It's That Time of Year

The Christmas cards are mailed, the gifts are all shopped for and wrapped and now it is time to reflect on this past year, which is why I love the "Christmas letter"...or, in today's modern world, Blog Post.

It is so easy to look back on each year and remember the negative things, the hard things, the events that caused pain. But when I sit down to type out what I want others to know about our little family this past year, this activity helps me to remember the good things, the little moments that also made this year memorable.

I love receiving cards from people I rarely see and finding out what is going on in their lives and seeing the pictures of how their kids have grown. I know many don't like the "Christmas letter" but many friends of mine asked why they didn't receive one last year...not even a card. So this year, I made sure that getting cards out to family and friends was at the top of my list. Granted, Facebook makes it so much easier to connect with friends and family - and has cut down on my Christmas card mailing list immensely - but not everyone is on Facebook.

Bella

Oh, my Bella! What a wonderful blessing she is in my life!! She is currently in 8th grade and preparing {gasp} for high school next year. She is a beautiful young woman and has a great personality and sense of wit (which I'm sure she picked up from her two brothers). Bella is doing excellent in school and is a leader among her peers and loved by her teachers. When we went to registration, everyone knew her and called out to her...I joked that she is our "Social Tyrannosaurus Rex." (ha ha)

This year she started her own cake business and had a steady stream of cakes (1 per month) up until the holidays. She designs all her own cakes - they are each unique - and it is amazing to watch her work and create...I can't even frost a cupcake.

Bella was also on the Girls A Team Volleyball team this year. It was so fun watching her play, be competitive...but also bring the whole team together and build up the team members when they made a bad play or missed a point. She has an uncanny knack at knowing how to help others, all the while with a huge smile on her face and a song in her heart. Her team, the Eisenhower Generals, finished 3rd in the tournament...and I'd bet they would have done better if she had gotten to play the third game, but with a broken finger, her coaches sat her out. Disappointing, but a great experience overall.

Bella is a phenomenal young woman, she mends my heart and brings a smile to my soul when I am broken and she can make me giggle like a 12 year old girl. We have so many "inside" jokes that only we think are funny - and Trey and Paige are often left scratching their heads wondering why we are laughing so hard. Bella is wise beyond her years and has endured this past year's trials with resiliency and grace.

Andrew
We don't see much of Andrew. He moved in with his dad about a year ago, so our day-to-day interaction is limited to a text or two. He will be graduating from high school this year and is busy with school, hanging out with friends and all that being a teenager is about. He is a talented artist and musician and many of  his classes involve those talents. Some of his artwork was featured in the Albuquerque Metro Art Show last year.

He joined us for a couple of camping trips this spring and summer and we had a great time...he sure knows how to make us laugh with his wit and charm.

Travis
It's been a rough year for Travis - a year ago, we put him in rehab for heroin addiction and he has lost a dear friend to addiction. He has spent most of this year in rehab and working on getting healthy - emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. He moved home in October and is doing well.

Travis has done a few speaking engagements at high schools and was filmed for a documentary, which will be released in the spring, on the harm and effects of heroin use. Unfortunately, as we are learning, across the United States this is an epidemic.

While I can't understand the battle that Travis fights everyday, I do know it is difficult and he gives it 100% of what he's got. Travis has taught me that part of building a child's self-esteem means letting them stumble, fail, and fall...and then letting them learn how to get back up and succeed. Travis' strength through battling his addiction - admitting he needed help, getting the help he needed and sticking with it - is truly an example to me of tenacity, courage, strong spirit and resiliency...you can get back up when you fall.

Paige
Paige is our "baby" but growing up more and more everyday! She is 9 - going on 19! She wants so badly to keep up with her big sister, to be "in the know" of what is going on...and we just want her to stay little! She is such a sweet, compassionate little girl - always has her pulse on the mood of everyone in the family and wanting to make everyone feel better. Her top present on her Christmas Wish List this year was "a happy family." Well, that says it all.

Paige is in a 4th-5th grade class at Hubert Humphrey and is doing excellent. Her teacher is just wowed by her ability to learn and her level of comprehension and commitment. She actually has to tell Paige to "stop" sometimes - to sit and read a book or draw and to wait for the rest of the class to catch up. She is a great example at school to her friends and reaches out to those that need help.

Paige still loves to read and do anything that involves her friends or family. She often asks to play a game after dinner, and even though we sometimes begrudgingly stop what we're doing to appease her, it is a reminder that we need to slow down and appreciate the quiet times and spend time together having fun. And I love that she still wants to curl up against me and snuggle - I'd better cherish that while it lasts!

Paige was on the City swim team again this year and WOW, that girl can SWIM! Trey and I quickly discovered that if we let her eat cotton candy (yes you read that right) before her meet, she swam faster. So we became "cotton candy pushers" at each meet....and Paige shaved an average of 3 seconds off each stroke. She finished 2nd in the City for her age group in the 50 meter Freestyle and also for the Butterfly, which is her best stroke. I can't tell you how much I love watching my little girl swim...it is amazing! I'll never forget her first year competing and she came in 1st place and we were so excited for her. She calmly tells us, "It's not about winning, it's about having fun." Several races later, she came in 4th and was LIVID that the judge didn't see her touch in 2nd place...winning suddenly became more important than having fun. Wonder where she gets that competitive nature....

Trey
Trey is still busy with his business, Lobo Wealth Strategies...it is a difficult time in this era of financial uncertainty. But he loves what he does, he treats each of his clients like a family member and the business continues to grow.

He didn't get much hunting in this year - just a deer hunt in November, which yielded a freezer full of deer meat, and of course the turkey hunt (and probably some other bird that I'm forgetting). But he did go to Denver to see his Raiders play the Broncos and we did a lot of camping in our new camper, so I don't think he's complaining much.

Trey earned a trip to St. Louis this fall and so he, Paige and I all went and had an absolutely terrific time...and saw every site there was to see, including a Cardinals and Phillies playoff game.

Trey is a terrific father, step-father and husband - he works hard to support all of us financially and emotionally too.

As for me, I am working at REDW, which is a full-service accounting firm. I work in the Benefits department as a Benefits Coordinator and I received my first ever "name candy" this summer - I am now a Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP). I love working where my efforts are valued, I am challenged and I work with people that I like...it has definitely been a blessing over this past year.

I am involved in the Heroin Awareness Committee here in Albuquerque and have done many speaking engagements this year to help educate community leaders and politicians, parents, coaches, kids, on the dangers of heroin. I field calls and emails from parents everyday, whose kids struggle with this addiction and need help. I also facilitate a Family Recovery group at the rehab center where Travis was...it has been so healing for me to help others.

I am grateful for a year that has broken me, stretched me, pushed me and helped make me a better person. I am grateful for the friends, old and new, that have prayed for me, with me and have held me up when I wanted to fall down. I am grateful for Trey, who stands beside me and my children even when the going gets unbearable at times - I wouldn't want to journey this life with anyone else. I am grateful for my... wonderful children, who make me laugh...and cry...who break my heart, and then mend it right back...who teach me the true meaning of love and bring inexplicable joy to my life.

So that's our year in a small nutshell - because there isn't a big enough nutshell to hold it all!

From our family to yours, may your year be filled with love, laughter and blessings beyond measure. ♥

Love,
Trey, alicia, Travis, Andrew, Bella & Paige

Count Your Blessings

I love Christmas...it is, by far, my favorite holiday. And yesterday, as I was driving around town, I saw so many with their Christmas decorations already up and it made me kind of sad....we haven't even celebrated Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is like the "middle child" - crammed between Halloween and Christmas and often forgotten and not really given its due. I should know...I'm a middle child myself; it's easy to be forgotten and overlooked because you don't have all the special qualities of those things that "bookend" you.

But what an important holiday Thanksgiving is! It gives us the opportunity to reflect on all we have been blessed with, before we are blessed with more during the Christmas season; it gives us a chance to gather with our family and friends and let all of the past worries, hurts, and sadness go - even if just until after the last piece of pie is eaten; and it prepares our hearts for the Christmas season of giving because we have been given much.

Yet, I think with all the commercialization of Christmas (stuff has been on the shelves of Hobby Lobby since July), it is easy to overlook Thanksgiving, because Christmas if full of shiny, blingy things...it's hard to not be drawn in by that. But if we don't take time to truly open our hearts and minds to be grateful for all we've been blessed with, do we really deserve more blessings?

I know it's tempting to get going on Christmas - I even begrudged having to put out Thanksgiving decor after Halloween, thinking it would be so much easier to skip right to Christmas and enjoy it a little longer. But I did not - I put out the Thanksgiving decor...and my home looks beautiful and I am reminded each day of the beauty of fall and this wonderful thankful season...that, like the leaves that fall from the tree and clutter my front yard, I need to learn to let go of the "leaves" of this past year and move forward; count the ones I am grateful for and sweep away the rest. And in the spring, new leaves will begin to grow and with them, I will be blessed with new friends, new experiences, new opportunities and new blessings.

Meanwhile, I am looking forward to enjoying every minute of this next week - enjoying my family and friends; enjoying the browns, the yellows and the golds of fall before they are all swept up into trash bags; enjoying the beautiful fall weather with skies of blue, with a decidedly cool nip in the air; and reflecting on all the blessings I have been given over this past year - the new friends, the experiences that have made me a better person and have forced me to grow, the renewed relationship I have with my Heavenly Father, the new opportunities I have been given to serve my community and my family, and the health and lives of each one of my family members.

And then, as I do every year, I will usher in Christmas in full splendor, knowing I also gave Thanksgiving the grand celebration it deserves.

Happy Thanksgiving!

{alicia}

Oooh La La...The Paris Bedroom Reveal

Cha-cha-cha...changes....that's what we've got going on at our house. Since the boys are no longer living at home, I decided that we needed to simplify our living situation some,

get rid of some crap stuff and change things up.

The girls originally had the front bedroom, which has French doors that open up to the front entry way and then Pretty Girl moved into a vacated bedroom, which meant that La Princessa also wanted to move into a vacated bedroom and wanted a total room redo...{sigh}

Have you ever read this book?

It pretty much summarizes how this bedroom fiasco...er, redo, went down. It involved moving furniture in not one, but 3 bedrooms and now involves not redoing just one room...but all three!

And included a garage sale, which we hate doing, but I despise giving Pottery Barn goods away to Goodwill.

Let's reminisce back to what this room looked like before. Man, I {love} this room...just looking at the pictures makes me feel happy. It was hard to pack up all the pictures and momentos. It meant acknowledging that my boys no longer live here...I cried for hours at the beginning of this project!

Not to mention...I love the colors in this room, and the big bed, and the light streaming in the window...

and not to mention, it took us DAYS upon endless DAYS to do this room...

La Princessa's birthday is in the summer...I knew this would be the perfect time to redo the room and move things around. So we started collecting pieces when we found them...starting with a silver

Eiffel Tower at Goodwill for $4!

And, thus, the Paris room was born. Here's what we collected...all that right there cost me $70,

and that includes a Roxy duvet cover and two sets of sheets.

 (summer is a hectic time - a lot of birthdays, a lot of daycare expense, a lot of a lot...had to do it on the cheap to make it more tolerable for Handsome...besides, why spend a ton of money when you can use things you already have or can find on sale?)

Time to get started

I {LOVE} painting!

(I'd better be careful how loudly I say that)

I find it relaxing and stress relieving...

That is, until I did this room makeover!

I was so sick.and.tired of painting that room and it just never seemed to end.

I started with Valspar Pink Burst with primer built-in...I thought it would do the trick in covering up that navy blue paint. However, sadly, it took 5 coats. Every coat I put on, the blue would bleed through. Ugh!

I ended up having to buy two gallons at $30 a pop, so I'm not sure if it saved me time and money from just using a regular primer and paint or not.

All I know, is it is staying pink...FOREVER.

I KNOW...it is blinding pink...I was so worried. The longer it took to paint it (nearly 2 weeks of working on it when I could), the more scared I got. It was literally glowing in the hallway outside the door. I was also nervous about what Handsome would think. Surprisingly, he was the one that said, "Just wait until we get it all done and the furniture is in...it will be fine. "

Uh, what'd you do with MY husband?

I had Handsome come in and paint the white...I don't believe in painting walls white (only trim), and as I sat rolling on my fourth coat of pink burst, he quickly rolled on his two coats of Baby Formula

white and was done.

That's when my Pink Bubble Burst and I about came unglued.

He stuck around to help.

Happily it is DONE

So let's look at my most favorite part first, which required...more painting.

Our house came with these lovely builder's fans...they are hideous and in every room. I don't want to take them down because they actually really help keep our house stay cool.

Anyone else have these beauties?

While I know how to install (and uninstall) a ceiling fan...I had no desire to take this entire puppy apart and put it back together.I did remove the fan blades and the gorgeous brass things holding them on,

as well as the glass bulbs.

Then I got to my favorite kind of painting - SPRAY painting! And painted those blades

Krylon Glossy Black.

Then I used some brushed nickel acrylic paint made by Folk Art...and a brush and painted that brass away.

And instead of using those ugly glass lightbulb covers (which I sold at a garage sale last week for $3.00 each), I hung up the drumshade.

I purchased the drumshade at Lowe's...I think it was on sale for $7.00, minus the $9.00 I got for the glass things...I MADE money on this project...LOL

It took about an hour, a crick in my neck and some cursing when I was trying to reattach the blades, but here is the finished product. I {LOVE} it!

Then I went a little crazy with that brushed nickel paint - I painted all of the outlet covers and the lightswitch. I also found a really ugly, never-opened (probably cuz it was so ugly) brass curtain rod in the garage.

I painted that baby up and used it to hang up the black sheers.

(sorry for the terrible pictures - the pink throws my camera lighting off)

I am waiting, ever so patiently, for the net tulle to go on sale over at Hobby Lobby so I can make her canopy. While everything else in that store seems to go on 50% off every other week,

the tulle only goes on sale in June? WTH?

One of my friend's stopped by during the redo (early stages) and asked if I was doing the "pink Paris poodle" theme in here...uh, no, but it did give me an idea. I found a picture of a lhasa apso that looks EXACTLY like our dog Max and I printed it out.

I used an old canvas that had a guitar painted on it...and I spray painted it black and then Mod Podged (is that a word? Must be, I use it all the time), the picture on the canvas...and look, there's our little

pooch on the wall!

I couldn't quite stand all the white on the closet doors...it threw the room off balance, so I applied 3 coats of chalkboard paint...perfect for my 9-year-old who loves to play school.

And, yes, that is Justin Bieber (or JBiebs as he's known at our house) on the wall. I know he's not from Paris and doesn't really go with the "theme"...but compromises had to be made...

Not loving this chair here, but for now it stays. I'll either recover it or get something different.

And here's a collage of all the fun little decorations around the room.

I am so glad to have this room redo behind me...it was a 65+ hour job. And nothing said more than when La Princessa, on her birthday, woke up and said, "What did you get me for my birthday?"

You gotta be kidding me?!

She {LOVES} it...we can barely get her to come out of there...especially since she now has television, satellite and a DVD player...

She is one happy girl!



Bonjour!

{alicia}

And I Thought I Loved You Then...

Ten years ago, I married the most amazing man who has shown me the true meaning of love and who has stood beside me through some really difficult times.

He has loved my children as his own and has supported them without complaint.

He works hard to make sure that we are not only provided for, but that our dreams become a realization.

So, on this day I thought I would take this opportunity to remind us of what our vows were that day

 (we wrote our own vows...)

Trey to me (and my children):
I pledge to you, Alicia, and also to those gathered who also love you, I will be your husband, friend and partner; I will always be loyal in my mind, in my heart and in my actions. As I love and honor you, so must I love those who are heart of your heart, and flesh of your flesh. Travis, Andrew and Isabella, I vow fairness, support and kindness. I will be your teacher, your coach and your friend. I want you to know that I love your mother with a gentleness she has taught me and a sincerity grown out of respect. The respect I have for her, I hope, you will also show as we grow together as a family. I vow to extend my embrace to cover all who are part of this woman whom I love.

With this ring, I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in time of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in the highest regard. These things I give to you today and all the days of our life.

{Gasp...let me catch my breath and calm my heart}

And my vows to Trey:
I come this day and pledge my love to one who is believer, healer and soulmate. Who has reached to me from the crowd and offered a hand without condition. Who has accepted my burdens and encircled me with love and gentleness. Trey, I will always love you for choosing a gift once opened and making it new. To love once is bittersweet, to love again, so deeply, is to be rescued from endless darkness and pulled back into the sunlight. You gave me trust when my heart would not return it, patience when I gave you fury, softness when I thought my wounds would not heal. I pledge to you a love I did not know was mine to give, a commitment that I will always be at your side, and a thankfulness that God has brought us together.

With this ring, I give myself to you in marriage. I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you, and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle. I promise to love you in good times and in bad, when life seems easy and when it seems hard, when our love is simple and when it is an effort. I promise to cherish you and to always hold you in the highest regard. These things I give to you today and all the days of our life.

It has definitely been a marriage of peaks and valleys and we have surely tested the promise of

 loving each other when life seems easy and when it seems hard.

Over the past ten years, we have...

• celebrated the birth of our beautiful daughter, Paige
• mourned from the deaths of several of our loved one's and even some friends
• survived some major health issues
• bought and redone our home and backyard
• taken many wonderful trips inside and outside of the country
• survived starting a business and growing that business, which has been impacted by all of the market crashes
• survived two teenage drivers (one that managed to hit 3 very expensive cars)
• survived being Sandia High School Football Booster Club President and Treasurer (I think we are still recovering)
• celebrated our oldest's high school graduation (and have another graduating this year)
• mourned the loss of our beloved dog, BlackJack, and numerous other pets (some not so mourned)
• shared in the celebration of many of our close friends who have gotten married and had children
• watched our beautiful daughters turn into beautiful young women
• sent a son off to college
• survived (surviving) the life that comes with having a recovering heroin addict in our family
• made many new friends that have added so much joy to our lives!

These, obviously, are just the things off the top of my head. And if they sound all negative, they're not...there are a lot of blessings in our lives and a lot of love. The further down the path we get, I realize that you have to have the good with the bad and it is how you deal with the bad that determines the kind of marriage you will have.

We both work hard, but we also play hard and we love to have fun, laughter and a

 lot of joking around in our lives.

"We've come so far since that day, and I thought I loved you then."

Thanks to all our friends and family for their love and never-ending support through the years.

{alicia}



No More Babies at Our House

Nine years ago, today, this little blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty made her entrance into the world, and into the hearts of many. So in honor of her on her birthday...

...Some things you should know about Paige...

She {LOVES} to read...and has been able to read since her 2nd birthday (she's like her Momma that way)

Even more than reading, she {LOVES} to swim. She is on the EMS Swim Team and competes with other teams across the City...and she is GOOD!

She {LOVES} animals...all animals, but especially her two dogs, Bailey and Max

She is SMART...she is reading and doing math well above her grade level

She is KIND...she defends everyone (even our crappy neighbor) and she is very tenderhearted

She {LOVES} her family and looks up to her big sister and {LOVES} spending time with her Mimi

She is FUNNY and is just beginning to be witty

She {LOVES} school, even though she says she doesn't...she even plays school at home when she gets home from school

She is a germ-a-phobe...just like her Momma...and she {LOVES} antibacterial hand sanitizer and has been known to spend $10 of her own money on them at Bath & Body

She is a Daddy's Girl for sure...spoiled!

She {LOVES} to argue her point - I'm pretty sure she was born saying, "Buuuttt Mommmmmy"

Her nicknames are La Princessa, Paige-a-rella (her Daddy calls her that) and Sweet Pea

She has the absolutely cutest voice EVER on the phone...I have several voicemails from her that I saved just to hear her voice because it makes me smile

She is our "recessive" child - blonde hair, blue eyes, left handed and freckles (all recessive genes)

She {LOVES} Pop Pop's Italian Ice and asks her Daddy on a near-nightly basis if he will take her there

She is very electronically inclined and once downloaded $80.00 worth of music onto "her" cell phone and then told me it came on the phone...uh, not

Oh, and she {LOVES} Justin Bieber (JBeebs we call him at our house)...yes, there is Bieber fever going on over at our house

Truth be told, Paige is delightful and brings much {LOVE} to our lives

As I sat looking at her the other day, a lump formed in my throat and tears sprung into my eyes. Right before me sat a little young lady - the plump baby cheeks are gone, the fine tendrils of baby hair have been replaced with long, beautiful strands of golden blonde hair, and her chubby little elbows and knees, replaced by thinner, bonier models. She is growing up and there is nothing I can do to stop it.

It's funny, really, they grow up right before your very eyes - yet how many times do you really stop to notice? In 9 more years, she'll be heading off to college...guess I'd better start paying attention.

So, to my beautiful baby girl, who will ALWAYS be my baby...Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea, Momma loves you very much! Thank you for all the wonderful things you have brought to my life and the lessons you have taught me. I hope your 9th year brings you fun, happiness and lots of laughter!

~Momma



Where have I been?

Alas, I am alive! Sorry for not posting in so long for those few that check my blog for new posts.

It is summer, and summer means busy, busy, busy - not just at work, but we've taken a few camping trips here and there, had some family come to visit, been wrapped up with swim team and have been working on projects around the house.

My baby is turning 9, she is this adorable creature right here:

And for her birthday, she asked for a room makeover. Since our boys have moved out of the house, we decided that we would move her into the bigger bedroom and move the "guest" room into the front bedroom.

As many of you know, this turns out like that book,

"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"...

one project leads to about a dozen others and, before I knew it, I now have

{three} bedrooms I am "making over." {sigh}

However, I have been scrambling to get La Princessa's room done in time for her party

1) because it's her birthday and

2) there will be people coming over and my house is currently a wreck!

So just a sneak peek - full pictures next week, I promise!

Thanks for stopping by!

{alicia}

Daddy's Girl

I wrote this poem back in 2004 for my husband, from my daughter - it hangs, framed, in his office.

Happy Father's Day, Handsome...we all love you dearly and you mean the world to us!

Daddy's Girl

Hold me in your arms, Daddy

and give me lots of love

For I've just left my heavenly home

From the skies way up above

Hold me by the hands, Daddy

and teach me how to walk

My little legs are wobbly;

I cannot yet begin to talk

Hold me on your shoulders, Daddy

up high where I can see

This great big scary world

that is so unknown to me

Hold me by the hand, Daddy

as I learn and start to grow

Skipping off to friends' and school

little by little, letting go

Hold me closer, Daddy

As I struggle to find my own way

My choices may not always be right

but love me anyway

Hold me by the arm, Daddy

as you walk me down the aisle

It's time for me to start a new life

'Tho I  hope I always make you smile

Hold me in your heart, Daddy

love me and let me go

For "Daddy's Girl" I'll always be

and I'll always love you so!

{alicia}

{Cake Diva}

She hates the name "Cake Diva" but I don't know what else to call her...

Isn't she great?! I {LOVE} her!!!

Bella started taking cake decorating classes in January and took about 10 weeks worth of classes. I just wanted to share a few of her cakes to showcase her talent and skill...

This first cake she made for an Accessory Swap party that I hosted at my home back in April. I told her that the only requirement was that it was "Tiffany" blue and had leopard print on it.

Here is what she started with...

And here is the finished product - it was so pretty that we hated to cut it and eat it
{but we did!}

It was the {crowning glory} of the food table...and received many oooh's and aaah's

This cake is the first cake that Bella was paid to create - it was for a friend's parent's 55th wedding anniversary. Their colors were peach and aqua and Bella used a picture from their wedding cake to recreate the flowers.

And, two days later, she created 48 cupcakes for Easter...

Next up, she is in the process of making two cakes for her Mimi and Papa's 70th birthday party...one for each. I'll post pictures of those when they are done.

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my little "Cake Diva"

{alicia}



Inspiration Wednesday

Thanks for stopping by!

{alicia}

Linking Up With Some of my Favorites

I'm linking up here:

Be Different...Act Normal



And here...



And here...

{alicia}

A Little Bit 'o Zebra in the Courtyard

I promised a tutorial on how I did my little table that sits in my front courtyard. Handsome bought me the table that matches the bench (that is up this weekend for a makeover) years ago for Mother's Day...it was literally about 7 or 8 years ago.

This little guy...sad and pathetic, isn't he?...is {WEATHERED} to say the least. It was so bad that just our normal polyurethane job would not do. So I whipped out some paint...I do love to paint!

First take the table apart (it is easier to paint and sand) and sand it down to strip off all the old varnish, mine was mostly peeling off - made my job easier. I then coated it with some bright yellow paint my friend gave me...a very pretty, sunny color, but too bright on it's own. After that dried, I painted on some white paint and then distressed it (poor table...it is already pretty distressed!) by sanding it some more - so the yellow shows through the white.

{Are you following me?}

hehehehe

Chevron designs are ALL the rage right now in Blogland...and in the designer world. Pottery Barn, West Elm, Crate and Barrell...they're all doing it. I am not a big chevron freak...too linear for my wavy kind of brain...but zebra stripes are like a chevron, only not so structured.

That's a chevron I can wrap my brain around!

I printed out a picture of zebra print from Google Images and enlarged it on the copier 350%

so that it would fit in the middle of the table.

Then came the sucky {fun} part...cutting a template. I cut out where I wanted the paint to go - on my copy there was "white" space and "black" space. It doesn't really matter which you cut out - you'll get the same affect and your eyes will start to cross and you'll forget whether you were cutting the white part or the black part...and you'll think you're losing your mind!

LOL

 Lay the template where you want it to be and tape it onto your table (or whatever you are painting).

And start painting (I mixed the bright yellow with some white to tone it down some)...

Take a break - have a Diet Dr. Pepper, check out your work...have your daughter come by and tell you it is going to be a project FAIL...laugh, while thinking..."what if she's right?"

Get back to work!

Once you have done a first coat, I recommend removing the paper quickly, otherwise some of it gets stuck...I learned this the hard way and had to use some tweezers to remove small pieces.

Freehand the second coat - there may be some empty space...freehand in some more "stripes" - that's what is great about a zebra...they are a freak of nature and they have stripes and spaces everywhere so you can't go wrong... case in point, the one hanging on my trophy room wall...

Point is...no one will be able to tell!

Anywho...here is the finished product...finish it up with some polyurethane so you don't have to repaint it again after the next rainfall...

Now, I'm off to refinish the bench...

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

{alicia}

I linked this up to The Stories of A to Z and House of Hepworths: