New Year's Eve 2009

Waiting for the clock to strike 12, and it is goodbye 2009!

I must admit that I'm glad to see this year go. It has been a good year, but also I've been plagued with little nitpicking physical ailments. Ugh. It is patch, patch, patch after 60.

I've done some exciting projects this year from building a Backyard Botanical Garden as a first veggie/herb garden, to making shades for the utility room, to learning to weave on a loom at The Old Oaks Fiber Arts Center, to redoing the front bath and designing the fused glass back splash, which is on hold since I need to get to the glass shop to use the sandblasting machine. I cracked my right ankle bone on December 15 and am very hesitant to drive with the "boot." Hubby is my source of transportation. I have to gauge my trips, grocery list, etc., and going to the glass shop is not on the trip list. :D



I love to do projects/crafts because I avoid doing those things I really dislike, such as filing the mail. I can hide it in the desk drawers. In getting ready for 2010 and since there is no escape, I'm filing the mail. Things are going to be so organized for the New Year! What chore do you put off?


My stomach has not quite settled down from the virus that hit early, early Christmas morning, and I decided to make chicken noodle soup. Saltine crackers are getting old and chicken soup just about cures everything. lol And, since I am somewhat home bound, I asked hubby to get some egg noodles at the grocery. However, I did not totally trust him to get the correct item and found this egg noodle recipe online. The lack of trust panned out; he came home with elbow macaroni.



The soup and homemade egg noodles turned out very good. Here's the soup recipe:

1 whole chicken
1-2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup carrots
1 medium red potato, sliced very thin and chopped

Almost cover the chicken with water, add the onions, garlic, and bouillon cubes. When the chicken is done, remove the bones and return the chicken to the broth, add carrots, potatoes and noodles. Cook for about 30 minutes.

Do you have plans for this evening? I hope you have the very best New Year's Eve.

Until next time, God bless.

Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part II

Each tile has 5 separate pieces of glass for the second layer.


There are 10 tiles and each tile requires 2 gray, 2 light coral, and 1 piece of crystal clear glass. I'm being extra careful in setting up to cut; I'll need 20 pieces of gray.


Measure twice, cut once: A black sharpie was used to mark 3/4 inch cuts; then to be sure I had the correct width, I placed the pattern on the glass.

I used the grinder on all the cut pieces to knock off irregularities and to even up the edges to match the white base piece of glass. Each piece was thoroughly washed in soapy water and rinsed.



To be absolutely sure no fingerprints are on the glass, each piece is wiped down with alcohol.

All tiles assembled and glued with a glass glue which, by the way, does not hold very well. The tiles are fired upside down to keep the lines of glass straight. The glue was supposed to hold it together when turned over -- it did not. I'll have to speak with my glass guru to see what I'm missing. :D


Stacked up and ready to carry out to the kiln. I can only do two tiles at a time in my kiln.



Yippeeeeeeeee! The lines stayed straight and match up. Matching up was of great concern to me since I have to rebuild the tile upside down and cannot see clearly through the white opaque glass.

The edges will probably be cold worked to even up. We'll see after the last firing when the entire tile is capped with a crystal clear glass.

Eight more tiles to go in the first firing. In fact, two are in the kiln right now. We are leaving tomorrow to visit my good friend in Houston. So, it will be next week before the rest of the tiles are done. Then, it is over to the glass shop to use the sandblasting machine. More steps to come but, frankly, do not know how many more since this is a try this and that to see what I like. lol

Happy Thanksgiving to all. If traveling, I pray travel mercies over you for your safe trip going and returning.

Until next time, God bless.

Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part I

It is back to the drawing board to design 5 feet of back splash for our front bath redo.



This is the second trial before firing where I used a glass paint and then sprinkled some powdered glass over the wet paint. It did not work out like I hoped. More than anything else is the fact I cannot draw very well and paint bled underneath the stencils. lol It was back to the drawing board again.



But, when using a powdered glass, you need to wear one of these. You do NOT want powdered glass in your lungs.


I came up with another idea that does not require drawing. I cut a pattern to make sure the dimensions are correct. The tile is 4 x 6 inches and 10 are needed.


Cutting the 4 x 6 tiles.


Twelve 4 x 6's are stacked, giving me two extra to use for testing and samples.

After cutting, the grinder is used to knock off irregularities on the edges.

To keep the lines straight when firing, the tile is stacked upside down. Not to waste a firing on just one piece, the glass squares on the side will round and be used as accents in other projects, maybe even this one.

Aha. This looks very promising. The middle requires a design, but this the basic tile.

You see! The squares became dots.

Stay tuned for Part II because I'm off to cut the next layer of glass for 10 tiles. The second layer will required 5 separate pieces of glass.

Until next time, God bless.

This and That

I haven't been posting very often these past few weeks. There has not been time between redoing the bathroom, weaving two scarves for Christmas presents, gardening, Bible study, and then creating a design for a fused-glass back splash for the updated bathroom.


The redo is almost completed with a back splash lacking. When the back splash is up, you'll get to see the vanity. :D

Weaving is great! It is so relaxing. The scarves have been washed and the fringed given a crisp cut. The small piece on the end will probably be finished as a purse at some point time. I'm scheduled to do two more scarves and to learn to warp the loom and probably have another small piece from the leftover wool. Another purse, maybe?


Flat parsley and cilantro (coriander) seeds are coming up. I planted some carrot seeds this past week. The cabbage has been attacked by a worm; read this morning to sprinkle red pepper on it and worms will leave. Hopefully, that will be the case. At this time, the cabbage leaves remind me of lace. lol

This has been the greatest Bible study. I highly recommend "He Speaks to Me" study by Priscilla Shirer. This girl is good.

We are in deep discussion, I think.

A not so deep discussion as we are at our "We've completed another one " lunch at the Creek Road Cafe.

The second try which does not fly, but may use a technique discovered when doing this trial and the first attempt. Then, again, maybe not. :D I used a copper paint then sprinkled powdered glass over the top. The colors work. Now what?! Back to the drawing board. I do love a challenge.

Until next time, God bless.

Bath Redo Update II

I knew that I've changed the way I do projects -- at a pace that suits me instead of being totally obsessed until a project is completed. However, the photo dates from the blog has almost put me to shame....but not quite. :D

This photo was taken February 20, 2009 and sent to Layla at The Lettered Cottage for an online design consultation sometime around the first of April or May.


Layla sent back this suggestion sometime in June 2009.


I mulled over her suggestion but played around with Behr's Colorsmart program and decided to go in this direction.

This photo was taken August 30 while I was working on the shower curtain.

I started taping the walls on September 16, 2009.

I kept dragging my feet before painting the cabinets. There was an aversion to sanding inside the cabinets. The cabinets took three coats of paint inside and out. It was not until yesterday that I finished taping and painted the edges. Hopefully, the walls will only require one coat of paint. The walls are on today's, Sunday, October 25, schedule. :D During the intervening days, I bought towels, baskets, towel bars, a picture, and gray bath rugs.

This light fixture is to be replaced with a brushed nickel, 3-light fixture. The towel bars are a brushed nickel.........just waiting for me to finish the walls.


I've picked out a brushed nickel/stainless light plate and hope to replace these ugly cream light switches and plugs. I plan to call an electrician to make the changes. In addition, I still have to design the backsplash to do fused glass tiles. I've been looking around various decorating and fused glass sites to get some ideas. I bought the glass September 2008. lol But, as soon as the walls are finished, I'm going to get serious about the tiles. The first design idea will not work, so it is back to the drawing board.

I must say that it is much more pleasurable to take one's time when doing a project; however, I did not realize just how long. Blogging, however, about various projects, etc., does have its good points; but then again, does it?

Life is good, isn't it!

Until next time, God bless.

Bathroom Update, Part I

First off, let me say it is a beautiful morning here because the temperature is a cool 73 degrees. Fall is in the air! I had forgotten just how cool 73 degrees could be. Now, if we only get some rain, then it would be perfect.

Our house was built in 1984. I tore down the wallpaper, textured and painted the walls, replaced the original flooring with tile, replaced the vanity top with Silestone, a vessel sink, and the original faucets with one of brushed nickel. I've been at a stand still since last September. Did I want to repaint this bathroom a red or some other dark color? This bathroom is small, so would it be too dark and close? I made a shower curtain, topped it with a beaded trim valance. It did not work. The bathroom remained blah. Out of desperation, I contacted Layla of The Lettered Cottage, sent her some photos and asked what did she suggest.



As the shows on HGTV do, here is Layla's basic redo suggestion. The red ties to an old leaded glass window hanging in the bathroom window and the brown ties to the mesquite framing around a mirror from my mother's house. The walls can either remain a Swiss Coffee color or be painted white. I'm leaving the walls to last since I hope I will like the existing Swiss Coffee color; but, if not, the walls will be redone in a white: one step at a time around here, live with it for a while to see if I like it.


I spent hours online trying to find some brown trim. There is not much out there in brown. However, I stopped by a really cool shop here in Dripping Springs, Cowgirls & Lace, and found this wonderful trim. It was the only solid brown trim in the shop, and it was the last on a roll. I needed 6 2/3 yards; the roll had 6 3/4 yards. Is that luck or not?!



The trim is basted on the shower curtain for the time being. I haven't decided whether or not to use fabric glue or the sewing machine. Since the curtain is to be in the bathroom, I'll probably use the machine to attach the trim.


I did not get the matching Sileston back splash because I want to do fused glass tiles. Pay no attention to the color, but I have been working on a 4 x 6 tile design. It is a matter of will I be able to do in glass what I can design on the computer? BTW, those switch plates have got to go. :D


This is the plain Jane vanity cabinet. I'm going to add some legs at the bottom to give the illusion it is a piece of furniture, paint it, and add new handles.



This is the cabinet over the commode. The redo photo shows the door off. I can tell you that there is going to be some big time reorganizing for me to remove the door. :D Every inch of cabinet space is spoken for in this house.


I picked up some paint samples at Home Depot the other day. Behr Paints has a Premium Plus which is a combination primer and paint. The samples come in a flat gloss; but, of course, the paint comes in eggshell, satin, and high gloss. I'm thinking I will do the middle color in a satin gloss because if I do not like it, I can easily go darker.


I had company when taking the photos last night. Nasty little creature, isn't it? I promptly picked up my weapon, the fire place shovel, brushed him to the floor, and dispatched him. You don't want to smash them on the wall; you can never completely get rid of the remains. lol

Today, I'm going to permanently attached the brown trim to the shower curtain, sand the cabinets, tape the wall around the cabinets, remove the cabinet door, fill the hinge holes, and possibly start painting. However, you know what is totally neat about being retired? What isn't done today can easily be done tomorrow or the next day or the day after.

Until next time, God bless.

Bath Consultation

Rare and Beautiful Treasures is giving away a bath consultation by Layla of The Lettered Cottage. I am in dire need of a consultation. This is the last room that needs updating. I've been on a five-year house update mission.

To enter your name, we have to post photos of the bathroom............groan. To publicly show my bathroom is almost an embarrassment but not so much if I get chosen for the bath consultation! Gad, what I will do for a giveaway. lol After posting photos, I go over to Rare and Beautiful, leave a comment, leave a link to the photos, and hope like crazy they decide "this girl really, really needs a bath consultation."

Here goes:
Since this is the front bath, I've been wanting it to have the "wow" factor. And since I've not come up with a "wow" factor idea, it stays drab and uninteresting. I made the shower curtain, added the black print valence hoping it would spice it up. Ummm, no it doesn't.

To the left. As you can see, it is quite small; the dimensions are 5 feet by 8 feet. The art work above the commode is an original I bought in Houston at least 35 years ago.

Last September, I changed the vanity to a Stilestone, added a new brushed stainless faucet, framed a mirror from my mother's house in mesquite, and left the back splash for me to do a coordinating fused glass tile. There is approximately 5 feet of back splash area. As you can see, no back splash yet -- I've some glass for it but got twisted off on blogging, creating a garden, doing fused glass pendants for friends and for a street fair, and taking classes on Paint Shop Pro. In short, I'm procrastinating.

This old stained glass window hangs in the bathroom window and serves as a wet towel rack since I made a mistake when building the house and did not put a wet towel bar in the tub area.

That's about it. Now it is a matter of waiting for an email that I was chosen for the consultation. Keep your fingers crossed. BTW, if you are in need of a bath consultation, be sure to register for it at Rare and Beautiful, the more the merrier.


Until next time, God bless.

SOOC Sunday

Straight Out of the Camera Sunday

Murrieta 365 came up with a fun new meme: Straight Out of the Camera Sunday. No tweaking or alterations allowed. Click over to her site, she has a striking photo.

I chose this one because it did not require tweaking and the chess set is totally handmade. The board is fused glass and each chess piece was created by flameworking glass. The artist said it took him about 20 hours to make the chess pieces.

I'm posting an enhanced photo below of the completed set but only because the chess set should be seen in its entirety to fully appreciate. It is an incredible piece of craftsmanship and art.

Until next time, God bless.