A dream...

In my dream life I would have a small business selling refinished furniture. Of course this would be "on the side" because I would also be busy managing my Bed & Breakfast.

I have started with a few small projects recently, nothing too exciting. But this piece is my first big find. Of course I located it at Goodwill and some friends helped me haul it home today. Thanks Todd and Cary!


I can't wait to share the redo...but it may take awhile! I would just like to say that also in my dream world this project turns out amazingly well! Okay, you decide!!!

From Martha Stewart to Reality

I woke up this morning ready to do a craft. There are so many things I'd love to work on. But first I decided to organize the craft room. For one thing I really want to submit a picture to Martha Stewart's Craft Room Contest. My craft room is definitely evolving. I think I enjoy the process of decorating and organizing it as much as doing crafts!



Well today's project was to take the Martha Stewart ribbon organizer (which I got as a gift for my birthday last year, thanks Linze!!!) and actually make it "appear" to be organized. When you see the ribbon organizer in the store (Michaels, AC Moore, etc~ and be sure and use the 40-50% off coupons in the paper) they look so clean and neat.

But in reality each time you pull a ribbon from the box, all the ribbons gets messed up. My ribbon organizer has ended up looking like this...

Hideous, I know! So a sneaky little plan of mine has been evolving in my head over the past few months. And today is the day that I actually carried it out!

What I decided to do was to make a faux ribbon display. On the outside, my nifty ribbon organizer will look all Martha Stewartesque BUT on the inside it will be a glorious mess. I usually dump the ribbon out and find what I'm looking for anyway.

I started by cutting a piece of ribbon the width of the box...

Next I chose several ribbons to hang out the front, and cut them at lengths of one to four inches...next I hot glued them to the ribbon backing...

I slid the ribbons through the opening...

hot glued it against the inside front of the box...

and wallah!!!!

prettiness on the outside...


and here it is on my shelf!

Delicious Caramel Apples

I cannot even begin to tell you how delicious the caramel apple was that I tasted at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory a few weeks ago. It was sooo amazing that I promised myself I would find out how to make it! It really wasn't difficult at all. The apple is dipped in caramel, then dipped in white chocolate, and then rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar. They called it "Apple Pie Caramel Apple" and it is to die for!

So over Thanksgiving I bought a container of caramel apple dip and a bag of white chocolate chips. All I did was rough up the skin of some granny apples with a cheese grater, then dip them in the caramel and again in melted white chocolate and roll them in a brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.




The Home Based Mom blog has some helpful hints for the process as well as a recipe to make the caramel if you'd rather make your own.



I originally had the apples on a stick, but ended up cutting them up into slices and serving them as a snack a few hours after the Thanksgiving meal. Everyone loved them!

My Greatest Treasure~

Of all the beauty and fun that I enjoy, knowing Jesus is my greatest treasure! Merry Christmas, may this holiday season be very precious to you!

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Favorite Pier 1 Pillows~

I was in Pier 1 Imports the other day and fell in love with this Red Jeweled Pillow...

Loved these as well!

Gift Giving Fun~ Obelisks

A favorite place of mine in Raleigh is the flea market at the fair grounds! I found these great garden obelisks last year and got them for my sweet sister-in-law for Christmas!

She hasn't put them in her garden yet. I think she is still enjoying the look of them in her dining room with the Christmas bows from last year!


Enjoy the season!

Letterpress Printing ~

Recently I was shopping at A.C. Moore and I came across the Letterpress line from Lifestyle Crafts. I was so excited about the idea of creating my own professional looking embossed and inked cards at home. This week the Letterpress line is even on sale~40% off at A.C. Moore!



Here are some of the finished looks you can create...








As well as a few of the printing plate styles to choose from...








What I love about the Letterpress is that you can do blind embossing which is just the imprint of the design , or you can emboss it with ink. The indentations in the paper are so lovely!


Here's the kit:


And you can read about the process here




Oh it's all just so exciting!

Oh my!

So pretty!!!

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The Find ~

I'm curious if anyone has read this? It looks good!

Christmas Mantles~

So inspiring...




Did you notice the whitewashed finials on either side of the fire place? I love it!

Anthropologie Favorites~

I couldn't resist posting these dresses! Sometimes it's just fun to window shop....

Can you believe this one is an apron? I would definitely want to wear it out of the house....

I know it's almost winter...but it's never too early to find a bathing suit...love these!

Oh this cover-up is so fun!

Happy Tuesday!