Monthly Archives: July 2012

Welcome!

Posted by Leanne on July 25, 2012 None comments

Welcome to Because (I Think) I Can! My name is Leanne, and I am a full time stay-at-home mom, to our son who is 9, and our daughters ages 4 and 2. When my youngest was born, and I was sitting on the couch feeding our new baby, my eye wandered and my ideas exploded of new projects, and ways to better our home – on a budget of course! Over the past year my ideas have turned into a hobby/business, selling my refinished furniture and signs through Facebook, markets, and in 5 retail locations.

In the summer of 2012 I made the big decision to stop blogging, and concentrate only on my Facebook Page. It was an amazing experience for me, as my very casual hobby turned into so much more through Facebook! My specialty has turned into custom hand painted wood signs, with inspiring quotes.

I will continue to post only on my Facebook Page! Still the same content, only easier for me to manage! It was my intention to keep my galleries update, but I have to admit, I’ve been horrible at that too … on my facebook page however, I have a “MY SIGNS” album HERE, where you can see every sign I have painted. I would love to hear from you if you think there is anything I can help you with!

Please, Please, if you don’t already, “LIKE” me on my Facebook Page, HERE, so we can keep in touch, and I can keep you up to date on new products and events!!

thank you so much!!!!

Bella, the Antique Planter Chair

Posted by Leanne on July 25, 2012 4 comments

antique chair made into a planter chair! Because (I think) I Can blog

First of all, I know it’s Wednesday, when I usually do Pinterest Wednesday, but at 8:00 last night I thought I’d write up Thursday’s post first, as it would take longer…. little did I know 2 1/2 hours later I would finally be done. Seriously, I am having big problems with this blog. Don’t know where the problems are coming from, but it’s frustrating… so today you are getting tomorrow’s post instead!

So, how are you all doing?! First, I wanted to share something adorable with you… yesterday I had a little time to do something special with the kids, so we headed out to the zoo. Anna loves the porcupines as much as I do… check out this picture,

Anna specifically brought a Strawberry Shortcake book, to read to the porcupines! The porcupines weren’t outside, but were in their barn. I convinced her they would be able to hear her through the glass window, so she “read them to sleep”. It’s moments like these she melts my heart. She is so thoughtful and full of love.

Now,
When I found this beauty on Craigslist, I just about jumped out of my seat. I forwarded the ad to the hubby, got the okay, jumped in the car and headed out. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this beauty!!

antique chair with leather seat looking for a makeover

Gorgeous, right?! Can you see it?

amazing detail on the back - Because (I Think) I Can blog

That’s right!! Pulling off the leather, I found stinky, dusty hay! I’ve seen this on other blogs all the time, and this time it was my turn!

Of course, this project had me so excited, I forgot to take pictures of the process! What it entailed…

~ taking all the upholstery, hay, and upholstery nails off
~getting hubby to do the annoying and frustrating job of chiseling off the top of the seat, and then sawing a square hole in the seat, large enough to hold a 10″ potted plant
~giving the chair a good sanding and cleaning
~one coat of ‘heirloom white’ spray paint {one coat only because I ran out of spray paint and didn’t have a car to get more! It was my goal to have this chair seriously distressed with tons of the wood showing through, so I decided to take my chance and go straight to sanding}
~Sanding, sanding, sanding. And I LOVE the way it turned out!!
~3 coats of polyurethane protection spray.
~shopping for the perfect plant….
and ta-da!

What do you think?? I’m so in love with it. I have wanted to make something like this for quite some time, and love that I did. and that I love it

This Bella of a chair is currently sitting on my front porch, but is waiting for YOU to take it home! Check out my For Sale Page for more details!

Let me know what you think, and thank you so much for reading!!

Inspirational Words

Posted by Leanne on July 24, 2012 3 comments

When preparing for the show last weekend, I was completely inspired by this pin:

Source: bec4-beyondthepicketfence.blogspot.ca via Leanne on Pinterest

I needed a collection like this for sale, so I pulled my own together! Here’s some samples…

Many little girls walked to my table that day and begged their mommies for their favorite word… but like I mentioned before, all the mommies forgot their monies!

What do you think of them?

I love my little collection, and they will be posted on my For Sale sign soon! …don’t worry, I will announce when my For Sale page has been updated, but right now hubby is waiting to watch a movie with me! Can’t keep him waiting too long!

On a sunny note, I’ve been awarded the Sunshine Award again! But since I just received it, I won’t follow through, however, I will send you over to the lovely Desja’s blog, refresh your roost. I met her through her bestie, Elisa from Home Sweet Nest, and we vendored together at the market last weekend. this girl is such a delight, and her work is beautiful! Take a minute to check her out, let her know I’m thankful for the award!

Thanks so much for reading!!

Linking to:
Mommy By day Crafter by Night: ,
Tip Junkie:
Not Just A Housewife:

Fame On Friday #16!

Posted by Leanne on July 20, 2012 3 comments

Can you believe it’s #16 for Fame On Friday?! And I have a fantastic guest for you today. Barb is a very inspiring woman, in her creativeness, and in her faith and goals. One of her last posts about praying for your children brought me to tears. You all know about my lovable, compassionate, but hard-headed and obsessive little Anna, and I realized, instead of butting heads with her, and allowing her to control my emotions (and my headaches!) I should be turning around and praying for her and for us. She has so much amazing positive energy, we want to be sure she is guided in the right way, so that amount of energy isn’t pulled to the negative side! Before I let Barb take over, I know you are wondering about my appointment today… all the tests from the lumbar puncture came back clear, which is a good thing, and the neurologist believes the crazy ways I’ve been feeling that I mentioned yesterday, are due to the medications, so I am to go off one, and reduce the other, and come back to report in 6 weeks. I feel good about this decision. I’m still waiting for my MRI appointment, and in the meantime I got the okay to see a chiropractor and a naturopath… every time I have mentioned to someone about this lately, I have heard “have you seen a chiropractor??” I am starting to think I need to GO!

Here’s Barb!!

Hi Leanne, thanks so much for inviting me to your blog today for Fame on Friday. My name is Barb and I live in Northern Michigan with my hubby of almost 35 years, my 21 year old son Andrew and my twin boys 13, Carson and Connor. We have 3 grown and married children and 3 grandchildren. Here is a picture of my wonderful family!

I am a Christ follower and He is the reason I am where I am today. I love to create and you can almost always find some kind of evidence of that creating at any moment in my house. I am a life coach and my desire is to see women live their full potential both spiritually and creatively! As well as holding myself accountable to do the same.

The name of my blog is Second Chance to Dream.

If you want to know how the name came about you can read about it in my blog post Dare to Dream.

You will find a variety of posts on Second Chance to Dream from lots of DIY projects, to recipes, to Life Lessons, to resources for camping, etc. My blog is pretty eclectic.

Here are a few of my favorite posts:

DIY Palette Herb Garden

Vertical Succulent Garden

Summer Learning Activities

Camping Organization and Meal Ideas pt. 1

60 Summer Grilling Recipes

Upcycle a Cupboard Door

Turn Your Dreams Into Goals

OK, I’ll stop now. I’d love if you came over and visited me and if you like what you see consider following me via Facebook, RSS Feed or Email. You can find me at Second Chance to Dream.

Thanks again Leanne for the privilege to gush about myself on your blog I really, really appreciate it.

Thank YOU so much, Barb!! I appreciate you being here!

And thank you all for reading, and I hope you take some time to check out Barb’s links – she is worth it!!

Are you wondering what this “Fame On Friday” is?? Read on!

Fame On Fridays! … because I heart my readers!!

I love my followers, and I am so grateful to all of you for following my blog…and as a thank you, I want to show you off! I know there are A LOT of talent reading my blog, and I want to know more about You!

If you have a blog, let us know whatever you want us to know about it! …But you don’t need to be a blogger to be featured. Love to bake? Send me your pictures and recipes! Love to knit? Send me a scarf! Haha, joking Maybe you accomplished something you didn’t know you could do, just because there was no one around to help you. Brag about it here! Maybe you changed something in your life in a positive way. Tell us about it! Maybe you are amazing at organizing. Share your tips with us!

If you would like to be featured, send me any info you would like us to know about you & pictures of what you have created. I’ll schedule you in for a Friday, and will email you to let you know when you are scheduled, so you can brag to all your friends!

The Only Rules:

1.) You must be a follower of Because (I think) I Can through email, Linky Followers, RSS Feed, or Facebook.

2.) Spread the Love! Let people know you are being featured, and where to find it! Do you have a friend you think people should know about? Get your friend to contact me!

That’s it! You can email me at leanne @ becauseithinkican . com, or contact me through my contact form on my sidebar. I look forward to getting to know you better!

Leanne

I did IT!

Posted by Leanne on July 19, 2012 7 comments

breathe. keep calm and carry on. breathe.

I did something last night I have not done in….years. I’m talking like maybe 15 - 20 years. Ready for it??

I went on a bike ride BY MYSELF!!!!

Seriously friends, as sad as that is, it was amazing. I have the most adorable bike. It is a pinkish/lavenderish colored Norco Rio Vista, a beach cruiser, and when I ride, people call out “Nice Bike!!” It’s awesome. But usually I have little people with me, so I can’t truly enjoy the ride. But this week, the kids are at VBS (Vacation Bible School, at church) from 6:00 – 8:30. Our baby goes to bed at 7:00. And it suddenly dawned on me, I could do this! It was great, and a perfect ending to the day.

I also played around a bit with editing pictures on picmonkey.com. this is a seriously fun place to be. I’ve been complaining lately about posting with wordpress, and something that really annoys me is getting all the pictures onto the post… it takes f.o.r.e.v.e.r. So I’m trying to play with ways to make it easier and a bit more fun. And I put my blog’s name on the pics! (all the good blogs are doing it! ). Fun, right??

I had a really good day yesterday, and a really good day Monday. But Tuesday was not a good day. Although my headache was about a 3 on the scale-of-pain, sometimes it’s just the kind of headache that turns my emotions upside down. And it was a very hot day. And Anna was in a mood. It was a bad day. Hubby and I have also noticed something that has changed about me. I used to basically have a photogenic memory of everything in the house. I could remember where everything was. Even the most obscure item. Now I can’t remember where the keys were that I thought I had in my hands. I try to “talk” to myself when I do things now, like “I am putting Anna’s stuffed puppy in this box”, and at the end of the day, her and I will be ripping apart the house to find the stuffed puppy. When hubby find it, I’m like “right… now I remember talking myself through that”.

It’s frustrating, and it’s depressing. And it started when the headaches started.

Why am I like this? Is it because I have headaches and they distract me enough to keep me from remembering things they way I used to? Is it because I had just had my 3rd baby, and it’s my new “baby brain” that’s lasting a real long time? Is it because I have a beautiful but defiant 4-year-old redhead that can deplete me from all positive emotion in an instant? Am I just too busy with my 3 kids, a marriage, a dog, a life, and hobbies? Or is there something wrong with my head? My gut tells me I am just too distracted with life and everything in it, plus the headaches, to bother with the details. But it affects my daily life, so I want to get over it.

Oh well, I have my appointment with the neurologist today, we’ll see what his medical self has to say about it, my guess is he’ll tell me to slow down! …I’m not sure I know how to slow down! And this is why I love these signs, Keep Calm and Carry On. Maybe I should make a few more of these and hang them in every room!!