life is good - diy burlap book rack

kimba is hosting another great diy party





edited to read: i'm also linked up with gina at the shabby chic cottage for transformation thursday

yes, i'm still playing with burlap. in fact, there's only a few yards left on my bolt.

sooooooooo - i've been wanting one of those wall book racks like they sell at pottery barn. here's one hanging in my grandson's nursery, at his mommy & daddy's house. whoops! when i hit publish, it wouldn't accept the photo. anyway, it's white, it hangs on the wall, books sit behind dowels, get the picture? without a picture?
i want one of those for my house, for the grandkid's room.

& last week, i showed you this-



it's a cd holder that corrie (my daughter) found at goodwill. she thought it could be used for books, but i didn't think the little ones could keep them on the shelves.

but if it had something to hold the books. hmmmmmm? burlap, perhaps.

sooooooooo - i took the cd holder & my burlap & started working.

i asked my dear husband, shelly, to use the liquid sander/deglosser on it & then he sprayed on some white primer (true confession time: after last week's dresser, i can't bear the thought of spray painting. i have very little cartilage in my right wrist & the spray painting hurts! i'm gonna stick to the roller & brush from now on. but my can of primer was missing (i think my son "borrowed" it. how do you borrow paint?)

so anyway, shelly spray painted on the primer & then i used CRAFT PAINT IN THE LITTLE BOTTLES. i mixed 2 colors together to get the blue that i ended up with. 1 coat of blue & then "distressed" it with a combo of burnt sienna & ivory. all with the little sponge brushes.


i had been "stewing" about the burlap part of it for a couple of weeks.

by the way, have you all read that crazy blog about quotation marks? it's cracking me up! it's called "the blog of unnecessary quotation marks". find it here: www.unneccesaryquotes.com
i have this great fear that i'm gonna end up on there d/t excessive "quotation mark" usage. (and, if there's a blog for unnecessary or excessive parenthesis usage, i'm really in trouble!)

back to the burlap, i'm not a seamstress, engineer (though i am married to one) or mathematician, just so you know. figuring out how to make the pouches for the books was NOT easy, because i'm not good at exact & precise measurements. so, i made a pocket at the top & a pocket at the bottom. in between, i wove the burlap in between the dowels to create pouches.


as a result, you need to load it with books from the top to the bottom. if you do it from the bottom first, then all the burlap slides to the bottom making the other pouches disappear.

i know.

good luck getting a 4 1/2 yr. old, an 18 month old, a 13 month old & an 8 month to follow those directions.

as if.

as if they would ever reload the book rack. kids take them out, grandmas put them back, right?

oh my goodness, i just had a light bulb moment. i'll use velcro to hold the pouches into place (do you think that'll work?).

here's how it looks in the room:




thanks for stopping by, & make sure you look at everyone else's projects at kimba's



that's where i'm heading -

don't forget to leave comments -

don't forget to thank kimba for being such a gracious hostess - (sure wish she'd serve refreshments)

& stop by to see the others from gina's transformation thursday, too!

blessings & peace -

randee

life is good-treasure hunting

this is the first time i've participated Rhoda's weekly party.



i haven't been to any garage sales for a few weeks. i've been busy getting stuff together to have my 2nd one of the summer. i had it last weekend with my sister, daughter & stepdaughter. we made $400.00! on this one. we were so glad to be rid of what we sold. most of what was left went to Goodwill, but we did hold back a few good things because we're going to have 1 final sale, but this time we're moving it to my sister's house.

the funniest thing about having a garage sale with family is if you see something you want of theirs, you just take it! but somehow i missed seeing everything. there were several things that were sold that i didn't realize we even had until someone would come up to pay for it.

here's what i snagged before the sale







the white jars were my mom's from a nice collection she had from the 50's. all but these 2 pieces ended up broken over the years. my sister had them on the table for 25 cents & i snatched them up & said (very dramatically) "you can't sell those, they were mother's!" to which ruthie replied, "whatever". i have absolutely no use for them but couldn't let them go.

found this cute little stool at the thrift store a couple of weekends ago.

it was only 1.99.
it's in pretty good shape as it is, but after seeing what amy of modpodgerocks.blogspot.com did with paper & mod podge on a similar stool, i think i'll have to give it a try.

gonna spend this week giving the house a much needed cleaning & gonna absolutely positively finish our 2 guest rooms & the bathroom in between.

we aren't watching any grandchildren this week so hopefully we can get a lot accomplished in a short amount of time (ha! i move slower than molasses & shelly moves as slow as a snail). our reward will be at the end of the week. we're gonna take off & go to cinci to the ikea store (for me)& then to caesar creek flea market on saturday(for shelly).

i'm posting this on sunday afternoon & now, i do believe, it's time for my favorite sunday afternoon pastime "the nazarene nap".

hope you have a great week & don't forget to head over to

too see everyone's thrifty finds

& make sure you check out Rhoda's new bloggy home -

blessings & peace -

randee

random thoughts & an organ recital

you are my Lord; apart from you i have no good thing. Psalm 16:2

1) shelly went out to run some errands yesterday & asked if i wanted anything. i said "yes, a gallon of gumption & a peck of perseverance & throw in a truckload of talent, too".

what is wrong with me?

mom used to recite a poem about getting old that had the line - how do i know that my youth is all spent is when my get up & go has got up and went - or something like that. it also talked about knowing you are dead when you read your obituary in the paper & something about your teeth in a jar, too.

all i want to do is sit on my rear (for frequent short intervals of time) & do nothing. i'm so full of ideas and can't seem to follow through on implementing them! or if i start them, i can't seem to finish them.

2) wanted to get away for a few days next week but have a coupon to get our carpeting cleaned & it's gonna expire on the 30th, so we should stay home, right?

3) my husband's name is shelly, mine is randee. people always think he's me & i'm him. they're wrong.

4) i'm always thinking that i'm losing my mind but shelly says if you think that, then you aren't. what does he know?

5) my memory is getting so bad. and i'm frequently informed that i can no longer call it "chemo brain". i guess there is a statute of limitations on "chemo brain". it's only been 8 1/2 yrs. since i did chemo. i'm sure it's still effecting me, right?

6) went to see julia & julie last night with corrie. it's about a gal who blogs about cooking julia child's cookbook. there were way too many truths about blogging in it. i recommend it to all you bloggers or lurkers like me who spend way toooo much time in cyberspace.

7) i actually sat still through the entire aforementioned movie. and last sunday, i actually sat still through an entire worship service. except for the time i was singing on praise team & for the very short time toward the end of pastor's message when i ran to the restroom. (when i got back he was talking about jon & kate & i was so ticked that i missed everything he had to say about them). anyone, my point is that for the last several months, i can't sit still to watch tv or at church or movies (but i don't go to movies, usually {because i can't sit still, hah})

8) i've been taking buspar for anxiety for 3 months now. maybe it's working.

9) i'm always saying that i have the "jitters". do you ever have the jitters?

10) i have severe psoriasis & take humira. is that what i take? all of sudden i can't remember. let me go check the refrigerator. i'll be right back...........................................................................................yep, humira. i give myself shots every other week. and i use taclon ointment, too. let me doublecheck that name.........................nope, it's called taclonex. and i also do ultraviolet b light treatments in my basement. that sounds weird, doesn't it? actually, it's real tall thingy with light bulbs. i know, i'll show you a photo. be right back - nay, never mind. you don't want to see it.

nothing's working at the moment. that's the way it is with psoriasis. a treatment works for awhile, & then it doesn't. i've tried just about everything short of bathing in the dead sea salts (which works for some people). i could do an entire series of posts on psoriasis. sort of like julie did about julia child. 500 treatments in 365 days. but that would be very boring & gross, too. the psoriasis can effect your organs. you know your skin is your biggest organ, don't you? it is.
i have a lot of skin & even more skin cells. 7 times more than you, that's how fast it grows. and it's on my scalp & messes up my nails, big time. i have psoriatic arthritis, too. the humira is keeping the arthritis, scalp & nails under control & that's why i'm continuing to take it. something new is on the horizon (something always is).

my dad had it. my sister does (for over 50 yrs). my son has it. it can be heriditary or "tends to run in families". one thing it isn't is contagious. let me repeat that - it is not contagious! lee ann rimes & stacy (on what not to wear) both have it. we're not related.

it does effect your self esteem. (now i'm having trouble with effect & affect - can i blame that on chemo brain?)

11) have i mentioned that i'm diabetic? yep. type 2. it also "tends to run in families". mom was (& her sister, too), 1 brother is, 1 sister is, my daughter is, my niece is. i take metformin, twice a day.

12) while i'm telling you all kinds of crazy things, how bout this? i'm allergic to all raw fruits & vegetables. it's actually called oral allergy syndrome. you sneak the fruit or vegetable past my throat & i'm okay. as in, coat the lettuce with a ton of salad dressing & i'll live. some things, though, a gallon of dressing wouldn't help. i must say no to live. i can eat most of them cooked. that's great. have you ever eaten cooked watermelon? me, neither. anyway, my ears start to itch, my lips blow up, my throat closes up & it's bad news. i'm paranoid crazy about swallowing things that might kill me. i don't take any chances. somethings i only have to be in a room with (like dill) for it to effect me. with dill, my lips start quivering & i have to vomit, all while my throat is closing up. crazy, huh?

13) let's see, what have we missed? oh yeah, the m.i.g.r.a.i.n.e.s! why are they coming more & more frequently?

14) do you think i should see a dr? or maybe a new dr? actually, i have several great ones. it's just the crazy combination of all these things that make each other thing worse or more complicated.

15) i had breast cancer back in 2000. aggressive tumor, did chemo(only 3 months of it), bout died, had mastectomy, no sign of cancer in amputated breast. God healed me. NO DOUBT.

16) i've lived a long life in these short 57 yrs.

17) do you wonder why this blog is called "life is good"? because - life IS good.

18) overextended my time on this chair - must get up now & move around. because of the jitters.

19) maybe i'll go start another project. i doooooo soooooo love starting projects.

20) oh, wait! just had a fabulous idea! 365 blog entries on why life is good. each entry would start & end with praising God.

i will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
i will tell of all your wonders.
i will be glad and rejoice in you;
i will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
Psalm 9:1-2

blessings & peace -

garage sale dresser redo

i have another diy project that i wanted to share, so i'm hooking up with kimba

for her diy party twice in one week!


saw this dresser at a garage sale a few weeks ago & bought it for $30.
finally got around to fixing it up.
first i used this stuff.
then 3 1/2 cans of black spray paint (didn't even use primer)
love how it looks now.

i needed something to fill in that space in front of the open staircase to the basement & also needed some extra storage so this works out great.



thanks to all of you stopping by & keep on reading the rest of the diy projects at


blessings & peace -

randee

reading nook(still playing with burlap & birdies)

i'm joining kimba at

for her diy party today



i'm still working on "the grandchildren's wing". hah! our house only has 3 bedrooms. the master bedroom is on one side & the other 2 are on the other side of the house separated by a jack & jill bathroom. i used to call it henry's room but now there's also eston, corbin & eva (the other grandchildren) so i had to change the name.

we rarely have overnite guests so the rooms are used for & by the grandchildren. i know how i want them to look & it's taking me a while to achieve it. when i'm finished, i hope they'll be rooms that will meet the needs of the little ones & also serve as comfortable rooms for guests, if we ever have any!

finished one little corner of one room yesterday.

this is the before


this is the after

the curtain was made with the birdy toile shower curtain & burlap fringe.
i covered the lampshade & it looked just so-so.
so i just kept adding things to it. it may be a little over the top now.
what do you think?

it kind of reminds me of a parlor room lamp from way back when.

the table's top is kind of messed up so i used a little birdy remnant to make a tablecloth.

the birdcage was found in the dumpster at church last year (no - i didn't do any dumpster diving, it was on top, & my husband did the retrieving). it was sage green. i slapped some craft paint on it & we'll see how long the ribbons last on top with the little ones around.

i'm working on another burlap project for the room. here's a sneak peek of 1 component of it.



it's an old cd holder but it won't be for long! can you guess what i'm going to do? or at least, try to do?

thanks for stopping by. make sure you check out all of the amazing diy's at kimba's


blessings & peace -
randee

if you build it, they might come

(if you guarantee door prizes, they'll show up early!)

we had a family scrapbooking night last friday evening.

i've been working on the basement & got the new "craft room" ready enough for us to enjoy an evening together.

the original plan was to go to a scrapbooking night at church but when i found out we needed to bring our own supplies & it was still going to cost 20.00 each, i thought we could do our own thing.

my sister, ruthie, brought about 4 bins of supplies & i have tons of this & that (plus 15 doorprizes) so we were ready.
corrie, angela, carrie & beth (my greatniece) all came ready to work on projects.





i was so busy watching everyone's kids during the days that i never had a chance to get any photos ready. actually, the truth is i didn't have a clue where to even start! & then i opened up a pack of boys themed paper & saw a pirate ship & knew what i'd work on first. i just need to find all the photos i have of henry in his pirate get up.

everyone's pages turned out great!




& i'm looking forward to us getting together again real soon -

i love these girls! we allow our lives to fill up with so many things that we rarely have time to just enjoy each other's company. friday night was a rare & oh so sweet treat for me.





the bigger than ever garage sale is on for this friday & saturday. got the signs ready
& a huge pile of stuff in the basement ready to price. still need to go through table linens & clothes. hopefully i'm gonna get rid of my big girl clothes (cuz i'm never gonna go back there!), this year i'm selling size 16, maybe next year it'll be size 14 that i can get rid of (always the optimist, that's me :).


hope we get rid of a lot of junk, i mean, really good deals & hope you all have a great weekend -