A Very Unique Paint Project

Hubby bought this beat-up Toyota Pickup as a work truck.  Then he decided he wanted to 'pimp' it out some, so his sweet, adorable wife who loves to paint spent her weekend painting the bed of this truck.  He did do the cleaning and helped with the prep work...bless his heart.  Didn't know I was going to be blogging in the future, so I only have the before and after pictures....no step by step instructions...Just Showing-Off!!

Before

After

I used the specialty paint for truck beds....sorta rubbery and short window before it starts drying on your brush....making for a tricky project and lots of those 'chip' brushes used and tossed.  Isn't it a drastic improvement?

192 Year Old American Manufacturer Needs Our Support

A post from MadeInUSA.com

We just visited A US Manufacture 192 years old, they are struggling since Walmart canceled their contract, visit their site and purchase something to help them out.

KITCHEN

www.jacobbromwell.com

 

I'm visiting the site now (in a separate window) and finding several things that I'm going to purchase....do them and yourself a favor and visit this interesting, American, traditional company.

Pioneer Folding Toaster

DIY Dilemma!

Small Screws are My DIY Dilemma! - DIY Life

Words of Wisdom for Home Maintenance

This was our cousin's Facebook Status Update earlier today: (Of course, it does not apply to 'life' in general, as stated, but when it comes to home maintenance, it does apply.)

You only need two things in life - WD40 n duct tape. If it should move and doesn't, use WD40. If it shouldn't move and does, use duct tape!

Something Different - A Slideshow of Scenes of Northern Arizona

Brenda (that would be me) is an amateur photographer and slide show creator.  She's put together a 'pretty darn good' show of 'The Unimaginable Beauty of Northern Arizona'.  Think you will enjoy the music and watching the images depicting the beauty that is all around us.

Final Tour of Brenda's Kitchen

 These pics were taken before moving in and shortly after unpacking.   A few minor changes have been made but this represents what the before and after is like.

Before moving in:

After:

Here's some fun after pics done with the colored pencil filter in 'Photoscape'.

Blast from My Past

This is a project I did many years ago when we were still living in Oklahoma. I've always loved 'silhouettes' and I had this LARGE,  VERY white wardrobe. I bought me a cheap craft projector, printed some tiny silhouettes and projected them onto the front...I used at least six black permanent markers and VOILA, I had me a masterpiece. (Well to me it was a masterpiece). I donated the wardrobe to the church for their yard sale shortly before we moved.

I also had a cheap digital camera that I took this pic with, and I can't get rid of the glare on the doors.  It really wasn't faded in spots, even though it looks faded in the picture.

I Love My iPhone

This is the screenshot of our blog while holding it vertical:

This is the view holding in horizontally:

I'm easily entertained!

Valentine Dessert from Maggie at Black and White

Black and White {Side by Side}
This would have so perfect to have found yesterday ...and prepared it for my honey on Valentines Day...but it'll work for any day. So clever and sweet!

Pretty Roses from My Valentine

SaaWeet Coffee Cup Planter from Family Dollar Store

So proud of my purchase recently at Family Dollar Store for $6.00.  I decorate with Roosters and also have a 'coffee bar' setup...as I'm a BIG coffee drinker....to the point of RIDICULOUS!  Happy Valentines  to me...from me!  And Happy Valentines Day to my 10 followers here on Blogspot and my 14 fans on Facebook!!

Tour of Brenda's Kitchen - Part 2 - The Island

These two 'assemble yourself' base cabinets were purchased at Target many years ago.  They were purchased separately, (about a year apart) ...each time on sale for $35 each.  In our previous home, one was used in the closet to hold my shoes and the other in the hallway to hold photo boxes and empty frames.  Now they are the base for my kitchen island.  I found the formica top at a thrift store for $20.00.  It was too long, but cut  about 18" off and now it's the perfect size.  I used matching shelf liner (red gingham check) on part of the top (to match the cabinet I featured in my last post).  I'm using a runner for now that I've had for many years on the other side of the top.  I have some plans for the sides, but for now, it's the 'functionality' of this project that I am lovin'!!!

 

A Tour of Brenda's Kitchen-Part 1

Here are some 'before' pics of my kitchen before we moved in to our current 'rented' home.  The owners had to switch out the refrigerator as the original one did not get cold.  The replacement is larger, but it's harvest gold.....one of my future projects is to paint it white to match the range.

You can see that there wasn't much counter or cabinet space.  So one of the first things I did was to go to my local ReStore and find a base cabinet ($20) to fit between the stove and refrigerator.  It was pretty shabby and dirty, I couldn't decide what color I wanted to paint it, so I used contact paper ($5) instead.  A 'thrifty' $25 total!  Saaweet!!!

Note**.... notice the new hardware!  I bought a bag of these 'nifty' handles at a yard sale many, many years ago.  I still have six left in bag for future projects.  You may also notice the toaster oven on top of the microwave....hey it works for me***we all improvise...right?

Part 2 coming soon....I will be featuring the Kitchen Island I built....well, sorta built...I did 'make' it!!!

Lexi Lynne - My Great Granddaughter

Her name is actually Alexis, but we call her Lexi.  She will have her first birthday on March 25, 2011.  My grandson (Lexi's Daddy), his wife and Lexi live in Florida ....and I live in Arizona, so I've only got to see her once when she was 6 weeks old.  Number one reason why I spend so much time on Facebook, because they are really good to post pics of Lexi, very often!  This is a slideshow of Lexi that I put together from pics posted today.  I just know you will find her absolutely adorable!

Brenda

Upcycling Toothbrushes into Bracelets

Two girls...being crafty: Upcycling Toothbrushes into Bracelets

I've never heard of this before!.....Have you?

Wise Quote

First Steps Are Always A Little Wobbly.....Getting Our Balance by Holding on to One Another.

The 'Judy' side of the 'Okie Sisters' received bad news very recently. 

Her mother-in-law (for 46 years now), Hazel, has been diagnosed with advanced Leukemia and given only a short time to live. Hazel is approaching the age of 90 years old and does not want to receive any treatments or any attempts to prolong her live.   Judy's husband, Jim,  is Hazel's only son, along with two daughters.  After getting past the sad news, now Jim and Judy have to figure out how they can manage spending these last days, weeks, months..(no one knows) with Hazel where she lives in central California and they live in northern Arizona.

Their first concern about leaving, was their two little dogs. 

A friend agreed to watch 'Pepper', the black Cocker, and I have agreed to watch 'Bella', a chocolate colored Miniature Schnauzer.

 

(My husband and I also have two dogs, a Chihuahua (Max) and a Min Pin (Mona)....of the four dogs, all but Max have 'bobbed' tails.....and little Bella is FASCINATED by Max's tail and is always 'attacking' it)  It's actually cute to watch...but Max does not think it's cute...he's very defensive of his tail, so lots of growling goes on whenever  those two dogs are together.  





Another concern (unashamedly, I hope) is financial.  Their main source of income is social security.  Their only residence is a travel trailer.  The travel trailer does have 2 slide-outs and is 30 or 35' long.  It is set-up on a friends property at the edge of town and is very picturesque location....plus the friend only charges them for the electric, space rental fee is $0, in exchange for them helping him around his house and 2 rental's located on same property.  (Sorry, no pictures yet!)  But, getting to California and staying an indefinite period of time is causing angst for both of them. 

Speaking of the travel trailer.....
When I started this blog, my initial intention was to chronicle the remodeling and decorating that Judy has done.  That is what is behind the 'Title' of this post.  First steps are always a little wobbly, and usually requires not only 'falling down' and getting back up a few dozen times, but also a change of direction....know what I mean?

The situation for now is that the sister who is the 'artist' and talented home designer will be absent from this blogging endeavor.  Yours truly, Muuah, Brenda, is the geeky sister who will be blogging 'by the seat of her pants' for a period of  (?) time.  I'm not 'horrible' at decorating or crafts, but not sure how impressive my projects will be held up against all the FABULOUS projects in the blogs that I am now 'following'!  Additionally, my husband and I are renters.  I am allowed to paint and do minor revisions, but no way are we going to invest in 'remodeling'.  We do currently reside in a pretty cool 'dwelling' (since September 2010).  It's old...Vintage sounds better....probably built in the 30's or 40's...has a large covered front porch and a picket fence.  I'm pretty sure I'll be able to 'deliver' some interesting blog content from within these walls of vintage charm.

With this knowledge in mind about the 'Okie Sisters' aka 'Thrifty Nifty Sisters', I hope, our friends, family and hopefully, fellow bloggers will follow us, comment on our blog post and 'hold on to us' until we are beyond the first steps and 'have balance and stride in our blog journey'.

A Tiny Window....into Brenda's Kitchen

The 'window' section is 12" x 12" and routed on back for glass or mirror.

I purchased this unfinished 'window/window box' a few months ago at a thrift store (?-do not remember which one)...also don't remember the cost, but I'm certain that I would not have paid more than $5.00 for it.
I'm still hoping to find a 'single' 12x12 mirror tile at a thrifty price, but until I do, I've improvised, so I can display it above my sink.

I dry-brushed a light coat of primer.

Next, I cut small pieces of double stick carpet tape and applied to the back, to hold the 'vintage' gift wrap that I had decided to use in place of the mirror.

 I had to tape the fold creases in the paper along the taped wood slats, so they wouldn't show through the 'panes'!

I applied a repositional applique that was in a package of sunflower and rooster appliques from Family Dollar store for $3.  I tried 'aging' it with this morning's coffee and a small brush...did a little sanding on edges and said 'Enough'!!  As soon as I find my stash of lace, I'm gonna make a 'valance' for my window.