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A Wise Project

Dawn: Posted on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 12:25 AM

I've been quite busy in the workshop and here is one of my favorite projects of late. It started with a little trip to Hobby Lobby to visit the 60-90% off aisle. I found this fun little wooden owl, but as you can SEE...

it had a missing part!

Guess both eyes didn't make it through the Christmas holidays. Yikes!

This sweet little owl was marked down 80% off...

I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but owls are all the rave these days, so I grabbed her up!

The eyes were an easy fix...I popped the good eye off and then Mod Podge two new ones using scrapbook paper cut out to look similar to the original one.

I also distressed her a tad.

This project was for a teacher's classroom, so I opted to glue the owl onto a painted canvas

(this one is 18x24 inches in size)

and then used my Cricut to cut the lettering...

So...what happened to the "eye"...well, here you "see" it on another project. It was turned into a flower for a sweet canvas for a special girlie girl in my life...

Good luck with your "Scratch -n-Dent" purchases.

Be creative...think differently...think fun! :)

Inspired,

Dawn

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Colby is here...

Dawn: Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 9:40 PM

It was just yesterday that we were welcoming our oldest son and daughter-in-love's first little one, Caden, into our family. That exciting and life changing day was just a little over two years ago...

We had no stinkin' idea just how much joy this little hooligan would bring to our lives. His antics cause an unbelievable amount laughter within our four walls when he is visiting!

I am not quite sure where he gets his personality from and...

my~oh~my, how stubborn but fun loving he can be!

We spent the last eight months patiently awaiting the arrival of his new little brother...the anticipation was worse than a kid at Christmas!

Well...

he arrived safe and sound on an early Tuesday morning just a few weeks ago...very uneventful, but memorable all the same! :)

Just as planned, Caden spent the night before his little brother's birth over here at Nana D, Poppa T and Uncle B's house. We tried to create a memorable night for him as his life was ABOUT TO CHANGE...to say the least!

We stopped for a treat, "fen fie" (French fries), at Sonic...

Then he spent an hour playing football with Uncle Blane where he learned the "3 point stance!" Too funny...

After a bath and a few new bedtime stories about the new little "baby" that he was going to (hopefully!) love, it was time for dreamland. I wondered what thoughts were swirling through his head as he drifted off the sleep...

I must admit...there was a bit of anxiety building as the big day approached. While big brother, Caden, had been expecting a new "bruder", we were all sorta sitting on pins and needles to see his reaction on the day of delivery. My daughter-in-love was desperately afraid that Caden would immediately reject the idea of this new little creature invading his world...the thought of him not embracing this new life would be hurtful and disappointing!

As you can see, little Caden is eager to share

his sense of distaste for things...

Do you get the sense that he MIGHT be just a BIT strong willed? LOL

The next morning, we woke early to head to the hospital where he was treated to a few more new books to help him learn some "brotherly love."

After waiting patiently...

...and lots of entertainment with sticker books and hospital toys...

...we soon got the go ahead to head back and see the newest addition to the Burnett bunch. Let me officially introduce you to the cute little guy and our youngest grand baby...

Colby Brysten

And then that sweet moment came after baby Colby's arrival and the question, "Will Caden like Colby?" was answered...

Yes, he LOVES him!

No doubt...it was a sweet and tender moment to see him respond so positively to this new thing invading his world.

Caden was intrigued...

...and over-joyed!

In fact, we were all over-joyed...

He was born so perfectly perfect with scrawny fingers...

and fat little toes...

(BTW...how can people NOT believe that there is a Creator

that created this amazing creation?!?...just sayin'!)

We all watched in amazement Caden's adoration for his new adorable brother. It was such a wonderful feeling to see him so engaged and even protective of his "bebe" (baby!)

What a burden lifted to see him so eagerly welcome his little brother into his world with open arms...such a sigh of relief as we held our breath for his response to this precious one that the rest of us had come to love before we ever laid eyes on him. This incredible, heartfelt and embracing love is the only example that I can fathom could be close to what my Heavenly Father and Savior feels for me.

Our response to Christ's unfailing love is up to us...we can rejoice in it or reject it! Today Christ offers a life of joy and delight if we respond to His love for us. Paul reminds us in Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)..".For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

This love is what gets me through some days here at

~ No. 9257 ~

...knowing that I am a Child of God and the fullness that that life brings...not always easy, but fulfilling! Praise God that He accepts me...my ugliness and all. I am honored to be loved by Him! =)

I love the way that the smallest miracles teach us the grandest lessons! Won't you embrace God's unfailing love today? =)

It will be a changing day...

Loved and Inspired,

Dawn

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Perseverance = Satisfaction

Dawn: Posted on Sunday, March 11, 2012 7:56 PM

I am thrilled to share this project with you all...probably because it is a testimony to perseverance here at...

~ No. 9257 ~

Remember, Grand baby #2 will be here soon and it was time for his big brother to transition to a new big boy room. Check it out...here and here!

Initially, I suggested that the daughter-in-love put these spice racks up to hold the wall of books. This inspiration pic comes from Jen at Iheartorganizing.com. She used the spice racks (freshly painted a bright red) for storing books in her boys' bedroom...

HOW CUTE ARE THEY???

However, we live in an area where there is no IKEA :( I know! How can that be??? And the spice racks were not available online...

in store only.

So, we were

off in search of

plan B...

In the wee hours of the morning (when sleeping seems to be a luxury for me), I stumbled upon a Pinterest pic that immediately caught my eye...it would be PERFECT for little Caden's new big boy bedroom.

The project involved using gutters as book shelving.

Who would have thought?!?

So thankful for the creative minds of others! :)

Within days, my son and daughter-in-love were off to Lowe's to grab a few gutters...costing around $30. They cut them down to 2 foot sections and then they were ready for a colorful paint job. This is where the perseverance came in...it took MANY coats of paint (and a few different kinds of brushes) to truly cover the white gutters.

Thankfully, we had some paint on hand from a recently painted loft area here at ~ No. 9257 ~...

My daughter-in-love started the paint job...

...but wasn't really satisfied with the progress, so I took them over to relieve her frustration. Indeed...it was quite a task to get these suckers looking red!

But here is how it progressed...

Here you can see that I used a coordinating brown color (again on hand from a previous project).

This color added a little depth to the inside of the gutters.

It also helped to disguise the coverage of the paint.

While the last coat of paint dried, I was off to the laptop to create a monogram for 2 of the gutters...

Then...the Cricut got some use...

Mod Podge was used to glue the scrapbook Cricut cut letters and monograms on. Then an overall couple of coats was applied to the gutters for protection...

Finally, the gutters were installed on the walls using gutter clips for support...cute, eh? :)

Here is how they look in big brother's room...

Enjoy your adventures in reading, Caden !

Inspired,

Dawn

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From Baby to Big Boy

Dawn: Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 5:54 PM

It's official...the first little grandson is growing UP! Wasn't it just yesterday that I was welcoming that sweet little one (through teary eyes) into our chaotic world? He tickles us with his rendition of the English language. For example...he tends to put the sound "uh" in front of every word..."uh ball" and "uh hat"...ahhhh, the sweetest sounds! BUT...not at 6 in the morning when he's awake and ready to go!!! Good thing Nana D, Poppa T and Uncle B do not have to wake to this everyday...the occasional overnight visits are enough. =)

It WAS just yesterday that my daughter-in-love and I began working on his nursery. She carefully considered the colors and... blue and brown it was! Being frugal minded, she picked up some unfinished letters at Hobby Lobby to spell his name out on the wall. We also picked up some fabric to cover canvases as a backdrop for each letter.

But here we are...needing to transform the letters into a "big boy" look now that a baby brother is on the way. Do you know just how hard it is for me to paint over these sweet letters...just sinful! LOL Here are some last minute pics before the transformation began...