Mirror

i was so excited to get this mirror...i got it free from jeffs grandmother....of course i knew the gold would have to go...i have been looking for a nice decorative one but this one is plain....the key word here is free....i even had all of the other supplies i needed....

here is the before....very nice gold mirror

notice the red on the side? my plan was to paint it red...i got almost done and ran out of red paint...oops...i just grabbed some white and sprayed over it...something made it bubble up...i was using krylon for any surface...i usually don't have a problem with it...just sanded it some and painted it again...

i had a picture of the mirror part but i lost it along the way...i took the mirror out of the frame...i first tried some oven cleaner to strip off the back...it didn't work...i then took some spray on paint stripper and a razor blade to scrape off the mirror film...it took a quite a bit of effort to get it off....i've been reading that some people are having luck with just the oven cleaner...

here is the after....i did this mirror to hang on my gallery wall...if you look close you can see the places on the mirror where it was stripped....i didn't use any fabric on the back...the back of the mirror that holds it in is white...i just decided to let that show through....i'm ok with it for now...i still will be on the look out for a nice decorative one...it works fine with the way i have the wall decorated...

Peace, Love, & Joy

Knife Block

just a quick post to share what i did today....i first found this project over at House Of Hepworths...since i had a knife block already i decided to give it a try....

i painted it black...sanded the edges a little

added some vinyl from my silhouette...i'm just learning how to use it...

Peace, Love, & Joy

Gallery Wall

i had a vision in my head that i could not describe...if i tell jeff what i'm thinking he gives me the "you're crazy" look...i tried to tell him what i wanted to do with the long wall in the living room.. i'm not quite sure he agreed with my plan...the first look came when i brought the $2.00 antlers home from the thrift store...

i painted this wall red several years ago...i wanted an accent wall to go with my rooster decor...i got rid of alot of my rooster decor because it was getting a little out of hand....this is after i had moved a few things...i always start on the bottom of the wall and move up...i had several holes to patch...

here is another view...i wanted to keep some of my georgia things but work in some new decor too...sshhh...i know some of this stuff is tacky...jeff hung it up...

here it is all finished...my antlers...painted white....distressed and painted mirror....a few pics with extra frames....this is just a start...i may change it...but for the minute i love it!!!

thanks for the comments on my red table...now i know i made the right decision!!


Peace,  Love, & Joy

Linking Up To:
Kammys Korner/ Trash 2 Treasure Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Surburbia/ Tuesdays Treasures
Tip Junkie/ Homemade Projects
Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy/ Tuesday Confessional
Not Just A Housewife/ Show Me What Ya Got
Savvy Southern Style/ Wow Us Wednesday
Someday Crafts/ Whatever Goes Wednesday
DIY Crafts And Other Projects/ Whacha Work-up Wednesday
Fireflies and Jellybeans/ Show Off Your Stuff
HOH/ Hookin Up With HOH 

Chili Recipe

since i got married, i have been trying really hard to cook every night...i love trying new recipes...a few weeks ago i made some chili...i didn't use a recipe but i want to share how i made it...it was a total hit here...when they like something, i try to repeat it...we are having it again tonight but this time i am making a double batch...i will freeze whats left over for quick night dinners later...this is just a very basic recipe...

ashleys chili

1 pound ground beef

1 can rotel tomatoes 

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 diced onion

1 can chili beans with sauce

chili powder

garlic powder

salt and pepper

cumin

brown ground beef and drain....chop onion...i don't cook my onion with the beef because i don't like to lose the flavor when draining the grease off...i puree all of my tomatoes...we don't like chunkys here....i have made it without pureeing before but the kids were not that fond of it....chop to your liking...i don't have specifics on the spices...since i can't eat very spicy, i shake out some in my palm to start with..i would guess about 1 teaspoon for the chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin....after the chili cooks for a bit i go back and add more if needed...let it simmer for about 1 hour....

today i am using ground turkey...i also am using my crockpot...i estimate it to take about 5 hours on low to cook to my liking...we love having hot dogs with the chili...tator tots covered with chili and cheese are pretty yummy too!!


Peace, Love, & Joy

Adventures In Soap Making

i saved a homemade soap recipe on pinterest that i have been wanting to try...i'm sure if you are reading this, you are probably saying, why can't she post something that nobody else does??? i see something and i want to try it...

the recipe that i found called for glycerin...i didn't have any of that on hand and was too cheap to buy any...this past week we have been cleaning out my husbands grandmothers house...in the medicine cabinet i found a whole bottle of glycerin....i immediately thought about my pin on the soap...

the original recipe was from savvy housekeeping. i read the whole post and then the comments...a large number of people were saying that the soap didn't turn out and that it was too runny...i've tried making it before and it was a failure...the following is my recipe and how it turned out...

the 1st thing to do is to grate the soap...you need 1 cup of grated soap..i've been saving soap from when it breaks...yeah, that sounds kinda weird i guess...to me it sounds thrifty...i used ivory soap...

after the soap is grated, add it to 5 cups of water...add 1 tablespoon of glycerin to the water...heat until all of the soap melts....

after the soap melted, i put the whole pot into the refrigerator....i read that a few people were letting the soap sit over night and then blending it to make it smooth...the soap was a big glob when i took it out...i used my ninja to process it...

its much smoother now...you can see the difference in the photos....it looks just like the ivory body wash that you can buy...

i filled an empty dispenser and this is what i have left over...don't be jealous over my mt dew bottle...i'm sure that it will settle some...i tried the pump and it came out just fine...hopefully it will not clump up after sitting in the jug...

so comparing the soap recipes i think that using half the amount of water made a difference...the original called for 10 cups and i only used 5 cups...when i made the homemade soap before, i can't remember how much water i used...i didn't blend it either...it was so clumpy that it wouldn't pump and i threw it out...

if the soap doesn't clump i will be making it again...its very cost effective....if you use coupons, ivory can be bought in a 3 pack for less than a $1.00...even if you buy bars of soap at the dollar tree that makes it cheaper than buying one pump soap...

i just wanted to share another copy cat recipe and what i thought about it...thanks for reading!!


Peace, Love, & Joy

Red Sofa Table

my husband and i are complete opposites...which is good i guess because i always heard that opposites attract...when we met, i had a living room full of rooms to go furniture....you know, the kind that comes in a package...you buy a sofa, chairs, end tables, and sofa table...no payments due for 2 years..LOL...i bought the furniture not really thinking about the future or if my taste might change...the sofa is navy blue, the chairs are khaki, and the tables are light wood....or were light wood...about 2 days before our wedding, he decided that he couldn't live with the light wood...i had enough knowledge to know that the wood needed to be sanded...we used pieces of sandpaper by hand...not quite enough sanding to get the glossy finish off...we slapped some dark cherry stain on and 3 years later its finally scratching off....now that i'm a little smarter, i know that the process was all wrong...

one day i will learn to make sure i have my camera ready...i get too excited!! see the light wood? thats the original color...very, light oak...the dark is the cherry stain...i never liked it....sometimes you do things for the person you love...if you look really close, in the background is my "new" sewing machine!!! so excited about it...be on the look out for that post...

here is the back...some kilz on top

here is the RED...that's pretty bright huh? my girls were kinda unsure of the color...i thought jeff would hate it...he loves it!!

 here is the finished table...i used a dark stain to glaze it with...let that dry a bit and then put a coat of wax on it...i left the handles the same color...i thought they looked ok...this table will be used on my gallery wall...i'm trying a new look in my living room...i'll be mixing and matching our GA stuff with some of our personal things...should have that done in the next few days....

here is the table with the georgia print above it...my husband went to university of georgia so that is the reason the red came into the room...this wouldn't be my first choice of decorating but he deserves a room with his stuff, right?

Peace, Love, & Joy

Linking Up  To:
504 Main/ Tickled Pink
Miss Mustard Seed/ Furniture Feature Friday
Fingerprints on the Fridge/ Feature Yourself Friday
Tatertots & Jello/ Show off What you Got
Finding Fabulous/ Frugalicious Friday
Addicted 2 Decorating/ Addicts Not So Anonymous 
Funky Junk Interiors/ SNS
Be Different Act Normal/ Show and Tell Saturday
I Heart Nap Time/ Sundae Scoop
Flamingo Toes/ Think Pink Sundays
Ask Anna/ Weekend Warrior
Debbiedoos/ Newbie Party
Craftomaniac/ Craftomaniac Monday
Between Naps on the Porch/ Metamorphosis Monday
Coastal Charm/ Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Primitive & Proper/ Piece of Work Wednesday
Domestically Speaking/ Power Of Paint

HELP!!!I Made A Decal!!

i've had my silhouette for over a month and this is all that i have accomplished... seriously, don't laugh at me...i have to say that this is one of the hardest things i have ever tried to learn...i've watched videos, searched on google and yahoo, and even looked at crafting blogs to find out how to use this thing...i just don't get it...yes, i read the directions...lol...i will not give up...i have a list a mile long on Pinterest of projects that i'm dying to make... if someone sees this post and is willing to help a girl out, please leave me a comment...in the mean time, i'll be enjoying my new car decal...since its the only thing i can manage to make...

Peace, Love, & Joy

Linking Up To:

HOH/ Hookin Up With HOH

What I've Learned In The Past 3 Years

3 years ago i met my husband....this is our "dating" anniversary! so i want to share the things that i have learned in the past 3 years...its been a long hard road but i wouldn't change it for anything...this is not something i would normally write about on this blog...i will be back to interesting stuff very soon...i'm working on a project that i cut myself 2 times today...hopefully that post will be tomorrow...thanks for taking the time to read about the things that have made me a stronger woman...a better wife....a better person...

i'm going for the condensed version here...this box isn't big enough for what i have to say...


1-money isn't everything
for the longest time i worked to get things i wanted...i went to work sick, gave up maternity leave, and missed out on my kids lives...doing this i felt that i could get ahead in this world..i dedicated my life to a job that cared less about me..i put myself into some of my situations but i guess i was just tired of everything that i had endured...my world came to a screeching halt and i had to change my way of living...in the process i learned that i could live on less money, my chronic pain started to subside, and my family life improved...we take less trips and save more money...i'm happier now than i've been in many years...sometimes its hard to have to say no to my kids when i can't always afford things that they want but most of the time they understand...

2-things happen for a reason
i've been put into situations in the past 3 years that i didn't want to be in...some i didn't have any control over....i didn't like it but i hung in there and things got better...i've been through alot in my lifetime...alot that people don't even know about...i've never had someone that i could count on until now...i've always been the person that someone depended on...now i have someone that  i CAN depend on...god has chosen a plan for me...it took my husband to show me that...my plan is falling into place right now...things that happen can be related to money also...some major changes happened to us and i honestly feel that people thought they were getting the last laugh on us...no way...we are closer, stronger, and happier....i would like to ask them, where are you in your life right now?

3-you find out who your friends are
boy do you ever...people will turn on you in the blink of an eye...they only care about whats gonna happen to them...even if something is right, they will not stand up for you because they are worried it will affect them instead of helping you...i have few friends...there is one that i can count on for everything...she has been there for me since high school...for better or worse....sickness and in health... she knows who i'm talking about..jeff and i also determined that the most important friend that we can have is each other....we are each others "best" friend...

4-i've become more private
if you don't talk to me face to face you probably don't know whats going on with me...i don't share much anymore...i once blogged about stuff but now i have a different blog...if you aren't interested in DIY projects it might be a little boring..honestly, i don't think anybody believed one word i've said anyway or some things may not have happened the way they did...even on facebook, i have people that send me requests all the time to be my friend...sorry, this ain't no number game for me...you spy on me and tell my business you get deleted...

5-don't believe everything you hear
this applies to me...but it also applies to others too...people say things to make themselves look good...they say things to hurt others too...rumors flew that i was a drug addict...i worked in the medical field for a very long time and i was honestly afraid of drug tests...why would i risk that by doing something stupid?? people assumed that jeff was on something too because of his weight loss....no one asked was he sick...they just talked...how about people that lie to cover up a lie?? wow, now that would never happen huh?? so before someone says anything maybe you should say, i don't know if its true or not before they make the statement...or maybe they should just keep their mouth shut...thats just an example...i could go on for days about the rumors...




Peace, Love, & Joy

Night Stand

i posted a dresser i found on facebook that i made over for my tv to sit on...i purchased the night stand with it...i got both pieces for $25....

it was an off white color...not bad to start with...missing both knobs though....

painted it gloss white....found some cheap white knobs and painted them silver....simple, cheap project....

Peace, Love, & Joy

Linking Up To:
Beyond The Picket Fence/ Under $100 Party
At The Picket Fence/ Inspiration Friday

Lamp Refurbish

my son moved out and i have an extra bedroom that i am working on to make a craft/storage/guest room...i will be posting more on that later, but this is one of my 1st projects that i'm doing for the room....


i've had this lamp for i don't know how long....i bought it at a yard sale and it's been sitting around waiting on me to do something with it...i finally got an idea after searching on pinterest...

i know everybody has an opinion, but i actually like the way it looks...just not for my "new" room...

a little bit of primer to get started...i used krylon white paint...its made for any surface....

i picked this color in krylon...i wanted something with a little more gold...the more i look at it the more i like it!!

here is the shade that i will be using...i've tried spray painting one before but no luck with that...i see others doing it with success...not me!

i used kilz with a brush on my shade...it was time consuming and i like spray paint a lot better....after i did a coat of primer, i then applied just plain old gloss white paint...it took about 4 coats...

after i finished painting the shade, i added some burlap flowers onto it...i'm happy with my color choice...i can't wait to add some turquoise accessories in my "new room"...

Peace, Love, & Joy

Linking Up To:
504 Main/ Tickled Pink
Under The Table and Dreaming/ The Sunday Showcase
Debbie Doos/ Newbie Party
Home Savvy A to Z/ Homemade Monday
Between Naps On The Porch/ Metamorphosis Monday
Tip Junkie/ Homemade Projects
A Creative Princess/ It's A Party
 HOH/ Hookin Up with HOH
Fireflies and Jellybeans/ Show Off Your Stuff
504 Main/ Tickled Pink