Crafty Carianne

I thought I'd share a few of my projects I've been busy working on:

1) Project Paint:

When my husband was in New Orleans last week, I painted our light wood hutch black to match the rest of our furniture. It was quite a project, masking off the glass taking the doors and handles off and putting them back on. Priming and painting it was the EASY and enjoyable part! I actually watched Star Wars Episode I and drank a couple glasses of wine while I painted.....and I thought it was just the paint fumes:) Anyways, I love how it turned out, especially the contrast of the silver handles that were once black! There are a few spots that I'm not so proud of, but unless you're really inspecting it, they're not noticeable. To top it off, my dad, nicknamed Earl after Earl Scheib Paints, was very proud of my craftiness!

2) Project Centerpiece:
(See above photo)
I don't know how or when the vision came to me, maybe from an old issue of House Beautiful or a Pottery Barn catalogue, but anyways I thought of it and headed over to Michael's Crafts to buy the supplies. I wanted it to be Asian inspired to go with my bamboo placemats. I bought the vase (with a 40% off coupon of course) and river rocks all for $25. And yes, the bamboo is alive, I bought it at Ikea for $2 each. I really like the way it looks and so do all of our visitors when the see it.

3) Project Garden:

Last year was my first year of gardening although I was thrilled to get a few ripe tomatoes and a handful of green beans, I'll just say it was not a bountiful harvest. This year, Things Are Different! My tomato plants (I have 3 different varieties: Brandywine, Celebrity, and Better Boy) are in full bloom. Yesterday for lunch I steamed some tasty green beans from the garden and made homemade salsa with my green chili peppers. I am also growing cucumbers, yellow squash, basil, rosemary, dill, and parsley. I'm learning more each day:)

4) Project Backyard:

I separated this from the garden project because it was actually my wonderful husband who planted me the grass on a hot Saturday after getting up early to help move some furniture at church. He did a great job! I love looking out my windows and seeing my blooming petunias and gladiolas. And it's a good workout when I use the weedwacker to cut the grass:)

Happy Tears

As I mentioned earlier this week, I work with autistic children. There are difficult days in this job working through various behaviors or modifying a task so my kiddos can grasp a seemingly simple concept. And there are the days that end with happy tears. Today was one of the later days. My little girl I've been working with for six months actually looked at me and addressed me by name without any prompting. I had tears in my eyes as I gave her a big hug and a kiss. A perfect ending to my week:)

Tea Tree Oil

I have a new favorite item in my medicine cabinet made of Tea Tree oil. It's the Desert Essence Blemish Touch Stick and can be found at Trader Joe's with a small price tag under $6. This stuff is amazing, it really works on those unsightly blemishes! It comes in a small glass bottle with an easy to use roll-on applicator. I put it on a blooming blemish at night and the next morning it was almost gone. It can also be used on insect bites. I put it on a mosquito bite I got in the Bahamas and it stopped the irritating itching right away. I think I'm going to try the face wash next:)

Spring Cleaning

Maybe more like Summer Cleaning! We started this past weekend by tackling the biggest spot first: The Garage. We loaded up the dumpster with empty boxes that once contained items such as a food processor, sewing machine, computer software, microwave, etc. We were really able to donate a lot of things that I previously had some attachment to. In the midst of my cleaning frenzy I realized that the more things I got rid of, the lighter I felt. It's a nice feeling:) And this is just the beginning of more cleaning projects. So, if you get a few moments, start small and clear out some clutter too:)