Monday, July 29, 2013

Easy peasy card table revival

How many of you have that old ugly card table that your mom used to have?  I surely cannot be the only one!!!
One of my earliest memories is watching tv in the living room while my mom was typing letters to family and friends back East.  She would use carbon paper and our friends Huck and Melvina would complain that they could never read the letter as theirs was the last copy!

As you can see, I painted on this table, glued on this table, wrote on this table, well you get the point, it is VERY well used and loved!!  

Now there is nothing wrong with the table but I thought I would give it a face lift.  It is not an original idea, a friend of mine did it to her table and I just borrowed it.  You ready for the massive supply list?
  • used card table
  • scissors
  • 2 rolls of duct tape
Yep!  that is all!  You all are more than aware that there are a gazillion patterns of duct tape out there, that was the hardest decision.  Just watch you patterns so they don't look all wonky if you do not match them up perfect like.  That is why I chose this animal print.
I started with laying down my first strip down the center, making sure it was straight and then built off of that.
I made sure to have extra on the ends so I could tape it under the table, leaving a clean edge.  Just tape and go, as easy as that!  While you are doing this you are actually covering two edges, so in the end you only have to take care with the other two and honestly, I was worried about it.  But apparently, for nothing as it went on as easy as pie!  Maybe it was because I had a little supervision from Stuart (my cat).

......and here is the table!
So now you have a choice..... go buy a new card table for about $45 and up.. or go buy some cool duct tape for under $10 and make your old table into a new, and waterproof, card table that is not and embarrassment!  I know what I chose!


Friday, July 26, 2013

Fitness Friday...Running Route with Great Scenery!

I am trying to get healthier and get in better shape..... may have something to do with that whole aging thing I am trying real hard to ignore!  I started running and want to share with you my favorite running route.  I took the photos in the fall.... just love this run... about 2 miles until my turn around point.

What makes a runner?  You ask folks and you get a gazillion different answers, one person says the speed they go, another one says where you run, someone else says if you run on a treadmill it does not count......  Really?  Who are we to judge?

Here is my definition of a runner.. "someone who is moving forward at a pace faster then their usual walk."

I am slow... as in turtle in peanut butter slow.  I do not run as often as I should, I need to work on consistency.  But I still head out and try!

As John Bingham says,  ""The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

So leave the couch, go outside, get on a treadmill, run 30 seconds, walk 5 minutes and you have started.... and yes, in my book, that makes you a runner!  You have already went further and faster than the folks who are still on the couch!

So enjoy the photos... there are a lot of them!














 Yes, I am very lucky to have this available right outside door!  I also have the friendly deer and elk that show up too!  Here are a couple who show up to watch....


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Quick and Easy Lamp update!


I don't know about you, but I am into making updates and renovations with a few things in mind:
  • How much does it cost?
  • How much time will it take?
  • How hard will it be to do?
Going through the house, I found a pair of lamps.. nothing special, functional and blah.
There is nothing wrong with them, just not really me. I also was not partial to the lamp shades.. but boy, lamp shades are not cheap.  I figured I really had nothing to lose so dug through my spray paint stash  (everyone has one, right? please say yes) and dug out an oil rubbed bronze for the lamps and a lime green for the shades. I figure I really had nothing to lose with the shades as worst case scenario I could always recover with fabric.

First for the lamps....
 Before.... think this area is good enough to fall under "well ventilated area"?

My Go To brand/color for metals
And after the spray paint....

And now for the shades.....
The shades are a little trickier to paint, you have to make sure you get the pain on evenly, otherwise it is more noticeable than on more solid materials.

And here is the final result!!

I have to say, I am very pleased with the outcome!  All for very little effort, very little time and very little money!
 See me over at these linky parties!
Show and Tell at Snap
Creating my Way to Success Round Tuit
The Country Chic Cottage
Sugar Bee Crafts Take a Look Tuesday
Todays Creative Blog Get your Craft On
Ninth Street Notions I Made it Monday

Monday, July 22, 2013

Porch Makeover!


I have been in the house for a year now and still so much to do.  This weekend, after working on paperwork all day Saturday, I just had to get out and do something, anything that was outside!  I decided to finally tackle the front porch!

The front porch had been a catch-all place, out of the weather, no ability to really use the space for anything.  It was a hot mess!


There was quite the collection of "stuff".. an old piano bench waiting to be refinished, an old hope chest I am  hoping to get around to doing something with, empty boxes, Christmas lights, trash, lots of cobwebs and dust.

First things first, clear everything out and clean!  What is nice about doing an outside space is you can actually use a hose to spray everything off with out making a huge mess.  Then I whipped out the Simple Green to scrub down the dirt and grime and then back to the hose!  Leaving it empty and clean is a huge improvement!

Last week I had stopped in my local home improvement store, Jerry's, for a fire pit, and walked out with that, an umbrella and a bistro set.  The cool thing is that the bistro set was originally $329 and there is no way I would have paid that...but summer end (really it is July!) sales placed it at $99 so it found its way into my Jeep.  I also found a cute little outdoor rug at the World Market regularly $34 and now $14 and the rest I had been collecting for use at a good time....
Why yes that is a broken rake hanging on the wall!  You can use it to display all sorts of things!  I also found the sign buried in all the stuff on the porch.  I had bought it for my folks about ten years ago, so only fitting for it to go back up.  How do you like the planter?  I picked that up at Big Lots.  Love all they ones they have and at reasonable prices.  The bistro set looks wood, but it is actually iron, so will last for a long time.
Here is a shot of the rug!  So bright and cheerful!  it is made from a plastic like material and hoses off real well.  I actually have a huge one in my living room!
A view from the side , there are actually three wind chimes hanging.  I love the sound and you can hear them from the living room.

And finally the view from the yard!  Yes, I sort of like flowers!


I am thinking that this may be a great place to do some work in the afternoon with my laptop.  Not too many folks get the opportunity to work from home, let alone from a nice relaxing spot like this!


Linky Parties!
Creating my Way to Success Round Tuit Party


Friday, July 19, 2013

Pallet Garden

This is the first full year in  my house (well since I was a kid anyway) and I decided I wanted a garden, but I do hate to weed!

I had been checking out Pinterest and was drooling all over the pallet projects when I had seen some on using them for gardening.. specifically to reduce the amounts of weeds you have!  I like it!  I called on a friend who has a pallet source and like magic I had nine delivered on my doorstep.  Since I have about 4 acres, space is not an issue, but since it is just me, I do not need a huge garden, but wanted a variety of plants.  I decided to use the south end of my house and line the pallets up in two rows of four each.  Before I laid them down, I took the old paper chicken feed bags I had and placed them under the pallets, to help with weeds also.  Oh, and think ahead (for once I did!) I made the center row wide enough to use my push mower!
I did nothing to the pallets, left them as is, and depending on what I was planting, I either filled all rows with dirt or every other.. depends on how much room your plant needs.  I used regular potting soil as my dirt.  Eventually what happens is your plant put out roots that will going into the actual ground, so it is sort of like starting your plants or seeds in pots or such.  The other cool thing.. you can just take a marker and write on the pallet what seeds you planted!

So how is it looking today you ask?  Let me show you!
artichoke and catnip

Cabbage and Cauliflower

Beets!

Pumpkin

Baby Pumpkin!

Herb Garden
Basil, spearmint, orange mint, oregano, mint

I also have cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes, peppers, dill, cilantro, water melon, cantaloupe, chives and few other things!  I have to say, the weed thing... really great! There are still some weeds, but, it takes me like 10 minutes to weed everything, which I am loving!

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Ta-Da! the First Post!!!

So who am I? what do I do, what is this about?
I had a blog for a few years... I See Spotz, did a lot of craft stuff on it and then.... LIFE!  BAM!  Right smack in the face!

I moved from Iowa to Oregon to care for my Dad who was just shy of 92 and moved back into my childhood home.... literally into my old bedroom!!  Needless to say my blog went to the back burner and ding dong here let my domain name expire and someone else took it!

So here I am, starting over.. in more ways than one!  Here is a little tantalizing taste of what is to come!
  • Home renovation on a DIY budget... bathroom, bedroom Living Room, Kitchen
  • Gardening
  • Crafting
  • Outdoor Oregon times!
  • an occasional recipe
  • flashback posts from I See Spotz
  • and animals!
So why  "A Goose, A Gander and a Spotted Dog"?  Here is the dealio.... I have 4 acres and and creatures.. chickens, peacocks, a horse, some feral cats as well as a house cat AND 2 dogs.. one brindle and one spotted and of course GEESE!

So welcome, enjoy my crazy life while I renovate my home, live my life and enjoy the ride!!