Paint Brush Pops

My Friend EA told me about great trick when you are painting. If you have to stop mid paint job just place the brush or roller in a plastic bag and then pop it in the freezer. The paint will not dry out and you can resume your painting once the brush has defrosted. It took about 2 hours for the brush and about 30 min for the roller to defrost. Thanks EA!Makes you want to take a bite, OK maybe not.

The New Old Dresser

A few months ago I got this dresser for a song. It had been in a shed of a local lady for what I can guess by the insect traces was a very long time. The backing was coming off due to the extreme temperature changes and one handle was broken. Since there were no permanent insect guests and the bones were great, I decided to take it.

This is not the original finish. The owner had used a faux finish to make it look like stained oak, it was done with a lot of care, I was fooled at first. I am saving the drawer pulls for another project, they are fantastic.

I am a small town girl and love Shabby Chic since it reminds me of home. However, I am not fond of busy patterns and I do not trust myself around the light colors. I am a fan of clean lines and the simplicity of the city apartment look. Instead of sticking to a particular style I decided to just go my own way. I like to call my style "Urban Shabby Chic".
The tiny tiny dresser on the left was the original dresser for my room. You can see how much larger the new dresser is, I love it!

Felt Fun Pizza Pie

One of the girls in the office has three little ones I will call "Triple A" there is one boy and twin girls that are less than a year apart. In June they turned 4 and 3 respectively.

For their birthdays I made a felt pizza to play with and included a gift certificate to http://www.generousgeorge.com/

At Generous Georges kids can get the KID'S MAKE-YOUR-OWN PIZZA, it comes with a chef hat to take home. An eight inch personal pizza with any two traditional toppings; and kids can even make it themselves at the table and then the staff will cook it. My kids loved it when they were younger. Fresh from the oven, er sewing machine...

The guest check, also known as the gift tag.

My helper made a shaker of Oregano by running two shades of card stock through the shredder and then cut it into smaller pieces. The lid was super glued to the shaker to prevent any spills.

I taped the gift certificate to the top of the lid.

The gift wrap is the perfect mini tablecloth.

Cathy's Wedding Shower

Cathy's wedding colors are buttery yellow, oranges and sage.

Fruit kabobs with a honey, ginger, lemon and mint glaze.

Salmon and Vegetarian Pinwheels

Chicken salad with bacon

The bride is not a fan of cake so we had cheesecake! I bought the cake at Harris Teeter and topped it with strawberries. If you live near a Harris Teeter I strongly suggest you try the cheesecake, it is wonderful. There are two things I never do myself...make cheesecake and color my own hair.
I borrowed the idea for the votives from Notes From a Cottage Industry

The candles are meant to be burned on their 1st anniversary so I made labels that say...

Thanks so much for taking part
In sending the couple off to a great start.
On August 31, 2009
Light this candle and let it shine
Pray for their continuing bliss

Love and happiness forever is our wish.

When Spaghetti Goes to the Prom

I love blogs. Blogs inspire me to do what I thought I could not do. I recently found a wonderful idea at the Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/ and was inspired to make my own version.
I call it Spaghetti goes to the Prom. I combined the slow roasted tomatoes and garlic, parm shavings, fresh basil and pine nuts over angel hair pasta. The kids here at the office just about flipped.
I work in a very small office and everyone considers me the "office mom". I like the title and love cooking for our little "family".