I've learned a new craft

A few months back, we made some minor cosmetic changes to our guest bathroom. We replaced the old shiny gold/silver faucets with rubbed black/bronze ones. A new light fixture took the place of the one that looked like it belonged in a carnival, and the wall mirror was reduced in size and framed. The frame was one that was in my collection for the samplers I stitch. Everything turned out great, but there was one thing left to tackle...the medicine cabinet. It was the typical sunk in the wall type with a mirrored door trimmed in gold. Not my taste at all. I love the look of punched tin, and I saw a cabinet that I liked from Irvin's Country Tinware. The problem is that it would have been a huge hassle to remove the old, add sheet rock to cover the hole, and so on. I came up with the idea to make my own version. I ordered an plain blackened tin panel from Irvin's the same size as the door. Copying a pattern that I like, I then drew the design on the panel with a white marking pencil. Using a board, a nail, and a hammer, I punched the design. My husband made the simple frame for it, and after painting it black, I sanded and antiqued it. Paul then attached the whole thing to the existing door. I love it. It is exactly the look I was going for. My poor hubby hates it when I come up with these projects for him. I can do the visualizing...but he has to make my ideas work. Occasionally, we can get a little put out with each other while in the process, but in the end it always turns out great. We make a good team!

One bathroom down, one to go, dear!

The maiden voyage

Do they look excited? We recently bought this to take the "kids" along on our bike rides. The girls were all for it and behaved perfectly. Henry was, well...Henry. He has to stand up and bark the entire time. It's like he's the town crier, and he thinks he needs to announce to everyone that we're coming. We rode about nine miles round trip to the bark park and back. I thought they'd be pooped from running at the park. They were, but Henry's still found the energy to announce our return. Mr. B is going to get a good workout pulling these three.

Paul has since modified the carrier. He put a solid platform on the bottom instead of the canvas floor. We added a comfy cushion, and now they can ride like the pampered, spoiled rotten pets they are.

Happy anniversary to us

Six years ago today...I'd do it all over again.

It runs in the family...

Granddaughter, Olivia, is an artist in the making. She is only five, but already is rarely without a crayon or marker in her hand. I, of course, love it. She drew this picture for me on her last sleepover at our house. I think it's an excellent likeness of one of the girls. I do occasionally dress them up in sweaters when it's cold, but not the leg warmers. For Christmas this year, I gave Olivia a crayon maker. I don't know who was more excited about the gift, me, Olivia or her Daddy. It's supposed to melt down broken crayons and produce brand spanking new ones. You can also combine colors for a swirl one. As a kid, nothing was better than opening a brand new box full of all those fantastic colors.