How to rewire a lamp

Sophomore year of college one of my besties, Meg and I moved into a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. We figured it was better to share a small space together rather than share space with 40 other girls in a dorm. The only problem was after signing the lease we realized that we owned absolutely nothing! Lucky for us Megs Grandmother owns an antique store (that lucky devil!). So Nina lovingly supplied us with some much needed basics. We filled in the rest via hand me downs from friends and family. I still own some of the pieces from our apartment, one in particular that I have been carrying around with me for 5 years and through 4 moves! This beloved green lamp...which has been broken since 2 months before our graduation from college!  So when we did our garage overhaul I decided it was time to fix because how could I throw out something this beautiful? I'm here to tell you I shouldn't have waited 5 years it was so easy and took all of 30 minutes!

Dreaming up a New Office

 I have found that my current desk is way too small to do anything except type and enjoy a cup of tea. I have also realized that my office has become a catch all room (YIKES!). So I have decided to revamp!

I found some inspiration via Pinterest, (I often wonder what life was like before Pinterest...funny I can't remember LOL)

I will give you quick tour of my "idea board" so you can get an idea of what is currently in my head visually. Then the plan is by mid April to have a completely new looking office! Filled with inspirational beautiful things...including some organization! 

 



Actually already in the process of building this beautiful desk! Building plans are FREE at Ana White.
Photo from Shanty 2 Chic

Family History in a Shadow Box

About 2 years ago my Mom was taking one of her regular trip down to see my Grams. I was living at home during this time while my husband was deployed in Afghanistan. Among going to school full time and working, I was also running with my local rescue squad as an EMS volunteer. I had signed on in order to put something more than just good grades on my future nursing school applications. Little did I know this resume booster would turn into a true passion.
Any way my Mom came home from her visit with my Grams and told me she had something special for me. My Mom reached into her purse and pulled out a tattered old badge that read "American Red Cross Motor Service". She went on to tell me that my Grams helped drive the ambulance for the Red Cross during WWII in her local area... I was shocked! I knew that my Grams was a Navy Wife during and after World War II but I had no idea she helped in the ambulance service! I was so struck by how amazing it was that 2 generations later I was doing the same thing she had done over 50 years ago. We both had men at war and while waiting for our husbands to return home safely we helped others in need by driving our local ambulances. The cool thing is my Mom had no idea she had ever done that either, until she came across the patch and asked her about it.
So this shadow box is a tribute to the strong women in my family who during our own time of stress and uncertainty reach out to help others through theirs. I'm so proud to come from women like this and my little shadow box now reminds me of that every day.  I hope you enjoy it and my little bit of family history.

Supplies needed:

Scissors
Hot glue gun and sticks
Quilt or craft pins
Shadow box: the right size to display something special to you
Craft felt: enough to fit over the front of your shadow box
Quilt batting: same size as felt or more if depending on thickness desired
Fabric of choice: at least 2 inches larger than felt on all sides, this will be your background so pick something you really like.