Tag Sale Tidbits and other Musings

I have so much to share today....I know it has been quite a while since my last post but I have been busy with all things Shabby. So, have you ever found something that you love....Something that looks soooo ugly and you just can't believe that you like it, but once you get it home and work your magic it turns into something AMAZING...well welcome to the world of being an artist...Turning something that was nothing into a work of art. A wall, a piece of canvas, an ugly old desk or maybe a cheapy old fake wood table that is falling apart as you carry it to you car. You see something in it that no one else does... I love that.
Once I made the mistake of thinking that wasn't art, that it was copying someone elses work...don't be fooled shabby friends, you are not JUST copying, you are creating. Why do you think artist publish their works, or why designers and wanna be shabby artist types (like me)publish their shabby do's on the internet and in home decorating magazines??? Because they want to be out there so that someday someone will see it and be inspired to great things. That is what we all want, to inspire, well at least most of us, save one...LOL! So don't be stopped or swayed by the nasty voices telling you not to try. Go buy a bunch of shabby mags, cruise the shabby stuff in Ebay...find what you like and try it for yourself. Try everything. Don't stop with shabby, create something new, but don't listen to the "don't copy me" babies of the world...don't let their Jr. High attitude keep you from trying. Sooooo, off my soap box and to my shabby desk to give my 2 shabby tips of the day:

1. Find your local "AS IS" thrift or Goodwill type store. They generally sell things by the lb. rather than having everything priced. The prices are AWESOME!!! Don't be fooled by the funny smell or the notion that only "poor" people shop there....how do you think wealthy people get lots of money...Pinching pennies usually. I find great shabby deals daily! If you don't have an AS IS store, look on Craigslist for freebies....I once found a antique table worth over $2000.00.

2. Add a new color to your color scheme....if you LOVE pink like me, try yellow or periwinkle or another shade of pink you haven't tried yet. What is the worst that can happen? You have to repaint~ good~ more practice!

The most important advice of all ~ HAVE SO MUCH FUN YOU CAN'T PUT YOUR PAINT BRUSH DOWN!!!!

( Picture of this week is the old nasty cheapo fake wood table that was falling apart as I walked it to my car....I got an offer for it today for $50...I couldn't do it....it is a work of art to me Hee hee! )

Wow~ almost done with week number 2...yep, my baby went to Kindergarten! This pic is of Raury and his buddy Nick on the first day of school! Yes, Nick is Raury's age...just ALOT bigger. David and Goliath is more like it...LOL! Raury has officially joined the rat race! He is lovin every minute of school. He wakes up in the morning and the first thing he says to me is " I have school today?" It is hard to believe that 2 years ago he didn't hardly speak a word.
Gable has been trying my mommy skills lately! He cracked his head open and had to get three stitches (that was a fiasco)...then days later he dropped a can of tomatoes on his left big toe and broke it. Dear heaven, three boys....I am exausted even before I get up in the morning.
The shabby life is going okay....have had a bit of a artistic block recently....I am always trying to make something out of nothing....who wouldn't like that! There is not alot of nothing out there right now.
My sweet friend G has been keeping up my spirits with lots of good stalker talk ( hee hee...lol) and I got a new shabby pink cupboard that I am loving. I also found a 100 year old door, a slipper chair and a old English Pub table all for FREE....yes, Free... and they will be sold in the near future. I am looking to starting a romantic shabby website to sell all my treasures and I am hoping to get my sweet friend G to do it with me....sales in the west and the south....how romantic and cool will that be. She is turning into a great, sweet and super shabby friend! Love her and we have never met face to face.
Sad news from S the other day....her precious cocker had to be sent to rainbow heaven along with all our favorite family friends that preceeded her. "Windy, we hope you are chasing rabbits everyday!" I think about S and L all the time....they are such treasures to me !

Okay so I have blabbered on enough for now...I promise to blog more this week as things are calming down. I promise to be blogging some super shabby ideas in the coming days! Keep smilin'...shabby shinin'! May you never drip! Hee hee!!!!

Have you ever had one of those people in your life that make you pay? You know, the kind that when you offend them or hurt them they act like they are indifferent to you, but go out of there way to try and hurt you, discourage you or just stab you where you are already hurt...? I have and it is totally, well, Jr. High. When do people grow up? I guess sometimes never? Go figure...by the time you are my age you think the girl friends (or former friends, LOL) in your life wouldn't act likes snot nosed whiny little girls.
I turned 37 on the 29th...I had a glorious day. I've lost 25lbs, my boys are with me and I have made a great new friend! I am so blessed... then a friend told me about a blog, a blog from a former friend, one that I don't read anymore...and that blogger knew it was my birthday, yeah, she did it on purpose in hopes I'd read it....I fell for it. Stupid me, I got sad, for about a second....duh...who cares if she doesn't "like" me anymore. What is this, Jr. High? I have better things to do than read her blog, right? Still stings, but that's what I get for trying to make things right ... everyone is entitled to make a mistake and recieve forgivness...give me a total break!

So... run J, run fast....cuz I am NOT chasin' you! I gave up long ago...it doesn't hurt anymore....all I can say is MBC taught me alot about forgiveness and this is NOT what it is....you NEVER forgave me and I have dusted my feet off and walked the other way. Some day when we all stand in front of of Him we have to give an account...account for what WE have done or not done...I know I was wrong about some things....I admit that, and He forgave me. No turning back now....I AM OUTA HERE!

And that is the end of that saga! Jr High is now OVER, and I have graduated. One year older and ALOT wiser... and you know what, all that matters is that He forgave me Long ago!
Amen to that!

Wow~ what a day! It seems like the days just run into one another and before you know it....your waking up again! Just when I get the boys down to bed~I take a deep breathe....then go out to the shabby studio (my garage, but studio makes me feel like a million bucks LOL) to get some me time~ painting, creating, Singing~ yeah, I find myself singing all the time. I must be happy even when I don't feel happy in my heart my soul is singing. Isn't that a gift? How many times has your soul sang...? Sang for what you ask? Well, I am sure my soul thanks God everyday for his saving grace...I would be dead without it! My soul is happy because I am so blessed to have so many people surrounding me who love and support me and of course the shabby princes...they are the reason my nose crinkles when Connor says "Too Scary" or Gable talks in his own little language~or when Raury comes to me for no reason at all and give me a hug and a kiss... He thanked me for painting the bathroom blue today and giving us a "new" bathroom...what a lovey! Sweet smelling roses make my soul sing~everytime my daddy comes to visit from Seattle he brings me a Rose....how thoughtful is that! And Gary~ the biggest shabby knight in shining armor~he does the dishes without me asking~does laundry and folds it! Wow~ I know a lot of you out there don't get that! My hunk of a hubby bubby makes my heart and soul sing~and sometimes skip a beat....Shabbilicious!

So~ my latest creation is this bed I finished! Don't you just love the shabby country look! I can't get enough! I have been busy in the shabby studio from morning to night! My shabby princes are helping me all along the way! I just love selling shabby! It is my creative passion! I can't seem to keep up with the orders from clients these days. Which reminds me~ I better get back to the workbench~ paint is dry...Thanks for taking a moment with me!

Tootles
Aelyese

Something Old~Something New

Well, finally I have my own blog....I have been wanting to have one for a while but haven't had the time to sit down and start typing~
IT IS TIME~ and there is no time like the present~ so here I sit....trying to decided how I am going to share all the musings in my head without rambling on and on!

Time has a way of blinding us to the things that are right in front of us. I thought for so long that God created me to be a mom, wife and all the things that come with that...I never thought I could be what I am becoming. I thought I was really grown up and mature and responsible and all that then~ wham ~ I act like a highschool girl all over again. I didn't rise above the hormonal cat fight....I got mad....really mad....then sad....then introspective.You know what I mean...
You do the right thing all the time~don't rock the boat, say the right thing, keep your mouth shut for fear of saying something wrong! I did that for sooooo long. Then one day~ I let it slip~ and what happens, just my luck, it came back to bite me~ and it hurt! (to protect the not so innocent I am witholding names....LOL) She took me at my word....that I wouldn't do something~something big~ but I did it anyway. Not thinking first, just doing! I let my gaurd down for just a moment, and there it was....a gift....a talent even, like it had been hiding in a locked closet. A gift of creating~not like giving birth, but creating with my mind and hands and absolutely LOVING IT in a way I have NEVER loved anything before! Well, to be truthful I love my sweet redheaded honey and my sweet little boys more~but I am now creating something for MYSELF and my babies and my sweet dear hubby benefit all the way around. So~she hates me~a long time friend~a sister even! I hurt her~maybe even broke her heart~ I will never know. She won't speak to me! That is in the past. I have moved on....and that brings me to the SOMETHING NEW!

I prayed, I hurt and I suffered over the wrong I had done. I appolgized, then the cloud lifted and standing there were a crowd of people...cheering for me. My Gary~who loves me more than he lets on sometimes, my three sweet babies~Raury, Connor and Gable...they make me want to smile all the time. Amy~ a sweet, loving, honest caring friend who has been there from the start and NEVER left~even when I did! Shannon and Dwayne~if I haven't said it in a long time~ we love that you still invite us and call us even though we don't always call back. We love spending time with you~and Raury really digs Britton. My mom and Dad~the support and love have always been there....and to the Something New~ Gwen~ my chic and shabby twin sister...you ROCK!!!!! I love chatting it up, laughing and becoming good friends. I hope we are friends FOREVER! Suzanne~ Darlin' you have encouraged me though this whole thing and I love you for it!
For those of you who know what I am talking about~ look for the something news in Life! They can make even the most bittersweet moments bloom like a BIG FAT ROSE!!!!! LOL!