The Joy of Decoupage

Ok, so apparently you can decoupage practically anything, with anything!  This is so exciting.  So this is my first decoupage experience.  We had a board that was not being used for anything so I used flower pictures, newspaper and a black and white print, tore them all into random pieces, then I used glue/water mix and glued everything to my board.  You can also use mod podge, can find it at any craft store, but I didn't have any so I used the glue/water mix.   I overlapped all the edges so you can't see any raw edges anywhere.

I think my first try turned out pretty good!  It needs a clear coat of varnish to seal it once it's completely dry and I will hang it on the wall once I attach a picture hanger.

Make sure not to use inkjet printer pictures, because the ink will run when you put the glue on.  You can make a photo copy of an inkjet picture and that will be fine.  The next thing I'm going to do is all of our light plate/outlet covers.  Instead of buying all new ones, I am just going to cover them all with a pretty scrapbooking paper.  I'll post pics of those when I do them.  :)

Now off to find some other things to decoupage!

Kitchen/Laundry Room Before & After

I finally got the wallpaper down in the laundry room, painted it and Brandon got the new vinyl flooring laid in kitchen and laundry room.  We have a small galley style kitchen that goes straight into the laundry area.  It already feels so much better in there.  I need to work on getting the wallpaper out of the kitchen as well, but that will most likely be after everything else is painted and the wood floors are down.  Wallpaper removal is last on my list right now.

I'm happy with they way it looks, so so much better.  And on a totally different note, my tattoo is feeling so much better today!  :)

My Friday

This past Friday Brandon and I spend most of the afternoon in a tattoo parlor.  I've wanted another tattoo for awhile and I've known what I wanted, it was just a matter of actually doing it.  I know tattoos aren't for everyone, but I think there is just something so neat about having an artists work on you.  LOL

 I finally decided to make the leap.  It's on my back, so I wanted to do it before summer so it's all healed and pretty before tank top season gets here.  The guy that did my tattoo, Matty was great.  I was nervous going into this one, just cuz it is so much bigger, but it didn't take as long as I thought it would.  It did hurt ALOT though.  I go back to have color added in a couple of weeks.  I can't wait for the finished product.

So on top of this tattoo being feminine and pretty, it also has a meaning.  The flowers are dogwoods, I wanted a dogwood branch to symbolize the cross, and the butterflies represent being a new creation in Christ.  Based on 2 Corinthians 5:17 in the Bible.  I like to have tattoos that are pretty but also mean something.  I have 2 small flowers on my wrist that are for both my girls - they are colored with each of their birthstone colors.  And then I have a cross on my ankle.  So anyway, am I done with tattoos?  Probably not, but you never know.  I do have one more in mind that I know I want for sure, but after that who knows?  If something jumps out at me that I just have to have, well...

Here is a picture of my latest one without the color.  I'll update once my color has been added...

Have a great weekend everyone!

In The Thick Of It

Well our house is completely torn apart right now.  We are in the middle of doing some much needed updating. Our house is basically an old lake house, complete with wood paneled walls. I am so thankful our landlord is doing so much for us.  I just wish it could be done without the giant mess.  LOL  I will be so ready for the finished product that's for sure.

We just finished up our week of Spring Break.  We try to take vacation every year at that time, last year we went to San Antonio - Sea World.  This year we just hung out at home and did some fun stuff around here.  It was nice to disconnect for 7 days, and of course it went by way too fast.  One of the things we did was go to the Tyler Zoo.  It's small, but the weather was nice and we got there early so it wasn't crowded.  And we ate lunch overlooking the elephants and giraffes.  Doesn't get better than that right?  Here are some pics from the zoo...

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Another DIY & Home Improvement

So I got this cute little bench at a flea market a few weeks ago.  It needed a little work and the legs were all uneven.  So once I got it home, Brandon evened out all the legs for me and I painted, stained and lightly distressed it.  I bought some of that sticky shelving paper that you can buy at the dollar store and use it to re paper your drawers.. and I put a piece of that along the top of the bench.

We have a garden every year, but this year we can't because we are too heavily populated with deer.  We live in a community where you can't hunt the deer and people feed them so they know they are safe and will eat any landscaping or gardens.  So, I decided I wanted to at least grow some herbs and I thought my little bench would be a cute way to display them.  I put the bench in the living room in front of one of our doors.  Herbs need south sun all day and the front of our house faces south.  So now we should be able to enjoy herbs for a while unless I end up killing them, which is entirely possible.  :)

And if you're curious the herbs I planted are basil (love love love basil!!!) rosemary, thyme, oregano.  I also love rosemary.  At our last house we had a huge rosemary bush by the front door and I loved the way it would smell..

Once I notice new growth on the plants I can start snipping pieces to use.  The more you snip the more they will grow!

Now for my other news. We have decided to continue renting this house we are in for awhile.  It is just so expensive to move, and frankly we are so sick of moving.  (13 times in 13 years of marriage)  Don't ask.
So we are staying put for awhile.  I know alot of people are against renting and think it's the worst thing you can do, but I am totally happy with renting for now.  But the great news is that our landlord, who is great by the way, is going to do some much needed updating to this house.  We are getting laminate wood floors, new vinyl in the kitchen and laundry room, I get to paint ALL the wood paneling, laminate wood floors in master bedroom, removal of all wall paper... It's quite exciting.  This will be the perfect little lakehouse once it's been updated a little.  So I will post some before, during and after pics.

Tomorrow is our trip to the Tyler zoo, I need to remember to bring my camera.  I'm so bad about that.