March review, will I ever sell stencils, changes and more!

March was an exciting yet rather weird month for me. Here's what I mean...

 On blogging, voting, features... and self inflicted fame.

Exciting! I flaunted my mag and online features and even added a little silliness of my own. :)

Know what I finally did when I found Flea Market Style on the shelves? I opened every cover along the front of the stand to...

this... and walked away giggling. I'm so bad. :)

Pallet Farm Table Desk ~ Part 3, the reveal

 And then there was the one about the wild and crazy pallet desk I created for a whoppin' $3. You wowed me with 100 comments! Whadda way to make a junk chick smile. :)

I'm still loving the desk, but I officially announce here and now that I want to do some additional playing with the top boards. Soon! Right...

A boat load of questions answered on the farm table desk

Caption kinda says it all.

SNS #71 brings you ~ benches and a giveaway winner

And then we went and had a bench link party.

Know why I'm showing you the above one? I'm kicking myself! I found one exactly like this at a thrift a couple days ago and I LEFT it. But I left it because it was a mini bench. If it had been full size, I would have proudly toted it home. I just need to get a handle on the strays that wander in this house at this point...

Inspired by Pinterest

Weird but cool. :) Someone over at Pinterest has an AWESOME sense of humor. They flipped the works upside down for April Fool's Day. :) Quick, go look HERE.

Aside from that, I blurted my source for incredibly inspirational photos which turned many of you into Pinterest addicts. Join the club! :)

A workshop photography kind of DIY

My buddy Dan held a creative workshop in which I was hired on as the resident photographer for 2 evenings. Warning... picture heavy post! Moving targets are tricky to photograph and do well. Dan was pleased so that made me pleased.

Play "Name that book!" and you're entered to win Flea Market Style!

144 comments helped me with some possible names for the possible book that I may be writing.

And here's the deal on the book. Many of you are congratulating me and offering your kudos 'as I write'. Thank-you!! Truth be told, no contract has arrived as yet so I'm not sure where the book deal is at this point. No contract = no writing so we shall see what happens. You'll be the 2nd to know. :)

SNS #72 is ~ bringing the outdoors in and mag winner!

We then had a fab link party with the theme being bringing the outdoors in. Boy did this one give me spring fever!  The sweet photo above is by That's My Letter.

Do you decorate girly?

The chat about our girly decorating ways was intriguing! The funniest comment ever when was someone said they decorated girly in order to repel men! LOL Go Nita! :)

How to decorate... for YOU. See where I'm hosting today...

And then there was the one about the guest post I did over at Yanet's on decorating with the things YOU love, no matter what. Guess you could say I was rather qualified for that topic, eh? :)

STRESSED out? Maybe this can help.

So... who's been stressed out lately? I'm holding my hand HIGH up in the air. I fully admit I needed to write this post for myself at the time. So I did in hopes that it helped others in similar situations.

Goodbye Secret Garden Cottage. You will be missed!

One of my alltime fav blogs, The Secret Garden Cottage bid us farewell. But so many of you came by and offered amazing support, that Jo decided to keep it online and add her incredible photography when she could at her own leisure. I'm so glad. Every one of her photos belongs in a mag.

A birthday, a passing and finally, a sale.

A rather sad and mixed up time for my family arrived when my mom's birthday came upon us. And then her house sold. And then the anniversary of her passing came. Just... alot.

85 wonderful comments later of support and offering prayer really lifted me up. Thank-you! 

 

SNS #73 brings you ~ kitchen cabinet ideas

Fabulous kitchen ideas came from all over for this shindig! The above ultra rustic and creative idea for shelving is from Inspired by Charm. LOVE Michael's style in most everything he does.

 Playing with spring during spring break

When spring break broke out, so did the sunshine in our land of rain, so we hit the great outdoors with a little putzing around. Can you find any pretty flowers in this pic? I mean other than my son's pj's. :) The post shows you a few hidden gems in the mix of dried leaves and broken twigs.

Dream yards... with a challenge for you

And then after all my sticks and twigs cleaning, I got inspired for pretty and grabbed a ton of photos off Pinterest, encouraging you to dream up some wonderful new thing for your yard this year. Cuz later in spring we're gonna have a Dream Yard linkup! So read this and see what's up!

SNS #74 highlights ~ wall decor

The wall decor theme on SNS was awesome! I mean, check out this hen coop turned indoor shelving, housing the most wonderful treasures ever. I gasped when I saw this piece. I have the same one in my garage holding tools! I must change that... :) The awesome photo above is  from Buckets of Burlap.

Farmers Market sign reveal with a story

My newest creation came with a touching story that related to one of my favorite guys ever.

Will I EVER sell stencils?

And I recieved quite a few emails on asking if I'd consider selling the stencils I create.

At this time, selling decals is not something I desire to pursue. I require the time to further develop where I'm heading. Should my decision ever change, I will definitely let you know!

However, I've come up with something even better and more price efficient in the longrun for you, so stay tuned for some new upcoming ideas.

Building your own storage in a jiffy!

And then I took you along on a tour of creating instant shelving for your home, thanks to some wonderful affordable shelving from Ikea. If you fear installing, you need to check out this tutorial. It's DEAD EASY to follow.

In other news:

BlogHer/giveaway changes

I have some great news for those with Etsy shops and viewers alike!

BlogHer hosted blogs such as mine can now do reviews and giveaways right on the main blog itself with fewer restrictions! If you have an item you'd like reviewed or have always wondered about the wonderful world of offering a giveaway or sidebar sponsorship, you can read up on

Funky Junk's advertising terms  HERE.

So that was March in a nutshell here on Funky Junk. I also invite you to ask any questions you desire to know in comments. I'll be answering questions in the comments area, so if you ask something, please check back.

Thank-you for a very enjoyable March! It's been a blast, as always. :)

See you Friday 7pm Pacific with your BURLAP projects on SNS!

And then on Monday for the start of the Parade of Homes, with the first stop being right here at FJI! Goodness... if you think my posts are long, wait til you visit THAT one!

(Not) Doing it all

Every once and awhile I like to pause and show you the “real” around here. Sometimes I show you in pictures, but today I also want to tell you how very much I don’t have it all together. :)

I’ve mentioned a few times that our house rarely looks perfect. OK, let’s make that never. Well, OK, maybe about five minutes before a party, but that’s it. So that would amount to about 15 minutes a year.

Fifteen minutes a year, it looks pretty darn fantastic. ;)

But the other 525,585 thousand minutes it’s just…normal. I’ve shown you our normal:

Uhhh…you don’t have a toilet seat sitting in your bedroom?

I was sitting in the office working on bills today, and this was my view:

Not awful, cause there’s a cute Bub smiling at me. ;) Just normal. This is actually pretty clean, really. The floor is cleared enough for us to walk through the family room.

What you can’t really see are the cluttered countertops, the island covered in shopping bags I haven’t emptied, two in-between projects on the windowsill (where else would I keep them?), the coffee table covered with toys and a pizza box. You can’t see the damaged spot on the floor, the messed up drywall on the ceiling from a leak in an upstairs bathroom.

I wanted to write this today because I neverevereverNEVER want anyone who visits this blog to leave feeling inadequate – that breaks my heart. But I certainly understand it -- even I read blogs and feel that green monster raising it’s ugly head. I wonder if the house is always that clean, the toys are always put away. How she does it all, with more kids, a bigger house, a full time job. And I’m lucky to keep one room completely clean for a day.

I’m here to inspire. I want to show you how you can transform your home and make it your haven. But I want to be real about it at the same time. Of course, I chuck the stuff out of pictures – and that’s just because I figure most of the time, you want to see pretty, not cluttery.

But beyond the not-always-perfect-house, I wanted to let you all know that there are so, so, SO many days where I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water – trying to do it all. Keeping the house picked up, let alone clean. Dealing with five animals – a fish, three cats and a puppy. Being a good Mom, an attentive wife, a supportive friend. And trying to post as much as possible here on my beloved blog, which has become my business. (Best. job. ever.)

At least once a week, I feel like an bad friend because I haven’t returned an email or a text or a phone call fast enough. There are days I walk into our house and just feel completely overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. Some days I wonder how it’s possible, as a stay-at-home Mom, I can’t keep our home and lives perfectly perfect all the time.

And then I’ll realize, yet again…dear LORD, it’s normal. As much as I want to do more projects and post more than I do, I choose not to. I don’t do it all – I don’t want to do it all. I crave a better balance in my life, but I’m guessing, hoping, praying this is normal? All mom’s feel that way at times, right?

But when I say I wouldn’t have it any other way, I truly mean it. Our sometimes messy home means I have a sweet four-year-old running around. It means I take time away from cleaning to work on a DIY project – my passion. It means I get to blog and share and write and (hopefully) inspire…as I am doing right now, with my feet propped up next to the pizza box on the coffee table. ;)

So I guess I just wanted to take a minute to say, I don’t do it all,  and sometimes I feel like I really stink at what I do do. :) But I love my life, all of it’s imperfections and messes. I’m just so completely happy to be doing what I’m doing. With the people I’m doing it with – including you all.

I wanted to let you know that. I never want you to think I’m capable of doing any more than you can do. I just show you the pretty more often than not, because for the most part, I like to see pretty on blogs and magazines and TV. I’ve got enough of the real at home. ;)

But I will keep showing you the messes here and there, cause it’s the truth. We’ve got the pretty and not-so-pretty around here, just like every home. :)

And I luuuurve it!!

Frugal Friday~

Welcome to this week's edition of Frugal Friday! I must admit, today was a rough day. I had a migraine ALL day. But I did manage to get my Frugal Round-up together. And you'll be glad I did. I hope so anyway. Because did I mention I had a migraine ALL day? Oh, I did? Okay. Then...I guess I better just share those links with you... First up, Twice Lovely shared this darling damask dresser. (Lovin' the alliteration there, huh?) This dresser would look perfect in my gray and white master bedroom...I'm just sayin'. Next, Counting Our Blessings shared her $40 mudroom makeover. Love. it. Seriously...$40 never looked so good.

Stillwater Story shared her Williams Sonoma shell art knock-off. So pretty.

Oakridge Revival shared her ikat stencilled bath. This is fabulous!

Finally, Hill Country Homebody shared her master bath redo. Simply stunning!

Okay, y'all. It's your turn.

You know "da rules!"

1. Please link directly to your post and not just to your blog.

2. Please link back to The Shabby Nest.

3. Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love!

I reserve the right to remove any post that is not in keeping with the spirit of Frugal Friday including, but not limited to, those posts that link to your link party, your shop or giveaway, and those posts not linking back to the Shabby Nest. Thanks for playing fair!!

It's cherry pink and apple blossom white

To enter your name in the draw for my Blogoversary and Birthday Candy, click HERE--You have until 11:59 PM (Pacific time) TODAY to enter.

Hello!

Do your remember the song...It's cherry pink and apple blossom white? I was thinking of that song when I was making this card. Also I was inspired by all blossom trees that are blooming all around me. Yes...it's really spring here!!!

I used this wonderful sketch from Crafting Life's Pieces Challenge #34 for this card:

Other challenges I am entering with this card:

Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Challenge 10 - Happy Birthday...with lots of pearls.

Let's Ink It Up - Challenge 11 - Die cuts/punches.

All That Scrap Magnolia Challenge - Challenge 8 - Spring

Stamptacular Sunday - Challenge 104 - No kids allowed...Birthday!

Top Tip Tuesday - Challenge 27 - Nature Inspired

Dutch Dare Card Challenges - Challenge 106 - Distressing

Stamp Something - Spring Somethings Challenge

Allsorts Challenge - Week 96 - For A Special Lady

Totally Gorjuss - Challenge 73 - Spring is Sprung!

And yes, of course, this is another easel card.

The Magnolia image I have used here is Tilda with Bee from the Chasing Butterflies Collection 2009. This adorable Tilda is available from Magnolia-licious on-line store. And the other image used for the bottom section of my easel card is Cat from Tilda & Edwin's Pet/Animal Collection 2009. I don't see this one in stock at Magnolia-licious, but if you contact Diana, she will be able to get it for you.

That's all I have for today. Thanks so much for dropping by. I really appreciate your visit. Have a wonderful day. And just one more day before the weekend...woo-hoo.

DP's: from DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Girl paper pad, Making Memories SimplyFab Brooke Narrow Stripe, Recollections Southern Hospitality Plantation, Basic Grey (I used my last piece of this paper--don't know the name).

Tools: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Nine, Sizzix dies Birds & Branches, Martha Stewart Butterfly punch, EK Success small Retro Flower punch, Fiskars Celestial tri-corner punch, flower centre punch from Michaels $1.50 bin.

Misc.: Cool highlights micro-fine glitter from my stash, pom-poms from my stash, Mark Richards and Recollections half pearls.

Turtle Speed

I am a turtle when it comes to home improvement. While some can slam out a painted room in a day, I take it slow and steady.Perhaps it's because I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I take my time cutting in my paint lines just right, without taping, just using a good angled brush and a steady hand.
Maybe it's because my family needs time to adjust to change. The most common question asked when I'm doing any improvement is, "Why are you changing that???" (When I reply that it's just because I want to, they usually walk away confused.)
Then there is my simple love of savoring change---somewhat like eating a delectable dessert as slowly as possible so it can be enjoyed to it's fullest. I savor those giddy feelings as I watch my project go from an idea in my head to a reality in my home.
Such is the case with my dining room wall. I am delighted with it's transformation from antiqued green to "Blacktop"---the most deep and luscious gray/brown/green.My shelf has been stripped and primed. The antique tin has been released from years of paint, rust, and grime; a look I once loved but am ready for something new. I am so excited to add the final layers of glaze to both projects but it will be done at turtle speed so that both my family and I can appreciate the flavor of change.
Are you a rabbit or a turtle when it comes to home improvement projects?

A Necessary Repair, Finally!

Do you recall my posting about this situation nearly two months ago? Well, I've finally gotten around to the repair! As you will see it wasn't a hard job, but a task with many steps. 

I never did get the full story of how the rod was pulled out of the wall. However, when the repair was complete I did tell the kids if anything like this should happen again it would be their responsibility to figure out how to get it fixed...and pay for it! (Oh yes...aren't I such a tough mom?!)

Removing the rod and hardware left quite the gaping hole.

Luckily I had this product, Joint Compound, on hand from when I replaced the fireplace tile and mantel while working on the Family Room Design.

It goes on with a pretty pink tone...

...and turns to white when dry. These holes were deep and the compound cracked, as I anticipated it would once dry, so two applications were required.

After this layer dried the excess compound around the hole was sanded off with fine grit sandpaper.

Then the area was wiped clean with a damp cloth.

My goal was to repair the wall around the hole to look as it had before the rod came down, so I applied a spray texture, in sweeping lines around the repaired hole. 

While the texture dried the rod was reinstalled.

Fortunately the lower hole for the bolts had remained intact on both sides of the wall, but the upper ones had been ripped out with the chunks of drywall. So after the plate was attached with the lower blots, toggles were used to secure the upper section of the brackets.

Once the brackets and rod were back in place, the wall around the hardware was painted.

Finally, the last step was to snap the caps into place over the brackets. I'm so happy that you can't even see evidence of the repair!

So, all is well that ends well. But seriously, I had better not be doing this repair again anytime soon...my attitude will most certainly be far less pleasant.