Home Decor or Dust Collector?

I have seen little moss ball decorations all over blogland and it gave me an idea for these stars I bought at a garage sale for 50 cents each.

I started out using a gluegun to attach the moss (purchased at Dollar Tree for one whopping dollar) but it wasn't working effectively so I decided to use spray adhesive instead. I sprayed each star and then started laying the moss on the star. I bought two clay pots at Wal-Mart for about $3.00 and used a piece of foam to secure the stem into the pot. I painted each pot white. Once the paint was dry, I used a papertowel to paint the pot with wood stain. I then took a clean papertowel and wiped the stain off. I didn't want the pots stark white because we don't really have anything white in our livingroom. You can't really tell that well in the poor pictures. Do you like the way they turned out?

My entire star collection on the mantel. I bought the middle star on clearance in Ruidoso.

I hate our fireplace brick, layout and the mantel cove. I was thinking about painting it white, but hubby wants to stain it darker to match our entertainment center. What do you think?

I even thought some beadboard would look good up there painted white. I would have taken a picture of the entire fireplace, but then I would have had to clean off all the junk and that would have taken too long!

So are these crafty decorations or just new and improved dust collectors?

The mantel is still missing something. What is it? Help?!

All A Girl Wants is Diamonds

Preferably a Princess Cut diamond, but since I ain't gettin' one of those (hint, hint), I settled for Harlequin Diamonds.


Wednesday I finally finished little Mermaid's room. I first started this at the beginning of the summer, but the instructions I found online the first time did not measure out the way I wanted them. I found that out the hard way after marking off the entire wall in pencil.

I sulked, cried, and pouted.

I got over it and began erasing all of my first set of lines and started over.

I luuuuvvvvvvvveeeee the finished product!




It helps if you have one or more of these hanging around. Free labor. Is that legal?

He is pretty good at measuring and making sure the lines are straight and level.

I once saw him holding the level with his feet.

They were dirty.

He left footprints on the pink wall.


My first set of diamonds. I was so proud!

I told hubby that when we get ready to move, this room will sell our house! That's how proud I am!!

This room should make all mommy's want a little girl!! I'll do my best at giving step by step instructions on how to create your own Harlequin wall. I read somewhere that it will make a small room seem bigger. I've seen them entries, bathrooms, and kitchens.

While I was working on this I had an idea for a headboard. Just use molding to frame out a headboard and then do the diamond pattern within the molding. It would be super cute!!

Have I mentioned that I'm lovin' me some diamonds right now! Even if it isn't sitting on my finger (hint, hint)!!

You will need:

pencil

erasers

painter's tape

level

tape measure

base coat

paint for diamond color

I had a Black & Decker Sight Line Laser Level and it was a big help for the vertical lines. I couldn't ever get it right for the horizontal lines, but with a level it works out ok.


1. Take vertical and horizontal measurements of wall where you want your diamonds. This website is a good place to start to get an idea of how many rows of diamonds you will need. At the bottom of this website there is a calculator that can help you get an idea of the measurements for your diamonds. The rule of thumb is that the height of the diamond should be twice the width.

**DO NOT follow the directions from this website entirely because that is how I first made my mistake and had to start over from the beginning.
2. Make a vertical line down the center of your wall. This step will keep you from ending up with the last row being really narrow. Once you have done this step, I would measure each half to recheck and figure out how wide the diamonds should be and then start marking off the rest of your vertical lines. The level comes in handy when marking off all of the lines. I ran into some problems with the walls not being straight and had to adjust my dimensions a little. I read that the width can be adjusted a little, but never the height.

3. Decide how many rows of diamonds you will need and mark off your horizontal lines with pencil. Make your initial mark and then use the level to finish the rest of the line.
4. By the end of the third step you should have a bunch of rectangles. Marking everything off is the hardest part!! Now you should go back and pencil off the center of the top, bottom, and both sides. This is where the sight line laser level came in handy. I would find the center of one diamond and then get the laser on that mark and then go down the entire row and mark off the center of each diamond.

5. After marking off the center of each diamond, use your level to basically connect the dots. I marked everything off in pencil and then went back and used my painters tape. Keep in mind that all of your pencil marks will need to erased. If you are using a dark paint within the diamond you won't need to erase the pencil marks because the paint will cover it. Where all of my pink paint is, I still need to go back and erase all of my pencil marks. I also read that the kneaded eraser works better, but I had a hard time trying to get all the pencil marks off with it too. It will be a tedious job, but well worth it.
6. I used my painters tape to outline every other diamond because I didn't do a very good job of not covering up the diamond beside the one I was taping off.

7. After you have your diamonds taped off you are ready to paint.

8. Fill in your diamonds and then remove the tape. Once your painted diamonds dry, you can begin taping off the rest of your diamonds. I finished painting mine in one day.

For the black paint I used one part paint and two parts glaze. I didn't want the diamonds to be solid or really dark. I'm still not sure if the glaze was necessary because I ended up sponging the paint on anyway. I really luuuuvvvveeeeeeeeeee the finished product. Just in case you were wondering.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm sure the instructions are as clear as mud!

Johnny Carino's Homemade Bowtie Festival

This was a really easy recipe and very delicious.

I was so proud of myself.

Back in the day when I worked and had money to eat out this was my favorite dish and I always ordered it from Johnny Carino's.

I didn't have a red onion so I used a white onion.

I also didn't have asiago cheese and it still turned out great.

I used cooked bacon out of a bag. The stuff that is made for salads and it was still good.

Ariel picked out the chicken.

Logan gagged.

Had hubby been here he would have added crushed peppers.

Haven't gotten a report from Alexia. She ate later after practice.

But it doesn't matter what they all think. I'm telling you it was GOOD!!!

I luuuuuuuvvvvvvved it!!!

Now go make you a batch and tell me what you think!

JOHNNY CARINO'S BOWTIE FESTIVAL

FOR THE BOWTIE FESTIVAL:
1 oz. Melted butter
1 tsp. Chopped fresh garlic
1/8 cup Diced red onion
1/8 cup Diced cooked bacon
1/4 cup Diced Roma tomatoes
3 oz. Sliced cooked chicken
1 oz. Heavy (whipping) cream
3 oz. Alfredo sauce (recipe follows)
1/8 cup Asiago cheese
1/2 tsp. Salt, pepper, and garlic salt
10 oz. Precooked bowtie pasta

ALFREDO SAUCE
1 quart Heavy whipping cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp. Black pepper
1/4 cup Whole milk

Preparation
In a heated saute pan combine butter, garlic, onions, bacon, tomatoes, chicken, and spice mixture.

When onions begin to turn translucent, add heavy cream and Asiago cheese.

Once cheese and cream have reduced by half, add Alfredo sauce and bowtie pasta. Toss until well combined and remove from fire. Allow to cool for a few minutes so the cheese and sauce thicken.

Saute heavy cream, milk, and black pepper to a consistent boil. Remove cream mixture from heat and fold in parmesan cheese. Store completed sauce in refrigerator until use.

Yea Me!!

Right now I am totally into monogrammed decorations. I love them. I saw this idea on Southern Hospitality's blog and had to make one of my own.

I had to buy a piece of wood from Hobby Lobby. It was less than $1.50.

I already had this letter R that I purchased at a garage sale 2 years ago for .15 cents. They had it stained. I spray painted both black. I distressed the R because I really like that look right now too.

I purchased a piece of scrapbook paper in black and white because I am really into those colors right now also. I used spray adhesive to adhere it to the wood and hot glued my letter R onto the paper.

Warning: Don't spray the adhesive onto your arm. If you have hairy arms like me, it will make your arm hairs wig out! Trust me!!

I really like how it turned out. I want to buy a little stand to put it on so I can add it to my collection on the entertainment center.

I have found a ton of other craft ideas from some thrifty crafters that I can't wait to get my hands on. I want to do a big letter R for my front door, but I can't remember which blog I found the great idea. I plan to make some shutters for the front windows of our house and I have another project that I am working on that will be pink, black and a diamond pattern. Can't wait to share it with you! If I pull it off, I will have earned myself a big delicious cake to eat all by myself!

Today was my lucky day

Today I felt lucky! I could feel it in my bones (that's what the girls always tell me). I knew I would find the piece I only dreamt about. Today, I found it here.
This bargain makes for one happy two year old and one happy Momma! After I saw this idea here, we went shopping and it was fate. It was meant to be. Guess how much? They retail online anywhere from $80.00 to $250.00. $25.00--that's it!!! I was going to spray paint it to clean it up, but I think we might leave it as is. We wiped it down with Clorox wipes and Thomas was ready to go.

Have I mentioned that Logan is obsessed with Thomas the Train? Every week we pick up the same books from the library and we each read him the same books over and over.

Guess which sound he prefers on his sound machine. Yes. The train tracks.

I know what Santa will be bringing him for Christmas because we only have two Thomas toys and at the moment we can't find either of them. Uh oh! If we left them at your house there is one little boy that really needs his Thomas toys!