Trash to Treasure: Man Edition

Trash to Treasure: Man Edition...

While driving home from a birthday bash on Saturday, I spotted this on the side of the road...
Not the little boy, the GO-KART!!!! Well, I went on home and told husband all about it. He couldn't believe that someone would throw this out. But, he went back with the "man truck." Not 10 minutes later...he came home with one fabulous GO-KART. It wouldn't start, thus the trashing of it. However, after husband took some part or another off and "flushed" it out, it started right up. Go figure! Husband has wanted one of these since time began. Really. We are all enjoying the new trash to treasure man toy. As you can see here:

Did you see all of those smiles? You just never know what kind of treasure you will find on the side of the road. When we lived in Germany it was called "junking." When we lived on post it was called "dumpster diving." Now that we live "on the economy," (we rent a house off post) it's just called digging in the trash. Whatever you call it, one man's trash is another family's treasure.

Have a great evening ladies.

The Tray that Transformed and a Converted Cheese Ball Cover

The Tray That Transformed and a Converted Cheese Ball Cover: AKA Trash to Treasure Tuesday. (For a look at all of the fabulous trash to treasure ideas visit http://www.reinventedkb.com/ )

Hello ladies. Welcome to the mansion this fine Trash to Treasure Tuesday.

Last week I went "junking." I hit the goodwills, the thrift shops, and the flea malls. While junking, I found this tray pictured above. I bought it up because I loved the size and shape of it, not because of it's aesthetic value. Anyways...it was a steal. I also came upon a cute cheese ball cover and base. I grabbed that up too. Here is a pic of it...

But first, the tray. I have been seeing some really cute chalkboard trays. So, I decided to make my ugly tray into a cute chalkboard. I got a can of chalkboard spray paint and coated the tray.While the tray was drying, I cut out a stencil of the letter "T."
When the tray was VERY dry, I placed the stencil on the tray and dabbed it with white paint. I removed the stencil and finished the "T" up with a fine tip paint brush. Now, as for the cheese ball cover...I first epoxied a dollar store candle holder to the bottom of the plate. Next, I painted the plate black with a paint brush and some craft paint. When it was good and dry, I put a coat of sealant on it.

So...once again, here is the after pic of both trash to treasure projects. The projects cost around 11.00. They were quite fun and add a punch to a bland corner of my kitchen.

Thanks to you all for stopping by. Check in again on Friday for the May giveaway. TaTa for now...

2 Remnants + 6 Chairs = 1 Happy Lady

Hello there all. Welcome to the mansion this fine Friday.

You know how you sometimes have great plans for something...and then the plans go somewhat astray? Well, this has happened on this post. I planned to show you some how-to pics and I inadvertently erased the pics. Dread... So, we will make do. Improvise!

Anyhow...I wanted to recover my 6 dining room chair seats. The animal print I had going on just didn't go with my new and improved neutral "look." So, off I went to the Fabric Barn. I love upholstery fabric, but it is so darn expensive. I headed straight for the remnant table. There, you can get 2-3 yard pieces for around 6 bucks a yard. Not bad considering that they usually cost between 14.00 and 30.00 per yard.

I looked and looked for the perfect piece for my chair seats. I found two remnants that I loved, but neither of them was enough to do all six chairs. Much mental deliberation....A-haaaaaaaaaaaaa. I will cover the two arm chairs with one fabric and the four other chairs with a different fabric. Fabulous. WARNING: Do not be alarmed. Not every chair in your dining room has to match all the other chairs. So, I left Fabric Barn with two remnants for 18.00.Now, let me show you how it turned out, and then I will tell you how to do it too...

This is the fabric for the four side chairs. Very nice....It is kinda goldish and kinda taupeish all at the same time. I like. Here is one of the arm chairs...

This fabric here is a strip with black, grey, cream, and the same taupeish-goldish color of the other chairs. I like.

I had some fabric leftover, so I decided to make a little something for the wall...here it is

I had an extra frame, so I embroidered our monogram on the extra fabric, and voila...wall stuff.

OK... here is how to recover the dining chair seat:

1. Remove the seat. This is usually done by unscrewing four screws on the underside of the seat. When this is done, the seat will just come right off.

2. Lay the seat on top of your new fabric. Draw around the seat with a pencil adding about three inches everywhere. You will need extra to pull under the seat and staple.

3. Cut the piece out that you just drew. Put your chair seat on the fabric piece and start pulling the excess fabric toward the center of the seat and staple the fabric to the seat.

4. Put the seat back on the chair with the same four screws. Got it?

Here is a pick I found of what I have just explained...kinda...

There ya have it ladies. 6 chairs recovered and one piece of art for a mere 18.00 dollars. The chairs are going to look great in the new "mansion." Can't wait to show you when I get there. Have a great weekend.

WaHOOOOOOOOO!

WaHOOOOOOOO Wednesday!!!!


Howdy all. Welcome to the mansion this evening. It's Wednesday....glorious Wednesday. "Why," you ask is this day soooooo FAB? Well...let me count the reasons:


1. All the thrift stores are open today.


2. Goodwill stores are open today.


3. All three of my children are in school...all day. WaHOOOO.


4. My mansion is clean. (This helps to alleviate shopping guilt.)


So...after dropping the tiniest Teague at Mom's Day Out, Mom headed to town. I started at the farthest haunt and shopped my way home. I hit one thrift store ,(on Maxwell Airbase....gotta love thrifting from a military store. Well traveled ladies selling their gently used gems.) two Goodwill stores, and one FABULOUS flea market. I didn't even make it to the best store of all, I pooped out before I got there. No matter....treasures were found in abundance. Take a LOOK!

Yes....that is a gigantic cloche that you see there. I have to admit that when I rounded the corner on that baby...I almost screamed out loud. I have been wanting one for the longest, but would not pay the huge price wanted for one. So...I gladly donated 7.50 to the thrift store for the big one above.

I also found 5 small lamp shades for my revamped chandelier. Gave 4 bucks for those.

Now....see all that Milk Glass? I have been hunting these beauties on ebay for some time. I finally bought one the other day and paid 12.00 with shipping. (for one!) I got 8 milk glass vases and compotes today. I paid between 1.50 and 4.00 for each one. Great deals. I also found two milk glass plates...fabulous.

Had to snag up the cheese ball cover and base. 4 bucks. I am going to make a trash to treasure with that little guy.

I am a sucker for anything "made in Germany." Found three gorgeous plates and a great white bowl from Deutchland. Yippeee.

And, last but not least is the UGLY wooden tray. I am going to revamp that thing. You won't even believe it when it is done. (Stay tuned)

I only do this type of thrifting every several months. Some Wednesdays are a big bust. Other Wednesdays are WaHOOOOOO Fabulous. This one definitely got the WaHOOOOO.

You never know what you might find at these great stores. I liken it to a momtastic treasure hunt. Go out and hunt ladies. Look for treasures every where.

Have a great night.

Picaso ain't got nuttin on me!

AKA: Trash to Treasure Tuesday! See all of the Trash to Treasure ideas at http://www.reinventedkb.com/ .


Hello everyone. Welcome to the mansion this evening. A few days ago I was searching the web and found this picture of some DIY art at Better Homes and Gardens.

See the two canvases in the background? I liked them right off. I needed something to cover quite a bit of space in the new craft room at the next mansion. So....ran through the mental check list: canvases...check (I salvaged them from the attic and spray painted them the other day), paint...check, and bowls...check. Can do. So, I gathered the stuff.

I squirted some of one of the colors of paint into a paper plate. Then, I used a paint brush to apply some paint to the rim of a bowl. Flipped the bowl over and placed it on the canvas. I did this several times. Then, I switched colors and bowls. Etc....

And, here the canvases are after they dried. Kinda hard to see, but I used three different colors, three sized bowls and added a small round sponge at the end.

Now I have art for the craft room. Free and fabulous. Trash to treasure until the next time I need a "change."

Dinner, Discuss, Dessert

Hello all. Welcome to the mansion this Sunday evening. It is time for Dinner, Discuss, Dessert.

Dinner: The Teagues had baked potato soup for dinner. Yum

Discuss: Well...here I sit watching the Miss USA Pageant. Why???? I don't really know. It is on... For a full 40 minutes or so, the girls were walking across the stage (and across the world) in less fabric than comprise my underwear. I thought, "I hope one of them doesn't fall down. Cause if she does, something is gonna fall out of that little triangle of fabric."

As the girls walked across the stage, a score showed up above her head. 8.5...9.1...8.1... So, not only are the poor girls 7/8ths naked, they are also ranked in their nakedness for all the world to see. Why are we doing this? What is the point of this "show?" What does this display say about who we are as a people? What messages are being sent out to our young girls and boys?

I certainly don't have the answers to these questions. So...let's see what God has to say. GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995) I want women to show their beauty by dressing in appropriate clothes that are modest and respectable. Their beauty will be shown by what they do, not by their hair styles or the gold jewelry, pearls, or expensive clothes they wear. 1 Timothy 2:9 GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995) This is what is proper for women who claim to have reverence for God.
1 Timothy 2:10 Hmmmmm.....God wants women to show their beauty by dressing in appropriate clothes that are modest.... Seems pretty clear.

I don't know God's motives, but why might He want women to present themselves in a modest and respectable way? Christ declared “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the man through whom the stumbling block comes!” (Matthew 18:7) By the way we dress, we can either be this stumbling block to our brothers in Christ (and other men and women), or we can strive to remove these stumbling blocks from before them by dressing modestly. Why would we want to cause someone to lust? Why would we want to open the door for others to walk around half naked?

I think that it is great for girls to have opportunities to win scholarships, learn to speak well in front of others, and have good sense of self. I just wish that we had a different forum in which to win and achieve these things.

Before we put a "toddler in a tiara," maybe we should think about what we are trying to accomplish.

What do you all think?

Dessert: Chocolate Crock Pot Cake (recipe to follow)

Chocolate Crock Pot Cake

1 box of chocolate cake mix

4 oz instant chocolate pudding box

16 oz sour cream

4 eggs

1 cup of water

3/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, eggs, water, and oil in a bowl. Mix with a hand mixer for two minutes or so. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a greased crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. Serve warm with ice cream. Yum...

Laura

Is That My Head In A Jar?????

Hello to you all. Welcome to the mansion today. Hope you are having a wonderful Friday. This is eat out day for the Teagues, so I am really...excited.

I wanted to share a great idea I found over at Photojojo.com .

Jar Photo Frames!

The photo above is from photojojo.com. They are wonderful. They have tons of cool photo ideas over there.

Anyways...Here is the dealio... You just collect yourself some jars. Pickle jars...olive jars...jelly jars...soda bottles...etc. Then, you decide which photos you would like to use in the jars. Cut them to fit and toss them in. The glass gives the photos a 3D look. Really neat. Here are some more pics of the idea...

This is Casey and your's truely on a cruise with the gang.

Here are Chelsea and Parker several years ago.

And, here is another from photojojo.com . I love the little short one. How cute is that.

I was thinking....How wonderful would a bunch of these be in black and white with red tissue paper stuffed in behind the photo on the mantle around Christmas time? I think that I will surely try that out this year.

Have a great weekend. See you back here on Sunday for Dinner, Discuss, Dessert. Laura

Someone Else's Cute Skirt

Howdy ladies. Welcome to the mansion today. My sister-in-law, Julie, over at elphants, zebwas twains, and wobots, did a most fabulous thing this week. I just have to share it with you all.

She made a table skirt "mis"treatment. For those of you not familiar with the term "mis"treatment, you need to visit The Nesting Place. The Nester tells you all about mistreating windows and tables and vanities. Basically, this involves making something look great with fabric and a hot glue gun instead of dragging out the sewing machine. * Why use a pattern and a measuring tape when you have two perfectly good eyes to eyeball it with????? *Nobody is going to look at the back of it, so who cares what it looks like back there????? See how the "mis"treatment works?

Here is Julie's desk before the skirt "mis"treatment...




You can see all the electronics underneath... Little fingers can mess with stuff under there.... But then,

Oh...My...Goodness. Martha aint got nuttin on Julie. Extreme Makeover: Desk Addition.

For the full deal on how to do this visit Julie or the Nester (Look under window mistreatments). In a nutshell, hot glue your fabric to the sides of your piece. Pull the remainder of the fabric all the way to the front of the piece, find the center, and hot glue it to the front center of your piece. Then, make a pleat on either side of the center that you hot glued and hot glue them too. I know...makes no sense. So.... go visit the ladies mentioned above. Have a great day. Laura

The Kids Have Taken Over The Mansion

The kids have taken over the mansion this week. It's spring break at East Memorial Christian Academy. So....what to do with the kiddies for 10 days....hummmmmm. We shall feed the birds......

We made some orange bird feeders for the backyard. The kids had a great time. It was a bit messy, but mansions are washable. Check it out.

First, cut the oranges in half.

Next, scoop out the orange meat with a spoon. It helps to score the orange first.

Then, punch a hole on either side of the oragne with a hole puncher.

Put some wild birdseed in a bowl. We put 3 cups for four orange halves.

Throw in some peanut butter. We put three big spoon fulls. Mash is all up.

Oh...forgot to tell you to lick the paper off of the top of the peanut butter jar.

Now, fill the orange halves with the seed mixture. Add some rafia to each side where you punched the holes.

Tie the oranges to a tree and you are done.

And what do ya know.....our first customer. Look to the orange on the right. A cute little birdie. Have a great day ladies. Laura

Dinner, Discuss, Dessert

Hello ladies. Welcome to the mansion this fine Easter evening. I hope you all had a wonderful day with family and friends.

The Teagues attended a great church service this morning and then headed out for a HUGE lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse. Yum. Because of the belt busting lunch, we didn't have DINNER. So...there will be no Dinner or Dessert, only Discuss this evening.

Discuss:

During worship this morning we sang, "In Christ Alone," by the Newsboys. The song starts kinda slow and then builds to this...."Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again..." I LOVE that song!

He Rose! He is Risen

Matthew 28:5-7 says, "The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He is risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay."

He Rose! He is Risen! He is Alive!

Matthew 28:18-20 says, "Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age."

He Rose! He is Risen! He is Alive! He has Commanded!

Jesus died that we might live. Live to testify here and forever.

42 times in the New Testament Jesus tells us to get His word out. While this Easter day may almost be to a close, our work day is not over.

Phillipians 2:9-11..."Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Every knee has not yet bowed down. Every tongue has not yet confessed. There are more ears needing to hear and more hearts needing to embrace. Continue the good work ladies. Bless you and your families this day. He is with us....

Laura

Out With The Old...In With The New

Hello Ladies. Welcome to the mansion this evening. Have you ever walked into your mansion and thought...."I hate it!"? Well...I did that the other day. So, nothing doing (whatever that means...) I had to make a change. A little tricky considering that we leave this mansion in 5 weeks. I am saying bye bye to these things....

And, I am saying "Hello" to things like this....

This has inspired a lot of spray painting...

Today I worked on things for the new mansion bathroom. I decided to go with a birdie and nestie kinda thing. I saw this over at http://www.nestingplace.blogspot.com/

Hey...I just spray painted two nice black frames... I think I can, I think I can...

I cut some craft paper to fit into both of the 4X6 frames. The paper has little wings on it....get it???? birdies!

Then I hot glued some little nests and eggs onto the glass of the frames. I so...love these. They will adorn my new bathroom wall. While I was at it, I decided to frame a picture of some bird eggs that I found on the web.

Oops...wrong pic.... That's Nate. He is helping me arrange my ribbons. Here is the picture of the bird eggs.

I saved and enhanced the picture. I spray painted two mats that I had laying around and spray painted the frame. Instant art. I love it when that happens. So...three new things for the bathroom for the price of two little nests and six little plastic eggs. That's a "camo" project that can't be beat.

Sorry this post was so...long. I just had a lot to say. Love, Laura