Sunshine in my soul today

The weather hasn't changed a bit here today. In fact, we woke up to snow on our cars this morning! (I live in UTAH, not Alaska!) It has been a cold, wet, gray day. But...look what's blooming in my front yard!




The first of my many iris have bloomed. In a week or two, my front yard will be beautiful with all shades of purple, blue, and yellow flowers. Iris make me happy; they remind me of my dad. So no matter what the weather...there is a little sunshine in my soul today!

And I would like to share a little sunshine with YOU! I noticed yesterday that I now have over 300 followers. THANK YOU to all of you who give me support, encouragement, and praise for my little projects. In appreciation, I would like to send one of you a little "You Are My Sunshine" canvas that I finished today.

Do you remember my BIG Sunshine canvas(es)?

(see them here and here)

...well, I'm sorry; you don't get one of those! But I did make an abbreviated version.



You get to make a choice. Both canvases are 11" x 14", and are soft yellow (probably not quite as bright as they look on your screen) with off-white lettering.

Canvas #1 is lightly distressed (color is better in this example)

Canvas #2 is lightly distressed and glazed--that is, it looks a little older.

#1 is on the left; #2 is on the right.

Would you like one? The only "mandatory" entry is to tell me which one you would like, AND I would love it if you would also tell me something that makes sunshine in your soul!

If you would like a second entry, leave a second comment telling me that you are a follower. After all, this giveaway is for YOU!

I will choose a random winner on Sunday, June 5. (Edited to add: this giveaway has ended.)

As a side note, if you like to cut vinyl on your Silhouette or Cricut, I found a less-expensive alternative to transfer tape!

I found this roll of "Clear Cover" at Hobby Lobby a couple of days ago. It's meant to be used for book covers, but it said it was re-positionable and clear, and it was only FOUR DOLLARS for a huge roll! For that price, I decided it was worth trying. Well, I am happy to report it works great! Hope that helps someone else out. :-)

Linking up here!

and

The color of butterfly wings

It is a very gray May day here in Utah.

In fact, we haven't had a lot of spring weather here at all so far this year (a few lovely days here and there). I try to make it a point not to complain about rain, or cold, or snow even, because I dislike being HOT most of all! But I will admit that today, at least, I am a little tired of gray.

So I decided to give the antique window in my kitchen a little spring treatment! (You can see what it looked like last here).

Yesterday I bought this amazing pad of double-sided paper at Hobby Lobby. I used my 40%-off coupon, so it only cost $6...and I used less than 3 1/2 sheets for this project.


I used my Silhouette to cut out many different sizes of butterflies. The double-sided paper meant I really had eight different patterns for my butterflies.

Some butterflies are pretty florals, and others look like pages out of an old book.

Some butterflies didn't quite make it to the window yet...

Or maybe are just past...




It's a little breath of spring in my kitchen!

Oh, and the title of this post? It comes from one of my very favorite Primary songs:

My Heavenly Father Loves Me
Clara W. McMaster

Whenever I hear the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
Or the wind as it rushes by;
Whenever I touch a velvet rose
Or walk by a lilac tree
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see
The color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I might hear
The magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:
I think him rev'rently
For all his creations of which I'm a part
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

I hope there is spring in your heart today!

Bird on Blue

This post has been featured at

I'm So Vintage

&

Thanks, ladies!

I am not a squealer. Really. But I almost squealed with delight when I cam across this dresser at Deseret Industries (that's Utah's "Goodwill") a month or so ago.

Isn't it cute? Despite the nasty orange color, I mean...and yes, it was really that color in real life.

The top drawer had a problem. There had obviously been water damage, and one of the layers of the drawer bottom was peeling up.


...but...it was up on legs! And there was another treasure in the top drawer:

Casters. I love 'em.

So I brought it home with me. What I hadn't noticed in the store was this little problem:


Yep. I whole corner was missing. How did I not notice that?? I blame the casters.

So it sat, and sat, and sat in my garage....until the glorious day that Twice Lovely introduced me to Kwik Wood. It's an epoxy mixture that you need together to form a shapeable putty to fix those missing chunks and pieces.

See?

It wasn't perfect...but it was heckuvalot better than what a had before.

Then I used my handy-dandy Harbor Freight Multi-Tool (it was my Mother's Day present from me...to me) to scrape away and remove all the veneer from the drawer bottom.

It worked like a charm! You may wonder why I didn't just replace the drawer bottom. I had intended to, but it was GLUED in place! There was no way to get it out without some serious damage potential, so I chose to just remove the peeling layer. The drawer bottom is sturdy enough without it.

Finally...on to painting! The dresser was gray...briefly. But I wasn't feeling the love.

Bleaahh.

What do I love instead? Blue!

...and of course it needed a little something more on the decorative front panel. I painted a bird in antique white, which matches the paint job on the knobs. Everything is glazed with Jacobean stain to bring out the details. I only did a very little distressing...I didn't want the orange showing through!

Don't you love the legs?
What?? No casters?!
That's right. I'm keeping 'em!