"Egg-static" about Easter

Today, I ran the Shamrock 5k Run in downtown Portland, Oregon.  It was a cold, cold day.  The weather could only be described as fickle.  We saw some light rain, some hail, some slushy snow, and some blue skies sneaking through occasionally.  IT WAS AMAZING!  (Well, me running three miles, all at once, and by choice is amazing!)  But I was talking about the weather.  :)

This is the beautiful city of Portland,OR, where I ran the Shamrock Run this morning with my sister and over 30 thousand others!  What a glorious day.  Plus, we crossed the finish line together.  Yay for us!!!

When we got back home my mind turned to other things I'm looking forward to...
Like Easter!

Easter is, by far, my favorite holiday of all.

Number one, because it signifies the resurrection of Christ.

It has also become a symbol of leaving behind a long and dreary winter and looking forward to the fresh new life, which is Spring.

And there is pretty much guaranteed to be a chocolate bunny or two around. ;)

After I got home from running, and coffee, and sushi with my sister :)  :)  :)   ~ I chilled on the couch and perused Pinterest.  It's like creating your very own online magazine and filling the pages with things you adore.
Or want to try.
Or just what inspires you. 
It is by far my most favorite time waster! 

Once I'd satisfied my Pinterest Addiction, I grabbed the glue gun and some miscellaneous scraps and went to work trying to create some Easter decorations for our home. 

Hmmmm, what to do with all of these Styrofoam eggs that Mom (In-law) gave to me....

Well...

I hot glued some ivory twine around one of the smaller eggs.

Not bad???

Looks kinda cute all by itself.

Then I hot glued some strips of ivory burlap to one of the larger eggs...

We will dub this one "The Mummy".  No pun intended.

Next I covered one with moss (and hot glued a good portion of my fingertips in the process, yowsa!)

I really like how this one turned out.

And because I don't know when to quit, and to offset "The Mummy", I did another egg in chocolate brown burlap strips...

NOT AT ALL what I was hoping for.  That's okay...it can act as "filler" for the rest.
I'm hoping to find my roll of jute tomorrow, when I have renewed my energy, and create a couple more.  In the meantime, maybe I will be struck with inspiration as to what else I can use to cover them.  I've seen some cute mod podge eggs, done with pretty paper napkins, music sheets, and book pages too.  We'll just have to wait and see.  I've got quite a few Styrofoam eggs to play with.

I think I'll have the preschoolers mod podge some too.  That should be fun!

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Lifting My Spirits

Spring is in the air.
Can you feel it?
I know I can. 
And it is totally lifting my spirits!

There's a wonderful anticipation:

Longer days.
The warmth of sunshine on our faces.
Day trips to the beach.
Outdoor games with the kids.
The smell of fresh cut grass.
A rainbow of flowers making an appearance. 
Iced Tea,
Lemonade and
Margaritas with friends and family.
Savory BBQ on the back deck...just lingering...watching the sun set.

...and, of course, for all you DIYers...spray paint season is coming!!!

Couldn't resist picking up some flowers when I stopped at Safeway for some corned beef and cabbage.  Of course corned beef is our traditional dinner for St. Patty's Day!

 

I did get some spring cleaning done while Scott worked on an upstairs project.  BIG project going on here at the Clarke household.  Things are moving along quite well.  Can't give it all away just yet. Scott is keeping us all in tears of laughter:

Scott is fitting a narrow shelf to the wall. 
This is the upstairs nook that we created a couple of years ago.
It's getting a completely new look and purpose!
I'll have more of a role in this space later. 
For now he just "consults" with me when he's not sure about some aspect.
It's better if I leave him alone during the "construction phase".
I ask way too many questions about why he's doing everything the way he is. 
I'm certain that I drive him CRAZY with questions.
He swears he still loves me!

See that white wire he's holding in his hand? 
It's supposed to be connected down below.
He said it wasn't any big deal.  He'd figure it out later...
Then we noticed that there wasn't ANY power to either of our kids' bedrooms.
 Or the upstairs bathroom.
Or the hall.
I guess by "OK" he meant they could walk around after dark with flashlights! 

He's such a good sport. 
Our daughter, Vanessa, went on for a good 15 minutes or more ~
About how he should have his very own reality show....
but it would be a comedy!
I just sat on the top stair and held my head in my hands.
I was laughing so hard my eyes teared up.
It felt good laughing like that.
Especially because, even though I give him a hard time, I know...
He always works it out in the end. 
:)

Until we have something more to show you, I just have some fun pictures to share. 

I hope you enjoy them.

Tulips are my absolute favorite flower and I'm loving the look of this gorgeous bouquet I found today.

The bench will eventually find it's way onto the back deck. 
Once we get past the rainy weather that is Spring in the Great Northwest.

The little silk flower came with a wooden salad bowl set that my In-laws brought me from Hawaii. 
I love it. 
I'll have to post about a really yummy salad soon so I can share it with you here.  ;)

My mom got this basket/bowl at Habitat for Humanity last time they visited. 
She actually bought it for some big round light bulbs that were inside it. 
Can't wait to see what she does with them @ Gladiola Smiles, her new blog.  Hurry up MOM! 
We want to see some light bulb projects!!!
I got to keep the darling bowl!!!  Thanks MOM.  Love you!

Can you see the glass laying on top of the white cabinet in the background?  That's an upcoming project.  Can't tell you too much, but I'm waiting patiently for it's number to be called!  I would do it myself, but my darling hubby is so good with the power tools,  I don't want to step on his toes or anything...

I SWEAR I'm being PATIENT!

We are so happy to have you stop by.  Hope your visit was enjoyable.  I'm heading in to add the cabbage and veggies to the pan with the corned beef.  It's smelling quite delicious already.

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Identity Crisis

Have you seen some of the library card catalogues that have been made over?   I have pinned some pretty examples on Pinterest.  Check them out HERE.



I really like the look of card catalogues in room design...but...what could I do?  I didn't have an old card catalogue to make over.
But, I did have this:

It's a jewelry box.  Boring, old, brown-painted wood.  (It's not a very good photo, sorry, but it shows how it looked when I brought it home from the thrift store.)  It was about five dollars.  The "hardware" is just wire rings...pretty much the same as cheap key chain rings.  Weird, huh!?  But it had a bit of a 'card catalogue' vibe to it. 

I call it Card Cataloguesque.  :)

I also had these hanging around...and they remind me of the card catalogue hardware...

I removed all those wire rings:

 Once I had them all removed it looked like this:

Then I got out some other supplies:

A few different colors of paint
Some Glazing Medium
A wood-graining tool
Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray paint
A few wooden beads and some fishing line
Little tiny nails
My trusty hammer (we have a love-hate relationship)

And I went to work.

First, I white-washed the wood.

Then, I painted a layer of glaze-medium and paint over that.

Finally, I ran the wood-grain tool down the sides and fronts...

gently rocking it back and forth as I drug it along the surface.

I did the base of the box in white, but did some of the drawers in brown and green to give it some interest.

While the paint and glaze dried, I sprayed the brass hardware with the oil-rubbed bronze paint.

Once everything was completely dry, I nailed the hardware to the little drawer fronts and added labels that I printed in MS Word.  And the smallest drawers got a wooden bead as a knob.

AND...my 'card cataloguesque' jewelry box!

It has a bit of a Cottage feel to it.  That's the direction I was trying to go.  It's a little bit Shabby, but that's only because I have very bad aim and beat it up with my hammer.   Better IT than my FINGERS.   

Regardless of a possible identity crisis (on the jewelry boxes part) ~ It's just the right size to sit on the bathroom vanity and hold all of my jewelry.  AND...I'll know which drawer to look in when I want to find something.  Plus plus for me :)

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Imagination versus Knowledge

Hmmmmmmm,

That's the question.

What's more important?

Imagination or Knowledge?

What do you think?

Is this sign right?

It's a complicated question. 

I mean, it's pretty obvious that knowledge comes in handy in life... 

I wasn't fond of math class when I was a kid, but I can't imagine my life without a basic understanding of math concepts.  (Algebra aside, of course).  Imagine working on DIY and home improvement projects without understanding measurements, fractions and other basic math concepts.  Not funny, right? 

But what fun would life be if we only colored inside the lines, or stayed with what we know to be a sure thing?







Would we wind up with mini bars made out of vintage radios?

Could our mind picture beautiful wine bottles being anything more than a vessel?  Would we have that light bulb moment?

What good would an Easter basket be, after Easter?

When I take something and try to re-create it into something new and fresh, I am pulling from my imagination.  Of course the knowledge I have acquired helps feed that.  Forcing myself to be creative and think outside the box, to find ways to improve without spending much money, that is very rewarding to me.  

Beautiful, visually stimulating images are darn near addictive...and Pinterest is like a new drug.  But it's not just the knowledge of what others have done, or what is possible, that I seek in those beautiful images.  It's the spark to my imagination that makes it worthwhile.

Albert Einstein once said,

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Is imagination more important than knowledge?  It depends on who you ask, what you ask about, and when.  But if you ask me, without a doubt, I say YES!

I visited LaurieAnna's Vintage Home recently.  What beautiful spaces she has created!  Her motto is SIMPLE FARMHOUSE LIVING.  Life has been kind of crazy around here lately, and I can really relate to some of that...SIMPLE.FARMHOUSE.LIVING

Those words are very alluring together.

And LaurieAnna's Online Boutique has some really inspiring cafe signs and oodles of accents, housewares, linens, gifts, wall art and more.  That's where I found this sign that I just couldn't pass up:

I first saw this on Pinterest and followed the link back (so glad it was properly credited) and discovered it could be mine ~  and I wouldn't even have to break out the saw or the paint to create it.  Sometimes, when life is as crazy and hectic as it's been...that's a huge bonus.  :) 

The package came in the mail and I was so ecstatic to open it.  (What a treat it is to get a package in the mail.  It's almost like Christmas.  Now I know why some people become addicted to shopping over the internet.) 

I took it out of the box and propped it up on the first available surface.  I had to have it where I could see it ~ just until I am able to prepare a more permanent spot for it.  Don't you do that when you get something new and exciting?  Place it right smack in the middle of the room where you can admire it?  (Okay, maybe I need to get out of my house more often. )

That afternoon, as I sat down at the table with the kids for a snack, my son read aloud, "IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE"

And then he said  "THAT SUCKS...I don't have any imagination!"

Hahaha!!!!

This from the boy who never makes it through a day without saying, "Mom, wouldn't it be cool if we could....insert crazy, out-of-this-world, clever idea here....?", and builds super-duper, unreal lego masterpieces in the blink of an eye.  I stare at the legos for hours and only come up with a floor, four walls and a window...maybe a little bumpy couch and a bed.  Hmmmm....

I reassured him his imagination was not lacking!

Oh Lord...thank you for children and their ability to just wipe away the craziness of the day with just a few words. 

Thanks for visiting.  We would love it if you decided to become a regular follower too.  Just head over to the sidebar and click on JOIN THIS SITE, or FOLLOW ME, or SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS.  It's that simple.

And as Karianne from  Thistlewood Farm likes to say:  "P.S. ~"

Don't forget to check out LaurieAnna's Vintage Home and Online Boutique...it's well worth the vist!

http://laurieannas.blogspot.com/

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Talent Scouting Party hosted by Whisperwood Cottage

Hey Friends!

I just wanted to share something I discovered just now.  Where have I been?  I don't know why it took me so long. Usually I'm right on top of these things. Whisperwood Cottage, (Oh, I know, you've probably already heard of them), is scouting for "Flea Markets Transformations" for Cottages & Bungalows Magazine!!!

Whisperwood Cottage has so many projects that I am in awe of. Their spaces make me drool. I think Amy  must like green too, because it seems like I've seen it popping up in several of her projects or spaces over there. You gotta love green, right!? If you aren't a follower of Whisperwood, go become one now. You don't want to be the last one invited to the party.  

Once you are a follower, check out the "Flea Market Transformations" Scout Party...maybe you have something you want to enter???   I'm definitely seeing if they will consider some of our projects.  Wouldn't that be awesome!

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Design Dazzle honored me with a surprise feature!

Hello Friends.  Hope your day was wonderful.  Mine just got so much better!

I was sitting here minding my own business, cruising Facebook, Pinterest and Houzz ~ when I noticed that I had some links coming from Design Dazzle to my little blog.  Huh?  I haven't linked up with Design Dazzle, have I???



Well, Toni from Design Dazzle is sharing our children's sensory table created out of our old coffee table, right now!  I have to say I'm tickled and honored to be featured on such an amazing and well read site.  Thanks so much Toni!!! 

If you have kids or teens you should go check out Toni's space for some great ideas for projects and decorating:
http://designdazzle.blogspot.com/

In case you haven't seen it yet, here are a couple pictures of the sensory table.  If you are interested in reading the original post that describes what we did ~ just click HERE.

Before:

It earned it's keep as our coffee table.  Boy, we are hard on furniture in this household.  Well, four in our family and up to 10 additional children make for a lot of wear and tear.  It was ready for a new life.

After:

Enjoy your evening friends!

Sherry

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