Hi Anj, I was going to post a couple of them here for you, but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Glad you were already able to see them. The lighthouse was not actually completed. I need to straighten some of my lines, and then I plan to antique it a bit to tone the colors down. I'll post it on the gallery when it's all done.

Doing the tables is fun. Just wish I had more money and more storage space! LOL I like it when I find cute stuff at the 99 cent store or Dollar Tree--makes it more affordable.

The other thing with painted items is dealing with the back side of the item. I painted both sides of the lighthouse, but not the girl. Figured I could just turn the blue plate around to face the opposite side of the table and hide the back of the wood piece a bit. At least it is nice to have another way to use some of my painted items.

No,you hadn't ask me about the shell balls before. I had some of those Christmas ornaments with the satin thread all over them--they had gotten pretty icky, so I took all the thread off and was left with just styrofoam ornaments. I just used those and glued some of my small shells all over them. I even broke some thin ones to fill in the smaller spaces. I've seen some pretty ones in the storess for $7 and up. Was easier and cheaper to just make my own--and my shells were ones I had collected at Myrtle Beach on vacation. They've just been sitting in a box in the storage shed for years.

Luvs

Too bad your house is smaller now so you don't have a lot of storage space. I have the same problem. I thought your lighthouse looked good. Didn't notice any crooked lines. I saw those ceramic ships at the store, but didn't see the lighthouses. Those are cute too.

I was wondering if you had painted the backside of the painted stuff. You could always just use them on your shelf. I noticed the girl on the side when you changed things out. You could do your table and just carry the theme over to the shelf unit.

I think I was thinking about some balls someone did with river rock that I liked a lot. I like the shells too. Must be drawn to the more natural look. ha You did a good job on them and now you have a fun way to display your memory shells. Do you live close to any beaches now? I collected unicorn horn shells, a couple of shark teeth, the doves out of sand dollars and a few whole sand dollars on our last beach trip to Florida. I don't think the unicorn horns would make a good ball so I'd probably have to buy some. ha ~A

Were you thinking about my bowling ball and baseball I covered in the small rocks? Or maybe something over on the GJ forum?

Most patterns don't give you a pattern for the back, guess they figure you will either sit it on a shelf or hang it somewhere. For a couple of Santas I painted one year, I just carried the design over to the back--pretty easy with just red, white, and black. Thought about trying to do this girl, but the pattern was much more complicated so didn't.

Have you had any painting time this week? It has been so nice here for the last couple of weeks, that I've enjoyed being out doing things in the yard or out running around.

I have some wooden shells cut out to paint but haven't started on them. Not sure why I am doing them other than the fact that the magazine gave a good step by step how to and I have never painted any shells before so thought I would try it.

We are inland about 45 minutes from the Beach. Just draw a straight line from Santa Monica due east and that is where you will find me. We are between Pasadena and San Bernardino. Don't find good shells on our beaches very often. They run too many vehicles out there and they get squished. All the ones I have were found when we stayed at Myrtle Beach one year. Some of them are so pretty.

Had a nice lunch with my friend, then stopped at Borders Bookstore and got a new magazine--100 ideas for Outdoor Decor and a book--Sandra Lee's Gatherings. I bought it to see all her table decor. (Honestly, it's not for the COCKTAILS!) LOL If you have ever watched her show, you will know why I said that. ;o) Going to kick back on the couch under the ceiling fan with a cold soda and browse through them for a bit, then I'm off to work on sanding the trim on my shed.

Luvs

Maybe it was your rock covered stuff I was thinking of. Couldn't remember who did them, but I really like em.

I've scanned and reversed the patterns for a few things, and some like you say are simple and can be done easily, but usually I'm ready to move on to the next thing instead of repeating the same thing on the back.

I really need to finish up that Americana Uncle Sam basket I've been working on, but for some reason it is taking me longer than I thought it would. I painted some picture frames yesterday. I moved my bedroom furniture around and gave my room a good spring cleaning. Wiped down the walls and everything. Now my back is giving me some pain so I will be sitting around with heat packs on it today which will give me some time to paint. ha That's one way to make me stop and paint I guess. ha

Is Sandra Lee the one who does the Semi-Homemade show? She always has pretty tables.....and cocktails. ha

Sanding the shed, huh. Hope you have an electric sander. Not one of my favorite jobs of working with wood. :) I'm off to heat up my beanbag. I'll try to get something posted today. ~Anj

Sorry about your back. As I was reading your message I was thinking of asking if you wanted to come do mine--then I got to the part about the aching back! LOL Hope you can stay off your feet and rest your back today.

Paint not coming off very well even with the electric sander. Actually, I got more off with the water hose! Got to go get some primer for it, but too hot today. We had been having such nice, beautiful mild weather and suddenly we are HOT! Oh well, it sure was nice while it lasted!

Got to get ready to go pick DH up at the airport, so I will catch you later okay?

Luvs