Crazy is BACK with a Passion

I am back to blogging....it is a major effort on my part to save my sanity! Let me get straight to the rundown of changes that have occurred since I last blogged:

1) Hubby came home from deployment.
2) Hubby didn't retire.
3) Hubby was assigned a crappy job that has crappy hours and makes him occasionally crabby.
4) Our youngest daughter moved out.
5) Our youngest daughter moved back in and brought her boyfriend.
6) Our youngest daughter brought a dog back too (no, not referring to the boyfriend).
7) Our youngest daughter announced she's PREGNANT.
8) Our oldest daughter and two precious granddaughters moved back in with us.
9) My baby boy will be NINE and start THIRD grade. (Let my meltdown begin in 3..2..1..)

To say that life has been crazy is the understatement of the year.  Boundaries must be set! Rules must be followed! ........I'll let you know if any of that happens....

Cheers friends! Blogging and Drinking just might be the title to my new blog!
Libby ;)

Sand Gnats and Flowers.....and Sand Gnats

You know how you move to a new area and everyone wants to tell you what to watch out for and what to avoid?  Yes?  Well, moving to the southern east coast of Georgia, came with many warnings about sand gnats.  "Just wait for gnat season." "Those sand gnats are nasty and mean."  "Watch out, they bite!"  Yeah, yeah, yeah, every place has annoying bugs.  We just came from Florida, we dealt with love bugs!  Oh yeah, Georgia has those too....great.  So, here's a little story about a big idea to plant some flowers.  It goes quickly because we were moving in super speed.

 

I took my little man, Hago (formerly known as the little terrorist), to Lowe's so he could pick out some "flowers" to plant. I say "flowers" because I was mostly encouraging him to buy flowering bushes instead of annuals, because, c'mon, who plants to replant every. single. year? Not this girl!  He did a great job with the "plant specialist" at Lowe's AND he picked colors that coordinated! Go, Hago!!



 

This is our target area.  Hmmm, it was much smaller in my head while picking out the plants.  Next step, gloves and shovel.  I wish I had video of the planting, because there is no doubt the video would have went viral and I would now be on Good Morning America laughing it up with Robin Roberts! Because guess what?  All the helpful people who warned us about sand gnats, forgot something muy importante......they live in the mounds of pine straw!  Guess what that faded crap is in the "flower" bed?  Yup, layers and layers of pine straw.  We woke the beasts from their slumber and they were angry and vicious.  We were swarmed and bitten....

After this picture was snapped, we moved in fast forward and we were both covered head to toe in dirt from swatting and rubbing the gnats off us.  Now, that would have been a great picture, but I was focused on getting to the shower!  So, please enjoy some picture of the flowering bushes, or just flowers, that we planted because in all honesty, if it said full sun, I let him put it in the cart....but hey, they all color coordinate!

 

I do know these are marigolds! And annuals! However, the "Plant Specialist" told Hago that these are natural mosquito deterrents, so he HAD to have "at least one, Mom!!!"

These look like peppermints :)

These are elephant ears, correct?  I know they grow large and can be separated and replanted.  At least, I hope!

Not sure what the red things are, but we bought a single one last year to put in a flower box on our shed, and they have grown and took over the ivy that we planted with it!!!

Ok, so these are some type of lilies (I'm guessing and no, I didn't read the little plastic sign thingy that comes with the plants.  Hello....I already told ya that I just made sure they were all full sun!), but after a day of glorious rain, they bloomed even more and they are my favorite! 

 

Gorgeous, right????  I hope you enjoyed our horror story and please feel free to picture us, shoveling, jumping, itching, and swatting and planting in less than 20 minutes!  Hope ya'll don't have to hide your Easter eggs in the snow!  And........... GET YOUR SHOVEL ON, BABY!!!

LIBBY :)

Epic Fail of an Epic Project

First of all....who's over the word EPIC? This is me raising my hand.  It almost hurt me to write that title.  I felt I needed to use it one, er, two more times to tie into my last post title.  Anyway, I saw this impressive and wonderful piece of art at Pottery Barn online and wanted it real BAD!  Well, I wanted to recreate it, because honestly, I do not have $349 to spend on art.  If you do, lucky you, but my little brain cannot wrap my head around spending that much on something I can do for less.  Specifically, for $309 less.  If you take on this project, your expenses may be different than mine because I had all the materials except the "wood" at home already.  You could possibly make it for even less, if you do a smaller version. I made mine almost the same dimensions as the PB version (give or take some inches).  

 

**PREPARE FOR PICTURE OVERLOAD** 

 

 

 This is the "wood" I bought. It is actually paneling planks that lock together.  I think it was $30-$40 for a pack of six. I bought two and ended up returning one pack.

 

This is a handy dremel saw that I purchased for the hubs as a Christmas gift, but actually, Merry Christmas to me!!!  It worked perfect for the paneling.

 

 

Cutting the planks was fun and scary at the same time. I would be lying if I said my family trusted me to use a power tool by myself, but the hubs was too busy watching sports to really concern himself with my potential calamity. (I'm kidding, people)

 

 

Once I had the boards cut, I laid them out in a shape I liked. Believe me ya'll, there was no rhyme or reason to my cutting. I would measure out various lengths (18", 23", 30") and then just messed with them to fit them together.

 

 

I used more panels to secure them all together. Here's a really important tip: double check that your screws are not too long for your project.  After repairing that mess, I started staining.

 

 

Here is where I wish I would have went with a darker stain, but this is what I had on hand.

 

 

This is Special Walnut....oh, it's special alright...even after several hours and coats, It did not get as dark as I was hoping.

 

Nice and rustic looking, right?

 

The paints and colors I used to paint on the great U.S. of A!

 

 

I free-handed the US with chalk, which really worked well.  The chalk, I mean.  The free-handing would have worked better if I would have had enough patience to "erase" and try again.  Have I mentioned that I have a really hard time with patience?? Now you know!

 

 

The finished product! See what I mean about free-handing?  It's just a tad too fat bottomed, okay, not a tad....a lot.  *sigh*

 

I'm not going to lie to you, I did hang it. Two things happened: 1) I hated it. The shape (too fat), was too noticeable. I did try to live with it for a few days to see if it would grow on me. It did not.  2) As noted above, I have no patience, so I brought it in the house WAY too soon and finally figured out what was triggering my three day migraine.  The stain smell, duh. I'm smart like that. Ha!  It has been living in the garage and no longer smells, so I'm going to try to repair my EPIC FAIL (sorry, sorry!). 

 

Stay tuned for that! I know you'll be waiting on the edge of your seats!

 



 LIBBY ;)

I'm Back with an Epic Project and Some Changes Coming SOON!

Hi!!  Anybody there?!?!  I have neglected my blog for so long, but I'm back and I'm ready to make some serious changes!  Changes on my blog, with my etsy business, and with my health.  My goals for this year are:

 

1) Grow my business.  Especially locally (we've moved to Georgia, more on that later)

2) Lose weight.  I'm dealing with pinched nerves in my back and neck and the threat of diabetes (scary)

3) Manage my time more efficiently.  I'm so unorganized.

 

I'm always striving to spend quality time with my family and balance my business and blogging.  Obviously, I have failed at that over the last year and my blog was neglected and I didn't expand my business.  So, I'm BACK and READY!

Here's a sneak peek at the start of my epic project:  

 

 Shopping for supplies at Lowes!  Little man isn't so little anymore!

Panels cut and ready for fabulousness!  Can you guess what I'm making?  Come back in a few days and I'll give you all the deets!

 





A MINI TENT and INSANITY (per my husband)

Hello friends!  I did something crafty!  Whoop whoop!  It only took two minutes, but hey, it's a start!  If you read this post, you know I've been in a little slump lately.  I'm slowly digging myself out and let me tell you...it is with lots of help and support from my Sarah B.  She motivates me every time we communicate (I say that because we normally talk through text, hahaha, she's a busy mommy!)  I love her!  I love my Hubster too, but currently, he thinks I'm insane.  I was on the computer a few nights ago, this was our convo:

Hubster: "What are you doing?"

Me: "Pinning ideas for The Terrorist's 6th birthday."

Hubster: "Why? There are seven months til his birthday.  You're crazy."

I'm kinda happy that he didn't see my Pinterest board for his next room!  (Hit that link to follow me!)  This post combines the two....his next room and his next birthday party.  I'm a girl who likes to plan the next house before we even find it ;)

I'm somewhat obsessed with camping at the moment.  I think I have pinned everything camping/glamping that I can find.  We used to camp All. The. Time.  Of all places, that was in Alaska.  Yes, ALASKA!  No spiders or snakes, just moose and bear and the occasional herd of buffalo.  I think about it now and I wonder, "What in the hell were we thinking taking three small girls out in the unknown camping with bears!"  Now that's INSANE!  Anyway, I want my husband to build The Terrorist his own little tent for a reading nook in his next room.  I think they are adorable!  I have also pinned those too!  There is one site with step by step instructions!  (I also would like to transition from dinosaurs to an outdoor theme)  How does all this tie into his birthday?  Well.....he told me after Christmas that he wanted a HexBug party for his next birthday.    I dare all of you to search on Pinterest for HexBug parties.  I found one cake.  It ended up just being a picture.  No website.  I hate that!  So, I guess I will be on my own brainstorming for that, but here is my master plan.  Since we will have just moved to Georgia, he may not have any friends.  (that sounds horrible, haha) So, maybe I'll invite classmates for a HexBug party, but I'll plan a family camping party in the backyard.  If we have a backyard.  I decided to make a Camping Birthday Party Kit and then came the idea to make a mini tent like the tent I want in the Terrorist's next room.

 Cute, huh?  I happen to love it.  

Cupcake Toppers {Heart}

                                     

 Food Label Tents and Cupcake Wrappers.  See my mini tent?  Rustic and simple, but adorable!

 I found a long stick and just broke it into seven, almost equal, pieces and just used hot glue to hold it together.

 Easy frame.

 I cut a strip of burlap to fit inside my frame, but you could cut it bigger if you wanted to cover the frame.

 I glued the burlap under the bottom frame pieces.

 So fun and cute!

 These mini tents are so easy to make that they could be the craft at a camping party or made before hand for centerpieces or just filler for the food table.  I'm going to work on a "glamping" party kit and will make a mini tent for it also, but I will use dowels and a pretty fabric, you know, because us girls are insane and we like stuff nice, neat and pretty!

Do you think I'm crazy for planning so far in advance for my Terrorist's next bedroom and birthday party?  I like to think I'm being prepared :)

Linking To These Parties:
The Shabby Creek Cottage

HELP!

When I click to upload pictures, nothing comes up to let me select any pictures saved to my computer!  Anyone else having this issues or is it just me?

Happy New Year A Week Late!

Seriously, Happy New Year!  It seems that "late" has been my defining word "lately."  Ha!  I'm completely ashamed about that because it is one of my biggest pet peeves in others, but it seems I have joined the always late club.  I'm NOT proud.  And to be honest with everyone....I still haven't mailed my Christmas gift to my neice.  How pathetic, huh?  Another confession...all my Christmas decor is still up...along with the tacky decorations from my Ugly, Tacky Christmas Sweater party.  I had great expectations for this morning, but had a rough night with The Terrorist, a.k.a. my son, Hagan.  He coughed all night (poor kid) and kept me and the Hubs up...ugh. 

I started to accept that this would be another unproductive day, but something in me is propelling me to blog.  So, even though I have nothing planned to talk about, I will bore you :)

I just haven't been feeling well...not like I'm sick or even a cold.  Just overall, I don't feel well.  I feel tired and blah.  I lack motivation.  I have lost my creative inspiration because I'm always tired.  Here's the news: I think I may be diabetic.  My dad had it and two of my siblings have it.  I had gestational diabetes with The Terrorist and was told flat out by the doc if I did not lose weight, exercise and eat healthy that I would develop it by 40.  Guess what?  Instead of taking that to heart...in the last five years, I gained even more weight, have been drinking too much and eating like a teenage boy.   I'm currently waiting for the doc office to open to make an appointment.  I'm ready for a change....and just keeping it real...I'm writing this as I'm eating a cheese Totinos pizza.  Yeah, really.

My goals for this year:
1) Change my eating habits.

2) Exercise.

3) Cut back on alcohol (completely if I am diabetic)

4) Blog! Blog! Blog!

5) Put my business out more: Libby Six Productions: www/libbysixproductions.etsy.com

6) Find my crafting mojo!

What are your goals for 2013?  Do you make resolutions?  Here's to hopping I start mine, keep it going, lose weight, and find my inner craft goddess again :)LIBBY