MUST. BE. CREATIVE!

{Be prepared to be bombarded with photos}
It flows from deep within, this desire to design, create, craft, decorate, transform and all other such suitable words.

What do I do when I don't have my own house to be creative in? I use my gifts elsewhere!
I helped create/update the decor in our church for this spring season.


IKEA always comes through for me. The tulip panel set is from there and the purple panels (only 5 bucks each!) we made into lighted panels. Took some ingenuity and hubby help to rig 'em up, but I'm pleased with the result!

These next few pics are from the ladies restroom.

This verse was quite a challenge to paint because the only place I could fit the projector (yes, I like to do things the easy way) was at an angle to this wall. It was quite tricky to make the curves line up.

I borrowed this idea from another church. I love that you see this little sign as you are walking out the door and it is so matter-of-fact. You ARE beautiful. Really.

Little details make all the difference. And I love fake orchids that do not die. I think I've killed 10 in the almost 12 years I've been married. Finally, my hubby got a clue and stopped buying them for me. He's the one with the green thumb, not I.

Do you recall these pretty little birdies? I said I would show you what they looked like on the wall, well, that was over a year ago. So, here ya go.

The next couple of pics are from a gal pals house.

She scored on a used couch and then re-decorated her room around it.

The lovely, funky couch! I got excited about it too and "helped" just a little. I found those pillows for her at Ross on clearance for $5.49 a piece! And, if you look really closely, you'll see a lego guy lying there. She homeschools five boys, people!

The lamps were another one of my "helps". I suggested that, because the couch sits so low, she give the illusion of some height and put lamps behind the couch. Cool lamps are not cheap, once you include buying the shades. I found these lamps for $2 a piece. Read, TWO DOLLARS! They were ugly brass, with even uglier shades, but I saw the potential. I used Krylon's "Fusion" spray paint which will adhere to anything, even plastic. Then I searched for shades. The ones I wanted were $15 at Target and I just couldn't bring myself to do it, not after spending $2 per lamp. The lamps sat at my friends house for a few weeks with no shades, poor girl. But then, HOORAY! We found shades at Ross for $6.99 each. She also put up some pretty white sheer panels and it looks FAB!

Before I sound too much like a decorating diva, let me just give you (and my blushing self) a piece of advice... always check a lamp out before you buy it at a thrift store. In my excitement, I left the store without even plugging them in. When I finally did plug them in, it was at my friend's house. And, OH, the aggravation I felt as I realized that the switches didn't work. Or work well. Now the only way she can turn them on is to plug them in each time.

Oh well, I laugh at myself!

This is me beaming because I actually made asparagus without overcooking it and it getting all mushy-nasty! And it was sooooo easy! I just melted a couple tablespoons each of butter and olive oil together in a big saucepan. Trimmed some of the woody stems off the ends of the asparagus spears. Threw the spears in to sizzle. I quickly and finely chopped some garlic in-between turning the asparagus. That's really the trick I found, don't cook them longer than say 7 minutes and turn them a lot. I added the garlic in after about 5 minutes, if you add them at the end and turn down the heat, they won't burn. I then sprinkled them with freshly ground pepper and "Real Salt" (the only kind of salt I buy) and voila! Perfecto! I also found that buying the skinny, baby looking asparagus makes them taste nicer. Maybe the huge ones are too far grown? Who knows.

Silly me, I had to take a picture of my salad also. It was so pretty. And so yummy. This recipe is from my girl Tiffany, who passed it on to me years ago and it's my go-to salad for every special event. It has a homemade poppy-seed dressing that I love.

My oldest daughter is quite crafty herself. She has been writing her own "recipes" for a few months now. Here is one of her concoctions that she made for me one sunny afternoon. Mango cubes with drizzled honey and sprinkles.

Note to self: make sure she washes her honey fingers before touching every cupboard and doorknob in the house.

I leave you with this pic of my "Kung Fu China Dolls"

It happens to be a perfect candid of what I see most days. Someone frowning at some injustice done by another sister. What the issue was, I don't even remember. But it was a big deal in the moment and I caught it on film!

Happy creating!

~ christa jean