Too Many Shims on my Hands

My daughter was married last September. It was a gorgeous wedding. We made table runners with shims. MANY, MANY, MANY shims. I believe it was about 750 shims that we made runners with. My daughter and her now husband stained the shims and I and my now husband put a pink wash on them. They turned out gorgeous. Here is a few pics of the table centerpieces from the wedding. Loved it!

Of course now the question is, 

What to do with all those shims???

I know...let's make sunburst's!!!!!

I chose the pinkish shims I could find and laid out my design on the floor. I started hot gluing my shims to a round piece of thin wood I had bought from Hobby Lobby. Since making my shims I was perusing Hobby Lobby and noticed the round cardboard cake plates. Those would be perfect to make these. It was about $5 for a package of 6 and with a 40% off that would be a great deal.

On this Sunburst I used a cut out piece of foam board which did not hold up too well. The paper came away from the foam and I had to glue it after I had made the Sunburst. But here is a pic from another Sunburst I had made using the wood piece.

After all the gluing I then glued my doilies on. I then glued the beautiful brooch on the doilies.

 I decorated the tips of the shims with pearls, and white and clear gems.

And WAH-LAH

A beautiful Sunburst for my pink guest bedroom

Clocks are Ticking

It's so easy to paint something new again. It changes your whole outlook on life. For a few weeks after new carpet, new cabinets, new flooring, new paint.... nothing can go wrong. It's like the planets are in sync only for you.

And let's not forget that new outfit you wore when you felt Uber skinny. Your hair was fluffy enough, and your eyes had just the right amount of smokiness. You walked down those stairs clicking your heels and thinking "Dang I Look Good! And it didn't even matter that you fell the last few steps and bounced on your butt all the way down. 

Or that awesome apothecary jar at a yard sale for $3. Or the milk glass that when turned upside down substitutes as a candle holder.

And after an ice storm, when your lucky enough to be driving by a huge Birch tree limb sitting on the side of the road. And you brave the stares of other drivers to grab said tree limb and shove it in the back of the truck. Hoping beyond hope that it doesn't fly out and poke someone's eye out. 

In the end it only matters if you laugh. And laugh hard. Laugh crazy. Oh and coffee...coffee matters.... and chocolate. Chocolate definitely matters.

Diningroom Blues

Wild and Free!

                        So what does a woman do when she is out driving and she sees a 
                                          coffee table on the side of the road? 
                                Begging me to save her from the trash graveyard? 
                     This woman runs to her favorite donut shop to buy her daughter a kolache. 
                                  To hopefully bribe daughter into helping her get this table. 
                                                     Mission Accomplished!!!!

                                                        Baby has some nice gams!

I mixed up some homemade chalkpaint. 

Grabbed ye olde paintbrush. After three coats I glazed this baby with Valspar Tintable Glaze,

and a wild beast has been tamed!

Do you think my Buddha is fat?

So for the cost of a Kolache (and a donut for me..ok two donuts for me...for energy you know!) 

I snagged me an awesome coffee table. 

Easy Peasy Table Runner

I'm not big on table runners. Most of the time my table is filled with junk and a table runner wouldn't be seen anyhow. But I seen http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2013/02/wood-shim-table-runner-diy.html from those fabulous chicks at Shanty 2 Chic. 

Hey, I can do that. Got my shims. Got my stain. Got my fabric. Got my glue. Got my table runner!

First a tip. Do not and I repeat  DO NOT glue said craft together on top of your dining-room table. Even though you are going to be sanding said table soon it will cause you more work. Dang it!

    I stained all my shims. I used two different stains. Rust Oleum's Early American and Traditional Cherry. Shims are uneven on each end so I alternated them on the runner 2:1. I wish I would of done 3:1 though. 

                       

I then started gluing with Gorilla Glue and presto peasy! An awesome table runner.

Pretty Pink Secretary

 I will admit it. I'm a Craigslistaholic. I'm on there everyday. Looking for the sweet and cheap. On this day I found it. $10 for this schweet baby! After whooping it up, I yelled for Big Daddy to hit the road. Ladies if your husband is like mine you know what happened next. But the threat of bodily harm won out and off we went.

Here she is. Pretty in Pink. 

                                                     

                           I gussied her up with some homemade chalkpaint. 
                                   Took about three coats. 
            I then put a brown glaze on her to age the white chalkpaint                    

                          I removed the handles and added cloth drawer pulls. 
                       Made from the same material I added to the back.

             I wanted the finials to stand out so I chalkpainted them a pink, 
                         then a light sweeping of the white chalkpaint.

                   Replaced the dull fake brass knobs with pink glass knobs 
                                     I bought from Hobby Lobby

                 

                       This lady goes beautifully in my guest bedroom. 

                                           And for less than $20 
                             I took a boring and brown behemoth 
                                        and turned her into a 
                                       Sweet Pink Lady!