My size 14 swimsuit is on. (It's supposed to make me look like a size 10, but I don't think it's working.) I've got my towel, and I'm putting my big toe in the blogging waters! I've been sitting on the shore and feasting on all the delicious crafting, decorating, and thrifting blogs for far too long. My biggest fear in starting my blog is what do I write about on my first post? I want it to be life-changing and world rocking. The pressure is overwhelming. The task impossible. I am deciding to start right where I am this very moment. I am looking to the right of my computer...aha...and here I go!
My mama always told me safety first, and to use the buddy system when near water. Come jump in with me!
How to Make a Shadow Box Shelf out of an Old Drawer
(not to be confused with old underwear drawers, please)
In my blog vision, the first photo I posted looked like it could be in Home Companion magazine. Everything was perfect. I knew that you, my reader,would just want to melt into the photograph and take up residence. Oh well...it was a vision. A dream. There's really no extra room here anyway. My just-thought-of-brilliant-blog-mission-statement is (picture my head lowered and in my most humble voice) I shall be a blog of honesty and creative messiness...so please pay attention to the shelf and not the junk that is currently stacked up underneath.
Find an old drawer from a falling apart piece of furniture. This happened to be from my childhood dresser that had been used and abused for many, many years and was really wonky and beyond repair. I salvaged the drawers, and my *first step* was to paint some leftover green paint all over my drawer for the base coat. It was water based. Don't worry about painting the bottom inside of the drawer unless you just can't help yourself. For *step two* I put some crackle glaze stuff over that and then when it was through doing its thing, I painted some blue over it. If you don't like the crackle effect, then don't go to this trouble.
For *step three* I put some cheap dollar store glue into an old cool whip bowl and diluted it thin enough that I could paint it on the inside of the bottom of the drawer to add some of my favorite Michael Miller fabric cut to size. 
*Step four* after deciding which is the top of my shadow box,I put my fabric in and wiggled it around the best I could to get it to fit smoothly. You may have a few wrinkles (try Oil of Olay...just kidding, dahling) but wrinkles don't really bother me because *step 5* is when I got my watery glue concoction and painted over the top of my fabric using a brush. You can get rid of some wrinkles that way because it sort of smashes them down.
If you would like you could add cup hooks to the inside top and display your vintage coffee or tea cups. I added an old knob (from the Goodwill store) to the side. This sentimental angel needed a place to fly. She sports the title of my Paw-Paw's favorite hymn, "Count Your Many Blessings." I remember him singing it. His low bass voice filling the little rock house in the Ozarks. Then, he would smile and tell me that I was one of those blessings.
Ta DA! My Finished Doo-Dad Knicky-Knacky, Patty-Wacky Shadow Box Wall Shelf
Now fill up your Shadow Box Drawer Shelf with delicious treasures! Now say "Shadow Box Drawer Shelf" five times as quick as you can. Oh, the things I do to amuse myself.
At this moment in the program I will share a few of my little treasures that sit upon my shelf.
Show and Tell Time!
First item up... This product tells it like it is. It is not New and Improved...they are Good and Cheap. I appreciate the honesty.
My Maw-Maw gave this to me when I was a kid, and I didn't cherish it like I do now. The magic is inside the box. Open it up and there are old paper doll clothes Maw-Maw played with when she was a little girl. The dresses are made from wallpaper scraps and some index cards she colored herself. I love the little note she included in the match box, which is really awesome on its own. Hopefully you can read the note below, because if you do the math on it, these paper doll dresses are how many years old?
You are correct, my smart friend! 85 years old! I'm going to visit Maw-Maw this weekend. She is 93 and is one smart cookie with the most unique personality I've ever encountered. She's what you call a CHARACTER!
Next up on the shelf is this little man, my sister, Wendy bought me. I love 
how she knew to buy him for me. I don't collect little men, or big men, or men at all, except for my collection-of-one awesome husband...but, Wendy saw him and knew I would be fascinated by his quirky little pudgy face, and the turquoiseness of his shirt. His hat sort of looks Amish, but the feathers kind of make that null and void.
Oh well, aren't men of mystery...mysterious?
When I was a little girl, I had a scrapbook that my great-grandmother made for me. Granny died when I was too little to remember her, but I spent many hours looking at the scrapbook filled with pictures she lovingly cut out of magazines. One of the pictures was of a Tammy doll. I thought she was so pretty and had such a sweet face, and might not be quite as "perfect" as Barbie seemed to be. In other words, if Tammy were real, in my childlike mind, I thought she would make a good best friend. She would always stick beside me even on bad hair days, because she had bad days herself and understood. I think the Tammy doll was already out of manufacturing, so I never got one. But...years...many years later, Mother and I spotted this sweet Tammy and she bought her for my birthday. She has a Tammy storage case in which she could live and pretend it was her apartment, but I just like to see her standing on the top of the shelf.
Here is one of my fun childhood toys. She is labeled Queen Buzzy Bee and I'm thinking might be an old Fisher Price toy? She made a buzzing sort of noise when you pulled her around by her string. Come to think of it, I sort of do the very same thing! :) Hmmm.
Here is a strange little montage of a naked baby sitting in front of a washer and dryer. Please don't judge my mental health by this one picture. They are really cool 50's salt and pepper shakers. A Tabasco bottle is perched on top. Don't we all keep our Tabasco on top of the washer? I always aim for realism!! An old metal Monopoly game-piece roadster is parked out front. Naked Baby is a sentimental goody given to me by an elderly friend of my Me-Me's. Her eyes amazingly open and close.Is she embarrassed at her lack of clothes, you ask? Perhaps. Do I feel bad I haven't sewn her a wardrobe like her far removed distant cousin doll, Blythe? Not at the moment. 
THE END OF MY FIRST BLOG POST
I'm sure I should leave you with some words of wisdom, but at the moment I'm exhausted. This one blog post has taken me three days, two Musketeer bars, one thin crust pepperoni pizza, a fish sandwich, sausage quiche, and endless gallons of tea. I have completed my first swim in Lake Blog, and there is nothing like swimming to make you work up a good strong appetite.
Hope to see you soon! I would like to share more of my life and home with you.
