I owe you an explanation...

It's been forever since I've written a blog post. Or a newsletter. Or posted on Facebook. I'm still here, I promise! Lately my focus has shifted to fulfilling a long-time dream. I live in an older home, it has great bones, but needed some TLC. Especially the garage; it was embarrassingly bad, but I knew someday it would be awesome. That someday is here, thanks to my awesome friend/neighbor/builder Tom. It's beautiful and every time I pull into the garage I can't believe it's really mine. I'm a little ashamed to post a before picture, but once you see what I've lived with for 27 years and what I have now, I hope you'll forgive me for being absent...

This is the day before demolition started, the worst it ever was. And no breezeway.

This is now. See what I mean? Am I forgiven?

Now that the garage is built, I've moved my destructive skills inside the house. I gutted my living/dining room and bedroom (that was hard work, but fun!) I've insulated, had new drywall hung, and have most of the new floors installed, I still have to finish the hallway & pantry. I'm working on the trim; it's making me a little crazy because none of the walls in my house are straight. In any direction - up & down, side to side, it's maddening. And I won't lie, I've cried a couple of times. But, it's getting there and every little bit that I do brings my 27 year dream a little closer to reality.

While I've been working I've been doing a lot of planning for Carla's Creations. When you're ripping out walls or painting you have a lot of time to think. I'll be sharing more in the near future, I promise!

Til later,

Carla

Playing With Toys

So, I have a new toy……….. a Silhouette Cameo!! {insert screams of joy here}  Ever since it arrived my mind has been full of ideas and I couldn’t wait for a chance to make them.  So I took advantage of a super hot afternoon to play.

  

First up was decorating my shiny new mailbox. Back in December someone decided to take a shortcut through my yard - he came 7 feet from turning my sewing room into a drive-thru and took out my mailbox and a very large rock in the process. I thought the new mailbox deserved a little decoration.  And not just numbers, cool looking numbers. And a little embellishment. I chose 77 pt Teen font for the numbers and found this cute little bird flourish in the Silhouette store.  I scaled the bird to be the same height as the numbers and the length at 15".  Perfect!!  The other side just has numbers because the flag was in the way, but I still think it still looks great!

Next was a set of plates that I’ve had for years. I love the colors but they always looked a little plain. Before I even got my Cameo I knew I wanted to decorate them with words, so this project was a no brainer. I used Script font for this and scaled it to fit the width of the center of the plate.  WARNING to those of you brave enough to try it; the teeny, tiny little lines were a pain to pull out so make sure you have plenty of patience. But it was worth it!

Can't wait for another hot/rainy/crappy day to knock out some more projects!

Take care!

Carla

Coffee Table Makeover

I inherited a vintage living room set from my Aunt & Uncle when they packed up and moved to Florida.  Love the furniture, it has great bones, but there was one teensy little problem.

Here we have the coffee table.  Notice the great turned legs and the rosette?  Love those details!! But the dark brown just didn't fit with my shabby vintage decor.  I saw this coffee table makeover at Recaptured Charm and fell in love!  So out came the paint and the drop cloth and ................   Waaalaaaa!  Now I can put my feet up when I'm watching TV and not feel guilty! Bonus - extra seating if needed. AND it's Mimi approved (she's already claimed it - she can lay on it and watch everything I do in comfort) Notice the furniture in the background? That's the rest of the set. It's been painted, still need to do the slipcovers. Someday............. Take care! Carla