decorating with barbed wire

i love rusty old barbed wire!

i've got lots of it around my house......

in the garage:

in the living room:

this is actually a "project in progress" -- but i kinda like it just like this!!!! it's been sittin' on the floor in the living room -- for months!!!!

in a candle that a friend gave me a long long time ago:

on the pallet shelf i built for the bedroom:

on the curtains in the living room:

a barbed wire cross in the foyer:

on a candle i made:

i have a few more ideas for decorating with barbed wire -- just need to get busy & make them!!!

linking to: savvy southern style
cozy little house

'staches

we have secret sisters at church -- a "mystery person" has your name & you have the name of someone & you pray for her & encourage her anonymously with cards & little gifts throughout the year & at our annual ladies' tea in june we reveal who we had. it's really brought the ladies of our church closer together over that last several years. it's nice to know someone is praying for you even though you don't know who she is. it's fun to surprise another lady with cards & goodies & try, TRY to keep yourself a secret for the whole year! some people are good at it & others....oh well.... but it's still fun!!! (& if you figure out who's got you, it's fun to try to keep THAT a secret!!!!)

a few weeks ago i got a little gift from my secret sister (the person who has my name). either she knows me VERY WELL, or i did a good job of filling out my profile sheet!!!!

she gave me the cutest little gift bag with a mustache on it with a dr. pepper lip gloss in it!!!! (i like diet dr. pepper & mustaches!!!! especially "sam elliott mustaches!!!!) i had just run out of lip gloss so this was perfect timing!!!!

the bag had a sam elliott mustache on it!!!

and now it's a decoration in my bedroom!!!!

AND it reminds me to pray for HER!!!

now because of the mustache bag, the dr. pepper & the cards she has given me already, i've narrowed it down to possibly 3 people!!! but it's probably none of them!!!!!!! ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! this is so much fun!!!!!


one of the guys in my office has a son who just graduated from high school & is going away to college - he's got down syndrome & will be going to a college for special needs kids in new mexico. such a big step!!!! blake has been a special friend to me over the past few years. he comes into the office over breaks & helps me organize files, shred papers & do other odd jobs. i wanted to give him a little graduation/going away present. his favorite candy is reese's peanut butter cups.

i filled a 2 liter dr. pepper bottle with various sizes reese's candies & reese's pieces and made a cute little label for the bottle. and i didn't tell him how i got them in there!!!! his dad said everyone in the family was puzzled but after a short while blake said, "she cut a hole in the bottle & covered it with the label!!" BINGO!!!! (it'actually a slit though)

he's a smart boy & i know he's gonna do great at COLLEGE.

.....not so sure about his mom & dad though.......this isn't like going away overnight to camp a couple hours away!!!!! maybe mike can do some shredding for me to keep his mind occupied!!!!!!!

my $3 summer purse

a few weeks ago my oldest-bestest friend & i went to brenham & montgomery. we had lunch in a cute little cafe', went to every shop in town & didn't buy a single thing!! i saw a cute summer purse, but they wanted $50 for it!!!! i thought "shoot! i can make my own for next to nothin'!!!"

so.i.did!
i bought the bag at hobby lobby for $3 -- on sale!!! and i had the burlap & the other fabric. just stitched up a couple ruffles & sewed them onto the bag. done in less than 30 minutes!

i stenciled my "cafe 28" logo on it -- i like the way i did it on the other burlap bag i did awhile back better than this one, but it's done & there's no takin' that paint off now!!!

i love it!!
i can carry tons of stuff in it to work -- my lunch, my laptop.....
i've gotten TONS of compliments on it everywhere i go!!!
and for just for three dollars!!!!!

linking to savvy southern style
cozy little house

bedroom makeover

this post is going to be photo heavy!!! FINALLY!!!! such a problem trying to load photos!!!

after 14 or so years with the same paint color, i decided to make a change. didn't realize how much it needed it until i got started. i had changed out the wallpaper border about 8 years ago but the paint has been the same FOREVER! back in 2008 when we had hurricane ike i had some roof damage & leaks. i had fixed the roof & the leaks, "kilz-ed" the stains (but you could still see them) but hadn't painted the ceiling. for the last 5 years i've been living with the "old rustic water stained" look. last friday morning laying in bed i decided it was time to paint & get everything fixed up finally.

i had been debating on whether i wanted to leave the border or remove it. that afternoon i decided to take it down. after that 1st rip there was no going back!!!! down it all came. since i moved to this house in 1990 there's been border at the spot where the wall meets the ceiling on the low sides of the walls & it's been level with that height on the higher walls with white the rest of the way up. this time i decided to go all the way up (1/2 way to heaven!) with the paint. i raised the curtain rod too -- i like them both better this way!

this room looks so rich now with the dark walls, the black furniture & the white woodwork, curtains & linens on the bed!!! everything pops! i just love laying in bed looking at it all!!! it's one of those "why didn't i do this a lot sooner" things!!!

and what color does a texascountrygirl paint her bedroom???

why "sueded leather" of course!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i LOVE the color!!!!
i even covered the light switches with scrapbook paper!!

the "sueded leather" looks very similar to the "taupe" that i did in suzanne's/the guest bathroom. they're both a rich, chocolatey brown. (& of course i can't find a picture of that bathroom right now!!!) it looks so nice in both rooms with the black furniture & white trim. very "texas country"!!!!

i have some plans for some new decorations for the nightstand....in due time.

i'm runnin' outta rooms to re-do......! i'm contemplating something in the living room, but i have to figure it out -- i don't want to paint all the way to heaven. that room has VERY HIGH celiings!!! it's been "toasted almond" for almost 13 years and needs sprucing up -- lots of marks on the walls in certain places. and i'm tired of the light yellow look.

will it be "sueded leather" in there too???!!! hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

and i'd like to repaint the craft room too. it's been moss green for 8 years. i think i'm out of my "moss green stage"!!! but THAT room would be a huge undertaking!!!! EVERYTHING would have to come OUT & there's 4 tons of stuff in there!!!! but it would be a good way to re-organize it better!! (although it's pretty well organized as it is.)

but i think before any of these projects get done, i'll be re-doing another bathroom. not mine -- i've been hired to re-do a friend's master bathroom. and she wants it PINK! so NOT ME!!!!! this will be interesting!!!! of course i'll be blogging about it!!!!

linking to savvy southern style

cozy little house

error!

i have a nice big post about the bedroom makeover all typed up, but while trying to load photos, i keep getting an error and "it" won't load the pictures! no sense posting a makeover without photos, so i'll have to try again tomorrow.

had a busy day -- mowed the front & back lawns, pulled a few weeds, washed the car, laid out for a little bit & then went to a friend's house for dinner. tomorrow after church there's nothing on the agenda!

this weekend is going too fast!!!!!

sneak peek into the bedroom makeover

the bedroom walls have been painted moss green since the 1990's! (that sounds so long ago!!!)

here are some BEFORE pictures:

here are some DURING pictures:

tomorrow you get to see the AFTERS!!!

summer break

like a lot of other bloggers, i've taken some time off this summer. i haven't been posting much on my blog & haven't been reading a lot of other's blogs. i've missed my "friends", but sometimes it's good to just get away. i did just that last week -- i took the whole week off work, spent a lot of time doing nothing but laying out in "the islands", did crafts at vbs & a few projects at home. did a lot of staying up late & sleeping in late!!!! went back to work today & one of the guys told me i was so dark i looked like a mexican!!!!! the dog was upset when i told him i was going to work today!!! he really enjoyed having me home all last week!!!!

i'm looking forward to catching up on all my "friends" blogs & getting back to writing more on mine. i've got a couple "projects" to show you!!!!

gotta get to bed now, but i'll be back soon (no promises to the exact day/time)!!