Cake Stands as Easels

Painting this piece (go a little way down in the post to see the candle wall medallion) began with an outdoor spray-paint base coat. The project was then ushered inside for the touch-ups. I began painting on a piece of cardboard that, as you can see, has seen its share of projects. But turning the piece, while wet, was sorta messy, so I enlisted the help of a cake stand. Not only does it get the piece off the table surface, allowing me to paint from both top and bottom, but by simply hand-turning the base, I'm able to hit every nook and cranny easily. If you're using a cake stand that you think might accidentally get paint dribbles on it, cover the top of the stand with a paper plate.

The images below are from recent Instagram postings. Gideon before and after is obvious; a summer cut was in order, what with the warmer weather teasing us on a daily basis.

This past week the world celebrated National Sibling Day. Who the heck came up with that one??? Hallmark, guess who called last night, National Sibling Day, and it wants to know why you keep coming up with holidays to make us feel guilty if we don't send a card or place a phone call. Anywho, my sissy deserves a shout-out everyday, cause she's the bomb diggity. Here we are below in all our short-bang cuteness.

And the snippet of my new athletic shoes are a woot!woot! to my new workout routine, thanks to the girls in the office. We're doing Jillian Michaels' 90-day program. Every weekday for a half hour.. It's kickin' my butt, and I'm loving every minute of it AND the results I'm seeing.

And the other image is just a random vignette from Chateau Gahan.

Bridal Shower Gift

Harleigh came home this weekend for a bridal shower. One of the directors at Camp All American is getting married this July. With her being so busy with tests this past week, I offered to put together a shower gift.  Unfortunately, with my work schedule and evening commitments this past week, I wasn't able to get to the bride's registry stores that carry most of her needs. I hit up Target, but most items on the list were high-ticket pieces (I managed to get one dish towel).  Normally I try to honor brides' and mom-to-bes' registry needs, but in this case I figured Harleigh could pull from the registry for the wedding gift. So I got a little creative with this gift to make up for the registry-fail.

The hostess requested that each guest bring a recipe card. Made two, one for white chili and the other for a poppy seed cake that I make frequently. Both recipes are big-time keepers.

I started with a white box, cut the lid off, reinforced the bottom with a foamcore insert, and wrapped it in ribbon (secured the ribbon with two-sided tape. I added the flower, punching a hole in the box for the small stem, and gluing the bloom in place. Then I just added tissue paper.

I found this anthropologie-esque ceramic container at Target and wrote their initials on the chalkboard label. Put a plant inside for a homey feel. (Although it doesn't look great, I did try to subtly add some clear wrap to the top of the container to hold in the dirt.)

Saw the ring holder and got the idea to style it with fake wedding and engagement rings. What bride doesn't need a safe place to put her rings when washing up?

And behind the plant and recipe cards are the cake mix, pudding and poppy seeds needed to make the cake.

For the card, I used a piece of scrapbook card stock. 

I've had these kitschy plastic charms in my craft stash for awhile, and strung them on embroidery floss. Slipped it into a paper sleeve (Harleigh wrote on the back of the card).

The Weekend

Don't think the weather here in ATL could have been more perfect. Although a good part of my to do's this weekend were inside, having the windows and doors open brought the outside in.

While out and about running errands yesterday, I did detour into a thrift store (a rare instance these days while I'm busy building savings). Found this jewelry box that I had to bring home. Much like the other one I found and revamped (see before and after), this one will be getting a makeover. I've always loved those chippy, vintage doll dressers, and this one reminded me of those (without the huge price tag that usually goes with them). A sizable stash of my crafting essentials are stored in plastic and glass containers/units, but I much prefer the charm of a vintage jewelry box for storage. This one has pretty blood-orange velvet drawer linings.

Harleigh will be home this coming weekend for a bridal shower. I've been cleaning her room; changing her sheets led to tidying up the linen closet. My obscenely large collection of vintage pillow cases seems to demand more and more shelf space.

Her pillows got dressed in some turquoise blue roses and an embroidered cross (the latter a gift from my  crafty sis).

Front and center in my craft room is Muffin the Clown, a toy from when Harleigh was little, and one that brings back many fond memories, as he always accompanied us on beach trips with Grandie and Poppy.

Gideon got his summer cut on Saturday. So naked. But with less "coats," enjoys sunning himself at the open front door.

Kitty Matchbox

I can't use the word "kitty" without singing the song in my head from The Big Bang Theory, the one that Sheldon's mother used to sing to Sheldon when he was sick as a child.

Soft kitty,
Warm kitty,
Little ball of fur.
Happy kitty,
Sleepy kitty,
Purr, purr, purr.

Now that that's out of the way . . . here is a birthday-gift matchbox that I made for co-worker Jessie. If you're like me, candles are a staple in the home. I have them everywhere. And I like to make cute little matchboxes to set out. Harleigh has several that I've made for her, and every time she comes home, I give her a supply of matchsticks as refills (I have a giant bag of matchsticks leftover from advent calendars that I've made. See here and here).

While scrapbook paper works to cover the boxes, I can't always find ones that I like. So when I chanced upon this book of papers inspired by vintage textile designs, I knew I could get some mileage from its page after page of retro sweetness (I've got the Flora edition; beautiful!). I'm always on the lookout for mini ceramic animals as toppers. I often create these matchboxes using ceramic kitties, and make the ball of yarn using a marble and embroidery floss. I glue the heck out of everything adhered to the box top, as these are handled quite a bit.

Here is a blurb about the Repro Depot books (pulled from their website reprodept.com)

6 x 8 in; 256 pp ; full-color images throughout, DVD with 225 JPG patterns included! Paperback

Reprodepot Pattern Book: Folk — Charming? Yes. Handy? And how! This delightful collection offers 225 vintage-inspired textile patterns ready to print out and craft up. The book pages feature the colorful designs from which users can choose to reproduce from the included disk. Flora gathers together sweet blossomy designs, while Folk features homey motifs. Each book includes step-by-step directions for ten fabulous papercraft projects.

Easter Placecards

I've blogged before about how our family, although small in number, MUST have placecards at our tables for any meal we share together. We're just silly that way. For Easter this year, I bought wind-up peeps and bunnies at Dollar Tree. For the names, I strung alphabet beads onto a single strand of embroidery floss, and tied them around the animals' necks. Then I added hair accessories for the peeps (the girls) and bow ties on the bunnies (the boys). Each little critter sat in Easter grass on a small plastic plate at each placesetting.

Work Peeps

Coming off the high of the Valentine Party that I planned for co-workers, I decided that Easter should not go without some sort of holiday fanfare. With no time to plan for an Easter Bonnet contest or a parking lot parade, I opted for treats. On a Walmart trip a few weeks ago, I had chanced upon Pillsbury cookie mixes in Pink Lemonade, Key Lime and Orange Creamsicle flavors. Honestly, the boxes were just too pretty to pass up. Making up batches of these pastel cookies seemed the perfect start to Easter giveaways.

Once they were baked, I slipped each into its own labeled glassine bag (printed out the circular labels, Xyroned the back, cut out the circles, and stuck them on the bags before putting in the cookie), folded over the tops of the bags, hole-punched two holes, and secured the trio with a ribbon.

I nestled them into a decorative box and lid I had on hand (part of a hostess gift I'd received). With a little bit of Easter grass, a fuzzy little peep, signage and a vintage doily, made for a sweet vignette.

Ahhhhhh . . .

With Harleigh home for Spring Break, 

I wanted to take at least one day off and spend some time together. 

So we had our coffee this morning, 

the three of us shoved onto the couch, 

making what we call a Gideon sandwich 

(he insists on nestling right between us 

regardless of how many of our limbs he has to walk on, squish, and lie on in order to be near us).

I woke up to a kitchen-window eye-full of my Japenese Cherry Blossom that had bloomed overnite.

The sunlight coming in the house helped take the chill out of the air; not a warm day here in ATL.

I enjoyed a day of shopping and a nice lunch with Harleigh, then came home to craft.

The wall candle sconce on the right is one I'm redoing for Harleigh's house at college.

And the wind-up peeps and bunnies are a part of the table placecards 

I'm making for our family Easter dinner.

Full House

Special day at Chateau Gahan. 

Harleigh came home today for Spring Break. 

Jury duty calls all week (she wasn't called tomorrow, so she and Kasey 

are going to the zoo for the day), 

so there may not be as much sun and fun as is typical of Spring Break.

As I always do for her homecoming, fresh flowers adorned her room and bathroom.

Gideon turned 6 today! 

Because of his St. Patty's Day birthdate, 

there must be a big green bow tie to celebrate being a year older.

Enjoying lots of color here at Chateau Gahan. 

The bed is always blooming with lots of floral fabrics.

And in the bathroom, I swapped out the quilt stand for a chippy chair 

to hold my bathtime candle and reading materials, and a beach tote to hold toilet paper rolls.

Shell Heaven and House Hunting

I spent the last few weekends knee deep in shells; if only it had been at the beach. The next best thing is crafting my shell crosses. Three more are now in my etsy shop. As I describe them in the listings, each is lovingly crafted using shells I've found myself from shelling expeditions (translate: vacations at the beach where all I do is read and shell). I do supplement my designs with shop-purchased shells, but 90% of what I use is found by little ol' me.

What's funny is that as I sit at my craft table and place each beachy gem in place, I can often times remember the beach where I found it, which brings a flood of memories so rich that the cross I'm working on instantly becomes infused with love and good vibes. These remembrances from a woman who can't remember why she walked from one room of the house to another. Oy vey. Well, I consider myself lucky that my mind hasn't shed the joy of what my beach trips have meant to me.

Topic change.

If you have some downtime at your computer, head on over to trulia.com. It's a real estate site. You can key in a city and tour homes for sale. Gives you a glimpse into all kinds of home decor. And proves that just because you have money, doesn't mean you have good taste.

Here are some houses that I came upon that made me all dreamy-eyed. If they don't come up when you click on the link, may have sold:

Charming house in Newport Beach, CA with a dutch front door.

This one in Mystic, CT could be a beauty with a little TLC.

I'm not typically a girl of modern taste, but this beach house feels cozy with the color choices.

Pretty Smells

These are some of the fragrances I'm obsessed with lately.

The Simple Pleasures Snow Flurries lotion from Kohl's is 

from their seasonal bath and body collection. 

It's spicy and cookie-ish and has a hint of masculinity 

(hints of Old Spice and my Pap Pap's smoking pipe).

The simplySmart lotion is from Holiday Inn Express 

(one of the small samples they give you in your room). 

I'm one of thousands who have searched online for a place to purchase it.

I even called a local Holiday Inn to see if they'd sell me some. 

Next time I stay in a H.I. Express, I might just sweet talk the maid into giving me some extra. 

It's cinnamon and heaven.

Philosophy's Marshmallow for Toasting is a shower gel 

(it also comes in a lotion and lip gloss). 

You get it at Sephora, and it's a limited edition fragrance. 

Standing in a hot shower slathering this on is criminal. 

It smells exactly like a toasted marshmallow . . . I can't stop smelling it. 

I never thought I'd want to come out of the bathroom smelling like a piece of food.

Three fragrances that I will need to snap up whenever I find them. 

If you see them, give 'em a whiff to see if you find them as mind-blowing as I do.

Vintage Jewelry Box Revamp

See the before here. And here she is after! I used paints I had on hand. And took the large drawer front to collage a bit (and added a vintage Japanese bunny ceramic). When the large drawer comes out, there's a smaller drawer behind; I made sure to wallpaper the inside back of the jewelry box so it looks pretty when the large drawer comes out. Painting the metal pulls gold was tedious but so worth it (because the drawers are fully lined with green velvet, I couldn't remove the pulls). Love this kind of storage over Container Store any day!

Weekend Recap

The rainy and chilly weather forced me to play house on Saturday, something I never tire of. Lots of reading and crafting. Had gotten this wooden jewelry box at a thrift store ages ago and am giving it a facelift. I love old jewelry boxes as storage for all my crafting goodies. Spent a good deal of time on it and hope to have it done next weekend! (Excuse the crappy pictures.)

I FINALLY got all my Christmas decorations up to the attic. And with the pretty Sunday (quite the opposite of the day before), I was feeling all Spring-ee, and so the Easter decorations came down from the attic.

Dear boy Gideon loves having mommy home for two days. He slept most of Saturday . . .

. . . and on Sunday, with windows open and the sun streaming in, there was lots of outdoor time and gazing at the outdoors to fill his day.

Harleigh is 21 today!

Here she is as a little girl. On the left, it was a Saturday morning and I told her she could pick out her own outfit. Who knew a bathing suit and turtleneck could work so well paired together! And she sure could rock inner-thigh rolls of chub. And on the right, a Cinco de Mayo work party from when we lived in Huntington Beach, CA. I took any opportunity I had to dress her up in costume. Not sure that the role of white artist tape was an accessory I had in mind to complete the Mexican-themed look.

And my daughter as a woman. Am honored and blessed to call her mine.

[Above photo by Ali Harper.]

Valentine's Day Office Card-Swap Party

Went to the boss last month and asked if I could throw a Valentine's Day party at the office. 

We're coming down off of the Thanksgiving/Christmas high, things are super busy and stressful, 

and we've never done a party for this holiday. 

He said go for it.

So I decided to do an elementary-school style card swap. 

Everyone making or buying a box to collect their cards, lots of fun heart-shaped decor, 

and food, of course food. 

Everybody put their "boxes" out in the morning, 

and throughout the day we all delivered Valentines. 

At 4:30 we brought our boxes to the gathering place 

and opened our cards and enjoyed food and drink.

The food consisted of sausage balls with a Dijon mayo dipping sauce (thanks, Josie!), 

artichoke dip with Tostitos scoops (thanks, Jessie!), 

and I made a hot Creole shrimp dip served with toasted baguette slices. 

Great grazing spread. 

Jessie offered to make a heart garland, the perfect statement piece to anchor the whole scene.

For a drink station, I commandeered the office sink that was ripped out during a recent renovation 

(and will be moved to storage)

The vintage mailbox above was Buzz's card-collecting vessel. 

He wanted something fun, and I had this at home. 

Love when my finds get lots of use!

Get a load of the candy hearts that include modern-day messages (text me).

I dressed the "bar" in a vintage tablecloth, and crafted a small felt, jewel, baker's twine garland that comes out of the faucet like a stream o' love.

The sink holds ice and drinks.

Cupcakes sport Dollar Tree picks (Thanks, Buzz, for styling these like a pro!).

My loot. 

The card in the left foreground is handmade by Buzz. 

He drew the design, then had a stamp made. 

The card itself is cardboard, cut and with rounded corners, one side painted red. 

The dude committed.

In addition to making the artichoke dip I inhaled, Jessie crafted these killer cards. 

Each one was hand drawn with the sentiment "I like you and _____." 

The fill-in was a word that reflected the recipient. In my case it was "crafting." 

Everyone adored these.

Shaun gifted everyone a bag of candy with these enveloped post-it notes attached. Each note was customized with an "I love you because ____." Very special indeed.

My valentine "box" was a vintage mailbox.

The only thing on my party preparedness list that we didn't tackle 

was a love-themed music playlist.

Next year.

A Week in IG

Continue to love Instragramming. Here are some images from last week. Lots of Gideon (as always). 

Spent a chunk of the weekend working on Valentines for the party at work this Thursday! You'd a thunk that I'd be DIYin' the cards, but sometimes a crafty girl just has to put on the brakes and pace herself a little. Store-bought cards it is. I found them at Ross, and they're vintage-looking. I used individual letter stamps to address them, and adorned the envelopes with stickers. I "signed" each card using the stamp below (lower right, with the pink handle). I love love love this stamp. With both letters and numbers, it allows me to stamp a sentiment in a straight line. I signed all my cards "XO DAWNEGIRL." The collection of heart-shaped baskets on the left were deeply discounted finds at Hobby Lobby from years ago. I've pulled them out to be used for the party.

The sink below was taken out of an office bathroom during a renovation. I have grand plans to use it as a bar for the par-tay. On a rare trip to Target (it's a place I avoid at all cost; although on this particular trip, I left with only the one thing I went in for!), I saw these candles (lower right). How adorable.