Polymer Clay Owl Ornaments

I know I've been talking about my craft show prep a little lately but now I think it's time to start showing a few of the items that I will be featuring at the sale!  
I have a love for owls lately, not really sure why.  I mean, really, when I think of owls I think of

When crafting doesn't go as planned...

I hope that all of you had an amazing week because apparently I have been so wrapped up in this dang craft show preparation that I totally lost track of time and haven't posted in a while! Ooops!
Here's  shot of the chaos so you believe me.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a sign...{how to diy wooden signs}

This week has been crazy busy! Anyone else have that goin' on to? We've had a nasty cold bug running around our house between the kids and let's just say, I'm only alive right now because of my coffee :(

As if that's not a handful in itself, my sister in law and I have decided spur of the moment to join in a local craft show in the beginning of December. We did one a few years back and had

School Spirit Christmas Ornaments

Good morning bloggy friends!  In case you haven't noticed, I've been a little absent from my blog this week.  Mr. Serene and I took a nice little trip out of town where I didn't have any access to my computer.  It was definitely strange to

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Cleaning a Glass Cook Top Stove

Glass cook top stoves can be awesome for a number of reasons. You don't have to contend with any coils or clean under the burners but the wear that the glass can get is a little ridiculous.  If mine were black on top, it probably wouldn't bug me so much but with mine being white, I notice EVERYTHING!!  Whenever anything spills onto a hot burner I am left with a black burnt ring.

We have tried in the past to use the special cleaning products designed for cook tops but to no avail.  They straight up don't work, in my honest opinion.  Even after

Recipe: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce (the easy way!)

If your anything like me, you probably love homemade spaghetti sauces but not the time it takes to make them.  I have a great recipe that will give you the best of both worlds.

I have been using this recipe for the last 3 years and LOVE it!!!  My neighbors are amazing and grow beautiful gardens.  Lucky for me, they like their neighbors too and always share there crops with us :)

My sweet neighbor Michelle brought over a ton of Roma tomatoes the other day and I promised my Facebook fans that I would

French Provincial Dresser: Fake it till you make it!

A while back I scored this not so fancy French Provincial lingerie chest off of Craigslist.  I had put an add up that I was looking for wooden furniture to refinish and a women in my very

Welcome Fall!!

Yesterday I had a very special date with my sweet middle daughter, Carmin.  Her and I don't get a ton of time to spend with just the two of us so I couldn't wait to hang with her.  She has a heart of gold! 

We headed a few miles down the road to one of my favorite

Frame for Less

I hope you all had a great week!  I know I sure did.  After a very long week of Mr. Serene being out of town for work, we were finally able to get some good quality time together.

The hubs and I were able to head up to a beautiful lodge in Ely, MN this past weekend for a wedding and let me just tell you, the food there? FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!!! This wedding had a taco bar ya'll!!  If you are planning a wedding, this is an amazing idea!  Everyone was

DIY Hornet and Wasp trap

Today I did something stupid.  REALLY stupid.  See, we have had an abundance of hornets flying around our house these last few weeks and not thinking, I set a garbage bag that I intended to bring out to our main trash bin out onto our deck.  I was only setting it out there for a few minutes, just long enough for me to place a new bag in and haul the other one downstairs and outside.  Seems innocent enough, right?? Wrong!!

The hornets viewed this as an open dinner invitation and

George's new look

If you have been following along, then you might remember George? George was the jungle themed dresser that I inherited from a good friend of mine.  He was a sad, lonely little guy with a confused sense of self.  He was half dresser, half animal.  

Not a good mix. 

From Carpet to Hardwood Stairs

Dark treads and white risers on a staircase could stop anyone in their tracks, at least that's how I see it.

Board and Batten Master Bedroom

I absolutely love the look of architectural details in a home.  They are -in my opinion- one of the greatest statements to a home.  That and paint of course.  When we were looking at purchasing a home in 2008, I had a "dream" list, if you will, of what I wanted in a house.  Moldings, clean white trim, beautiful floors, archways.  You know, magazine style houses.

Well, let's just snap back to reality for a minute, mkay? This was 2008, the year the market

Painted Kitchen Cabinets: Part 1

Once we finally made the decision to paint our nasty oak cabinets and bring them into current times, we struggled with our decision on what color to choose as mentioned here.  

I love the look of a white kitchen.  Clean and timeless if done right.  But remember the gaggle of children I mentioned before that live here?  Yeah,  them. Their mits would have been all over those clean, beautiful cabinets and next thing you know, my gorgeous white kitchen would be Cheetos orange.  The thought of having to meticulously clean every cabinet, everyday really made me cringe.  I'm clean, but not anal retentive clean!  

Painted Cabinets Inspirations

I don't know about your house, but mine is plastered with Honey Oak.  Trim. Cabinets. Railings. Doors.  You name it...I probably have it in honey oak form.  It drives me crazy when I see all of these beautiful homes with clean, white trim and GORGEOUS custom kitchens.

My house?

 None of those glorious things.  

I guess I should just be thankful that the inside of my house isn't covered in fake wood paneling.  Childhood memories!! Anyone else grow up with that? Or was that just a Northern Minnesota thing? 

Peel and Stick Beauty

Peel and stick isn't something that you usually hear and think, "Wow, must be some classy flooring!" but they have come soooo far, I swear!  The Traffic Master Luxury Vinyl Tile had rave reviews and I just had to see for myself if it was really better than spending all kinds of money on real tile for my bathroom.


Mr. Serene and I came to a decision that our bathroom floor would be on the way out but both came to different conclusions as to how it would be replaced.  See...Mr. Serene is a practical guy.  He didn't want our time to be spent ripping out a bathroom floor, getting in too deep, not knowing what we were doing, and end up calling a professional so his option included skipping all of that and going straight to a pro.  Me on the other hand??? I saw opportunity to learn something new and save a TON of money.

Using Citristrip on Painted Furniture

Removing the paint off of a poorly painted piece of furniture can be a bit intimidating.  But who am I to turn down a challenge right? When someone hands you a FREE piece of furniture, you nab it! At least that's my motto :) Isn't it yours? 

Kitchen Island Makeover

I had DIY island envy for more than I care to admit but it's true.  Pinterest spewed beautiful kitchen islands at me for hours. No Joke!! I yearned for a day when I would have a pretty one too because for the last five years, my kitchen island mocked me.  Like, seriously mocked me.  Not just in a "I will make you collect junk on my unusable surface" type of way but also in the "I will make you feel fat as you try to squeeze between me and the table" kind of way.  Of course, I would usually bruise a hip trying to maneuver around this dumb thing. This was defeating. I pondered about the way the island would go down.