For the Love of Chevron

Well, it's been a while. I love blogging, but I love living life more. It's great to take a break every now & then- from everything-
and concentrate on other things.

A lot has happened in our world since my last post. The weekend before last, we had a very fun, busy weekend! My sweetie got a new vehicle. It was very bittersweet, since he has always been in love with his Land Rover, but its time had come. We are very happy with our new purchase so far, and it's another great family vehicle (for now, that means lots of room for our trips, and plenty of room for the doggies on their vet visits), so we're happy. God is good. :)

We also went to our niece's soccer game that day. Never knew we would have fun while watching little ones run around playing soccer, but we did. We had a great time visiting with his family for the second weekend in a row too. We got to eat lunch at, of course, Chick-fil-A, and shop a little that afternoon. That night, we thoroughly enjoyed the Bama/TN game!! The next morning, I volunteered in the nursery & stayed for church, then got a lot done at home that afternoon. Life is good. :)

This past week was an eventful one. Our "big sister" Jen had a stroke at the first of last week (I call her that because she has always been like a sister to us- she babysat my brother & I when we were little, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding, and she was one in mine). We never would have thought when we visited her the first night in the hospital's Neurological ICU that two days later, she would be coming home, but she did! Praise the Lord for taking care of her, and for continuing to give her a quicker recovery with each new day. Continue to pray for her as she returns back to 100%, because she will- SOON- it will just take some work. She's a fighter! Again, God is good. :)

We had a good time this past weekend- nothing was accomplished at our house, but we spent tons of time with family & friends, and at the end of the day, that's so much more important than clean laundry & a clean house. I went shopping on Saturday with Mom & Mamaw, then we watched the Bama with Zach's dad that night. We spent most of the day Sunday (after church) with Zach's best friend Brett and his sweet family.

On Sunday morning, I was asked to volunteer in the nursery again (I see a pattern here... but I love it!), then we had one of the most awesome church services we will probably ever witness. A local soldier named Josh Wetzel was injured by an IED explosion in Afghanistan, and he & his sweet wife gave their testimony. He lost both of his legs at the knees, but they have put such a positive spin on their experience. Our choir also had a show-stopping (if I do say so myself) version of When the Saints Go Marching In, complete with trombone, drums & other instruments. Wow- I was so excited!

It made me think- why don't we get this excited when every other Sunday rolls around??

Now, enough catching up...on to the project...

So, I am falling more & more in love with the chevron pattern the more I see it- and it is everywhere these days! I happened to see the cover of the October issue of Country Living magazine while at the grocery store the other day...

Google Images

Wow! I loved the design & the colors. Naturally, I decided to try

a version of these myself.

I decided not to use real pumpkins. Reason One: Because they are too pricey for what you get; Reason Two: Because I did not want to spend all that time painting & decorating to them, only to throw them out in late November. Nope!

So, on to the Dollar Tree I went. I picked up two of the same pumpkins that I got there last year (the very ones I re-designed with a little time, paint & Mod Podge). I also picked up a third (just like them!) at the thrift store, and for half the price

(yep, 50 cents).

I decided that since I had three of these to experiment with,

why not paint them all differently? 

With the first pumpkin, I painted it a white chevron pattern, letting the natural orange shine through. At first, I tried applying painter's tape, but it was too wide for the small pumpkin, and was, honestly, too much work. So, I free-handed it with a paint pen. :)

I then filled in the lines with simple white paint on a sponge brush.

I applied a clear coat on this one to protect, and then it was done!

With the second, I painted it the gray & white chevron pattern. I simply spray painted the gray, then free-handed the white chevron pattern in three lines.

  

I still have the third pumpkin sitting, just waiting for a transformation. I think I have finally decided what to do with it. My mom mentioned wanting one, so I plan on making one for her. I know what I'm going to do- I'm thinking scrapbook paper with Mod Podge. I will post if I ever get it done!

For now, I'm just enjoying these two myself.

Happy Halloween to everyone today! My sweetie & I have made a deal to each watch a Halloween movie the other has picked. Last night was my turn, and I thought I would have a blast from the past & watch Casper. I have forgotten how much I liked that movie. It was neat, because I remembered so many lines from it. It's a cute, non-scary Halloween movie. I enjoyed the movie while gobbling up some sausage balls I had made over the weekend...

Yum! Not so healthy, but they're so good!

The same goes for this stuff...

...not really healthy, but it warms you up so well- it just goes so well with the Fall weather we are experiencing!

Tonight is Zach's turn to pick his movie, so we'll see

what he comes up with. :)

Hope everyone has a great rest of the week & weekend...

and Roll Tide!!

Blue Hawk Lea

This is the second gift for my Aunt Renea that I wanted to share with you all! In addition to the frame I made for her (her "chemo-free" gift), I made her a sign for her farm, Blue Hawk Lea.

I picked up some vinyl lettering stickers & scrapbook paper at Hob Lob, and already had a canvas on-hand.

I took a ton of pics, so here goes the step-by-step...

I lined up the scrapbook paper with the canvas:

Traced it:

Cut it to size:

Made sure it lined up:



Applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to the canvas:

Smoothed out any air bubbles by hand:

Flipped the canvas over to let it dry lying flat:

Once dry, I began applying the vinyl lettering:

(Sidenote: At first, I wanted to apply the lettering, paint over the entire canvas, then remove the letters to show the scrapbook paper shining through. But, once I applied the black vinyl letters, I liked them so much the way they were. I wanted to keep it simple, and I was afraid I wouldn't like the finished product if I kept going any further.)

Instagram-ed it, because I'm obsessed... :)

I then added the year it was established, 2009:

(I also added the scrapbook paper to all sides of the canvas for depth. Forgot to take a pic of that step!)

After two coats of Mod Podge on top to protect, it was done:

I am so glad I was able to create something personalized for her farm. I hope she enjoys it for years to come!

A Frame For Aunt Renea

Wow. We've been super busy lately. To summarize, we've been working every day (& Zach, some nights too), gearing up for an upcoming estate & yard sale, and car shopping. I promise- it's not as glamorous as it sounds. Life is still good though, and we're always blessed. As one of my favorite quotes say, "There is always, always something to be thankful for." :)

I'm still not back in project mode yet, but I did want to share two projects I finished up before we left. I had to wait until I gave this to the recipient, which was my Aunt Renea!

I actually created two things for her, but I wanted to split the two projects up into two posts, because I realized I had taken a lot of step-by-step pics in each one.

So, here's the frame first...

This frame was third in line, right after little Silas Finn's & Bryson's frames. I started this one simultaneously with those. Once the paint was applied & drying on one, I would work on the others. I love keeping projects going like that!

Just as with the boys' frames, I started with a simple wooden frame from the thrift store. They also have these super cheap at Wal-Mart & Hob Lob too...

I spray-painted it white to begin with. I then striped it off with blue painter's tape, and went to work painting this pretty pink. Pink is her favorite color (Aerosmith reference, anyone? :)), so I knew I couldn't go wrong. (Side note on the blue painter's tape: I love it! We used it when we painted the interior of our house, but this was the first time I've used it on a project. I am planning to use it even more- I'm thinking a chevron design on some pumpkins!- so we'll see if I still love it!)

To personalize it, I added an "R" with a white paint pen...

I was pretty happy with the way it turned out...



...and she says she loves it too!

I will post next on the sign I created for her farm, so stay tuned!

"Ch-Ch-Changes..."

As promised, I wanted to post a few Before & After pics of our brand-spankin'-new tile floors & new stainless steel kitchen sink.

We'll start with the flooring...

We did have a cheapy hardwood/possibly laminate wood flooring to begin with. We're thinking these were the floors installed when the house was first built. We did like the color of them, but they just looked & felt cheap. It was an absolute disaster having them in the kitchen too, because any liquid spill, and they would buck up. They were also horrible to keep clean, because the cracks in between were just big enough to where things could become lodged, and it was difficult to sweep them out.

We had been wanting ceramic tile for the longest, and finally bit the bullet. We picked them out, and actually ended up agreeing on a porcelain tile. The only difference between it & ceramic tile is that it is actually more durable than ceramic. Win! We picked out matching grout, ordered it, then we made a quick trip to pick it up. Even though he had a little help loading it all at the store, my sweetie unloaded it all by himself when we got home with it. I was sorry I couldn't help, but the boxes of tile weighed a ton!

Now, Befores & Afters... yay! :)

-Kitchen-
BEFORE

-Kitchen-

AFTER

(We are changing up the rugs...they just don't work well with the new flooring...darn! I hate having an excuse to buy something new!)

-Rest of Kitchen & Laundry Room-

BEFORE

-Rest of Kitchen & Laundry Room-

AFTER

  
-Guest Bathroom-
BEFORE  

-Guest Bathroom-

AFTER

-Master Bathroom-

BEFORE

 -Master Bathroom-

AFTER

 

And now, the sink...

-Kitchen Sink-
BEFORE

-Kitchen Sink-
AFTER 

(And I love using my little soap stand- it keeps the sink clean & frees up space!)

It was awesome to leave for our vacay, and come home to "new" house. We are very blessed to be able to improve our home the way we have been lately. We hope to stay here- for a little while longer anyway- so we can enjoy the changes. :)

It's My Blog & I'll Brag If I Want To :)

Just wanted to brag on my sweetie! He sent me just these four pics- these are not even the tip of the iceberg, let me tell ya'- from our trip to WDW. I was too excited to wait on others, so I wanted to post these. Keep checking in for more! I don't know how in the world I will be able to narrow them all down, but I will post

the best of the best soon!

I think they are absolutely breath-taking, but you know, I'm kinda' partial to the photographer. :)

******

Also, just a little household update- my Daisy girl had to have surgery to remove a spot on her little tail last week. She did so well- it was a little more invasive that what Mommy thought it would be, but she did great! She came out with a cone around her neck...

Wow.

I almost panicked, but she took it fine. She has to wear the stinkin' thing for 10 days until she can get her stitches out. It was a little rough the first few days, especially at night when she couldn't sleep really well with it on.

We have heard the sound of the plastic cone hitting many-a door facing lately. She just stops, reroutes, and keeps going. Her daddy told me not to worry about her, because she's a scrapper, and luckily I think he was right about that. :)

Other than that, we have both been busy with work (getting used to reality again), and Zach has been editing photos like crazy at night. I have a few posts to catch up on before I get back into project mode- my Papaw Hoyt had a retirement party a few weeks ago (his second retirement!), and my Mamaw Ruth celebrated her 92nd birthday this past week. I hope to post pics on both

of those shindigs soon!

Hope you all have a great week!