2012 March

Pendant Spoon Light

I just had to give a big

SHOUT OUT

for this amazing project that was linked up to the

#25 “I Turned the Daunting Into the Do-able” link party.

Have you ever seen a Pendant Spoon Light?

Feast your eyes on this amazing project
that Lorraine from Miss Flibbertigibett made!

Amazing isn’t it?

Miss Flibbertigibbet (I’d love to know how Lorraine came up with this name)
has a very easy tutorial showing us how this Pendant Spoon Light was made.
Easy and cheap!!!
But it will cost you a few calories .

3 Comments

Baby Nursery Curtains

Whew! I can’t believe it’s already Wednesday. Where did the week go?

I have been diligently working on Baby Giada’s nursery. It is looking so darn cute I can hardly stand it!

The curtains are done…

(To the right of the picture are shower gifts that took up the whole side of the nursery!)

Annie (Giada’s Mom) originally wanted to go with white curtains, gold/brown velvet monogram and instead of scallops, the valance was going to have “points”. You can see Annie’s inspiration here. Instead, we went with this raspberry floral fabric that I found at Home Fabrics. We used a sheer material for the curtains.

The “G” is made from a dark brown velvet. I used my Silhouette, downloaded the “Curly” font and cut that baby right out! It was so easy! I spent more time (2 hours) looking for the perfect font. I wanted something that was feminine and cutsie! I ♥ this font.

Now, I wish that I could take credit for making these curtains, but I can’t!

My dear friend, Denise, made them.
Whipped them out in 1 night…just like that!

Denise ironing valances.
She is amazing!
Thank you Denise!

We put the valance up first and I worked at pinning the “G” on.
Once I got it centered, we took the valance back down and ironed it on.

I promise it’s not black!!!

What’s a room without a chalkboard?
This was fun painting it pink, distressing and glazing with a sparkly gold.

This picture isn’t the best.
Darn sun was coming in…

The next hurdle is sanding, priming (I’m not using Annie Sloan Paint) and painting Giada’s dresser.

Annie will be glad to get this dresser in the room so she can put all of the beautiful gifts she received from her shower away!

Giada is due to arrive into this big world mid-May.
We still have frames and a toy chest to paint and chevron frames to make.
I’ll be sharing as I finish the projects!

Have a great day!!
♥♥♥

I’m partying this week with these awesome blogs:

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Welcome to Link Party #25 – “Turning the Daunting Into the Do-able”

Welcome to Link Party #25!
“Turning the Daunting Into the Do-able”

If you missed Link Party #24 Highlights,
CLICK HERE

I can’t wait to see what you are going to share this week!

Rules for the Party:

1. Please no Etsy Shops, Businesses, or Giveaways.
2. I’d love it if you followed me on Linky Follower! (Right hand column). Leave me a comment so I know to follow you back.
3. Grab a button please and post anywhere on your blog.
4. Please link up something NEW that you have not shared before. Link up only YOUR work and not someone else’s.
5. Most important – please visit someone who has linked up and leave a kind comment. Don’t you be a “hit and run” blogger now . It only takes a few minutes to say “hi” to someone new! We all love comments!

13 Comments

Link Party #24 Highlights – “Turning the Daunting Into the Do-able”

Hi Friends! Thanks so much for linking up your awesome projects this past week. I hope that you enjoy the highlights and find something that will inspire you. Try and visit a few and tell them you are coming from Project Queen!

Trisha from Re-Made Just Right made this amazing Farmhouse Table for her sister.

What an accomplishment…
I can paint and sand and stain with the best of them,
but actually drilling and sawing and nailing is a whole new ball game for me.
I had to laugh because Trisha mentioned that
she only had ONE MELT DOWN!

Audra from The Kurtz Corner made this adorable Little Girl Diaper Cake.

Audra shows you what materials/items you need and how to do it.
SO CUTE!

Crystal from Mrs. Happy Homemaker made this amazing, yummy looking Butterfinger Caramel Chocolate Cake.

I LOVE Butterfingers and caramel.
She has the easy to follow recipe on her blog.

Cathy from My 1929 Charmer made this St. Patrick’s Day Pillow.

Cathy has a 7 Day Pillow Challenge going on and
demonstrates how to make some adorable pillows.
You should see her hydrangea pillow!

Jen from The Consigner Designer painted and did a lovely transfer on this Queen Ann, Queen Bee, Side Table.

She did a great job with this transfer from The Graphics Fairy.
You would never know that it was Jenn’s
first time to use a transfer!

Rebekah from Accidently Wonderful turned a simple frame into a beautiful French Chalkboard.

Great job Rebekah!

Bethany from Pitter and Glink was inspired by a Pottery Barn Etched Mercury Glass Lamp.…

Her lamp turned out amazing!!!
You have to head on over to Pitter and Glink to see how she made this.
You will be
SURPRISED AND DELIGHTED
to see how easy it is and what she made it out of.

Judy from Diy By Design re-did her husband’s Master Bedroom Closet.

The shelf that you see in this picture was white.
Can I tell you she did not paint it OR stain it?
You’ll have to see for yourself how she did this!
It turned out beautiful.

Leslie, a contributing writer for Inspired By Family Magazine, shared this oh, so yummy looking Baked Brownie Pudding.

Easy, Peasy to make!

Andrea from The Cottage Market shared a cute way to use a saucer for a jewelry hanger.

I love this idea.
Do you ever see those cute little saucers without the cup when you are thrift shopping?
Now WE know what do with them!
Great idea Andrea!

Lori from Thrifty Decor Mom put an extra kitchen cupboard to good use and made some great Kitchen Artwork.

Guess what?
She found the vinyl images at a thrift store!!!!
You should see all the images she got!!!
AT A THRIFT STORE!!!!

Yes, there are lotsa’ !!!!, but I can’t help it on this one!!!!!

My husband just cracks up at how excited I get over stuff at the thrift store.
It’s all about the hunt!!!!

So what do you think? Pretty good stuff, huh?

I hope that you are inspired and you are ready to
make something, bake something, cook something, paint something…

FAB-U-LESS!
Perhaps you have something that is a bit daunting?If you do, just GO FOR IT!!!!Then, come back to Project Queen and show us what you did!!!Ready to Link Up to Party #25?CLICK HERE

5 Comments

Does Your Child Have An Activity Bag?

I’m thrilled and honored to inform you that my step-daughter, Tracie, will be joining me on Project Queen! She will be featured twice a month sharing with you some ideas and tips on how she manages her life with 4 very active boys.

Tracie

Thank you Mandy for inviting me! I am so excited to be here with you today and share a little bit of my crazy and wonderful life! I am blessed to be a stay at home mom of 4 amazing boys. Yes, you read that right four!! As you can imagine, life with 4 very active little boys is never boring!! Every day is a new adventure and I am ALWAYS looking for ways to keep my little ones entertained without breaking the bank.

The boys love to visit the library (which I’m thankful for because it’s cheap!). Besides the usual books, CD’s, computer games, and DVD’s, our library has Story Time Bags (the boys call them the “BAG”) and they absolutely love these!

A few weeks ago, my 3 year old fell and bit through his cheek (life as a mother of boys). I’ll spare you the gory details… let’s just say it was bad. Thankfully my husband was home from work so I was able to rush with him (paper towel stuffed in his mouth) to the emergency room. As I was unbuckling him from his car seat, I saw the BAG and grabbed it . Have you ever been in an ER for 5 hours with a 3 yr old?? Yes, the BAG was a lifesaver!! !

The BAG’s theme was “Dinosaurs”.

It had 8 books inside with puppets, flannels and magnets.

It kept my busy little boy entertained and the doctors and nurses were all very impressed that I was such a wonderfully prepared mother (we don’t need to burst their bubble and tell them that the only reason the BAG was in my car is because it was overdue and I probably owed more than the bag was worth right???)

After the success of entertaining a 3 year old for 5 hours in the emergency room, I realized I needed one of these bags at all times!!!! SO I went right to work!

My first bag was a simple “Activity Bag”, which I keep in my car all the time. I hide it in the compartment where my car jack is . I purchased a zippered bag from the thrift store and the rest of the items came from the 99 Cent Store. I added some fun printables and the boy’s favorite granola bars. The whole BAG cost me about $7.

I cannot tell you how handy these bags have been!

Here is my latest one on “Bears”.

I found the bag and all the books from the thrift store.

I made the little flannel board, Goldilocks and the Three Bears set.
(My kids love the flannel stories)
Total cost – $10

Now, we have our own “BAG”…
and this mother of 4 energetic boys doesn’t have to pay late fees!

Thank you Tracie!
(she isn’t kidding when she says 4 ACTIVE boys!)

Don’t forget there is still a Link Party going on!

If you would like to share something, please
CLICK HERE

Linking to:

3 Comments

Welcome to Link Party #24 – “Turning the Daunting Into the Do-able”

Welcome to Link Party #24!
“Turning the Daunting Into the Do-able”

If you missed Link Party #23 Highlights,
CLICK HERE

I can’t wait to see what you are going to share this week!

Rules for the Party:

1. Please no Etsy Shops, Businesses, or Giveaways.
2. I’d love it if you followed me on Linky Follower! (Right hand column). Leave me a comment so I know to follow you back.
3. Grab a button please and post anywhere on your blog.
4. Please link up something NEW that you have not shared before. Link up only YOUR work and not someone else’s.
5. Most important – please visit someone who has linked up and leave a kind comment. Don’t you be a “hit and run” blogger now . It only takes a few minutes to say “hi” to someone new! We all love comments!

11 Comments

Link Party #23 Highlights – “Turning the Daunting Into the Do-able”

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend! Our weather here in California has been amazing the past few days. I took advantage of the great weather (perfect temperature to paint!) and worked on the baby nursery dresser.

I went to bible study this morning, then for a nice long walk with my BFF (we solved all the world problems). I had planned on coming back and finishing up the nursery dresser.

Later in the afternoon, I was sitting at the kitchen table eating a quick lunch and I heard a big BAM coming from the garage. When hubby came home and checked it out, he told me the cable had broken. Has anyone ever experienced this? My goodness, it sounds like someone ran right into your garage door…. I’m glad I wasn’t out there. Anyway, the dresser is right up against the garage door and now I can’t get to it because we can’t get the garage door open! Someone is coming out tomorrow to fix it. Yay!

So, instead of painting, I’m gonna get these highlights up sooner than I thought! I love seeing all of the projects that are shared (I know I say the same thing every time), but, I have to be honest… I don’t like having to pick and choose which ones I want to highlight. Some are “no brainer’s” where you just think, “WOW, how in the world did she ever think of doing that?” Then you have the ones that are “AMAZING”…. I’m not sure how to get around all of this… I do want to highlight features (who doesn’t want to be a feature?… I know I love it when my projects are featured!)… so, until I figure something out… let’s just keep going with the way I’ve been doing it for the past 23 times! Can you believe it’s been 23 times??? Oh, time flies while we are bloggin’!

Kristy from 4 The Love Of Wood did an amazing, re-vamp of this cabinet for her friend, Heather.

The graphics she chose for this primitive cabinet are perfect!

Ashley from It’s Rustic Living made this adorable “Where He and She Became We” pillow.

Sh plans on selling them soon!
Ashley has a few other styles that she designed on her blog.
You’ll have to head over to see them.

Emily from 52 Mantels is in the process of designing her craft room. This is one amazing project that is going in her craft room.

She will be tantalizing us with more projects before she does the “big reveal”.
I can’t wait!

Peggy from The Painted Pear found a tea tin that she turned into a Dog Food Tin.

Gotta love that chalkboard paint!

Kaylee from Couponing and Cooking shared these YUMMY Smore Krispy Treats.

These look delicious!!!

Catherine from Freddy and Petunia is one of those women who can look at a piece of furniture and see it in a completely different way. This was a king size headboard and 2 chairs that she turned into a bench for her mother’s banquet table.

Here it is with the glass and the pedestal table that she put together.

BE-U-TI-FUL

There are more detailed pictures on Catherine’s Blog.

Barb from Turtles and Tails added some twine to her Ikea chairs.

This is such a fabulous idea!!! So easy and such an impact.
LOVE IT!

Kathryn from Ugly Duckling Transformations shared these lumbar burlap pillows.

They turned out great.
I ♥ burlap pillows and I don’t have a single one.
What’s up with that?

Ann from Make the Best Of Things shared some of her Book Page Crafts.

She has taken pictures of several projects
(the clock and the star are just a few)
that are displayed in her craft room.
Boy, what a craft room Ann has!

Yes, I’m featuring yet another baked goodie that Kirsten from the Sweet Swiper! Oscar Worthy Bars!

These look simply amazing.
Definitely going into my recipe file!
I would make these right now if I hadn’t eaten a whole box of Samoa’s today!
Those DARN GIRL SCOUTS

Thank you, thank you, thank you EVERYONE for sharing your projects!!!

Grab a button please if you have been featured.

Ready to share your project at Link Party #24?

CLICK HERE

7 Comments

Chocolate Sugar Drop Cookies

Have you ever had a sugar cookie with chocolate chips in them?
I haven’t, so when I saw this recipe I had to give it a try (and it helped that I had all the ingredients in my pantry)!

Any type of chips can be used: mint, butterscotch, white chocolate, etc.
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips because that’s my hubbies and daughter’s favorite.

Chocolate Sugar Drop Cookies

2 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup sugar (divided)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
12 oz. chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl combine 1 cup sugar and oil and mix well by hand. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.

Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chips.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfulls. Shape into balls and roll in remaining (1/4 cup) sugar and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8-10 minuntes.

YUM!!!!!

Hope you ENJOY!♥

I’m linking to the following parties:
UndertheTableandDreaming Ladybird Ln

6 Comments

Captivating

Is it Friday yet? I’ve had one of those weeks that NOTHING has gone right. Everything I do does not turn out right and everything I touch, seems to fall apart. Hmmm… you think someone is trying to tell me something?

I get sooo busy I forget about taking some quiet time and actually sitting STILL. For me, sitting still means NO COMPUTER, NOT thinking of my next project, NOT thinking about how I can rearrange the living room furniture, NOT making a grocery list or a to-do list… and it goes on… I have alot of stuff that goes through my mind people… it never stops!

I need to start practicing the art of sitting still and keeping my mind “still”.

Does anyone out there have problems with this?

Do you?

I want to HEAR FROM YOU!!!

I want to know that I’m not alone!

Here is my reminder:

Sitting still time = my quiet time with God.

It means I have to sit still

…and listen for his voice

…WITHOUT working on my grocery list or thinking about Pinterest.

I just started a bible study called “Captivating”. A book written by John & Stasi Eldredge.

The message of captivating is this: Your heart matters more than anything else in all creation. The desires you had as a little girl and the longings you still feel as a woman – they are telling you of the life God created you to live. He offers to come now as the Hero of your story, to rescue your heart and release you to live as a fully alive and feminine woman. A woman who is truly captivating.

As a little girl, I loved the stories of the white night rescuing the beautiful princess and sweeping her off to a land far, far away from evil where they would live happily ever after.

Bottom Line:

I need to go to God for this…

He’s waiting for me to want Him.

3 Comments