Destination: Hobby Lobby

I'm afraid I have succumb to the siren known as "Hobby Lobby". Her ads have tempted me for the past few weeks, and after picking up our Azure co-op, my vehicle was quickly sucked into the vortex of her parking lot. It's okay though, because there was a front row parking space available just for me, which of course I took as a sign from God, smiling down on lil ole me, seeing as how I was in pursuit of beautifying the earth.

For those who may fear this story to be a tragedy, fear not! I entered the lair of creativity armed with a list! I was focused, determined, and not to be sidetracked by any fancies that might deter me from my real mission.

My mission was to use things we already had, and find a few things to embellish and inexpensively decorate this:


Olivia did her best to hang onto the cart as her Mommy darted in and out of aisles searching for just the right things. She was a peach while we spent an hour *cough* (or two) hunting around. Her patience and smiling at everyone we passed was rewarded with a rice cookie (puffed rice) on the way home.

After much deliberation, calculating, and talking everything over with Olivia (who seemed to understand the plan perfectly), we checked out and rushed home to make the transformation. Andrew called to let me know when he'd be home, so as soon as the munchkin went down for her nap, exhausted from helping me make so many decisions at Hobby Lobby, I had exactly one hour to go to work.

Despite having to do some painting, hairspraying (???), ribbon cutting and branch fraying, I finished in about 30 minutes. When Andrew arrived, he saw a silly grin on my face and knew I'd been up to something. He was most obliging when I asked him to remove his boots, close his eyes and allow me to lead him through the house to my masterpiece. The poor guy stepped on a stray soggy apple bit or two passing Olivia's highchair, and I may or may not have stolen a few kisses whilst leading him to the living room. In the end, his patience was rewarded when planted him before the mantle and told him to open his eyes to reveal the finished product.

TA-DA!:


He thought it was wonderful and I stood there with my hands clasped, giddily admiring my creation. The distressed cream frame was a recycled garage-sale find, and if you'll notice in the bottom right corner; a little nest tucked into the crevice. It's the very same nest I found in our Christmas tree, now reinforced with hairspray (ahh, that's where the hairspraying came in) and the home to three little painted eggs. I am delighted with how it turned out and it's one of those things that gives me warm fuzzys.

Closer picture to show the detail:


Whaddya think?!