Annie Sloanin' Our Yard Sale Finds!

Another blog post - no way!  I don't think I have typed this much since I was finishing up my thesis back in 2003 - just kidding! After Gary kicked our butts at the gym this morning, Krysten and I headed home to set up for our Annie Sloan paintin' party!

Kathy and Becky (sisters) came on over with their "treasures."

I continued working on my treasure too!

After a brief explanation of procedure, we got to work applying our first coat of paint.

Then we dined on delicious chicken salad (Anderson's Garden Center's recipe) croissants , chips, and trail mix.  We may or may not have had brownies a little while after finishing our lunch - they were made with coconut oil, and we HAD to keep our endurance and energy up - we worked hard!  Then we got back to work - look what our treasures looked like after just four hours of work (as well as waiting for paint to dry and eating, of course):

Kathy and Becky,  thank you so much for coming to our first Annie Sloan Paint Party!  We hope that you learned a little bit about how to work with the Annie Sloan paint.  We can't wait to see what else you refinish using this very friendly paint!

Take me out to the Orioles Game!

On game night, it isn't unusual to hear yelling coming from my Grandmother's house.  She is a diehard Orioles fan!  I know she knows that they can't hear her through the tube, but she still expresses her frustrations/excitement for her boys!  While Krysten and I were up north for our craft party, we were able to attend an Orioles game!!!  But first, we had to stop at our FAVORITE seafood place - Anne Arundel Seafood in Pasadena, MD. 

Their crab cakes are D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S (not pictured - devoured before I could whip out my camera!)!  Owen insisted on cracking and eating his own crabs.  I tried to explain that he needed to order something else in addition to the crab legs, but he said that he would fill up on crabs...I ordered chicken tenders too, just in case. 

 

These two cuties came with us too (Delaney is saying "cheese" with her mouth full of crackers - such a lady!).

After nap time, we headed out to the Orioles game - of course dressed in our finest bird attire!

We arrived at the Camden Yards early enough to see batting practice and wait for Oriole bird's and Steve Pearce's autographs!  We even got to see Delaney's favorite player, Machado, as well as Chen, Markakis, Schoop, Jones, and Hardy practice! 

What a game - At the bottom of the 9th inning, the stands were starting to thin out because the Orioles were down 4 to 3 with two players on base and 1 out.  Die hard fans were doubting the ability for the Orioles to come back, but then....Chris Davis got up to bat.  With a full count (I think I was sweating bullets because I knew that Gram would be MAD if the O's lost), Davis hit a grand slam and the stands erupted in roars!  The Orioles WON!!  This was a great game for our kids to experience!  Gram was soooo happy that "her boys" had pulled through for us!

This was a great weekend - (Wegmans, IKEA, Hobby Lobby (I spared you that story), Joann's (this one too), Anne Arundel Seafood, and the good ol' Orioles!)!

Now I must rest - in my own bed - because tomorrow Gary, with Coastal Strength and Fitness, is going to whip my over-indulging booty into shape!

Bubbly Burlap Wreaths travel to Leesburg, VA

That's right - SOTSS Crafts packed up our supplies and headed up north this past weekend!  We booked this party a while back.  Jennifer wanted to make the bubbly burlap wreaths at her craft party in Leesburg, VA after school let out.  Thank goodness for Summer!  My Mom, my Grandmother, Krysten, and I packed up the supplies, and our kids, and headed to Baltimore, MD - with only one major pit stop ---

 

 That's right - Wegmans!  We stopped at Wegmans, the nicest, cleanest, most colorful grocery store -ever!  We loaded up on fresh fruits and dinner items - and a few spicy brown rice california rolls!  They are sooo delicious!  Then we headed to Baltimore, MD where we stayed with our Grandmother.

The next day, we headed to another one of our favorite places (all of the places that we rarely travel to because they are hours away from Newport News)....Can you guess?

IKEA!

We perused the den furniture, "cooked" in the kitchens, tested out the beds, and played with the toys.  Shopping is hard work!

On Sunday, our Grandmother, Mom, and kids headed to the Port Discovery Children's Museum in Baltimore, MD.  From the stories, this place sounds AWESOME and we are going to have to visit it again soon!

Krysten and I drove to Leesburg and arrived at Jennifer's house without any major traffic (only the minor delay due to being stuck behind a speed limit abider on route 15??? - eesh!).  With Jennifer's permission, we rearranged her kitchen and den so that all of our crafters were in the same room.  We didn't want anyone to feel left out.

Then, we set out all of our supplies on Jennifer's lovely, and roomy, island.

Everyone arrived and the crafting began!  We started by choosing our ribbon, burlap, fabric and/or paint colors.  Then we painted the letters. 

As our paint dried, we enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries, chicken salad, cheese dip, crackers...my mouth is watering just thinking about it....YUM!

Next was the tough part - tough on the fingers.  We started bubbling our burlap.  Although, two ladies had to modify their wreaths to fit the space between their storm door and their front door.  That's okay, though, because they turned out just as pretty (you'll see later!).  

After adding the bubbly burlap, it was time to accessorize - look how they turned out!

Although we suffered from battle wounds - hot glue burns and sore thumbs from the floral pins - these bubbly burlap and fabric wrapped wreaths turned out so wonderfully.  A lot of these ladies lived in the same neighborhood as Jennifer, so I'm sure the mailman will be impressed when he sees such beauty hanging from your doors!  You all did a fantastic job!  Thank you, Jennifer, for having us at your lovely home - we had a great time with you all!

Thread Art - School's Out For The Summer - Craft Party!

There isn't a better way to begin Summer vacation than to complete a triathlon (for Slackers! - Really, it's called "Life's A Beach Triathlon") and then crafting with a whole bunch of wonderful ladies - and man!  Today, our featured craft was thread art.

After I sprinkled baby powder like a mad woman (best, and fastest, way to remove sand), I got myself together and headed down the street to help set up for our party.

So, the last two parties, I think I have been extremely hungry and have forgotten to take pictures of our delicious meal!  Tonight, we enjoyed a taco bar, complete with fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, delicious - but not so healthy - queso cheese dip....hmmm.  My mouth is watering just thinking about our dinner!  

After dinner, we gathered our supplies and began to brainstorm and print out templates for our creations that we nailed into reclaimed barn wood.  The wood had so much character.  You could actually see the saw marks and some pieces even had a silver shimmer.  Pretty cool!

 After the design was nailed into the wood, the paper template was torn away (or not), and we used thread to outline the nail design and fill the positive or negative space with thread.

Although this craft required concentration, stamina, very intricate work, the end results were well worth it!    Impressive! 

Alexis and Patty

Loie 

Awesome neighbors - Brian and Tiffany

Kathy

Becky

Christen

Kristen

Shannon

Thank you for coming and crafting with us.  As always, we had a wonderful time eating, crafting, laughing, and mingling with you all!  We hope to craft with you again soon!

By the way - Brian checked GOOD!  You were a good sport, and did a really great job on your pig!