Rustic Industrial Wall

The space above my kitchen cupboards has been calling for SOMETHING for a few years now, but I have not been sure what. I am a little weird about completely decorating above cupboards. I never want it to feel like a store display, don't want fake plants that get greasy and dusty, never wanted anything too small.

Thus, it has stayed plain, empty, lonely, sad. 

(See how I painted my cabinets HERE.)

I thought I would put pallet wood on the wall, but for some reason, haven't. And then this past week, I decided I wanted tin up there instead.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! How did you celebrate Valentine's Day? Did you profess your love with gifts, good food, a special date night? God wants every day to be a type of Valentine's Day--to share and show love to everyone each day. What would happen if every day we chose to simply love each person we interacted with--no judgments, no thinking about past wrongs, no bringing up differences--just paying the debt of love first? We are obligated to love our neighbors and our neighbors are all those that we interact with daily--the store clerk, the person behind the wheel in the car in front of us, the mom complaining on social media. God does not tell us to fulfill his law by judging others, by pointing out each other's faults, or by any of the other ways that aren't loving. When Jesus died on the cross, he unleashed the ability to love without reservations and conditions. Let's practice God's law that is above all others--love well.

Footstool Makeover

Some things are a "no brainer" when it comes to deciding if I should buy them from the thrift store. This little footstool was one of those items.

It looks like it went with the 60's and 70's blonde painted provincial bedroom sets that were in oh so many little girls' rooms. How I loved those sets but alas, never had one. I don't remember any of my friends that were lucky enough to have the matching sets having a little oval footstool. This was sturdy, dirty as heck, and only $3.

I sanded it lightly and painted it a light grey color. I then distressed it on the edges and used stain over the grey paint. This works great as a footstool in front of a favorite chair,

or tucked in the kitchen as a helper to reach the tall cupboard spots.

It makes a great stepstool in a bathroom for littles to reach the sink.

A little paint makes this little footstool current and a perfect little farmhouse piece. Yay for paint and good finds!

Rusted Flour Tin DIY

Oh, how I love throwing things into the fire--tin things that is! This time I put a Christmas popcorn tin with snowmen on it in the fire. This is what it looked like after it came out of the fire.

I then painted it white and rusted it in a tub with hydrogen peroxide and salt. 

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! Life is busy, there is always 'something". Life does not and will not stand still, but we can. God talks about pausing, being still, going to a quiet place throughout the Bible. He knows the value in practicing the pause, in rest. God even built in a day of rest into each week and commands us to keep practicing it. We have all mastered busyness so well that we have to actually work at pausing, practice being still. Stillness is the place where we let go and allow God to work, it is where we renew our spirits, where we hear his voice. Today, not matter how much you have to do, take some time (at least 30 minutes) to be quiet, to be still. Turn the phone to silent, the TV off, settle your brain and simply rest.

Rustic Barnwood Hall Tree

One of the privileges of creating and building and having my own business is being able to donate items to various auctions and charities. 

Hubby has been on the YMCA board for five years and they recently had their biggest fundraiser of the year, the Snowball Gala. This year we built (and I say we because although most of the time I do all the building, hubby definitely helped on this one!) a rustic, barnwood hall tree.

We started with two pieces of weathered, corrugated tin we had. We made the tin back first.

I made the bench separately, adding storage to it. 

Hooks were added and the back was attached to the bench. I didn't stain any of it, but used my favorite, brush on clear finish.

(affiliate link)

I love this clear coat, you can get it HERE.

Giving back to our community is a priority for us and we are blessed to be able to do so.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! It is January which typically means that our world here in Montana is blanketed in white. This year however, all around us is brown with very little snow. On a recent walk I spied some green popping up through the brown--it was unexpected, but a welcomed sight. It reminded me that there are small, unexpected signs of hope all around us. We often miss the glimpses of hope because we are too busy looking at the bigger picture. We are waiting for the one big "thing" and we forget to notice and appreciate the little encouragements and signs of hope that are in front of us. When we put off hope, when we forget to practice gratitude, when we refuse to notice the everyday positives, we make our hearts sick. Do not defer hope, look for it and take note of the daily hopeful bits of life all around you.

Double Duty Star

Well, it has taken me far longer than I planned, but this is my final 12 Days of Christmas project. 😁 This is a double duty, works for two holidays project so instead of being way behind, we can say I am way ahead.

This star is easy to create and the stenciled tag that flips over makes it perfect decor for both Christmas and the Fourth of July.

Farmhouse Shelf Makeover Take Two

Take two on this bookshelf makeover. I can't seem to find a photo of this shelf in the beginning and I am not even sure I remember what it looked like, but this is what it looked like after its first upcycle.

I got it from a friend's garage and if I remember right, I took the original top off to add to the back and used a barnwood top and stained the whole thing dark.  At any rate, it has been sitting in my booth for more than a year. I am not sure why it didn't sell, I thought it would be perfect for an entry with baskets on it or in a kitchen for cookbooks, towels, bowls.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! If you read my Sunday Verses regularly you have heard me "preaching" practicing gratitude more than once. That is because I know that being thankful can be life changing. Science shows that people who routinely take the time to be grateful are more positive, have stronger immune systems, sleep better, and are kinder. Nothing turns my day around more than stopping my stinkin' thinkin' by mentally or verbally listing as many things as I can to be thankful for. There are countless verses in the Bible telling us to give thanks. I don't always remember to stop my negative thoughts with gratitude, but when I do there is a noticeable difference in my attitude. Today, this week, put a stop to pessimism by giving thanks and notice how it changes your frame of mind.