Am I here???

Yes, I am here! I just wanted to post a quick update to let everyone know that I am back and going to make an effort to build my blog! 

I finished college classes, got my bachelors degree and started looking for work (which no one told me would be a full time job in itself!) Whew! After many months, I landed 2 jobs! Crazy, I know! I also got hired for a 3rd within a month of working! All in all, I have put in my notice for 1 job, declined another and am keeping a very nice administrative assistant job! 

Sooo, this post may be boring, but like I said, it is just an update to let you know that I am alive and well (for now).  I am learning new things about blogs everyday and hope to incorporate some fun in to my blog.

Until next time......

New Year, New Me???

New Year, New Me???
     Hello Lovelies! It is January...which is resolutions time.  I heard somewhere that most people have already broken their resolutions by this point!  That is why I have decided to document the fact that I have made a resolution and actually completed it! 
      SO, here it is! I made a resolution to tackle my bill drawer (which actually has turned into the black hole where mail goes to die!). 


Day 1 - THE MESS!

      This was just scratching the surface! There was about 3 times more where that came from! It took me a whole day just to find the bottom of the drawer! Yikes! 
      

A quick trip to the store:

     These poly envelopes have a flap with a snap to close and fit quite a bit of paper inside! They are 12.91 inches X 9.29 inches. I spent $3.00 on a pack of 4 and picked up several packages (just in case).  I grabbed some washi tape out of my crafting stash and decorated the envelopes around the edges and along the flap.  I also used some left over mailing labels to label each flap with the category of paper work that I was going to be putting in to each one. I separated my regular bills, medical bills, one time only bills, important receipts and so on!  Since I am a big letter writer and do a lot with Swap-bot.com, I even made an envelope for my stamps, mailing labels, post-it notes and other mailing supplies! I never knew I had so many post-it pads! 

Day 2 - THE RESULTS! 

    Yay! My drawer can open and close now, I can find my paperwork easily and quickly and I can keep track of paying my bills on time! Whew! 


Well lovelies! See you all next time!

   My new love; Frank-N-Furniture!  

      Since I am new to this whole blogging thing, I thought I would start off by posting some of my favorite projects that I have done in the past.
       Let me start off with a past completed project and end with a project-in-process.  I love yard sale-ing and thrift store shopping.  There are always an abundance of mis-matched furniture and bits and pieces of housewares.  I began marrying these things together to make useful works of art!  For this first project, I began by rummaging through my house/garage/attic/closets to find anything and everything that I thought I could stick together to make a potting bench for my yard.

Next, I made a quick trip to Lowe's hardware store for some new screws and finishing nails.  I wasn't quite sure what all I needed, but Lowe's is really close to my home and I knew I could make a trip back if needed.  After I returned from Lowe's, I began laying the parts together to see how I wanted them to fit together. This took a little while to get inspired, but after the inspiration hit the project went quickly. 

I think I need to specify that the door I used was a very old, very solid outside wooden door that I found in our garage.  It is not one of those hollowed framed bedroom doors for in the house. After wrestling with the door (it is VERY heavy), I layed the desk down on top to mark any solid wooden parts in which I could screw into.  I screwed to door to the desk, from behind, in multiple places. I then measured the vinyl lattice piece and marked the spots in which to drill.  I predrilled small wholes through the lattice and the desk/door and used more screws to attach it.  

In this stage, I had attached a coat rack that I found in the closet. Since it already had holes for hanging, all I had to do was drill starter holes in the door and attach with the screws I purchased (I believe they were inch long galvanized screws for outside).  I also attached a shelf/hanging peg combo to the door as well as a scrap of small picket fence that I found on the ground beside my house.  I used it as sort of a roof or a sun shield.  I also attached a shelf under the desk.  This required a bit of thought.  I had to measure the height of the bar between the legs and transfer that height to the inside wall.  I attached a block of wood to the inside wall and layed the shelf on top.  I then screwed the shelf down to the black of wood as well as the bar in between the legs. 

     My friend had given me a left over gallon of paint to use in my bathroom.  However, my husband is not fond of this color so I used it on this project instead.  I believe it is called Rusty Pumpkin.  Since it is a primer and paint in one, all I needed to do is prep the frank-n-furniture by scrubbing it down really well and wiping it all over with liquid sand paper that I had left over from another project (but can be easily found at any hardware store). 

After painting it, I decided to make another trip to Lowe's for some hook (note the hangers/hooks on the right hand side of the door). Since the door didn't cover the whole width of the desk, I wanted something to fill in the blank space and make it look like it was intended to be like that.  Now, it is looking like a potting bench!

      And....drumroll please.....the finished project!

I set it next to the garage wall in my back yard (it's actually my neighbors garage wall that borders our yard) and planted rose bushes on either side.  I am hoping the roses will grow up the trellises and around the potting bench.  I use the potting bench from Spring until late Fall.  It has weathered 2 winters now and the paint has began to crack and peel which adds to the rustic charm of the piece.  I store all of my potting supplies inside for the winter and cover the bench with a tarp, but it gets rained on all summer long and still looks good.  The makeshift "roof" makes a great shield for everything underneath.  What cannot be seen in the photo are the numerous "S" hooks and gardening hand-tools that are hanging all over the trellis.  There is even a full size rake hanging on the outside (left hand side) of the trellis!

The next project............................

      This next project remains unfinished until warmer weather.  I started this late in the year and ran into cold before I got it finished.  I do not have a heated work area to finish it in.  The concept is similar to the potting bench but for inside use.  I then decided to make it into a dry bar/drink station for inside my 3-season's porch.  I like to entertain out there during the warmer months and this will make a great addition!

I found another door in my tool room (which is part of our garage).  This door is another really old, extremely heavy solid wooden door.  This door was filthy and required several scrub downs to get clean and usable.  The glass window will be a little problem and is a big reason why this particular project is not finished yet. 

I also found this old formica school desk which I was previously using to hold painting supplies and basically gather clutter in my tool room.  I also had to scrub this piece down and remove the drawers to paint them and add new hardware.  

      I couldn't attach the door to the back like I did with the potting bench because the back of this desk is not flat.  There is a 1/2 inch lip hanging off the whole way around the top.  I am thinking that I may add a sheet of plywood to the back to fill in the space.  In the meantime, I prepped and painted some of the pieces. 

I chose a tropical coral color to go with my plans of making my porch gray and navy blue with accents of coral.  In this picture are some random household items that I found to add as well as come hooks and brackets I purchased at Lowe's.  

     Like I said, this piece is unfinished and will get completed when the weather warms up.  I will post more on this project then! 

Welcome to Simply Me!

   


       So,this is simply me.  Amy Hale, a 36 year old wife and mother of 3 teenagers.  I am into paper crafting/card making/scrapbooking.  I believe that hand creating something like a scrapbook is an art to be treasured.  This is not just a hobby, but a creation of a family history to be passed down through future generations! I also believe the wrapping on a gift is almost as important as the gift inside (maybe more!). 
     I have a couple paper crafting buddies and am subscribed to a few crafting blogs.  A wonderful site I have found recently is swap-bot.com where crafters gather together and swap our creations back and forth all across the world! 

http://www.swap-bot.com/

http://www.swap-bot.com/user:AmyHale

      I will be including more and more tidbits about my self (as well as my craft creations, projects in the works, ideas and more) as my blog continues, but this is the simple basics for now.