Tossing Out A Few Lifelines!

Help!  Will someone please throw me a lifeline?  LOL!   This picture really shows how I feel out here in Blogland lately.  I feel so out of the loop and floating in space out here!

source; http://www.rtci.net/Nevada/Lifeline_Program.aspx

First things first! I am claiming my blog here today on Bloglovin!  Why?  Well, because it's seems the thing to do since apparently Google reader is ending tomorrow.  

 I admit I barely understand what all this is about and what all I need to do so please try and overlook it if I say something ignorant about this okay?  OK!

If you use Google reader to follow my blog then feel free to go over to Bloglovin and follow me there now instead.  I myself mostly use my blog roll with friend connect to follow blogs.  I admit I kinda freaked and thought that Google reader and Google friend connect were one and the same.  They are not, but I wasn't taking any chances so I transferred all my blogs that I follow over to Bloglovin just in case. Talk about grabbing a lifeline at the last moment.  Whew!  Thanks so much to all of you who are posting today about Bloglovin who got me motivated here.  So go on, and click on the Bloglovin follow me button I will installed near the top of my left side bar. That's the lifeline I am throwing out to you, to keep you in touch with me. 

source; businessinsider.com

All this week, I can't help but think about poor Paula Deen and all of the controversy she is muddled up in right now.  I can certainly sympathize!  Why?  Because I get how it feels when your previous supporters start stacking up against you.  I've been kinda feeling that way about blogging a lot lately.  I know I don't fit the mold of many of those I have enjoyed blogging with and like Paula  have rubbed a few people wrong at times too. I've been dumped too and it's not a good feeling!  But here's the thing.  Why doesn't the media seem to understand or want to portray who Paula is?  Are we all so hell bent on being politically correct at all times that when someone fails to meet status quo we are willing to dump them immediately?  When did we stop considering the whole picture, in favor of only what we would prefer to see?

I see a woman who was raised in the south and has pulled herself up by the boot straps more times then most of those going after her have ever had to do.  I see a woman who is sincere about admitting her mistake even if you didn't like "the way" she said it.  To me, she came across the same way as she has always came across.  She's a very saucy southern lady!  No pun intended there. LOL!  I really just wish that everyone out there would try to be a little more forgiving and tolerant of others, even in their mistakes. Just because the media and many of her supporters contend that we shouldn't be so quick to forgive doesn't mean that we should all fall into this same way of thinking.  Too bad the media isn't letting us comment on this.  Fortunately, the media doesn't write my blog, and for this I am very thankful to be able to just put this out here.   I am sure I could go on and on about this a whole lot more but I'm won't.  Let me just end it here with saying I am willing to throw her a lifeline, because yes, we all need one every now and then, don't we?  

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=142761195926550&set=a.142575665945103.1073741828.142355792633757&type=1

Praise God for sending us the best lifeline of all!  Thank you Jesus!

Happy Sunday Y'all!

A few Makeovers for the 4th of July

Hi All! I am going to do my best to throw out a very quick post here.  We are literally heading out the door this AM with our camper again for the beach.  Soooo, what am I doing online here?  Well, I just had to share this little makeover project with you.

Do you remember these shutters, I got from the thrift store? 

Or do you remember this wooden tray?

How about this wooden tray?

And how about this old basket?  Remember I promised I had some ideas on what to do with them?

Well I certainly did, and here they all are!

Sorry for the fuzzy pics, I was using my cell phone and it's hard for me to see how clear it is while snapping away.  I do have some more pics of these makeovers on my camera before I took everything to the booth, but I don't have time to download all of those right now. 

Here are the shutters!  I painted them red, hotglued some flower pots and added fourth of July flowers.  I love, love, love these!

Speaking of love, love,love!  Here's my tray makeover!  This was the first time I have tried a stencil transfer.  It was easier then I thought.  I did learn a very important lesson though.  You need to let your stencil dry thoroughly before glazing over it.  LOL!  A hairdryer would have done the trick just find.  So much for hindsight, right?

 Here's the old bread tray!  It's ready for a little fourth of July entertaining now too!

Finally if you look under the bread tray you can see my old basket got a fresh whitewash finish.

I also made a few fourth of July mason jars to throw in my booth too! 

I love having a few seasonal items for sale so very much, it's what makes having a booth even more fun for me.

Well, I really gotta go now!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful week.

I'll be sitting by the shore and dreaming some more!

Ah! At Home Blowout Sale!

Hello Everyone!  I just wanted to give you a heads up on great sale coming up this weekend with Mary's "Ah, At Home direct sales business!  It's such a great blowout sale it's going to be 4 days this weekend instead of three.  Everything is $9.99 or less! All existing old inventory must go!

http://marykeels.athome.com/home.html

This will be the last time all old inventory will be on sale.  Our three day weekend sales will continue but it will be on new merchandise only.  It's a great time to shop for beautiful decor at closeout bargain prices.  

I have purchased many things already and can tell you the quality is simply excellent! Our weekend sales typically sell out fast too so don't delay (as I have done) and miss out on something you really want.  

This sales starts at midnight tonight (actually 12:01)for all of you on PT for the rest of us on EST it's 3:01am.  Hope you come on by and shop with me at; http://marykeels.athome.com/home.html

Burlap Beach Bags

Well, why not, right?  While shopping at one of our local feed and seed stores I came across some inexpensive burlap bags already sewn with a drawstring and blank. Sorry, I didn't take any before photos of the blank bags. They were simply calling for me to take them home and do something fun with them.  I thought of all sorts of wonderful ideas!

I really wanted to make something seasonal for my booth though and when I came across these wooden signs from Michaels I knew exactly what I would do. 

I simply printed out a graphic, cut it out like a stencil, traced around it and filled it in with paint.

Waalah!  My first bag was done!

As you may have guessed already I took my inspiration from each little wooden sign.

I also wanted to keep it simple!

There you go!  Three bags done, and ready for the beach.  LOL!

These three bags actually went to the booth for sale.  

This was such a quick and fun project!  I loved doing something seasonal on these and may just have to continue with that trend.  I hope they sell well!

Well there you have it friends, what do you think?

I am linking this up with the following parties;

Met Monday

Inspire Me Tuesday

Thanks for stop by, have a great day!

The tale of A Mermaid's Table

This little plant stand makeover took on a life all of it's own!  This was one of the first makeovers I did a few weeks back.  Sorry to be so behind on sharing it but I really wanted to share how it came to be.

It started out this way with a gold color.

After giving it some thought I decided to use this OOPS can of paint I picked up from Walmart.  Gotta love those!  I was also in love with the deep sea green color of it as well.

After applying two coats I was still seeing remnants of the gold shining through.  

Now I could have easily added more layers to cover up the original color, but...visions of the sea and Mermaids kept swirling around in my head.  Maybe it was the sun and the heat but I honestly could not stop thinking about shimmering glistening waters of the ocean.

It was at this point that I decided to add some cording around the top.  I had considered going around and around and cover the whole entire top with the cording.  Finally I decided I didn't want to cover up the sea green I was seeing.  

Next I added a little more cording around the bottom to balance things out more.

Then I took her outside by the pool and plopped Mermaid no.1 on her.

Love, love, loved it!

Of course I had to see how she looked out on the screened porch too.

And then I had to see Mermaid no. 2 on top of her as well.

...and that's how the Mermaid table came to be!

Thank you so much for visiting.  I am so glad you stopped by!

I am linking this post to the following parties;

Be Inspired

Open House Party

Treasure Hunt Thursday

Show and Tell Friday

Feathered Nest Friday

Met Monday

Hope you all are gearing up for a great weekend!

Wishing you a good one!

More Thrifty Finds...what a Haul!

Hi All!  I am so behind on this blogging thing.  I had hoped to be sharing a few makeovers that are already in the booth but that will have to wait a bit longer again.  Maybe I'll share those later this week, hopefully.   This past weekend the Mr. and I took our camper and our motor boat out to a nearby lake campground for a few nights away.  It was quite a bit different camping experience being so close to home, but we had such fun.  Since I spent the weekend camping I missed out on going to some yard sales to find more bargain goodies.  I was feeling a bit behind on stocking more items to sell so I hit a few local thrift stores yesterday.  Boy, am I glad I did!

Here's my haul!  With the exception of the large box in the back, everything on this table was what I picked up yesterday.    As I was shopping yesterday there were two other ladies nearby and  I overheard one say to the other..."Do you see anything here?  No, replied the other.  All I see is a bunch of old junk!"  

Hehee! At first glance I saw a bunch of old junk too.  Then I put on my creative cap and began to see a few new things that I just cannot wait to put together! Let me show you everything I got.

Love this cute little clock.  All booths should have a few clocks right?

This basket is going to get a makeover.

Now I am very excited about these shutters. They are definitely going to get a very fun makeover!

This piece I plan to leave as is to start with.  Sorry, but it's turned sideways in this picture.  It actually stands up and has a curved top.  I believe it's either a small spool holder or a thimble holder.  Very attractive to those who are creating craft rooms. I would love to keep this but I think I'll try to sell it first.  

I have big plans for this one too!  Can't wait to get busy on it!

And this one is going to totally change as well.  Funny thing is, I was wondering how hard it was going to be to get that tile out and when I was taking pictures I turned this upside down to set another piece on to get a better shot and plop, out fell the tile!

Here's the goodie I set on top of the wood basket to photograph.  Do you like it?  It's not my style but is very farmhouse looking and I know lot's of people like that so I snapped it right up.  I do have to say I really do like the scene on it and the color of the vase though.  It's going up for sale!

I love how this little box looks already but...I see a nice change for it as well.

This cutie had some faux leaves on a Styrofoam base wrapped around it which really was not too appealing, IMO.  So, I pulled those off and saw some potential here without the extra adornments.  Still thinking about this one.

There's the greenery I pulled off the other piece.  I wanted to show you this frame too.  I love the size of this and have a great idea for a makeover for it as well.

Hmmm???  I can't imagine what I might do with these, can you?  LOL!

In all honesty this joyful piece is going to make a very slow entrance into the booth.  I was like, OMG! when I saw it.  It's in perfect condition without a chip or scratch on it. Hehe, no pun intended there!  I really don't own any tex-mex style dishware but this has me thinking it may be time. 

Here's the markings on the underside of the hat chip and dip bowl.  I love when there is a good mark and you can look up what you have.  I knew I found a great piece when I saw this, especially because it's made in the USA!

Finally, the last thing to show you is this sweet little pineapple lamp.  Actually, it's more of a midsize lamp then small.  She's made of metal and needs a new shade that's for sure. 

Here's she is again with a good wipe down and sporting one of my shades off another lamp in the house. I wanted to see how she would look and already I can see how much better a new shade will be.

As you can see, it was quite a nice day to go on the hunt.   I've got so much to do now and can hardly wait to get started with these makeovers.  I will try to post a few more makeovers from the last haul soon.  

Don't you just love it when you find things and can really see the potential for changing them up into something more appealing.  I know I sure do!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I hope your having a great week!

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