A CSN Giveaway, A Linky Party and A Question!

First, let’s do the  CSN Stores Giveaway! They are always FUN! You will have four chances to enter!  You can spend hours checking out their 200+ stores! They have some awesome console tables


and all kinds of awesome things to put on and around them!



ETA:This giveaway is for a $45 CSN Stores GC!
So,for your first entry in this giveaway, leave me a comment telling me how you like to (or would like to) decorate a console table. I'd especially love to see what you are doing for fall!
For a second entry, SHOW me your decorated console table or one that you’d like to have, by linking up below and then leaving another comment that you have linked up. You can find some awesome ones at CSN Stores!
Thirdly, If you are a follower or choose to become one please tell me so in a new comment.
Lastly, but not leastly, I need some help and will give you an extra entry if you can offer any!
I rediscovered this table in my storage area. A I am sorry for the terrible lighting, but that is basement living on a rainy day.

It is at least 50 years old but I’m not sure how much older. It was professionally refinished once about 20 years ago and now is in horrible shape again. So, here is my question, really two questions. First, can anyone tell me anyone tell me anything about this table? Second, if it was yours would you paint it black or would that be a crime?
I can’t wait to see and hear your ideas! Tohank you in advance for any help! The linky and giveaway will be open til next Friday night.
Oh, if you want to pass the word on for me either via your blog or Facebook, leave a 5th comment telling me for a 5th chance to win!


Going to share the giveaway with some new friends @


and

I made a wheelchair…

…yes, you read that right! I made a wheelchair, but not for a person, for a puppet! :)
My daughters and I work with the puppet ministry at our church on Wednesday nights. We use puppets to act out the weekly story for the 6-12 year olds. It’s been fun and a challenge! This year the stories center around a little boy with Cerebral Palsy. He is in a wheel chair, so the puppet that plays Peter also needs to be in a wheel chair. That presented two problems. First, to order one was going to be $50 before shipping! That just went against my thrifty nature….$50 for a puppet wheel chair??? But, if we were going to make one, it would have to be very light. Have you ever held your arm up in the air with a weight on it  for any length of time? Trust me those fabric puppets weigh a TON after about 5 minutes on your up-stretched arm! So, I tried foam, but that wouldn’t hold the puppet up without some sort of a frame around it. After a little frustration, it hit me and I went and raided my sons K’nex! This is what my daughters and I came up with:
  
We just started putting pieces together until we had a frame that resembled a wheel chair! We were short one piece for the back of the footrest, and had to use a connector and two smaller pieces, but you can’t see it when Peter is in the chair! :-) I spray painted the frame black, because each of the different size pieces and the connectors were different colors!   I hot glued the fabric around the frame and then  cut a slit in the back of the seat so that the puppeteer could slip their hand through and into the back of the puppet.
A side view:

The wheels are made of foam and reinforced with some electrical tape. The white dot is velcro so Peter’s hand can stick to the wheel as if he’s  pushing himself.
We caught Peter by surprise here…

With a little warning, he tried to give us a more dignified pose!

It’s not very heavy at all and the kids love it!! That makes me happy!
Next project is the table top puppet stage…the wheel chair  in the picture up top is perched on the frame I put together with pvc pipe. I have to sew a curtain for it and we’ll be ready to roll next week!
Once that’s all done, I’ll feel free to finish some of my fall projects! :-)
I’m sharing this project at

and spotlighting it here:


There are some very inspiring projects at both places, so check them out!

My First Fall Meal

After two days of rain, we have clear blue skies and crisp, clean mountain air! Fall is definitely here in the mountains! While it was still raining this morning, soup for supper sounded warm and filling. My family’s favorite is creamy chicken and wild rice. It’s my copy cat of Panera Bread’s soup. I first tried it at Panera  about 2 years ago and couldn’t get enough. It was warm, rich and flavorful…talk about “comfort food”…YUM! I found several recipes online and then played around until I got a close flavor that was fast and easy to make. Here’s my version:

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

6 cups of chicken broth

1 box of Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice with seasoning packet

2 cups cooked chicken

1 can sliced carrots (drained)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup flour

2 cups milk (I have used half and half, whole milk and 2% milk with success)

In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, chicken, carrots, salt and pepper. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, and seasoning packet. Simmer 10 minutes. Empty cans of soup into a medium size bowl and whisk in the milk a little at a time until smooth. Whisk in flour a little at a time. Stir into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through and thickened.

Serve with warm bread like Sesame Wheat Braids

or Mrs. Cindy’s French Bread.

MMMMMM….Enjoy!

Welcome Fall!

Fall is my favorite time of year!! I grew up in South Florida and never really knew a change of seasons. Now I am in the North Georgia mountains and even after twenty years I still look forward to the brilliant colors on the mountains, the smell of oak from first fires in the wood burning stoves and the crisp fall air!
This year a very HOT summer has lasted a little longer than usual by about two weeks. I am so READY for fall!! It has rained most of  today ahead of our first official cool front. We will be in the low 70’s next week after highs in the high 80’s to 90 last week! YAY!
If it’s going to start feeling like fall, I guess it’s time to start making it look like fall. I love fall decorations, the warm rich colors, the spicy scents available in candles…mmmm. Since I am so behind on everything, and easy place to start decorating is the dining room table. I’ve been sitting on this inspiration since last year. I found this  between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year, right after I discovered so many wonderful creative blogs. Here is my inspiration:

photo from Williams Sonoma
I saw this on

and knew right away that I had to make on of my own too!

I found a large vase on clearance at Walmart for $2 and found the pedestal at the thrift store. A little e6000 and I had the beginnings of my WS knock off!

I used the bottom of an apothecary jar to hold the candle inside of the vase and dollar store leaves to go in between.

  

 

I put one of these cuties on either side of the candle. They are one of those amazing Dollar Tree finds! I found the plastic acorns there too.

 

  Well, I’m happy with my fall table, but not the pictures. :-( They will have to do though. I’m camera shopping and until I find the right one, my pictures may leave a little to be desired. I had take one of the whole table but everything seemed to be lost from the distance so we’ll just go with the close ups.

One fall project down and many more to go…

There are some very inspiring Fall link parties happening. Come check them out!

  

I'm also participating in Get Your Craft On over at Today's Creative Blog.

Happy Fall Ya’ll!

This Blog Was Interrupted to Allow Life to Happen…

…but I think the major interruption is over…at least I hope so! A quick synopsis: Mother-in-law’s breast cancer surgery (she’s doing very well), quickly followed by a nephew’s crisis that almost cost him his life (he’s doing much better), starting a new home school and home school co-op year (we are off to a good start) and my “health issues” which I think we have figured out, and are, thankfully, not life threatening. I’m, ahem, getting older and have entered that stage of life that every woman dreads, and it begins with an “M”! :-) I never knew that there are so many physical symptomns that can be experienced! I’m glad to know that I’m not about to  check out at any moment (I have had some major heart palpitations…no fun)! I think that wondering what was going on was  half my battle, but things are much better now! ;-) Then you can throw in MUCH everyday life, laundry and lots of places to be. It keeps one away from the spray paint and the computer! :-)

So all that  to say that there wasn’t much physical or emotional strength left for projects or blogging….but I’m ready to blog again! I have been so inspired by all the fall decorating!!! So stay tuned ( or should I say, please tune back in, as I’m ready to join the fall festivities! 

To get my kick off my fall decorating, I gave my blog a little fall makeover. It was very easy using the background and accessories from The Cutest Blog on the Block.

The picture in the frame in my banner is one taken by my daughter last year. It is what we see pulling up our driveway.

Thank you all for your comments and emails wondering where I have been. It was so nice to be missed:-)

So glad to be back!