Dead Dress Bear aka My Wedding Dress

Where does time go? I just realized I hadn’t posted anything for over a month! I told myself that I was going to put the house updates on hold until I was able to sort thru all our boxes that were still packed, empty out

From Trunk to Table!

I mentioned in passing in this post that we are in the process of redoing our master closet. (Yikes, that was a month ago and we haven’t made any progress since!) But we do have the carpet out of there!

But one positive thing in starting the closet makeover is I had to totally clean it out! And if you remember the pictures from the Under the Staircase Closet , then you know just how much stuff might have been in the master closet!

Back in one corner, under a couple of pillows, bags, and purses, was this trunk that I bought at a garage sale several years ago. Not much to look at, but still in decent condition. (even after two moves) I was using it and another oversize tub to store pictures and scrapbooks. I was able to sort through the pictures (discarding duplicates), throw out old photo albums from the ’70’s, and just get rid of some stuff! What was left fit into a small storage box that now sits on a shelf in the closet!

So that left me with an empty trunk once again. And this is what I did with it.

I turned it into a super cute table with storage!

    

It was a pretty simple project. I did the usual primer and paint steps. After it was completely dry, Mr. drilled holes in the bottom and hammered threaded inserts in the inside of the trunk for the legs .

    

To keep paint from getting all over my hands while painting the legs, I poked holes into the bottom of some cheap plastic cups. I was then able to screw the legs into the holes and viola…instant “keep paint off my hands leg holder thingy”!

    

I cut off the old handle, wrapped jute around a piece of cord, and hot glued it in place. I thought this gave it more of a coastal look.

I plan on using it as a coffee table and storing a couple of light throws and maybe the various remotes we have in it.

    

Y’all have a great day!

~

Jalapeno Popper Dip

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!! Hope everyone had a terrific weekend. We had a Pool Opening Party on Saturday, except the pool temperature was still too chilly for us to get in! (although, Mr. did jump in two weeks ago to fix the pool light, brr!) But at least the weather was perfect for the get-together!

I made this flip flop wreath for the party to hang on the gate. Really easy and sooo colorful!

We had lots to eat and drink, and the company was great! A few things on the menu were Baked Hawaiian Sandwiches, BBQ Brisket, and Jalapeno Popper Dip. This dip is yum-my! But I have to warn you…it spares no calories!! I guess that’s why it’s so tasty and good!! 🙂

Jalapeno Popper Dip

2 – 8 oz. cream cheese – room temperature

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 oz. can diced green chilis (I left these out of my mine)

4 fresh jalapenos – deseeded and diced

               ~~~~~~

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter – melted

Mix the 1st six ingredients together. Spread into a greased 2 quart baking dish.

Mix the bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and butter together. Sprinkle over top of dip.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until top is brown and bubbly.

Hope y’all enjoy it as much as we do! Y’all have a good week.

Later gators!

When You Stop Believing in Santa, You Get Underwear!

Hopefully, you still believe and undies won’t be under your tree on Christmas morning! And for those of y’all who have little ones that wait for Santa to come down the chimney or use his “special” key for the front door, I have something fun and easy-peasy to make for Santa’s reindeer. It’s a sack of “Magic Reindeer Hay”. We made these several years when our daughter was little. Right before bedtime, we would put Santa’s cookies and milk on the table by the tree and went outside to sprinkle food for Rudolph and the rest of the gang!

All you need is a lunch-size brown paper sack, some scrapbook/construction paper, and hay. Ribbon is optional. You can either print off the poem on a printer or let the kids write it with crayons or markers.

Poem and directions on tag on the front of the sack:

Magic Reindeer Hay

It’s the night before Christmas,

Santa will soon be here.

We give cookies to Santa

Now let’s feed his reindeer!

Directions:

On Christmas Eve,

Just before going to bed,

Sprinkle the reindeer hay on your lawn.

Jump into bed and quietly listen for Santa.

For he and his reindeer will soon be here!

Mr. and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and hope you get everything you wish for!

Christmas Lone Star Wreath

My friend Susan and I went to the Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market last Friday in Houston. It was the first time I have ever been to it and I have only one word…Awesome! Disregarding the thousands and thousands of shoppers and the $4.75 bottle of Diet Coke, it was still…Awesome! So many vendors and so much merchandise! I bought a metal “V”. Not sure where I’m going to display it, but for now I have it resting on the mantel in the living room.

There were TONS of Texas items. (this being Texas and all) Things made from Texas license plates were a big hit. And plenty of Texas Lone Stars! So since this is our first Christmas in our new house in Texas, I decided to make us a Christmas Lone Star wreath.

I was almost finished with it when Mr. reminded me that I didn’t take any pictures while I was making it to show y’all the process. But it’s really easy! I found all the items needed at Hobby Lobby. The star is metal and has a frame that goes completely around it. So all you have to do is wind your greenery around the frame and attach it with floral wire. Add the ornaments, decorations and ribbon. Make yourself a bow, attach it, and…Viola! One Lone Star wreath ready for hanging. I’m still thinking about adding a string of battery-operated lights to it. That way you never have to worry about the cord hanging down or making sure you hang it by an outlet.

I am sooo ready to decorate for Christmas, but I’m making myself wait! (although Mr. has already started wrapping the trunks of the palm trees with lights) The countdown has begun and we are only 14 days away from Thanksgiving and 14 days away from decorating!! Woohoo!

Happy Halloween!

Wow…can you believe that it’s already Halloween? Where did October go? As you know, a couple of weeks ago Mr. and I spent a week in San Francisco. Wonderful time! Two days later, I left for Oklahoma to spend a few days with my mom and then met up with Mr. in Tulsa at the end of the week. We got back late last Friday night and I just haven’t been motivated to do anything all week. The most accomplished thing I’ve done this week is help Mr. get a frog out of the pool Monday morning at 6:30 am! There we were in the dark, me in my pajamas with a flashlight and Mr. dressed to go to work with the net, chasing this stupid frog around the pool. They can get in but they can’t get out. And then they drown!

I didn’t do much decorating for Halloween, as I never did get my Halloween decorations down from the rafters in the garage. I did make two Halloween wreaths though. This one here that I made for myself and this one I made for my daughter.

I also found these two characters in a box this week when I was digging through a cabinet in my craft room. I painted them a few years back and had forgot all about them.

Not much in the decorating department this go round. BUT my favorite decorating holiday is just around the corner and I plan to do it up right this year! AND it’s only eight weeks away! Pretty scary, huh?

Y’all have a happy and safe Halloween!!

The Chick is Flying the Coop!

Come tomorrow, Mr. and I will be empty nesters again! Our daughter is moving out and I am so excited about getting my craft room back! She and her cats came to live with us at the beginning of the summer to begin a new career and life. She took over two of the bedrooms and my craft room with all of her stuff! She has a lot of stuff! And we got rid of a lot of her stuff when she moved here! I’m going to miss her, but she’ll only be about 30 minutes away! When she was in grad school, she was in Indiana and 10 hours away from us in Oklahoma!

We have most of her stuff packed up and ready for the movers to load up in the morning.

spare bedroom #1

spare bedroom #2

Even Auttie is ready to go !

And this is what my craft room is looking like at this moment. Just waiting for me to come back and straighten it back up!

I have lots of ideas and can’t wait to dive in! Pinterest has supplied me with so much inspiration.

via dearemmeline.blogspot.ca

via pbteen.com

via theinspiredroom.net

So hopefully, in the very near future, I will have an organized craft room again. But I really will miss her and the cats!!

Witchy Wreath

What a fast weekend! What a fast month! Can you believe that October will be here tomorrow? Have you started your Fall and/or Halloween decorating? So far, this Witchy Wreath is the only thing that has gone up in the house, which I finished just this past weekend. All my other decorations are still up in the rafters of the garage in boxes and tubs.

Have y’all made a new craft for this Fall? I would love to hear what you are making.