Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?

<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJZA8f-lhUv7f660pnIW5rDfT6Bz069MG6CP42ba1Mp4QxUrGJrkHwFz1huUPIgdFmoY5qIs1qo98heorTkx3PPHGM2aMNahVwd9HAtWzwvGCYVGVmPLLukfR0FITPsL-oUU_VApyH2o/s1600/horse+shoe+with+twine3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="horseshoe, horseshoe craft, hang a horseshoe" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJZA8f-lhUv7f660pnIW5rDfT6Bz069MG6CP42ba1Mp4QxUrGJrkHwFz1huUPIgdFmoY5qIs1qo98heorTkx3PPHGM2aMNahVwd9HAtWzwvGCYVGVmPLLukfR0FITPsL-oUU_VApyH2o/s320/horse+shoe+with+twine3.jpg" title="" width="306" /></a></div><br />Are you lucky? I'm totally lucky. <br /><br />Yes, I'm lucky to have an awesome family and great kids (truly). But, here's a little secret, I'm also lucky, as in <em>lotto winner</em> lucky. <br /><br />I'm gonna get luckier, because I made this cool horseshoe, which I will get to in a minute, but first, let me tell you the lottery story. <br /><br />A few months ago, the New York lottery was around 150 million dollars. I woke up the day of the lottery just <em>feeling lucky</em>. Really, I did. So I told Big A, and he said, "Well you'd better go and buy a lottery ticket then". So I did. This was my first time buying a lottery ticket, so I was excited. <br /><br />I raced out to the gas station where they sell the tickets, and then raced home, ticket in hand. I ran through the back door and thrust the ticket at Big A - because he knows how to do these things. He proceeded to sit down at the kitchen table and <em>put his glasses on </em>(that means it's an important moment), to scratch off the ticket and check out those numbers. <br /><br />I have to admit, I was a little nervous, even though I was fairly confident I would be a winner. You worry about all of the media attention, or if the wealth will affect your children... Anyway, after several minutes.... <br /><br />Big A looked up at me with a funny little grin. I KNEW IT!!! Guess who won the lottery! This girl! <br /><br /><em>Eight dollars. It's your birthday. Eight dollars. It's your birthday.</em> <br /><br />As I chanted and danced, Big A shook his head and walked out of the kitchen. <br /><br />I yelled after him, "Hey, that's either dollars more than I had! First time playing the lottery and it's a winner!" I think he mumbled something about me spending two dollars on the ticket, but whatever.<br /><br />It makes me happy to look for lucky things. <br /><br />For instance, the other day I was reading Readers Digest at the dentists office. <em>(It was a lucky day, because usually I end up with Popular Mechanics or Sports Illustrated).</em>  Anyway, I was reading this incredible story about a lady named Ann Hodges. Compared to Ann Hodges we're all super lucky. She was snuggled up on her sofa when a grapefruit-size meteorite fell through the roof of her house, bounced off her radio, and hit her! She's the first, and maybe only, person to be hit by a meteorite. She lived, but geesh. <em>THAT</em> makes me feel lucky. <br /><br />Ok, time to stop fooling around and show you my horseshoe.<br /><br />This summer I found a horseshoe in our stone wall. That wall has been on our property for who knows how long, and we don't have a horse, so that old horseshoe could be super old. I found it and thought that was pretty lucky! <br /><br />I wanted to hang it up somewhere, but first, I put it in the basement to collect luck for a while. Finally, when it was all luckified, and I had an idea of where I wanted to hang it, I gave it a quick spray of gold glitter spray paint. <br /><br />Then I wrapped it with twine to make a little hanger for it, and because I like twine. I used a hot glue gun to secure the twine, because it wouldn't be very lucky if a horseshoe fell off the wall and on anyone's head. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg639W0CBoHDy12YSR4bct5UwGGNNJu7VdgBkowTZsVebNGy7L4tCuovlWK6JGeqArfPIzLW-HFTZakdqZPsxG04pP8yw6-DN-2UX8cDZhvxyvdxXpa2XLXNqwXYgVMvQQSGQQ4tCThfL4/s1600/horse+shoe+with+twine1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg639W0CBoHDy12YSR4bct5UwGGNNJu7VdgBkowTZsVebNGy7L4tCuovlWK6JGeqArfPIzLW-HFTZakdqZPsxG04pP8yw6-DN-2UX8cDZhvxyvdxXpa2XLXNqwXYgVMvQQSGQQ4tCThfL4/s320/horse+shoe+with+twine1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Feeling a little nervous, at the irony of a good luck charm falling on my head, I added a good thick line of glue to the back for good measure. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_5mV1D6hYZ7ZgV_b1RLgSXINLwHZ-onhKHZbnjMkjObFxHoPGuGnF1E9Zpx1TDidABITn9s-Ijep6-cmVYCKUhud1_H4hvn7bltRMA4MbBDdsPKVhMORcyG7zoyo0eDvn8VKDaJTOyw/s1600/horse+shoe+with+twine2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_5mV1D6hYZ7ZgV_b1RLgSXINLwHZ-onhKHZbnjMkjObFxHoPGuGnF1E9Zpx1TDidABITn9s-Ijep6-cmVYCKUhud1_H4hvn7bltRMA4MbBDdsPKVhMORcyG7zoyo0eDvn8VKDaJTOyw/s320/horse+shoe+with+twine2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I like the twine and the glitter with the rusted metal. It looks cool. And lucky. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJZA8f-lhUv7f660pnIW5rDfT6Bz069MG6CP42ba1Mp4QxUrGJrkHwFz1huUPIgdFmoY5qIs1qo98heorTkx3PPHGM2aMNahVwd9HAtWzwvGCYVGVmPLLukfR0FITPsL-oUU_VApyH2o/s1600/horse+shoe+with+twine3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgJZA8f-lhUv7f660pnIW5rDfT6Bz069MG6CP42ba1Mp4QxUrGJrkHwFz1huUPIgdFmoY5qIs1qo98heorTkx3PPHGM2aMNahVwd9HAtWzwvGCYVGVmPLLukfR0FITPsL-oUU_VApyH2o/s320/horse+shoe+with+twine3.jpg" width="306" /></a></div><br />I hung it up by our back door, and made a little bow of twine to hide the hook. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxzxwcViy7ds01ew-pq1EOrHc1_-WSHQCNvb4F2ITED53iiQdgxdR68hG8f3ndN44KOdL1Y33zxHt6GOd_DxPNEBC-zBxoIZCpD2enCw2y3ddfIS6oz__1M1tcTUsDNq74LCGqYkjPTE/s1600/horse+shoe+with+twine4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxzxwcViy7ds01ew-pq1EOrHc1_-WSHQCNvb4F2ITED53iiQdgxdR68hG8f3ndN44KOdL1Y33zxHt6GOd_DxPNEBC-zBxoIZCpD2enCw2y3ddfIS6oz__1M1tcTUsDNq74LCGqYkjPTE/s320/horse+shoe+with+twine4.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is the panned out view <em>(with the paint looking true to color - our kitchen is yellow, not taupe. I don't know why the above photo came out that color. Anyway....)</em> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl2Cm-c8KPzhtngsiTzZ3R46zWBT6ZMrF43CLzE0Eet6Paf5bJZurwBxA-A-CwOcm6td-AkaS8dtcsZRatdYtAwYf3W5JEQ8KSbjIVtblmtbumsRlS-B7G0rSdEylrbDvXMxszrtheZ4/s1600/horse+shoe+with+twine5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikl2Cm-c8KPzhtngsiTzZ3R46zWBT6ZMrF43CLzE0Eet6Paf5bJZurwBxA-A-CwOcm6td-AkaS8dtcsZRatdYtAwYf3W5JEQ8KSbjIVtblmtbumsRlS-B7G0rSdEylrbDvXMxszrtheZ4/s320/horse+shoe+with+twine5.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br />I love it. I hope it brings more luck. I really hope it doesn't fall on my head. <br /><br />What about you? Are you lucky? <br /><br />(Party <a href="http://itssoverycheri.com/2012/10/21/its-party-time-10-21-2012/party-guidelines-2/">here</a>!) <br /><br />

Do You Feel Lucky, Punk?

Are you lucky? I'm totally lucky. Yes, I'm lucky to have an awesome family and great kids (truly). But, here's a little secret, ...

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Jute Vase from an Old Unused Carafe

<div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJOYwa-k6WexA0oaSEljbyTPTYrIHeFwwxWTVlWAuABJ6X7jhkYkIS1h4PqB1YzRuY1v3H-IpkS6crY3W83TwQayqxk4lVdoFDAjIqlw_iHYp_6zWga8oPSHc3XS9wYmmvX0m3CwZTVU/s1600/pinecones+on+vase1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="jute vase, craft idea, DIY vase, crafts with jute" border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJOYwa-k6WexA0oaSEljbyTPTYrIHeFwwxWTVlWAuABJ6X7jhkYkIS1h4PqB1YzRuY1v3H-IpkS6crY3W83TwQayqxk4lVdoFDAjIqlw_iHYp_6zWga8oPSHc3XS9wYmmvX0m3CwZTVU/s320/pinecones+on+vase1.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div><br />I'm on a roll! I keep finding <strike>junk</strike> lightly used items and turning them into things I can use. I've been salvaging dollar store vases, ripping up old dresses, and digging through the garbage for jars. <br /><br /><em>No, this is not an episode of "Hoarders: Buried Alive". I'm <u>thrifty</u>. </em><br /><br />Yesterday I continued my foraging, and found an old wine carafe. <em>SCORE!</em> I think. I've never used it. I mean, my wine always comes in a bottle, all of its own. <br /><br />I thought maybe I could use the carafe to serve water, or iced tea... <em>Nah</em>. I have pretty pitchers for that, not to mention, my fridge has an ice and water dispenser. <br /><br /><em>Hmmmm, </em>what's a girl to do with an old wine carafe? <br /><br />With an obvious inability to let some things go, throwing the carafe out wasn't an option. But gluing jute rope to it was. <em>It <strong>is</strong> a score! See?</em> <br /><br />Would you like a tutorial? Okay! <br /><br />1. Plug in your glue gun, and grab a ball of jute or twine. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Oo-6w5KwfIMIJhyhRgeaYr1thpM7aKqN_LMd3qCRe1UpsZzYRJSWFO5MAyJWTZKdzzNLtQv_jusklbsAOf8w4Uqf2gZlcZRDBTn8nl-zZsT2MtknGRIm3Y_GrrLg7h2Ru3wIA5bbpL0/s1600/jute+vase2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Oo-6w5KwfIMIJhyhRgeaYr1thpM7aKqN_LMd3qCRe1UpsZzYRJSWFO5MAyJWTZKdzzNLtQv_jusklbsAOf8w4Uqf2gZlcZRDBTn8nl-zZsT2MtknGRIm3Y_GrrLg7h2Ru3wIA5bbpL0/s320/jute+vase2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">2. Wrap and glue. Wrap and glue. Wrap and glue. (Or maybe it's glue and wrap. Glue and wrap.)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSzRXmVXL8pBVDyeNq8kiANBspSAt952wxjDmI8tHmZUUrVaCSS5mTrM2z07pG6WlZ6cBRrneGxgQaq5o2pMdNlw6LrqO1xfRr0vlZVz-bwvr5bR6g9FRNq9t3Zyo-6vG8qkcNATv3rY/s1600/jute+vase3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSzRXmVXL8pBVDyeNq8kiANBspSAt952wxjDmI8tHmZUUrVaCSS5mTrM2z07pG6WlZ6cBRrneGxgQaq5o2pMdNlw6LrqO1xfRr0vlZVz-bwvr5bR6g9FRNq9t3Zyo-6vG8qkcNATv3rY/s320/jute+vase3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />3. Do that, until the carafe looks like this: <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEsGfQvhQqT5zZ8F11kdyfc5k9nnNew3OurLCKvkdbPPj2w7D9JogSRFs-ekZafrfB9GXZtAivk8xHScPYfd3v6C1vdLYQzIPFVtPlY-YoEdP1tqFIBwjf7wVMLOXilJWhDUOyo4u99I/s1600/jute+vase4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVEsGfQvhQqT5zZ8F11kdyfc5k9nnNew3OurLCKvkdbPPj2w7D9JogSRFs-ekZafrfB9GXZtAivk8xHScPYfd3v6C1vdLYQzIPFVtPlY-YoEdP1tqFIBwjf7wVMLOXilJWhDUOyo4u99I/s320/jute+vase4.jpg" width="157" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">4. Stick it next to some of your other <strike>junk</strike> treasures, and decide it needs something. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD08fWw66qOgNB6_zmXJy3wecjLY4IIENrUqTd91R753lhwFsPpDEiirPcKXiVaz8wCysw-tO4LjPMz_bhf9XB4_ZfN8PmDpiVrhHBhtJcrDNUq4pUVecSxXpdc04HnSFcerm6iL19QFg/s320/jute+vase+with+apples1.jpg" width="320" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">5. Play dress up. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJOYwa-k6WexA0oaSEljbyTPTYrIHeFwwxWTVlWAuABJ6X7jhkYkIS1h4PqB1YzRuY1v3H-IpkS6crY3W83TwQayqxk4lVdoFDAjIqlw_iHYp_6zWga8oPSHc3XS9wYmmvX0m3CwZTVU/s1600/pinecones+on+vase1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gBl7qphZmD9NJc0n8n789VIPDOEAJTRHOv2hdl4d44d5DEQRVYKgh-0Q2nTRLPgNL88uGV8XErC4y-RvCpY7PXJebUrYI_TfiOj4Jh_vWwfwEyAuN4iTMJjlIB7LcBxvrmEmowPlIyo/s1600/pinecones+on+vase2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7gBl7qphZmD9NJc0n8n789VIPDOEAJTRHOv2hdl4d44d5DEQRVYKgh-0Q2nTRLPgNL88uGV8XErC4y-RvCpY7PXJebUrYI_TfiOj4Jh_vWwfwEyAuN4iTMJjlIB7LcBxvrmEmowPlIyo/s320/pinecones+on+vase2.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><em>See my pretty necklace?</em> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">6. Step back and be happy! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJOYwa-k6WexA0oaSEljbyTPTYrIHeFwwxWTVlWAuABJ6X7jhkYkIS1h4PqB1YzRuY1v3H-IpkS6crY3W83TwQayqxk4lVdoFDAjIqlw_iHYp_6zWga8oPSHc3XS9wYmmvX0m3CwZTVU/s1600/pinecones+on+vase1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJOYwa-k6WexA0oaSEljbyTPTYrIHeFwwxWTVlWAuABJ6X7jhkYkIS1h4PqB1YzRuY1v3H-IpkS6crY3W83TwQayqxk4lVdoFDAjIqlw_iHYp_6zWga8oPSHc3XS9wYmmvX0m3CwZTVU/s320/pinecones+on+vase1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br />C'mon by tomorrow! I'm making (yet another) sunburst mirror, with (yet more) sticks! Ya know you can't miss that!

Jute Vase from an Old Unused Carafe

  I'm on a roll! I keep finding junk lightly used items and turning them into things I can use. I've been salvaging dollar store ...

Read more »