Reading is Dreaming with Open Eyes - Magazine Rack

I got this little magazine rack at Salvation Army the other day for 5.00.  It's a solid piece and I liked all of the details on it. Because of the nice, smooth surface, I chose to use Rustoleum Chalked SPRAY paint.  I love this stuff!  AND since it's FINALLY warm out, I was able to work on it outside!

(I almost forgot to snap a 'before' picture . . . do you ever do that??)

I also knew when I saw it that I wanted to paint a quote on it so I found this one and it was the perfect size.  I print my quotes out on computer paper and then put graphite paper underneath and trace with a pen, transferring the writing onto the surface.

Once I trace the quote on, I use regular acrylic paint and a fine tipped brush to paint in the letters.  When dry, I sand very lightly to distress it a little as well as distressing 'here and there' on the rack.

I applied a coat of clear wax and then buffed the spindles with this attachment on my electric drill.  If you do a lot of waxing, these 'fuzzy' heads are so handy for buffing detailed spots like these.

I love working on these smaller projects in between bigger ones . . . a sense of accomplishment quickly!  Also, another advantage to the Rustoleum Chalked Spray paint is that is dries SUPER fast!  By the time you've finished one coat, the first is nearly dry!  So the project moves very quickly.

Looking forward to working on more projects in my "outdoor" work room!

On any given week (depending on how busy I am!) I love to participate in Link Parties.  These gals put a lot of time and effort into hosting these parties so I always want to show my appreciation by directing my readers to these blogs. 

Monday

Busy Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Creative Mondays

Metamorphosis Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Inspiration Monday

Show & Share

Keep It Simple

Sew Can Do

Farmhouse40

Tuesday

Let’s Talk Vintage

Tuesdays at Our Home

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Tuesdays With A Twist

Brag About It Link Party

The Savvy Apron

The SITS Girls

The DIY Dreamer

Party in Your PJ’s

Review, Chews and How To’s

The Hearth & Soul Link Party

Celebrate Your Story

Reader Tip Tuesday

Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Ducks In A Row

Creative Spark

Penny Pinching Party

Thursday

The Homemaking Party

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Inspired Creations

Vintage Charm

Transformation Thursday

Dragonfly Designs

Share Your Style

Too Much Time on My Hands

I Gotta Create

Share Your Cup Thursday

How Sweet the Sound

Friday

Simple and Sweet Friday

Home Sweet Home

Oh My Heartsie Girl

Homemade & Handcrafted

Chic on A Shoestring

Home Matters Linky Party

Saturday

http://www.acrosstheblvd.com

Sunday

Sunday’s Best Link Up

DIY Hand Scrub Flowers

It's FINALLY spring here in the Midwest and that means I'll be out working on my flower beds, yard and the general mess that our winters leave behind.  With that in mind, I decided to make these hand scrub 'flowers' (you could use any shape mold) and am also adding them to my Tea Cup Exchange box for Stephanie's Tea Cup Exchange at The Enchanting Rose.  This is the TWELFTH one she's hosted - it's an amazing and wonderful way to meet other bloggers and it's SO fun to put together the packages!

It takes just four simple ingredients:  Epsom salt, baking soda, essential oils and distilled or filtered water.  You'll also need a spice or coffee grinder and some type of silicone mold.  I chose flowers for these.  There are a lot of different recipes on Pinterest but this one from One Essential Community seemed to be the simplest.

You definitely need the grinder for this -- a food processor will not grind the Epsom Salts finely enough.  Here you see the salts on the left and afterward, they are ground to a fine powder.

After you combine the Epsom salt and baking soda, you add your essential oils.  My daughter and I decided on Lavender and Lemon/Rosemary.  We did 12 drops of each and mixed with a wooden spoon (that I only use for craft projects).  Add two tablespoons of water and mix then continue adding by the tablespoon until you get a nice, smooth, but stiff paste.  We used 7 tablespoons of water.

Press the paste into the molds. 

Our mixture made 18 flowers.

Cover your molds with plastic wrap and weigh them down with a heavy book. The mixture continues to expand for several hours so you have to keep checking and patting them down, compressing the mixture back into the molds.  Let them dry over night and then you can pop them right out.

Store in an airtight jar.  When your hands need a good cleaning, simply wet your hands and rub one of these into your hands and the dirt of the day will come right off.  The bonus is your hands are exfoliated and smell great!  I've used them already and plan to make a lot more to have 'on hand'.

I just used a Mason jar for mine and made a pretty label and decorated the lid.  This jar is going into my Tea Cup Exchange box . . . MY jar isn't as fancy haha!

Be sure to check out Stephanie's blog, The Enchanting Rose -- she's such a beautiful lady and I know you'll enjoy all she shares on her blog!

DIY Hand Scrub

Use a spice grinder to grind 1 cup Epsom salt to a fine powder; add ground Epsom salt and 1 c of baking soda to a glass bowl.  Add 24 drops of your choice of essential oils.  Mix well, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon or your hands.  Begin adding 2-3 T filtered or distilled water to the bowl.  Continue adding water until it's the consistency of stiff cookie dough.  Press dough into your molds and let dry overnight.  The mixture will expand as it dries so cover molds with plastic wrap and weigh down with a book.  Continue checking and pressing down the dough for the first 3-4 hours.  After the dough has dried, pop it out of the molds and store in an airtight container.

On any given week (depending on how busy I am!) I love to participate in Link Parties.  These gals put a lot of time and effort into hosting these parties so I always want to show my appreciation by directing my readers to these blogs. 

Monday

Busy Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Creative Mondays

Metamorphosis Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Inspiration Monday

Show & Share

Keep It Simple

Sew Can Do

Farmhouse40

Tuesday

Let’s Talk Vintage

Tuesdays at Our Home

Cedar Hill Farmhouse

Tuesdays With A Twist

Brag About It Link Party

The Savvy Apron

The SITS Girls

The DIY Dreamer

Party in Your PJ’s

Review, Chews and How To’s

The Hearth & Soul Link Party

Celebrate Your Story

Reader Tip Tuesday

Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Ducks In A Row

Creative Spark

Penny Pinching Party

Thursday

The Homemaking Party

Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop

Inspired Creations

Vintage Charm

Transformation Thursday

Dragonfly Designs

Share Your Style

Too Much Time on My Hands

I Gotta Create

Share Your Cup Thursday

How Sweet the Sound

Friday

Simple and Sweet Friday

Home Sweet Home

Oh My Heartsie Girl

Homemade & Handcrafted

Chic on A Shoestring

Home Matters Linky Party

Saturday

http://www.acrosstheblvd.com

Sunday

Sunday’s Best Link Up

Another Brief Blog Break

It's been a difficult month with the passing of my mom.  Just when I thought I was getting back into a 'groove', we had to suddenly put our little 8-year old Cocker Spaniel, Ava down on Sunday.  

Ava had something called Hemangiosarcoma.  It is a tumor that usually affects the liver or spleen.  Hers was on her spleen.  There usually are no signs anything is wrong until the tumor ruptures and causes, in some cases, instant death.  Ava became ill in a matter of hours and by the time I rushed her to emergency, it was apparent she was barely alive.  We were able to hold her and be with her until the end.  I'm so, so sad.

If you have pets, you know how attached we become to them and how quickly they become a part of the 'landscape.  

It's just a bit overwhelming right now so I'll take a little time off.  I'll be visiting your blogs as much as I can and look forward to returning when I'm feeling up to it.

Thank you dear friends for understanding.