Kendall Boggs Fine Arts and Crafts

More New Art!

2012-01-27T07:12:00.000-05:00

Well, since I got the word from White Flowers that they will be showcasing my "dress series" I've been a painin maniac!

Yep. Now, keep in mind, these are all available for sale from me until March 1st when they go in the shoppe.

AND I'm offering the wholesale price of 395.00 + 30.00 shipping.

They are all 30 x 30. Keep checking for new art as I will be adding more and more.

I am doing 6 with burlap and 6 mixed media with texture. Please e-mail me at kbdr@aol.com for inquiries.

Here we go!

"Beth"

30 x 30 mixed media on burlap and gallery wrapped canvas

"Kimberly"

30 x 30 mixed media on burlap and gallery wrapped canvas

"Elizabeth Ann"

30 x 30 mixed media on burlap and gallery wrapped canvas

"Grace"

30 x 30 mixed media on burlap and gallery wrapped canvas

"Molly"

30 x 30 on burlap and gallery wrapped canvas

"Lindsey"

30 x 30 mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas

Thanks for takin a looksie guys!

Have a great day y'all!

The Surprise is OUT!!!

2012-01-26T05:46:00.000-05:00

White Flowers, a fabulous little boutique in Homewood, Alabama will be showcasing 12 30 x 30 dress paintings of mine starting in March. YEP 12!!! I am so excited I could bust! Mainly because this is one of my favorite boutiques in the whole wide world. I don't believe there is another shoppe like it anywhere. The minute you walk into this shoppe there is this ethereal feeling that encompasses you. Soft, light, beautiful, all white with touches of pale colors. They carry everything white you can imagine. Baby gifts, books, ceramics, flowers (all white of course) big girl clothes, silver items, the most beautiful jewelry you've ever seen. They even have these yummy little white mints that you can take when you leave. Oh, and they wrap your goodie up like it's a gift for YOU! They wrap your package with a white ribbon and a little white rose. Can you tell I'm ecstatic about this? The owner Diana is the sweetest woman I've ever met. With her soft voice you can tell that she is such a sincere and loving woman. I adore her.

Well, I got busy working on some paintings! My only delimma? They need to be monotone to fit in with the mood of the shoppe. And if you've followed my art work for a while, you will know that I like to use a lot of color. But, so far so good.

I actually sold one last night! SO, I'll have to paint another for White Flowers.

By the way.....

info.

www.whiteflowers.com

These are some examples of what I'll be showing!

"Sara"

30 x 30 mixed media on burlap and canvas

"Becky"

30 x 30 Mixed media on burlap and canvas

Sold

Have a wonderful day y'all!

Two New Paintings!

2012-01-25T08:01:00.000-05:00

I'm doing a set of ten white and ivory paintings.

I can't reveal the secret why yet, but I'll give you a hint. They may be hung somewhere in Homewood, Alabama for you to purchase! (fingers crossed)

In the meantime, I'll show you what I've done so far!

The Ivory Gown

20 x 20 mixed media

Playful Angels

20 x 20 mixed media

Have a fabulous day y'all!

I'm Home! I'm Wooped!

2012-01-24T05:16:00.000-05:00

Boy, I got home last night and CARASHED. Seriously folks, Cooper and I curled up in bed and zonk. I was out cold.

But, that didn't stop me from looking up pics from my favorite place in the whole wide world.

Napa.

And "W" and I are planning a little "getaway" there before Baby Cakes makes her arrival.

We will definitely visit this winery and see a favorite doggie

and have dinner at the Auberge du Solei

I scoured the internet for some favorite pics of my favorite place.

Hopefully I'll have some of my own soon!

Enjoy!

First we'll stop here:

If you ever get the chance to go to Napa, don't dare miss this restaurant!

I can smell those succulent grapes as we speak. (I mean as I speak, I'm speaking to myself and they are responding.....come see me, come see me!)

This WILL be on one of our stops

yummers +

Here's to planning a sweet getaway!

Have a great Tuesday y'all!

A Little Sprinkle

2012-01-23T07:41:00.002-05:00

Well, I've been up since 3. This morning was NOT a little sprinkle in Birmingham. Sirens went off at 3 and continued. It's been a long night and people have been killed all around Alabama. My prayers go out to those affected.

A little sprinkle though was given for Jordan last night by friends!

What is a sprinkle? You know, it's not a shower. I guess you give it for the third child. Lucky third child!

I'm a third child and I don't think I got a shower OR a sprinkle! :) Oh well, I made it through without too much damage!

Anyway, I captured a few little pics. Disappointed that I wasn't just clickin away like I usually do..

Surprise!!!

a bunch of beauties!

Check out the ADORABLE little diaper cake my sweet DIL made! Instructions on her blog

everydayamy.blogspot.com

One month until baby Cate arrives!

Have a great Monday y'all!

We're Finished!!!

2012-01-22T17:07:00.000-05:00

Well almost! Enough that I can "show-n-tell"

First of all, thank you posters! I decided to paint the black tile. OMG what a difference! Actually Amy painted it with her steady little hands (she's a neonatal nurse), so she's use to doing things in tedious fashion.

So, I just couldn't wait for you to see the outcome! I ran out of wax so the total finish will be done tomorrow.

Remember the before?

and in the process:

oh before I go any further, sister brought over a table and chairs that they will use until the perfect set is found! (and the 6 botanicals will go in the large open space when they are finished being framed)

so, here we go!

The house is quickly evolving from "bachelor pad/fraternity house" to grown up married life!

I offered to paint the walls today too, and Gregory said, UM that would be a NO. Game day!

Have a good one y'all!

A Kitchen Renovation

2012-01-22T07:13:00.000-05:00

From Jordan's to Gregory's! They needed some work done on their kitchen. Some serious help!

So, Annie and I pulled our talents together and went on over for a "kitchen redo". Luckily Gregory and Amy helped so we knocked out 85% of it in 8 hours. Yep. Kitchen redos aint fer sissies you guys.

The idea was a limewashed look. The cabinets were I'm not sure how old, but the wood certainly was not up to date. Neither was the tile. OHANDBYTHEWAY. Did you know you can paint tile!!!! YES!!!

And we did!

So here is where we stand so far. I'm actually thinking we're more like 75% done. But an afternoon after praise and worship will do it.

Before: (oh btw, they had already taken the cabinet doors off when I took this pic. Darn)

gettin there!

we darkened it a bit after this pic.

the sweetest son I've ever had!

check out the 80's tile. That ~~obnoxious~~ fun little border was driving Ames crazy. So we taped it off

and used some of this (two coats) ONLY Prime Lock (it will prime anything)

this big tile was a big flower basket

Gregory always the prankster!

We painted the tile a tan color the color of the grout. Not sure why the people put that black tile so close to the big one either. hum.

Okay, I read up on painted tile. I would normally say to paint the black ones on this project as well, but the wear and tear may be too much on the counter tops for it to stay painted....So, that black tile will have to stay for now.

Stay tuned! more tomorrow!

Have a wonderful Sunday y'all!

A Simple Little Shadow Box

2012-01-20T20:24:00.001-05:00

We had a little delimma with Cate's nursery. See it is doubling as a guest bedroom which meant that the only place to put the bed was in front of a window. One that is off center. It's considered a faux pas to put a bed in front of a window, but hey, we really had no other choice. So, the wall beside the drapes (that are in the process of being made) needed something. I was pulling out all of Evers little bonnets hoping one would work for a shadow box when Jordan said "how bout this one"! My mom had given it to her when Evey was born. It was my grandfathers. (Evidently they put bonnets on baby boys back then!)

I snatched it up and we headed to HobLob to find the perfect shadow box.

We did and it was 50% off! Yeah! this whole project costs a little more than 10.00.

So, here is what we did:

Got the shadow box and found scrap fabric from Jordan's stash. I found the perfect color and it was a soft pinwell corduroy.

First you take the back off of the shadow box and cover it in your fabric. I taped mine in the back.

then you pin the bonnet where you would like it to stay

using a needle and thread just sew it on to the fabric

and you've got it! (btw, the ribbon was changed to this color)

then place it in the frame. This may be one of my favorite things I've done lately!

See how wonderfully it evens out the space! Oh, I'm SO anxious for those drapes to get here!!!

Have a great night ya'll!

Showin Off My Niece!

2012-01-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

My sweet little niece lovingly nicknamed "Harperdoodle" was one of the selected models for the

Birmingham Fashion Week!

Standing tall and lean at just 14 years of age, she seems to have all the makings for a runway model!

Here she is, pics compliments of her mom (my sister)

I'm so proud of my sweet niece Harper!

have a great day y'all!

How to Make a Pleated Dust Skirt

2012-01-19T06:41:00.001-05:00

I am going to TRY to teach you how to do this.

But I've got two things working against me.

1) I can't find my glasses

2) It's really not that easy to explain

.....but I'm gonna try!

First of all, I found this fabric at Ocho for 3.99 a yard. I got 5 yards which was more than enough.

20 bucks for a dust skirt. Seriously? You can't get one at Kmart for that!

Here we go. The big thing is you need a lot of room....which I didn't have, so I had to improvise.

You need to do some figuring first

lay your fabric out and cut your length. I needed 300" by 19" If you have to make a seam (like I did} make sure it lands inside one of the pleats.

now turn the hem under 1/4" and press

Now turn it under 2" and press

I used a hem stitch and it works wonderfully if your machine has a hem stitch. If not you either have to hem it by hand (ick) or just sew it where the stitching will be seen

this is what a hem stitch looks like

Doesn't this look fun?

find the center of the first side and mark it. Now make two 3" pleats. that will equal 12", Hope that makes sense. What you are doing is turning the fabric under 3" on each side. So each pleat will equal 6". Have I totally confused you yet?

this is the back side of the pleats

now measure the other half distance of one side and mark. In this case that would be 1/2 of 79". Measure 39 1/2" from the middle of the first pleat and make another pleat. Repeat this process until you get all five pleats.

now lay a sheet down the size of the top of the box spring. This is where I quit taking pics. Sorry!

Pin the dust skirt all the way around, leaving the top open.

then lift up the mattress (king size by the way) all by yourself and put it on!

Have a great day y'all!

Finished!!! and I just couldn't wait to show you!!!

2012-01-18T18:52:00.000-05:00

First of all, Callen in perfect "decorator" style decided that we needed new knobs for J's new bedroom. So...she went out and got em. WOW what a difference a knob makes!

We also added two pillows.

So, here is the [almost] finished bedroom

and the final, final finished project!

and, I couldn't stand it. I had to work on something else today. So, J had this amazingly pitiful looking mudroom. My new best friend Annie Sloan and I to the rescue!!!

Did I mention I am totally in love with her???

I decided to use French Linen for this project

isn't it luscious!

in the process, fighting for space with the toilet paper :)

check it out!!!

Here is the before again:

have a great night y'all!

A Master Bedroom Makeover!

2012-01-18T07:37:00.001-05:00

I'm only showing you this today cause I can't stand it! I just can't wait! I arrived here in Birmingham in time to do lunch with my oldest and youngest and then quickly got to work on J's master bedroom makeover.

OHHOWFUN.

We aren't quite finished yet, but me in my anxious mode to show you where we stand I'm gonna show you the partially finished project. Then tomorrow I'll show you the whole thang.

Okay, here is the before:

My camera didn't capture the exact color. It is really more caramel.

first J had this dresser that was buggin the heck outta her. She hated it. So we were gonna do something about it.

Like paint it with my new best friend Annie Sloan

In the process

and after the paint and wax!

then, both bedside tables were almost a black color. That was not gonna do.

Annie Slone stark white to the rescue!

I picked up this mirror at Ballard's Backroom for a mere 49.00

In the meantime, I hung Lil B's B. Is that not adorable!!!

I found these at Target and quickly snatched them up to recover the vinyl

So far so good! Her khaki and white bedroom is comin along!

Today? Making a bedskirt for the bed out of a solid khaki.

Okay, let's break it down.

Shams - 98.00

Coverlet - Target - 119.00

Benches - 79.00 each

Lamps - free

Shades - 30.00 each

Paint - 60.00

Mirror - 50.00

Love - 0.00

Paintings - hand me downs

Bed coverlet at end of bed - hand me down

The drapes will be made out of the fabric that I covered the benches with.

Tomorrow I'll show you the completely finish project and a tutorial on how to make a bed skirt. The drapes will come in a little while.

WAIT!!! I finished the dust ruffle! (I promise I will TRY to do a tutorial, it was not an easy task and really not very easy to document) but I did do it this morning!

Here is the finished room. (OH and we are changing those knobs on the bedside tables, they look ick after I saw them in a pic. Stay tuned!

see the difference when it's light out? wow!

Have a great day y'all!

Direction on Design

2012-01-17T05:55:00.000-05:00

In my previous years I was a designer.

And,,,,any time I had the opportunity to make a bed nook I jumped at it!

There is just something so cozy about them. Makes an adult feel young, cuddled, makes a child feel like he/she is playing a game instead of sleeping. Makes you want to cozy up there and just read a good book huh?

what a great use of space

oh my, love.

fun!

this would not be in my portfolio. Where is George Jetson?

the only problem with bed nooks?

making up the bed

Like I said....the only problem with bed nooks? making up the bed

(I'm a HUGE fan of making your bed EVERY day!)

lovin that rope

have a wonderful Tuesday y'all!

"Anna Grace"

2012-01-16T09:13:00.000-05:00

"Anna Grace"

16 x 20

Burlap on boxed wood

375.00

kbdr@aol.com

have a great day y'all!

Annie Sloan and Giving a (sort of) Old Lamp a Facelift!

2012-01-15T04:24:00.000-05:00

If you could have seen me when I was at Scott Antiques this week when I saw Annie Sloan paint, I was jumpin around like a maniac. I was so excited that you could have heard me screaming for Jordan to come look, (even over the airplanes that constantly fly over Scott's)!

I had heard of Annie Sloan paint from Jordan's MIL and was dying to find some and work with it.

SO. I had these two lamps that just weren't doin it fer me. They really aren't that old, and I got them at Pottery Barn Outlet for about 40 bucks each so, I decided those were the ones to play with, without caring if I ruined them. Plus they weren't really being used for any specific space.

Now they are going in Jordan's "all white and tan" bedroom.

Here we go. First, the lamp before:

I used Old Ochre for this project

first I painted the lamp (you can put it on pretty heavy)

look how soft and creamy it looks when it dries.

then I scuffed it up a bit with fine sandpaper

next you apply some clear wax to your project.

and then a coat of dark wax (the fun part)

you paint it all on and then rub it off with a soft cloth

add a shade and there ya have it! (I'm actually going to find some authentic burlap shades for them)

again, before:

better huh?

To find Annie Sloan paint in your area, just google Annie Sloan and it will probably give you a location. It is usually however just sold in metropolitan areas but you may be able to purchase on line.

Oh wait! I need to show you another goodie I found!

That B is goin in Lil B's room! are these cool or what?

have a great day y'all!

Trinity Spotlight on Art

2012-01-14T06:03:00.001-05:00

Hey guys!

Just want to tell you about the art show that I will be included in in a couple of weeks.

It's called Trinity Spotlight on Art.

www.spotlightonart.com

To say I am humbled to be a part of this magnificent event would be an understatement.

There are 350 artist from all over invited and you will no doubt see "the best of the best"

They raise boocoodles of money not only for their school, but for charities as well.

The show starts February 6 and runs through February 11. It is open to the public all of those days.

Please join me as I plan to be there as much as they will let me!

On another note, I'm trying my hand at a new form of my art specifically for this event.

I am painting on burlap and wood. Burlap is SO popular now and I thought what better way than to introduce it into artwork. It is painted burlap on a boxed wood panel tacked on with upholstery nail heads.

Please message me with any interest.

kbdr@aol.com

"Sara"

18 x 24 on a 3" box

475.00

"Margaret"

18 x 24 on a 3" box

475.00

"Inspiration"

16 x 20 on 3/4" box

375.00

"One Love"

16 x 20 on 3/4" box

375.00

Have a wonderful day y'all!

Reflecting on Friendships

2012-01-13T05:40:00.001-05:00

I woke up this morning reflecting on friendships.

You know you young uns out there probably don't know this yet but friendships are one of the most important things in a gals life. And they come in a whole different varieties.

I have been so lucky in my 52 years of life to have many friends. Some have been life long friends, some from 15 years ago and some brand new ones. And by the way, you're never too old to make new friends.

It's when you have to let a friend go that is heartbreaking.

Sometimes you have to. I had to let my best friend from childhood go because of her death 3 years ago.

I, just today today let a friend go because of a lot of unfortunate circumstances that entered in to our friendship. She was my encourager and encouraged me beyond words to follow all of my dreams and always told me how important I was.

She was one of my best friends.

I'm sad, very sad.

You know, a lot of men don't realize the importance that a friend holds in a woman's life. They are someone you can share your most intimate details with. You cry with them, you laugh with them, there are some that you play sports with. You celebrate birthdays with your friends, and you celebrate their children's weddings and the births of their grandchildren. You buy them gifts and send them "just because". When you're young you talk about children with them, compare notes, (and usually that's about all you have time to do with your friends because you have a child hanging on your leg). You talk about your house and what your wants are. The ideas you have for your "dream home". When your old like me, you talk about your grandchildren, how fat you've gotten, and those damn wrinkles that keep popping up everywhere. You talk about God, about your sicknesses, aches and pains and it's okay because you usually have the same aches and pains! Friends are wonderful, friends are healing, friends are caretakers to your feelings.

I love my friends, and to the "one I had to let go", there is a special place in my heart for you.

I always welcome new friends, which is SO important. And by the way, you should always make time for that special friend.

It is a sad day for me

but

hoping you all have a happy day!

Sleeping Beauty!

2012-01-12T06:24:00.000-05:00

On to my next project.....

J's bedroom is bugging me. And bugging her. See her MIL (wonderful by the way) made her some very nice and pricey drapes for her old house. AND had the rods hand crafted by an ironsmith. Well, neither the drapes nor the rods fit for her bedroom, so, we are up for ideas. She wants the bedroom to be all white which means we've got some work to do. We painted the room a beautiful soft tan color that gives off a multitude of colors at different times of the day. Sometimes it looks a little grey, sometimes green. Hum.

Anyway, as you recall, we are getting a steal of a deal from Target with the white coverlet.

and they have an existing white covered tufted headboard to match

These shams will go with the coverlet and are BIG 30" ers.

If Jordan will let me, I will get the matching fabric to make a pleated dust ruffle out of the tan piping color.

Here is the fabric I found for the draperies that sweet MIL will be making. They are having an ironsmith cut the rods down.

Now on to some dreamy inspirations!

in case she wants to throw in another color!

have a wonderful day y'all!

Want Wednesday

2012-01-11T06:55:00.000-05:00

What is that title about?

Well.....I'm going to the mart this Friday and J Douglas will be my first stop.

I want everything in there.

Especially stuff from Aiden Grey which has cornered the market with everything they come out with.

Be still my Aiden Grey lovin heart

I was so drooling over the stuff I saw.

And,,,,all I was looking for was some sconces!

So, I thought I'd share a few of the goodies I found!

this middle one is a possibility

love xo

I got these for Jordan and we love them!

love these benches

and this chair

what are YOU lookin for?

contact me if any of these strike your fancy!

have a great day y'all!

A Piped Pillow Sham - a tutorial!

2012-01-10T20:00:00.000-05:00

I thought I was finished with J's house, but I just keep finding more stuff to do!

So, the bedroom was really bugging her. She wants all white and has a bunch of "pass me downs" in there. Sort of a mishmesh of stuff. We found a great looking beige and white fabric for the draperies which will tie in all the white.

So, out comes the sewing machine for me!

I decided to make her 3 new pillow shams (envelope back)

and here's how I did it!

But first? A stop at Target. You see, the coverlet she is going to use came straight from the local Target.

So, I got a queen size for matching fabric for the shams. Then found some beige fabric at Ocho for the trim.

This will tie it all in nicely!

So, here we go with the tutorial.

These are for 30" shams.

cut two pieces for the back. These should overlap about 10"

baste those two pieces together

measure how much piping you will need for all three pillows

I used 1/2" cording

on the bias I cut enough strips 3" wide

cover the cording and with a zipper foot sew the bias cut fabric over the cording

leave the end open like this

now pin the cording all the way around the pillow. Be sure to clip the corners

sew the piping on getting as close to the previous stitching as possible

Now for the end. Make sure the cording meest. Turn the fabric under and lap it over the other part as shown

like this!

clip the corners, turn and presss

Place the top, right sides together and pin. Sew following the stitching

trim seams, clip corders and turn right side out

The front!

and the back!

Have a great night y'all!

Mirrors

2012-01-09T06:23:00.000-05:00

Well, I got to thinking this a.m. that the only thing left to do in J's house was to find a mirror to go above her fireplace. (unless we decide to paint that said fireplace :) hummmmm.

How does that sound J?

There is this strange mantle piece up there too. Hung a little bit too high and made from linoleum. That really needs to go. Anyway, I started scouring the internet for some mirror options.

I'm heading back to Atlanta today to watch the BCS bowl (GO BAMA) with W. Sorry all you LSU fans, but I really don't like LSU. I know, I know, it's a good school, but that coach of yours. Man.

Back to mirrors.

Did you know that Ballards has a backroom in Roswell that sells their overruns, returns, broken pieces, etc...? Well they do, and it's pretty cool to go in there.

That's where I am going today.

I'm going to try and find a mirror.

If I don't find one there, Jordan, her sweet mother in law (who by the way, does all of J's drapery free of charge) (she owns a drapery making company) I mean how lucky is Jordan????

Anyway, Sweet MIL, Jordan, and the kids are coming to Atlanta to go to Scott Antiques with me this Thursday OHICAN"TWAIT!!!

We will certainly find the perfect mirror there.

Or.....I have one in the storage unit that I could fix up and I bet it would look awesome.

At any rate, we''re lookin for a mirror.

Here are some I am looking at:

love this one

and this one

my pet peeve for this year is this:

web sites that won't let you drag their pic into Iphoto to blow up to show on your blog.

I mean, don't they want you to have a nice pic? It IS advertisement!

erggg.

Have a great day y'all!

White

2012-01-08T17:48:00.000-05:00

I feel white.....how bout you?

I told "W" today that I'm itchin to go somewhere.

Hot or Cold.

What does this have to do with white?

I don't know, I just love white!

So much that I scoured the internet for some white stuff

I think I need to go here:

and wear this....

or go here:

and stay somewhere like this....

with a kitchen like this....

or this

all of those would do for me

I could sleep in a white bedroom

and eat off white dishes

even this would do

or this

or even this.....aaaaachew

I would most certainly polish my fingernails like this

and maybe have a cute outfit like this

or this

back to sleeping

I would have to have these

or these

and I would eat this.

which would almost certainly keep me from wearing this......

Where do you want to go???

Have a great night y'all!

One Year Ago Today

2012-01-07T08:26:00.000-05:00

I walked into sister's house to get ready to go to the hospital to stay with mom and I got that look that everyone in the world dreads to get. She was gone.

Yep, it's been a year ago today that I lost my mom.

And......

ya know what? I'm not grieving!

I'm sad, mind you. And I wanted to wake up and write about her. But I'm not sad. I know with the struggles that she went through she is in a better place.

Ya know? she was only 74 yrs. old. That's 23 yrs. older than me. That's really a short time, Almost a blink of an eye.

Mom didn't really take very good care of herself I will tell you. She did however have rhematoid arthritis which is why I gave her a hall pass on the taking care of herself thing. That is a horrible disease, or it was when she got it. Sister and I worry everyday that that gene will be passed down to us. When she got it 20 something years ago, the medicines where so strong that they made her loose a lot of hair and loose her teeth. She also gained a ton of weight. I felt so sorry for her, but to be quite honest I was mad at her for not taking better care of herself and just telling that disease to go to Hell. She really didn't care what she looked like. That made me mad. She was this beautiful woman that let this disease totally take away every outside beauty she possessed.

I realize how that must sound to you. But in my family, taking care of yourself is really, really important. Hey, you only have one life huh?

Saying that, my brother who takes incredible care of himself just had a massive heart attack. We almost went out of 2011 with a bang! WOW.

He is doing amazing now though and got through it with flying colors. (they even had to use the paddles on him!)

Mom also smoked. Even being a lifetime smoker didn't kill her though. She actually had 98% lung capacity when she died. It amazed her doctors.

What killed her was the dreaded MRSA. I would really think twice about having surgery done in this day and time as MRSA is rampant in hospitals. And very contagious. I'm sure sister and I have it in our bloodstream and don't know it after taking care of mom.

now,,,,about my mom.

She was the most giving person I knew. She gave like non other. She never gave herself credit for the amazing talents that she possessed. She never felt worthy, which always amazed me.

Talented beyond words.

She was so patient. I used to sit by the sewing machine when I was about 8 watching her until she had to chew me off her arm. Then she taught me to sew. Then she taught me to cook. She always embraced my creativity instead of trying to alter it like some would do in that day and time.

I could care less about school. All I wanted to do was sew, paint, create, and play tennis.

I barely squeaked by in school!

Well, that irritated her, but I think she knew what my career path would be. Interior design.

She ended up being so proud of me and would just shake her head when I would come up with a new project.

I miss my mom.

She was wonderful in every way. I miss her terribly and wish I could just pick up the phone and call her to tell her how much I miss her. I didn't let her know that enough and I regret that.

We had wonderful days together before we lost her though. The 6 months or so that she stayed at sister's house were filled with fun and laughter. I enjoyed her like I hadn't since I was a child. But it was the other way around. WE were taking care of her. And the circle of life continues.

I love you mom, and I miss you.

kendall

A Photo Session

2012-01-06T06:38:00.003-05:00

I awoke yesterday morning to the sweet sound of Evers knocking on my door saying "Gigi, can we play Barbie". You see we have this thing where every morning when I'm there say about 5:30, she gets up and we play Barbie on my computer. And yes at 3 yrs. of age she knows exactly how to play a game on my computer! Much more than I do. It will be amazing what these kids will know how to do when they're grown. I finally said "Evey, can I check my e-mail real quick and she said, "um, Gigi, you can get your phone and check it." I am dead serious y'all! So, then I checked on a couple of my blogs and one that I was particularly curious about. My childhood best friend Becky's daughter

Abby

She has the most amazing blog! She is brilliant to say the least, and absolutely precious! Especially pregnant, (which she is not anymore as she had number 3, a sweet baby boy New Years Eve night) congratulations Abbs!!! I know her mom is looking down on her with a big fat smile on her face!

Anyway, Abby's blog gave me the idea to take (or try to take) some pictures of Jordan with the kids.

Get ready, I took 370 photos trying to capture the perfect shot! I won't show all of them to you, thank you very much!!!

Anyway, here are my favorites!

have a happy day y'all!

Renovations Complete!!!

2012-01-05T08:45:00.001-05:00

I'm back in Birmingham finishing up the renovations to Jordan's home.

and

they look SO good!!

Here is Bennett's room before

and after!

Changes?

New paint - 300.00

Borrowed baby bed

Wooden cornice - 25.00

Recovered and painted rocking chair - 25.00

Elephant head - 98.00

Armoire - had in basement

Changing table - old cabinet from basement

added touch:

framed music from my grandmother's house

and the bath before:

and after:

Changes?

Wallpaper stripped and walls painted - compliments of Aunt Kim and me. - free

Pleated balloon shade - 25.00

Towels - Bed, Bath and Beyond - 55.00

Bath Mat - Restoration Hardware - 48.00

Shower Curtain - Anthropologie - 98.00

Pictures - a gift from a sweet friend

and I'm officially done!!!

Have a great day y'all!

I Reupholstered a Chair!!!

2012-01-03T18:57:00.000-05:00

With the guidance of my hero "Star" I reupholstered a rocking chair today.

From 9:00 - 3:30

I absolutely love how it turned out, but my sincere advice to you my dear readers is to pay someone to do it for you. It's hard. It may look easy,,,,(I thought it would be), but it's really, really labor intensive and you must have a lot of patience and the right tools

Here is the rocker before

and this is what I stepped on trying to strip the fabric off to paint the rocker. It really, really hut bad. I had to sit down and pull it out of my heal.

More advice....wear shoes when upholstering a piece of furniture

After painting it a taupe color

off to Lake Oconee Upholstery!

There's Star!

first, I had not stripped everything off of the chair so it took me about an hour to do that

like this stuff. What a pain in the butt.

and this stuff. But I was determined!!!

So first comes the measuring

We measured length and width

I was using an inexpensive vinyl I found at Ocho for 5.99 a yard.

find the center of the front and back

We laid the fabric down, and slit those triangles in half all the way to the arms

I started stapling underneath. Star showed me how to "cheat" with a VERY hot dryer to make the vinyl stretch and get all the wrinkles out. You have to pull really hard

Finished the bottom!!!!

Now I measured the top up and down and side to side. Just the front.

in the works

I had to use that hot blow dryer a lot because I needed to keep the wrinkles out

Getting there!

this is after wrapping and stapling the front part

Star made me the welting

See this stuff? yuck. but it's a lifesaver for upholsterers everywhere. It's called ply grip. I hate it.

But it works wonderfully!

First I stapled the welting completely around the back

Then I stapled the ply grip on. The concept (which I forgot to take a picture of, is this. You measure and cut a piece for the back. Find the center and cut a pattern from that. Then you let those little teeth catch the fabric and bend the tack over

I am SO mad at myself for not picturing this part.

I feel horrible....

well sort of.

Sorry.

So here it is! tada!

Have a great night y'all!

How to Make a Pleated Balloon Shade

2012-01-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

For J's bathroom I picked up this adorable fabric at Ocho (my new favorite fabric store)

in Covington, GA. I know I've told you about it before but it really is great. Selections are a bit out dated but in the back you can get some really great remnants for 3.99 a yard.

SOLD. FAST.

This is the fabric I chose.

now, I was limited to say the least. Her house was built oh I'm guessing in the 60's or 70's and they had used this...ya know, I don't even know how to describe the color of tile. It's kind of an aqua green and white. Not quite aqua maybe more teal. So, I thought this beige and white would carry that bathroom over until they decide to change it. Remember, we painted it a creamy cream.

So, here's what cha do. Now, my remnant was 2 7/8 yds. Plenty for a 36" wide window. Problem was?

When I laid the fabric out there was a BIG pink stain on the side. So I had to cut the width of the fabric down to 50". I'll get to that in a sec.

So, first lay your fabric out and cut to the desired length. The longer the shade the more fullness you will have, um, you probably figured that out huh?

Next cut your lining exactly the same length but cut the width 1" more narrow on both sides.

Sew down both sides with right sides together.

Turn and press and it should look like this:

Can you figure that out cause it looks weird to me. That is me flipping the lining over to show you the way it should look on the inside. Okee dokeyyyyy.

Now figure out your width.

I had 50" to work with. I was using a 3 1/2" wide board to hang the shade on so I had to subtract 7".

That is because the shade was going to be curved around the side.

The size of the board was 36" long. So that only left me 7" for pleats. Dang that big spot.

That meant each pleat was only going to be about 1 3/4". I'll show you that in a sec.

there's the pin that I used to show me where it is going to wrap around the piece of wood.

Am I totally confusing you yet???

Now, for the bottom, turn under 1/4" and press, then turn under 2" and sew. This will be your hem.

Then for mine I measured 12" and that is where I will place my rings. 12" from each sides

I use a quilting guide which works perfect because it is 6" wide and I place my rings 6" apart. I marked to 16" from the top every 6".

These are the rings you need

using a zigzag stitch with your stitch length on 0, zigzag a ring on every one of your marks

Like this!

keep zigzagging away until you've stitched all of your rings on

Now, take your fabric and fold it exactly where the rings are like this

Run a basting stitch. My basting stitch was 3 1/2"

now you are going to press that stitch flat

take your board and cover it with lining

lay the board at the top and bring the top of the fabric over it

turn the fabric under and staple. Make this neat y'all!

The sides can be a bit tricky but I do it sort of like wrapping a present

this is what it should look like now

Now screw in eye hooks into the board on the opposite side. Line the eye screws up with the line of rings

take some lightweight roping and tie a sturdy knot at the bottom of the shade

then run that roping through all of the rings. I wanted the pull to end up on the right side so I ran the left side through both eye screws.

take the basting stitch out of pleats and it should resemble this

this is what the top of the shade should look like

and this is what it looks like before hanging

J just sent me the pic of it hanging! Not sure what's goin on with that right side but I'll look at it when I get over there next.

Any questions?

Ask away!!!

Have a great night y'all!

Two Kids and a Dog

2012-01-02T05:58:00.001-05:00

Well I can honestly say that Cooper has finally gotten acclimated to having kids around. I had a blast taking a few shots of the kiddos with him.

I think he's gonna be sad when they leave today. I know he's gonna miss getting Lil B's scraps of food from the floor. I mean the kid can eat some food. (and he can throw it) Which by the way is all over his cute little outfit :)

I sure am gonna miss them....

Brother is doing well, just fyi.

Coop wanted that paci

Poor thing!

"please play with me Coop"

that was after Coop got a good lick of Lil B's face...

now,,,,,see this chair right here?

I had convinced myself that I could recover it. HAHAHAHAHAHa

I started ripping the fabric off to paint it. It's gonna be a kakhi color and upholstered in a faux distressed leather,,,or pleather. The painting I can do of course, but I think I bit off a little more than I can chew on the recovering end. SO....off to my upholsterer extraordinaire "Star" to show me how it's done. I'm going to talk her into letting me "help upholster this thing!!!" How fun will that be? Of course I'll blog about it.

In the meantime, tomorrow's blog?

How to make a pleated balloon shade!

have a great day y'all!

What to Write!

2012-01-01T07:32:00.001-05:00

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

As promised I crashed about 8:00. Yep! I slept with my little Evers and G-Man slept near Lil B to make sure he didn't crawl out of his pack and play. I am awakening to a beautiful sunrise this morning. WOW!

and my sweet Evers had to start the New Year off just right tempting me with these....

I want to tell you that I am in full blown thanking God on my knees mode this a.m.

Yesterday my 56 yr. old brother suffered a heart attack while working out.

Luckily he chose to shower instead of go for an extra run (he was at the club working out)

Now, he is in fantastic shape and healthy as a horse (we thought).

Also, he had a doctor friend working out with him. He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital and as it turns out his main artery was 100% blocked. They got a stint in and when I spoke with him he sounded great. He said "It stinks gettin old"! Please pray for my brother and his wonderful family as they endure this ordeal. And please join me in praying for a complete recovery. He is one lucky man, and lucky that God guided him to that shower instead of an extra run. I would be without my older brother if that had happened.

Now, on to other stuff. You know how I was renovating our condo in Atlanta? Remember the one that was so bad I wouldn't even stay there? Well the last piece of the renovation was finished yesterday thanks to my sweet son-in-law and I just think it makes all the difference. Here are the pics.

Before the dining room renovation:

who in the world would put a ceiling fan in a dining room???

after a visit to West Elm. Table from Crate and Barrel and chairs came from Overstock.com

Again, Happy New Year Y'all!

have a wonderful day!

A Bore Am I!!!

2011-12-31T06:18:00.000-05:00

I never, well almost never, go out on New Years Eve. You see I'm a bit of a bore. I really hate New Year's Eve because you have to stay up so late! and, I go to sleep early so I can wake up REALLY early! I like to usher in the New Year in the comfort of my own bed.

So, this year we are going to keep the g-babies so that J and E can have some friend time in Atlanta for the Chick Filet Bowl. I jumped at the chance to keep them! Whew! I don't have to go out and stay up until 12:00.

What's sad is the Ritz at the lake does a spectacular fireworks display every year, and we can see it right off our deck. It's amazing. Maybe I'll go to sleep early, set the alarm for 11:55, get up to see the fireworks, try to take pics of fireworks (which I'm terrible at btw), kiss W, and go on back to sleep. Lucky me, no hangover tomorrow morning!!!

yes that's a plan

In the meantime, I found some fabulous firework displays for you to enjoy!

Have a wonderful New Year y'all

and PLEASE be safe. If you plan to drink, PLEASE don't drive.

Things I'm Thankful For

2011-12-30T06:11:00.000-05:00

I can't tell you how many times this year I have said "I just want this year to go away"! Do you ever have a year like that? Just go! Get outta here and lets start over. Well I have felt that way since mother passed away. Having said that, I have so many things to be thankful for in my life. And that is what has sustained me from the difficulties this last year has brought. I never post anything about my life having "issues" but I have issues like everyone else does. I just don't care to air my dirty laundry on my blog. I realize I am being totally transparent here and I guess that's a good thing. Poor "W" has had to put up with a crazy woman this whole year. But, I have so many things to be thankful for, and believe me, I don't take anything for granted.

So, things I'm thankful for:

1) W bought and redesigned a company that through his hard work and determination is now thriving. I am so proud of his hard work. And I mean hard y'all. Like 12 -14 hour days and stuff.

2) I have a wonderful family that loves me like none other. We added a daughter-in-law that I dearly love. And I don't have to remind you how much I love those two little g-babies of mine.

3) Through a lot of prayer and determination, my youngest has turned the tragedy of loosing the "love of her life" into a wonderful blessing and is healing day by day realizing that God has other plans for her. (She is honestly my hero)

4) I have such wonderful friends that I feel would do anything for me and be there for me at the drop of a hat.

5) I have sold over 50 pieces of art this year alone and am so grateful for that and to the ones who have chosen to grace their walls with something I painted. It is so gratifying.

Yesterday was a special day. I realize I'm going to sound a little monetary here but, hey, it's my blog right? It was one of those "pick me up" days. I had received two gift cards from "W". One from Niemans and one from Tiffany's. So, I decided to do some power shopping.

One thing that is on my bucket list for next year is to take better care of myself, starting with my skin and inching down to the rest of my body. Yep, I've let myself go in every way and I'm SO ashamed of it.

So, the Niemans card went to some Sisley products. Mainly their night cream. Doesn't that sound like a glamourous purchase? OH but it's oh so yummy......

next I hoped over to Tiffany to find whatever would fit on the gift card and found the PERFECT purchase

these aren't exactly like the ones I got. Mine are black and have the Tiffany blue inside. They are just so cute!

Then I met my friend "E" and her sweet daughter Isabella for lunch.

We exchanged gifts and do you know what that sweet girl gave me????

A Tiffany make-up bag AND she made me go pick out all new make-up to go inside.

How fun is that? I mean, seriously folks, I wish you could see my old make-up bag. It is TArash.

This is going to help with the "NEW" me!

Thank you to my sweet friend "E"!!!

Now, I want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. I mean the very bottom for reading. I realize I don't have a lot of comments but based on my little sitereader I have about 400 people reading a day. That makes me happy! So you, you guys reading, believe it or not have sustained me this year. Writing is a wonderful healer. Writing a blog for all to read is my therapy, so you guys have helped in my therapy this year! :)) Thank you!

Have a wonderful day y'all and a Fantastic New Year.

What am I doing New Year's Eve?

Keeping the grandkids and lovin every minute of it!

See ya next year!

How to Make a Ruffled Pillow Sham

2011-12-28T09:08:00.000-05:00

Woke up bright and early this morning to start sewing! I decided that Baby Cate's bedroom needed peachy pink pillow shams instead of ivory linen. So, after visiting my new favorite (cheap) fabric store in Covington, Georgia (called Ocho) to get my fabric (2.99) a yard, I had to get busy on these this a.m.

Now,,,,for one thing, ruffled shams are pretty labor intensive. The other thing is that you can't just "whip em up". And, they aren't really all that easy to make. Hopefully these instructions will help you when and IF you decide to make some. Personally, I'd just pay someone if I didn't already know how to sew.

So, let's get started...

First lay your fabric out flat. I bought 6 yards for 3 24" pillow shams

I cut mine 25" square and also lined mine because the fabric is a lightweight pima cotton

I cut six pieces duh, you need a front and a back

find something to write on to measure what you will need for a ruffle

I messed up. After cutting one piece of the ruffle 6" wide, I decided I needed 8". Cut your ruffle pieces on the bias like this

this is how you sew the seams together for the ruffle. I ended up with 4 pieces that needed sewing together

follow the pin lines and sew as shown

trim the seam and press open

it should look like this. If it doesn't you've messed up....oops

now the ruffle should be a circle. Fold the piece in half and press. And the ruffle should be 4" wide. Stitch the folded piece completely around the circle (the edge) to keep the ruffle flat when you ruffle the fabric.

Now, if you are lucky enough to have this contraption, (a ruffler) use it. If not, sew two lines of gathering stitches to be pulled up to make the ruffle

this is what the ruffler does!

now pin the edges to the right side of the front side of the pillow and pin completely around

After stitching, pin the corners like sew (no pun intended) to keep the corner ruffle from getting caught when you sew the back side of the pillow on

place the back side (right sides together) and turn it over

pin all the way around leaving about an 18" area that you won't stitch

that 18" area will be where you stuff the pillow form. Following the stitch from the ruffle, stitch all the way around the pillow leaving the opening free

there it is!

trim all seams and clip corners. Turn and press

there's the opening for the pillow form. Stuff that pillow right in there. This will be quite cumbersome, but you can do it!

see! now either stitch it closed with the sewing machine or by hand. I choose the sewing machine but it can be tricky!

enjoy a beautiful sunrise!

One down and two to go. I will say the first one is more fun than the other two......

Gotta get back to the sewing machine!!!

Have a great day y'all!

oh wait, here is another piece of fabric I found at Ocho. Isn't this adorable? 3.99 a yard. (it was however a 2 and 7/8" remanent. Perfect for a pleated balloon shade. If I get the go ahead from J, I'll start on it for her bathroom.

Rainy Days and Mondays....oh wait! it's Tuesday

2011-12-27T06:01:00.000-05:00

Woke up bright and early this morning ready to take down the VERY few Christmas items that I have hanging in my home. This consist on a poinsettia, Stockings that were hung and a simple little wreath.

Jealous yet?

SO happy I don't have to deal with taking down a tree.

I'm getting awful in my old age huh?

Anyway, it's pouring buckets outside.

So....what's a girl to wear on a rainy day?

I found a few cute selections for you to ponder....

so many umbrellas, hum..... Think I'll take the red one

have I ever mentioned how much I love Hunter Boots?

I particularly like this style

Be still my Burberry lovin heart

be even stiller

Thought J would love this

and the back

Anthro, skinny jeans are a definite in this type of weather

love

is this not the cutest thing EVER???

did I mention my love for Hunter boots

and the socks make them REALLY special

now for some rainy day outfits

isn't this the cutest?

okey, dokey, made for two...nota bad idea actually!

darling

everyone needs an umbrella stand!

and a set of sword umbrellas. I could SO see my dad lovin this

wish I was there

there's the Hunter socks. Cutey huh?

the original rain boot

Hope it is or isn't raining wherever you are. Depending on what you want or need!

I'm going to go renovate myself with a trip to the spa today

Have a wonderful day y'all!

What Do YOU do Christmas Day?

2011-12-26T07:41:00.000-05:00

First, Merry, merry Christmas!

Ours was full of love and excitement! Especially having a 3 yr. old who "gets it" with the

Santa thing. She absolutely had a blast and we loved every minute of it.

Now, we are such a traditional family, here's how our Christmas always goes....

I wake up "as usual" at 5 and stock Lynn's stocking.

Then, everyone else wakes us at around 6. It was SO much fun watching my little Evers wake up and see Santa this year. She was overwhelmed at the goodies like I'm sure all of yours were.

We are all so blessed.

Back to traditions.....So, then I make Ebleskivers. I've posted the recipe before but may need to do a repost. I've been making these since I was about 9. WAAAAAAy before Williams Sonoma made them so popular. Then we all dig into our stockings. After that we start opening gifts. I am embarrassed to tell you it took over 2 hours for all of us to open gifts. Well, we did do it one by one. Everyone received exciting gifts and some get to take back exciting gifts (which is always fun) I keep ALL receipts.

Then after gift giving, we usually watch a little football, I obsessively try to clean up. (Wrapping paper really stresses me out) and then about 4 I start cooking for dinner. I'm so mad that I didn't take pics of this wonderful recipe. Mini Beef Wellingtons. Lynn's parents joined us for the feast and if I must say myself, it turned out wonderful.

I topped 1 1/2" filets with sauteed mushrooms, shallots, and gorgonzola cheese, then wrapped them in puff pastry, coated them with egg and sent them into the oven to cook. I also sprinkled asparagus with olive oil, sea salt and garlic and popped them in the oven too. Oh how yummerlicious were they! Then I did a mixture of mixed vintage potatoes. Well, they weren't THAT old, you know the little baby ones in purple, red and white? Mixed a little garlic and butter with those. To top it off, we had a yummy "junk yard salad" with fried goat cheese on top. J made a yummy apple dumpling recipe (that I may have for breakfast this morning) it was all SO good.

So, I didn't take many pics yesterday, I'm sad to say, but I will leave you with what I did take. We had a wonderful day. Hope yours was just as beautiful!

Have a great Monday y'all!

Isn't her new outfit adorable? Wish I could have gotten a pose!

Again, have a great Monday y'all. Sadly, I'm headed home.

Callaway Christmas Eve!

2011-12-25T15:32:00.000-05:00

Warning Over load!!! After the Candlelight service we all dress up in our pjs. Well, almost all of us, but we still had such a blast donned in matching pajamas and playing "dirty santa". You know the game where you steal gifts from one another. And let me tell ya! It got a little dirty! Here we all were, all 25 of us minus the Graves fam that were taking the pics.

Evey had the honor of handing out all the gifts

just had to show you some of the cute deserts!

before pjs.

again, before pjs

Ames and Evers

Sister and her kids

someone got a whoopi cushion

Evey loved this game!!!

look! another whoopi cushion!

We had so much fun!!!
Merry Christmas y'all!
Hope you have a great Christmas day!
kb

Almost Finished!!!

2011-12-24T07:48:00.000-05:00

Well we are almost finished with Jordan and Eric's Christmas present renovation.

Here's where we are.

I went to Home Depot yesterday and got wood cut to make a cornice for Lil B's room.

After painting and sanding I thought it turned out perty cute!

Here is his bedroom before:

then after a coat of paint

and here's the cornice!

then what smart aleck decided to strip wallpaper?

I would have gladly paid someone to do this for me.

now for the window treatment and a few pretty towels and we're done!!!

It's Christmas Eve y'all!

have a wonderful day!

I gotta cook!

Project Mode.....

2011-12-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

I'm in total "project mode". I think I'M the one nesting not my pregnant daughter.

Oh, and by the way, has anyone had the stomach bug? We kept Evey Saturday and yep it came around, then Eric got it, and now Bennett. It is rampant in Birmingham evidently.

I'm keeping everything on my body crossed in hopes that I don't get it.

YUCK.

Back to project mode.

We are almost finished with Baby Cate's nursery.

Here it is so far.

We are having a light ivory linen drapery made for the window.

And since this room will double as a guest bedroom, this is what we did for the guest bed

I know it's a big nono to put a bed in front of a window, but we really had no other choice. We are looking for sconces to hang on the wall and the light ivory drapery will hang in back of the grey covered headboard.

So......

if that wasn't enough, sister and I went out to Old Time Pottery today to get soup bowls for our huge family pajama party that we are having Christmas Eve. 27 will be there and we are playing "Dirty Santa". (I got something I want so I'm hoping to steal my own gift!) haha! Anyway, on the way home sister asked if there is anything left to do in Jordan's house. I said "yeah, there is this hideous bathroom with this gosh awful wallpaper.

In typical Callaway (our maiden name) fashion, we looked at each other and said "let's go strip it and paint it". And that my friends is what we are doing! We walked into J and E's house and announced that we were doing this and they were like "no you're not!!!" and we said "yes we are" thank you very much! So, the stripping is done and now we have to putty a bunch of holes, sand it and paint. I think I'll do that tomorrow.

This is what I'm working with!

yikes (but fun!)

I can't begin to tell you what a mess we made. But, I simply cannot wait to finish!!! I even have fabric picked out for the window!

Oh, and I almost forgot! I finished Bennett's cornice so that will be hung tomorrow. Busy day!!!

have a wonderful night y'all!

Zoolight Safari

2011-12-22T06:34:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to the Birmingham Zoo!

AND

of course I had to bring my camera to snap some shots of two of my favorite little kiddos.

WARNING: PHOTO OVERLOAD!!!

Snow machine when you first walk in. The kids love it!!! (and adults do too!)

If you've never been to the Birmingham Zoo, it's really fun! But you MUST ride the train! I've done this literally all my life

I promised the conductor that I wouldn't post this on facebook. Little did he know I have a blog.....

All Aboard!!!!

Bennett wasn't real sure about this even with his mother coaxing

but Evers loved it!

still warming up to it!

there he is!!! He ended up loving the train

we saw tons of lights

and Santa was there!

So were the Chick Filet cows

and Santa and Mrs. Claus

we had to send this to G-Man

Lil B wasn't sure about this either

turns out all they wanted was to lick his tray, hummmmm

Your a mean one, Mr. Grinch (oh no, an earbug) I'll be singing this all day now.

This guy is having so much fun huh?

Evey loved the little doe

And Bennett did too!

he finally warmed up to the animals too!

and got stuck in the cage!

and finally, Evey the giraffe!

Have a wonderful day y'all!

Pictures of Baby Cate's nursery tomorrow as we are finishing it today!!!

This is how well "W" knows me.......

2011-12-21T05:57:00.000-05:00

yep, what I woke up to this morning! The 7th day of Christmas gift.

Seriously? he knows my every move!

and here is what was inside after I ripped into it this morning at 5:30 a.m.

a Patagonia golf jacket! I absolutely cannot wait to wear it!

So this is how the 12 days of Christmas has gone.

1st day of Christmas - Iphone keypad

2nd day of Christmas - a pasta strainer

3rd day of Christmas - a set of golf balls

4th day of Christmas - lottery tickets!!! (I won 35.oo!)

5th day of Christmas - A NEW TORY BURCH HANDBAG!!!

6th day of Christmas - new golf club handles

7th day of Christmas - a patagonia jacket!

He's keeping his name because he really is Mr. Wonderful

(most of the time)

have a fantastic day y'al!

I'm heading to Bham to finish up a few projects AND finish shopping!!

Looking Back

2011-12-20T05:15:00.000-05:00

I awoke this morning and as usual got my coffee and turned on my computer to check e-mails, facebook, pinterest (all the things I'm addicted to)! I decided to go back in my archives of my blog and look at this time last year. Those of you who have read my blog for a while know what last year was like for my family and me. We were dealing with a very sick mom. One that ultimately passed away on January 7th.

Anyway, after reading my posts from last year it made me sad. Sad that mom won't be here to spend Christmas with us. Sad that she won't be here to see baby Cate be born in February. Sad that she won't be here to enjoy the HUGE pajama party that we are planning on Christmas Eve at sister's house with all of the family and Amy's family. Sad that she didn't get to witness Amy and Greg's wedding. And the list goes on and on. It's funny how Christmas brings out such weird emotions in one's self. One one hand you are so happy and it's such a happy time of year and on the other hand you are sad and missing the one's you love or have loved.

This year I didn't do any decorating! I haven't been home long enough to do any and since we will be spending Christmas in Birmingham, I just didn't feel like coming home to take down a bunch of stuff.

Isn't that awful? Well, some may think that's smart!

Let's get back to missing my mom.

Sister posted on facebook something about needing my mom's seven minute icing. She couldn't find it in mom's old recipe box, and I couldn't remember how she made it. Darn, why didn't I pay more attention to little things like that?

That brought back a sadness in me that I haven't felt in a while. I miss my mom. It is such a horrible thing to lose a loved one and it has taken so long to get over it. I have grieved until I can't grieve any more. I have said stupid things and acted crazy at times. I can only blame that on the grieving process. It takes a while y'all for those of you who have or are going through it. It's tough.

I am happy to say though that I have moved on and the grieving has gotten so much easier. It's going to be a tough Christmas without her here. The memories, however, of how sick she really was are so vivid in my mind that I am just so happy she went to be with our Heavenly Father. I know she will be looking out for all of us and smiling down upon us at the fun we will have. She will be the Angel at the top of the tree!

Have a wonderful day y'all and hug your loved ones and be sure to tell them (especially your parents) how much you love them.

I wish I had told my mom more.

"Missing Bear"

2011-12-18T04:50:00.001-05:00

There's still time y'all! To buy that perfect something for the football lover in your life! Deadline for shipping out is this coming Wednesday though, so get your orders in asap!

1) Perfect for any football fan or Bear Bryant lover

2) Size? 27 x 28

3) A series of 1000 signed and numbered lithographs. I am only selling the 357 - 1000 series at this price however because the 1 - 356 are artist's proofs and are 129.00. If you are in fact interested in an artist's proof let me know.

4) The sale price is 30.00 + 6.00 shipping (if you buy multiples it is 6.00 shipping for all up to 3 prints) these are normally 79.00

5) They come rolled, signed and numbered with a certificate of authenticity on high quality, heavy paper.

6) The original hangs in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame!

7) They're selling out fast so contact me asap!

8) I take pay pal!

contact me at kbdr@aol.com

for,,,,the perfect stocking stuffer!!!

hurry and order!!!

have a wonderful Sunday y'all!

The Perfect Stocking Stuffer

2011-12-16T07:37:00.000-05:00

That is if you're an Alabama fan (or maybe just a Bear Bryant fan)

1) They are 30.00 + 6.00 shipping (originally 79.00)

2) The lithograph comes rolled, signed and numbered, with a certificate of authenticity

3) The original hangs in the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame!

4) I take pay pal

5) e-mail me if you are interested. There's still time before Santa comes!!!

kbdr@aol.com

have a fabulous day y'all!

"W"

2011-12-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

Well I think you all know by now what "W" stands for! It's my husbands first name

Mr. Wonderful. A couple of friends and I came up with that name after he did this 12 days of Christmas thing for me starting 2 years ago. Well, just to set the record straight I was about to change his name. I thought yesterday was the 16th and I was counting in my head and no presents. Of course it was the 14th. I know this sounds spoiled but hey, it's our tradition! And I was having a little pity party! Well, I went to the condo yesterday, took Cooper out to potty, came back in and there it was. To: Mrs. Clause, From: Mr. Clause. I have to admit I felt bad. And I'm only telling you my true feelings here so please don't judge me. I felt bad that I was feeling a bit sorry for myself. I felt bad that I had truly gotten a little mad at him for breaking our tradition.

I realize how spoiled this must sound but I'm only being transparent. A friend once told me "never set expectations because you always have to live up to them." I prefer to set expectations so that I myself can live up to them personally. Wait, back to the 12 days of Christmas. Dang, I get so sidetracked.

So this is what my first present was:

It is a contraption that goes on your iphone to create a keyboard. Do you ever mistype on your iphone?

That's the one thing I hate about those things. They are SO sensitive. And "W" was tired of getting gobbledego texts from me!

So, today I went and got my coffee and WHAM a gift just fell in my lap!

Looks like he's been visiting the "Made for TV" store. (I love that store by the way)

I'm gonna love this thing!

Have a wonderful day y'all!

A Cute Little Box

2011-12-14T08:13:00.000-05:00

Every little girl needs a box. You know one that they can put their special books, papers and little treasures.

So, of course I had to make a special little box for Evers when I saw her putting stuff in one of her boxes this past week. I remembered that I had had these boxes made years ago by a woodcrafter.

YES! The perfect little gift from her Gigi. A hand painted box that she can keep forever.

Just for her!

So, here is what I did.

Got the box out and sanded it.

painted it ivory

taped it off

and painted pink stripes

got out my trusty xyron machine

and made a vinyl monogram

Added the vinyl monogram

(you can also buy these at a lot of monogram shoppes)

then I went over the entire box with a raw umber glaze

and then finished with a matte varnish

I decided to use a gold liner pen to add the finishing details

It is very subtle so you have to look hard

and here is the inside for her special little goodies!

I think she's gonna love it!!!

have a great day y'all!

Everyone Needs a Pic Like This!

2011-12-12T09:02:00.000-05:00

Lil E woke up telling her G-Man and Gigi that SHE was sitting in Santa's lap.

We were all thinking she was just kiddin.

And, she proved us wrong!

We were so proud of her!

Don't cha just love it!!!

Have a great Monday y'all!

A Simple Little Change

2011-12-11T07:46:00.001-05:00

From "What a Difference a Canna Paint Makes" to "A Simple Little Change"

One thing was bugging all of us as we were finishing up J and E's

"Christmas Renovation"

This beautiful Secretary that I had painted green in the early 2000's needed a facelift

Here is the before:

didn't exactly match the soft grey walls now did it?

now the before of the dining room:

This was when they purchased the house:

and after a little paint and ingenuity. We did it!!

The after:

Paint color

Benjamin Moore

Fashion Grey

Have a great day y'all! I'm just about done!!!

More Before's and After's!

2011-12-10T06:43:00.000-05:00

Whew! I'm just about done! What I thought was gonna be two weeks of work has turned in to a week!

and me? I'm beat.

Greg and Amy's living room came together wonderfully!

Only problem?

I only had my iphone to take the pic and the color on my phone did not come out accurately :(

Well, you'll get the point.

Here we are before:

Notice the hint of purple in the paint?

That had to go

after the first coat of paint we still had a ways to go

we're getting there!

and there ya have it!

Notice how Gregory hung the (cuss word creating) shades from the molding to elongate the room and add height. We painted the back of the bookshelves a yummy milk chocolate to add definition. Amy is looking for some botanicals to fill the large space above the seat and I'm going to have a cushion made.

Now to find a table and some accessories for that precious space! Their house will be done!

Tomorrow? More of J's house!

Have a great day y'all!

A Canna Paint-Befores and Afters

2011-12-09T06:33:00.000-05:00

WOW. It's amazing the difference a canna paint makes isn't it?

Well, I didn't finish Greg and Amy's house yesterday because a few obstacles got in my way so I hopped back on over to J's house to check in on the progress. 3 rooms down. WOW, those painters paint in warp speed. Seriously, they had 3 rooms done in like 4 hours. Remember my post yesterday? About professionals? Anyway, I'm finishing up Greg and Amy's today. I'll post those pics tomorrow. It looks SOOOO good!

So, here is J's progress

Evey's bedroom before (no we did not pick out this paint color and make a mistake) whew, not sure if this pic accurately shows how bright this pink was.

and after:

As you can tell we are waiting on the shames. They will be ivory linen boxed shames with a little pink ruffle around them. Then we have striped roll pillows in front of that. Oh and we broke the mirror to the chest moving yesterday. But after looking at the room I think I like it without the mirror.

now on to Bennett's room. Again, this is the before:

and after:

we aren't quite finished in here either :(

We are putting a dark baby bed in there, with an antique dry sink. Cate will get all of the white furniture. Then we are making a barnwood valance to go over the drapes. To finish, we are going to cover an old fabric covered rocking chair in leather.

Cute huh?

He will go from lil boy to big boy perfectly in this room

Speaking of big boy! There he is!!! oh my preciousness. Is he not the cutest thing you've ever seen?

And his mom is too.

Seriously multitasking:

have a wonderful day y'all!

I have a New Appreciation

2011-12-08T06:47:00.000-05:00

1) for professional photographers

2) for professional painters

Neither of what I'm good at.

Let me show you how our little photo session went yesterday

hum, not really wantin to do this, but she was gonna give it her best shot!

and take care of lil bro

who really did not want to co-operate

Evey tried!

Mom, what do I do?

Oh well.

Evey, still smiling for the camera!

and again!

Lets throw Charlie in the mix

um, nope, that didn't work either (but Evey is still camera ready!)

and he's off!

my sweet lil preciousness

again!

gettin some Charlie lovin

awe, now there's a keeper

and he's off again!

and the before of Amy and Greg's house. Pics of after will be tomorrow as I am finishing today!

With sweet Amy's help yesterday, we knocked out the first coat. Can't wait for you to see what we are doing! It is going to look wonderful!

and the best part? I got to spend time with and bond with my sweet new DIL. We painted to glorious Christmas music.

It was wonderful!

Have a fabulous day y'all!

One Week Each

2011-12-07T05:42:00.000-05:00

Let's see, what have I been up to? Well first of all, I feel like a truck hit me. I've been working my tail off.

I know you're wondering what in the world that title means, huh?

Well, as my Christmas present for my two oldest, I decided to give them each ONE WEEK of my time.

This is for their houses. Yep, one week to use me however they choose. Paint, decorate, hang drapes, buy drapes, make drapes, make dust ruffles, cook, sew, watch kids, whatever. So, this was (partially Jordan's week) Actually I'm kind of splitting it up while I'm here in Birmingham as today I go over and start on Greg and Amy's house. Anyway, the inside of J's house needed some big time work done. (no offense J) but it was a little overwhelming to say the least. And with 2 little ones, well, you know how that goes. SO, GIGI TO THE RESCUE (sort of). And do you know what? Didn't even take a before pic. so you are going to have to use your [vivid] imagination on the first project. Do you ever do that? Say, oh I'm going to take a picture before I do this and wham, before you know it, the project is done and you have no before pics? I do it all the time.

Let's see, I got here Monday and quickly got to work. She is having a painter come today to start painting the entire inside of her house, but there were a couple of projects for moi to do.

Mainly a hideous bookcase that stared at you like a jealous girlfriend when you first walk in the front door.

What WERE the previous owners thinking? Seriously. You walk in the front door and the dining room is to the right. Then you walk through a door straight in front of you and WHAM. A sea of bookcases. Now, picture this. Everything in the den was painted neutral colors. The paneling is a beautiful soft beige with an ivory white trim. Very nice. Then the bookcases? (I'm humming the theme from oh dang, what's that movie, you know with the shark that eats every one?) (hey, it's early) Oh wait, it's Jaws. So, the bookcase was this hideous dark stain. And not like an ebony, I'm talkin that 80's stain color.

Anyway, what I had wanted to do was to build a seat there and do like a reading nook. (The entire bookcase measures 100" long.) Broken up into two pieces. Dang WHY didn't I take a before pic????

Well, I really wanted to do that, but, we're on a budget here, and really we only had 12" of depth to work with. I know MY butt wadn't gonna fit on that seat. But, I thought it would be cute to do that and have storage underneath for toys. Well, that didn't happen, so the next idea was to paint the entire bookcase the soft white of the trim color and paint the back a soft grey (but not too soft, we needed some definition here). The couches (I'll get to that in minute) are a soft beige with hints of grey in them and there is like a burnt gold in the pillow. We are both really into gold and grey right now.

So, here is the partially finished project:

As you can see, we aren't finished accessorizing. That's going to happen next week. We are looking for baskets to line the bottom shelf. (like 6 of them). See the picture frame? That is barnwood and a black and white 8 x 10 photo will go in there. I really struggled with that top part because, seriously, what DO you do? It needed something big and interesting. I thought about some art work, but then ditched that idea. I think when we get the baskets and some more accessories, I'll be happy. And, now that I'm lookin at this pic, I've decided I'm going to hang a wider molding on the top there. Yep, that is gonna be done tomorrow. Okay, on to the next project. (After making a dust ruffle) We covered a coffee table ottoman. The previous fabric didn't match her couches or pillows and, I wanted to bring out more gold.

Sorry, but I don't have a tutorial on this. You are welcome to ask any questions though!!! :) PLEASE!

Here is the before:

and after!

nice and clean cut with indoor, outdoor fabric, ready for sticky fingers and crackers. The piano over there was left by the previous owners and I'm going to paint something to go above that. Or maybe do 3 pictures of the kids (when baby Cate arrives) Black and white of course. And now that I'm looking at this pic, we need to lower the painting over the couch. Then, I'm going to make two charcoal grey roman shades.

now, if my body holds up, I'm gonna start painting Greg and Amy's living room.

TODAY.

Have a wonderful day y'all!

My Dear Sweet Friend "E"

2011-12-05T06:42:00.000-05:00

"E" had a fabulous birthday party last night!

In FABulous "E" fashion, everyone dressed up like divas, princesses, Barbie, whatever, as long as it required a mask and a boa. To say that we "took over" Pricci in Atlanta is an understatement.

Everyone was staring at us, and really they were (thankfully) laughing at us.

I have to say, "E" has some BEAutiful friends.

To go along with the beautiful person inside and out that she is!

Truly one of the most giving people I know.

And I love her with all my heart.

Here's a little photo album

another Elizabeth!

Martha and me taking photos of each other!

there she is! the Birthday Girl!

Immediately having to change her hair style (and color)

we decided she needs to stay blonde!

diggin in her basket of goodies for more loot to wear.

BTW, the reason we all dressed up was so that we could donate all the loot to CYD, Elizabeth's favorite charity for their birthday parties!

more friends arrive in stylish fashion!

Tracy those glasses look mavelous on you dahling

no really, they do!

okay, enough!

sweet Isabella (E's beautiful daughter)

we started with Champagne

and had lots of laughs (especially after a couple of glasses of the champagne)

Diane and Connie

and again

And Lainie made it!!! yeahhhh!

(check out the bling around E's neck)

Kim and Diane

as you can tell, we took lots of pics

oh yummy. Pricci treated us all so well. Highly recommend this restaurant to anyone coming to Atlanta!

The crew

and more

and more friends

two beauties!

another beauty!

we all shed those durn boas. Not only did they shed, they were really hot!

and this is what I came home to. That's my place Cooper!

PS. Art sale is still going on! Scroll down for pics of what is available.

have a great day y'all!

KENDALL BOGGS FINE ART CYBERSALE!!!! NOW 40% off ALL artwork

2011-11-30T19:23:00.004-05:00

CHANGE UP!!!
I HAVE DECIDED TO GO AHEAD AND MARK ALL ART 40% OFF.
THIS WILL LAST UNTIL DECEMBER 9TH. THAT'S ONE WEEK Y'ALL!
WHY? Cause I'm anxious to blog about other stuff. (I'm serious!) And I want to paint new art but don't want to until I sell some of my work.
Anyway, check out the new prices on EVERYTHING
Don't forget that you pay shipping.
Unless you live at Lake Oconee or in Atlanta or even Birmingham and then I can get it to you somehow. Note that large paintings can go up to 70.00 or 80.00 to ship

(but don't let that deter you:))))
Unless framed, all of my work is gallery wrapped canvas.
oh, also, I take pay pal. Please e-mail me at kbdr@aol.com if you are interested. Hurry! They may not last!

So, here is what I have:

Summer Trees

30 x 24

was 550.00 now ~~440.00~~ 330.00

30.00 shipping

Itty Bitty Baby Cross Pink

18 x 18

150.00 now ~~120.00~~ 90.00

15.00 shipping

Itty Bitty Cross Blue

18 x 18

150.00 now ~~120.00~~ 90.00

shipping 15.00

The Pink Cross

26 x 26

200.00 now ~~160.00~~ 120.00

shipping 20.00

Lil Boy Angel

17 x 20

was 150.00 now ~~120.00~~ 90.00

shipping 15.00

Fall Trees III

30 x 24

was 550.00 now ~~440.00~~ 330.00

30.00 shipping

Reflections (my fav)

29 1/2 x 35

750.00 now ~~600.00~~ 450.00 - SOLD

shipping 40.00

Rejoice III

18 x 24

325.00 now ~~260.00~~ 195.00 SOLD

shipping 15.00

Flowers

24 x 24

425.00 now ~~340.00~~ 255.00

shipping 20.00

Horizon III

30 x 36

950.00 now ~~760.00~~ 570.00 SOLD

50.00 shipping

Horizon IV

30 x 36

950.00 now ~~760.00~~ 570.00 - SOLD

50.00 shipping

The Green Dress

20 x 20

325.00 now ~~260.00~~ 195.00

15.00 shipping

Anna Brooke

24 x 24

375.00 now ~~300.00~~ 225.00

25.00 shipping

The Pink Dress

20 x 20

325.00 now ~~260.00~~ 195.00

shipping 15.00

The Turquoise Dress

24 x 24

375.00 now ~~300.00~~ 225.00

shipping 25.00

Dripping Trees

18 x 24

325.00 now ~~260.00~~ 195.00

shipping 15.00

Waiting for Fall

20 x 30

575.00 now ~~460.00~~ 345.00

shipping 25.00

Red Trees

18 x 18 on board

300.00 now ~~240.00~~ 180.00

20.00 shipping

Green Trees

18 x 18 on board

300.00 now 2~~40.00~~ 180.00

20.00 shipping

Lil Angel Girl

14 x 17

175.00 now ~~140.00~~ 105.00

shipping 15.00

Baby Girl Cross

14 x 14

125.00 now ~~100.00~~ 75.00

shipping 15.00

Silver Gown

16 x 16

275.00 now ~~220.00~~ 165.00 - SOLD

shipping 15.00

white Dress Blue

12 x 12

175.00 now ~~140.00~~ 105.00

shipping 15.00

White Dress Grey

12 x 12

175.00 now ~~140.00~~ 105.00

shipping 15.00

Waiting for Spring II

30 x 24

550.00 now ~~440.00~~ 330.00

shipping 25.00

Summer Skies

30 x 20

~~650.00 now 520.00~~ 390.00

shipping 25.00

Grey Skies III

16 x 16

225.00 now ~~180.00~~ 135.00

shipping 15.00

Grey Skies I

16 x 16

225.00 now ~~180.00~~ 135.00

shipping 15.00

Grey Skies II

16 x 16

225.00 now ~~180.00~~ 135.00

shipping 15.00

The Cello

26 x 36

1,200.00 now ~~960.00~~ 720.00

50.00 shipping

A Summer Day

40 x 40

1,400.00 now ~~1,120.00~~ 840.00

50.00 shipping

Yellow Cross

15 x 30

275.00 now ~~220.00~~ 165.00

shipping 15.00

Dripping Trees

16 x 20 on board

375.00 now ~~300.00~~ 225.00

20.00 shipping

Waterfall

24 x 30

750.00 now ~~600.00~~ 450.00

30.00 shipping

Snow Capped Mountains

30 x 30

650.00 now ~~520.00~~ 390.00

25.00 shipping

Dreaming of Wyoming II

24 x 24 on 3" blocked canvas

450.00 now ~~360.00~~ 270.00

shipping 25.00

A Fall Day

35 x 29

750.00 now ~~600.00~~ 450.00

Shipping 35.00

Spring Flowers

40 x 40

1,200.00 now ~~960.00~~ 720.00

75.00 shipping

The White Gown

36 x 36

750.00 now ~~600.00~~ 450.00

shipping 40.00

Blue Skies

36 x 24

750.00 now ~~600.00~~ 450.00

shipping 40.00

Three Trees

40 x 30

1,200.00 now 960.00 - sold

Shipping 50.00

A Cloudy Day

30 x 30

650.00 now ~~520.00~~ 390.00

Shipping 30.00

and finally

Missing Bear signed and numbered lithographs

A series of 1000

Numbers 350 - 1000

Reg. 79.00 now 30.00 + 6.00 shipping

(the perfect stocking stuffer!)

That's about it fer now folks!

Again e-mail me at kbdr@aol.com if you have an interest in purchasing

Thanks!