Memo Board

When I saw these name tag holders in the office supply department at Walmart I knew I could do something neat with them, I just didn't know what. They were only a couple of dollars for a bag of six. So this is what I came up with. I stapled a piece of hardware cloth to the back of a shabby frame, snapped the clips on, and had an interesting bulletin board for almost nothing.

I like it because the clips are strong enough to hold relatively heavy things securely.

linked to
Funky Junk Interiors
 Romantic Home
 Naturally Me Creations

My New Old Plaster Walls

I've been plastering the walls downstairs and it's turned out really well. The walls were paneling, the kind that comes in 4 x 8 sheets and has grooves that supposedly simulate planks, not real paneling. I taped all the joints because cracks will form if you don't then used sheetrock mud, the kind that comes in a huge bucket, to fill the grooves. I troweled over this with more mud stippling it with a rag as I went to get the effect I wanted. Very time consuming but a cheap way to change an ugly wall.

I've hated this ceiling since the day I saw it and I finally took the plunge and took it down. I knew it wasn't a drop ceiling attached to a flimsy metal frame so it was a huge undertaking to get it down. The tiles were nailed to 1 x 3 pine boards that were nailed across the rafters. I spent days and days on top of a ladder with a crowbar.

Here's the huge beam I uncovered that runs the length of the house.

Everyone should have flourescent lights in the ceiling. Energy efficient.

The rafters turned out to be dirty so I spent more days on a ladder with a scrub brush. This picture is before they were cleaned. I wanted them exposed but now I can't decide if I want to clear coat them or paint them white.

No after picture yet because it's not in order yet, but soon. This is only about a third of the space I have to do anyway. At least I got started!

linked to
No Minimalist Here Open House Party
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

A Castle for Barbie

Ok, so it's been a long long time since I've been here. First I was insanely busy getting ready for art shows, then I was depressed because the shows weren't good; then I was busy for the holidays, then I was depressed because....well because it's the holidays. So I'm gonna try to do better in the new year. Thanks to all the people (2) who wrote to ask what in the world was wrong with me.

So here's what I was busy with for the holidays.


Finished - 2 days before Christmas


In Progress



My daughter and I built this for our granddaughter/great granddaughter Emily, who is four and obsessed with Barbies and princesses. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I love a project you can really obsess about. I think obsessiveness runs in the family. JD didn't have any projects going on so we were able to use his shop and small pieces of left over wood and moulding for all the trim.

Here's Belle about to go in the front door.



Here's ...I forget who this is....in the entrance hall.

Yes, that is purple cut velvet on the walls. It's a Castle. My daughter made the parquet floor in the entrance from 2" pieces of mahogany scraps. The parquet floor in the living room came from an old headboard.

And finally, here's Belle in one of the bedrooms.

It looks small for a bedroom in a castle, but Barbie is a big girl and we made the house as big as possible and still fit in the house and that's as big as the room could be. Actually it didn't quite fit in the house. It went through the front door but we had to take the bedroom door off and cut off a piece of the stop molding to get it in the room it was being hidden in until Christmas. It's about the size of a piano. We may have overdone it. The top is waist high. I said when she's older she can use it as a bar, or a kitchen island.

Here's a couple of pictures I was gonna use but I never got around to writing a post.

Elk in the Smoky Mountains, Cataloochee Valley.

It was mating season (October) and they were everywhere. Magnificent animals. I had a lot more to say about our camping trip but it's too late now.

Tiny House in Mooresville, Alabama.

We had been up to Amish country in Tennessee and stopped by Mooresville on the way back. I don't have any pictures from Amish country because they don't want you to take their picture. Did you know there's a big Amish community in Eldridge Tennessee? I didn't until my sister told me about it a few months ago.

That brings me up to date. There must have been more stuff going on than that but that's all I can remember. Here's to the New Year and more stuff.