File Folder Organizer

I had an order awhile back from a teacher who wanted a file folder organizer for her classroom.  Just thought you might like to see how cute it turned out!

You can find the directions for how to make one HERE.

Hands of Heaven

***A BIG thank you to all who commented on my last post.  You made me feel happy!***

Well, I’ve got sick kids and I am sick, too, so I figured this would be a good time to get some blogging done.

I’ve got half my Christmas shopping done and I’ve got all my decorating done AND my house isn’t even a total wreck so I am feeling pretty on top of things right now.  I am really unhappy that I am sick.  I HATE being sick!  But, such is life, I guess.

In my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) we have a women’s organization called the Relief Society.  Once a month we have an activity on a week night, and currently I am in charge of organizing these activities.  A couple months ago I put on my first activity.  I wanted to make it really nice and special.  It was a night about bringing us all together as sisters even more than we already are.

The jumping off point for the evening was a video I had seen a couple years back called Hands of Heaven.  Here is a clip from it.  It is incredibly touching and I LOVE the message.  I highly recommend it.  You can order it online from one of our church bookstores called Deseret Book.

Anyway, here is what we did.  As the sisters entered, we tied together their hands in pairs.  We told them they had to stay tied together until we told them they could untie.  We thought this would be a fun way to help people who didn’t know each other well or weren’t currently close friends get to know each other better.  We gave them a list of prompting questions to help them find things to talk about.  I was worried about this activity but it really turned out great. 

We then had an opening prayer and song.  We sang “Lord, I Would Follow Thee” but we changed the word “brother’s” to “sister’s”.  We then invited the sisters to serve themselves dinner from our buffet.  But we told them they had to stay tied together until they were seated and ready to eat.  This was fun to watch.  It took some creative serving and teamwork.

The sisters then ate their dinner.  We served Fruited Pasta Chicken Salad, Antipasto sticks and crackers, rolls, cucumber water, and strawberry water.  They all had a cupcake at their seat for dessert.  They were White Chocolate Orange cupcakes and they were divine!  I will post the recipe in another post.

After dinner we showed the video.  There were few dry eyes in the room.  I then gave a short talk about how we all have trials and we all need friends and support.  I then shared a personal experience about when my Relief Society sisters had pulled me in and helped me through a difficult time in my life.  We then had two other sisters share experiences of a similar type.  We ended with a special musical number and a prayer. 

It was an amazing night and I think the sisters all felt love and friendship.

The decorations were AMAZING!  My pictures do not do it justice.  It looked like a wedding reception.  The decorations were super simple but packed a lot of punch.  Under each plate is a piece of scrapbook paper.  Then we had all the mercury glass candlesticks with the tissue pom poms.  One of the ladies on my committee had those little silver balls which we scattered all over the tables.  It just looked elegant.

I Need Advice

MOM!!!  DO NOT READ THIS POST!!!  Its about something I am doing for you and I want it to be a surprise.  So, STOP READING AND DELETE THIS EMAIL!!!

 

Everyone else, please scroll down.  Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, Hi everyone!  Long time, no blog!  I have been a blogging slacker lately.  I’ve just been busy with real life lately!  Sometimes I really wonder if anyone even reads my blog.  I get very few comments, so it is hard to know.  So, if you are reading this and feel like giving me a little encouragement, I could sure use a comment.

 

Now, I need some advice.  Mostly I need advice from people who know a lot about furniture painting/refinishing.  I am going to ask some of the great furniture bloggers I know of to come and take a look at this and give me their advice.

 

I picked up this little dresser someone had put out for the trash.  It is obviously old as you can tell from the hardware and the solid wood…I think it is oak?? 

 

I want to refinish/paint this for my mother for Christmas.  Now, my mom LOVES antiques, but she is less enthused about painted antiques.  BUT, she needs to broaden her horizons a little and this dresser is too messed up to NOT be painted. 

BUT, my mom adores burl wood.  And the drawer fronts of this are burl wood.  So, what I am thinking of doing is trying to leave some of this piece wood, while painting the rest of it.  I was considering doing some sort of reverse stencil on the drawers.  I am still not sure what I can get away with doing.  The finish is pretty messed up.

SO, I need help knowing how to go about this.

Here are my questions:

1. What is the best way to restore the natural wood finish to parts that aren’t damaged that I may want to leave wood, rather than painted?

(this is the top)

2. What’s the best way to repair the parts that are totally damaged?

3. Is there any resource I can use to try to replace this handle that is lost?  Because I love these antique handles and I know my mom does too.

4. If this were your piece, what would you do with it?

(here is the side)

(some close ups of the drawer faces)

5.  What am I going to do about this door????  It is thrashed.  I am not sure how to fix it.  They had it hot glued in!!

6. I am thinking of ASCP for this in a blue color.  What do you think of that?  What blue do you love??  I want it to look old.

7. I almost forgot!  THIS THING STINKS!!!  What can I do about the smell?  I know there are primers to block it, but if I want to leave some of it wood is there some type of clear coat that will block the smell?

 

THANK YOU sooooo much for taking the time to give me your ideas and help me get going on this.  I know my mom will love it.

SUPER YUMMY MAC & CHEESE

I have no picture of this to show you.  I made this for dinner tonight and it was super yummy.  I thought I would share the recipe.  We all know what Mac and Cheese looks like.

Enjoy!

Recipe: Super Yummy Mac and Cheese

From the Kitchen of: Emily Nelson

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound shell pasta (or I used a 14.5 oz. box of rotini pasta)
• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 2 tsps buffalo sauce
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• fresh cracked black pepper (about ½ tsp)
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 10 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 10 oz mozzarella, shredded

Directions: In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return it to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat. While the noodles are cooking, whisk together the eggs, milk, buffalo sauce, salt, pepper and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the mozzarella and 2/3 of the cheddar cheese. Over low heat, stir until creamy and cheese is melted. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with Pam. Top with remaining cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and has browned spots.

SO GOOD!