Furniture Restoration Part 1

 

I'm not one to take things off the street during neighborhood clean up week, but I made and exception just this once.  Honestly, I was running to the grocery store after all the kids were in bed.  It was raining but almost cold enough to snow.  I saw this lovely side table on the side of the road and on my way back from the store, after contemplating should I take it or not, I told myself if it was still there I would pull over and get it.

 

Well, it was still there!  So in the dark of the night and the freezing rain I get out and put it in my car.  Now my trunk was full of groceries and it barley fit into the back seat of our little sedan.  I was just about to leave it behind because it was that difficult to squeeze in.

 

And several months later as it sat in my garage I finally got the energy to start on this project.

 

Of course I started this project and thought, "oh pictures".  So the top of this table looked normal other then some black like stains you see on the drawer.   I also had to use some wood glue and nails to help repair the drawer. When I got it home the drawer wouldn't open at all.

 

 

 

 

I was about to hand sand it when luckily my father-in-law came over to help with our basement and said he had an electric sander.   That made my day!  It took all of maybe 15 minutes to sand the top and get all the varnish off.

 

 

 

I didn't worry about the base and legs because I am going to do a little sanding on them and then prime and paint those.  Stay tuned to see the color.  (should I go white or some fun color?)

 

 

 

 

After I sanded, I cleaned the top and put one coat of dark walnut stain on.  Sorry for the poor picture.  I was outside and the shade of our trees ruined the picture. 

 

 

Part 2 coming soon!

 

 

Washi Tape

I taught my sons art class this year.  It is called the Great Artist Program.  We had some great works of art to draw.  It was a lot of fun to see how talented and creative these little kids are.  Even my son who doesn't really like arts and crafts!

 

 

 

 

 

I created a little carry case for all the kids to take home their year worth of drawings.  I wanted the parents to have an idea of what the kids had done so I glued on the list.  It looked kind of boring at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To finish it off, I took my washi tape and taped around the orange.  So simple and yet I think it makes a huge difference.

 

 

Rainy Day Kid Activity

 

I have suddenly fallen in love with food coloring pens. 

 Pens that kids or adults can use to color food items. 

 The "ink" is food coloring so it is edible.  I used these pens at my daughters Baking Party (post soon to come) &

they were a hit. 

 

The past couple of days we have had rain, rain and more rain.  What to do with the kids?  I had some crackers and ahhhh the pens.  It wasn't a long activity but the kids loved it and then they got a snack!

 

 

 

Crackers I got at Costco.

 

 

 

Pens I got at Sur La Table. 

They only cost $7.  I have looked for these pens and have seen them as much as $16...so that was a great deal!

 

 

 

I wasn't sure how easy the pens would clean up on my table so I put a paper towel down and let the kids have fun.

 

 

 

My Daughters creation. Lots of pink!!

 

 

 

My Sons creations.  Red and Black!

 

 

Honestly it took them maybe all of 20 minutes, but it was easy no prep and clean up for me. 

As I said earlier the kids got a snack on top of it all.  Win, Win!!!

Sewing Kid Clothes

I made these clothing items several years ago and posted them on a personal blog.  I was interested to see if any of you would like a tutorial on them.  Leave a comment and let me know if your interested. 

#1

I made these pants with cheap fabric because I didn't want to waste the good fabric on a pattern I was making and not so sure how it would turn out.

 

#2

#3

I found this darling fabric on sale and decided to make some clothes for my daughter. I had to create a couple of the patterns. I still need to do some tweaking...but overall they turned out okay. I am excited for her to wear them!

The Best Sugar Cookie

 This is my Mom's recipe.  Growing up she would always make  all 7 of us kids our very own plate of cookies for Halloween and Valentines day.  It was a big deal for me.  I have always loved these cookies and it seems to me that no other sugar cookie compares....maybe I am a sugar cookie snob!!
 
Sugar Cookie
 
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
4 teaspoons milk
2 cups sifted all-purpose four
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
 
Thoroughly cream shortening, sugar, orange peel and vanilla.  Add egg: beat till light and fluffy.  Stir in milk.  Sift together dry ingredients; blend in creamed mixture.  Divide dough in half.  Chill 1 hour.

 

On lightly floured surface and roll.  Cut in desired shapes with cutters.  Bake on greased cookie sheet at 375 degrees about 6-8 minutes.  Cool slightly; remove from pan.  Cool on rack and decorate.  Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
 
 I needed a frosting that would dry hard but taste nummy.   Anytime I think of any royal icing I think of the hard not so tasty frosting my mom would use when we made our gingerbread house every year.  I didn't want that.  This recipe did the trick.
 
Frosting
 
4 Tbsp. meringue powder
1/2 cup water
 
Mix on high a long time until it is fluffy and it peaks.

 

Add
 
7 cups powdered sugar (add more sugar if to runny)
1 tsp. Vanilla
2 tbsp. Crisco
2 tbsp. Corn Syrup 
 

Slowly add to above mixture.

You can store any extra frosting in an airtight container for several weeks.

Enjoy!

Churro Anyone?

Since I was little I can remember going to an amusement park and walking past the food stand and smelling the tasty scent of churros.  I have always wanted to learn how to make them and now I have the way!!  Thank you shellsswirls.com . 

 

Look at these tasty treats.  Shelley gives you the recipe and the step by step directions.  They looks so tasty and pretty simple to make.   Go on over to her site to get all the information.

 

 

 

Plus you get the tasty recipe for Butterbeer!!  Two for one...love it.

 

Enjoy