Making over the world's ugliest mailbox

Our house is 65 years old (to be exact). I think this mailbox has probably been around since the house was built. I don't have a "before" picture, but it shows much wear and tear. You can sort-of see it here. It's basically a standard, metal, dented US mailbox. Add to that that it is standing on a metal pipe (yes, pipe) that is cemented into the ground, meaning that if we were going to replace this mailbox, we'd have to dig it out, possibly requiring a jackhammer. No thanks.

But it is really ugly due to the fact that the pipe it's standing on is bent at a 30-degree angle. It's an eyesore. So I thought I'd try and apply some makeup, so to speak. First I spray painted the pole (pipe), flag, and handle black, then spray painted the rest of it red to match our front door and shutters. Then I had my sister cut some vinyl stickers of our address, and I

applied them. I really like how it's turned out. Certainly not the world's best-looking mailbox, but it's not quite as awful as it was before.

Sweet Sixty Bash

Last weekend, my sister and I threw a birthday party for my mom. Everything went really smoothly and we all had a wonderful time. Thanks to mom and dad who were a huge help, very good sports, and held the party at their house. I wanted to share some photos of the party, since I'm continuing with the "craft" theme on the blog for now.

A relative of mine made the cake for the party, and I have to say: it was the highlight of the night. She owns a cake decorating business in Spokane called Cupity Cake Bouquets, and I would highly recommend her. The cake was three scrumptious flavors, and the design was something I found online and thought would be fitting in our "hot pink and black" theme.

I made this banner, which I found on the Martha Steward DIY Weddings website.

Props to my sister who used her new Silhouette machine to make these utensil holders and photo frame decor.

Here is a photo of the food table.

And of course, the guest of honor. Happy Birthday, momma!