A few of my favorite things....

I am often asked random questions. Sometimes I actually have the answer. I got an email the other day asking me about "favorite things". Here are a few:

Redbox Movie rentals I can pull up to the curb at McDonald's, pick out a movie, and my kids, who are 4 feet away, never get out of their seatbelts. Hallelujah!!!

Mr. Clean Magic Erasers Sometimes painting projects can get a little marked up in transit, or just by being in my house. I once had a stepstool sitting in my living room, waiting for the owner to arrive and pick it up. I had completely re-done this thing. It was beautiful.

Walking down the hall, I found the cap to a marker. A sharpie marker. You know, those permanent black ones that scare the heck out of anyone who has ever tried to remove the stains they leave behind. One of my lovely children had decided to draw all over the customers receipt, which was taped to the stool.Some of the marker bled through. Knowing the customer was on her way to my house, I freaked out. I tried 409, goo gone, OOPS, I even spit on a paper towel and rubbed it. NOTHING worked. Until..... I pulled out the magic eraser!!! She never knew....

La Croix water When it's 2am, and I am painting plate number 45 of 60, it makes me think I am drinking a coke. It's full of bubbles, but no sugar or caffeine. Yum.

Etsy So much creativity in one place! A great way to get inspired. (Or make yourself feel like a total, talentless loser)

Reprodepot I love the fabrics on this site. Lots of things you cannot find anywhere else.

Hydrogen PeroxideYeah, you read that right. A fresh bottle will get almost any stain out of carpet or car upholstry. Try it - you'll like it - and I can say I- told -you- so.

Friday Night Lights I'm a Fox News, Discovery channel girl. I don't normally follow many shows. But, I am hooked on this one. It's on channel 101 on Directv, or on DVD. Finally, a show where the southern accents don't sound completely ridiculous.

Random pictures of my kids doing strange things that make me laugh
Who doesn't love stuff like that. The posed portraits are great (is this an appropriate time to plug my photographer sister??)but I think some of the real memories are made in moments of laughter. I am treating you to one of my recent additions to this category. My liitle lady in her princess dress, chasing her brother with a rubber mallet.


Green highlighters 'cause that's what I use to mark things off my to-do list.

No before, just an after

This is supposed to be a before and after - but I can't find the before picture - you'll just have to use your imagination. This light fixture came to me off the shelf brown/bronze. The designer that brought it to me wanted it to have a french country look. She also said to keep it kind of fun, a little bit whimsical. I painted it a creamy ivory, and after some handpainting, I added a glaze. I distressed it in some random spots to show the detail. I was hoping that it was what she envisioned, sometimes it is just a guessing game.
On the way to my house yesterday, she had a minor car accident. She picked it up this morning and was very pleased with it. I love happy endings.
My other project yesterday was "family" plates. Lots of them. More than you see. One thing about these plates, no matter how big you are, you always look good as a stick person. If you are bald, well, that's another story.

Top 5 ridiculous names

I realize that with this post I am taking a risk. A risk of making somebody's momma mad at me. It's been a long, stressful week so I wanted to post something fun. I like an unusual name as much as anyone, I have a kid named Baker after all, but I am going to list some of the weirdest names I have come across in the past 10 years of personalizing. I can't remember them all, the world is full of poor decision makers.
I decided to skip the crazy spellings - "Alicesynn" or "Jaxsyn" and the funny monograms "aSs" (as in horse's a**)
and go straight to the names.


#5 Hoke - Really, what were they thinking??

#4 Hutt - Rhymes with mutt, slut, not good...

#3 Sapp and Crady - I realize these are 2 names, but they were brothers. A pair. Two eastern Kentucky boys doomed to a life of "Huh? How do you spell that?"

#2 Tupper - as in Tupperware? I'm sure there is a family meaning somewhere behind this, but didn't they have a Mary or Katherine somewhere in the family tree too?

#1 Cosmo - Yep. As in Kramer. Were they big Seinfeld fans? Is his older brother named "Seven"? If it was a nickname, they didn't tell me. My sister couldn't quit marveling over that one. She just kept shaking her head saying, "Cosmo? Really?"..

Hope you got a giggle out of them, and if you know any of these children, please don't forward this to their parents :)

Paper Snob

I'm a bit of a wrapping paper snob. I don't do thin, flimsy paper. I don't do Elmo in a Santa hat. I don't do ice skating snowmen. I also don't do expensive. That's why I want to share my favorite wrapping paper destination.

Hobby Lobby!!

Their paper is heavy, the designs are really tasteful, there is 100 sq. feet per roll, and it is very well priced!
Right now it is 1/2 off, making it $4 a roll.

I bought this funky green paper, I think it will look great with red and chocolate bows. I was leaning toward a great black and white print, but Todd protested. Evidently, if it's not red or green, it's not Christmas-y enough. After 15 years of marriage, I never knew he had such solid opinions on Christmas wrapping. So, I smiled, and picked a green print, just thankful he didn't prefer Elmo.
(and, yes, that is my finger in the picture. I'm a painter, not a photographer)

Cheap-o Christmas Eve

Ok, this post has nothing to do with painting, personalizing, or junky furniture. I promise to get back to the norm after this. But, since I have found I sort of enjoy writing these posts, I'm going to indulge myself.

Kelly's Korner, one of the few blogs I read, asked others to share a favorite Christmas tradition. True to form, my family has a weird one. We used to have a big meal on Christmas Eve, and Christmas day. Over the years, with the deaths of grandparents/parents, the number of adults gathering has shrunk, while the kid population seemed to explode. We had to adjust. Now, Christmas day is full of food and presents, and Christmas Eve is a little less traditional.

We eat pizza.

And we don't even make it. Pizza Hut does.

My parent's call when everyone else has arrived, and we pick up the pizza on our way to their house. The kids couldn't be happier. They even get a special treat of root beer in a bottle. The clean up is simple and quick. That way we can move on to the next event.

$1.00 gifts.

My sister and I each take our children to the dollar store, and let them pick out a gift for each of the 7 adults. Since we know the price will be $1, they get the pick of the store. It is so much fun to watch them shop. They really try to find something personal for each person. They even get to wrap their own presents - no matter how badly.
The real fun is when the adults open the gifts. The kids are beaming with pride. They get to feel the joy of giving, and we get a few good laughs. Like the time my Jackson, 4 at the time, thought my elderly grandmother just couldn't live without those fire engine red panties, with black lace trim. Or, when my brother-in-law received a lovely cowboy figurine, and managed to look grateful without laughing. While some of the presents have been odd, some have been pretty handy. What grandad or uncle couldn't use a roll of masking tape, or a pack of gum? What aunt can resist a candle in the shape of a cherry pie? My sweet nephew even bought me a glass to rinse my paintbrushes in. I use it all the time.
We occasionally throw in a game of dirty santa, but no matter what, we have tons of fun, and no stress. We save that for Christmas day.

Pink Elephant- Before and After

This is one of those projects that must leave my neighbors scratching their heads. And, possibly whispering about me.

When my mom and I set up our workroom, we decided to have a lot of fun with it. It's full of polka dots, patterns, and bright colors. Lots of pink. A lot like my work. And, the exact opposite of our neutral homes. We designated one area of the space for the ever present children. The television perched on a cabinet we always felt was a bit too wobbly. So, when I saw this piece of furniture at a local thrift store for $45, I knew we had to have it.

I said, "Let's paint it pink." Mom agreed.

We put it in the driveway, and began to paint. It was pretty darn pink. It looked like that one house in a rundown part of town that someone decided to paint pink. It was ghetto pink. My husband nearly died when he pulled up after work. I had to leave it out to dry, giving anyone who passed by a good laugh I'm sure.

After a coat of glaze, and some thoughtful distressing, I loved it! I was so excited to see it in our workroom, I was not even bothered by the grumbles from my husband and brother-in-law as they heaved it up the steep, narrow stairs.

I rarely paint anything this bright, but our "pink elephant" is now our favorite piece in our Littlebits workroom.

Comments

My sweet friend, and neighbor, just gave me a midnight blogging lesson.She has a very successful, and fun to read blog, Just Me and my Life in Nashville. (her link is on my blog list) She suggested I add the comments option. I didn't add it at first. I am scared I will open my email and read something that hurts my feelings, and, really, who needs that? So, from here on, please, please be kind :)