Patriotic Letter

I decided I didn't have enough patriotic decorations around the house and it was almost the 4th. Nothing I saw in a store would be coming home with me so I took on a new project.

This is how you do it:

buy: A large wooden letter at your favorite craft store. Don't forget to use your coupon! This one is 18" tall and about 1/4" thick made of pine.
Paint of your choice. This is what I got. I love working with these acrylics. Easy clean up and dries fast.

Painters tape. Mine is almost 2" wide. Don't cheap out on this. Get the good stuff. It's worth it in the end.

Polyurethane, satin finish, if you want to hang your letter outside.

You'll also need sandpaper, fine grit, and small craft paint brushes. Don't use a foam brush!!! I tried it, the wood is too rough and tore foams bits all over my project. :(

Let's get to it:

Paint the front side of the letter with white. Give it a good coat, 2 or 3. Remember it dries fast so this will take no time at all. Let it set overnight (or several hours) then grab the painters tape. Tape off desired stripes. Really press the edges of the tape down firmly so the paint won't seep under it.

Start painting the red stripes. Remember, less is more when you paint the taped edges. Light coats until you get the desired look. Once that's done go for the field of blue. Let dry and use the white again to paint your stars. It's a handmade item, the stars don't have to be perfect. After the stars are dry give the front and back 2 or 3 coats of polyurethane. I like to do this whether it'll be outside or note. It just gives it a shiny finished look.

I got fancy and cut some wire hangers to let them dry without sticking to anything. These particular letters have keyholes to hang them, however you may want to do what I did. I used the tiny screws that attached the hanger to display them at the store. Without screwing them in all the way, take some picture hanging wire or any light weight wire and wrap around each screw.

As you can see once I took mine to work, several more folks wanted one.

And this is for my friend that didn't know if a "D" would look good. This is going to knock her socks off. ;)

But wait! There's more. One friend asked if I could do a letter in a college theme. So with a little thought and some fun painting I came up with this. 

Ya, I'm probably breaking some kind of copyright laws but what's the internet for if you can't print the free coloring pages that are out there.

I have another order for 4 more letters. And a slipcover to make. So check back in on me and see how the Big Ugly Chair is coming along.

Leave me a note and let me know what you think. Remember I monitor your comments so if you don't see it right away that's because I haven't seen it yet. Thanks for checking in on me.

Not too old yet.

I have talked off and on about staying healthy. We belong to the local YMCA. It has great instructors that give great classes. They are motivating and the bonus besides getting fit and healthy... you make new friends. With that said, I am not a runner. I really don't like it because I usually run by myself and well the classes are with others, enjoying fun music. You probably remember my families' last minute entry into a Thanksgiving 5k last year. I thought maybe this spring I would give it another go. My hubby had suffered a torn achilles and was still recovering. I heard about this little 5k through my office. It was a benefit the county put on as part of Feed the Need. The entry fee would go toward providing food for the hungry in our area. Plus we could take canned goods to be entered into drawings and who doesn't like winning stuff. The weather had been cool and of course a few days before, it started really acting like summer. 

I won't lie. I had not been running or even working out in my normal routine, so this was brutal. I was whipped. 

But it has a great ending. I took 2nd place in my age group! This is my first medal EVER! My time was 31 minutes 16 seconds. Woo hoo! That was fun.

Get out and get some exercise this summer before the snow starts to fly and we're all couped up inside.

Linda

Hawaiian Shirt Refashion

This is my newest refashion! But it has a story that started 20 plus years ago. My hubby and I, my youngest sister and her hubby and my BFF and her hubby. We were planning to go to a Jimmy Buffet concert and thought we needed matching shirts. Fast forward a few years and we went to another concert, then another. When we heard he was performing in Chicago we said we were in! 

It always makes me laugh when I take selfies. Anyway, I could not show up to this concert in a shirt that looked like this. So something had to be done.

Cut off the sleeves.

Cut off the collar forming the neckline you want. Hem your new neckline. Next take in the sides. And finally give it the hem length and shape you want. I wanted mine to look more feminine so I took it up on the sides and swooped it down in the front and back.

I love it!! I'm withholding the other pictures of our family and friends in their big sloppy shirts to protect the innocent. But man oh man did we have fun! I hope you can do something just as fun this summer.

Fins to the left!

Linda

Puppy Love

This big boy is Harper. He's 8 years old. We've had him since he was 2. He's one lucky pup. He was just a few days away from being put down when we found him at a local shelter. Harper is the best dog ever! So maybe we are the lucky ones. Even at 8 he likes to chase bunnies. In April he shot out after a bunny and by the time I caught up with him he was limping in the worst way. A visit to the Emergency Vet proved Harper had torn his puppy ACL (CCL). We were looking at surgery to make him a happy running pup again, so that's what we did.

Ouch!!! Poor guy. I was one nervous puppy mom. 

This is Ellie. She's 3. She was pretty sad Harper had to be away for two days and even more sad when she wasn't allowed to play with him when he got home.

Harper was pretty sad he couldn't play, on top of that he had to wear the cone of shame.

But with some special loving from one of his boys, I am happy to report Harper is mending very well. His post op x-rays show good healing and the Dr. says he'll be running after those bunnies again soon. Take care of your pups. Remember never leave them in a hot car, bring them into the air conditioner if you can. Walk them in the coolest part of the day. And watch that they aren't walking on super hot pavement, we wear shoes, they don't. I hope you all have a puppy love kind of day.

Thanks for checking in on me.

Linda

Veggies practically grow themselves!

Wow, this summer is just flying by. I can't believe I shared my vegetarian meal I had the other night and did not share the veggie garden itself. I planted in a hurry this May. So many fun activities once the weather starts to turn nice, it was hard to find time to plant. You'll have to forgive me for the weeds you're about to see. And that darn water grass/nut grass. If anyone knows how to get rid of this stuff and not kill every living thing for miles around please do share. But anyway, here's my 8 foot pole in the garden with the little house for the birds. 

The green beans are starting to grow and I noticed some beetles eating away at them. I'm not sure exactly what they were but I described them to the hardware store clerk and she lead me to the aisle with all the chemicals to kill and then regrow an entire garden. By the time I left there I had spent a fortune trying to grow vegetables, kill beetles, weeds and that darn nut grass.

I'm happy to report the beetles have not reappeared and the beans are delicious!

To prepare my bean pole for the soon to be climbing vines, I just take some sturdy string (I used twisted mason line) and my trusty scissors out with me.

And then go to work. I like to run the string so it is doubled through each eye screw on top and bottom. It just gives the beans a little more oomph to hang on to.

So far this year the vines have not grown inside the bird house. So that's good for the birds. :)

I was so tired of using tiny wimpy tomato cages I decided to splurge and go heavy duty. I've seen this idea around but I saw this You Tube video that made it look so easy I just had to try it. I got a few friends together that wanted to do the same thing then off I Lowe's I went and bought a roll of the concrete reinforcing wire. I then had the friends come over and with a heavy duty wire cutter (I guess we used bolt cutters) we cut 5 foot sections of the wire. It made the cost reasonable and these babies will last for many years.

 I cut mine then they sat until we came back from vacation.

You can see below how we turned the ends in so they would hook the other side of the wire to make a tube.

 These plants are towering over the top of the cage now.

 This is my poor little pepper plant I thought would not make it but now it is producing huge fruit!

And proof of growing cucumbers!

 That's the cucumber on the left.

Check back in on me. I'm sure to have tomatoes coming out my ears and maybe even a few recipes to go with them. I hope your garden is growing well. 

Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies

These are my version of the Funetti Butter Cookie you've probably seen on Pinterest. I like to call them Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies. They are the perfect size for little hands or those on a diet. Yes, I know cookies and diet do not go together. But how could you resist these little yummy balls of goodness. They were a huge hit at our 4th of July cookout. I did not use the brand of butter the recipe calls for. I used the Aldi brand of butter. And I used off brand cream cheese and powdered sugar. I did use the Funetti Cake Mix however next time I may use an off brand to see how it goes. You can find the recipe here. They are delicious.

Check back in with me. I want to share a few other ideas for treats and decorating for this summer holiday. 

Linda

Vegetables Everywhere

Vegetables are in full abundance! I have 3 types of tomato plants that are just loaded with fruit. My green bell pepper is producing peppers larger than I have ever picked. And the green beans make a meal every night. On top of all of that my friends at work have been bringing in some of their bounty. Gigantic zucchini, a white squash we don't know what it is and some tiny eggplant called Fairy something or other. Oh and I know this might be hard to believe but I am trying for the first time growing cucumber in a large pot. It is doing well. Now I am not a vegetarian. I grew up in Iowa, they love their beef there. However, tonight I dined like a vegetarian. 

I was yummy!! Now that I have fresh tomatoes I'll have at least one every day. As my garden continues to produce, I hope you'll continue to check back in. I've been working on some projects that I want to share with you.

Linda