Extreme Scrap Makeover!

INDEPENDENCE DAY INDEED!

Over the three day weekend, my friend who tucks her wings under her apron and hides her halo in her beautiful locks and I, along with the UNENDING, PATIENT, KIND AND LOVING assistance of my hubby, OVERHAULED, HAULED OUT, ORGANIZED, LABELED, TIDIED and REDECORATED our butts off! I am posting a couple pics of The Homemaker's Homestead, too. Just in case you're interested. :)











For those of you that had the unfortunate experience of seeing the Scrapuccino Room pre-ESM, you know what we were up against! Piles of stuff, things that needed mending or repaired, items that had lost their way, memorabilia that wasn't all that memorable... you know, the stuff your family doesn't know what to do with! It all landed in here. WELL NOT ANY MORE! This place is a SANCTUARY! (you know you totally hear The Hunchback in your head now - and you're welcome!)

So, you ask, why haven't I posted these glorious pictures before NOW? Yeah, um, that's because The Fam and I had hit the road for some seriously awesome time with friends and family! THAT'S WHAT SUMMER IS ALL ABOUT. Dishes, laundry and dust be darned! There is fun up in them thar hills!

And The Homemaker is on the roll again, I can't wait to get on the roll again... (Yes, you can thank me later for the Willy Nelson croonage in your cranium later.)

I'm just a blurb, yes I'm only a blurb...

Just a quick little praise tonight...

I have 4 teenage girls in the house... my hubby and I are outnumbered! ;) But it's a good thing.

I was sitting here just thanking God above for my girl, my beautiful daughter. She is a challenge, a blessing, an angel, a butt munch, a funny, quirky, talented, smart, amazing gift from God. Without her, Homemaker's Mercantile wouldn't be in existence. She inspires me to always look to God when I'm lost - because I fail and I stumble and I forget my Heavenly Father is there... until I remember that she looks to me... which means when I don't have the answers (and oh my gorgonzola cheese do I not have the answers so freakishly often) I am reminded to tell her to look to God... which reminds ME to look to God. She teaches me daily. I hope I teach her something helpful, something valuable, something meaningful on a daily basis, too.

So, for now, I'm just a blurb, yes I'm only a blurb... That's for all you Schoolhouse Rocker's out there! Because that's how this Homemaker Schoolhouse Rocker rolls.

See the hill, take the hill shopper...

For years now I've been mostly (okay, there are some occasions that I dawdle, but really, not so much anymore) the type of woman that goes into a store on a mission. I pretty much either have eyeballed the item I'm looking for in the weekly ad or I have already seen the item and bee-line for it. RARELY do I say anything other than "No, thank you, I'm just browsing." That's even if I'm on a mission. To be honest, I think if I actually started on one of my explanations that takes you on a "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" look into my life, the clerk would probably glaze over, pass out and I'd end up calling 911 (yes, I'd even do CPR).

Honestly, how much time do we have these days, anyway? I mean, if you are like me, all the people, getting in and out of the car (add heat for appropriate areas of the country) and search only to find NOTHING? Really? It's just not worth it.

Have I mentioned I started my own little piece of heaven? Yep, a 6x9ish space of all the fun little things I create and find and refurbish and grant a second chance. I've decided to start listing some of the stuff before I take it down to the shop. If anyone out there in my circle of friends (you know who you are, all 7 of you - and bless you for being my circle!) is interested in any of the items - PLEASE TELL ME! It would be one less thing I need to schlep down to my own little piece of heaven.

Why, you ask, did you title this posting "See the hill, take the hill shopper"? Because by posting my wares here, I am enabling you to TAKE NO PRISONERS! Go ahead! Shop in your jammies! Have bedhead and coffee breath? NO WORRIES! Your feet hurt and they've calloused in the back from wearing flip-flops too much, you are just too stinkin' tired to take the pumice stone to them along with pushing all the eyeliner that schmeered down to the bottom eyelid all the way back up to the right place and the thought of getting dressed just to go shop to be possibly disappointed is just too much to bear? Well, I have created a WARRIOR SHOPPER'S PARADISE! See the hill, take the hill, soldier! SHOP ON!

And that's... Whooops... Umpta! Ughhhhh! Ouch! Ooooph... just how I roll... down the hill. Didn't see that hill. :/

Candy Safe (Hersheys/Carmello) $10
Antique Window $14.95
Handmade afghan $27.00
Boyds Bear tapestry $16.95
Bowl & Pitcher set $16.95
Life is fragile... tapestry $9.95
Pansy "stained glass" $6.95
Sunflower throw $7.95
Butterfly & Dragonfly $ 2.50 each
Tall apothecary $12.95
Blue Bowl set of 4 $3.50
Lamp $6.50
Vase/Votive/Frame gift set in basket $8.50
Sunflower small apothecary $3.95
Cinderella's Carriage $6.95

Definitely ahhhhhhh-drift...

Has it already been a week since I chatted up the Candy Safes??? WOW. Time flies when The Homemaker rolls!

So today I am finishing the "Really." signs and thought I'd upload the pics from LAST WEEK'S teaser, too. And these are up for grabs, too...



Check 'em out at the facebook store link! :)

Why is it that when you start on a project, you *think* it will just be easy peasy, pumpkin cheesy (er, uh, what ever)... when in reality it ends up to be "Two weeks!" {that's a movie reference... have you watched the oldie but goodie "Money Pit" with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long? it's a must-see, trust me} I honestly always feel like I can truly just BUST OUT a couple of projects in NO TIME AT ALL. Meanwhile, back at the farm, IT IS HITTING THE FAN and all my crafty creativity gets elevator music while on hold. Ugh! I'M AN ARTIST! Yep, I do *want* to shout that... but life beats me to it and instead shouts "YOU'RE AN ADULT FIRST, WITH ADULT RESPONSIBILITIES AND STUFF..." Okay, so life doesn't ACTUALLY use the term "AND STUFF..." but you get my drift. Or am I adrift? Ah. Drift. Ah-ha! Drift. ah-drift. Wait, I know... ahhhhhhh-drift. That long-winded sound you make when you realize all the plans you had for the day just went out the window with the drift.

So next time you plan a project, just remember, "Two weeks!" It works for my hubby... because that's just how The Homemaker's hubby rolls. ;)

REALLY?

It is one of my favorite words. Really. It is. It can mean so much. Sort of like "Dude", but in a girl kind of way.

"Really?", as in an honest question.
"Really.", as in an honest answer.
"Reaaaally?", as in, "Dude, no way, you have got to be kidding?"
And then there is the MacDaddy of them all...
"REALLY?", as in "You will seriously lose an appendage or suffer a severe poke in the eyeball or be grounded for life (just depends on your audience) if you push me much further." Further? Farther? Eh, that's another blog.

But honestly, can't you just see it? On a sign, I mean. And picture, if you will, just being able to point your finger at the wall next time someone pushes you to the brink of sanity... No longer will you need to take a deep breath and use all the will-power in your being to not holler like a sleep-deprived, motherhood-induced ADD patient, Prozac-underdosed, "no means no" repeating Screaming Mimi... you can just simply... Point.

Well, you won't have to imagine much longer! Your sign of all signs, answer to your prayers, sanity salvation will be available down at The Merc this Friday! Yes, I will post pics before Friday. :)

OH! Which reminds me... The Homemaker will be down at The Merc this Friday from noon to 2p. Come on down and chat awhile!

Why do I need a sign? Because that's just how The Homemaker rolls. Really.

The dawn of new technology...

Today is a day of new technology, recipes and artistic endeavors! All thanks to my very own Lieutenant Dan! He is taking the child to the movies while I work out my artistic kinks! (In the best Forrest Gump voice I can manage) "Leewtenent Daaa-an!"

You may (or may not) find posts from the road here at the Homemaker's Mercantile... I have attempted to set up this new, fancy-dancy, she-she-la-la phone my hubby bought for me yesterday. Yes, after the weekend trip to the in-laws where I chose to jump in the pool with all my clothes on rather than have my bro-in-law throw me in! I was the belle of the ball... until a) I realized my cell was still in my pocket and b) I had plugged my nose, but forgotten I had my nose stud in and bloodied my own nose! After the bleeding stopped... I garnered many "that was awesome!" comments. :) Nothing like livening up the in-laws party (not that they need any help - they throw kickin' family shindigs)! Next time, with she-she-la-la phone safely away from the water, I may be able to post about the scrapping, pool diving, road tripping world I call my life... IN REAL TIME!

For now, for today, I will be making a kitchen treat for my scrapping ladies and, obviously, SCRAPPING! Let's see what all this technology does for my creative juices. Let's also hope that I don't somehow become addicted to all-access internet from this new she-she-la-la phone!

She-she-la-la, you ask? Yep, that's just how the Homemaker rolls.

Burning the midnight baby oil...

Welp, here I am at 1123p working with epoxy, various plates, saucers, shot glasses, cordials and yep, you guessed it... baby oil.

LABELS! The bane of all humanity! The axis of evil! Murder on the thumbnails (not sure that one will ever grow back straight)! Ugh. All the effort that is wasted by every person that has ever bought something in their lifetime... over a stupid little label! So, now, from the Scrapuccino Room all the way to the kitchen and back again you will most likely find a little trail of errant baby oil dribbles. That stuff, if left long enough, could probably coax the stuck of all stuck lids, pipes, wheels and labels! But OH THE AGONY of waiting!!!

So, here I sit. Designing business cards, taking pics in my oh-so-glam "storage area" (aka the garage on top of the freezer), chatting with you all (all 5 of you - and by the way, you ROCK - you know who you are), burning the midnight baby oil while I don't wait for paint to dry, but instead wait for that baby oil to work its magic.

By the by - if anyone has a lead on a basic open shelf rack I can drag into the Scrapuccino Room so I can let my hubby have his side of the oh-so-glam garage, he'd be most appreciative.

And that's just how The Homemaker rolls. Night all.