New Curtains~

Wow, I can't believe it has been a week since I posted,
the week flew by! I made these curtains for the French
doors, I got tired of opening and closing the curtains to
go out the back door...They are red/tan checked and
are being held on top and bottom by curtain rods with
magnets in them.....I was surprised at how well they
hold....

To the right you can see the little hutch, we
brought it back in from the patio for the night, I painted
it out there on Saturday, giving it two coats of black...
On the back I painted some of my acrylic paints to
see what color I might like for a top coat.....Some were
too yellow & some too pink. I went into the bedroom
and got the color samples I had hanging on the wall for
picking a color for in there.... ..We came up with one
we might like, so off to the store tomorrow for paint.
And since I used the board I had for the shelf over the
doors, on the hutch, now I have to go get another one....
make that two, I know another place I want a shelf...I
could use one for my cast iron banks, I only have part
of them out....I guess I better add that to my list on the
side of things I collect.

Well, I didn't get accepted

intothe festival, I was put

on a waiting list in case

someone does cancel.....

But they didn't say how

far down the list I am....

That doesn't do me any

good.....If they called me

a week before, I couldn't

get enough done to go

anyway. It's not like I have

a business and have a store

full, that I could just load

up and go. There are a couple

small festivals that I can probably

do if I want to....I guess that's it for

tonight, I will post some pictures

of my little hutch after

I get it painted and decorated....Can't

wait to get it done....Oh, and I have more

curtains to make, too, that should keep

me busy this week....Besides reading blogs....

I spend too much time doing that,

but oh well....It's lots of fun!

Until next time....

Bear Hugs~Karen

What We Have Been Working On & Bubba

Hope ya all had a good weekend, I was busy helping my
hubby make me a hutch, I'll show it to you farther down
the post. He did the cutting and I did all the sanding and
we both put it together. He said if I drew out how I wanted
it, he would make it....

Time is sure flying by, I better get back to painting, I haven't
even sprayed that plate I painted yet, just been too busy reading
blogs, though I did pack up the craft stuff I had done to get it
out of my way....I need to make the curtains I want, soon....

I want ya to meet Bubba, he's the biggest bear in my collection
of Boyd's Bears! I have a lot of small ones and a couple big ones...
I had to quit collecting because I ran out of room.....I wish I could
get him to clean house, but he's too lazy....He's heavy and I can't
get my arms all the way around him, he's so big, especially in the
rear....I would say he is pear shaped! I make fudge and other
candy before Christmas to give away and he has gone with me to
deliver it. He sits in the passenger seat and even wears a Santa hat!
Oh, his seat belt too, in case you were wondering....People laugh,
they think he is so cute.......They probably think I am nuts, so that
is where I came up with my blog name.....Barely There? I guess I
am a little kooky.......But that's ok, if you take everything too serious
and don't know how to laugh and have fun, then you would be called
an old stick in the mud.....OH NO, I don't want to be called that!
Ta da, below is the little hutch, I hope it looks good after I get
it all painted and decorated with crocks....It is hard to arrange
furniture in my living room, it is L shaped because it takes up
what was once a garage, and the former living room. There is a
fireplace on the end wall...This sits in the original part....

There is a shelf above this picture and the picture will now

have to me moved up, or put somewhere else. It can only go

up a little, so I might have to move it, the hutch if 5' tall and

over 3' wide....The board in the opening is for support, we

can take it out if we move back to Texas and want a shelf in

it and a back on it.

We have a gas heater on the wall in the living room,
that the former owner put in, after a big ice storm. It
isn't centered on the wall, between the corner and the
opening to the kitchen, but the hutch is.... I don't like
the looks of it but we use it some in the winter. I came
up with this idea of making this, without a back, to hide
it. It worked out pretty good, but I have a bent hinge and
I need to find another to replace it with and get some
knobs for the doors. The reason it has some primed
wood on it is because we used a board I had ready to
paint to use for a shelf over the french doors in the
dining room. I haven't decided what color I want to
paint it, base coat will be black and then, either barn
red, mustard or a taupe over that....I am going to
change the wall color in most of the house, it is an
antique white, I think....Again something the previous
owner had done....Tomorrow I am going to buy paint!
I told hubby that I want a chimney cupboard next! I better
wait, he has a big yard to mow every weekend and wood
working isn't high on his list of fun things to do. He just
does it for me, he would rather be reading....

Until Next Time...


Bear Hugs~Karen

What I've Been Working On~

I have been painting again, even though I was

going to take a break, guess I am hooked! I

wanted to show you all this plate I just finished,

it is a plastic plate, believe it or not! I got the

idea from Jen at Taylors*Farmhouse*Attic, so

I thought I would try it for myself and I like how

it turned out. I sprayed it with a matte finish

sealer, then painted it 3 light coats of Americana

Heritage Brick, drying it with the hair dryer in

between coats.....I mixed half and half Antique

White and True Ochre for the lettering and line

work. I haven't sealed it yet, I see it has a little

glitter on it, so I better clean that off before I

spray it.....I haven't painted the back, but I will...

I want to do some more, now.....I got this plate

out of the cupboard and my hubby said "You

painted a perfectly good plate!" Ya, I did, but

they are old, so what, I have a lot of other plates

to eat on....Let's see, I think I will look at some

real redware plates to see what patterns I like

and paint some more.....I better get one started

before he gets home! Ha..Ha (He doesn't really

care)...

Until next time...

Bear Hugs~Karen

Painting & Sewing

Hello, Everyone, I have been pretty busy with

the crafting and have only been reading the blogs

and going back to painting or sewing....Time sure

flies when you are having fun! Hubby is taking the

application with him tomorrow, so I can chill out

some and wait for a couple weeks to hear whether

or not I've been accepted. I am like a lot of you out

there, Fall is my favorite season! Pumkins, scarecrows,

mums, corn stalks, all look so good out in the yard.

We have a beautiful state park near here that DH and

I like to go walking in and the best time of the year is

FALL! There is a big lake and a river with camp grounds

for RVS or tents, a marina for boats and houseboats,

paddleboats for you to rent....I think I will try those, one

of these days , but it would be just my luck to be out in the

middle of the lake and have my legs cramp up and not be

able to peddle back! I am not sure, but I think they only

use them on the river, but still, you would have to be able

to get to the landing.....I could just see me yelling for help!

On that thought, I had better make sure hubby goes with

me to peddle me back, just in case.....Oh, they have lots of

deer in the park and you can get close to them and a little

train for the kids to ride.....I can't wait for it to cool off!

Below are some more pictures of some of the stuff I have

done, I didn't really like painting bald santas on the wooden

eggs, so I came up with the little scarecrows.....I also drew

the bigger one to put together....I think I will make his head

a little narrower on the next one, his hat is too tight...I guess

that's ok, because we all know he won't get a headache!

I am taking a break from crafting so I can clean up my mess!

Until next time...

Bear Hugs~Karen

I like painting something to put on a door hanger or a wreath...

I had fun making these sunflowers~

I've been busy!

I have been working on some bowl fillers for awhile, I have pumpkins,

sunflowers, Christmas trees, stars and candy corn!

Good Afternoon Everyone!

The picture below is of some of the things I have been painting, "bear" with me
as I try to figure this thing out! As you can see below, the print didn't come out
as I typed it. And the picture is above, not below, where I thought it should be.
Did anybody else have this problem? I also don't have any close friends that
have blogs, so there is no one, except another blogger, for me to ask....Help!

Until next time~

Bear Hugs~

Karen

I want to thank everyone who has signed on to come along with me on this

journey and who also took the time to leave me a nice comment. I have to

tell ya all that I have been reading blogs for about a year now. I just thought

since I am so good at talking on the phone, I am sure that I can find something

to write about!

I am painting and sewing to get some things done for a juried show this fall. The

deadline for the application is only a couple weeks away....so, I had better paint

faster! I really like Terrye French designs and I have painted some things with

her patterns. I started painting in 1979, but I quit about 1995...Awhile back, I decided

I should be painting again, so I am back at it and I am sure glad that I did! I have some

ornaments around here that I kept for patterns, and a sawblade that I painted for my hubby.

Believe it or not, I only have one thing on the wall that I painted, and it is a picture

of eggs.....I have painted them in frying pans before and they are cute hanging in the kitchen. I

want to paint portraits of children, like you would see back in the 1700-1800's and also get into

rug hooking and needle felting. I only want to do rugs and wall hangings for my house, not to

sell. Below is a picture of some of the things I have been working on......At least I hope there is

a picture below! This thing posted it above and then lines have not been evenly spaced, some

lines have only half the print.....Gee, I hope I can figure this thing out before the day is over!