Music to My...EYES!

Quick! Either turn your computer over...or stand on your head for a moment.

I picked up this cutsie coffee table for a SONG.

Song? Song? SONG!!!! YES!!!!












Like the sign says...She made yet another wise shopping decision!

(and I know who "she" is too!) :)

A black finish and those scrolly legs...they just screamed.....SING TO ME!!

Linked to:

Easy Fresh Salsa Recipe

Game day tomorrow! Do you have your snacks ready? I know this is a bit late, but I wanted to share a super easy fresh salsa recipe with you to try...whenever.

You'll need:

Fresh Cilantro (chopped)

1 Fresh Avacado (somewhat firm)(peel and dice)

1 Medium Onion (diced)

1/4-1/2 Cup Frozen Corn

1-28 oz. Can of Petite Diced Tomatoes

1-10 oz. Can of Rotel (with lime juice and cilantro)

Yes. You can use fresh tomatoes! Remember, I said "super easy"!

A few tips:

Soft avacados will still work but make the salsa a bit pasty in texture.

If you like your salsa chunky...drain the liquid off the tomatoes and rotel.

This recipe has been altered a bit from the original given to me...

but this is the way my family and I like it!!

Salsa will keep for a few days in the fridge...

but is best eaten ASAP!!

ENJOY!!!

SNS #127

I'm Such a CopyCat

Edited to link to:

I spend alot of time being a copycat feeding my creativity with the inspiration of others.

I've been swooned by this table from Donna at Funky Junk Interiors.

Funky Junk Interiors and Miss Mustard Seed have teamed up for a Copy Me Challenge. How fun is that!!!









It just so happens, I've had this wood (?crate top?) hanging around for a few years waiting for some attention, so I'm joining the challenge!





I love FJI's idea of putting personal meaning in the script. On my sign, "Miller's Spur" was a store my Great Grandfather and Great Aunt were involved in back in the day. The establish date is when the land of my home was purchased from the US....way back in the day! The number "5"....well, that's just a special number to me! :)

I'm also joining the DIY Project Party. Being inspired by others is just the first step. Now get on out there and try a project yourself!!

I'll share with you how I used inspiration to bring this project together.
I started by playing in some photo editing programs trying different placements and fonts until I found a combination that worked.





Then I had Young One hold the wood piece up so I could be sure it would look ok in the intended spot. He was ever so delighted to help me. (notice he could not take his eyes off the TV)





I printed out the intended fonts and got to work planning to resize and graph them onto the wood piece.





This took WAY too much coffee. I do believe there will be a projector in my future!!!




Yes, I spend way too much time prepping and thinking. Perhaps this is my own personal productive procrastination.

Ahhh....the "5" is all graphed in chalk and ready to paint. That projector would have come in handy!

TaaDaa.....

Once I had everything painted (some by graphing in chalk, and some were stenciled) I sanded the lettering to make it look aged.

If you're into typography...CSI is the place to check! Your mind will swim with all the possibilities!

I was thinking it needed something more....hmmm.

How about this old broom holder, a test tube, and some fresh flowers?

LINKED TO:

Cost? FREE!

Floating photography

Who in this world doesn't love chippy frames all worn and tattered? Sigh.

The photo didn't fit any frame I had.

Turns out, that was a good thing.

It looks a bit like it's "floating".

I want to visit this Italian cafe named after me!



I wish to sit with my girlfriends in those rattan chairs and order a glass of wine and a flaky pastry.


We may just sit there all night.

Photography art "Andrea Pansa" by Alan Blaustein.

A gift from friends.

I adore it - and them.

Dresser turned Wine Hutch

Another fabulous garage sale find. This blue dresser is absolutely stunning!

Just look at the patina on those drawers!

But.... *sigh* .... look at the condition of the drawers.

I had to toss my thoughts around for awhile on this one. I hated to take those lovely carved drawers out of the picture but despise repairing them at the same time.

This brings me to a perfect reason to link this post to Miss Mustard Seed and her Copy Me Challenge. Even she has to toss drawers aside from time to time. Read about her situation HERE.

I decided to set my drawers aside, for now too. They will make their appearance again...someday.

The BLUE was fabulous on the dresser, but I wanted a deeper, richer...you know, more of an aged look. So I used a stain to "glaze" over the blue paint.



The next fabulous thing I discovered was the planking that made up the inside of the dresser. Ooh Laaa La!

I installed a shelf and stained the inside. Was totally LOVING the dark stained look. But I was still searching through my stash for the perfect solution for shelving for the top drawers

If you search long enough...the solution will appear. I've had a few very water damaged pressback chairs in the corner of the barn for a few years now. The only thing salvageable on them were the backrests, and it seemed a perfect solution to cradle a few bottles of wine.



I put a divider between them so the fit would be nice and snug.

(photo credit: Jennifer Hagemeister)

(photo credit: Cindy Willey/Megan Ockert)


Sometimes it's SO hard to let a piece of furniture go after creating. I almost swapped the blue (used to be dresser) wine hutch out with the one below that I made a few years ago. Almost. The stained (used to be dresser) wine hutch won in the end and is still in my house.