Gratitude Jar

Not long ago I stumbled across this on Pinterest:

It's a gratitude jar.  The idea is to begin in January, and write down good things that happen throughout the year.  Then, on New Year's Eve, you open the paper slips and reflect on all the good things that have occurred throughout the year.

This idea isn't something I could keep up year after year, but is certainly something I'd like to give a try for 2013.

I took at look at the selection of jars at Hobby Lobby and decided on this one.

Of course, then came the brainstorming...what will my Gratitude/Good Things Jar look like?  I had envisioned the glass being spray painted.  Glass...it can be spray painted.  I've done it before without a problem and I'd do it again.

NOT!

OK...so I started with a primer, which went on beautifully.  Then came the color, a celery hue, that I used on this lamp.

Ugh...not much luck.  It immediately started to shrivel up.  The weather is pretty cold here right now and that might be why it did that, and this is what I ran into.

Ugh...now what?  Well, I pulled out the steel wool and tried to rub it to a smooth surface.  It worked out all right so I tried adding another coat of paint.  No luck...still had the shriveling problem.

BACK TO HOBBY LOBBY 

This time around I changed jars and chose this style instead.  I liked that it could be placed upright or tilted, as it is in the picture.

Obviously, I wasn't going to paint this jar.  So what now?  I strolled down the aisle that had all the different do-dads for scrapbooking and decided on these things.

I sat in my kitchen and started to arrange the flowers on top of the lid of the jar.  They ended up being placed too perfectly, or too spread apart, and nothing was working.

I headed out to my craft cabinet in the garage and came back with this, to add some texture.  I ended up gluing it on the entire outside of the lid.

From there I started (hot) gluing the flowers.  Once the lid was finished, I looked through my old scrapbooking paper and cut out a couple of circles to make a tag.  I added some sticker lettering and ta-da...finished!

 

I look forward to adding memories to my jar this year.  Bring on 2013...we're ready!

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...we either had a gas insert or a pot-bellied fire place.

2.  I want...a personal make-up artist to live with me for a week and assist me.  I want to learn more.

3.  I think...I'm fortunate to have athletic children.

4.  I am shocked...at the reality shows that air.  Stars diving off high dives.  Really?

5.  I appreciate...a home cooked meal, which doesn't come as often as it used to.

6.  I enjoy...finding new, fresh music.

7.  I struggle...with getting motivated to train for the half marathon I recently signed up for.

8.  I feel...like the time after I put my kids to sleep goes by 2x as fast as the rest of the day.

9.  I recommend...MAC lip (plump) gloss in "Big Baby."  Such a soft, pretty color.

10. I hope...the Sacramento Kings stay in Sac instead of moving to Seattle.

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...my Winter Break would stop slipping through my fingers.

2.  I want...a day alone to spend some Christmas $$$.  This Mama wants to shop!

3.  I think...I could probably retire now, at age 40, and never get bored.

4.  I laugh...at my son who's been wearing his new shoes nearly 24/7...even after his evening shower.

5.  I appreciate...a good Chardonnay (drank Rombauer on NYE)

6.  I enjoy...keeping fit, lifting weights, taking care of myself.

7.  I struggle...with the chore of changing the family's sheets on a regular basis.

8.  I feel...somewhat excited to begin my training for the Shamrockin' Half Marathon I registered for.

9.  I recommend...tortilla soup in the crock pot.  Yum!

10. I hope...2013 is full of good things.

Goodbye Boring Door

Woo hoo...first post of the New Year.  Since being on vacation, there have been some to-do projects that have been stirring in my head.  My limited time is what has kept me away from a handful of them.  However, there was one project that was completed in a matter of a couple of hours:  Painting the interior of our front door.

What got this project rolling was that our existing door handle wasn't working very well.  Here's a picture of what we had.  The top part was electronic.  There was a keypad outside so that I could go out walking or running and have the door lock/unlock without having to carry my keys.  It was originally brass, but I spray painted it last year...which looked fine, until the paint started chipping/rubbing off.

Here's a corner shot before painting the door and changing the knob. (If you're wondering what that black thing is at the top of the door, it's the back of a hook that's holding a wreath on the front of the door.)

We chose this door handle set at Home Depot (not the greatest picture, hard not to get a glare.)

 

I found the perfect paint color, Espresso Bean, made by Behr.  It's a super deep rich brown.  I used three coats (using a mini roller) and it covered the white paint beautifully.  I am in love with the finished product.  In fact, it's one of those, "Why didn't I do that earlier?"  projects.

The finished product...

 

Thursday Thoughts

It's been months since I've done this so I'm bringin' it back.

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I need...to begin ordering Christmas gifts online....like, now!

2.  I want...to take a photography class.

3.  I think...that $4.55 for a grande "Skinny Peppermint Mocha" is outrageous. 

4.  I wish...I could perform on Dancing With the Stars once, just for fun.

5.  I appreciate...a hot shower.  What would you do if you stepped in and only had cold water?

6.  I enjoy...dancing.  Wish I could do it more often.

7.  I struggle...with pushing myself that extra bit at the gym during my workouts.

8.  I feel...overwhelmed, but under control.

9.  I recommend...Rod Stewart's new Holiday Album.  So great!

10. I hope...my flights this weekend are smooth and uneventful.

Colorful Mantel is Complete!

A couple of weeks ago I posted (here) about my desire for a non-traditional, colorful Christmas mantel.

This weekend I had some time to work on it and I think it's complete, for the most part.  Since my previous post, I found these goodies to add...some from thrift stores and some from other stores.

So the idea was to spray paint all of the figurines an off-white color to balance out all of the color.

And here is the finished product.

And now for some close-ups and some details...

I strung these satin ornaments on some sheer cream ribbon.  I made three clusters to add some dimension.

I love how my three choraleirs turned out once they were spray painted.

One picture I didn't get was this ornament garland.  Aren't the colors perfect?  I found it 60% off at Michael's.  It adds just the right touch.

 

 

 Love those candlesticks.  You can read more about that re-do here.

Ok, so this tree isn't spray painted, but I love the sparkle it adds. I found it at Marshall's.

 

Spray paint?  What would I do without it?  Love ya, Frosty!

 

My village....that probably cost about $6.00 total.

 

 Oh Santa, I like you so much better painted.  It also holds a candle, if I so choose.

Ok, so for some other details.  I had the teal and sheer fabrics already. I bought a strand of frosted indoor white lights and wrapped the sheer material around them to add a soft glow.  

 

I'm in love...such a bright addition to the holidays and something I've never done before. 

Can you say "Colorful"?

Yikes...I haven't posted anything since October 7th!!

Truth be told, this whole working full-time thing is getting in the way of keeping my blog up to date.  Well, actually....this whole working full-time thing is keeping me from completing projects to add to my blog.

At any rate, I have new visions.  I am on a mission.

I want a non-traditional Christmas mantel this year.  I'm thinking colorful...something along the lines of this:

http://lapetitefashionista.blogspot.com/2011/11/have-yourself-colorful-christmas.html

I envision chartreuse, magenta, turquoise. I told you...colorful!

However, I also want some simplicity to this mantel in the means of ceramic figurines spray painted an heirloom white.  And well, where do you find such things?  Thrift stores, of course.

I started in on my mission today and was able to gather these items:

 All my mantels have to include the Big Man and this one holds a tea light candle.

 These will look adorable painted white and placed on a round mirror with some snow sprinkled around them.

Building a small village

I think I was able to get all of these things for about $18.00.

It's a start.  I still need to find a Christmas tree and maybe a snowman.  I'll keep you posted as I make some progress.