Gold Mirror Re-do

After living here almost a year...I am finally getting a sense of what I want to hang where. I really haven't done much decorating, and in a way I think it has been good to 'live' in this space and figure out what I really want, and what will really work for our home. Our entry is small and I just had this little table with flowers on it, but it needed something.

I headed up to my 'junk' room where everything I haven't unpacked is including all our decorations and my thrift store finds. I came across the perfect gold mirror.

The gold is not my style, but with a little primer and paint...it turned out perfect. I love it, the perfect addition to my small entry. (plus it feels good to finally start making our home our own!)

Vase Redo with Jute

 Wanna take a boring plain glass vase and give it something special? How about using jute?

So cute right? I got my jute from website that does wholesale and the prices are great. Go to http://burlapfabric.com/    There prices are great and they shipped fast too. Really great to work with and they have so many fun options including burlap coffee bags, burlap webbing (so plan on getting some of this), cheesecloth, jute and sisal twine. You should totally check them out! I use jute for so many things, wrapping gifts, decorating, hanging things. Here is a basic tutorial on how I created did this vase-redo.

Once again the before & after:

I'm join these fabulous link parties each week: Flamingo Toes,  I heart naptime, Under the table and dreaming, Not your ordinary Recipes, Not just a housewife, The Project Queen, Creating my way to success, Craft Couture, Funky Polkadot Giraffe,The Kurtz Corner,  Krafty Kat, Polly want a Crafter, Blue Cricket Design, Southern Lovely, Ginger Snap Crafts,  Women who do it all, Eisy Morgan, Laugh, Love, Craft,  Clean & Scentsible,  House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Speckled Dog, Tatortots & Jello, Simply Designing, Chic on a Shoestring, Just a Girl ,Someday Crafts, Reasons to skip the housework,  The Idea Room ,Between U and Me,   Home Saavy
Pocket full of pink,  For the love of cupcakes, Positively Splendid,  Raising 4 Princesses , One Stop Shoppe,Oopsey Daisy
 Its Overflowing, The D.I.Y. Dreamer ,Serendipity & Spice, Rae Gun Ramblings,

It's really May

I apologize if you this post already showed up...I apparently pushed publish before I even typed anything...this new blogger will take some getting used to. Well, its been a month, and where have I been?? Well, I had surgery, good news is that I shouldn't have gall bladder problems anymore, bad news is my other symptoms are back and I have been referred to a GI to figure out what the HECK is going on! I am tired of feeling horrid all the time, its been a real bummer and this has been going on for months. Here's hoping they will be able to diagnose the problem soon.

In other news: I have still been able to do some projects here and there, and hopefully I will feel more up to blogging about them. See my super cute vase I re-did, I'll post details soon. I made it pre-surgery and it was so cute holding my get well flowers from the hub. I got the awesome jute from http://burlapfabric.com/     They have great products and you can't beat the price! I have some more projects using their burlap and cheesecloth coming up too!

Even though I haven't felt great, I am still loving Spring here in WY. Here's my super cute front yard tree.

I am FINALLY working on hanging a gallery wall...its a work in progress just trying to figure out placement, want a sneak peak?

I also started one of the WORST projects ever, seriously it is horrid, you'll be hearing all about it. Let's just say it wasn't cheap...and it is taking days and days and I'm still not loving it.

I finally started on some curtains...I've only had this fabric sitting here for 8 months...hence the wrinkles! Can't wait to show you the finished product.

And lastly, even though I haven't felt great I have decided to start couch to 5k. I need the scale to start moving in the right direction again...have I mentioned I have lost 70 lbs since last August? I have been plateaued this last month and a half with surgery and everything. Its been a rough go so maybe this will help? If you're on the weight loss bandwagon I would love to hear what you are trying out and how its working for you! Well, thats all for now...hopefully it won't take me another month before I post again. :)

The explanation

Well, I hope ya'll will forgive me for being such a slacker in my posting. I have been quite busy going out of town visiting family for spring break and winter break and besides that I haven't felt well. One night I woke up in the middle of the night and I thought I was having a heart attack! I was freaking out because I was having weird chest pain/pressure. It was steady through the night and I couldn't figure out what was going on. We had a friend who is a cardiologist come over and check me over. He said that he didn't think it was anything heart related and said everything looked good. He suggested waiting it out a bit so I did. I waited for a month and it never got better. It got worse, eventually the chest pressure had subsided and it was more extreme back aches, tightening and pressure around my sternum and bust line and upset stomach. After spring break, I scheduled an appointment with my family practitioner and after a weeks worth of testing and ultrasound we FINALLY figured out what was wrong. Turns out I have gall stones and my gall bladder is inflamed. I have an appointment to meet with the surgeon next week and hopefully the surgery will be scheduled for shortly thereafter. Needless to say, I have pretty much spent the last bit laying on my bed, on the couch, or in the tub. It hurts to even sit up for long so I rarely get on the Internet. I am quite excited to finally know what is causing me this pain, and to get back to being healthy and feeling normal. I miss that! I also miss blogging and have some fun things to share(Some burlap and twine and cheesecloth projects!), I just don't feel well enough to sit here and write them up so please bear with me. Hence the reason I haven't posted in over a month! I will be back in a few weeks hopefully feeling somewhat back to normal. If you subscribe to my blog then I guess you'll know when I'm "back" officially. Thanks for being patient and I'll be back soon!

Personal favor

I know this is annoying...sorry! I entered a photo contest on facebook and would love some more votes. To vote, just go to the bottom right and rate it with stars.  You can vote once per day.
You can vote here.
Here is the link, hopefully it works. If not you can go to http://www.facebook.com/DeseretBook?sk=app_107727025983833 and look for my photo, I think its on the 2nd page and looks like this:

Thanks so much!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Well friends. I sent my camera in to be cleaned and I am surely missing it. Since I have no fresh pics ready to share, I thought I would dig through my pics from last year and share a fun rainbow cupcake idea that might be fun for your St. Patrick's Day parties this year. These are super easy and cute.

 First, start out with a simple white cake mix prepared as normal.

 After mixing up batter, separate evenly into different colors. I did the standard red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

 Next, line your cupcake pan and start spooning in layers of batter. I started with red and moved up from there.

 Slowly add in spoonful layers as you go. Try to keep your scoops the same so you don't run out of 1 color before you get them filled!

 This is what mine looked like before baking.

After they are cooled, top with your favorite frosting, I'll share the recipe I use, I think its wiltons:

Buttercream Recipe

1/2 Cup butter

1/2 Cup shortening

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp Milk

4 C. Powdered sugar

Whip, Whip, Whip!!

Here is the delicious result. Sooo yummy and kids love 'em!

I'm join these fabulous link parties each week: Flamingo Toes,  I heart naptime, Under the table and dreaming, Not your ordinary Recipes, Not just a housewife, The Project Queen, Creating my way to success, Craft Couture, Funky Polkadot Giraffe,The Kurtz Corner,  Krafty Kat, Polly want a Crafter, Blue Cricket Design, Southern Lovely, Ginger Snap Crafts,  Women who do it all, Eisy Morgan, Laugh, Love, Craft,  Clean & Scentsible,  House of Hepworths, Somewhat Simple, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Shabby Nest, The Speckled Dog, Tatortots & Jello, Simply Designing, Chic on a Shoestring, Just a Girl ,Someday Crafts, Reasons to skip the housework,  The Idea Room ,Between U and Me,   Home Saavy
Pocket full of pink,  For the love of cupcakes, Positively Splendid,  Raising 4 Princesses , One Stop Shoppe,Oopsey Daisy
 Its Overflowing, The D.I.Y. Dreamer ,Serendipity & Spice, Rae Gun Ramblings,

Family Traditions, gift list ideas, & wants list {free printables}

Here are 3 more printables to add to the Home Organizing Binder:
Wants, Needs, & Sizes: PDF, Excel worksheet
Birthday & Anniversary Gift Ideas: PDF, Excel worksheet
Family Traditions: PDF, Excel worksheet 

Did you miss out on the other free Home Binder Printables?
Our Week at a Glance
2012 Calendar
Daily Quick Clean
Weekly Cleaning 
Monthly Deep clean
Blogging Schedule
Important Dates

As always, personal use only. Please link back!