Tomorrow is a "Make Your Monday" Link Party - Share Your Project Links!


ext Monday, I'll be out of town (vacation - YES!) but I was thinking about how I won't be able to share a Make Your Monday project like I've done a few times in the past. I know, too, that every week, I won't have a Monday project to share. But that got me thinking...How fun it would be to give you an opportunity to share links to some of your own projects on Make Your Mondays. Your projects inspire me, and we can all inspire each other as well. You don't have to share recent projects, just projects you've blogged about at any time. Through a nifty gadget called Mr. Linky, you will be able to easily add your project link to my Make Your Monday post for all to enjoy. What do you think?

After I blog about my own project tomorrow morning, I'll put up the Make Your Monday post so that you can read a few, easy details and then post your own project link. Don't have anything to share tomorrow? Then perhaps next Monday you'd like to add a link, instead.

So make MY Monday by adding a link to the "Make Your Monday" link party tomorrow!

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From Pigtails to Present



remember a picture my mother took of me once when I was a little girl. I was about sixish - wearing pigtails, no less - and in my bedroom standing by my dresser occupied with something in my hands...a toy, perhaps. Behind me, my closet door was open and there on the floor, nearly knee deep, it seemed, was a huge pile o' stuff. Toys, books, small pieces of paper {my earliest creative endeavors?} - just a huge pile of random objects spilling forth from my closet. It drove my mother nuts, I'm sure. Little did I know then, that that would always be me. Preoccupied with the moment at hand with piles of stuff always lurking behind me. Out of sight, maybe, but still there none-the-less.

Our Saturday was mostly spent cleaning out the garage. We made what you might call a very small dent. {I mostly felt like we shuffled things around for four hours and then put everything back in different spots, but our substantial garbage pile proves otherwise.} The fault is my own as I have a great tendency to "stick stuff places", just to get it out of the way and out of sight. "Eek! Company is coming and I don't have time to sort this stuff! I'll just stick it in the garage and worry about what to do with it later.", I'll say. Yes, I'm one of those people. I do not have an organized bone in my body, sadly enough. I can on occasion get and stay organized for a brief period of time, but like a snowman in August, things quickly start to fall apart. So here we are with a very messy garage once again. And then there is the huge unfinished space above the garage for even more piles of random objects. It seriously looks like it has been ransacked, as does my laundry room, bedroom, and closet right now. But that's a whole other story.



Among all the cans of paint and summer toys in the garage....



Are lots of shelves still waiting to be sanded, primed, and painted.



Though our time this summer has been too limited to do a lot of work on my studio storage unit {we jokingly call her the "the monster" due to her size and weight!}, our s p a c e to work on it has also been very limited - thus motivating us to get the garage cleaned out so that we can have a proper workspace.



I think she's going to be worth it!


So after working for a good long while on the mess in the garage that we've I've created over the last few months, hubs and I found a stopping point, showered, and headed out for a nice little dinner date.



I may not wear pigtails anymore, but I guess I still know how to make and maintain a proper mess after 30 something years. I wonder if that will ever change?

And did I mention that my mother is coming to visit in a couple of weeks? {Note to self: Close closet doors.}

8 comments





Blog Love: Red House Happenings - A New Blog in the Neighborhood!


've recently had the thrill of discovering a new blog that I think you all would really enjoy. It's called Red House Happenings and it was just started in the middle of June by the talented and creative Dianne. I just discovered her through my site statistics because she was kind enough to blog about my current giveaway. (Thanks Dianne!) She is just amazing though...

She bakes...



She gardens...





She sews...



She crafts...



She photographs...





She reupholsters...



She decorates...







She has a red house...



She has a dad who can build a dog house I would love to live in...





And she has a blog that is truly a hidden treasure!


I've already added this sweet blossoming blog to my blogroll because I don't want to miss another post about Dianne's Red House Happenings! I hope you'll be able to pay Dianne a visit soon at her sweet little Red House and warmly welcome her to the blogging community!

{P.S. I was perplexed as to why there were no comments *at all* on her lovely site but then Dianne told me that she finally worked up the nerve to tell one friend about her blog recently, and that friend referred her to Twice Remembered...and, well...the rest is history! I'm glad Dianne doesn't mind me letting her secret out in such a big way!}

18 comments





A Giveaway for Twice Remembered Followers and Subscribers!



mentioned in an earlier post that I am having a giveaway for Twice Remembered blog followers and so today I wanted to get started! This is a special 'thank you' to all of you, especially those that made the switch this week from my old blog to my new one. I really appreciate you taking the time to do that!

I will be giving away a copy of the new book Blogging for Bliss: Crafting Your Own Online Journal: A Guide for Crafters, Artists & Creatives of all Kinds by Tina Frey. I had the opportunity to browse this book the other night and it is absolutely fantastic - a wonderful resource for both those that are thinking about creating a blog of their own AND for those that already have a blog. You will LOVE this book and will be pleased to find some of your favorite bloggers in it! (more details on the book in a bit...)

I will keep this giveaway open for two weeks and it will end Wednesday night on August 5th. If you enjoy my blog and are interested in staying up to date here, feel free to follow or subscribe. Just click the "follow" button in the right hand column of my blog. If you'd rather "subscribe" instead of "follow", that is fine, too. If you'd like your name in the hat twice, you can help spread the word by blogging about this giveaway. Thanks!



So if you are a subscriber or follower and want to enter to win this giveaway, just let me know in the comments below and I'll put your name in the hat:) Please also let me know if you've blogged about this giveaway so I can be sure to enter you twice. The winner will be announced on August 6th. Have fun!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Here is the description on Amazon...doesn't it sound amazing?

Today’s crafting community is online, connected, and blissfully blogging about their work and ideas. Blogging is hot in this highly creative world—and here is the only how-to book aimed directly at them. Everyone from knitters and beaders to scrapbookers and altered artists will find the practical information and visual inspiration they need to create an artful online journal.

Thanks to hundreds of gorgeous screen grabs from the very best blogs, a thorough introduction to the tools of the trade, and instructions that virtually take you by the hand, even beginners will swiftly go from blank screen to colorful, enticing pages. Those who already have a blog, but want to enhance their presence on the Web, will learn how to add banners and graphics, take the perfect shots, crop and size photos, establish links, and attract an audience of eager readers.

Best of all, readers will meet some of the web’s most popular creative bloggers, including Alicia Paulson (Posie Gets Cozy), Gabreial Wyatt (Vintage Indie), Emily Martin (Inside A Black Apple), Lidy Baars (Little French Garden House), Heather Bullard (Vintage Inspired Living), and Serena Thompson and Teri Edwards (The Farm Chicks).

59 comments





Studio Steps Makeover - Diamonds {and Chocolate} Really Are This Girl's Best Friends


here are few things that a girl loves more than chocolate and diamonds, except maybe chocolate, diamonds, and words that inspire. Honestly, I've never been the type to go gaga over real diamonds, but I do love a nice diamond patterned floor. So I'd like to share with you how I brought all those elements together to makeover the steps in my studio.

In the very beginning, the landing and steps were covered in old carpet. I pulled it up and was pleased to find the nice wooden stair treads underneath. I knew they'd look great painted. But first I primed everything.




So after I painted the steps and landing in my studio a deep chocolate brown, I felt the landing needed a pulse. I needed to do something to bring it to life. Nothing like a few diamonds to perk up an otherwise plain space. I went to work masking off the diamonds...



and then painting in the masked areas with white.



What a difference a few diamonds can make! Oh, look! Speaking of chocolate, another gratuitous photo of Mrs. Gumball Machine herself! Diamonds become her, don't you think?



I have always wanted to put words on stair risers and this was the perfect opportunity. I thought about painting them on in the same way I did our fireplace, but it would have been really hard to get down and work on such a weird angle. I suppose I could have hung by my ankles from the ceiling, but that seemed a bit silly and impractical. Instead, I took the easy route and ordered my chocolate brown words from Vinyl Words. It was very inexpensive and easy as pie to apply!





Here are a couple of before and after shots...I think that the only thing I want to do now is add a horizontal piece of narrow trim at the bottom of the first step to cover the ugly tile grout line and to keep things nice and crisp looking. There was trim there when we had carpet - now I see why it was there to begin with. {The grout is clean, but very old and dingy looking. I need to come up with a solution for all the grout in the studio and am thinking about grout stain...hmmm...}But other than that, the studio step makeover project is complete. One more project down!








By the way, I'm entering this project in a home improvement contest. If you would like to rate it to help me win, you can click here. Just scroll down to the bottom of the entry to rate! Thanks!


If you enjoyed this do-it-yourself project, be sure to check out the DIY party going on at Kimba's Soft Place to Land right now - LOTS of great completed projects to peruse! Also, check out the fun Stare at My Staircase party going on at The Stories of A to Z!

48 comments





From Gaudy Art to Fabulous Chalk Board


irst I'd like to say thank you for joining me here at my new home! Everything is pretty much the same, you'll see. I have simplified the categories and you'll notice that the comments from the last few posts have disappeared, but everything else is intact. If you are a follower of my old blog (www.owcl.blogspot.com), I would greatly appreciate it if you'd follow me here now instead as I will no longer be updating the other site. As I mentioned in my last entry on my old blog, I will be hosting a giveaway soon for those that begin following me here in the next two or three weeks. Be sure to update your subscription if you have one as well! { Thank you! }

Make Your Monday: From Gaudy Art to Fabulous Chalk Board


Folks, if you haven't done so already, you must go to your nearest thrift store and purchase the biggest, gaudiest, most unattractive piece of framed art you can get your hands on. Watch out for other shoppers who are there for the same reason as they may try to run you over to claim the last one. {Well, more than likely, most other shoppers will wonder why you would pay good money for such atrocious art and they will feel pity for you due to what they perceive as a total lack of taste and class on your part. But nevermind those shoppers.}

Now, take that awful piece of framed something home {in my case, it was a lovely bullfighting matador. Yeah, I know.} and paint the frame. If you're fortunate, you will have found some art with a nice sturdy frame. Mine was wooden - totally worth the $9.99 I paid for it!



You may want to prime over the art itself to keep anything from bleeding through and to give the chalkboard paint something in which to stick. I can't tell you how gratifying this step was for me. Buh-bye bullfighter!



I next distressed my frame a bit, taped off the frame, and spray painted the middle with chalkboard paint. It took a few coats and honestly, I think next time I'm just going to use the brush on chalk board paint to avoid drips. I didn't have any problems until I neared the end of the spray can and then it started to drip a bit. But I'm very pleased with how my gaudy art to fabulous chalk board project turned out! I found the perfect spot for it in the kitchen, though I had intended to put it in my studio.








I ended up using two cans of chalkboard paint but one would have been PLENTY. I just used extra to try and cover up some drips (didn't work). I spent around $20 total for this project.

So there you have it! Have you done a chalkboard project yourself? I'd love to see it!

Now, off to find some ugly framed art for my studio...

___________________

Edited to include the link to a fun Frugal Friday link party going on this week at the Shabby Nest and Kimba's Soft Place to Land DIY Day! Check out the other great projects!}

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