It must be the season...

...for babies!  I have had a couple of baby showers to do cookies for in the last couple of weeks!

The first set was for Shaunna...the theme was lace, pearls and gold.  Hmmmmm, not your ordinary baby shower theme, so I had to do a little brainstorming!  She wanted baby bottles, rattles and baby faces.  This is what I came up with:

I used a lace technique that I first saw here.    Pardon the glare...it is sort of hard to see it one the rattles, but I love how they turned out!  I incorporated the "pearl" just using Pearl Luster Dust on the bottles and handles of the rattles.  Little baby faces are pretty self explanatory!  Each cookie was bagged and tied with a light pink ribbon...which of course I forgot to take a picture of!

This past weekend, I did a little boy baby shower for Darlene.  She was going with a nautical theme and decided on whales, sailboats and anchors.  The anchors are royal icing transfers that I made using clip art off of the internet.  These are some of my own personal faves...and oh so fun to do!

  

Since they were giving them out as "thank you's", she printed up some tags for me to attach when bagging.  How cute do they look all bagged up?!

Love them all!  Thanks girls, for letting me play a small part in your baby showers!

Till next time...

Burger Baskets...

 ...cheese please...hold the mayo!

Totally confused?   Don't be...this idea has been rambling around in my head for about 2 years! 

When Melissa told me they were going to a multi-family bar-b-que at her friend Jody's, I knew I finally had my reason to make my idea come to life!

All I needed to know was how many kids there would be.  That number was 10...no problem!  This is what I came up:

How fun, right?!  When I said I had been thinking about these for 2 years, I wasn't kidding!  That is about when I picked the baskets up at Joanns on clearance for 90% off.  They have been patiently waiting in the closet waiting for their day to shine!  I made the french fry holders with my Silhouette.  Of course, no fry would be complete without something to dip it in...so I made little "ketchup" cups!

Whatcha' think?  Kinda cute huh?!  I was told they were quite a hit!

While I have you here, I will share my latest Goodwill find.  To say it needs some TLC, is putting it mildly...but for only $6, I know that Kelli can always use extra storage in her master bathroom.

It doesn't look TOO bad from that picture.  Now for it's "issues":

Yep, it's a hot mess for sure.  Of course it is not even close to being real wood and the lovely pressboard is going to be a challenge, but I love a good challenge!  BTW, wasn't it nice of them to throw in the pieces that were once part of the back of this thing?!  Yeah, like I am going to just glue those pieces back together...sheesh!

Stay tuned for it's makeover...

This post linked to:

House of Hepworth

I cannot believe...

it has been almost two weeks since I have blogged!  In my defense, the first week I was gone about 4 days, so that was part of the reason.  Last week...I got nothing!

Seriously...I wanted to blog, but I really had nothing to share.  Having said that, it was a busy cookie week, so I will have a few things to share this week!

This post however, involves the bench I showed you a few weeks back that my niece gave me (thanks, Lisa and Brent!).  Remember...she was on her way to the Goodwill and she thought she should check with me first.  I am so glad she did!  This project is going towards the top of my list of all time favorite "afters".

Let's refresh your memory.  This is what the bench looked like before:

At first glance, I thought I was probably going to have to replace all the wood but after taking the entire bench apart, I decided it wasn't necessary.  Instead, I sanded each piece and because it had clearly sat in, probably years of sun, most of the "finish" was long since gone and it really did not take me that long at all.

So with a little elbow grease, a couple of cans of spray paint and stain, a handmade stencil (with my Silhouette) this is what she looks like now:

 

Please pardon my "staging"...this sucker is HEAVY, so I wasn't about lugging it back to the pool!  Having said that...we did haul it to our family photo site and used it in our pictures!

Another view:

I could not wait to get at this project...I had a vision from the get go...it included this:

 A few details...I used Rustoleum's, Seaside in Gloss, the stain is Minwax Special Walnut (my go-to stain these days!).  For the stenciling I just used craft paint that I had on hand.  I replaced all the screws and where they had cheap plastic screw cover thingy's, (yes, that is the technical name for them), I used wood ones.  I did several coats of satin polyurethane over all the wood to finish it off.  So for approximately $15, I think it is a "better than new" bench...what do you think?

Sadly, it is not going by my pool because I don't really have enough open space for it.  It is going to Kelli's...I think she is a pretty lucky girl!

One more peek:

 I have quite a few cookies to share, so be sure and stop back by soon!

Till then...

This post linked to:

House of Hepworth
My Repurposed Life
Finding Fabulous
Miss Mustard Seed  

How about some cookies...

...since that was what my blog was originally started for!  I have had some fun orders recently...and a bunch coming up in May, that I can't wait to share with you!

I did a golf gift box for Angela's dad..I love doing the little greens/fairways...so fun!.

Kelli was lucky enough to make a recent trip to London and Paris, she wanted cookies to give to her "team" at work to thank them for helping her out while she was gone.  What says thank you better than "Merci" and the Eiffel Tower?!

One of Kelli's besties, Meredith, recently became a certified nail technician, so we thought cookies were in order for her as well.  I apologize for the glare of the packaging...I forgot to take the pic before putting them in the bags. 

Ever heard of Goldilicious?  Well, I had not until I was notified by Corie that she wanted cookies for her daughter's birthday.  Apparently Goldilicious has a unicorn sidekick, no name to my knowledge, so this is what I came up with:

It has been a busy "cookie" time and as I said...I have lots more coming up this month.  

I do have to share a little sneak peek of what's to come.  My niece called last weekend to see if I would be interested in an outdoor bench that she was giving to the Goodwill.  All I needed to know was if it was sturdy, I would take care of the rest!  I mean, who passes up something that is "free.99"...not me.  This is what I have to work with:

It is somewhat of a hot mess, but it is one heavy bench and will be well worth my efforts to make it beautiful again!  I probably don't even need to tell you that it is already torn apart.  I was dying to get at this one...I have some really cute ideas for it...stay tuned!

Till next time...

This project is done!

I am going to start by showing you my little cabinet re-do.  But, since we last chatted, I have also finished my lamp for guestroom #2, so I am going to share it as well.  While I am at it, I will show you a couple other little details for the room as well (and by room, I mean the bedroom and it's adjoining bath).

I will refresh your memory by showing you the little cabinet that I picked up at Dorie's sale.  This is the before:

So cute...but definitely need some TLC.  I decided to use the same two tone color combination that I used for the furniture in the adjoining bedroom.  Annie Sloan "Coco" for the piece itself and "Old White" for the drawers and door.  Here is what she looks like now:

It looks a little different, huh?  I love it and  it fits perfectly on this little wall in the outer bathroom.  I purchased the knobs and handles at Hob Lob for $1.50 each.

I wanted something a little different to hang above it.  I should say, that I think people got the wrong impression from this cabinet...they thought it was bigger than it actually is.  It only comes to about my waist, so it is not very big at all!

Anyhoo, I will apologize in advance for not remembering where I saw the original piece that inspired me for what I call my "3-D Wall Art".   I can't even remember if it was someone's blog or Pinterest, but this is what I came up with:

 
I used the same wood fencing that I used on both my clock and my centerpiece boxes.  I like the look and I love that it is so cheap!  The stain on this is Minwax "Weathered Oak".  I purchased the wine bottles from Hob Lob when glass was on sale...they were $1.50 each.  I purchased the flowers from there as well, I was too impatient to wait for them to be on sale, so I bucked up and paid the full amount...$2 each!  The things that are holding the bottles are just plumbers clamps...I did not like the industrial look of the metal, so I painted them with Rustoleum's "Oil Rub Bronze".  Easy peasy and the whole project was only about $15...not bad!

Here is what it looks like hanging above the cabinet:

As if you are probably not already on "reveal overload", I am going to share the last piece I needed for the guestroom and bath.  I have been making weekly trips to Home Goods for about a month and a half looking for the perfect lamp.  Never did find one...I see them all the time when I am not looking.  So, I was forced to do the next best thing...create one myself!

I was desperate enough one day to pick up this lovely jewel from the Goodwill.  It was $4.99, and really not worth it, but I was determined to make it work...somehow!

Not much to write home about...go ahead and say it, I totally agree!  I also picked up a basic drum shade from Home Goods, but it was too "white" for that room.  It left me two choices...paint it or cover it, I opted for the latter!  I had coral fabric left over from the bench and valance that I recovered, so I used that.  I painted the base Coco.  Here is what it looks like now:

How about those cute little flowers I made via Pinterest.  Love them!

I will continue to be on the lookout for a better lamp base, but I can definitely live with this one if I don't find something I am in love with!

One last peek at my little cabinet:

That's it for me folks...I have pretty much shown you everything but a few cookies that I will share with you next time.  Till then...

This post linked to:

My Repurposed Life