HAPPY THANKSGIVING & I'VE BEEN A BAD BLOGGER!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS!!



Oh Gosh, I've been a very bad blogger lately. I've been super, super busy and have put my blogging aside.

What have I been up to you wonder?


My parents were visiting for the weekend and we went to see "White Christmas" at the Fox Theater. It was awesome. My hubby and I saw it 2 years ago and enjoyed it just as much this time too. My parents arrived on Thursday morning and left on Sunday after church. We put up our 14' Christmas Tree on Sunday night, I decorated it Monday night and finished doing some more Christmas decorations tonight! I'm still not finished!!! I still have to put up the garland/lights along our catwalk. In between these activities, I got my hair done, did some Christmas shopping, took my mom Christmas shopping, did laundry and packed for the cottage. We're leaving Wednesday as soon as our oldest gets out of class.

*Phew* I'm looking forward to a rest. Yeah, like that'll ever happen!!

I'll post pictures soon of our Christmas decorations.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family/friends.

Blessings . . . until next time,

OK, JUST ONE MORE "LITTLE" PROJECT!!

I just can't seem to stop!! Well, maybe I can squeeze in another little project before the Holidays hit!!

Do you know how one project turns into another and so on and so on? Well, that's what happens to me all the time. While fabric shopping for drapery fabric I wandered down the upholstery aisle at Joann's. While in that aisle, my thoughts turned to the above bench.

This bench was really in bad shape when I found it at a thrift shop several years ago. When I special ordered a pair of chairs for the Great Room, I purposely ordered an extra yard of the fabric I had selected to use on this bench. I painted the beat up wood and recovered this a ways back and added trim too. However, I always wanted to add those nail heads. This bench originally had nail heads, which I removed to reupholster it. Did you ever try to nail those things on? It's very hard to do and to get them on evenly. I never was able to finished that project because I just couldn't get them to look correctly. Well, what to my wandering eyes did appear, but nail heads on a roll just waiting for Sher!!

Yup, all spaced out and ready to be nailed on. About every 5th nail head is actually a fake head, with a hole through it. You use this place to actually nail on a real nail head (which is also provided). The cost was very reasonable too. $14.99 for the roll, and I had a 40% off coupon so I used that too. I have plenty remaining for other projects as well. No one would ever know the difference by using this type of nail head.

It now sits in front of the antique secretary I purchased on Craigslist.com last fall for $50, which I painted black. And. . . I'm. . . liking. . . how it looks. To me, it's all in the Details people, it's all in the Details!!

Blessings. . . until next time,

ANOTHER "TALL" PROJECT COMPLETE

* Be careful. Someone from Bangalore, Karnataka ~ India, arrived from blogsearch.google.com and tried to do the exact same thing as last week. It was a bogus "Susan." They leave an open ended message, which requires clicking on to finish reading. This time they said look at these bedroom sets.

This one about did me in!! Drapery Treatments for the Great Room:

Goals. Sometimes they can almost kill ya!! My goal was to complete these drapery treatments prior to putting up our Christmas tree. The Christmas tree goes right into this corner. I waited until the conditions were right. Fabric selection took me a long time to find just the right fabric. Then, after finding just the right fabric. . . I had to wait until Joann's had it on sale. Then I had to find just the right trim, drapery rods, lining, etc. also on sale. . . because I'm cheap (or frugal is a better choice for a word perhaps :)

I measured and I rolled (oh yeah, did I mention that Joann's didn't have enough on the roll so I had to special order it? So instead of having them cut me two 4 1/2 yard sections I had it all delivered in one large, heavy, cumbersome 9 yard roll.) and I cut and I pinned and I serged and sewed and pressed and serged and sewed and I pressed some more. I mean. . that's a lot of fabric to work with people!! I finished these late, late last night and we hung them. We just wanted them done with! We dropped into bed at 3:00AM, but still made it to the 11:30 service at church this morning.

I am so thankful that hubby and I make a team. He's always ready to help me achieve whatever hair brained idea I cook up. Thankfully, he has one of those 26' Little Giant ladders that I special ordered him for his birthday (gee, bet he wishes sometimes I didn't) when we first moved into this house. It's a great ladder and he took responsibility for securing the curtain rods and climbing to the top. I did go up on the ladder to make a few adjustments, but I sure didn't look down.

The finished product, we all LOVE. Our daughter's compliments this morning were overwhelming. They love them too. My husband said he was going to watch the football game in there today for a change because he just loves being in the Great Room now (considering our crappy Lions team, I guess sitting in that room was the highlight of the game). It's much cozier than before. I have a schedule for things and I never did drapery to these windows because I knew we were going to change things around after the basement was finished. Like, Den furniture to the basement, some of the Great Room furniture to the Den and then ordering new Great Room furniture. So, here were are now. Schedule completed!

Goals, projects & schedules! I think I'm about done for the remainder of the year now. I think it may take the remainder of the year for my neck and back to return to normal after this project anyways. I'm going to decorate for Christmas, bake, entertain and enjoy the Christmas season for the remainder of the year.

Blessings. . .until next time,

5 in 1 PROJECTS KNOCKED-OUT!!

I've had a very productive week.

I love when I have a productive week :)

Project #1: I completed our bedroom drapery. Finally!! No I don't use a pattern ~ I make my own. I just get these visions in my head of what I'd like to have and go from there. I measure, draw it out and go. I'm a self-taught sewer. My mom never sewed, nor my grandmother or aunts. You can click on to enlarge if you wish. Please disregard our 14 year old cheerleader daughter's trampoline through the window. I took this picture at dusk before I dropped the blinds behind the drapes. That's not the moon, but my flash back in the window.

Project #2: My $15 garage sale find. Remember this?

Ta-Da!! I added wood putty to the cracks and chips, sanded down this piece painted it black, added the appliques and new glass knobs. I just found these adorable glass knob at The Home Depot. They were about $4 each. I noticed after loading this photo I need to adjust the light cord behind my desk.

Project #3: This was a leftover lampshade that I adored the shape of, but not the colors anymore. I saw on some one's blog (I'm sorry, I don't remember whose ~ please let me know if it was you and I'll give you a shout-out!) that they simply painted the shade with acrylic paints. Gee, why not give this a try I thought. I carefully painted the shade to avoid the trim. See my lovely, messy work table. Everyone needs a space. Mine is in the basement.

Project #4: Here's the finished product. I think it works well in here. I always say cheap is good, free is better. See the lamp the shade is on? This lamp was purchased for me when I was a small girl. Like in the 4th grade!! My parents went to an auction (I think it was the one and only auction they ever attended) and I tagged along. I fell in love with the lamp and my dad bid on it for me. It cost a whole $4!!! I dug this treasure out and rewired the lamp. It did not have a polarized plug and the cord wasn't in the best shape anyways. So, I replaced the "guts." I still love it today!

Project #5: This little silver plated clock I picked up while at a garage sale this fall for $1. It was tarnished and had an old dirty cross stitch picture on the other side. I removed the cross stitch and found this lovely black velvet. I had a wooden Fleur De Lis that I painted and hot glued on this velvet. The clock keeps time perfectly so this will work nicely on my newly painted desk.

Our bedroom is just about complete now. I have to add some accessories to our triple dresser (the wall you have not seen yet :) then I should be done with this room. The master bath is just about finished too. Just a few more items to complete. But, I'm taking a break to get into the Great Room first.

Next week, hopefully, I'll get the new drapes made for our Great Room!!! I'd like them done and up before the Christmas tree. If not, they will have to wait because the tree goes right in front of one window.

So, what have you all been up to this week?

Blessings. . . until next time,

" I " FIXED IT MYSELF!!

MY COMPUTER THAT IS!!! I FIXED IT MYSELF!!

Oh yes, I was going to wait for hubby to get in from out of town tomorrow night to help me with my computer problem. . . but you all know me by now. . . I like to get things done, not to wait and I like to do them by myself (hey, I was raised in the 70's ya know, Helen Reddy ~ I Am Woman Hear Me Roar In Numbers too Big to Ignore ~ oh never mind ~ you're probably too young anyways :)

Well, this computer "situation" bugged me to no end. I'm not a techy person at all, but I thought, maybe I can figure this out. So, I re-started my computer. Just before the screen would go out I would get this 2 second error message. A too long to read in 2 seconds error message. So, I restarted my computer like 20 times to be able to read anything off that error message that could assist me.

BINGO!!! Technical Message. . . Cannot start Windows XP due to fatal errors which will affect hardware. . . then the words "Unmountable Boot Volume." Hmmm, sounds like something techy to me. I went to my daughter's computer, googled "Unmountable Boot Volume" and up popped a Microsoft Help screen with step by steps on fixing my problem. I had to use the Windows XP systems disc to "Recover" my system. I could do that. I had it somewhere. I found it, popped it in the CD-Rom, followed the steps exactly as my daughter's computer screen instructed for repairing a system. . . it took forever to repair. . . like over an hour I'd say. I just let it do it's thing and went onto Wednesday night service at church. Yeah, I prayed over that computer too. I came home, typed the word "exit" as instructed and entered. Boda Bing, Boda Bang ~ Sher's BACK!!

Now, don't you all go e-mailing me with your computer problems. I know nothing about them. . .really. . .truly. It was just prayer, perseverance and some more prayer. And. . . maybe because I have sooo much work to do for church. . . God answered my prayer very quickly and led me in the correct direction.

*I also have put back on my Blog the Comment Verification ~ those crazy letters that need to be typed in before a comment can be left. I'm taking all the precautions I can from now on.

Thanks for joining me on my computer repair journey. This is one trip I hope you never have to go on and that I don't have to visit again!

Blessings . . . until next time,

WARNING ~ COMPUTER PROBLEM

* Edited to add: Thanks friends for all of your computer "get well" wishes ~ so many of you are telling me not to click on e-mail attachments. I know this. It was the e-mail that was sent indicating a new comment had been left on my blog. You know, when it says Sher's Creative Expressions left a new comment on your blog (except it's also underlined) then a message is left sort of like "Thanks for the get well wishes." This is where I clicked on the name Liz or Lisa, or whatever it was. I'm thinking I would go to the blog or profile page (you all know what I'm talking about?)

Yes, I have Norton Antivirus protection, firewalls, etc. So I'm hoping and praying that my system shut down to prevent the hard drive from frying.


Hi Friends:

I'm using our 14 year old's computer right now. . . because I am experiencing some computer problems. I wanted to let you all know about so you don't have the same problem. Yesterday, I received a blog message on my e-mail from someone named Liz or Lisa, something like that (I don't think the name even matters because they change it every time). The message was simply "You should check this out!" Like an idiot, I clicked on her name to take me to her blog to "check her out." I was directed to a web page listing different insurance companies. Never a blog page. I thought that was strange. I went along my merry way and did my daily stuff. When I went back to my computer later last night. . . my screen went blank. I shut down and restarted, but am now unable to access Windows "due to a major system error ~ " My computer states it will not allow me to re-boot due to major damage that will be done to my hard drive.

Yeah, it's one of those things. My hard drive will be erased if I access my computer. I checked my blog from my daughter's computer to remove this Liz or Lisa or whatever the heck her name is and she's not there.

Now what do I do? Anyone have any idea out there? Did this ever happen to you? I'll be using my daughter's computer every now and then to check my e-mails so if you have ideas, please, please let me know. For now, I'm not touching my computer. I will just wait for my hubby to get home and check it out, or take it in for debugging. I need my computer to do our monthly newsletter for our church, which I was just about to get working on. AAAUUUGGGGHHHH I don't like it when things don't go right.

Blessings. . . until next time,

THANKSGIVING DECOR - Part II

Thanksgiving at our House:

Here's my sofa table that I decorate for all special holidays. I just changed out a little of my Harvest decor and added Thanksgiving. You can click on the photo to enlarge if you wish. The picture on the left is of the first Thanksgiving. I picked it up at a garage sale a few years ago. It was cheap, I'm sure, or I wouldn't have purchased it. I have pumpkins placed on urns to vary the height of the display. I love urns and purchase everyone I come across while thrifting!! The little brown Thanksgiving transfer ware plate was a TJ Maxx find.

I had this fall wreath displayed with my Harvest decor. I added just three little items to update for Thanksgiving. Two are the metal pilgrims that I purchased recently while shopping with my sister-in-law on the other side of town (her side of town) and the little sign at the top of the wreath that says "Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart" ~ it's a cute little hinged ornament made to look a little bit vintage. I purchased this great little Fleur de lis table top wreath holder at the Country Living Fair in Columbus, OH that I went to in September. I like being able to display a wreath someplace else besides just the door.

The mantle I just removed some of the fall leaves, left my pumpkins (love those burgundy ones) and placed a little Hallmark Thanksgiving Screen Scene in the background. I love Thanksgiving. It's just about thankfulness, food and family. Not all the craziness of gifts.

That's about it for my Thanksgiving decorating. . . but watch out for Christmas!!!

Blessings. . . until next time,

THANKSGIVING DECOR

Give thanks to the Lord. . . .




For the next few posts I'll be sharing my little bit of Thanksgiving decor with you. It's not too hard to decorate for Thanksgiving because I just change out a few of my Harvest items and. . . I'm done.

I want to start by showing you this pumpkin I purchased last year at a store called the "Flower Factory." It's my favorite Thanksgiving item.

Give thanks to the Lord for He is Good His love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:34

About says it all now, doesn't it?

Blessings. . . until next time,

Kitchen Lights Updated for CHEAP!!

Remember these?
A few weeks ago (between hurting my back and getting the flu buggy thing I'm just now getting over) I painted these pendant lights over our kitchen island. It was a nice day so I cracked open the window and started my project. Did I take them down? ~ NOPE ~ I just loosened up the top plate, placed a piece of cardboard between the plate and the ceiling and painted with my "magic" paint. It's oil based so opening a window is always a good idea :)

I'm telling you, this stuff really ROCKS!!

Two coats of paint later and here they are. . . all updated from that ugly brass that was so yesterday!!! No priming needed. Just paint right on. I used those throw away sponge applicators. . . so no mess either.

Cheap, cheap, cheap and such a nice change to these lights.

You can scan my projects and decorating link at the bottom left on my page under Labels and see the other items I've painted with this paint. One can of this stuff goes a long way ~ I'm telling ya!! For some reason The Home Depot doesn't carry a large variety of Rust-oleum in the paint can (just spray paint), but you can find it at Lowes. That's where I found mine. . . and now. . . just about everything in my house that was brass. . . is no more :)

Blessings. . . until next time,

Flu Shot Anyone???!!!

I feel terrible!!

Has this ever happened to any of you? I got my flu shot last Wednesday. Our oldest daughter got her flu shot just the Monday before me. We are both sick as dogs now!!! What's up? We feel like we now have a touch of the flu. We've always gotten our flu shots for at least 12 years and never had a problem or a reaction. Fever, aches, chills, headache. Not fun here. The last time I was this sick was about 19 years ago ~ so maybe I was due???

Great, I took our 14 year old into the doctor this past Monday for her flu shot too. If she gets sick ~ I'll feel terrible. My oldest and I didn't put two and two together until Monday night ~ like "Gee, Mom, maybe it's those flu shots!" Like BINGO, off went the light bulb in my brain.

Has this ever happened to any of you? Maybe we got a bad batch of the shots? Or maybe it's just a touch of something else. Anyways, I'm staying in bed today with my box of tissues, hot tea and resting, resting and resting some more. I cancelled my Physical Therapy for today as well. I NEVER do this, but I am today!

Blessings. . . until next time,

VOTE ~ VOTE ~ VOTE!!!!

VOTE TODAY. . . IT'S YOUR DUTY!!!

God Bless America!!!!!

Blessings. . . until next time,

A Little French Inspired Addition

Remember these?

My mom had a pair exactly like these. Actually, I believe she still has them. She always liked them she said because she had a boy and a girl. They are supposedly, or so I have been told, the bust of Marie Antoinette's children. Marie Antoinette, however, was not a wildly popular French queen. Go figure.

I saw this pair at the thrift store. . . and thought. . . hmmm. . . my bedroom re-do has a touch of a French flair. These may go perfectly in there. But, I really didn't care for them in the state they were in when I found them. They were dated, yellowed and needed updating. They were 1/2 off though!! So ~ that got me thinking :) . I think I paid $6 for the pair. I sprayed them with Kilz primer (photo above is after I sprayed with primer), then painted the pair the same color as our bedroom walls and put a wash (paint and water) over them of the paint I used in our master bathroom.


Now, I like them!! I think they will work just fine in here ~ in front of the $3 French candelabra I found at a garage sale this summer.

Blessings. . . until next time,