Under Construction

I'll be back at it early in the am....calling it a night...finished my first ASCP/waxing project (because I didn't want to mess up the REAL project...) I'm happy with how it turned out.  I have some fun tips to share.  I'm working out some details of my layout...so pardon the mess!

Brother and Family are moving...house for sale!

My Brother and Family are relocating...here's the info.
For Sale: 3BR/1+1BA Single Family House in West Lafayette, IN, $86,500

DIY Mantle Widening....FINALLY!

Ok, so here it is...yes, finally.  Okay, so I apologize for taking so long to post this, however, let me just tell you what I've been up to...  First, my wax came...super excited!  Needed it to finish Grandma's piece...more on that later.  THEN...all my Rub n' Buff's came...awesomeness.  THEN...my ASCP came.  Yes, I realize I'm new to blogging...however, I recognize a good thing when I read about it blog after blog.  Anyway, I'll post more on the paint, wax, and whatnots later...you're here for the turorial.  Okay, so since I'm on a "self-imposed spending freeze" (which has forced me to be more resourceful) I'm only working with randomness around my workshop garage.  BTW...spending freeze is for NEW store-bought decor items.  I was once working with this...

One might say, what's the problem...here's the problem people...the mantle is (was) only 4 inches wide...meaning those creepy spider webs were multi-tasking.  As in, holding the decor on the mantle and hiding the fact that they are hanging over like by 2.5".  So, yes, add in the fact that the mirror is about .75" thick...I didn't have much to work with.  So, what's a no-spending gal to do?  Simple!  All I needed was a board (1"X6"X6'), some wood putty, a miter box, a saw, some nails, a hammer, stapler, wood glue, liquid nails, and yes, moulding because you can never have too much of that... oh yes, and some paint.  Here's the after...

Hello Gorgeous!  Notice the candle sticks are NOT about to fall off due to lack of surface to "rest" on!!  Yep, that's right...just a small little project I did while hubby was bowling (he DID notice after I pointed it out)...and I had a 2 1/2 yr. old and 14 month old at home with me helping every step of the way.  All I did was (yes I did use a circular saw to cut-off 4" of the big top board because since our fire place is on an angle...the whole 6' piece was not working) hammered the big new wide board smack dab on top of the old wimpy mantle....(yes, also smeared some wood glue on that baby too) then, measured a piece of moulding I had left over from another project...cut two 45's, filled some unsightly gaping gaps (unlevel wall people...my father raised me better than to screw-up a couple of 45's) and used wood glue and temporary staples to hold it in place (under the big board I nailed to the top).  You might be asking...where does the Liquid Nails come in?  Welp, after a huge FAIL (I was impatient and wanted to start painting...but couldn't do it with the staples holding the moulding in place...silly me...grabbed some needle-nose pliers and ripped them off....along with the trim moulding!!)  Monkey Man and The Princess thought this was the funniest thing......EVER...I'm here to tell you...IT WAS NOT.  So, enter Liquid nails..to the rescue...how you like me now moulding?!?!?  Yes, I was talking smack to the mantle...okay so moving on....finally after the glue and paint dried, I am left with my new fav place to put crap....without having to use fishing line, and a thumb tack to secure it!  Easy "do-over".    Goin to bed because we had a looooong night with a teething Princess...so I'm out.  Maybe tomorrow, I'll jazz-up the pics with some arrows, but I'm sure you get the idea!

Happy Haunting!

Grey's Anatomy, and things I really don't like

So, I had initially planned to reveal my awesomeness er, mantle "widening" DIY , however in light of recent events, this must be postponed.  Yes, I know....all of you were waiting since I was bragging all about it all day...and telling everyone how happy I was with how it turned out.  The upside is...after the (9--5) on my way to hubby's office...to exchange vehicles so I could drive to Mom's to pick up Monkey Man, and The Princess....whew...try saying that 10 times fast!  Oh yeah...sorry you'll quickly learn to deal with the ADHD...I called a special someone whose work I happen to LOVE...to see if she wanted to be "The Official Photographer" for my new endeavor...and show me like a million things along the way...about blogging...bizzz-naaaasss and whatnot...and SHE SAID YES!!!  Yes, you're left with that for now because we're meeting early next month to work out the details, so you'll have to sit on the edge of your seat until I reveal.  So, yes...just to recap.  Good news...Photographer in the works...bad news...no update on the DIY of widening your lame mantle.....Because....Grey's Anatomy starts tonight!!  And, I have to finish up some painting on my Niece's GW lamp do-over.  I've decided I prefer "do-over" rather than make-over because some of the things I "do-over" shouldn't have "been done" the first time round, let alone "made-over".  Do-over is kinda like...the way (in my somewhat meaningless opinion) it shouldda been done the first time.  Anyway, since I have a few seconds while hubby cleans the monsters in the bath, I thought I'd share some random...things I dislike.

1-When people say, "hey how are ya?" but don't even so much pause for your response.  What if I was going to like realllly get into detail about my crappy day...kinda like, "well, not so good because my cat seems to have a lot of hairballs lately, and the dog doesn't like to eat them anymore which means I am the one responsible for cleaning them up before The Princess puts them in her mouth, and I've really had bad cramps this am, along side with a pounding headache."

2-When people don't use their turning signals.  TRUST me, they're worth it.  When I witness such a debacle, my first response is, Hmmmmm....I didn't know they still sold those models...without turning signals.

3-When there's one item from the grocery list that I forget...or cant' remember.

4-when it's in the 50's and raining.

5-Gonna hafta wait...5 minutes until I finally find out if McDreamy enjoys sleeping in the stick house wrapped in a sleeping bag.

How about you...what don't you really like?

Halloween Decorating!

Yes I am cheap frugal, so most things here within view are from good ol' Dollar Tree.  But, it's only Halloween, and it's only here for like 31 days + 9 days (left this month), so, 40 days...might be a stretch, I guess I can live with it.  In the photo below, the green arrows are from Dollar Tree, Yellow arrows are Goodwill finds, and blue arrows are Hobby Lobby finds...

More with the mantle, but I have a DIY planned for tonight; something along the lines of "The widening of the awful skinny mantle"...stay tuned!

New to Blogging...

Since this is officially my first post, let me take a moment to remind you...this is all new to me...as is home decorating.  I'm new to the DIY world, and well, obviously the blogging world too.  Nonetheless, let's not get all "technical"...this blog is kinda like...brainstorming with myself  (and anyone else who cares to join in the fun).  I don't know what rule #1 is, but rule #2 is...

Now that we have that out of the way, let's proceed.  I've done a lot of projects (especially) lately but I'm going to try to somewhat organize this mess them for you.  In DIY sections, (tutorials) and what not.  Like I said, I'm new to this.  So, UNLIKE Miss Mustard Seed, anything I say is not the Bible!!  Actually, I probably learned it from stalking her blog, because well, I'm a bit obsessed!  Oh yes, back to business.  So, it will take a while for me to get projects and what not on here...but here's the first... Halloween Decorating!!