Relay for Life 2012

This upcoming weekend is Relay for Life Santa Clarita Valley and I will be participating for the 3rd year in row.  Cancer seems to have touched every person I know and for me it is no exception.  I have lost family members, friends, and sadly know friends who have lost little ones as well.

This disease does not discriminate.  It cares not for age or gender, social standing or wealth, race or religion. It cares not whom it touches or in what way.  It cares not if you’re ready for the fight. Cancer will be the aggressor and you will find yourself at war with your own body. 

I want to find out why this disease is so powerful.  I want to help those who are feeling powerless to it.  I want to stand and fight for all who cannot. If I can help, even in the smallest of ways, I feel I am talking a stand.

I walk for those I’ve lost. I walk for all who have triumphed. I walk for the millions of families who have suffered great losses.  I walk for the parent who has lost a child too soon.  I walk for the child who has lost a parent too soon.  I walk because I want to be a part of a cause that benefits us all.  I walk because I am still standing. Shouldn’t we fight if we are still standing?

If you would like to make a donation please visit My relay for life page.  Even a small donation can make a big difference to someone who is fighting a HUGE battle!

Our Little Team Members- Relay for Life 2011

Thank you for your support!

Things aren't always great

Things have been a little bit rough as of late.  I haven’t written any blogs recently because I haven’t really been in the mood.

Sometimes the pressures of life are so much that you begin to feel like you really can’t handle them anymore. Yet you find the strength to go on because you really have no other choice.  Unfortunately my stress manifests itself in physical ways so I find myself ill whenever things are rough.  I know that ultimately things will be better and that whatever is best for me will happen.  It’s not always what we want but what we need. I must trust in this theory because things can’t always be bad.  At least I hope not.

I’ve been keeping myself busy preparing for a yard sale and majorly cleaning house.  Maybe if I de-clutter my life I can make more room for clarity move in.

For now I will stick to praying for the answers that will lead me down the right path.

The blossoms on my apple tree serving as a reminder that life does go on.

Every space needs a good chair

The last couple of days here in the mountains have been beautiful and a lot more like summer than spring.  As I sit here by the window, a summer-like breeze is blowing in and I find myself wanting to do nothing but relax and enjoy the fresh air streaming in.  I love our snowy mountain winters but I long for days like this where the temperature is perfect and I can forget I have things to do for at least a couple of minutes.

My rug.  It was a super great find!

I have been working hard and the office is just about finished.  I had really been looking for a good client chair to put in there and found several things online that caught my eye.  Target had some great ones but at $295 I just couldn’t justify the money, Urban home had one I loved but it didn’t match the rest of the décor, and my search at Home Goods turned up nothing as far as chairs go but I did get a great area rug. My friend, Alexis (girlrural.com) said I should try Overstock.com, which was a fantastic suggestion!  I found the prefect chair 5 minutes into my search, in my price range, ordered it with free shipping, and 4 days later it was at my door.  I am so glad I took my friends great advice and waited until I found something that was perfect.  I absolutely adore it and it matches my color scheme amazingly!

The chair with the pillows I made
a few weeks ago.  It's perfect!

There are only a few more things I need to do and then my office, for the time being, will be complete. I am working on some curtains now and I can’t wait to do a few before and after pictures of those.

As always you can check out my store, www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

Work and Play

The family and I took a day away from doing projects this past Monday, and went for a fun family trip to Disneyland.  As all parents know, it is very difficult to make it through an entire day without some sort of breakdown but amazingly there were none. The kids were happy and having a great time so mommy and daddy had a great time too. It was truly a fantastic day together.

The next day it was back to work and I spent the subsequent days this week finishing up an order for a set of letters with a Princess theme.  These were a big challenge for me.  When you are painting specific characters, especially the Princesses, it is so important to paint their faces correctly.  If a face is painted incorrectly, then the other details around the character don’t really matter.  Your eye will constantly be drawn to the incorrect face. 

After painting and repainting the faces several times, I think I achieved my goal. I’m happy with the result and my client is so it’s a win, win.

No time to stop, I have several other orders just wanting for a coat of paint :o)

As always you can check out my store,www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

Another fun one!

As you can probably tell I am a huge fan of DIY and whenever I have the opportunity to create something fun, I do.  Sometimes these projects cost less then buying them at the store but I admit that sometimes they cost more.  If I chose a project that is a little more costly it is usually because I love the fact that I can make it exactly to my liking, which is always best. Most days of the week (between cooking, cleaning, kids, and painting orders) I set aside some time to do these projects and today was no exception. 

Supplies

I was at Target a few weeks ago and I was looking for some magnetic boards to hang above my desk.  I saw a few but nothing that I really loved.  If I was going to pay $8-$10 a piece for some boards I wanted something that would look great.  I did not make a purchase that day and instead came home to check out my favorite websites and get some ideas.  Luckily I found a great one and the next time I ventured out I knew exactly what supplies I would need.

I first sought out some fabrics at the local fabric store and found lovely patterns.   I bought a yard of each (price depends on what you choose) but I could have easily bought ½ a yard and had plenty. You will want a thin fabric so that the magnets have no problem sticking.  I then purchased 3 cookie sheets from the dollar store ($1 of course), white poster board ($3-$4 for a 3 pack), ribbon ($1-$4 for a spool), and some magnets ($3 a pack).  You will also need a hot glue gun, glue sticks, and a drill, which I already had on hand.

Poster board to give the back a more finished look

First, I cut out the fabric 2 inches longer and wider than the cookie sheet and ironed it to remove all of the wrinkles.  I placed my fabric design side down and put the cookie sheet on top of it.  I wrapped the fabric around the cookie sheet and hot glued the edges of it down.  (Be sure you are gluing to the topside of the cookie sheet so when it is on the wall the bottom side is your magnetic surface). After I finished gluing the fabric I cut out a piece of poster board that was the size of the inner part of the cookie sheet and glued it down on the edges of the exposed fabric to give the back a finished look.  Lastly, I drilled 2 holes in the edge of the sheet (be careful not to catch the fabric in the drill) and pulled ribbon through to hang them.

Finished product and I love them!

The result, perfectly adorable magnetic wallboards that were completely customized to fit my style!

As always you can check out my store www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com

Until next time, cheers!  Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Day

Hello Mr. Snow.  Pull up a chair and make
yourself comfortable.

Today was a snow day up here in our mountain town and I was very grateful Mr. Butter Beans was able to make it home to spend the day with us.  It really hasn’t stopped all day and it is supposed to continue through the night. This is very strange for California in April.  Usually by this time of the year it is getting very warm and many days are even pool or beach weather. The hubby and I played with the kids outside and even did a little project this afternoon. 

A great friend of mine purchased an antique record player case (record player not included) and was using it as a filing cabinet.  After a while she decided she didn’t have much room for it and generously gave it to me.  It had already been primed and for a while it sat in my basement while I tried to figure out what I was going to do with it.  While working on the office project I was trying to figure out a place to keep all of my paint.  I decided this piece would work out well because it is great for storage. 

Before

I usually paint furniture with an actual bucket and brush but yesterday I was at our local hardware store and saw some spray paint the was aqua and I really liked it.  I figured “why not paint the cabinet with it?” and purchased a couple of cans. It was pretty quick and easy to coat and I just adore the color.  Seeing as it is an antique, it seems as though it had a very thick oil based stain on it at one time.  No matter how many times I spray it, the stain is still coming through. It really doesn’t matter though because it gives it a very charming “worn” look and I think its great!

After- Pretty Aqua

As always you can check out my site www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com

Until next time, cheers!  Thanks for stopping by!

What do you do when you need a wall?

Mr. Butter Beans and I have been very busy in the basement the last couple of days.  I set time aside each day, between painting orders, to work towards reaching my goal of a functioning space.  It’s turning into quite a long project be it is coming along well.

Before- Mr. Butter Beans hanging the track

Now I do apologize for the pictures today because there is a lot of junk in the way but you can get an idea of what we were going for here.  The basement is a large “L” shape and we are a portion as the office space.  Anything and everything that was in that part of the room has now been shoved to the other side.  As of now said “anything and everything” is headed for destination unknown but I’m working on it. We decided we wanted to partition the room with some sort of a divider but we were a little conflicted as to just how we were going to make this happen for a small amount of cash.  Ikea is a great place to go when you just can’t figure out how you are going to do something.  All of their items are very versatile and can be modified to fit just about any space.

In our search we found a system that was perfect for our needs.  It is a long metal mount with 1 or 3 tracks (we chose 3) which can be mounted to the wall or ceiling.  You then purchase rolls of fabric that can be cut to any size, which act as curtains.  You install a metal track with wheels to top of the fabric curtains and they slide on the rail. While this sounds extremely complicated it was extremely simple and made a huge difference.

After- Cluttered but you get the idea :o)

We effectively separated the office from the rest of the basement and we did it all for under $200! The best part to me…I can bring the kids down with me to watch a movie, while I get some work done, and I can slide open my “wall” to keep an eye on them.  It works out fantastically! 

As always you can check out my shop at
www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com!

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

Fun, funky, and just my style!

Today I started to feel much more like myself again and I decided to work on another small project that has been on my list of “must haves” for my office.

My original brass chandelier and chemical deglosser

A few weeks ago I was checking out Etsy and Pinterest (as usual) and saw some upcycled brass chandeliers that were found various places (yard sales, thrift stores and such). They had been painted funky fun colors and were used in all sorts of spaces.  I fell in love with this idea right away and began my hunt for one.  After a few days of searching I decided I wasn’t going to find a used one for the mere fact that I was looking.  You never find things like that when you are actually looking. In fact I think it’s the rule.  Getting a little frustrated, I started looking at Ebay and Amazon and eventually found a link to an online lighting store.  They had a chandelier that was exactly what I was looking for, brand new, free shipping, for $21. How could I say no?! I placed my order, it arrived in 4 days and I was ready to go!

Ready for spray primer

First, I used a chemical deglosser easily found at your local hardware store.  It roughs up the shine a little bit and really helps the paint adhere to the brass.  If you have an old chandelier I would recommend using acetone, another easy item to find, after using the deglosser.  It will take off any dust or dirt that may be hiding and help the paint to stick as well.

Next I used a spray primer and completely coated the surface. In moment of innovation I decided to hang the chandelier from a tree branch in my yard.  This made it much easier to paint. After the primer dried I applied the color (I chose this great aqua) and waited for it to dry.

Finished product

Altogether this project took just over 3 hours to complete and I love the result! I’m still deciding if I am going to add a little bling to it but that is for another day, another blog.

As always, please check out my store at www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

On the mend and it's time to pick up the pace again

Quite unfortunately I came down with a bad case of strep throat this past week and I was abruptly halted in my basement progress.  It was quite a shame because things were going so well. Tomorrow is another day though and I am making a recovery with the help of some strong antibiotics and a little break from all of my projects.

Before this terrible infection hit me, I managed to make it to IKEA for a girls night out with a great friend of mine.  I purchased some long, hanging fabric panels that slide on a track.  These will be serving as a room partition and be separating my office space from the rest of the basement.  We will be hanging them some time in the next few days and I cannot wait to post a few pictures. These will really make a dramatic difference in the space and are extremely cost effective as well. Win, win.

Let’s not forget the reason I need this office… my business, which I am happy to say has really picked up this month.  I have several projects on my list that need to get out a.s.a.p.  Right now I am working at my kitchen table and my all of my supplies are in containers that I can easily move around.  Although these containers make them easy to move, they are terribly inconvenient for me.  Each time I am looking for something I need, such as a paint color, I have to dig though bins, no fun.  I can’t wait for my office!

I will leave you with some photos of a huge letter order that I completed for a United States Marine Corp Family. I love how these came out and I hope you will too.  As always you can check out my storewww.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com!

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

A space of my own

Before- this is the only wall in the
basement that is drywalled as it is
attached to the staircase

We have lived in our home for about 2 ½ years now and while we have wanted to do many projects, time and money always seem to be in short supply. Since I have decided to start my own small business I found myself seeking a space to do my work, uninterrupted that is user friendly yet stylish. Comfort in my workplace definitely lends itself to my creativity.

Pattern taped to the wall
before paint

We have a nice size basement, almost 600 square feet, and it has basically been a dumping ground for all of the “I need this but I don’t know where to put it” knick knacks and do-dads from A to Z.  Currently it is somewhat of a disaster but I have decided it is time to make use of this highly neglected space.  I have claimed a spot for myself and I will be turning it into my home office.  Right now it is a big concrete room but it has a large window to let the light in.  It is not quite the dank basement you might picture.  One day we will frame it, add drywall, canned lighting and flooring but for now those things will have to wait. When I have about $5000 dollars of disposable income, I’m sure I will be blogging about the remodel.

After- the picture is showing this as being
a very bright yellow but it is actually
very soft and lovely

I have started my project with paining the wall that is behind my desk with a great pattern that I found searching DIY’s.  I love Pinterest.  I’m going for a bright colorful space.  It really feels like the only room that I can make completely my own.  I plan on having 2 client chairs so I made 2 decorative pillows of which I found my inspiration on Etsy.  I have quite a bit more to do and I am sure I will be documenting my progress along the way.

Time to get back to painting some orders.  Feel free to check out my site www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com

Happy pillows I made. "Relax" and
"Love"

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

I really need to catch up

Under the Sea mural for Caleb

Ok, I admit it, I have been a bad blogger and I have a lot of catching up to do. Shame on me.  I’ve been pretty busy with some painting projects and things have been a little more crazy around here than the usual insanity.  My husband and both of my children have had a terrible flu over the last 2 weeks and now I have it. Oh they joys. All moms know, when the household is sick, you are the one who gets hardest job of all. I’ve been up all day and all night for several days and several nights.  Let’s hope this goes away and we can all rest a bit.

Sign ordered as a birthday gift

In the meantime, between the coughs and tummy aches, I managed to paint a mural, a sign, and a chair.  As I move from one project to another I have found that I am always capable of more than I give myself credit for. This raises an interesting question: Are we all capable of doing much more than we lead ourselves to believe we can? I am the first one to look at a new challenge and immediately, yet unintentionally, doubt myself.  I tend to stay in my comfort zone and sometimes I have difficulty opening up my mind to new possibilities.  Whenever I venture outside of the box I find that I can do so much more than I thought I could. Most times, things don’t turn out the way I pictured them, sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re bad, but usually they’re different. I’m finding that I need to push my limits much more often, those are the times when greatness comes.

Chair purchased at an antique store
by my daughters preschool teacher.
I spruced it up a bit for her:o)

I have a lot coming up and a few things I have already completed, besides the aforementioned, but I won’t post it all today. There’s always another day, another blog.

As always, you can check out my store www.sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com.

Until next time, cheers!

Homemade Playdough = Awesome!

Today I woke up and I wasn't quite feeling well. I decided it was a good idea to stay home and spend the day inside with the kids.  I wanted to come up with some fun activities so my girls would have something fun to do while I relaxed a bit.  After 3 games of Candyland with Kyra, I took to Pinterest, which is a great "go to", looking for new ideas. As soon as I saw it, I knew...HOMEMADE PLAYDOUGH! 


I looked at the recipe and found that I had all of the ingredients right here in my kitchen and I was ready to start! Here is what you will need:

1 cup flour
1 cup water
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/3 cup salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
food coloring


In a 4 quart saucepan mix the flour, cream of tartar, and salt. Add the water and vegetable oil, put on low heat and mix well. Working out the lumps, mix until it begins to thicken. Immediately add food color of you choice and mix well to your desired color. When your paste turns into a dough ball, remove it from the heat and cool on a silicone mat or a cool plate. Once it has cooled, kneed it to work out any remaining lumps and work in any remaining food color. Thats it and you're ready to play!

This makes a fairly large batch so feel free to half it and make different colors.  I made 6, 1/2 recipes and did the rainbow.  

As always you can check out my business, sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com!

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

Nothing interesting really...

Yep, that's me, by a gigantic "C" 

View from our deck on a snowy day

I guess blogs are supposed to be the place you talk about all of the interesting things going on in your life. If you are me though, there really isn't a whole lot of interesting things happening.  Sometimes life becomes routine and you realize that you are doing the same things day to day, just going through the motions.  I hate to admit that has been me lately but, truly it is.  Long, long ago I wrote blogs about me, and my life, before I had children.  It's seems that now I have run into some sort of writers block.  The block isn't really hard to explain, it's because my life used to be so interesting.

My Kyra and I
doing what we do best,
looking fabulous :o)

10 years ago I had adventures and lived life on a breeze.  I went wherever it happened to take me.  I love my family and children and I truly (as cliché as it sounds) would not change it for anything.  But who I am now is not who I was those 10 years ago and, I doubt who I am now will stay the same when I look back again in 10 more.  I have grown and learned valuable lessons, I've faced some of the hardships that all adults must face, I've watched as my friends have grown up, been married, have started families, and I'm happy knowing there is more to come. But, I can't help but look back and envy the simplicity of life and the feeling of throwing caution to the wind.

The ever happy, hilarious, Ella

Today, I did the usual.  Got the kids up, took Kyra to school, shopped for paint supplies, cooked dinner, gave the kids a bath and tucked them into bed.  That was the extent of my interesting day.  Way back when I would have hopped a plane to Vegas and been living it up until dawn. Amazing how things change isn't it? 




And so, tonight I will be painting, as usual, and trying to get some of these orders out. Enjoy my "just because I felt like posting them" pictures. As always you can check out my site sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com . 


Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by.

My ever handsome man

Jungle Room

So I've spent the last week very busy.  Between the kids, the house, this cold I can't shake, and painting I've had plenty to do.  I spent the majority of my painting time doing mural work in a bedroom. It's a jungle themed room and I had tons of fun doing it.  It's starting to look like I will have more mural work in the future which is great because I really enjoy painting spaces.  Its a fantastic thing to be given a blank wall and the trust of your client.

My new business cards arrived in the mail today and I'm so excited that I will have them to give out.  Starting your own business is definitely difficult and a lot of work but, I've never been afraid of hard work and I'll be happy when it gets off the ground. Im working toward getting some better pictures of my products.  It seems in the Etsy universe the products that are photographed the best, are the ones that sell. This week I priced out the materials to make my light box. It's a great little DIY and Kevin is going to pick up the materials today. Once I'm finished I will post some photos and the instructions.  Its a extremely easy and inexpensive way to get some professional looking photos at any time of the day. 

Time to get back to painting! As usual you can check out my shop at sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com My site needs a little love so be sure to tell your pals!

Until next time, cheers! Thank's for stopping by!

Take it one day at a time

Looks like my Etsy shop is going to have a slow start. We all want success and I know we all hope for instant results.  Things are not going that quickly for me but I'm starting to think its a matter of networking and taking some better photos.  Today I started looking up plans for a "light box" and asked the hubby if he would put it together for me.  I believe with some better pictures I could properly showcase my artwork and display it at its full potential.

Yesterday I worked from 8:30am to 7:30pm painting the room I have been talking about.  I'm still not finished but I am very excited see the end result. When I am done I will post the pictures, it really is coming out very cute.  I have plans to paint some wall plaques that are for the 2012 Santa Clarita Valley Relay for Life.  Team "We Remember" will be raffling them off and 100% of the profit will go the to American Cancer Society. As soon as I have supplies I will get to work on those. In the meantime I have a child's rocker/doll bassinet and a large order for some USMC themed letters that I have been working on. Keeping busy is always a good thing although with two little girls in the house I rarely have down time.  Speaking of my girls, here are some pictures of my cuties! I love them dearly!

As always you can check out my shop sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com, its coming along nicely!

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!

A Very Lovely Day Indeed

It was a very Happy Valentine's Day for my family and I.  We rarely have much time to spend together and when we do it's usually filled with plenty of those pesky but necessary tasks to keep us busy. Yesterday the snowy weather and icy roads kept us in for the day so we decided to have some good quality family time. We watched funny movies and did some fun activities with the kids. My honey sent me some beautiful tulips and yummy chocolate, he knows how to put a smile on my face. After girls were in bed, we had a nice romantic dinner and danced to some of the old classics in our living room. A very lovely day indeed. 

Tomorrow I will be venturing out to continue work on the bedroom I have been painting.  It is a grass border at the chair rail line, a tree with a monkey hanging in it, a giraffe and a lion.  I'm having such a great time with this job and I can't wait to post some pictures of my progress.  I enjoy painting walls, it's like having a huge blank canvas and its always fun to see the reaction to the work when it is complete.

I have been working on my Etsy store today and have managed to put up a new listing.  There will be a lot more to come. As always please drop by sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com and check out the latest work. I guarantee there is much more to come because I am just getting started!

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for dropping by!

Welcome! Come on in and meet me. 

Welcome! My name is Cindy Collis and you are about to get to know me, which is very exciting. I live in the Kern Mountains of beautiful, Southern California. I am married, with two little girls, 2 cats and 5 fish. We are hoping at one point to add a golden retriever to out menagerie, but for now we will have to wait.  I'm happy to say that we live in one of the few places outside LA that still offers adventure and a small town with the company of close neighbors.  We moved from the hustle and bustle a little over 2 years ago and I cannot say that I have missed it.  I am finally the owner of a MacBook pro, a new Etsy site, and now this, a blog, which I have been planning on starting for quite a while. I'm proud to say I have begun.

Up until last August I worked as a Stage Manager and Talent Supervisor for many years, mostly in theme parks.  I have worked for Six Flags and Disney, as well as for smaller independent productions, and in Las Vegas. It was a demanding world in which I thrived and enjoyed.  With the birth of my children, I found I needed to shift focus and do something that was not only fulfilling but gave me the time I needed to devote to them.  My little girls are truly amazing and they are the inspiration behind my work. I have a passion for painting and have found that I am an artist.  I suppose all people were born to do something, and each individual has talents for which there isn't quite and explanation.  I am very grateful for the talent I have been given.  It makes me feel fulfilled and gives me a chance to exercise my creative brain daily. 

As I said, I have just started my Etsy shop which I have named Sweet Peas and Butter Beans, the nicknames I have for my girls. I started painting things for my kids, friends and family about 4 years ago and after being told numerous times, "You should sell you work", I decided to give it a whirl on the good old Facebook.  After a year full of orders, I decided to expand my horizons and take to Etsy where handmade is totally chic. I'm just starting out and learning the ropes but I'm confident I will be Etsy literate in no time.

The most popular of items I sell are hand painted letters, and I've done quite a few this year.  I will paint just about any theme you request and I'm always up for the latest challenge.  In addition to letters, I paints signs, height charts, furniture, door hangers, step stools, and just about any plain old thing that could use some sprucing up.  Today, I painted a bedroom, I'm quite versatile indeed.  My shop, while still under construction, is open for business so go to sweetpeasbutterbeans.etsy.com and check it out! I'm working on a flicker account, which should be up and running soon, where all of my work will be posted for your viewing pleasure. 

Until next time, cheers! Thanks for stopping by!