Silhouette Projects

We have been making very good use of my Mama’s Silhouette machine lately. My favorite project was this candy jar for Uncle Glynn’s birthday. He is always plying Wyatt with sweet treats and loves Dum Dum suckers himself, so we loaded it up with tons of goodies.

I bought a new car after having my trusty Camry for 7 1/2 years! I bought my very first, less-than-100 miles on the odometer car and have been very happy with my RAV4. I jokingly say that I needed more room for all the junk in my trunk. Seriously I have a ton of work supplies, personal stuff, and estate sale/junking hauls to carry around. I had to dress it up with a new monogram and a Georgia Grown logo. I have had a monogram on my car for over 10 years now and I figured I better not break tradition. I went outside the box a bit and did my Georgia Grown logo in pink and green.

 

Finally, my friend Katy requested a monogram for her daughter Sadie. I bought this gorgeous sparkly heat transfer vinyl and went to town! I managed to find plain tees at Walmart in the men’s section in great summery colors for $2 each! We even made some with Sami’s photography logo. I am so excited to see how great they turned out!

Water Gun Art

Pinterest can give me some of the best ideas and get me into some of the biggest messes—particularly if I don’t read the full instructions or the follow up comments. I saw a pin on Pinterest that showed using water guns and paint to make some creative art. I took one look at the photo and decided to step out and do my own thang with Wyatt. I picked up some flat canvas boards and some cheap acrylic paint at JoAnn’s.

I decided I wanted to try to make some white space letters out of painter tape.

After that, I filled up some cheap dollar store water guns with about 50/50% water to paint.

 

I set Wyatt lose on the boards. He really had a lot of fun with this project.

 

I realize now that the paint/water blend was too runny. The paint seeped under that painters tape and we lost a good bit of the letter outline. Next time I’ll just let Wy go to town painting with the water guns.

 

He still loved them and and we had a lot of fun so I’m gonna call this Pin-spired project a win in my book!

Silhouette Projects

Mama got a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas and I have been wearing it out! I have pinned so many projects and really didn’t know where to start other than a new car monogram.

I have an extensive Tupperware collection and I knew for sure one of my next projects was going to be labels for my canisters. I am so excited about how they turned out. (Yes, my cabinets usually stay mostly this organized—Tupperware to the rescue!)

I also cut out a simple “hello.” for the garage door.

Mama made this vinyl cutout and I put in on a chippy old piece of barn wood.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I am an avid vintage Tupperware collector. I love seeing all of the bright colors in my cabinets and am proud to say that some of my pieces are from the 50s and 60s—all in use, mind you! I freehanded this Tupperware stack. I cut it on on many colors of vinyl. I haven’t applied it to anything yet. I think I might put in on the wall in our new dry kitchen and frame it.

This next project is one of my favorites! Daddy had an old realtor sign in his garage. When I asked him if I could have it, he gladly handed it over. I coated the post and hanging sign with three layers of Kilz and cut out the “farm fresh eggs” on vinyl. It looks jaunty next to our chicken coop. I just hope people don’t stop by our house to buy some—our hens aren’t laying yet!

   

I cut out this little label for my homemade laundry detergent. I really like this font (it’s the same one I used for my Tupperware) because it is so forgiving if you get it a little crooked. You can download it for free for non-commercial use on dafont.com. It’s called KG Shake It Off.

I am sure I will have hundreds of more fun projects coming soon!

Pasta Classes

One thing I am most thankful for is my mama teaching me how to cook. I am not a great cook, but I can do several things well and they are good, go-to meals and recipes that I know I can depend on. She has taught me how to make pasta, ravioli, lasagna, home made sauce, and tons of other simple fare that wows. The few times we all got together to make homemade pasta and ravioli, I got a ton of interest from other people that wanted to know if I taught classes. I had never thought about doing something like that before.

Justin encouraged me to get up a plan to make it an experience that allows people to take home everything they need to make their own pasta. I put out some feelers and immediately scheduled two classes (11 people!).

I spent some time looking for some good resources and made a booklet with our family’s sauce recipe, some tips and tricks of the trade we have learned from experience, an alfredo recipe, our lasagna recipe, and our pepperoni bread recipe. It also included a photo tutorial for people to reference after they have completed the class and want a brief update.

One of the surprisingly more costly pieces of the supply list was the pasta drying rack. It would make my profit diminish considerably. Justin, great as he is, said, “I can make those cheaply and simply!” Off to Lowe’s we went with a general idea of what we needed.  We whipped out 20 racks in less than two hours. I am so impressed with his ingenuity and willingness to help with all of my little side projects.

 

Getting the pasta machines in was like Christmas! I love spending other people’s money—I’d be a great personal shopper—and it was fun to unbox these machines for my participants. I loaded up the supply baskets with the machines, kitchen tools, and recipe books.

 

I think everyone that has participated in the classes has had a good time. I have to say when I started the idea of this class, I never even thought about making it a couples’ class but the husband/wife duos have had a great time. Hopefully, spreading the love of Italian cooking and the things my mama has taught me will have a positive impact on some of them!

 

Busy January

January, normally our slow month at home, has been shaping up to be quite eventful.

My SIL Amanda is the president of our local arts council. I am proud of her for jumping in with both feet. The arts council hosted a “Besties and Brushes” class a few weeks ago and we all painted funky roosters. Mine is well, uh, er, unique I guess. I like the top and actually surprised myself but I sure don’t know what went on with the bottom third. Even so, I had a great time, the turnout was exceptional, and I will definitely do it again!

 

Wyatt, my MIL Desiree, and I went to Chehaw Park on the MLK holiday. I haven’t been since Wyatt was very small. He thoroughly enjoyed it all. The weather was outstanding and there were no crowds to fight.

Jake, Ben, and Rivers’ tutor suggested that they get planner books for their school assignments. I had a blast making these for them. Jake’s is all farm-related stuff. Rivers’ is full of the ultimate girly Lilly Pulitzer and Vera Bradley stuff, and Ben’s is fishing-themed.

  

The sweet young boy that made me an aunt for the first time turned 13. That was a doozy. Jake was born less than a year after Justin and I started dating and it blows my mind he is already a teenager. I can still remember the day I talked to Justin and he told me he had been born. I was in Tennessee for a church trip and was sad to miss the big day but I was proud just the same.

 

I recently discovered a kindred spirit in a girl named Abbey. She’s from the Atlanta area and has a FB page that talks about all the greatest Tupperware and vintage Pyrex things she finds at thrift stores. She posted her rainbow cabinet full of Pyrex and I shared all of my Tupperware. It’s crazy to see all of those colors but they range in age from 50+ years old to less than 5 years old.

Justin and I snagged this beautiful light at our favorite local thrift store for $8. He had to do a little creative installation but I think it updates our front porch very nicely!

Finally, this beauty graced my table Saturday. Justin has a coworker at the EMS in Cordele that changed our life when she shared her recipe for pecan pie with NO KARO SYRUP! I kid you not! There are as many pecans in the magical crust of this pie as there are in the rest of it!

January Miscellany

I cleaned up more insulators. I love seeing the shiny glass and pretty colors!

 

New Years Eve at the Perry family’s house!

 

Big haired boy! Wyatt is in dire need of a hair cut.

  

Camellias are blooming! I got my first bud last week!

 

Sami snagged up this awesome Georgia sign for me in the mountains.

Our tiny little town just got a new Walmart Neighborhood Market. It is like a mini grocery store. I think it’s mighty convenient (just a few miles from my house) but it’s aisles are pretty tight and it’s a little dark in there. I will probably just do most of my shopping at the local Piggly Wiggly but it’s nice to have options.

 

January is in full swing and I updated my five minute craft project from last month with Chicfetti’s latest calendar. Little happy almost-free projects are smile makers!

 

Justin and I scored this GORGEOUS screen door at a local salvage/junk seller’s house last weekend. It’s going to be a great addition to our chicken coop.