My Mermaid

I have wanted a Mermaid for our lake house.. so finally saw one at a cement yard ornament place.. we drove past  it and spotted it hanging on a building in the lot.. it looked like it was going to be huge..so a month later I went back to check it out.. It was only 3ft. tall.. and oh so afordable.. It is cement so kinda heavy.. brought it home, primed it, and painted it.. added some glitter sparkle.. all mermaids shimmer... then the bling of diamonds..from all the treasures they find in the deep blue sea..She is hanging by the back door entry.. since it is the door visitors get to first from the road.. our front of the house faces the water.! Stop by and say Hi to the mermaid !

Beachy SIgn

We see this style of signs in Florida.. there is a really fun one at LuLu's Homeport, in Gulf Shores Alabama.. at the bestest eating place in Florida. LuLu is Jimmy Buffets Crazy Sista !! We usually drive 2 hours to get there just for a nice time. LOVE  IT.  SO we decided to add names and places of friends we want to go see.. We definitely must see Debbie in New Jersey, and Ashley in Canada..  and so far we still need to go see the Mermaids at Weekiwatchee. Other than those 3 destinations, we have been to all the other spots !  We have our condo rented for September at Navarre already..  Of course there is the sign All Roads Lead to Sonic..being such Sonic drive-in fans.. and Sonic was started in Oklahoma. Notice the signs pointing to the Shower on the deck...and to the swimming hole.. oh come on spring.. we need to jump in the lake !

Hoppy Easter !

I love making frosted sugar cookies... and love eating them even more.. I saw some Easter bunny cookies on Pinterest,

 and then did them my way.I have a recipe for the cookies and frosting I have used for years.  Pastel colors scream SPRING ! They were sooo yummy! Next I bet I bake and decorate some flower cookies !

Ottoman

Thanks to Pinterest I saw an idea for a new ottoman.. Just liked how they reused an old  coffee table. I pinned the idea.probably will never use the idea..but someone may..I continued pinning things for weeks.. like we all do..it is my cyber "hoarding" space. Well in Oct. while we were spending 2 months on the beach we were out shopping and  I ran across some fabulous cow hides.. YES ..cow hides.. I love them..even tho I am more of a girly girl in decorating. I petted it and left..Since I had no use for one. Next day sitting on the beach it hit me. OH i could make that cowhide into that ottoman. A large one to scoot up to the sofa to make it feel like a lounger.. sooo back to town we went to pick thru the hides..$100 for hide...so here it is Dec..  I had been driving past my fav. junk store..never seeing the perfect table to reuse.One day I took dear hubby and off we went junking..40 miles from home..the 3rd place we went.. boom there it was..The legs were perfect. Paid the lady $38 ..she was shocked I would just want the legs off the table..well it was  rectangle shape..and the top of the table was shaped so it would not work..and I knew how prices plain new legs at Lowes are..so load up table... lets roll.. Hubby cut me a 28" X 28" square of plywood, rounded the corners..off I went to town to buy a cushion and some batting and nail heads.. Of course all the cushions were 24 x 24.. Well I ordered a memory foam pad off the internet ,$48and cut it up in to 2 28 x28 squares..and now I have enough of that to recushion the settee at the foot of our bed.. so that will be  getting a lift soon.

.but first.. glued the foam on with hot glue in a few places to hold it steady while I wrapped it in the hide. thicker than normal upholstery fabric.. but got it done..stapled it all on with staple gun... then trying to  keep the nail heads all in a nice line was tricky..ended up using some masking tape as a guide. The legs off the table I sanded lightly, primed with Kilz, then two coats of Colonial Cream. and mixed me up some antique glaze of  Asphaltum color paint (craft paint and clear glaze 50/50) brushed on the antique, let it set for a few min..them wipe off excess.. After that dried I used the glaze mix and spattered the legs with  a toothbrush..let that dry and sprayed them with a quick mist of clear coat paint. SO here it is.. LOVE it.. I may actually sit on the couch now.. there's a place to put my feet up !!! so adding up the nail heads and other things I bought to finish the job.. I spent a total of $190 !

Sterling Silver

I have a small collection of odd pieces of silver.. It started with a  few spoons from an antique store in Colorado.. nothing fancy.. just some old  cheap things..   Last year I decided to display them in the gathering room on the wall with the pretty sea turtle green paint..that looks more like Tiffany Box Blue. Recently they needed some cleaning, so  I decided to add new background to a couple.. I used anaglypta wallpaper scraps..and painted it with some of the blue paint, cleaned up the silver and back on the wall it went.  The silver is hot glued to the paper..so it's easy to redo. I took my husbands baby spoon, and got a fancy frame I had planned to use for something else, but that didn't work out..so perfect for his spoon.. I made a copy of his birth certificate, resized it so I could see the "Family History, and other words I wanted to show up.. glued that into the frame, added the freshly shined spoon ..and on the wall it went.  A few months ago  as my sister and I were cleaning out some things in her shed.. there was her silver she had put in a box..and some of it was starting to look pretty ruff out in a humid shed for so long.. she didn't have plans to use it..soo I was tickled to get it..and I took some of the pieces, cleaned them up, and with a box I found at Marshalls,  that  I added the anaglypta and paint to, her silver looks great.. I love how it looks on the wall. yes, I see one day a full wall of silver.. I do have some   silver in my art studio displayed on  a shelf, but I see a new vision coming..so the platters from my sisters stuff will be on display soon !! There is something warm and cozy about looking at silver.  

Painting... again !

I just love the Sea Turtle Green paint.. it looks more like  a Tiffany Box Blue.. I first painted the revamped gathering room this color.. then I  loved it so much I painted the Kitchen and back entry..even the door panels. (( HAD the paint..Had to use it , right? )))  So months go by and I still get so happy seeing it..and I had leftover paint..so I had to paint the upstairs hallway.. I left the tall walls the "sugar cookie" ..dreading tackling the tall wall up the stairwell. AND  I like the way the colors look together.  A few more months go by, and wild hair hits.. so I decided to paint the master bedrooms Vanity area..since it is separated by a wall with a wide opening.  Hmm do I have enough paint.. maybe not.. so a quick call to my sister... we recently  painted her master bathroom this color..sooo she had extra, I mixed it with my leftover..and yes.. I LOVE It.. I like how the painted  cabinets I did, go so well. really makes them POP..and I  don't think I am a beige person..the butterscotchy-biege color  bored me after  a few years.. AND I do plan to paint the master bedroom area  when we get back from the beach this  fall. I will have to buy more paint..but I love waking up and seeing this color.. and anytime I am in a room with it..I feel calm and relaxed..and HAPPY.  Kind of shocking...since PINK is my SIGNATURE color.. But my  art studio is pink..so I am good !

  Hope this color makes you  smile too ! Here are some before and after pictures.. of the upstairs hall and the master vanity area.. and the master bedroom area that will be getting  the "blues" next !

Wishin Fish Chair

Oh this is a HAPPY day at the HAPPY SHACK. When we were in Florida last fall I saw this great Adirondack style chair cut to look like a fish..in bright pink and green..Priced..well too much $$$  sooo I searched online and found a pattern from  www.thewinfieldcollection.com. We adapted the pattern and used cement board for the head and fin.So after Dons hard work of cutting the wood and sanding it for me in a hot garage on a 104 degree day.. I then got to paint it PINK..and start mosaic on primed cement board.I worked on this upstairs in my art studio, and asked my hubby if it would fit down the stairs after he assembled it.. OH  Sure he said... well yes it fit down the stairs..BUT not out of the door  of my studio. SO he had to remove both arms..and I had to refill the screw holes and re paint them..but DONE..  So here are some pix of the one we saw in FLA.  and the stages this chair took.. The grout is curing then I can seal the grout and put this beauty outside. It is called the Wishin Fish Chair because when I saw the ones in Fla.  I wished I had one..but price and the fact it would not fit in our convertible V.W to get it home..now my wish for a fish chair came true.. come on over and sit in it and make your  WISH !