I'm giving in...

Y'all will be so proud of me. I got out 3 fall decorations and it's not even October yet. You know what they say, If ya can't beat 'em, Join 'em! I can't keep fall from happening, so I may as well try to like it. It's a bitter struggle, it is. But do I at least get an E for Effort?

Actually to be totally honest, it was either use the decorations, or start packing them. And I thought it may help the house to look cozy...you know, staging and all that. There's a whole lot more STAGING that needs to happen around here.

The piano was the first victim. I know you're not supposed to use personal photos when staging your home to sell, but it's such a fallish photo, it just looked right...so I let it stay.

Woopsie.... make that 4 fall things...

I can't leave out my bowl of candy corn!

But I always did think the little pumpkins tasted better.

Frightful Project FLOP... with a happy ending.

I know a lot of you are all hyped up about fall, and dragging out all those fall decorations. But me? I'm totally bummed out about it. I'm standing here saying, " But I wasn't done with SUMMER! Where did the summer GO?" I always get depressed in the fall... because I'm not a winter person. At. All. When I've seen one snow flake, I've seen one too many.

But, I've got a plan. A cure. When we move, we're going to have one room in the house where it will be summer time all year round. We're gonna have a den, and it's gonna be all about the beach, all dressed out in white and beachy blue, seashells, and starfish. I can't wait.

So, when I was in Lowe's, I spotted this lovely beachy shade of blue spray paint. I promptly put it in the buggy with visions of the many wonderful things I could do with it. (for you Northerners a "buggy" is what y'all call a "shopping cart" - just thought I'd clear that up for ya, you can thank me later.)

My first victim : a wonderful old chunky frame. 1 dollar at Goodwill.

The finished product. GASP!! Warning, this may hurt your eyes...

I was thinking beachy aqua blue, but what came out of the can was this PEACOCK blue in the brightest shade I ever saw. Lesson learned...all spray paint is not created equal. I thought I was being all cool trying out the good Valspar stuff. I'll stick to my trusty old Krylon, thank you.

But I still liked the frame itself, and would really like to use it. So I sat down in my thinking chair and think...think...thiiinnkk... Where did that come from, I HATE Blue's Clues.

So I said to myself, "I wonder what would happen, if I sprayed some white over it, and then sanded it up a bit. Perhaps that would take the edge off that hideously bold blue." This is what happened.

Score! I love it! I like it better than if I had painted it a solid beachy blue color. For once, a flop turned out to be a good thing.

Then I got real experimental and tried a little mocha glaze on parts of it.

That stuff is just so cool. Here's a close up. I have some other beachy projects up my sleeve, that I will be posting about later on. So while the rest of you are getting fall happy, it's gonna stay summer time over here at my place for as long as I can drag it out.

A Touch of Antique...

Do you have any of those little things around the house that just nag you every time you look at it...but never seem to have the time to do anything about it?

My chalkboard's been bugging me to pieces. Everything else in the kitchen is antiqued, and the chalkbaord is a beautiful, pure, bright white. The glaze has been sitting there, readily available for. ever. I just haven't stopped long enough to slap it on. So tonight, it bugged me one last time.

Armed with some glaze, an old rag, and a foam brush, I put an end to my misery. ( Applause please...)

Now it blends in so much better with every thing else. And the flowers show up better, too.

Whew. Now I can get back to living. I feel much better now.

FOF...and it has nothing to do with spray paint.

The hubs says he's sick to death of spray paint, so I'm sharing a completely paint free project just for him. See, sweetie? I can do something besides paint...not very good, mind you, but that's beside the point. But the only requirement for Finished Object Friday is that it must be finished, right? Nobody said it had to be a perfect project.

I made these towels for Chari's Birthday. (Go over there and tell her Happy Birthday!!)

I still can't believe I actually sent them to her - this was my very first stab at appliques...and it's pretty obvious. There is MUCH room for improvement. I'm really feeling the need for an embroidery machine... Hubs, didja catch that part? Just checking...

Here's a little shot of the details. I enjoyed making the pleats lots better than the ruffle that I put on this one. Of course I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much if I did it the right way...I just winged it. No measuring, no planning....just fold it, hold it down , and sew it up! That's just kinda how I roll, don't hold it against me.

Anyway, go to the Chari Tree to see other Finished Objects!

(And don't forget to wish her a Happy Birthday!)

We're Moving!

Did I just hear you say "again!?" Yep. Again.

The good people at the Jasper Pilgrim Nazarene Church unanimously elected to extend an invitation to David to become their pastor. We made it a matter of much prayer and thought, and both of us felt the Lord leading us to go.

The Jasper church has been very special to us for many years. I was born there, my grandfather pastored the church for many years while I was growing up, I got saved there as a child, and Dave and I were married there as well. We have so many fond memories from this place, it's like we're going back "home".

Although we're happy and excited about where God is leading us...in some ways it is bitter sweet. We've grown to love all of our people here, and it is hard to leave them. We've spent 3 wonderful years here, and made many happy memories. This place will always have a special place in our hearts, too.

There are busy days ahead! We'll be putting our house up for sale, packing and moving things, Dave will be trying to find a new job...the list goes on. But we know that when God leads, He also works out the details. Just be warned that posting may become a bit scant until we're finished moving! I'll be singing the VeggieTales song..."I'm busy busy dreadfully busy...you've no idea what I have to do..."