Mason Jar Punch

Last night I invited some friends over for a painting party. 

We did this cute Folk Art painting of a church...

The painting was done on blocks of wood. I bought 2" x 8"  x 8' pieces of untreated lumber at Lowe's and my husband cut them for me into 8" x 10" pieces. They all turned out great. Everyone's was just a little different but all perfect in their own way. One friend even turned her church into a fire station to give to her dad!

But the star of the night for me was the drinks!

I saw this cute idea on Pinterest (yes, I'm addicted to Pinterest too) on making Sangria and serving it in Mason jars.

Go HERE to visit the website where I found the idea.

Instead of Sangria, I made a wine punch.

I used a chalkboard garden stake to write "wine punch" so the ladies would know what they were getting.

Check out my beautiful zinnias!!!

Here's how I made the punch...

2 bottles of white wine

1/2 cup Triple Sec

1/8 cup sugar

1 cup orange juice

2 cups club soda

Actually, I just eyeballed the OJ & club soda. I added more until I thought it was good.

I cut up peaches, strawberries, and oranges and put them in the jars before I poured in the punch. I chilled the punch in the jars in the fridge until right before everyone arrived.

Delicious!!!

Fill the jars with fruit and lemonade for a non-alcoholic version.

The Peacock Chair

I have great friends!

They give me "stuff" they no longer want that I can use for projects.

Recently my friend, Kimbo, of Kimbo's Frame & Design, gave me 3 great chairs. Kimbo is a wonderful artist, so I'm surprised she didn't do something fantastic with the chairs. She must not have been "feeling it," so lucky me!!! The chairs are very old and 2 of them are painted white and are very, very distressed...they are perfect. Here is the 3rd chair...

When trying to decide what to do with the chair, I decided I'd paint it to go on my screened porch. The theme? A peacock chair. When I sit on my porch I can hear the peacocks screaming from the farm across the road. And, yes, they do sound like someone is screaming! 

 

I started by painting the chair a turquoise. I painted the back slats black. I dry brushed the woven seat with the turquoise.

I am an artist and have hand painted many a design onto furniture. But, this time I took the lazy way out...

Can you guess what the design is?

Here are a few more pictures before I reveal my secret...

And the answer is...

A NAPKIN!

And yes, it only took one napkin. I cut the napkin into 4 pieces and applied it to the chair with ModPodge. I went over the edges a little with the black paint just to make it blend better. Then I finished it off with a coat of polyurethane.

I've been a little obsessed with projects using napkins lately. Expect to see more napkin projects soon!

To learn more about Kimbo and see some of her work, go to www.kimbohemia.net.

Off The Beaten Path

I think it is true for most of us, that we rush through our days and often fail to see many of the wonderful things that are right in our own backyard. Yesterday, my husband and I were driving down a road we've traveled hundreds of times. For some reason a sign caught my husband's eye. It was just a normal sign that shows the name of the road up ahead if you turn right and the name of the road just past it if you turn left. I have never even noticed this sign. I'm usually just too focused on where I'm going to pay attention to it.

Well, the road that turns off to the left is called Covered Bridge Road. My husband asked if I wanted to drive down that road. I said, "yes", so off we went. As we turned onto Covered Bridge Road, I asked my husband if he thought there actually was going to be a covered bridge. I was very hopeful! As we drove, there was a sign that read, "Pavement Ends" which is fine with me...I live on a dirt road! Then there was a sign that read, "One Lane Traffic Ahead"...Cool!

We rounded a corner and there she was in all her glory! A beautiful covered bridge!!!

This is the Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge.

It was built in the 1840's by a freed slave named Horace King.

It is the oldest and longest covered bridge in Georgia.

 

As soon as we pulled up to the bridge, I took a picture (I only had my phone to take it with) and I sent it to my kids and said, "look what we found!"

They thought it was cool too so we went home, picked them up, and went back with real cameras.

The bridge has a cool lattice design inside and is held together by pegs.

Here are my kids...

I was able to get one picture of my son standing still. But, he's in college studying architecture and was much more interested in how the bridge was built!

My daughter, however, is always aware of the camera!

The bridge crosses over Red Oak Creek. It's a little dry right now but there are signs inside the bridge about 3/4 of the way up showing how high the water was in 1994 during a flood.

The other side...

Plus, my husband and my son...

You'd be a little worn out, too, if people had been driving over you for 170 years!!!

We drove across the bridge and followed the road out to some beautiful countryside.

I can't wait to see it in the Fall!

Be adventurous! Take time to get off the beaten path. There may be something special in your own "back yard" that you are missing!

Best In Show

I was nominated for Best In Show over at Lamb Around!

Go to http://lambaround.blogspot.com/ and check it out and vote for your favorite. Hopefully it's me!

Decorating With Sentimental Things

I love to use sentimental things when decorating my home. 

Why put something away afraid that something might happen to it? If you can't enjoy it, then what is the point in holding on to it? Everyday I look around my house at the things that have been passed down to me and my family and it makes me so happy.

Today I am showing how I decorate my mantel in the summer.

The focal point is the tomato print with its pop of color...I love color!

I posted last week about the banner year we are having with our tomatoes, so this print is quite appropriate.

It is by a wonderful artist named Chris Hartsfield. I have several of his watercolors.

The 2 larger silver trays belonged to my mother. The smaller tray I bought at a yard sale for $1 and added the vinyl "B" by cutting it out on my Cricut. I don't mind that they need to be polished. I like the tarnish! 

Many years ago (probably 15 or more), my mother in law gave me 3 blue Ball jars. I quickly became obsessed. I love them. I have bought a few over the years, but I have found that they are a little pricey around where I live. Last year I went on the World's Longest Yard Sale and I hit the jackpot. I found them for $2 and $3. I bought about 15! I wanted more but my kids were making fun of me.

The crock in the photo above is another piece given to us by my mother in law. I filled it with branches from my yard. 

The most sentimental piece to me is the pitcher. My mother made tea in that pitcher everyday for as long as I can remember. I would love to know how many gallons of sweet tea have been served from that one pitcher.

The memories that these pieces hold are so special. 

I'm glad I have them to brighten my home.

Ali's Room

When I started my business, Off The Wall Murals, almost 15 years ago, the majority of my work was done in children's rooms. There were of course the occasional  faux finishing jobs. I much prefer the kids rooms! Faux finishing is more tedious than creative and if I'm going to get covered in paint, I'd prefer it be over a creative endeavor.

 A few years ago things changed and I was rarely doing kids rooms. I was still doing some faux finishing but the majority of my work had switched to glazing kitchen cabinets. I love the outcome, but once again it is more of a tedious job than a creative one.

I was talking to someone a couple of weeks ago after I got yet another call about glazing cabinets, and I told them, "all I want is to do a kids room!"

Well, ask and you shall receive!!!

Michelle Enigenberg of Interior Designs by ME called me about doing some work in a little girl's room that she was designing. When we met and talked about her vision for the room, I was giddy!

The little girl's name is Ali. She is a precious 3 year old. I had so much fun painting for her today.

The room is still waiting for window treatments and a few other things but here is the result of my fun day...

The Before...

Three walls in the room are painted a light pink.

The wall behind the bed is a darker pink. On the darker pink wall, I painted an A for Ali.

I added a flower that matches the bedding behind the A.

Michelle added a little bling to the A and the flower once it was dry.

On one of the lighter pink walls, I added 5 flowers that go with the bedding. 

One of the flowers is over 6 feet tall!

There is going to be a chair that will be upholstered in a green leopard print. I painted some of the leaves to match the leopard print fabric. Here you can see the fabric swatch and some of my leaves...

I added one more flower to another wall...

There is nothing better than loving what you do and having a happy customer!

I think her expression says it all...

I will post more pictures when the room is completed.

Expressions Vinyl Giveaway at Ginger Snaps

Ginger Snaps is hosting a giveaway from Expressions Vinyl! To learn more, go to

http://gingersnapcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/07/giveaway-expressions-vinyl.html.

Here is a recent project I did using Expressions Vinyl and my Cricut...

Great Finds Update

Last week I posted some pictures of a chair and a mirror that I consider great finds.

I bought the chair at a thrift store for only $4.

As you can see in the photo above, the chair has some worn places but it was basically in great condition since I planned to paint it.

So, that was my project for the weekend.

I gave the chair a light sanding and then 2 coats of paint.

Then I added a French Grain label design to the seat.

I distressed the chair by lightly sanding the edges in random places and finished it off with a protective sealer.

It turned out great, if I do say so myself...

Oh what a little paint can do!!!