Petal Picking Designs

Project 48...???

2012-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure if you will count this as a new project or not, but I am! I was actually a little productive this week and it has felt great. I ran in to Hancock's today to grab some sewing machine needles since I broke my last one on my lunch bag. When I walked in they had all their remnants on sale for $1! That is a pretty big discount so I thought that I would look through it all to see what I could find to make me some more scarves. (I think I might be a little addicted!) The first on is aqua blue knit that I found today.

This fabric I got the other day at JoAnn's when their clearance fabric was 50% off. It is more of a sheer type fabric, but I thought it was so pretty and would make a great spring scarf. I think it is fun and will be perfect when the weather warms up (okay, when it is officially spring here, not winter interrupted by spring-type weather).

This fabric I also grabbed at JoAnns. It is silky and shiny. I love how it hangs. The bottom looks really big, but I promise that is just how it was hanging. I didn't wrap it a second time but just left it hanging. I think it turned out very pretty.

So this is what I have been up to, what about you?

Project 49

2012-01-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

I have been working practically full time now since October. Part-time at church and part-time cleaning houses. Needless to say, I am pretty busy outside of the home. In order to cut down on costs and eat healthier, I try to take my lunch. I, however, did not have a lunch bag. Yes I know, I could easily go buy one but where is the fun in that. I did a lot of research, looked at a lot of patterns, scoured Pinterest but still could not find what I had in mind. (Sometimes I wish I could hook up a printer to my mind.) So I came up with my own pattern. I will say that if I ever make another one I will be adjusting my pattern.It is lined with vinyl for easy clean up and is insulated so I can keep my cold stuff, well, cold. There is a pocket on the front and it has a top Velcro closure. I am loving it so far and I think that it is really cute!

Project 50

2012-01-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

Yep, I'm behind a week or two and I need to catch up. I did this scarf this morning and I plan on making something tonight so hopefully I can get caught up. On to project #50. My birthday was last week and I was fortunate enough to get some spending money. I bought some fabric to make some scarves with. I have been on a scarf kick lately. My mom made some really pretty ones at Christmas that I wear a lot. I have been eyeballing these infinity scarves and I just love them. I scored some clearance fabric that was marked to 50% off the clearance price, so I bought a few different ones to make some scarves with. I actually made two of these, one for me and one for my friend. I think it is so cute and super easy to make!

What projects have you been making lately?!

Project 51....

2012-01-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Okay so this project is not necessarily crafty related....I do have a project in mind that I want to make I just need to get in there and do it. Last year my mom and went thrift store shopping for my birthday and I loved it! We scored this Ikea pot rack for cheap! I have been wanting one for a while to hang up my iron skillets. I had this grand idea to hang it above my island that my daddy built. However, I forgot that I don't have very high ceilings, the pots would hang, and I am tall.....all add up to a very bad combination. So I had to brain storm again and this is what I came up with. It only took me a year to hang it up, but at least it finally got done!! One more project knocked off the list. I will work on my other project hopefully tonight or tomorrow as I will want it for next week. :-)

52 Weeks, 52 Projects....let the year begin!!

2012-01-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

So it is the beginning of a new year. It is crazy how fast 2011 went by. A lot happened this past year for me and my family. God has done some amazing things for us this past year and I can't wait to see what else He has in store.

Part of my new year goals is to jump start my blog again. I want to get my self back on a crafty track so I am going to start my 365 days of projects! I KNOW it is impossible for me to get a project done a day, I realize that, but a girl can dream right! More realistically I am going to do a project a week...maybe more depending on time and energy level. So here is my first one....

I followed a tutorial from here. I love the idea of the purse. I just have two problems with it. It is small and there is no structure. I will be remaking it bigger with some stabilizer added to give it a little more stability, and a closure of some sort so that it won't flop open when it is set down. I did make an "organizer" to hold my wallet and such and that has helped the structure a little bit, but it is still a bit small for my liking. So here it is, my first project of the year! Only 51 more to go!!

Shabby Ruffle Apron and Ruffle Scarf

2011-11-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

All my energy lately has been poured into getting things ready for a craft show I have each year at my home. I have been busy making just about anything I can think of. I always wait till the last minute...although I don't know why. Maybe I think that I will have time later, but I don't so....hum. Anyway, I got this really cute "Prom" fabric a while back and knew I wanted to make an apron with it. When I ordered it I failed to find out if there was coordinating fabric to go with it and with my time constraints, I knew I couldn't wait on it to be shipped. I ran to my local fabric store and found this pink and black polka dot fabric. It matches perfectly! I had this crazy idea to make a "shabby" ruffle. I ripped the fabric, ruffled it, and attached it on top. I think it turned out so cute! The tie is extra long so it can fit any size person. I love this adorable apron!

My mom is doing the show with me and she is making these awesome scarves! I LOVE mine!!

These products and more will be available at www.petalpickingdesigns.com after Thanksgiving!

Going a little greener

2011-04-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to go a little green-er here lately and save a little money where I can. So I have been making my own laundry detergent. It is SUPER easy to make and I like the way it smells and cleans. I was stocking up on supplies tonight (because I like to make a large batch at one time) and a lady said, "so that must be good stuff". Me - weird look on my face. Lady-"you got 4 bars?". Me-"OH! I make my own detergent". I'm going to spare you the whole dialog, but in the end she decided to put back her Tide and try my way. If she likes it, it will save her some money. So, I am going to share what I do. You can google it and find many a recipe for home made detergent, that's what I did anyway, but to spare you the search:

You need:

1 bar of Fels-Naptha (.99 at Publix)
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda

Grate the bar of soap with your cheese grater (because who uses it any more when you cheese comes already grated nowadays). Mix with the other two ingredients and store in an airtight container.

Use 2 Tbs per regular load. (A little more for larger loads.) Or the #1 line on your detergent scoop for your regular detergent that you have been using before you saw this.

Very very easy to make and use. I love the stuff. All ingredients can be found in the laundry aisle (at least it is at Publix).

Have fun and let me know if you try it!

Giving a shout out

2011-04-26T21:10:00.000-07:00

So my life, for the past 6 weeks, has been CRAZY! The stomach bug came to our house and stayed for about 2.5 weeks and left just in time for me to head to Atlanta for the birth of my new niece. I stayed there a week then came home for a few days when I had to head back for a minor emergency. No worries, everyone is fine! While there I set up a blog for my Dad. He is a "handyman" in the Atlanta area. He is extremely talented. Please check out his blog and if you live in the Atlanta area, contact him to do some work. He is amazing!

My Big Boy Room Makeover

2011-04-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

So I have been meaning to do this for a while. But I am a procrastinator, BIG TIME procrastinator. (You first have to admit that you have a problem, right?) I redid our former guest/playroom into my son's new big boy room for his birthday in January. I am finally getting around to posting the incomplete pictures. (See above mentioned confession.)

It's not a huge room at all, but he loves it. Below is the HUGE toy box my dad made. (Contact me if you want to order one!) It still needs to be painted. I thought that I wanted to paint it navy but Jaxon wants it to be orange, so there it sits, still unpainted.

I am having a shelf made, when the builder of the shelf has time to mimic a Pottery Barn shelf, and it will go halfway up the wall. Again, mine and my son's paint debate is still going on. He wants it to be orange so it can be like Auburn. Which I TOTALLY respect, I will need to replace the red curtains. The duvet cover I made (also a PB knock off) at a third of the cost of one of their quilts. I used an existing comforter to stuff inside.

There is a chalk stripe down the wall, which has come in helpful for writing up memory verses that we are working on or new words that he is learning to read. Also, it is magnetic so we can hang up some small things, like the Transformer balloon from his b-day party. I have four scripture boards to hang above the chalk board stripe. Each board has a verse that I, my parents, my brother, and my in-laws have picked out as a prayer for him.

Below is the board that I painted. It is the chorus to one of The Sidewalk Prophets' songs "These are the words I would say". I came in singing it one night and he asks me to sing it every night now. It is truly my prayer for him when I leave this earth. If you haven't heard this song, you really should.

This wall has nothing special, but to give you a full sense of the room I needed to show it. He needs a new color matching trash can, but hey, I used what I had.

So there is his room. We kinda love it, I hope you do to!

Springy shutter

2011-04-14T19:44:00.001-07:00

Here is a springy shutter I did for my entryway. I took a shutter set that I had (I have lots of them) and attacked it with Krylon. I attached a metal planter pot to it with screws and tucked in a cute bright pink plant. Since this picture with my phone, I replaced the knob with an outdoor red faucet knob. I love it. It always draws my eye to the house as I am pulling in the driveway.

The beginning...

2011-04-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

...to what I HOPE will be a beautiful transformation! We have a pool in our backyard and we always have friends over to swim every summer. I have been looking for a way to hang up the beach towels. I had this thought, "A QUILT RACK WOULD BE PERFECT!". So my search began. I found a cheap one, that was cheaply made at a thrift store for $5. I did not think it was $5 worthy so I kept searching. I mentioned it to my mom while I was at her house this past week (my new niece was born and I HAD to be there for this one). She said, Look no more, I have one in the storage room you can have! WHOO HOO! The only problem I had was that it looked a little too C-O-U-N-T-R-Y for by my pool.

I traced out the side hearts on some scrap wood (thanks daddy!), and cut it out with my scroll saw.

I replaced the bottom piece that was so nicely decorated with hearts with another piece of scrap wood. This part gave me fits because I don't have all the best tools. So I just the good ole hammer and nails. However, the nails that were holding it together weren't doing all that great of a job and it was coming apart with every swing of the hammer. But after much wood glue and more nails I finally got it back together.

I then took my heart cut outs and filled in the hearts and then put a layer of wood putty on it. I will have to put more on it after this dries, but I HOPE that it's going to look much better in the end. I will show pics if it turns out well. :-)

A chick I once knew...

2011-03-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Many moons ago I, when I was in high school in 19nonofyourbusiness, I knew this girl. I didn't know her well since she was older than me. I recently found her through someone else and she is starting her own crafty business. She is having a giveaway on her blog. Jump over there and give her some bloggy love and enter her giveaway that ends TONIGHT!

Hoppy Easter!

2011-03-25T22:26:00.000-07:00

I made this sweet chocolate bunny pillow tonight and thought that I would share.

I used Swagbucks and searched for a bunny silhouette. I finally found one on Martha Stewart's page. I cut it out, found a piece of scrap fabric and cut that out, use a bit of wonder under (is it still called that?), then put a simple zig zag stitch on top. I pulled out some
off-white fabric I had and stitched it together real quick and stuffed it with a pillow from Goodwill for $2.

Very quick and easy to do and it only cost me $2! Can't beat that.

Flea Market Find

2011-03-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

I went Flea Market shopping with a friend of mine. We found this old tray. It is wooden, beat up, falling apart, and only $1.50! My friend is trying to decorate on a tight budget (who of us isn't) so I encouraged her to get it and that she could fix it up; that is she meaning me.

Ain't she a cutie!
I took her home and went to work. A little sanding, gluing the bottom of the tray back on, a few nails to tack it back on along with some staples (trying to find what would work best) then added some caulk to the bottom to secure it just a bit more. I let it set over night then went to painting. I used my "Grandma Green" and added a couple of coats. I then scuffed it up a bit with some sand paper then washed it with a walnut stain. After that dried, I sprayed it with a varnish to seal it.

I am loving how it turned out. In fact, if she doesn't want it, I will pay her the $1.50 for it.

War Eagle Baby!

2011-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

I made this for my new niece or nephew due in 27 days! Whoo hoo!

Can you tell that I am one proud Mamy!? This will be their third. :-)

Chalkboard Table

2011-03-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

I love this table. Kids love this table. They always find it when ever they come to my house.

I made this a couple of years ago to sell and I want it GONE! :-) I have put a fresh coat (or three) of paint on it so it is good as new.

Contact me if you want to buy it! Pick up locally is avaliable. I would have to ship it via UPS if you are not local, so I would have to find out shipping prices.

String Egg Tutorial

2011-03-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

For those who are interested on how to make these cuties, here ya go:

Supplies:
String - I used crochet thread because that is what I had, but you could use yarn or any other kind of string.
Fabric Stiffner - again, I used what I had, you can use glue and a water mixture and get the same effect.
Balloons.
Cups.
Bowl.

Blow your balloons up to the desired size.

Pull off some string and put in a bowl with some siffner or glue.

Make sure it gets good and soaked.
(Note: It WILL tangle and knot if you aren't careful so you may not want to put in a lot of string at one time.)

Wrap it around the top of the balloon so that it won't easily slip off.

Wrap your balloon. Get creative here. Make it as thick or as thin as you want. As you pull the string out of the glue make sure you pinch the string and pull it with the other hand to get off the excess glue.

When you reach your desired thickness, cut the string.

Set your string eggs out to dry. This will only take a few hours, but make sure you turn them every so often so that the bottoms will dry.

After they are dry:

Pull the knot up like so and snip with the scissors.

The balloon will pull away from the string and leave your string egg shell.

Use a pair of tweazers (or surgeon clamps) to pull the balloon out through a hole.

You will have excess dried glue still on it. Just take a dry paint brush or dish brush and brush it off.

Put them in a basket and call for the Eater Bunny!

You can cut a hole in it or just form it as you are wrapping the balloon if you want is so you can display something inside. I remember my elementary teacher hot glued lace around the opening to make it a little more fancy. Tuck your child's picture inside for a neat keepsake!

I shared this project here:

Simple String Spring

2011-03-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

Say that three times fast!

Remember my egg print? Here is where it is currently residing, in front of my tacky brass fireplace on top of my "Daddy-Made" bench along with my string egg and Goodwill Bunny Basket.

Isn't he a cutie!

I was going to paint this little guy, but after I washed him up and sanded the chipped places I decided to leave him as is for now.

And here is a close-up of my string egg. We did these when I was in elementary school. Why I remember this I don't know but I do. I am sure the one I made many moons ago is long gone, or my mom may have it, but I had to recreate it. Very cheap and easy to make and I think it is oh so cute!

Spring from a Thrift Store!

2011-03-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy going "Thrifting" as I call it. We have a few thrift stores around here that are ok, I have been to some in ATL that are wonderful. However, I try to go to Goodwill at least every other week just to see what I can see. On one of my last trips I was not looking for anything particular but I found these goodies. (I am ready for this cold weather to be gone and flower to start blooming and amazing me with just how creative God is.) One of the things I want to start doing more of is decorating for the seasons and holidays. My mom always did this and I remember some of the decorations so vividly in my mind that I would love for my son to have some of the same memories.
Here are some of my latest finds:

A cute egg print, 3 pastel mug/cups, a yellow wire basket, and a 4H award. And yes, I know what you are thinking, 4H award? Really? Do you have a connection with 4H? No, infact, I know nothing about 4H! But more on that in a minute.

The Egg print I thought was neat and would be good for Easter. However, I was not loving the faux wood frame that had some nicks on it. It seemed too dark for the print to me. So I went to work. I asked my friend for her opinion and I came up with this.

I love how the now green frame accents the green egg. Plus, I dirtied it up a little bit with some brown paint. (Much like you would with stain after you sanded it but since it's not real wood that wouldn't work.) I brushed it on and wiped it off. I think it looks so much better and springy-er.

Now for the 4H award: It's a 4-leaf clover! I simply pried the "award" stamp off the clover, deglossed it with Klean-Strip Easy Liqiud Sander Deglosser, sanded it some more to get the poly off that made it oh-so-shiny.

Warning, it blends in with my floor!

Next I painted it off white and pulled out the Mod Podge and a piece of scrapbook paper. I am not a pro at this by any means so I just went with it. I traced the clover onto the paper and cut it out. It was still a little big due to the fact that the top of the clover has a beveled edge so it is slightly smaller than the clover. After I mod-podged it onto the clover I took my exacto knife and trimmed the edges some more. Sanded it. Added a couple more coats of Mod Podge and

here it is with a new lease on life. So think outside the box. You never know, you might find a discarded award that you can breathe new life into.
(Note: see the wonderful bird's nest? Yea, shortly after this picture was taken it fell and no more bird's nest.)

Bye-bye wallpaper!

2011-02-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

We have lived in this house for about 4 years now and I haven't changed much. Mainly because 1)I don't know what I want and 2) We don't have a lot of "play" money to make changes with. So, ever since we moved in we have had this lovely dark wallpaper on the kitchen walls. I don't love wallpaper at all. I really kind of despise it. So living with it for almost 4 years was hard for me. Not to mention the stained trim. I personally don't mind stained trim but the previous owners had painted ALL the trim in the house except for the kitchen and living room so it really didn't flow well. And being raised a contractor's daughter, it drove me nuts. So this year for Christmas I asked for and recieved Home Depot gift cards! FINALLY, changes are starting to happen around here. I have already re-done my son's room so it was time for a change for ME!

Here is the hideous before:

My sweet husband was so kind to help pull down the wallpaper. (I ONLY let him do demo.)
My son also had to be a "Big Helper" and help us. He did really well I might add.

After the wallpaper was down the patching, sanding, priming, and painting were FINALLY done.... TADA!

The wall color is VERY HARD to capture on camera. It is a very light green, almost khaki. I wanted to create a "window" scene. I love the old window that I found on the side of the road. My windowsill is a shelf that my dad made several years ago and gave it a makeover. I'm not crazy about the hearts, but when you have a minimal budget, you use what you have. I redo shutters a lot for crafts and a friend of my mom's collects them for me when she finds them on the side of the road so I pulled a couple out to add to my window scene. All in all I think it looks cute and add a fresh feel to the room.

The decor objects in front of the window are just a few I threw up there to play, I don't think they will stay there just yet. Now if I can just get my cabinets painted my kitchen will be done!

Can you spot my touch of whimsy that I added to my walls? :-)

"Mama B" Make-up bag

2011-02-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

This make-up bag was made upon request by my "Mama B". A very sweet lady who helped raised me, so when Mama asks you to do something you say, "Yes ma'am" and you do what you were asked, or at least that was how I was raised.

This bag measures about 8"x5". It is a little bit smaller than the "Katelyn" bag.

Valentine's Day Gifties!

2011-02-15T20:48:00.000-08:00

A week or two ago I signed up to be apart of a Healthy Valentine's Day Swap here. I was told that h e a t h e r would be my swap buddy. She is a wonderful artist. I quickly did what I do best and stitched up a gift to send her way. She wrote about it on her blog, I forgot to get pix. :-(

So today I got this from the UPS guy.....

Inside there were A LOT of peanuts....

And inside was this....

Which held this adorable handmade card....

And buried under the peanuts was this....

a beautiful sunflower plate that she made! I LURVE IT!! It is already on my mantel and will be placed in my kitchen when I get done with it.

Thank you h e a t h e r!! As my sweet son says, YOU ROCK!

The "Katelyn" Bag

2011-02-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

Introducing the "Katelyn" make-up bag!

This cute bag is inspired from a Pottery Barn bag, that is WAY out of my price rag for such a simple bag. I made this for my cousin. She is a young pre-teen/teen.

It measures approximately 10" by 6". It is fully lined with a coordinating print and it closes with a zipper top.

Contact me to order! $10 plain or $15 monogrammed.

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T13:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day my friends! I hope everyone is having a lovely holiday!

I have a special gift for you! I have released the coupon code VAL2011 to be used by the end of February for $5 off your purchase of $10 or more from my shop!

Happy Valentines Day!

*This coupon does not apply to new orders.

The "Gracie" Bag

2011-02-11T16:54:00.000-08:00

I have some of the best customers a girl could ask for, but I have one in particular that I just love. I have known her for many years; we went to high school together and were on the basketball team together. (She played while I kept the bench warm.) She is always so sweet and always calls me with an order whenever she needs a gift. I would have to say that she is my most valuable customer so when she calls, e-mails, or texts me and asks me to make something, I normally jump on it. (Except for one time, but I think she forgave me for that.) She requested two diaper bags for some friends of hers. She is always very good at giving me the colors that she wants and what she wants on them. Believe me, as a "designer", and I use that term loosely, the more info I have the better. I like being able to create with whatever comes out of my head but if you tell me, "I want a diaper bag and I don't care what you make it out of or what colors you use" that stresses me out. I am left wondering if you will like what I chose or if you will hate it and run for the hills.

Pink and brown were the colors for the girl bag. I have to say, I could NOT find the fabric that I really wanted to use on this bag. I searched through all of my stash and just couldn't find it, so at midnight I gave up and went with option B. I think it turned out very cute!

The boy bag was a little more specific, as in, here is a picture of the bedding they are using, can you match it? And match it I did. I was so excited to find this fabric at JoAnn's! I haven't seen this color combo before so I had to search for it but I think it turned out very cute.

These bags measure approximately 11X12 and have about a 23" handles. They have two pockets on the front and two pockets on the inside. Can be monogrammed/appliqued on the front, back, or both.

I call it the "Gracie" bag because I made my first one for my niece. Although, now that I think about it I patterned it after one my mom made for me so maybe I should call it the "Debbie" bag or the "Jaxon" bag...

NEED advice!

2011-02-08T15:24:00.000-08:00

I am NOT a decorator. There, disclamer made.....I am redoing my kitchen and I need some advice. I have painted the top part of the wall a very very pale green, almost a tan-ish color. In fact in some lights it is a tan color. The bottom of the wall is this khaki color. I did not plan on painting it at all, but I may have to. If you look at it with the white trim (BTW it is just primed right now) it is very washed out, so I am trying to warm it up a bit.
This is what I came up with. It's hard to get a good pic because the flash washes out the color and the sun is going down so no real sunlight here.

What do you think? Good. Bad. Ugly. Throw in the towel and just buy another paint already? I need HONEST opinions here. I am going for the old farmhouse distressed worn look. I don't like modern. I love old wood. Thoughts? Criticisms? HELP?

Blog Hop Party!!!

2011-02-07T17:40:00.001-08:00

I was super excited when SJ told me that I was going to be featured this week. Last week was my first time at the Blog Hop Party and I got to "meet" several new bloggers. I look forward to meeting more this week! So far I have meet Larissa and Jesse.

Hop over there and make new friends!

~Everyday is a Happy Day!

A bag for my website....

2011-02-05T17:31:00.000-08:00

My husband challenged me at the end of last year to make 3 things a week for my website. (Um, I am behind.) My challenge to myself was to NOT buy any fabric and use what I have since I have a TON of it. He ever so gently reminded me that I was currently 12 items behind in my challenge so I stayed up last night and made a couple of things. I made my most dearest friend a bag last week. It was super easy so I decided to stitch up another one, using fabric I HAD. Please be aware that it took me LONGER to pick the fabric than it did to make the silly bag!

I added a front pocket to this one, that I did not have on hers, and I think it works nicely and it as a small Velcro closure. There are 4 small pockets on the inside and the strap is about 50 inches long so that you can wear it across the body. The top closes with a zipper. The fabric is a black tone on tone cotton fabric. The pink has paisleys and has flowers. Very cute and fun!

The next thing I stitched up real quick was this cute kitchen towel. I think it will add a bit us sunshine to any kitchen. Perfect for the upcoming spring and summer. (Can you tell I am ready for winter to be gone and warmer weather to come rolling in?) A name or initials would look adorable monogrammed on this, or just be left as is.

These items will be in my shop by tonight!

SURPRISE!

2011-02-04T07:54:00.000-08:00

Imagine my surprise when I rolled over this morning grabbed my iPhone and checked my e-mail (because I like to think that I am that important) and discovered that I had been nominated for the Stylish Blogger Award!

Thank you S.J. at Homemaker on a Dime and Jordan at Military Spouse House! This added a bit of sunshine to our cold rainy day!
Here are the rules to receive this award:

1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award!

I have done #1 so now to share 7 things about me, this one is going to be tough.

1. I have a very talkative, high-spirited, strong-willed, fun-loving 5-year old son who amazes me every day with the person that he is becoming. While the first year I thought he was very laid back, the day he turned one he made known that that was not the case and his strong will started peering through. I wasn't quite sure he was going to make it to 4 but he has now surpassed that and is a complete joy. I have always heard when it comes to kids, "Choose your battles". I have learned that with a strong-will child you have to choose EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM until they understand, acknowledge, and respect that you are the parent and what you say goes. For the most part we are out of the "I'm going to challenge everything you say" battle, but on occasion we will have a "Battle of Wills" as my mom calls it. Rest assured I still win but I am exhausted by the end of the day. I could go on but this is 7 things about me so, moving on....

2. I am shy. I will not be the first one to walk up and say hey and start a conversation. In fact I will be in the back if you need me. Don't think, "hey, one day I would love to meet her at Blissdom" because I won't be there, that is WAY out of my comfort zone. I try to push myself to be more open and outgoing but it is hard for me.

3. God has blessed me with many talents. I would not have them if it wasn't for Him. I totally rely on him daily. He is my rock. And my talents, I have many (so I have been told). I can paint (to some degree, no Picasso here), sew, build, design furniture (as I have a few items I have designed and my Dad has built), and others that I will try and think of, however, I.CAN.NOT. scrapbook or stamp. I can't think flat. It REALLY stresses me out.

4. I am a Medical Transcriptionist. I work from home. I have an amazing boss who uses her business as a ministry and I have been blessed with this amazing opportunity.

5. I give craft advice, A LOT. In fact if I charged for every time someone asks me about how to make something, or paint something, or where to buy something (craft related) I would be rich. I honestly don't mind, I just find it funny that I seem to be the go-to-girl for that. If I ever respond to something on Facebook I will normally get a "I thought that you would respond" comment. Not sure if this is a good thing, but there ya go. Got a question, lay it on me. :-)

6. I am still learning my decorating style. We have lived in our house for about 3-4 years now and I have just recently designed and painted my first room, my son's big boy room. Well, second actually but the first was the living room and I used a can of paint that was given to me so I didn't really pick it out. I will share what I come up with for the rest of the house. The kitchen is next! :-)

7. I am a Christian. I believe in God, wholeheartedly. I pray daily, several times a day and believe in the power of prayer. God is an amazing God and if you don't know Him, I hope you will soon. You won't find me bashing people or their blogs here. If I don't agree with it, I TRY to keep my mouth shut. God didn't send me here to judge, He can do that. Yes I do think there are some crazy people out there but as my momma always says, It takes All kinds to make the world go round. And God made ALL KINDS and they are ALL HIS. So please keep it positive, because I will try.

And now, the Stylish Blogger Award goes to...... (Done in my best announcer voice)
1. Betwixxt
2. FabuLESSly Crafty
3. Momma Needs a Time-Out
4. Mommy Spirit
5. Our Blessed Life
6. Passion Fruit Princess
7. The Papyrus Basket
8. Our Hiding Place
9. Pumpkin Pie Painter
10. Mamie Jane's
11. My Creative Escapes
12. Crafty Hearts, Warm Home
13. Five Seconds From Crazy
14. Mel Dreams Often
15. My Life on Cedar Street

Complete this sentence...

2011-02-03T13:50:00.000-08:00

I clean two houses every other week for added income. I normally listen to my iPhone/iPod but for some reason it was spazing out today and I was unable to listen to anything without listening if fast forward! When that happens my mind wanders (which could be dangerous). So today I was thinking One Day I want to have my craft room cleaned and organized and able to walk into without having my life threatened. I want One Day to come soon. I have a couple of big projects that need to come first because they are more in the "visible" living space, and by that I mean my kitchen and laundry room that are more visible to other people who come over. My ~~crap~~ craft room can be closed off with a tacky curtain. Back to my thought- "One Day" got stuck in my head. I can't do it today, but TODAY I can....finish a project and get it OUT of my craft room. One Day I will know how to add my own button to my blog, but since I don't know how, TODAY I will ask my awesome readers if they know how and to share that with me.

Got it? Ok, now your turn. What is your One Day?

My challenge to you is to to complete this sentence "One Day I_________, but since I can't do that today, TODAY I will______________".

Valentine Swap Party!

2011-02-01T20:44:00.000-08:00

Look what I found. This will be fun! It is a Valentine's Swap Party! Check it out and sign up for some fun!

Blog Swap Party!

2011-02-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

I blog hop a lot! I have been a blogger for a few years now but I have been very consistent with my blogs. I am trying to get it going again so that I can promote my creations and just to have a place to share. I stumbled upon a blog at Homemaker on a Dime and she has this neat idea of a blog swap party. So I signed up in an effort to build community and to meet some new people with new ideas.

Hope over and join in the fun! Now for a couple of blogs that I have found there:

Ana Paula at Passion Fruit Princess has some very pretty cross stitching that she has done. I do not have that kind of patience, or eye site, to do those.

Jenn at Our Blessed Life has a humorous writing style that had me laughing, and who wouldn't love an ironing board like this?

I hope you join in the fun!

What I have been up to...

2011-01-31T21:45:00.000-08:00

The outfit that you see here created a bit of a buzz on Facebook from my personal profile and I had the chance to create another outfit for someone. She asked for a certain monogram that I had to search for, but that's ok because I found it!I think it turned out very cute and I am thrilled with the monogram. I think I will be using it on many more things.

Another project of mine was a coffee filter wreath that I have seen all over blogland. I think they are very neat so I took the time at Christmas to make one. I had a sweet friend over and she fell in love with it so I had to make her one. And my mom LOVES it, I thought that she was going to take mine off my wall and take it home until I promised to make her one. Here is what it looks like:

My picture does NOT do it justice. (I think I need some photography classes with my point and shoot camera!). The first one I did I used a straw wreath, which made for a very straw-shedding experience and a very heavy wreath. The next one, I used a foam board for and it is MUCH lighter which I think will open up some possibilities of where it can be hung. I think it is very cute and you can hang it using different ribbons and change them out for each season if so desired. It also has a natural look which I love.

The last thing I have done this past week was this purse for my very dear and best friend. She had a purse like this that broke while shopping! She was somewhat heartbroken as it was her favorite. For Christmas I told her that I would make her anything she wanted that I could create so she asked for a replacement and she was very gracious to wait till after Christmas when all my Christmas orders and gifts were done so I could get it made. I used her purse as a pattern and created this:
She took and edited the photo, that's why this one looks so good. We both LOVE the fabric and she is in love with the bag. It has four pockets on the inside and a zipper closure on top. The strap is just the right length to wear across the body. I do believe I will be making more of these as they are very easy to do and very fun.

*Please contact me to order any of the items you see.

~Everyday is a Happy Day!~

KRYLON take me away!!

2011-01-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

We have all had those projects that have gone awry. I made this a couple of years ago.(I must apologize for my pictures. I am a horrible photographer!) Anyway, when I made it, I thought, "This is cute!", but it never sold, never turned a head, and always walked past and I have had it for about 3 years!! I AM TIRED OF IT and to be honest, it's not that cute, sad really. I am in the long overdue and extremely long process of redoing my house on and extremely tight budget. I am currently finishing up my son's room which I will reveal this week. Next up is my kitchen that is in some serious need of updating and wallpaper removal. But, I kept thinking of this shutter planter thingy. I thought that it would be cute by my door for a mail drop and key holder thingy. So I took off the flower box and my can of Watermelon Krylon and went to work!

NOW it is a bright cheery cutie! I am going to add some hooks on the bottom to catch our keys. I put the original knob back on and it just did not do it justice. So off to Hobby Lobby I went with a 40% off coupon and snagged this pretty green glass knob. I love how it turned out. Now I am fighting the urge to redo my laundry room before my kitchen! MUST.RESIST.

Link up your spray painted projects:

Confessions of a procrastinator.

2011-01-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

So back in November I had a craft show. I had more orders for things than I had purchases. Which was fine. I LOVE doing custom orders. HOWEVER, NEVER EVER EVER give me an order and say, "I don't care, just whenever you get around to it will be fine". Because let me tell ya, that automatically goes into the forget it file. Not on purpose, mind you, but that little sentence almost gives my brain permission to just dismiss it. Well, I had my stack of order cards sitting in front of me and all but one needed to be done before Christmas, which was fine. But I also had my Christmas gifts to make. So I finished up the "Had To's" and left the "Whenever" one. I kept staring at it and told myself I would get it done as soon as Christmas was over. Well, I stayed at my parents for the week after Christmas and when I got home, I poured myself into my son's Big Boy Room redo (more on that to come) for his birthday which was only two weeks away at that time. Note: Order for the outfit being pushed to back burner. My sweet friend e-mailed me this past week and I went into panic mode. Why? Because I had had the fabric for a month! So I made it real fast and I threw in an extra shirt so the outfit could be worn longer than first intended since she wanted a winter outfit.I uploaded the pic after I was done on my Facebook page and my page lit up with comments. (So exciting for me, since I am a little self-conscious about my work and I really hope and pray that people like it.) Then I got an order for another one, WOOT WOOT!! I actually put the pic in my "My Creations" album which led to a comment or two on this diaper bag:

Which led to an order for this diaper bag:

(Note: HORRIBLE picture. It's a shame that the sun is not up at 1AM!)
I took it to church to deliver it the next morning to my sweet sweet friend who was my best-attached at the hip, called her my sister-friend in high school who was in town visiting her mom for the weekend. She loved it by the way. I did too!
So I guess this is one case where procrastination paid off. However, I want to kill the procrastination habit this year. Any suggestions?

Decorating for Valentines!

2011-01-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for the year is decorate my house. It's time my house has style and a touch of class. I have been working on my decorating ideas and decorating for the seasons. I have never LOVED Valentine's Day, EVER. Not even now that I am married, it is just not one of my favorite holidays. But, I remember my mom decorating our house for all the seasons and holidays. I remember the Christmas shower curtain, the cardboard Halloween cut outs and movable skeleton that went up every year; not to mention every other holiday. My mom was, and is, very good at it. I love those memories and I want my child to look back and remember the same things about me. So I am trying this year. REALLY trying. I have about 15 boxes of Christmas stuff that comes out every year and a very small Christmas reject (because I out grew it) box for my very few Valentine items. When you think Valentines, you think hearts. I am not a HUGE fan of hearts. They are cute and can be done well, but the over abundance of heart decor that comes out around Valentines day is a little overwhelming to me. So I am taking it in small doses. For instance, here is my kitchen table center piece:

I have taken 2 packages of hearts on sticks, red filler, white filler, and 2 kinds of ribbon (all except the white filler are from the Dollar Tree) and stuck them in my reclaimed, painted, and distressed wooden bowls. I made my little shutter tray from an old shutter I had lying around and just glued on some wooden drawer pulls as legs. The fabric is not even finished off yet. I threw it down to see how it would look and loved the out come. Maybe I can get it turned into an actual table runner before Valentine's Day. (Which by the way, it says "Be My Valentine" continuously on it in white.)

I also made, what I am calling, my "Love Tree". I took wooden hearts, from Hobby Lobby, and spray painted them. I wanted them white and it didn't seem to stick (here's a hint, don't spray paint on a windy day, the paint tends to blow away before it can stick to what you are painting) so I brought out the red but I wasn't loving it, so I tried the white again. I knew that mixing paint would change its colors, but I didn't know that layering spray paint after it dried would do the same thing. So now I have pink hearts. I wrote with a Sharpie the word Love on the big hearts and then parts of 1 Cor 13 on the others (i.e. is kind, is patient.....) then tied them on the tree.

I now have a daily reminder of what Love is...as if my son wasn't enough. I have a few more things to share, but I am not sold on my mantel just yet. It's either missing something or has too much, I haven't yet decided. When I get it right I will share that as well.

I am back on blogger

2011-01-02T12:56:00.001-08:00

Due to some frustrations with wordpress, I am back on blogger. Maybe it is just because I know blogger better, I don't know, but I am back! So, at some point this week I will try and get everything transferred from my www.petalpicking.wordpress.com page to here. So frustrating to have to do that, but in order to build my community, some things just must be done.

Love being de-stressed...

2010-10-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

My son has been at my parents house for the week and it has been nice. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my son, but who doesn't need a break from time to time. I have been working on ideas for my kitchen redo. I am loving this distressed look.

I stumbled across this little treasure the other day while I was cleaning up my craft room and gave it a little redo. I don't have a place for it in my kitchen, so I thought that I would share it with you! It is available in my shop.

GIVEAWAY!!

2010-10-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Head over to my Facebook page! I am looking for a few good ideas of something that you would like to get or give for Christmas this year. I want to expand my portfolio and want to include something that my readers/customers would want. Jump over there quick because I am only leaving it open till midnight tonight! (10/28/10). If you win, you will receive the first of my new Christmas kitchen towels!

Thanks!

Something NEW!

2010-10-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA from the blogger world lately. I have been busy doing other things. I am sorry for the absence, I will try to do better in the future. Here is my latest thing I have made. I kinda like it and I hope you do too!
A little dessert stand. Very cute! The top plate says "Enjoy the Bounty of the harvest." This would be beautiful on your Thanksgiving table this year!!