Before and After

We have a photography business in our home

so we have this big camera room ..

Our family outgrew our living room for Christmas Eve ..

So I made this "pretend room" by using electric fireplace logs, yard sale Christmas trees and whatever else I could find in the house and in the attic (rug)
This is just part of the room ..there is another tree in the room .. I decorated the trees with white paper chains that the family helped make, white snow flakes from the dollar store and silver balls .. The only tree with lights is the "family tree" in front of the window where the gifts will be.. this was a fun project. o<:^)

Before and After

"Before"

this corner of my kitchen was a crowded, catch-all.. I had used corner shelving that I had to pile stuff on.. the table was wasted space cuz it was round and didn't really leave a lot of room for anything but eating..for two. :^(

Now I have this long table that I can use for a serving table when the family is over.. This old house really has no counter space so it will really come in handy... I'm also using it as a 'baking center'.
In the 'before' picture, you can see this 'spice rack' that had a couple bars under it to hang towels on ...I had my husband cut that part off so now I have my spices at hand when I bake.

I'm ready to bake some Christmas cookies ..

now all I need is a grandkid to come and play with me. o<:^)


I've been on the hunt for just the right cabinet to hang on this wall.. I couldn't believe it when I found this at my neighbor's yard sale.. my DH cut off some stuff I didn't like from the bottom and painted the dark wood white..


it was made to order! .. Thanks Jennifer.


OH...I forgot to mention that I paid "$5.00" for it!!!


Merry Christmas to me! o<:^)

Before and After

My thrift store find

$4.00
I'm such a tightwad that I pout if I have to spend over $1.00 on anything...
but I really wanted these jars ...
now I like them so much that I might have even paid $5.00 for them.
:^)

A few more Halloween pictures

I love old photo albums ...

I glued a Halloween picture on this one to use as a

Guest Book.

Happy Halloween <:^)

Witch's Brew Garden Party 2011

Tote bag door prizes..made by 'me'. <:^)

Black Hat Society Hat box "cake"

Witch's Banquet Table

The cones were filled with yummy

caramel corn

made by my daughter Julie and

spider necklaces made by my niece Jaime.

Blue and White

I love my red and yellow .... but
There's somethng about blue and white
that is soo pretty to my eye.


A big "thank you" to my niece Jaime for helping

me take down all these dishes, washing all of them

and then putting them back up.


It takes a lot of trips up and down the ladder to do these shelves ...

so it doesn't get done very often.

I guess they're good for another year...lol

Halloween bag

I made a bunch of bags / purses

as prizes at my Witch's Brew Party.

This was my first attempt at transferring pictures

from paper to fabric..It's a fun project.

Help decorating for Halloween

Just had to share a couple pictures of my living room
Two of my grand daughters come over to "help me" decorate..
They emptied a few boxes and "left to get burgers" ...LOL
Thanks Jaime and Natalie.

We didn't get much done ..but it was fun.

It looks a little better today ..I'll post some pictures after I clean it all up.
<:^)

Getting ready for Halloween.

You can transfer prints from paper onto clear shelf paper...I left some of the clear shelf paper around these crows because the clear part stays sticky .. To do this just cut a piece of clear shelf paper the size of the image and stick it onto the print.. sticky side to printed side of the image.. on the paper side, rub or burnish it well onto the shelf paper ... then soak it in water for about 10 minutes .. then with your fingers rub off the paper from the back.. I put it on a flat surface and rub it with my wet fingertips .. you will have to wet it a few times ..this takes a little time.. Then lay it out to dry .. it will be sticky again after it's dry.

This picture was taken from the inside of my office looking out the window.

I got this iron basket at a yard sale a couple weeks ago .. the gal wanted to through the grass away for me...I'm glad I got it before she did cuz it made a perfect nest for my crows. <:^)




If you look really close you will see some black netting I got at a yard sale..It was perfect for 'hanging' birds from it ..

Decopodged skeletons on a 'welcome' board..

and on a dollar yard sale clock.

I hung tons of crows with fishing line from the ceiling, so when they swing around in the breeze it looks like they're flying... The crows were printed on plastic and then cut out.

We have black walnut trees in our yard

so this time of year there are tons of crows that come to feast on the fallen nuts ..
Watching the crows and listening to them all day inspired me to fill my porch with crows and a couple of rats.

I buy a few crows at the Dollar Tree every year ..

and this year they had great rats!

Black spray paint and old cages.

I got the chandelier at a yard sale for $3.00 and sprayed it black.

Ooops!...Sorry, I posted this twice
and I don't know how to delete pictures...lol

♥Children♥...what a wonderful way to start a person. ♥

I had a box of old rubber stamps

that kept them busy for a while.....

(lesson for me .."don't throw away anything". :^)

Miss Clara's garden party
Little Miss Clara
and her cousins came over to spend

some of her birthday time in my yard..

A little old fashion game of

'drop the clothespin in the bottle'

They had a great time frosting their own cupcakes.

I got this great idea on someone's blog...

Sorry I don't remember who posted it ..

but I loved it when I saw it ..

so Thank You to whoever you are. :^)

I will use this idea again.

Chicken noodle soup, sandwiches & fruit...

Kids are sooo easy. :^)

Playdough, bubbles and pinwheels..

I love the Dollar Tree for kids party favors. :^)

I used to have tea parties for kids and one thing I learned was to just keep them busy and keep them moving .. At this age their attention span is not very long..

....And just go with the flow

cuz it will never go as planned in you head..
But it always turns out more fun then you planned

and so much fun watching the kids do 'their own thing".