There’s a special place in my heart for Frog Tape and the people I’ve worked with there.  When I was just an itty-bitty-brand-new-fresh-faced-blogger, I wrote this post about using Frog Tape for a project.  I hated painter’s tape and stopped using it entirely.  I could do a better job cutting in by hand than dealing with the bleed-under that ALWAYS happened to me.  So, when I saw a Frog Tape display at Sherwin Williams, I was curious, but skeptical.  I asked if it really worked and they assured me it did, so I bought a roll and shared my experience on my teeny-weeny blog.  (I think I had less than 100 followers at that point.)  Anyway, the people at Frog Tape took notice and reached out to me. They became my first sponsor and have supported me in so many ways from shipping me boxes of free tape to give

 The Mustard Seed Pages is live and ready to go!!  So, what is it? A few months ago, I mentioned getting a quilt for free from Layla at The Chapel Market.  This prompted a conversation in the comments of that post from readers who wanted quilts and then from others who had quilts they wanted to sell.  That got my wheels turning.  My blog readers are a collection of kindred spirits.  We have similar tastes.  We love working on our homes.  We appreciate antiques and handmade items.  We comb Craig’s List and Etsy and eBay for ironstone and French provincial furniture to paint and cool accessories that we can use to make our home ours. The Mustard Seed Pages is for people like us.  It’s a FREE online classified where you can list items to sell, trade or give away.  You can list things that will be picked up locally

My husband recently switched out the builder-grade ho-hum trim in the family room with pine board trim that is a bit chunkier and matches the trim in the 1940’s part of our house. I pulled out the same primer and trim paint I used for the master bathroom and, of course, Frog Tape. I’ve shown all of the ways I used Frog Tape…for labeling things, sewing projects, holding things in place, etc., but it’s also great at doing what it was made for – creating a clean edge when painting. I often do cutting in by hand, since I’m pretty proficient with a paint brush, but even I can be sloppy, so it’s nice to put up the tape, paint… …and know that it will pull off nice and clean, leaving a perfect edge. The trim work is a subtle change, but it makes a big difference in tying in

My husband recently switched out the builder-grade ho-hum trim in the family room with pine board trim that is a bit chunkier and matches the trim in the 1940’s part of our house. I pulled out the same primer and trim paint I used for the master bathroom and, of course, Frog Tape. I’ve shown all of the ways I used Frog Tape…for labeling things, sewing projects, holding things in place, etc., but it’s also great at doing what it was made for – creating a clean edge when painting. I often do cutting in by hand, since I’m pretty proficient with a paint brush, but even I can be sloppy, so it’s nice to put up the tape, paint… …and know that it will pull off nice and clean, leaving a perfect edge. The trim work is a subtle change, but it makes a big difference in tying in

I debated whether or not to even write about this on my blog…a blog that’s about decorating and starting a creative business and DIY.  But it’s about more than that, isn’t it?  At the heart, it’s about me.  Decorating is just what I do that is fun to take pictures of and talk about.  But there’s something big that just happened in my life that has altered its course.  And I felt compelled to write about it…to seek encouragement, to give encouragement, to share with the collection of readers that have become my friends. I won’t go into all of the details of the how’s and when’s and why’s, but we knew that something wasn’t right with my youngest son, who is five-and-a-half.  I took him to the pediatrician on Monday after school and they ran some tests and listened to me as I described the symptoms.  The doctor, who

When we installed our new front door this summer, we obviously needed a new doorknob as well.  This was the part of the installation that I was dreading the most, because it has to be precise.  So, I called for help.  My dad is patient and doesn’t mind tinkering with things, so he was the perfect one to help…or basically to do it for me while I watched and learned. I picked out the Kwikset Signature Series Arlington Handleset in Polished Brass from True Value We started by laying the pieces out and looked over the instructions to get our bearings.  There are a lot of pieces and it can seem overwhelming, so take it slow and steady. The instructions, unfortunately, are for more than one model of knob, so there are several different templates and exceptions on the instructions depending on the one you’re installing.  I know that is

There have been a lot of things in the works, behind the scenes, for a few months…years in some cases.  I like growth in my business to happen organically, not forced, so sometimes it takes a while for everything to fall into place, but several things seem to be converging in 2014 and I thought I would share them with you… the Mustard Seed Workshop The first one, involves my husband, Jeff.  He’s been working with me in my business since the very beginning, but as a full time youth pastor, there was only so much time he could dedicate to it.  We’ve gotten to the age where our backs hurt after sleepovers and we’re cranky after all-nighters and we’re feeling a little…well…old for youth ministry.  We’ve been doing it full time for 10 years and as lay leaders for about five before that.  We started talking and praying through