quotes of the year

While out "junking" today, my friend Lacey and I scored some pretty sweet deals at a local resale shop. Our grand total combined?? $3!!!

Last week, a super special friend of mine (Rachael Edge Kiker!) came over to visit. She wanted to see my new crib, so I showed her around. She commented on a really sweet mirror I have that I found at Hobby Lobby. The original price - - - - $99.99. My price? $9.99! I kept the tags on because I was so proud of that bargain.

Rach said "Some people need drugs, I just need a good bargain!"

And later, Lacey and I were talking about "junk" and she said... "My craft mantra: It's cheaper than therapy!"

Amen. And amen.

Therefore, I'd like to officially declare these as the best quotes of 2011! :)

P.s. Go see Lacey's great site - - here! She's got your card needs covered...and they'll be the cutest things you've ever seen!

Pour a little sugar on it, honey!

Know what I love?? Sugar scrub. I like to call it "sugah scrub". Way more southern. Way more fun to say.

Know what I don't love about sugar scrub?? Sometimes I like to use sugar scrub by the kitchen sink, since a lot of my hand washing happens there. I've purchased some great ones, and even made some great ones with a recipe I googled, and they have left my skin feelin' smoothy smooth. BUT....I really am not too crazy about my kitchen sink being oily or super highly fragranced by those scrubs. Know what I mean??

Here comes the latest great idea: (pretty sure I'm the last person on the planet to try this, but maybe it'll come in handy to bloggy friends, too) I'm super excited about this because I'll be sugar scrubbing at the sink all the time, now!


What you'll need:
Mason jars
Sugar
and DAWN "Hand Renewal with Olay Beauty" dishsoap. That's right. DISHSOAP!

I used the Pomegranate Splash HOWEVER, one of my favorite-avorite smells eeever is Lavender. And there is a Lavender scent of this dishsoap, too! Yay!

Fill the jars up about 3/4 full or so with sugar, top with dishsoap, and stir with a butter knife.

Note: Don't ask how I know this, but DO NOT TRY TO STIR WITH A SPOON! Hot mess!

Mine's plain jain sitting on my cabinet, which suits me fine because I'm a huge fan of mason jars, but if you're gifting, I'll lead you in the direction of some cute-sy ways to decorate them - - click the link below!

Might I recommend this site to you!?!? The Gaines Gang Super cute blog. Follow her while you're there. Annnd.....I didn't bother with any pictures because she has the best pics of the process there. Go! Follow! Do it!