Replacement "Bone" Sink Faucet Handles

Posted by, Paulette

One of the perils of having so many children is having things in your house broken...frequently. So I wasn't surprised to hear that someone broke the porcelain handle for the faucet, but I was disappointed.
I made a call to my aunt who has some schooling and experience in interior design, thinking that she might know of a place I could go online or maybe a store to replace the porcelain part of the handle.  Her answer to my problem was that I wouldn't be able to buy a replacement, but I could make one!

 Initially I thought that I would just make them look like the originals, But that was easier said than done. I wasn't able to get them smooth enough, so I decided to make them look like carved bone instead. There's so many things that you could do to make them unique. 
I used an aluminum foil armature, and then sculpted white Fimo plasticine clay which hardens in the oven. After it was cooled, I carved it with an exacto blade, and then painted it with a mixture of cream and brown paint, and wiped it off so that it just stained the clay. Then I used my drill to drill a hole through. There's a square knotch needed to fit the shaft of the handle through, and that was carved with the exacto blade. 
Then spearing them on chopsticks, they were dipped in polycrylic twice waiting until the first coat was dry.

The bathroom these go in is decorated in a forest theme. So they go perfectly.


How do you like seeing my reflection in that faucet. Fun huh?

Sharing at Feathered Nest Friday 
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Back to the Gym

Posted by, Paulette

I found this yesterday, and it perfectly describes how I feel.

 I'm beginning to think that I'm losing that battle. It's time to bring some ammunition. I felt so good when I was going to the gym every day and eating right. My energy levels were up and I didn't have so many body aches. Unfortunately I eat to deal with stress. Having Five kids home all of the time is stressful and there's been a few times that I've wanted to slap one of them in particular. These are not my finest moments. And to avoid doing that I grab something sweet, salty and crunchy and hide in my room in front of the computer until I cool down. 
 My youngest sister has been an inspiration to me. She has started going to the gym regularly and losing weight. I was hoping to find a work out buddy to help get me back on track, and I  think I have found one. We'll see. 

Hopefully soon I'll be looking like this again soon.

 That's Marcelline, my former personal trainer. I really wish I had the money to hire her again. She really motivated me (kicked my butt)!
 

A Little Something For the Back Porch

Posted by, Paulette

I've had a piece of wood sitting on my back porch for the past year, Originally it was meant for repairing a slat in our gate, but that required redwood, not pine. It had plenty of character for a faux barn wood flag. 


The stripes were measured and marked, but painted on without the aid of tape. After the paint was dry, I watered down some brown paint to age parts of the flag.


I'll spare you pictures of the rest of the porch. It's been cleaned up now, but when I took this picture, it was a mess! That's how it is with 5 kids and a mom who's a crafter!

Sharing at Feathered Nest Friday 
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Old Glory Lace Pillow

Posted by, Paulette Burton

I've been seeing Union Jack lace pillows popping up all over the net, and thought, those are really pretty, but that's not MY flag. And the one day inspiration hit. I'll make one of Old Glory! Here's my version.

 Sharing at Feathered Nest Friday
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Summer Boredom buster-Harry Potter wands

Posted by, Paulette

I know a lot of parents who are looking for summer projects to do with their kids, so when I saw this tutorial, I knew I had to make these wands for my kids. They were great bribes for getting them to get their chores done. They collaborated on how they wanted them to look and what kind of beads to use. I wealded the hot glue gun, and painted them for them.

You can find the tutorial here:
http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2012/06/diy-harry-potter-style-wands.html

It was less than $2 for a package of chopsticks. There were 20 to a pack, but I ran out of hot glue. This takes a lot. Expect to use 1 long stick or more, per wand. The paint wears off too, I suggest giving them a coat of spray on primer before using the acrylic paint to get it to stick longer.

Dumbledore Cloth Doll

Posted by, Paulette


Dumbledore is one of many colorful characters created by J.K. Rowling in her series of books about Harry Potter. I forget sometimes that not everyone has been caught up in the books or movies like my family and I have. David bought the seventh book and laid on the closet floor all night to read, so that he wouldn't disturb my sleep. 

 Dumbledore is the headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is wise, old and has a bit of a sense of humor. While researching him, I found that he prefers patterned socks, and favors argyles. 

 
 My inspiration for my dolls comes from both the books and the movies. Dumbledore wears a gold under robe, a purple over robe, a gold fez, and purple argyle socks. The time turner that he loaned to Hermione hangs from his neck, and the horcrux ring is on his finger. 

This doll is completely original. the patterns for doll and clothes were created by myself. his face is hand painted and needle sculpted. 

 

 

Tomorrow he will be traveling to his new home in the same box as Bellatrix Lestrange. Let's hope they don't kill each other.

My Florida Vacation

Posted by, Paulette

We are about three weeks into the summer vacation. The Burton family has been very busy. I had a wonderful relaxing two week vacation to Florida all by my self just before the kids got out of school and recharged my batteries for the next two months. My youngest sister treated all of the women to a spa day. I've never experienced total relaxation like I did on that day. After my massage and sugar scrub I felt like a rag doll. It was blissful! I will have to repeat the experience some day.

I got to go to Universal Studios and Disney World. I have never been so spoiled in my life! I had to buy another suitcase to bring home all of the wonderful gifts that were lavished on me and my family.

The matching outfits weren't planned. It's amazing how the twelve years between our ages makes no difference when we're together.

The whole family went to Universal Studios together and broke off into smaller groups to explore. I went with my brother, Zach, and his girlfriend, Kyoko. 

 

This little cutie pie is my nephew Jed. We were on a family shopping trip in Vero Beach, when we were caught up in a rainstorm. If you've never lived in Florida, you may not know about their epic cloud bursts. In Arizona when it rains, you can see through it. In Florida, you can't. It just pours! This picture was taken when the rain became a drizzle, and Baby Jed is standing under the eaves of the roof waiting for the droplets to fall.

 An errand to buy a replace toilet seat tuned into a trip to the thrift store, where I found this Mater truck in like new condition. So we had to have it!

 I also bought this HUGE suitcase while there, and Jed loved using it as a makeshift stroller.

 You can't go on vacation and not go swimming! The boys, (Jed and Gavin) loved their personal floatation devises so much that I had to get a couple for my girls when I got home.

My Big Little brother Zach and his girlfriend Kyoko paid for me to go to Disneyworld with them. Some of the rides were closed down, and so we only got to do a couple, but Kyoko had a blast in the gift shop. Here in the States, the popular characters of Disney are the new ones; the Princesses, and characters from  Toys and Cars, but in Japan, it's all about Mickey!

 That pink hat was my best buy. I didn't get sunburn on my nose for once! It's now a must have for going to the pool.

I'm a little sad that I didn't get pictures of my Mom and Dad. I guess I'll have to go back and remedy that. I'm not used to having a camera, and even when it's in my bag, I forget to use it. I'm working on it!