Talk of the Town Link Party

Welcome back to Talk of the Town!

First, let's take a look at what you may have missed from your party hosts!

More Creativity on MORE Mondays

If I only had a dime for every time I have heard someone say, "I am not creative!"...

We are ALL born with creativity coursing through our veins, I promise.  But, we don't all recognize it or know how to use it and how to grow it. In addition, because we are creative in different ways we often think that other people are more creative than we are because we don't identify.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! Earlier this past week we woke up to a heavy, freezing fog. It created beautiful ice crystals on branches and I had to snap a few pictures. But, it also made it hard to see and made driving dangerous. Life often feels like the fog--unclear, murky, grey, and even cold. Life is hard and challenging and there are circumstances that we simply cannot see coming and cannot control. But, faith "sees" for us--faith in a God who loves us unconditionally, faith in Truth, faith in something better. Faith turns obstacles into opportunities. When life gets hazy let's do our darndest to live by faith and look for the beauty in the fog.

Updating a Bookshelf with Paint

Built-in bookshelves are grand...except when they are not 😕. And these bookshelves that are along the staircase to the library wall have bothered me since we moved in to our old schoolhouse.

They are dark, glossy, cheap wood and the shelves are very short--intended for paperback books.  In addition, there were blocks of 2" x 6" boards placed (not secured) along the back to push the books forward I guess.

*This post contains affiliate links*

Talk of the Town Link Party

Welcome back to Talk of the Town!

First, let's take a look at what you may have missed from your party hosts!

A Grey Gallery Wall

Do you ever make a job bigger in your mind that it really ends up being?  When we moved into our old schoolhouse the walls were all white...and 12 feet high. The tall walls overwhelmed me and so I couldn't deal with painting them.

But, after taking down my gallery wall for Christmas, I decided after Christmas was the perfect time to paint it my favorite neutral color, a warm grey.

More Fun on More Mondays

How are you doing with adding MORE in your life this year? Are you making small changes?  I am--I am practicing getting more quiet (SEE HERE) with some deep breathing and quiet coloring and puzzle time and I am making room for MORE health (see here) by drinking more water, doing some squats and calf raises and weight lifting in the extra minutes I find.

Who is ready for, NEEDS, more FUN in her life? I do, I do!

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! It has been an "interesting" week and I have seen a lot of positive things and, unfortunately, a lot of negative. And here is where I am at: all the noise and all the arguing mean nothing to me without love. I have dear friends and family members who have different thoughts and opinions than me and that is okay. I love them and their differing views do not change that. And we can talk and we can discuss issues and try to understand our varying opinions, but if we do it without love, it means nothing. If we want to change the world, move mountains, have others listen to us (no matter which side we fall on), we have to do it with love, with respect. This week let's let love lead us.

Wood Stool Makeover with Paint

Some makeovers are just so easy and quick that you know they were meant to be. When I spied this stool for a decent price at the thrift store I knew what it needed to make it fresh and new.

Some of the wood finish was already coming off.  The rest of it was pretty glossy so I gave it a very quick sanding (like a less than 2 minute sanding). I then wiped it down with white vinegar.

I chose to use Casement, which is a great, bright white paint from Fusion Mineral Paint.

Hand Painted Signs and Etsy Shop

After four, yes 4 years, I decided to open my etsy shop again.

I have been having so much fun painting small signs on reclaimed wood.  I keep painting and painting... 

2017 Home Decor Trends

Each year I like to guess at what trends in home decor are going to be hot in the upcoming year.  Sometimes I am right, sometimes I am not.

My suggestion with trends is to NOT jump both feet, full-on, empty your bank account on to any trend, but rather find small ways to incorporate the trend into your home.  

Talk of the Town Link Party

Welcome back to Talk of the Town!

First, let's take a look at what you may have missed from your party hosts!

More Health on More Mondays

Welcome to our third week of getting MORE in 2017! 

(week 1 HERE, week 2 HERE)

The number on resolution that people make, year after year, is to get healthy and lose weight. 

And, it is a great goal.  Except we seem to have a tough time keeping it because we often set such big goals that we get overwhelmed and frustrated and we quit.  Some of us have already quit on day 16 of the new year.

PRINT THIS HERE

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! A few weeks ago my daughter and I headed out around our town to take a few wintry day portraits. One place we stopped is an abandoned house and farm located just a few miles from our home. The falling buildings, rusted trucks, broken bits and pieces that were once part of someone's life were all beautiful to me. When others see the place they might see garbage and junk, but I see something different. And, it reminds me of God and how he sees us. He looks past all of our ugliness, all of our faults and mistakes, all of those things that are broken, and he sees beauty. It is comforting to know that God looks at us with unconditional love-- he sees our hearts and thinks we are beautiful.

Upcyling an Old Chair with Reclaimed Wood

Oops I did it again...upholstered an old chair with reclaimed wood that is.

This old chair came from a neighbor several years ago.  I can't even remember what the original upholstery looked like, but I reupholstered it POORLY with cheap fabric that pilled and let it sit in my bedroom for too many years.

When we moved, it didn't make the bedroom cut, so I decided it was time to part with it, but not before it was upcycled.

Reclaimed Wood Sofa Table

So, when you have a college student who is an architecture student and who is poor and needs money, what does he do?

Over the Christmas break he builds a fantastic table to sell in mom's booth.

And he builds it with great detail that he enjoys meticulously working on.  He used four different types of reclaimed wood.

Talk of the Town Link Party

Welcome back to Talk of the Town!

First, let's take a look at what you may have missed from your party hosts!

More Mondays, More Rest

Hello there!  I hope you are settling into the new year, getting back into the swing of things after the holidays.  

If you joined me last week (and if you didn't, see my first MORE Post HERE), I am walking us through, step by step, week by week, getting MORE life out of 2017.

If you did your homework, hopefully you have identified some of things that you want more of this year (and those things you need less of).  This week we are going to focus on MORE rest and MORE quiet in our lives.

Sunday Verses

Happy Sunday! We are heading into the second week of the new year and some of us have sadly already broken those resolutions we made a week ago. We want new things in our lives, we want new doors to open for us, but we are trying to open those new doors with old ways and we wonder why it is so hard. We need to let God open the doors that need to be opened, change those things that need to be changed, and shut the doors that need to be shut. If we want resolutions to last, want to make differences for the better, we have to let God lead and trust that what he is doing is better. This week, give the resolutions to God, let him handle them and make the way for us.

Simple Hand Painted Signs on Reclaimed Wood

I seem to be easing into the new year in small ways, slowly.  I am not sure if it is because it is so cold (we haven't been out of negative temps this week), but slow and steady seems to be my motto.

And that is okay. I have plans for some big projects and big builds, but this week I have been content painting small pieces, small, hand-lettered signs.

Wood Crate End Table

Storage, we all need it. And even though I am purging more junk so I need less storage, we all need places to tuck those things that we won't be parting with, but also don't necessarily want out in plain sight. 

In comes an old wood crate/trunk.

Talk of the Town Link Party

Welcome back to Talk of the Town and Happy New Year! 

First, let's take a look at what you may have missed from your party hosts!

More Monday

Okay, I have been pondering whether or not I want to start this new series--More Mondays.

You see, in the past I have started some other series that never seemed to catch on and you lost interest and I lost interest and, well, I let them die.  And, this is scary for me because I am really trying to commit to a whole year of these posts, 52 days of posts that I hope will inspire and motivate you to get more out of life.

And this series really isn't in keeping with my typical blog content--building and creating home decor on a budget.  But, this something I want to do for myself and want to share with you, my readers.  

Sunday Verses and Happy New Year!

Happy Sunday and Happy New Year! It is that time of year when we make resolutions, make a fresh start, try to do life better than we have. I am convinced that if we would focus on these two commandments and spend our time loving and serving God better and loving and serving our neighbors better, all of our other resolutions would fall into place. Jesus made it pretty clear--these two directives are at the heart of everything else. And I know I fail miserably at living out these commandments well. I get caught up in my own little world, my problems and issues. I forget that my energies and focus are best spent on loving God and others. This year I am resolving to better love Jesus and others. I am resolving to direct my attention to these 2 commandments--I am excited to see what unfolds.