{ Butterfly Specimen Displays }

I made some cute butterfly specimen displays, without harming any of those lovely creatures.

A long time ago I bought several cheap, small and unfinished shadowbox frames. For sometime now I had been thinking about what to do with them. Then the idea of a butterfly specimen display came about. They seem to be rather popular in home decor these days. Besides, who doesn't like a pretty butterfly?

Since I like butterflies to be alive instead of speared onto a pin I searched the internet

for butterfly photos I liked. Then printed and cut them out. 

The back and sides of the inside of the frame were covered in cotton fabric.....a.k.a. 

{A painters drop cloth}.

The frame has been painted a crisp white and finally the butterflies have been glued to the frames backing.

Hardly took any time at all to do!

Thanx for having a looksee =)

I've never really been into much paper crafting, but lately I begin to enjoy it more and more. Here is a banner I made for the fireplace to welcome spring. I made an SVG file to cut the banner on my Cricut and then embellished.

I'm pleased about how it looks and I think I will make some more for other occasions.

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ A Few Free SVG Files }

Here is a set of Svg Tag Sliders and Safety Pins for cutting with your die cutter. Use them for your paper crafts, scrapbooking needs or anything else you find them useful for. Please read the TOU before you download!

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ Laundry Room }

By now almost our entire house is one big construction site. 

We have so many projects going at the same time it drives me crazy and I wonder if we ever get it all done. There is no real plan to the madness and we simply do things as time and budget allow. 

We still need to install a toilet and sink faucet in the guest bathroom, yet we already started on the laundry room. Reason being, that we have most of the materials for it, while we still have to shop for a toilet and faucet. 

{ IT'S JUST NUTTY !!! }

As you can see this laundry room is really nothing but a hole in the wall.

This bump out stores the water heater. 

The "DOOR" is a piece of sheet rock.  

Not our idea!

It honestly was like this when we moved in!

Here we've installed a new window......

...and then a new door. 

After that the old sheet rock has been ripped out.

Oddly enough the room already looks a lot better without the sheet rock!?

The ugly linoleum is gone and cement board is going down.

A new dryer vent is to be installed....

...but first our little dog Skippy had to inspect the work!

Silly puppy!

After that came new sheet rock.

We painted the walls with a color from Behr Ultra called Parachute Silk 

 

Check out the new tile!

 

As you can see here, we moved the door (which is obviously still missing in this picture) to the water heater. Above the heater will be shelving to maybe store linens.

Got this lamp for 20 bucks at lowes from the cheapo rack!

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ Chicken Wall Art }

I've been practicing in making my own SVG cutting files for my Cricut and the SCAL or MTC programs to cut them with. Today I made this cute wall art project for my kitchen.

Download the svg file if you would like this File to 

{ MAKE YOUR OWN CHICKEN ART }

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ Just A Quick "Hello" }

It has been a while since my last post. I killed my laptop and was not able to update much. My old computer is very slow and makes uploading pictures and such a real pain. However, I did managed to upload a few new pictures of our guest bathroom renovation. It is almost done and I like how it looks so far.

Next week if time allows I will go and search for a new laptop that I like and fits within budget. Then the updates will be more frequent.

Click on the link in the left side menu to the the guest bathroom article.

Thanx for having a looksee =)

{ Nightstand Makeover }

This house came with a set of dressers and a nightstand. The previous owners left them behind. Most likely because there was some damage to them around the bases. The laminate is coming lose and the pressed wood underneath is starting to grumble away. Besides, their overall look isn't all that appealing to me.

I thought maybe a makeover would help them to become a nice piece of furniture that I would be willing to use. I know that laminate furniture can be difficult to repair and paint, but I give it a try by beginning with the nightstand.

Here is the before

After

First I removed the hardware and gave the nightstand a good sanding. I used wood putty to fill in the screw holes and filled in where the pressed wood had grumbled away. Then sanded those spots smooth so it would blend in again.

After that I applied a layer of primer and then painted the entire piece with Kitchen & Bath Enamel. I wanted it to have a nice strong layer of paint and to be washable. Nice simple hardware finishes this nightstand.

I think it turned out great!

Thanx for having a looksee =)