Independence Day Rag Banner

I was commissioned to make a rag banner for an up & coming photographer with

 Christina Dru Photography 

Christy envisioned a vintage looking scene for an Independence Day mini shoot!

I was all about it because it sounded so fun & I have been wanting to make one of these rag banners for a while now! so it was a win win for me!

Not only was this the perfect opportunity to try something new BUT 

I had all the right scrap fabric for the job

well all except for the red. . . . . that had to be purchased

but none-the-less I was able to use up a shirt my son has long since outgrown & some fairly new jeans that my son thought would be fun to cut holes in~ahhh the fads of youth~been there done that myself. .  .

c'mon, you all remember the 80's. . bleached jeans & holes galore & lets not discuss the big hair

. . . . .Oh back on track here. . . so I was able to put those items to good use in this project.

I was itching to wrap this in clear string lights but 

that would be pointless for the outdoor photo-shoot it was destined for.

I guess I will save that for the next rag banner 

here is the rag banner working the camera. . . . almost as hard as the kiddos were!

Christina Dru Photography captured that vintage feel & as I look at these photos. . . .

I deem them Tommy Hilfiger Ad  worthy!

What do you all think??

Head on over to Christina Dru Photography and see what she is all about  & give her some page love

~Happy Creating

A Wednesday night Bathroom Re-do

Wednesday I had an ambitious idea to come home after work & paint the upstairs bathroom.

Seems like a crazy idea after a long day at work but painting is like therapy for me.  Hard work yes, but hours of me & my own thoughts is priceless 

{because you know everyone leaves you alone when you are doing hard work}

And look at the end result here. . . just beautiful & crisp & clean!

Can't go wrong with that

A stylish Boys bathroom update

I came up with this pretty grayish blue color the way I normally do. . . 

with leftover paint 

Here is the mix of the 2 very pale blue's I confiscated from my Mom

It was pretty but not quite the blue I wanted. . . . so I took this Royal blue left over from my son's room re-do a few weeks ago and. . . . .

started mixing

look how pretty the blue swirls are

but the results were so satisfying. . . .
just see for yourself

Before

After

It is amazing to me how much cleaner the toilet looks~hahaha

Before

After

I am so excited that this bathroom has some life in it now

Before

after

{ooops Someone needs to buy some light bulbs. . . again}

After

before

I really always have loved to paint a room.  I think it comes form my Mom who never sits still 

{I swear she will paint the same room twice every year}

and from my memories hanging at my Dad's house in Venice Beach every summer. . . I think that was the 1st time I got to help paint a room & it was a fun experience with my step-mom

so between the 2 Mom's. . . I earned a love of painting a room.

So thank you both because ..I am a self-proclaimed room painting rock star!

Now I just need to figure out what decorations to put in their for those boys of mine!

{I see another bathroom post coming in the near future}

**my tip of the day** 

never throw out any left over paint no matter how small amount it is!

you never know when you might need it to touch up a ding spot 

{or use on a craft project to with your newly painted space}

I scraped this little bit into a leftover baby food jar with a spatula. .& honestly to look in the can you wouldn't think there was enough to save but there was a good amount for touch ups.

so never underestimate

So here is to a weeknight room re-do

~Happy Creating

Wishes & dreams & beautiful things

Wishes & dreams & beautiful things.....

dandelions from my own front yard make the best wishes.....
photo taken by Stacy Smith

Today is my birthday & I always seem to reflect on the past year & start to give myself direction for the next..

I feel very lucky that I have a family that loves me & friends who want to be a part of my life!

I hope this continues into the next year & that I can bring as much love to them as they bring to me everyday!

Today one of my closest friends gave me a little something for my birthday!

but to me it was a big something.....because she took the time to make me something with her own 2 hands!

It will be something I keep the rest of my life not only because it is the cutest thing ever but because she is very dear to my heart!

a cake theme birthday sounds like a win-win to me!

{she also gave me a big bottle of booze~but that will be gone pretty quick }

See my BIG bottle of Booze next to my little tiny slice of forever birthday cake!

{and its calorie free!that a definite win in my book}

Isn't it so adorable!?!

Crochet birthday cake by Tami Richards

She made that & I think that is simply amazing!

So after I drooled over my cute little cake & my big bottle of cake vodka {which I really look forward to trying} I decided that I was going to get some real life cupcakes to celebrate with since I will be out camping with my little guy tonight for his scout trip! but really who needs an excuse to go get themselves cupcakes right!! 

Do you see the cake theme screaming out to you in this picture?

 There is a new cupcakery here in town.  Smallcakes~They have several stores across the state & one in Georgia, at least that's what the girl who worked there told me after I asked what the dealio was.  I mean if you are going to post on your door as seen on Food Network 

then you better be ready for the questions right?? 

I'm no slouch~ I am addicted to watching cupcake wars... I know whats up & I know I never saw cupcakes from Joplin on there so the question had to be asked :)

I usually get these sort of things from someone local because that's how I roll but the lady I wanted to get my cuppycakes from lost her store in the tornado & wont re-open until June 1st.....so I took a cupcake adventure & when you see Food Network on the door you know you have to at least try it once right?

cookies & cream~vanilla cake w/chocolate icing~chocolate cake  w/pink butter cream & lemonade cake w/ blueberry lemon icing mmmmm mmm

It is like torture knowing they are staring at me right now form my dining room table but I want to share them with my family so I will TRY not to dip my finger in the icing but MAN that takes a lot of self control!

So here is to spoiling myself just a little on my birthday & to loving family & friend & of course happy wishes & dreams

~Happy Creating

Why, hello Mr. Man in the Moon!

For those of you that may have missed it because of cloud cover or just because you weren't in the loop, My son & I took some great pictures of the "Supermoon" event from this past Saturday

You can read about it here

Isn't it so big & beautiful?

 My son & I are fascinated with celestial events like this

{I really need to get that kid a high power telescope}

As you can see, he was all about it!! i-pad out & all!

 we were out there for quite a bit just watching the moon do his thing!

the darker it got right at dusk the more orange the moon got!

So AWESOME!

 I am SO PROUD of this picture!

I have waited for so long & have taken I don't know how many pictures trying to get a shot of 

the moon like this.

Maybe it was because it appeared so close to the earth that helped me out. . . whatever it was, 

I am so grateful! because I LOVE this picture!

You can see the face.....Hi Mr. Man in the Moon!!!!

 this one is slightly more clear & a little more orange

 The higher in the sky it got the less orange it got. . . but man, it was SUPER bright~

{hence the "supermoon"}

 It was so bright it lit up the tree in my front yard & made this fantastic shot

It really was a super moon & I am glad I got to see it & take great pictures but most of all I am glad I got to share the moment with my son who now says he WILL go to the moon one day!

Dream to the moon little man! Dream to the "Supermoon"

click here for info on the upcoming Annular Eclipse

~Happy Creating

Texas Blue Bonnets & the baby

I have to say I have missed my BLOG!!! As we all know, sometimes life just gets too busy, too crazy & then throw in a sinus infection from the depths of hell & WELL.......you get a lady that was just too exhausted to do anything.

So with no projects complete & no cooking done in probably 2 weeks.....I am going to share a few pictures I took while down in Texas.

Just around the corner from my little brothers house were these amazingly beautiful Blue Bonnets!

How could I resist giving these babies their own photo shoot?? 

While giving myself some added practice to settings on my camera.

My brother & sister in law told me that these only bloom at a certain time of year & that I was there at the right time.  They also told me that it is a tradition for parents to take pictures of their children in the blue bonnets.....I asked my 2 boys if they wanted their picture taken in the posies & you can guess what their response was .......

BUT on Easter Sunday my brother & sister in law announced that they were having a baby!!

So guess which baby is going to get their picture taken in the blue bonnets.. . . . yep I am going to have to make a special trip down just to do that for them!

These Blue Bonnets were everywhere & on the drive home it did seem like they ended right at the Texas border!  No lie!!!  If you have never been to Texas you should plan a trip in early spring & see the beauty of this flowery gift to the world!