house keyrings

So what happens when you spend your Christmas break watching your friends houses, pets and mail?  You start to realize how easy it would be to lose their house key and really stress out.  Not that it has happened here, why would you think that?  We are perfectly organized here, I mean I run a tight ship------ sometimes.  So I decided the problem would be solved by crafting of course!

These cute little house key chains are going to be in my etsy shop, each will have a hole, like the first with a key chain attached.  To hold that very important key you don't want to lose or have someone lose.  They are 5inches by 6inches and started as chipboard diecuts  They have been embellished and then mod podged, so they are pretty sturdy.  Plus I think they are darn cute.

 

They are in my etsy shop and ready to go

Linked to funky junk

the southern institute
crafty, scrappy, happy
craftomaniac

Merry Christmas

From my family to you!  I hope you had a great day celebrating the birth of our savior!

Merry Christmas.  I am grateful for everyone of my followers, you are truly a gift to me.

lisa

la la loopsy outfit

First of all let me apologize for the mannequin.  My niece is a size 6/6x and this was my only mannequin that would work, but rest assured she has normal little girl shape.

She so loves la la loopsy, but I couldn't find any material. I decided to buy a pair of pjs from walmart and cut it up to add some of the material.  It's way over the top.  She will love it, but I don't know if my sister will.

This is probably my favorite part.  The side is the collar of the pajama tops.

The back, it's ok.

My least favorite and what was killing me last night.  It just doesn't look they way I pictured it.

A little capelet and headband to finish it off.  Don't worry remember the mannequin isn't child sized.  It looks like I am missing an l , but it's there just right in the sunlight.  I will be adding a more finished version of this to my etsy shop, but it won't be available for Christmas

lisa

linking to
whipperberry
tatertots and jello 
get schooled saturday
uncommondesigns

mojo lost!

Hope I find it soon.  Between my high schooler's week of finals, all their holiday parties and events.  Being a single mother because my husband thought the month of December was the perfect time to go to paramedic school and simple loneliness - my mojo is gone.  When I don't have to drive anyone anywhere I take a nap.  Thankfully my husband comes home tomorrow.  He'll still be doing rounds in the hospital, but he'll be home at some point during the day.  He's doing this now, because his day job comes to a halt during the month of December, so I'm not mad, just incredibly emotionally exhausted. 

I have been working on family handmade gifts and was planning on showing them to you, but they aren't turning out too cute.  I do some work and then need to lay down, it's very sad.  I have been slaving over a la la loopsy skirt set for my 6 year old niece that I pictured in my head so amazing, but it is simply ugly.  I'm giving it one more try tomorrow and then I will post a picture failure or not. 

Here's a little piece of good news- I think I have found a new store to sell in.  I make more on the split 60/40 instead of 50/50 and I think I can ask for a higher price in this place.  So I will be pursuing that tomorrow also.  Really I am starting to come out of my funk and wanted you to know I was still alive. 

lisa

home mantle banner

I believe this will be my last Christmas post.  I'm kinda done with this holiday, except in real life.  In blogging life I'm a little over it and wanting to work on furniture, sewing, diy etc.


I thought my mantle needed just one more thing for the final reveal.

My husband has already gotten involved and changed the night to cow!  I just noticed it today, he said he did it about 3 days ago. Ha ha!

This garland is made from chipboard house shapes covered in vintage writing paper.  I have inked and stamped them and then used letter chipboard covered in silver german glass glitter.  They are strung with twine.  I love them.  Since I made one, I decided to make two more and they are available in my etsy shop.  The button is at the top of the blog.

Here is a closeup of all the letters.

I think they turned out great and the beauty part is that they work for Christmas but can stay up all year, until I get sick of them, you know how that goes.  I need lots of change.  Thanks for stopping by.

lisa

linking to

house of hepworths

fireflys and jellybeans 

rhinestone beagle 

crazy cute 

tatertots and jello 

craftomaniac 

making the world cuter

New mantle sign

Here is my mantle currently

I love it!

I wanted to do a little more though.

I love to change with the season and usually add a new sign but I am adoring the silver platter in the middle so I decided to paint it with chalkboard paint so that I could write whatever seasonal saying I would like.

Here is all you need.  I don't even bother to tape off because the indention seems to keep the paint where it needs to be.  I did another one of these a few months ago and it has done very well.

After the first coat.  I actually get impatient and use my blowdryer to speed up the dry time.

After 3 coats.  Now comes the tricky part.  I have terrible handwriting.  I really wanted an old english style of handwriting, so I went to word and picked the simplest and printed it to have as a copy.  It really helped.

Here it is after, the whole process took 15 minutes, with the blowdryer.  My only suggestion before doing this is to make sure the platter is silverplate and not solid silver.  That would be an unhappy event in my house.  I usually get these trays for around 2 to 3 dollars at thriftstores.

This post is part of a 25 day christmas blogshare.  Please check out these other bloggers on their days, who knows you might find a few new fave bloggers.

Beginning December 1st, join us here on Parga's Junkyard for a

25 Days of Christmas Blogshare!

24 amazing bloggers have joined forces with Parga's Junkyard to bring you the ultimate in Holiday goodness.

There will be recipes, gift ideas, tutes, stories, stocking stuffer ideas and much more!

Be sure to check the Christmas Blogshare post of the day everyday in December, beginning December 1st. New friends are the greatest blessings any time of the year...

December Blogshare LineUp!

December 1st - Tots and Me -

December 2nd - Vodka and Motherhood

December 3rd - Your Mama Said What

December 4th - Happy Go Lucky Harvey

December 5th - Bleak 2 Unique

December 6th - Pargas Junkyard

December 7th By the Brook Designs

December 8th - Radcrafter

December 9th - Pounds 4 Pennies

December 10th -. Smitten by Abigail

December 11th - Empty Nest

December 12th - Tiaras and Bowties - Think Smink

December 13th - The Freshman Cook

December 14th - The Bunnies of Christmas by Mary Ellen

December 15th - My Simple Walk

December 16th - Clipper Girls Saving Spot

December 17th - Musings From a Sahm

December 18th - Larissa Hill

December 19th - Coupons for Wisconsin

December 20th - Allergy Free Cookery

December 21st - Liz Finding My Own Life

December 22nd - A is A Family

December 23rd - Lee Me and the Girls

December 24th - My Crazy Bliss

December 25th -Golden Reflections

Christmas is my favorite time of year and I am so excited to be able to share a little of the excitement and fun with you!

Do you have a Christmas blog post you would like to share with our readers? Sign up on our linky below to share your posts! If you are one of our readers and would like to see more Christmas posts click on the Linky below!

Merry Christmas to All!

lisa

model home monday 8

Woohoo!  My favorite day!

I can't remember which model this is, I'm so sorry.

Just loved this cozy entryway!  Loved the dark wood against the light colors and the nailhead trim on the chair.

Here it is from the front door, cruddy picture sorry.  But I thought you would want to see the whole entryway.

Family room.  Another hit with me.  Love the oversized nailhead trim continued.  Plus dark woods with light walls and upholstery.  Pretty much everything.  The picture above the fireplace, the fireplace,etc.  I would like to move right in.

 

I'm so glad they painted the island white and distressed it, otherwise this would be way too dark for me.

This is where they lost me, it blends in well but I think a little more color would have been nice.  Maybe green chairs with white piping, not sure.  What do you think?

Ok on to the bedrooms.  In this model I am going to show the kids rooms.  They used vinyl in a cute, easy to copy way.  Maybe it will help you with a project.

Sorry about the picture quality, but I think it's a cute look.  This vinyl I'm sure could be found on etsy for a really cheap price and it is just such a cute little boy nursery.

Love!

lisa
linking to
Craftomaniac
making the world cuter 
skip to my lou 
keeping it simple 
be colorful 
ninthstreet notions 
the southern institute 
creating really awesome free things

my favorite things 2011

1.  This cardigan from matilda jane clothing.  

2.

Maybelline's new falsies mascara.  My mom used to wear false eyelashes and I now know why.  We seem to lose them after having our babies.  I still have them, but they are sparser and shorter.  This stuff gives me some eyelashes.  Love it!

3.

Cetaphil is the best.  Every year I go to the dermotologist to get a skin check and every year I ask if there is a new miracle product.  Every year she rolls her eyes at me and says stick with the cetaphil.  I also use lubriderm as my mousturizer.  I would pay big bucks for something that worked better, but every dermy I have ever seen says the same thing.  Eyeroll!

4.

Once I got serious selling online I dug deep for a canon rebel xt.  It is easy to use and a wonderful camera.  I am used to taking outdoor shots, but now that I blog, blog, blog, about decor I use it indoors.  It's a different thing and I am learning alot, but this camera makes it easier.


5.

 

This dog.  Her name is Talledaga, Tally for short.  She is a 6 year old black lab and somedays she is the most loveliest creature in the entire world.  If my children cry, she sits by them and laps away their tears.  Once while feeding her (labs live to eat)  I bumped my head so hard on the corner of a cabinet I was positive I would blackout or have a seizure, really it was bad.  She sat at my feet licking my leg until I felt better and then she ate.  THAT'S LOVE!!!!!!!

6.  Peppermint body lotion from bath and body.  Yum, it makes me feel christmasy.

7.  And lastly I really like Grace rather then judgement.  One time I was feeling particularly annoyed with a family member for doing the SAME thing AGAIN!  My husband listened to my rant and then very calmly asked me if everytime I made a mistake in the same way over and over again would I rather have someone respond with grace or judgement, because wasn't I already judging myself and feeling terrible for making the same mistake again and again. I very truthfully said that I would like to give judgement but always receive grace.  Not nice but true.  We laughed but the message has stuck with me and I now try very hard to remember that we all need a little grace, especially during the holidays when we are all stressed and our worst human tendencies seem to pop up unchecked.  So my favorite is grace (and the wise hubby)!

lisa

linking to
the nester

christmas mantle part 1

I am loving my christmas mantle this year. Sometimes a tragedy and a tight budget can be the mother of invention..  Part 2 will be on the 7th.  I'm part of a christmas blog share and need to wait till then to reveal two more parts of the mantle.

In fact I love it so much I think after the season I am replacing the glitter buckets with galvanized buckets and keeping the rest. 

I truly love milk glass.  I am now considering painting the back of my dining room builtins a soft gray because my aunt gave me about 20 pieces of milk glass and I want them to show up in the white bookcases.  But these are staying and being filled with something else too.  It's love again!

lisa

linking to
a vision to remember
how sweet the sound 
funky junk

loving my snowflake chandy

Here it is tonight.

Love

snowflake door wreath

So as you know I lost a bunch of christmas decorations this year, my attic imploded.  Not sure.

But because of this I am trying to make lots of fun, cute, cheap decorations.

It's been fun, fortunately I'm not very sentimental.

So here is my new door snowflake!

I got the general idea from diary of dave's wife.
who got it from someone on pinterest, it's really a long muddy trail but at least everyone is giving credit.  I like that about blog land.

I started out with popsicle sticks.

I just played around with it till it looked like a snowflake.  I think if I would have paid attention to the angles, it would have turned out a little better.

Learn from my mistakes people!

Then I spraypainted it silver.

On this picture I really overexposed it so you could see all the layers.

1.  I gluegunned a dollar store plastic snowflake on top of the popsicle snowflake
2.  I glued a glittered styrofoam blue snowflake on top of that.
3.  I glued acrylic blue beads on all the ends.
4.  I glued rhinestones on all the joints.

The whole thing took less then 30 minutes and cost me zip, because I had all the odds and ends laying around.

I think she is so pretty.  She seems to be holding together well and I may love her!   But can you see where I should have paid attention alittle to the angles?

lisa
linking to
funonadime
whipperberry 
504 main
kojo designs 
tatertots and jello

Christmas subway art

Before I show the pictures I wanted to let you know where to get this for free if you love it.  It's from a great blog called eighteen25 and if you click on the blog name it will take you to the subway art page.  It is very easy to do, you just print it like you would a picture and pick it up.  I do 8x10 but you can up to 16x20 if you want.

Ok I am a person who likes alot of change and one way I do that very inexpensively is by having a frame in my kitchen that I use printables in and change for the season.  There are alot out there but I really love this blog and love all of their printables.  I just keep the unused seasons in the frame and then rotate them through the year.

Here it is outside in the frame.

 

Love!

Here it is in my kitchen.

Double love!

While I was processing my pictures I looked at it from my computer and here it is with my snowflakes hanging from my kitchen chandy.

I'm skipping triple and going straight to quadruple love!

The picture printing was $2 through walgreens, I got it in an hour and it is just another great, cheap way to change up your decor without breaking the bank.

lisa

linking to
house of hepworths 
it's sew stinking cute 
fireflies and jellybeans 
rhinestone beagle 
a shot of brandy