File organizer revamp!

I am so excited about this project that I completed tonight!!! I used new techniques (and learned lessons along the way),and overall I am really loving this functional piece!

I have looking for a file system that you hang on the walls to sort my children's school papers (which are usually spread out on the kitchen table or counter). I saw some in Pottery Barn and some in Ballard Designs, but they did not really appeal to me and were way to pricey. So, I patiently kept looking and then I found one, in all its RED glory......at T.J. Maxx. I loved the feet on the bottom, the beadboard on the sides and it had three compartments, for my three amigos! I don't have anything THAT bright in my house, but I knew I could tone it down. Here is before picture:

The first thing I did was sand the top, sides and edges with my electric sander. I then used a paintbrush to apply Miniwax in a Dark Walnut stain.The fronts of the compartments were tricky, think I should have sanded more, but I did my best to add some character by applying stain and then rubbing off. I finished with two coats of Poly Wipe-off (first time using this, loved it).

Here comes the fun part,adding details! I first picked two different scrapbook paper pages from Hobby Lobby. I applied a layer of Mod Podge on the top of unit. Then I layered the scrapbook book paper on top. I applied one layer of ModPodge on top,let it dry and then put on another layer. I MAYBE should have stopped here, but I really, really wanted to try to use resin. Here it is before the resin. Wish I had a better picture of the before top, I forgot!

After I taped wax paper around the parts I did not want "shiny", I mixed the resin and applied the flood coat. It was kind of messy with the dripping, but it was fun. I used a propane lighter to remove the bubbles. Unfortanately, I did not seal the scrapbook paper as well as I should have with ModPodge, so there are some shadows on top. My sweet husband told me this made it look more antiqued. Still, did not think it was bad for the first time!

For the final touch, I bought three more scrapbook pages from Michael's (I have to share my love with both of the craft stores). It has the black damask pattern on a clear background. So it looks shiney, too....and you can see the red through the back. I used Glue Dots to attach these inside the compartments. I love how it looks!

Shout out to some of the products I used:

Have a great week!
Beth













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Trip to Biltmore

How grown up and completely appropriate my daughter's choice was for her 11th birthday celebration! After discussing options and looking up information, she decided to go to the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina. For those who are semi-close to this location and have children, GO NOW (or at least before summer is over)! Children 10 and under are free, over ten are five bucks. And if you order your tickets online seven days before going, you get 15.00 off each adult ticket. So including tax, we took our family of five and Madison's friend for 121.00. We had a beautiful day, starting with walks around the AMAZING and FRAGRANT gardens, tour of the mansion (the biggest home in the country), a picnic lunch, and walked around Antler Hill (winery, shops, farm musuem, etc.). So fun, we stopped at Tolepo Honey for dinner in downtown Asheville before headed home. Such a great way to celebrate our young lady's birthday. And I didn't even have to clean my house for a slumber party!!

Here are some highlights:

Teeny glimpse of the mansion!

These flowers got stuck to Carly's ruffles, she didn't appreciate that I stopped to take a pic before unhooking her!

Hibiscus, one of my favorite flowers

Cool roots growing up from the ground, it looks like a little city to me:)

Picnic time

Me and the lovely birthday girl

Jack driving the stagecoach

Learning how to make butter

Ending the day with these gigantic beauties...Jack was in Heaven!

We had such a great day that we decided to upgrade to annual passes. 80.00 paid for the whole family for twelve months. It is only an hour away, so we can enjoy all the different seasonal gardens. Plus, Chris and I can go back ourselves to fully enjoy the winery:)!

Happy Birthday to my lovely daughter!

Backwards

I am linking up with Gypsy Mama's Five Minute Fridays, which I have so looked forward to doing all week. This week's prompt: Backwards.

Start:
Backwards, how perfect. In exactly three minutes will be 10:41 AM. Go backwards eleven years and I am giving birth to my first born child, Madison Frances Huber. She arrived a month early and she arrived fast and easy. Perfectly healthy, perfectly beautiful. She had more hair on her head then any baby I have ever seen, and I have not seen a baby with so much hair since. Black hair.
Chris and I were delioursly happy. We now see new moms and dads, the circles under the eyes...zombie like appeareance. But we also can imagine the pure joy and love they see each and every time they look at their gift from God.

Backwards again. Madison is 18 months old. We are at the doctor's office, Madison has RSV and has developed a rash on her legs. They draw blood and tell us that something is really wrong. Her platlet levels are 4,000. They are supposed to be between 150,000 and 400,000. They send us to St.Jude's Affiliate Hospital, where we meet a child oncologoist who tells he thinks it is ITP (an unexplained blood disorder). Not till we get home does it all hit me. I lock myself in the bathroom and call me my mom, sobbing and crying. The next year was ups and downs. Everytime she got sick, her levels would drop low. She had to take steroids. She would have deep bruises all over her legs, her arms, even where her seatbelt would lay in her skin. Our first huge scare and challenge as parents. We were young, naive, scared......but we just took it day by day.

Fast forward to today. Three children now. All healthy and beautiful, smart and funny. Madison and I are sooo much alike, we often butt heads. Chris and her are closer now then we are and that is hard. But she is good at expressing her feelings and I need to keep that connection open. I need to be thankful that she is here, happy and wonderful. And I have to remind myself in the hard times about the feelings we had the day she was born. The feelings we had when there could have been something really wrong. And the feelings of pride we have when we look at who she has become.

Happy 11th birthday, my first born daughter.
Stop

Summer Mantle

Madison and I had fun designing our summer mantle today. I spent sometime online for inspiration, there are some beautiful ideas out there. I knew I wanted to incorporate pictures in a fashion that would make it easy for me to change them throughout the summer (we LOVE to take pictures in this household). Melissa from One Craft at a Time did a darling project that allowed her to switch her pictures and this is what sparked my idea for the mantle.

Using seashells that the kids and I collected on Spring Break with grandma, Madison created these two pieces. The bottoms were filled with sea glass chips, topped with the shells. She hotglued some pretty ribbon around sides. I put one vase high on the candle holder and the other on the mantle.

The letter "H" I made for the Spring mantle has made an encore performance. I added a starfish and sand dollar that I borrowed from my youngest two children. They reluctantly agreed that they looked nice up there!

This little guy is Madison's souviner from Charleston. He is so cute!

Now here are my favorite parts~!First, is this framed collage of summer pics. You know the collages they always try to sell you when you order your pics off of Snapfish or Walgreen's? Well, I am the sucker who always buys them (well, not everytime). I think they look so cool! I love this one because I took some of the pics and the kids took some.

My second favorite feature of this mantle is how I added a little gallery hanging off the mantle. I took two pieces of wide green ribbon, looped them and attached them to the mantle. I then took a bamboo stick and places it through the hoops horizontally. I attached white twine string from one side to the other. Using the cutest, tiniest little clotheline clips ever (from Walmart, spray painted white), I hung some favorite pictures. I love how it looks, and I can keep changing the pics.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my mantle! We have been busy crafting, etc. indoors because it has been in the mid 90's for a week and a half with only one thunderstorm. Hot city!! Hope everyone is having tons of summer fun!










Beth

First trip to Flea Market!!

I was so excited yesterday morning, my oldest daughter and I were going to the Flea Market for the first time EVER. I am always seeing the cool finds people get at the markets and was very optimistic that our trip would be a success. I was NOT disappointed:)!

The trip started slowly and the people watching opportunities were amazing. The first few stops I did not find anything and began to doubt my searching abilities! Madison and I were getting hot and she would not stop bugging me for a baby bunny or chick (yes, they have everything there). Then we spotted the outdoor areas, no tents, no buildings, just a bunch of cars, trucks and tables.

I first found these candlesticks. They were very sturdy,in great shape and were three for 5.00, which I thought was a great deal. I really don't know what people pay, so people could have been charging me anything! I started to get excited (and Madison was starting to want to go home, she knew I was not buying her a damn bunny).

After walking around a few more minutes, I spotted this!!

So beautiful from afar and even more charming up close. No price tag. The lady saw me looking and told me she would sell it for 35.00. It is real mahagony and still has the furniture stickers on bottom (made in Maryland). It was very sturdy and just lovely. I HAD to buy it!! I was sooo proud walking back to the car. People were telling me how beautiful the table was. I was beaming, so proud of my find!!! Even my husband loves it.

When I got home, I began to look up two tiered pie crust mahagoney tables online and quickly discovered that they are worth a pretty penny. Much more then the 35 I forked over. Now I just look at it lovingly. I really don't know what to do next. It definitely needs love. I am going to do something exciting, but I am going to take my time. Any tips would be appreciated!

Oh, and I am hooked on flea markets. After the first visit. Oh help us.

Beth

Recent photos:)

Everyday.....the Huber Way

Love that I found this writing prompt. I really need to write and reflect much more than I do. I believe in reflecting, I believe it is an art and a necessicty. Writing and reflecting us allows us to think about our actions, our thoughts, our mistakes, our joys, our beliefs, our relationships. I teach college level early childhood courses and I am always encouraging the reflective practice with my students. I reflect on my own teaching practice. But how often do I reflect about life....about God, family, my marriage? Pretty much never:(.

So here it, goes.....Everyday. Friday's prompt.

Everyday I drink coffee. Sometimes before I go to bed I start getting excited about my morning cup of coffee. Sad? Maybe...enjoying a very small thing in life? Definitley!! I have two things hanging in the bathroom that I hope will keep my day on track. They seldom do, but still...an attempt.

Don't Count everyday, Make Everyday Count

"Remind me again and again, Lord, that I have strength for everything through Him empowers me" (Phil 4:13)

Everyday I try to make count for both me and my children. My husband and I are both teachers and are both off all summer. With little money to spend and HOT,HOT,HOT weather....the days can be long. I start off with great intentions. The kids will do fun, family things. We will eat healthy. My five year old son will not beg to play computer games all day. I will not fight with my 11 year old daughter. My seven year old will keep me on track. "MOM, YOU SAID....." . I try to do some cleaning, keep the house cool, pay bills, do laundry, craft.

Usually around 3 it seems to go downhill. Fighting. Messes. Kids back on the computer (Oh, husband, too). I start asking for space. I hate that I do this every afternoon. What is going wrong?!! Too much to do? Too much pressure? UGH. Need to reflect more.
STOP

thanks for this, I think.

Beth