Bare Your Cross

Let me tell you a little story....my husband always says that we can't go anywhere without running into someone I know.  I grew up in a small town and knew everyone.  I have lived in Montgomery, Atlanta and now near Birmingham.  We moved back to Alabama in 2008 and bought a house in Trussville, outside of Birmingham, in 2009.  Immediately, we began attending First Baptist Church and decided to visit a Sunday School class one Sunday.  When we walked in, there sat a guy I went to high school with but lost touch with after he graduated the year before me.  Jamie introduced me to his wife, Chanel, and they happened to have their newborn, Sarah, with them.  That may have been their first Sunday back since Sarah's birth.  Such a small world...

The next week, Jamie and Chanel were saying that they were going to have Sarah's eyes looked at by a doctor because she just didn't seem to be acting/reacting the way older sister, Ellen, had at that age.  The next Sunday, they shared the news that Sarah had serious problems with her eyes and was blind.  Talk about tragedy striking this sweet family.  I am crying as I type this.  I cannot imagine the fear, anger and uncertainty that they were feeling.  After many, many surgeries, Sarah is now past her 1st birthday, had her 14th procedure this past week, has vision and it is improving. 

Chanel is one of those women that you meet and just love instantly.  She is super-energetic, cute as a button and just a sweet, funny person.  When they received Sarah's initial diagnosis, she didn't want to leave the house.  Through God's grace and strength and through her own faith, she made it through.  Not long after Sarah's diagnosis, Chanel decided to help raise money for their neighbors who have a severely handicapped daughter.  This precious family was trying to save enough money to buy a handicapped accessible van for easier travel as a family.  Chanel organized a yard sale for this family and began painting some cute crosses that her husband, Jamie, cut out for her.  All profits were going to her neighbors.  At this time, she and her husband were flying back and forth to Michigan for Sarah to see the specialists and have several surgeries.  She was always thinking of others even at her darkest times. 

Her crosses have taken off like lightening and she now has formed a business called Bare Your Cross.  You could not imagine the way her crosses have touched people all over this country.  They hear the story of her family and share their own story.  God has used baby Sarah's eyes to allow Jamie and Chanel to minister to SO many people!  Please, check out the link above.  She is so stinkin' talented!!  I am proud to call her my friend. She is a strong women, mother and a devoted Christian.

Here are a few of her crosses that I love!

      

Catching up...this -n- that

One quick leap onto my soapbox and then I'll move on to greener pastures. 

I joined a women's service club in my town.  It's limited to the number of members and we aren't even near that number.  It's comprised of a great group of girls and we have a lot of fun together...great, I like to have fun....but when it comes to doing work for the club (i.e. participating in fund raisers, coming up with money-making ideas for our charity, etc.), you could literally hear crickets chirping!  PLEASE don't join a service organization and then sit back and so nothing....the point is to make a difference in your community, not to just be a member in name only.  It's very frustrating for those of us who want to make a difference, enjoy helping others and just genuintely want to give back to the community. 

Okay, off my soapbox, not to be revisited.  =)

I have been busy redoing a table for my mother.  She picked up a sweet double-tiered, solid wood table from an estate sale one weekend when my folks were visiting.  I think she paid $10 for it. 

I sanded, primed and painted it brown....then painted it this lovely green color.  It's part of Valspar's National Trust for Historic Preservation collection and the color is called Homestead Resort Olive.  I then distressed it with my handy dandy Black and Decker Mouse sander, glazed it and finished it off with a coat of glossy polyeurothane.

What do you think??

Glazing Kitchen Cabinets....

A couple of weeks ago I went to my parents house in Troy.  The hubs had taken the little guy on their first official overnight hunting trip and I didn't want to stay home alone...perfect time to go help my folks update their kitchen. They had been contemplating it for a while, but the thought of new cabinets, along with countertops, backsplash...possibly a new microwave....was a little overwhelming.  The cabinets they have were built about 20 years ago, but are solid wood, custom made and in great shape.  They were a bright, clean white but the hardware was outdated (hardware already removed in these pics).

Armed with a can of glaze, lots of old t-shirts and some time, I began to glaze them....Mistake Numero Uno:  Should have removed the doors...would have made glazing the "base" of the cabinets MUCH easier.  After much wiping, sanding a few down and starting over, this is what I ended up with. Honestly, I was NOT happy with the results.  I couldn't get past the BRIGHT WHITE countertops that are there now...

I am LUVIN the new oil-rubbed bronze hardware we picked out and especially luv the wooden accents we put above some of the cabinets.  They give it a more custom look. 

Here is a sample of the granite countertops to be installed in a week as well as the gorgeous glass tile backsplash!!

I think I will be most pleased once these last few elements are finished.  New granite and a backsplash (where there was none) will make a HUGE difference.  Most importantly, my parents are pleased. 

New frame color...

A friend brought me this precious picture of her two boys and asked me to make a frame and pick a color that looked good with the picture, but also brought some color into her living room.  This is what I came up with.  I love how the olive color sets off the sepia tones in this picture. It's not a true sepia picture as there are some red and green accents that pop in the background of the picture.  I thought the distressed finish went well with the picture itself. 

Making Frames

I know it's been a LONG time since I have updated my blog, but I haven't really done a whole lot that was blog-worthy.  I have decided to participate in my first craft show on Saturday, April 20th and Sunday, May 1st.  I am going to have a booth at TroyFest (http://www.troyfest.com/) in my hometown.  I have been making picture frames since November or so.  It started out as a fluke, messing around with some wood scraps.  I had seen several rustic frames that I loved at another craft show, but thought the prices were astronomical!  I figured out that I could probably make them myself.  With the help of my Dad, we figured out how to put one together...over time, I've gotten much better at it and people want to buy them!  Here are a few pictures of frames that I have made for people.

I really love the way that they have turned out! I am always on the lookout for old wood, scrap wood, scrap or old molding as well.  I would prefer to be able to use those materials instead of buying new materials, but scrap/old wood is harder to find that you might think! 

The new sliding compound mitre saw that I got Wednesday will help make things easier! I was using one that my Dad loaned me but it isn't a sliding saw and only would cut wood that was less than 6" wide...which is fine, but I like CHUNKY frames.  The new saw will make this a snap!

Just finished another frame for a friend last night and will post pictures soon.

Now, back to TroyFest....I've never done a craft show and realized that, not only will I have to have quite a bit of inventory to take with me, but I have to have a cute display as well.  I found a white canopy tent on Ebay for pretty cheap.

Now, I'm looking for old doors, closet doors, etc. that I can use to stand up and hang frames on to display at the show.  I think I can borrow a folding table from someone/somewhere in Troy and then will find something to cover my table, sign with my "business" name on it, etc.  I'm very excited and I hope my first show goes well! 

Contest!!! Here is my submission....

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?  That we will all be together and not to lose sight of the true meaning of CHRISTmas!

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition? Breakfast with the family after opening gifts.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? An IPad.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? We listen to Christmas music constantly and watch Christmas movies/cartoons.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Scrabble, monopoly, then we had our first Nintendo and we loved Duck Hunt. That was a family favorite.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Our family gathers Christmas Eve and we have a huge meal of appetizers, dips, punches and just visit and enjoy each other's company.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?  Disney World

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?  Nintendo DSiXL for my son, Wii Fitness and Tony Hawk Shred for Wii.

Can I have a day off, puhlease???

Like many of you, I work full time.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my job and am so thankful to have it, but I am thinking that the work week (at least for me anyway) needs to be a Monday through Thursday affair.  I have so many things I want to do and make and give but there never seems to be enough time in the day.  By the time I leave the office, pick up my son from after-school care and get home, it's 6:00 p.m.  Usually hubby has dinner ready unless he's out of town, so that  puts us at 7:00 p.m. by the time the food is eaten and the kitchen is cleaned up.  Our son goes to bed around 8:30 so that now leaves me 1.5 hours to spend with my child, talk to my husband, do laundry, clean the house (not likely), work on my projects, etc. because I am no longer a night owl...I.MUST.SLEEP. at least 7-9 hours each night.  I just can't hang anymore.  I cannot stay up until 11 or 12 every night and then get up at 5:30 or 6 every morning for work. 

I just need a day off to get everything done that I can get done....yeah, right....I just can't justify asking for it.  "Um, excuse me...um, my craft projects are falling behind and my house isn't properly decorated for Christmas...may I take a day off??"  I don't think so.  =)

So, I'll just keep plugging away at getting done what I can accomplish when I can accomplish it. 

On a happier note, we did get one of our Christmas trees up and mostly decorated last night!!