Creativity 102

I really am having fun exploring & learning with paint, sand paper, fabric, scrapbook paper, and much more! Since I lay around on the couch all day have only a couple of free hours after the children are in bed each evening, I am not getting a huge amount done very quickly, but it is progress. =) Hopefully you all won't mind if my blog is sprinkled with make-overs from time to time.

I decided to re-do my little lamp table in my living room. Again, it wasn't absolutely horrid, but neither did it look elegant or even pretty. Plus, I needed a guinea pig to try out a white paint job. I didn't even think to get a good "before" picture, before I took off the built-in lamp post. I did manage to find one in the background of another photo though, to give you a little idea of what it used to look like.

After the lamp post and cords were removed.

I filled in the center hole with a little chunk of wood, and some wood filler. Let that dry, sanded the whole thing down, and added several coats of white paint. I am very much enjoying the end results too.

The black lamp is one I found at a garage sale for $1. It didn't work, til I fixed the wiring. No, I am not as handy as I might sound ... it was just a loose wire inside. But I am very tickled with my "new" lamp!

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Thanksgiving was very laid back and simple at our house this year. The Zooks from near and far were all together about 2 weeks ago for a big work day at the home place. And the Gehmans are all gearing up for a big Christmas she-bang. So we enjoyed a lazy day at home. Playing games, watching movies, and of course, a delightful lunch. The grocery store was totally sold out of turkeys when I did my shopping, but I gotta say, the ham was not a disappointment either. And the ham soup bubbling on the back of the stove makes it even more sweet.

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Did anyone else brave the early morning Black Friday rush? For the first time ever, I did. My good friend Beth asked me to go with her, so we set our alarms for o'dark thirty and headed to the outlet malls. There was lots of great deals to be had! I found a few items for the kiddoes, a few for myself, and my favorite deal of the day? A pair of heavy winter boots for my hubby, marked down from $70 to $19.99. I must admit, I felt very virtuous, even if I was in Kohls at the ridiculous hour of 4:47.

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Well, that's all for now. There is a diaper "screaming" to be changed. Not to mention it's owner to be trained ... Sigh. Back to reality.

Til next time ...

Creativity 101

eI've always loved seeing before & after pictures. When I was little, my mom used to get used Country Woman magazines, and the first page I would turn to was the make-overs where a woman would get a new haircut, new make-up, and look like a whole different person. I just love seeing how much you can improve something with some creativity {maybe I'm just alittle weird ... I know, I know}.

Anyhow, recently I have found a couple of blogs that feature a lot of make-overs. Remodels. Before & afters. And slowly, slowly the thought began to dawn on me ... I could do that! So this week I aim to try my hand at a few such ventures and see what I come up with.

This evening was my first attempt. I decided to start off with something easy and small ...  in case it was a dismal failure then maybe I wouldn't feel quite so bad. So I found this little footstool at a second-hand shop last week, and while there was nothing really "nasty" about it, I had a different picture in mind.

So I set about taking it all apart ... sanding ... painting ... sanding ... painting ... and then the fun part, re-assembling everything with the new fabric. I love how it turned out! What do you think? It might even be for sale ...

I think I could call this a success.  Now maybe I'll have the courage to tackle my next, much bigger project. Stay tuned.

Monday Morning ...

Giggling :: because my little 4 yr. old is dressed up in Mama's pantyhose & high heels.

Excited :: because of some breakthroughs in my life ... God is working in me, and I am so glad.

Depressed :: if I happen to glance at my kitchen. How it gets so bad over the weekend, I do not know. I was tempted to take a picture to show you what I mean ... but that would be ::embarrassing:: !!!

Sad :: because of some changes approaching. One of my best friends of 15 years is moving away.

Adventurous :: with some new ideas I'm trying out this week! If they go the way I hope they do, I'll be back with more details!

Anticipation :: because we just reserved a gorgeous cabin for the Gehman Christmas get-together. I cannot wait!!

Disappointed :: because my brother Phil will be missing. He is spending 3 months in Guatemala learning Spanish.  Then on to Honduras do help Chuck with mission work.

Peaceful :: because my Redeemer lives, and I am seated with Him in heavenly places!!

a little bit Ashamed :: because I am blogging while my to-get-done-today list is not getting a bit shorter!! *grin*

Just keepin' it real.

The Gratitude Journal: Ever Grateful Memo Board & Easel [Giveaway]

My friend Shelly is hosting a fun give-away over on her blog: The Gratitude Journal: Ever Grateful Memo Board & Easel [Giveaway] Check it out!