SummerTIME crafting

I found a round wooden disc in the garage this spring and had plans for a while to make it into a clock. Many inspirations in blogland later.... a coat of gray.....(Dixie, our Yorkie, walked through the area giving us her approval...)

followed by a coat of beige...

This is where the project took an unexpected turn....I could not locate the white tissue paper.....so I found in my stash.....a roll of....shall we say....old 1980's boyd's bears   vintage tissue paper?

It will work on the front porch, since it is sorta...red, white and blue.... I had to consult the clock in the living room to decide on placement of the roman numerals....

I never realized they are upside down from #4-8...

The cricket (Storybook letters) made this step SoOOo easy! My first experience with vinyl....watch out, I'll be making signs with every piece of wood I can find...

HOLD EVERYTHING>>>>

OOPS!  We interrupt this project for 2 weeks of Circle J Camp. This is an outreach ministry of our church. My husband volunteered to be part of the cast the last week and I have been camp nurse for the last 2 weeks....neglecting all projects....

George was hilarious as prospector Bill. He did a great job, as usual.

In 3 weeks we minister to approx 600 children grades 1-5. The camp is all volunteers and the teams make it run like a well-oiled machine....

The LORD's ministry is much more important than any craft I make...so it will be finished after this week....stay tuned for the final clock reveal....I have a few more bandaids to place on some skinned knees.....

Perhaps linking to parties listed here:

French inspired stool

Inspired by numerous blogs on copying a vintage chocolate bar wrapper in french......I printed out a copy and transferred it to an old foot stool. My source is the Graphic's Fairy and I'll add her blog button at the end..... After painting it with black paint, I stained it w/minwax. It took longer than expected but the result is exceptional. Here are the pics:

I thinned the paint a little too much and it ran....nothing is perfect....eh?

Minwax Antique walnut satin stain & polyurethane in 1 step....

much better....2 coats....

perfect size stool for a coffee cup....

Happy Painting this summer!

If I can link up.....will party here:

hey....leave me a comment will ya? It makes my day......

Father's Day 2011

It's time for a Father's Day Celebration!

This clock hangs in our family room.....a gift from my husband.....

My dad taught me at an early age to love photography. He was always taking pictures of us on vacation....and that is probably why I remember a great deal of where we went and what we experienced. My earliest recollection of a fun Father's Day was circa 1968 on a trip to PEI, Canada.  The family had driven onto the John Hamilton Gray ferry  to take the trip across to the island. It just happened to be FD weekend. We met 2 men on the boat, and the one that had children proceeded to invite us to his home, and then to spend the weekend on the island as their guest. You don't meet those kind of folks often these days......this man, years later became the Lieutenant Governor of the island. His name is Gilbert R. Clements. He and his wife, Wilma, were the perfect host family! I'll have to dig up those pics and do a post on my PEI....another day...

The above pic is from 1991, when my husband and his father were off to the mission field to build a church. Victory Church sends a team  to a foreign country each year.  This particular year George and his father, George Sr. went together. The kids and I took them to the church to meet the bus.

Father's Day, June 1997

Grant, Lynda, Lindsay, George Jr.

George Sr., Grant, and my dad "Pete" in 1997

Yesterday @ Cracker Barrel, my sister and I met dad for lunch.

There's nothing like spending some time with the folks that sacrificed time & money, and invested in you as parents to make you the successful peeps you are today. We have truly been blessed.

Exodus 20....Ten Commandments.....#5 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land that the LORD your God gives you. (The first commandment that has a promise attached).....well folks...that's all.....except one last parting shot of my wonderful husband doing some remodeling.....we will have new windows in the family room soon. It's a long process....remodeling this 1960's ranch style home we are blessed to live in right now....but we're getting there....

Let there be light!

Enjoy your FD weekend!

Don't forget to leave me a comment.....anybody out there?

Back Porch Deck

My husband has completed the back porch (deck off the master suite) and thankfully it will be a refuge for morning devotions with the LORD....it was cool enough this morning after last night's rain we so desperately needed....

It was a real labor of love.....in the heat (welcome to Florida) 94* at 5:00P.M. today

The steps were the most difficult....you know he just had to get fancy and curve the steps....

aahhh....a welcome retreat....

Flowers from Michaels.....placed into 3 glass vases and tied together with twine...I just used what I had.....

I just had to "stage" the chair....I didn't take time for the lemonade & iced glasses.....

I love using my Bahama bag from the last cruise.....It keeps my sunscreen and mags handy.

I just had to include the TN glass for my son and daughter-in-love......

Check out this old milk can I painted during my tole-painting phase....not too bad....eh? It's easy to copy a pic from a painting book if you have good carbon paper.....just time consuming...

Evidence of a 3 dog night ahead.....Nelson, Dixie and Bear Higgins joined us on the deck.....not for long...it is just too warm to stay long without a pool.....that's next on the list.... thanks honey....love the deck!

The Sign for Sarg

Nothing like waiting until the last minute for a gift....the idea did not hit me until the afternoon....around 2 P.M.(daylight savings time). The party did not begin til 7....plenty of time....right?//    I took 2 boards, cleaned them, transferred letters cut from the Cricut machine...basic george cartridge. The paint was too thick....thinned w/water....then it ran....letters became thicker than original...but for my first sign......

These boards are leaning against the base of my new back deck....pics to come later this week after we get the furniture ready....such a process...

So Sarge was a tank commander.....retired US Army.....

Use your imagination..

Big smile=success!

Black paint, seal with Minwax walnut stain w/ sealer....

We had a visitor that crashed the party. After a few pictures he left.....check out the moon peaking through the branches.....sweet!

Happy Birthday Sarge!

Linking up with the parties:

Summer 2011

I am so ready for summertime.....we are out of school and "duty free" until Aug. 15.....at least in our
 little corner of the world....insert   S  M  I  L  E  ......

We celebrated today with a fancy table dinner....

This table was worthy of a blue ribbon.....(Longaberger, 2003)....

This Uncle Sam has been with me awhile....I think he came with his drum and sticks....from a craft fair in North Carolina....

The dishes are Lenox, Butler's Pantry....the glasses are from Maas Brothers, Lakeland, Fl 1974( I believe they are Lenox )

By the time I fixed the Rosemary Chicken, green beans and cornbread....I was so hungry I did not take time to take a picture of us at the table........Besides we did not match.....I did tell everyone they had to wear red, white or blue to sit at the table, but they just laughed....

Happy Summer!

Linking up with parties below:

Birthday Celebration-80 years young!

My mother in law celebrated 80 years May 21..... I was trying to think of something different as a surprise....visions of alfresco dining danced in my head from blogville....I just knew I could pull it off at the last minute.....all you need is a table and chairs, some linens, placemats, and dishes....It's 9:00 A.M. I need to leave in an hour to attend a baby shower and then, a graduation party. I have stayed up until 2AM making 2 CM albums...I can do this!

But.....this is how it turned out

I

I'm  thinking....what is that ugly traveling mug doing in my photo? How did I miss that?

It's bad enough....the weeds and moss that need to be cleaned out of the hedges.....

I know.....I know.....it's the thought that counts......

Ma enjoyed her outside grits and bacon ( even if it was turkey bacon )....and it was quite a surprise.

What was more surprising is that my husband enjoyed it too... even if is was 82* and already hot....

we were at least in the shade!

These were the only roses available this morning on the bush in the backyard.....

Ma enjoyed them just the same.....

After family and friends took her to Cracker Barrel for supper.....we entertained ourselves by watching her blow out 2 candles "80", Lindsay said....would be too many to blow out! I think she blew twice and then ended up fanning her arm to get all the candles out.....

There you have it....complete birthday with cake from my favorite PUBLIX store, and raspberry glace cake is so yummy...it is  Ma and George's favorite....but don't tell either of them the icing is cream cheese.....he doesn't eat cream cheese....lol...

the latest project.....

Yes....after 7 years he is building a deck off the master suite...you'll have to come back and see the completion of these fancy, dancy stairs....hope they don't get the best of him....patience dear... I'll get the sunflower garden going in no time....school is out in 5 days! Hooray!

Linking up with the parties......try them out....so much inspiration in one place!