Total Copycat!

I know I have told you before that I really don't think I have a creative bone in my body. I love to decorate, craft, sew, garden, paint, etc. but I need to SEE something before I can start! That being said, usually, I will put my own spin on it in some way. This time, I have to admit that I copied this project just as it was presented.

In my defense, the project was so simple that it really didn't leave a lot of opportunity for improvisation. Or, if it did, I didn't see it. I found this cute bunny cutting board on mysweetsavannahblog.com and pinned it to my Easter board...and that was that I thought! The project needed the board-and, since I didn't have any plans of going by the Target $ Spot again, I simply forgot about it.

Fast forward a day or two and I needed to hit Target for a pretty good price on HP ink. And, as I entered the store, there it was...only 1 left and just calling to me. And so, I caved and threw it in my cart.

I really felt kind of bad when I realized I would be stealing using this idea almost "verbatim" from the other blog but then I realized that by not only blogging the project but offering up the download for the words, that is exactly what she meant for us to do. And, I hope I did her proud.

This is really about all you need: the cutting board from the $ Spot at Target ($5), some black craft paint, the Rae Dunn inspired wording (found on the My Sweet Savannah blog site), and a thin brush.

The instructions said to rub a pencil over the back of the words and transfer the letters that way. I must admit that the wood on my board was so hard that no matter how hard I pressed, I could not get a good copy so I turned to black chalk. It worked fine but it is a bit messier. Sorry, didn't get a picture with the chalk as I pretty much had it all over my hands!

Here it is all finished being painted and waiting for it to dry so I could wipe off a bit of extra chalk residue. I was actually considering distressing it a bit-and I still might only because it was also hard to get all of those straight lines straight with the grain of the wood being as pronounced as it was on my board. It looks kind of wavy to me-but for now it is sitting on the counter by some of my other boards and looking so cute and "Eastery"!

Just waiting for my daughter from St. Pete to arrive. Then we are off to Gainesville to pick up another daughter and sister-in-law and we're off to Tallahassee for the weekend. Should be so much fun. Stay tuned.

Spring Cleaning

As much as I wish I could actually post about floors, windows, etc., that kind of spring cleaning hasn't begun to happen around my house just yet. Nope-I'm taking about all of the little things I have to share that really don't add up to anything more than me "cleaning" out some thoughts, projects and photos. First, I don't think I ever showed you the bathrooms decorated for Easter-really not much. Just a nod to the holiday to keep me happy.

Like I said, just a nod but it keeps me in the holiday frame of mind no matter where I am in the house!

The rest of this post may hop around because that is exactly what I have been doing...hopping from one thing to the other. A lot of these things are small projects I have been thinking about for awhile and it feels good to get them off of my list!

I have an off white chair in my living room that gets used every time we are in there. The fabric is nubby and must have some silk in it because it water spots something fierce! I have it cleaned each time I have the carpets done and, honestly, it just seems to look worse each time. I started looking into possibly getting a new chair but this chair is well built and comparable ones these days are super expensive. I toyed with getting it re-covered but that is almost as much as a new chair. And then I remembered that I could paint it. Now, those of you who know me know that when I decide to do something, I want it done YESTERDAY!

You also know that I am a "measure once" kind of girl. And so, I grabbed several bottles of chalk paint in a pretty color called "Mineral" and went to town. For whatever reason, I thought chalk paint might give the fabric a soft feel. I actually thought about watering it down but then decided I might then have to paint more than one coat and my back just wasn't up to that.

And so I began! The paint went on nicely but the fabric did soak it up fairly quickly. Because of nubby fabric, shadows and different drying splotches, it was really hard to see where I had painted and where I had not.

You can kind of see what I mean in this picture but, after the fabric was all dry, I just went back and filled in spots as I found them.

Here is the chair all done and I love it! No more stains showing...but, I must admit that the paint dried kind of scratchy. I think if the fabric had been smooth, I would have been fine. I did read where a light sand papering might help so that is the first thing on my new list of never ending projects! Lol

There is a veerrryyy long story to this simple project but I won't bore you more than to say that when I first wanted to put shelves on my cabinets many, many years ago, there were no small brackets available other than these utility brackets. I never liked them but I put them up with the clear shelves because I wanted the window framed with something.


Fast forward to now-a-days and there are decorative brackets of all sizes being used everywhere. But, for whatever reason, I chose to replace the clear shelves first. I have wanted to use wood in here for awhile as I feel like it balances the wood of the cutting boards, pizza board and carpenter's box on the counter. I lucked into a 2' piece of 1X5 and after just a few simple cuts on my chop saw and a bit of my favorite stain, they were good to go.

Of course now I am looking to change those brackets as well. Number 2 on the list!!

And then, on about my thousandth pass by the kitchen hutch, I looked over and realized that I REALLY disliked the lamp that was there. That was it...just a fleeting thought but somehow it got squirreled into the back of my brain. I did not go looking for a lamp-if I had the one I ended up with would probably have fit the bill a little better-but, as I was walking through HL, I saw this little light and knew I would at least like it better than the one that was there. 50% off of $30...sold!

It is a bit too small so I put it on this riser that I have-which now, I think , makes it a bit too tall. And so I will be looking for a slightly smaller riser...number 3!!

And now for the Meyer lemon update. I posted about my Meyer lemon tree. I have wanted one on my pool deck for a very long time so I was very excited to found one without having to break the bank! It is still pretty small but continues to bloom and produce fruit. This is my first "crop". It got rather large and I was going to leave it on the tree until it turned yellow but it got so heavy that it fell off.

I must admit that I don't think I had ever tasted a Meyer lemon so I was anxious to get into this beauty.

I am now obsessed!! They say it is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin but it tastes like lemon and tangerine to me! I could literally eat the fruit out of the skin. And, I couldn't believe how much juice this one lemon yielded. It will be a long time before my tree is producing enough lemons for me...until then, I am willing to spend a bit more for them at Publix-they're just THAT good!

And, just when you thought I had forgotten about Easter, my friend, her daughter (who used to be one of my Brownies) and her two grand children came over for the day and we let the girls hit my craft stash. With so much to choose from, it was cute that they both decided to do their bunnies the same way.

They just traced the bunny silhouette onto a canvas and went to town.

And yes, one more picture of my laundry...because, if you are really observant, you might notice that the washer and dryer there now are not the same ones that were delivered in December! Another long story but let's just say out with the Samsung...in with the Maytag! Finally...after only 3 1/2 months of waiting and the Samsung replacement delivery date still 2 months off. Fingers crossed that these work as well as they look!

So that is my spring cleaning for today. I think I got all of my little dangles out of the way. Of course, you know it won't be long before I am working on that new list. I'm off to Tallahassee for a few days this weekend but when I return, I will hit the gardens and pool deck...and I know I'll have much more to share. Stay tuned.

Easter's On Its Way!

Our next stop will be the family room. There are a few changes because this is the first time it is getting decorated for Easter since we did the make over last May. I am still loving how the white brightens everything up and makes it look so much cleaner and fresher.

You can tell by the beach towels hanging by the side door that swimming season has already begun around here this year! Not for me yet but definitely for our younger...and braver...family members.

I love my Peter Rabbit sign. I think this may have been the first pallet sign I ever made. I have pretty much made one now for each season or holiday. I wish I had more places I could use them because I would definitely be making more. There is something about the process that I find calming.

I still haven't addressed the very white canvas that the bunny is on. Still can't find a color that I am willing to commit to so I am guessing that sub-consciously I'm not crazy about this guy just yet.

When daughter #2 came today, she came bearing flowers...lots of flowers. She brought a beautiful bouquet for her sister for the birthday celebration we were doing today and then 2 bunches for me. You see, my birthday celebration was continuing today as well with my birthday request..."strong muscles". I had some heavy duty things that needed doing and it was all just a bit too heavy for me. The family arrived to help out.

Any way, Becky knows how much I love spring flowers and always brings me some when she sees them. This beauty next to my favorite spot in the family room is not only pretty but those hyacinths make it smell like a spring garden! And the irises, tulips and pussy willow...swoon!

And then there is this bunch of pretties in the kitchen! I love spring...and its flowers!!

We not only managed to replace the worn and brittle parts of my gazebo floor but also put in three new privacy fence posts to replace some that were about to tumble and also replaced several sections of lattice on the fence top that were the victims of a large, falling branch. I would take some pictures to show you the fruits of their labors but we are getting some much needed rain today so that will have to wait.

As if all of that wasn't enough, daughter #3 and my oldest grandson whipped up a spring celebration meal fit for an Iron Chef. They made fettuccine alfredo with asparagus, peas and tarragon, romaine salad with snap peas and seasoned pecans with a honey pecan dressing, fresh bread and strawberry shortcake for dessert. It was a lovely day and I am so thankful to have so many willing helpers in my family. We gotta do this more often-wink, wink! Stay tuned.

Hippity, Hoppity

It is a beautiful spring morning and I only have a few minutes but why don't we "hop" into the dining room while we can!

There are some changes in this room...mostly from the new faux flowers I got on that HUGE sale at Michaels last month. I'm so glad I was thinking ahead as there has not been another sale like that one since!

I actually changed up the niche as well. In past years I have had a lot of my vintage decor on those shelves and it just looked cluttered to me when I looked back over those pictures.

And, of course, the side board vignettes will continue to change now that the new lanterns are hanging. I always had an asymmetrical arrangement here with the left side being tall to balance the lamp that was on the right. With no lamp, that won't work any more so I am trying out new things.

I still love this bunny runner. I got it at Hobby Lobby last year (I think) and it reminds me so much of the much more expensive ones from PB...and, the linen on the runner is an almost exact match to the fabric on the new chair covers. If you look closely, you will see that I still haven't addressed the fit of the covers issue. I'll get there as soon as I run it by my sister-in-law. She is my "measure twice, cut one" conscience so I want to see what she thinks will work first before I just start cutting. Lol

Daughter #3 gave me the bunny hat a few years back. I have had the gentleman rabbit for a few years longer. I must admit that the hat was never a favorite-except for the fact that it was a gift-because the bow and dots were all in pink and blue and it always reminded me of a baby shower. Out of the blue it hit me that I could change those dots and bow-and so I did. And then when I saw how closely the hat resembled the bunny's hat, it was serendipity!

Now that I'm looking closely at that cute flower, I'm thinking I might just need to add one of those to the hat as well.

Just a few random shots around the sunroom. I kept it really simple out there.

This is just one of the three different lavender plants my brother and sister-in-law brought me for St. Patrick's Day. They are all really doing well in the sunroom and looking like they may be graduating to larger pots very soon. I have never done very well growing lavender outside-and I have tried-so I am keeping them in here as long as I can. They really are lucky to have any leaves left because every time I walk by, I pull off a few to rub between my fingers!

Off to get a few other things done but I will be back soon. Stay tuned.