creative little daisy

I'm about to get personal here

Are you a donor? An organ donor? I've mentioned here before the fact that one day I will likely need a double lung transplant. So organ donation is a subject close to my heart.  I will  tell you my story, in another post. For now I want to share the words of an amazing young woman on the other side of transplant. She just received her new lungs two weeks ago. I'll just give you a little back story first, but after you click over to read, I imagine you'll want to stay a while and get to know her story for yourself. I only know her through her blog and only found it recently. It's one of those blogs you get lost in, reading the archives, learning more and more until you feel like you've made a friend. I have to confess, I was a blog stalker, never commenting, but praying for her and rooting her on as she waited for the gift that would save her life.

It is not unusual to experience what is called a dry run when waiting for transplant. It's when you are called but for some reason the organs are deemed not viable and the transplant is called off. An emotionally draining event, no doubt. Piper endured four or five of these, one time making it to the operating table and being put on a vent and under anesthesia, only to be told it didn't happen when she awakened.  What a roller coaster ride.  

Reading her blog has been inspirational and educational. I don't know her, but I do know she is a beautiful person whose life was saved by a stranger. Someone whose life was cut short, but in life had made the decision to be an organ donor. In death, they gave the ultimate gift, so that another may live. 

Piper's blog is A Matter of Life and Breath. Her writing is always from the heart, but this post titled "Scars" really spoke to me.

**about the shirt I'm wearing above. Piper's sister originally designed shirts for  "Team Piper"  for the Great Strides Walk to benefit Cystic Fibrosis research. I jumped at the chance to have one of my own when she offered to print more and make them available on her blog.

The view from where I'm sitting...

Is a little whiter, a little brighter.

 

I've wanted to paint the bricks on my fireplace surround for a looonng time. A really long time.  I have no fear of painting. Most things. Brick however, is not a quick and easy fix if you don't like it, if you change your mind on a whim, like some people.  But after seeing this photo, in my post from last week

Yikes! That's some ugly brick! Too much color and contrast is going on. I like color, but muted, serene color. Not jarring to the eye, screaming in your face color.  The red in those bricks, against the blue on wall, then the white trim not to mention the wood tones. TOO much!  I realize taking a photo with the TV on wasn't the best choice either, but that aside, there is still a lot for the eye to take in. It's like the look I'm going for is floating all around this fireplace. See the softness of the mantle. I like that. Except for the freaky reflection of the ceiling fan.  All would be pretty cool if that Mr. Loud FP wasn't in the picture, and his freaky friend Ugly Ceiling Fan.

So, last night I quieted things down a bit. Mitch was at work. I was home alone, so I got out the paint and went to work quieting down that noisy fireplace.

I had some bead board wallpaper left over from the kitchen so I dragged that out too. It turns out I didn't have as much left over as I thought. Only enough for one side.

 

Even lopsided, it made the view from my chair this morning so much nicer.

Now I have to decide if I want to do the whole room with the bead board wp or just the fireplace wall. Thoughts?

I'm going to add a trim board at the top of the bead board.  Probably something along the lines of this. 

Image from It's the little things

I think I will also paint above the mantel white and add some trim to frame out and add emphasis to the fireplace so it doesn't get lost.

Have you priced vintage blue canning jars lately? Wanna make your own really cheap?

I bought these probably five years ago at an antique/consignment store. I think I paid about 12 dollars for a set of four.  Now you can expect to pay at least that for just one.

Last night I was cruising around the internet and happened upon a link to a tutorial using mod podge and food coloring to make your own. Cool! In the original tutorial, she experimented with a few different methods and colors to get the look she was after. She had some problems with brush strokes showing up in the finished product.  I think she had the best luck using undiluted mod-podge, painting it on then stippling out the brush strokes with the end of her paint brush.  She used the jars as hanging garden lanterns, with tea light candles. Just lovely!

This afternoon I decided to play around with some mod-podge and food coloring myself. I'm thrilled with the results.  First I gathered up a few jars, some mod podge and blue and green food coloring.

Just pour some mod podge into one of your jars. I didn't measure, I just pored in about 1/4 cup.

Add a few drops of water to thin down just a bit. So it's the consistency of.... oh I don't know, slightly thinned mod podge. Then squirt in a few drops of food coloring- to your liking. I tried a few different combinations. I think I liked a 3:2 ratio 3 blue drops to two green. But you do what makes you happy. Stir it around to get a uniform distribution of color, then start swirling. Swirl around to cover the inside and pour the remainder into the next jar you want to color. Keep swirling and pouring to your hearts content or until you run out of jars or you need to mix more- which ever comes first.

You want to get as much of the mod podge mixture out of the jar as possible so you don't have a big glob of dried gunk in the bottom of your lovely jar.

This is how it will look wet.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere about heat setting paint on glassware by baking it at a low temp, so I set my oven on the lowest setting it would allow, 150 degrees and popped them in.

I took this after they had cooked for about 20 minutes.

And for the finished product, drum roll please.....

Not too shabby, eh? They look very much like the real deal and since no brush was used, there are no brush strokes.  I don't imagine they are food safe. I wouldn't drink out of them or store food items, but they work great for showing off some pretty flowers.

You'll notice there's no water in the jars. I was impatient to take a picture, but I want to let them stay in the oven for a few hours to really set the mod podge. The label says once dries, it doesn't come off.

Edited to add***

OK, I've searched and searched for info about water and mod podge. After reading the FAQ page on the Mod Podge website, I don't  think they will hold up to having water in them.  I wonder how a clear spray sealer might work??? I'll have to give it a try tomorrow. Or you could just use the same method, but use paint made for glass, maybe something like this or this.  Or just don't put water in them and they should hold up just fine.

I used a gloss finish mod podge, just because that's what I happened to have on hand.

I'm linking this up to Funky Junk's Saturday Night Special. Go there to see a load of pretty stuff and great ideas and plan to be there a while. Don't say you weren't warned.

Tables, I've got 'em

 I used to have this coffee table

But Mitch sat on the edge and broke it, I blogged about it, you may remember.

Our solution was to fill in the hole where the glass used to be with an upholstered piece of plywood.

It was a good solution. I liked it. For a while. But I'm fickle when it comes to home decor. It's like, who wants to wear the same earrings everyday for months or years? No one, and my house doesn't want to sport the same old accessories either. I know, it told me so.  So shopping I went for a new coffee table, and by new, of course I mean new to me. My budget was less than 20 bucks. For twelve I found just what I was looking for. The only problem I also found something I wasn't looking for. Something I had not budgeted for. An antique buffet. Solid wood, in excellent condition $49.00 buffet. I tried to walk away, really I did. But it would have been wrong to walk away. I would have surely lost sleep. I know it.  So I bought it too. Where was I going to put it? Pfftt... like that mattered. I'd figure that out later. The important thing then was to pay and get it loaded before anyone else noticed how lovely it was. 

OK, to give you the abbreviated version, cause this story could get wordy. The buffet went here, where this table was, to hold the TV.

Better, don't ya think? 

Now I have another coffee table. If you were paying attention, you'd know that makes tree.  I'm not much of a planner when it comes to furniture placement. I just start dragging and pulling and tugging till I like what I see. Or until I have to lay down. (I'm not as young as I used to be)

As it turns out, I like the former TV table/coffee table as a coffee table. 

 

 

So, what's a girl to do with two extra coffee tables? If I had a big ol' storage shed I'd keep them, but since I don't and my garage already looks like something from an episode of Hoarders, I decided to try selling them on Craigslist. I'll let you know if I have any luck.

 

 

This is NOT what it looked like in the thrift store, by the way.

I also gave the ottoman/coffee table a new look.

In the interest of full disclosure and honesty, that thrifting trip, you know the one where I needed to find a coffee table and spend less than twenty dollars- well I also picked up a book shelf for fourteen. Don't even ask if I needed it or where I planned to put it. You already know the answer. Those are minor details to be worked out later.

It ended up here.

 

where this used to be~

A pillowcase dress

How's that for a clever title?

I finally got around to making Bayleigh a pillowcase dress.  There are loads of tutorials just a google search away.  Most are free but I also saw a couple you can purchase if you are so inclined. 

I shirred the top by sewing four lines of stitching with elastic thread in the bobbin.

Used a rolled hem on my serger to finish the raw edges (before shirring) and tacked on some ribbon for shoulder ties (after shirring). Easy-peasy!

It's great for gardening,

 and perfect for picking...

A letter to my girl

 
My first born, my girl, my sweetie. There aren't enough names, titles to fully express what you mean to me. How important you are to me. How thankful I am to God for letting me be your Mom.

You were a happy baby. A smiling sweet, curious, smart girl. Such an easy baby, except for the fact that you were a very, very slow eater and you demanded your formula be warm. Night feedings involved at least one trip to re-warm the bottle before you would finish.

You were a delightful, loving child. A little actress and performer from early on. It wasn't enough for you to sit and watch a movie. You had to watch in full costume.

You were such a good student and just an all around good kid, you made being a mom easy and a pleasure.  Transitioning to the role of mom of a college kid, not quite as easy.  I was so lost at first and shed many tears, but like any painful transition, it got easier with time. 

Then it happened. The need to break away, to find your self, to be your own person struck you like hurricane force winds. You weren't sure what you wanted to do with yourself but you were sure the only way you could find out was to be away from us. We wanted to love and protect you but you only felt suffocated.  I'm not sure how the best way would have been to navigate through that time. As parents our job from the beginning is to love and protect. As a young adult instinct tells you you don't need protecting. You need to spread your wings and fly. What happens when it seems like your wings aren't quite ready or that the winds are too dangerous for you to fly safely? It was a tough time, wasn't it? There were stumbles and tears, but fly you did.

 

I'm so very proud of the woman you've become. You are so loving and generous, kindhearted and understanding and above all, you are a wonderful mommy. 

I'm proud to call you daughter, my sunshine, my friend.

Saying goodbye is never easy

In the past year, we've said goodbye to three four-legged members of our family. Gracie died last May, very unexpectedly. She was ten years old.  She died in my arms and took a little piece of my heart with her. 

Last month we made the very difficult decision that life was just too hard for our Angel. She was nearly sixteen, blind, nearly deaf and very, very feeble. Arthritis made it difficult to walk. I hoped she would peacefully go in her sleep, but I came to the realization that keeping her alive was more for my well-being than hers. Life had no joy for her anymore. I  tearfully had to face the truth.

 

Then a couple of nights ago, our little Lucky man was hit by a car. He was only three years old. I'm just heartbroken that he died such a violent death. Alone. I miss the little guy so much. Every time I sit in this chair I still expect to hear his little paws running my way to snuggle up next to me. When I lay down at night I wait to hear him jumping on the side of the bed, ready to be helped up. I know the hurt will lessen and seeing his little face in pictures will bring about a smile instead of tears. I'm just not there yet. 

 

That's a quart sized can of paint- he was such a tiny baby.

 

Each of these creatures came into our lives and made themselves at home in our hearts. They had distinct personalities and quirky little qualities that made them special and lovable. I miss them so, and am so glad to have shared my home and heart with them if only for a short time.

In the span of a year, we've gone from a four dog family to just one. I loved each of them as if they were a child and my heart is surely a lot fuller because of the love and joy they brought to my life. Toby will certainly be overprotected, but he doesn't mind the extra doting and attention, one bit.

 

Man, this was a hard post to write! Looking at all those old pictures was heartbreaking. I really, really miss my sweet wet nosed babies. Sniff, sniff...

Let's see if I remember how to do this...

I've been missing this place. It feels a bit strange to be back, after so long away. So much to say. Do I blurt it all out in one long rambling post or break down into quick bite size chunks?? I guess since Bayleigh is sleeping, I'll just write what I can and go from there.

Why the long absence, I guess that's as good a place as any to start. I think in my last post I wrote about being sick and in the hospital. That was one of those life changing events folks. A stop and take inventory of what really matters event. I was sicker than I've ever been and for the first time in my life I felt like I was getting a glimpse into what my mother must have felt like during the last part of her life. I've had this lung disease all of my life. It's the only life I've known, but this was different. I was completely wiped out just being still. Short of breath with no exertion. I had to gather my strength to get up and go to the bathroom. The scary part was that it came from out of nowhere. No gradual decline and I was terrified that I had progressed to this level and life as I knew it would be no more. I was so scared that my lung function had declined to such a point that I would have to very seriously face the prospect of transplant.  I also experienced some very scary anxiety. It wasn't a fun time. Getting out of the hospital and beginning to feel like me again felt like a gift. During the time I was sick I didn't feel like being on the computer and once I started feeling better it became evident that I wanted to do more with my time than stare at a computer. I realized that much of what I was reading led to feelings of inadequacy and frustration.

I started this blog completely blind about blogging. I had no plans other than to take some pictures of things I'd sewn or spray painted or talk about my dogs. I was surprised when other people actually found their way to my blog and even more surprised when they liked it and continued to read. I had a small little circle of blog friends and I loved it. I'd be so excited if I got a few comments. Over time the circle of friends got wider and the people who read my blog on a daily basis grew and I began to feel pressure to write something interesting, to post what I felt like people would want to read. If people were going to actually subscribe to my blog I wanted it to be worthy of their time. I loved the challenge it provided. My sewing skills improved and I loved learning about how to make my blog look pretty. I learned so much reading other blogs and tackled projects I would have otherwise felt impossible. All because of blogging. Then something began to shift. I started to feel like my little blog was sitting in the middle of the interstate with blogs flying past me left and right. Brand new blogs exploding with readers. Blogs with sponsors. Blogs giving away fabulous prizes. I felt like my blog was an 80s honda civic among a mass of convertible BMWs and although I kept telling myself, self, you started this blog for you. You don't need to try to compete with anyone, that's not what it's about. It's not a high school popularity contest. And I said back to myself, Whatever!  No matter how much I told myself it isn't about numbers, I couldn't help but be bothered by it all. I didn't realize exactly how bothered until I was away and I didn't miss it. That little voice that used to be in the back of my mind constantly composing blog posts was quiet for the first time in a long time. And I liked it.  Not only did I step away from my blog, I didn't read others. I think that was the most freeing act of all. How do I say this next part and not offend? I'm not sure I can. Just know that this is my opinion. I'm not saying there is a right way or wrong way to write a blog, I'm just giving my own individual perspective. Here goes, and please don't hate me. I'm saddened by the frenzy that blogging seems to have become. I miss the simple times when it felt like you were sitting at a friend's kitchen table chatting. Money finds a way to taint everything, doesn't it?  I don't fault anyone for making income from their blog. It's a part time or even a full time job for many, and that's great, but now it seems every other blog has sponsors, and with sponsors you have to promote those sponsors in order for them to send you money and if you really want a lot of sponsors you need to prove a lot of people are going to read your blog and potentially visit your sponsor. It makes me so crazy to read a post with a giveaway, but in order to be considered for the giveaway you have to comment here, then comment somewhere else, then become a follower, then write about the contest on your blog. Never mind, it's just too darn hard.  I'm sorry, but I'm just not going to jump through 25 hoops of fire to win some vinyl letters to stick on my wall. I've offended, haven't I? If I did, I'm sorry. Just know I'm coming back to catch up, but I'll be doing it 80s honda civic style. No flashy prizes to giveaway here and there's no telling what I may be blabbering on about. I've done a little furniture painting recently, I'll talk about that. We've experienced some loss in our family, I"ll tell you about that too. We've celebrated goals reached. Some of us are a year older.  I have much to share!