{Glazed Turquoise Front Door}

As soon as we moved into our home in November, I knew I wanted to make over our front door.  For starters, there was a nice plastic No Soliciting sign "welcoming" all those who entered.  Yeah.  That found its way to the trash can pretty quickly.  Next, I didn't love the color.  It was a pale beige-ish yellow that didn't do anything for me.  I don't have a decent picture, but you can sort of see the color in this photo...

I wasn't quite sure which direction I wanted to go with the door until I saw this, from Sonya at Beyond the Screen Door.

I know.... gorgeous, right?!  While I didn't go quite this bold (yet), I do now have a turquoise door of my very own.

I used True Turquoise paint from Glidden, found at Home Depot, which is a beautiful light turquoise/robin's egg blue.  After priming with an oil-based primer, I applied two coats of the paint. Having never worked with oil-based paint before, it was a learning experience.  For starters, it goes on kinda sticky and not as smooth as latex paint.  Then, it took forever to dry.  I realize I painted in January, but considering I painted on a mid-70 degree day, that surprised me.  I had to wait almost 24 hours to apply the second coat. 

I applied the first coat with a roller brush, but I didn't like the stippled effect it left on the metal door.  So the second coat was applied with a brush.  I wanted some brush strokes to be able to grab onto some of the glaze later on in the process.

I initially was going to apply a glaze/paint mixture similar to Sonya's method, but then I found a can of Wiping Stain in my garage and decided to use that instead.  I used an old rag to apply it to the painted surfaces in long strokes, concentrating more stain around the trim and door patterns to accomplish more patina.  I let it dry about 10 minutes, then wiped some of the stain off with a clean rag until I acheived the look I was going for. 

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...

I love walking in through my pretty new door... in fact, sometimes I go in that way instead of the garage just so I can look at it again!  Care to join me?  Come on in!


Now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do on the inside...

Back to Life. Back to Reality.

After a blissful six days in Mexico, it's back to the daily grind again around here.  While I catch up on a week's worth of work and attempt to bounce back from the exhaustion... here are some pics for you to enjoy.

I've got some new things to to share with you in the shop and a crafty post coming your way... stay tuned!

{Friday Faves} President's Day

Monday is President's Day... and while I'm enjoying fun and sun in Mexico, how 'bout you try out some of these fantastic ideas for la Dia del Presidente?  (spoken like a true gringa, right?)

Dana's President's Day Tee Tutorial is adorable!

photo credit: MADE

I Am Momma Hear Me Roar has created President Pillow Perfection (Look at that button!)

photo credit: I Am Momma Hear Me Roar

These Mini President Figurines on How-Tuesday are so Cute!

photo credit: How Tuesday on Etsy

Or if you're up for a little Presidential stitching... here's a great pattern from Wild Olive.

photo credit: Wild Olive

Have a wonderful weekend and an even more wonderful President's Day! 

Cancun, Take Me Away!

The past five weeks have been exhausting... it began with my youngest falling and breaking her jaw, followed by a corneal abrasion and resistance to a blended diet.  Then my oldest was at home for a week with fever, followed the next week by the youngest having fever (and FLU).  Like a good mama, I couldn't let my kids suffer alone, so I too succumbed to the flu bug.  End that week with throwing a birthday party for my oldest and you're left with a worn out mama.

Thankfully, I'm headed south in two days to Mexico for a getaway with my hunky husband.

We will return to our regularly scheduled creative good times soon!

{Puppy Party} Welcome to Six...

It was a special day for a very special girl...

Although she's not technically six yet, having a party for a big six year old was quite a milestone, probably for me more than for the birthday girl.  Six.  She's not a baby anymore... *weep*

She asked for a puppy party - so a puppy party it was!  Here's a little peek of the fun that was had today:

Looking through the pictures, I wish I'd have captured more of the setup.  There was a "Puttin' On the Dawg" table, where the kiddos donned puppy ears and had puppy faces painted.  There was also a "Decorate Your Pooch" table, where they decked out their little cardboard dogs with crayons, markers, glitter glue, pom poms, and rhinestones.  Messy and fun!

We played "Dog Trainer Says" outside since we were blessed with fabulous weather.  This is a doggie version of "Simon Says" - the children were given dog commands to follow but were eliminated if the Dog Trainer didn't say to do it!  I think they enjoyed it a little; what do you think?!

I still can't believe it was 20 degrees and icy just five days ago.  Unreal.

But now to the coup de grace... the cupcakes.  It's always about the cupcakes around here.

Oh hai.

What else for a puppy party than little yorkie and westie cupcakes?  These were modeled after the ones in Hello, Cupcake!, and were quite the hit.  I have to say, these little guys were a lot of work, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I want my daughters to look back on their birthdays growing up and remember all these crazy cupcakes their mama made them!  (And their auntie too... she's always my right-hand gal ;))

These little food labels were made on Picnik - I think they turned out pretty darn cute for a photo editing site.

We ended the day with presents and a pinata - so everyone gets to go home with goodies.  Parents, you're welcome very much for the crapload of sugar I sent home with your child today.  Hee.

It was a fantastic day... full of fun, laughter, friends, family, sunshine and smiles.  It was the perfect celebration for a pretty amazing kid;  an amazing kid who is growing up faster than her mama might be ready for.  (First Six, then Sixteen, right?)

My fears (and tears) aside, my baby girl's pretty excited about growing up... and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Happy Birthday, my little Katydid.

I love you to the moon and back.

What a Week - and it's only Tuesday!

Have you ever had one of those weeks? 

Then you know exactly how I'm feeling right now...  AAAAACCCKKK!!

I'm at home with a sickypoo who has the Flu (and who, I'm certain, shared it with me - so much for that flu shot)...

I have a Fabulous Puppy Paw-ty to throw this Saturday and not only have to put together everything last minute, but am expected to make spectacular puppy cupcake magic happen...

I'm going on a trip next week and still need to pack, plan meals while I'm away, get paperwork together, and find a way to disguise that I'm not in swimsuit shape...

Can someone save me???!!!

Snow Day - 2.4.2011

It's hard to believe we woke up to this yesterday:

I haven't seen snow on the ground since I was a child, so this was so great!  I made sure to grab some pictures just in case we aren't lucky enough to experience this again.  Even as I type this, the birds are outside already chirping like it's springtime!

Only a few little areas of this still remain on my back patio... it was fun while it lasted.  *sigh*

I love my girls' snow-sprinkled Barbie jeep!

Snowy rooftop - and a peek at my current project (a robin egg blue door!).  Details soon--

My oldest chicky made her first snow angel!

This photo makes me realize how big my big chicky is getting... *sob*

But this one reminds me that she'll always be our little girl...

Hope you enjoyed our Snow Day recap!  Have a great weekend~

{Friday Faves} Snowflake Edition

We are having a snowday here in Central Texas today, ya'll!  I know you Northerners would disagree right now, but waking up to everything bathed in white is just... magical.  I love it!  And considering this is the first time snow has been on the ground here in over 20 years, it's pretty exciting for me.  So, as an ode to SNOW!, here are my Friday Faves!

Love these Quilled Snowflakes via TomKat Studio:

photo via TomKat Studio

These Paper Snowflakes from Not Just a Mommy! are gorgeous...

photo via Not Just a Mommy

You know I love felt, and this felt snowflake garland from My Cute Stamps is fab!

photo via My Cute Stamps

Check out this Cookie Cutter Paper Snowflake tutorial from Simply Modern Mom.

Photo via Simply Modern Mom

And last but not least, who could forget the Super Snowflakes from Dana at MADE?

Photo via MADE

Hope you enjoyed this snowflake edition of {Friday Faves} and hope you'll get a chance to try some of these great tutorials, be it a snow day or not!

Etsy Eye Candy - Go Red For Women Edition

February is Go Red for Women month, a time to focus on heart health for women.  I lost my own mother to heart disease ten years ago, and having experienced that firsthand, it's not something I ever want my children to go through.  One way to bring awareness to this issue is to wear red tomorrow, on National Wear Red Day.  Another is to donate to the American Heart Association, to help fund research efforts to prevent heart disease in women and men.

In case you need ideas, I've found some on Etsy that fit the bill:

A warm, cozy scarf, from iWunder:

Here's a red hat from piperandpaisley:

How about this red dress from sandmaiden?  (I'll take that tush too...)

And not Etsy, but BigCartel... what about a red flower brooch from good to be home.made.?

Yes, that last one's a little peek into what's coming up for my new shop!

Whatever you choose to support the fight against heart disease in women, be sure to wear red tomorrow to show your support.  From my heart to yours... thanks.



{home.made.} Nintendo DS cover

My hubby and I decided to get our oldest a DS for her birthday, so rather than wait until her birthday we went ahead and got her one this past weekend.  We neglected, however, to get her a case for it so I, like any good crafty mama would do, made her one.

Using the tutorial from the Mad Quilter, I whipped this up rather quickly during naptime yesterday, while I was at home with a sickypoo.  I found some cute fabrics from my stash and got to work...

The outer fabric is a gorgeous caribbean blue cotton twill - I love working with this fabric.  It's sturdy, but soft.  And it's durable, which is a plus with an active soon-to-be six year old!  The interior is Urban Flannels Pink Friends - cute and soft to protect the DS and game cartridges.

The pattern makes eight little pockets on the inside, just the perfect size for those tiny game cartridges.  I'm hoping it will keep us from losing them - they're not exactly cheap...

If I make another (which I might, considering lil Sis is already asking for one...), I'll add a wrist strap for easy carrying and maybe a zipper pocket on back for cords and such.  Come back in April - that's when I'll be making the next one!

What have you made for your kids today?