China Cabinet Refinish

I'm refinishing my 2nd piece of furniture with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  I just love using it!  It is so easy and fun to use and it covers so well!!  So the piece I am doing now is an old china cabinet that needed some extra attention.

Here it is...see what I mean...it needs a little love!  First things first...I removed the wooden knobs since I am going to replace them with new hardware.  Next, I washed it down with soap and water to get all of the dust and debris off of it.  Let it dry overnight and then, I sealed it with Zissner clear shellac which I got from Home Depot.


For this piece I decided I was going to try to mix some different chalk paint colors.  I wanted to do something dark gray, but my husband wanted a lighter gray.  So I compromised....I mixed a dark gray color called Graphite and a lighter gray color called Paris Gray.  I mixed 1 part Graphite to 2 parts Paris Gray.  You can click on the Annie Sloan link above to see all of the colors!  Once I decided on the colors, I went to my local retailer, Drab 2 Fab to get the paint.  When I was there I saw a piece where they had a solid color on the top of the cabinet and then another lighter color on the rest of the cabinet.  That was perfect!  Dark for me and light for my husband!  Here is what it looked like after letting the shellac dry for about an hour and using 1 and a half coats of paint  (I did let the paint dry overnight between coats) and a little sanding....



So I sanded the edges of the doors and the trim on the doors.  I also sanded on the doors and the bottom lip to help it look a little more distressed.  I did not do any sanding to the top of the cabinet where the Graphite paint was.  I applied 2 coats of chalk paint to it and no sanding.  When I sanded the doors, some of the old paint from before showed through.  I liked the distressed look and didn't want a completely smooth finish on this piece so I decided to try washing it with just the Paris Gray.  To "wash" it I took 1 part of water to 1 part of paint and mixed it together really well.  I applied it with some painters cheesecloth.  I used vertical strokes when applying it and then went back over it with some more cloth rubbing off the excess until I was happy with the application.  I did darker in some spots and lighter in others so it didn't look uniform.  This was the look after I washed it....

After letting it dry overnight I applied some Annie Sloan clear wax to it.  I used circular motion and worked it into the piece and then wiped the excess off with the painters cheesecloth.  The cabinet looked really flat before, but once I added the wax it really shined up nice.  To the touch it was smooth but not tacky, so I knew I had gotten all of the extra wax off of it.  I let it sit overnight and then I applied the hardware I had picked out for it.  I got these knobs from Hobby Lobby.  I didn't know they had so many pieces of hardware!  Definitely check it out!!  And here's the final product.....

I am really happy with the way it turned out.  Now to fill it and decorate!  Chalk paint is a great way to refinish furniture.  It's so easy and helps the amateur painter finish with ease!  On to the next piece...


Happy Painting!!!

DIY Fall Wreath

This DIY fall wreath is so simple!  I have used store bought wreaths in the past, but I wanted something new and to change up my décor a bit, so I decided to MAKE a new one!  I knew I wanted something with more earth tones and simplistic...this so super easy and totally doable!


You will need:

• 1 grapevine wreath
• some flower sprigs and/or greenery (its really up to you on how full you want it)
• floral wire cutters
• floral wire (optional)
• 1 burlap bow (or ribbon if you want to tie your own bow)

Everything to make my wreath came from Michaels!  I have some coupons and was able to get 60% off of most of the items. 


Take your grapevine and put it on a flat surface.  Next, poke your sprigs and greenery through the grapevine in the places you want them, bending back the wires to keep the sprigs in place.  You may want to thin out the sprigs, if you do, use your wire cutters to break them apart....if you use other scissors, the chances of you breaking them is VERY high!  I've gone through a couple pairs of them because I was in a hurry and just tried to use them.  If you don't have any, you can bend the wire in a circular motion until you can get it to break off, but that isn't an exact science and they sometimes break in places you didn't intend.  Wire cutters are the way to go!


 Once you have them in place, flip the wreath over and either bend the wires back around the grapevine and poke them back down into the wreath.  Or you can use floral wire to tie them in, but I like to poke them back into the wreath..its easier!


After you have your floral pieces secure, turn your wreath back over and attach the burlap bow.  You can attach it with the floral wire and tuck the ends back into the wreath.  And you're DONE!!


See how easy that was?  Anyone can do it!  It took me about 20 minutes from start to finish!  This type of wreath can work for any occasion.  It's simple and looks great!  So what do you think?  Do you think you could make a wreath like this??  Of course you can!


Happy Wreathing!!

Back to School

Its back to school time!  Yay for all of us moms out there & dread for most of our kids (well, I have teenagers, sooooo...yeah!).  I teach the young women at my church.  The girls are 12-13 years old.  So as a good luck this year I put together a little treat for them!

Its just Orange Crush soda and some Hostess cupcakes.  I made a tag that said, "This year might not be a piece of cake  BUT  we know you will find a way to Crush it!  Have a great school year."  I put them in brown paper sacks like they would have taken their lunch in, you know, to keep with the theme of school, and attached the note to the outside.  Then we delivered the treats to the girls!

  They LOVED them!!!  They also loved the fact that we took time to remember them before going back to school.  I love doing little things like this!  I think they know how much we love them too when we show our interest in the things they are going through! 

Get the free Printable Here!








Today is their Anniversary

My husband is a widower.  I married him fully knowing this.  I put all of the feelings of him and his first wife aside when I decided to marry him.  I wasn't sure if I could handle them all, but I knew I loved him and I knew marrying him was right and what I wanted to do.  Sometimes her memory is hard for me.  I feel like I am the other woman.  I feel like I only got a second chance because she died.  I am afraid that I will be alone in the next life, because in my personal beliefs, this life is only part of our eternal existence.  Let me be clear, these are my feelings, not my husband's.  He NEVER compares me to Jeni.  He never makes me feel that he loves me any less than he loves her.  These are my own personal feelings that sometimes get the best of me...especially on days like today. 


Today is their wedding anniversary.  It would have been their 19th wedding anniversary.  In some ways it makes me sad and brings up all of my insecurities.  However, in some ways, it brings me joy.  She helped influence this man that I love so much.  She helped him become who he is in so many ways.  I'm sure he is more compassionate and loving because of his experiences with her.  He is so giving of himself and his time.  He understands what it means to truly love someone.  He never wants to fight or argue over things.  He is understanding and forgiving.  He is ALWAYS trying to make me happy.  He gives all he has to his family.  I know that because of her, he is this amazing person.  I also know that whatever comes in the next life, I will be happier than I ever imagined.  I know God loves me more than I know and He will make everything right so we can all be happy. 


So while I sometimes have these negative feelings eating at my heart, I am thankful for her and her influence...her goodness.  Happy Anniversary!!  I hope you are dancing with the angels in celebration and wishing you nothing but happiness and peace. ❤❤❤

Bear Lake for the Day

This year for our end of the summer family vacation we all decided to go to Bear Lake.  The kids have never been there and I haven't been since I was a kid!  So we packed them up and took a trip!  We actually stayed in Paradise, UT because we have a family home there and also because I didn't realize it was Raspberry Days in Garden City and there were no hotel rooms available at a reasonable price!  But it was only an hour drive from Paradise to Garden City, so you can't beat free!  Even if there is a little more of a drive!!


We started our day off at Minnetonka Cave.  We had heard so many great things about this stop.

It did not disappoint!  3 out of our 4 kids had never been to a cave before and they didn't know what to expect.  They loved the rock formations and the history of the cave.  Our tour guide, Kinzi, was awesome!  She answered questions and gave us a great understanding of the cave.  Their favorite part was being able to touch the 1 rock that you're allowed to touch in the whole cave!  Their least favorite part???...They all forgot jackets and it was a toasty 40 degrees in the cave!!  And 888 stairs!  And they are slick!  We all took our share of almost falling on our bottoms!!  Overall, what a great time spent at Minnetonka Cave!


The next stop on our trip was actually on the way down from the cave on the Minnetonka Cave Road, Blue Pond Springs.  Its just a little turn off on the main road...if you blink you might miss it!!

It was a fun little shallow pond.  It was literally 2 mins off of the road and beautiful.  It was clear and clean.  Very easy to see the bottom of the pond and fun to skip rock across.  We only stayed for a short time.  We had heard there was a moose that likes to frequent this pond and bask in the sunshine.  Unfortunately for us, there were no moose sightings!  But still a nice place to visit.


Next stop...Paris Ice Cave!!  We have been told so much about this place too!  Some of our friends told us about this quaint little place when we told them we were going to Bear Lake.  They told us how much their kids enjoyed it and how cool (literally) it was when they entered the cave.  Another friend told me that her Grandfather used to go to that cave back in the day and actually carve ice out of it to take home for his freezer.





I honestly wasn't expecting that there would still be snow there, BUT there was!  And it was definitely cooler in the cave.  There are 2 parts to this cave...the first one is the room you walk into from the outside, which has a big opening in the rock so its only a partial "cave".  You can then make your way around some other rocks to a small opening where it then opens up to another room with more ice and snow.  Keep in mind if you are going to do that, be sure to wear clothes you don't care if they get a little dirty and wet.  And its slick!  There is still a lot of ice covering the unsteady rocks ( and this is August people!!) so BE CAREFUL!  I loved this place and knowing a little bit of history of the cave.  It isn't a guided tour cave so it made it a little more fun to be able to see it at our leisure!  The drive to it took about 45 mins up Paris Canyon and not right off of the main road, but it was worth the drive.  The top of the cave was covered in wildflowers and grasses.  Very pretty!


Next on our list, and my favorite part of the day, was Bloomington Lake.  This fun place is about 12 miles up Bloomington Canyon.  The road is very rough and is dirt the entire way.  It is a popular spot to go so there was a lot of traffic & the roads are narrow.  It took us about an hour to get up to the trailhead, but it was Raspberry Days so I am sure there were many more people than normal.  It was about a half mile hike into the lake.  The trail is fairly easy though & our 7 year old made it with ease!  But check out this view.....

It was so beautiful...this picture does not do it justice!  The rock cliffs behind it..the clear water...all of the green grass and wildflowers.  And snow!!  It was so amazing!  This is quite the place for kayaking, paddle boarding, swimming, cliff diving...and there is even a rope swing.  Although there were many people there, it didn't feel over crowded to me.  There was plenty of space to enjoy some time with your family.  I could have spent all day there.  It was really fun!!


Last stop of the day was Garden City.  We took advantage of being in the place with the world famous Bear Lake strawberries and ate at the Quick N Tasty and of course had the raspberry shake!  Then we walked around the town days booths and stopped at the beach to take in some of the lake!  Because, that is what we came for!!

It was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing!  The kids had a blast just playing in the water & sitting around talking after a long day of exploring!  I had forgotten how blue the lake is.  And I seem to remember it being very cold...but not so much this time!  It was perfect!




This was the perfect getaway for a quick trip!  I definitely want to come back to Bear Lake!  Its so close and well worth the time to take in all of the beautiful scenery and fun small town feel.  I have so much fun with this family of mine and I can't wait to plan the next trip!  He's having fun...I promise!!

Here is a video of our trip!



Today Choose Happiness

We've all had those days when we struggle.  Your life isn't how you imagined...You aren't the perfect mom or spouse, you are yelling at your kids or loosing your patience...your house is a mess and your laundry isn't folded...you don't know what to make for dinner or you just plain don't want to make it.  There are always those thoughts in the back of our minds about how we aren't measuring up to all of the "together" mom's out there.  BUT...when you stop and think about all of the good things you DO have, doesn't that just put things back into perspective a little bit?  We don't have to be perfect to be happy!  We can be grateful for what we do have and what we can do and sometimes that is enough...YOU ARE ENOUGH. 

If you are feeling like I was today, take the time to think about all of your blessings and you will find all of the beautiful reasons you have to be happy!  For today, lets choose happiness!!

My First Furniture Restore

So I acquired this cool old piece of furniture from a family friend.  It was old and been sitting in a garage for some years.  It was dirty and broken down and in need of some much needed attention.  I had been in Vernal for a baseball tournament with my son and I stumbled upon this cute little store, Ohh La La and Friends,  and fell in love with chalk paint.  They were really kind and told me about the paint and how easy it was to use.  They only used the Annie Sloan brand and they LOVED it!!  I told my husband I wanted to try it with a small item...a frame or something...but then this happened!!


I cleaned it, taped off the mirrors and glass pieces, removed the old hardware and looked at a few pieces online to get an idea of what I wanted to do and decided I was ready to try it!  I went to my local distributor of Annie Sloan paint, Drab 2 Fab.  They walked me through what I would need to get started, from brushes to paint to wax, they even showed me on a sample piece how to use the wax and what it should feel like when I was finished! They were awesome & I will definitely be going back for more supplies.  I chose the Annie Sloan French Linen paint.  I also decided I was going to wax my piece instead of using another type of finish.  I purchased both the light wax to seal my piece and then the Dark Wax to antique it with.


After I cleaned my piece and let it dry I decided to use a shellac to seal it so that no color from the wood or the years of using pledge or other oils would bleed through my paint.  After that, I started painting.  Most things I read said it didn't matter on the first coat what direction you painted, just to get it all covered.  I tried to go all the same direction if I could, but in those harder to reach places I didn't care so much.  Here is what it looked like after the 1st coat....

At first I was worried...it looked a mess, but from reading online, that's what the first coat does!  Phew!!!  I waited 3 hours to let it dry and then I put on the second coat, which I did paint all in the same direction, mostly because I wasn't sure if I would need 2 or 3 coats.  I let that dry overnight and then looked it over.  I decided it needed one more coat.  With this coat, I dipped my brush in a little bit of water and then made long strokes in the same direction.  I didn't want a lot of texture in the paint and this seemed to make my finish look more smooth and less brush lines.  I let that dry overnight, ok...maybe a few days until I could get back to it!  This is what it looked like...

I then waxed the piece with the Annie Sloan Clear Wax.  I just did small sections at a time and wiped it down with some painters cheese cloth to get the excess wax off.  Then I began using the Annie Sloan Dark Wax.  I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to use the dark wax on so I just started applying it to places I thought might accent it nicely.  I wasn't too worried because I knew I could always put the clear wax on it to take the dark wax off.  I started by using a sponge, throw away brush, but then I switched to just an old cotton t-shirt that wouldn't leave any cloth residue on my piece.  Here is a picture of how I started using the dark wax...

I didn't love how that was looking and I couldn't decided if I wanted to put the dark wax on the whole piece or use the clear wax to remove it all.  After thinking it over, I decided I liked the antique look and I would use the dark wax on the entire piece.  So with cloth in hand, I put some dark wax on and then rubbed it into the piece until I was satisfied.  Here is the final piece...

I added new hardware and then a wallpaper finish to the back of the piece behind the shelves.  I actually just had a piece of plywood cut to size and put the wallpaper on that in case I wanted to change it out from time to time.  I am very pleased with the final product.  It was a fun project and I loved learning to use the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!  Now on to the next project.....