Old Christmas Project Making a Comeback

I was inspired by my friend Amy to finally finish a tree skirt I started a very long time ago. 

Like when Debbie Mumm was uber popular long ago. See....long

The tree skirt panel

I started by hand quilting little stars.....look at those tiny stitches!

How in the world did I ever do that?

Then I started outline quilting the santas.

Look at that....not out 10 minutes and there is a big ol' cat hair on it...sheesh.

I KNOW I am not going to be doing the teensy, tinsy stitching, but I am pretty sure I want to hand quilt it. All I need is some perle cotton in the right color and I'll do the big stitch quilting. 

I won't have to go overboard since it won't get heavy use. 

Yeah, that's it, big stitch it is!!

Any UFO's you pulled out of mothballs and finished?

Happy Stitching!

Started the nightstand in the Big Bedroom Redo

Finally, I am getting started on my bedroom redo. My inspiration was a red bedroom in Country Living Magazine.

 
I've never painted a piece of furniture ......ever 



My sojourn begins.....


















The first project is my nightstand. See my daughter's lovely sharpie scrawl? It's been there for y e a r s

 First, I took all the removable pieces off

The I started sanding with 100 grit sandpaper. Just a light sanding is all that is needed (or so the hubs told me) As I was sanding, I noticed a crack and some minor dents. The hubs said it gave it character but I decided I needed to learn to patch things

So I filled this crack and a few of the leg dings.

 

Tomorrow, I finish sanding and put on my first coat of......BURNT PEANUT RED.
I will miss having my nightstand for a few day. I guess a chair will have to do for another day or two. 
My next projects for this room will be to pick a wall color and make a padded headboard with a removable slipcover. I saw one online somewhere (before pinterest) with buttons going down both sides but I can't find it again....drat! I'm thinking toile like the foot stool???

Have any of you got any diy tips????

New Year, New Projects, New Goals

According to the calendar, this year is coming to a close. According to those of us with school aged children at home, the New Year begins when school begins. I feel both dates myself because I have both kinds of calendars.




 I have one that begins in August...This one is ''thee'' main calendar. If it ain't here, it ain't happenin!

 And on my desk is a Franklin Covey, Very Red leather planner. This is my daily deets, goals and project time-lines and anything else I can shove into it. I even bought a wire-bound planner, to down size and try something new, entered two dates in it, hated it and promptly bought new pages and used the binder again. Anybody need a 2011 wirebound planner with two dates written in it????

I keep looking for the perfect planner page, I've even designed my own, but I haven't quite found a style that suits my ever changing needs and personality.  I am trying a new design this year. It has a small area for appointments, but room if I happen to have a really full schedule. Unnamed blocks where I can keep track of projects, goals, deadlines, phone calls, to-dos.......this may be the closest page style yet!

I tried the Palm thing....love it and hate it all at the same time. As much of a geek as I am, I still prefer paper for some things............you just never know when the battery is gonna give out and you are stuck at a pay phone in the middle of nowhere and they only thing going through your head is; "but his work number is memory 1!!!" Been there, done that, do NOT want another t-shirt! I've went back a step in time, and memorized a few phone numbers...LOL  Apparently I am also curtailing Alzheimer's in the process....who knew?

How do you track the passing of time?

I have two calendars, a blog and teenagers.....nuff said!  ;-)

Happy New Year!!!

May God bless you beyond your wildest dreams!

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