Because Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

My day job.  

Some of my blogging buddies are curious, who wouldn't be, I'm curious about what makes all of you tick too.  I'm a semi retired photographer.  That means I pick and chose what I do and how much I do of it.  And while I consider all the people I photograph to be "the beautiful people",
part of what I get to do comes with perks.

For example.....

Dull.  

I got to follow around a telephone crew and photograph their progress for their corporate office in Wisconsin.  Nice shot of them staring in that hole huh?  The only perk was that one of my BFF's works for that particular company and I got to put faces with some of the names she has mentioned.  Photos of guys and their equipment.  Sounds better than it was.

Love.  

I'm honored to shoot weddings and be a part of young love as they embark on writing their story.  This couple was a mere 20 years young not even old enough to drink at their reception. And the temperature was like 105 and very humid that day.  Their photographer was a pudgy middle aged woman, with frizzy hair from the humidity - hot, sweaty and thirsty. Between these photos and driving to their reception, I called home and told Brawn that
I was sure helll could not be any hotter than my internal temperature.

Youth.  

I photograph seniors graduating from high school.  Big families and small.  And of course the smallest of them all, the teeny tinys.

My photos have been on the cover of one magazine two different times.   Now before you gasp and think wow, let me tell you it's nothing to get excited about.  It wasn't a decorating mag, and nothing creative.  In fact they told me what they wanted.
It was more dull than the  photos of the telephone men.

Eye in the sky.

I also do aerial photos.

Flying around in one of these.....

 

Taking pictures of people doing this....

From way up there....

Oak Ridge Men... They don't look like "boys" anymore!

To backstage here....

Now THESE are boys.... Lost Trailers

Of people like this....

 and this.....

John Rich, from Big & Rich

 and this duo....

Eddie Montgomery

Troy Gentry

And a cowboy or two.... or 20....

Jason Aldean

I am a paparazzi.

I'm not just a frumpy house wife who spray paints soda cans to hold fake flowers.  

I told you there were some perks!  

My Spring Spray Painted Coke Cans

So over at DebbieDoos she always does cute stuff with things from the dollar store.  Honestly every time I go I don't see anything cute to do anything with!  I must have a dud for a local store.  Anyway, Debbie took tin can's and put some real flowers in and it looked pretty so I thought welllllll I can do thatttt......  .  Cept I didn't have any tin cans other than coke cans.  And I didn't have any real flowers because as you can see from beyond the window it's frozen outside.  So I swished the dead bug off the window ledge and put my painted-coke-can-fake-flowers up and they really do brighten it up.  Notice the piece of paper towel under the blue can on the left.  I have wet blue rings of paint on my counter right now, guess it puddled on the bottom of the can because the rest was dry.  I purchased a bunch of the dollar store flowers for a buck.  I don't know who drank the coke, nor left the can's lay in the garage.  I sort of laughed at this little project, because no talent was required, but I find myself glancing at the pretty colors every time I walk by.  Spring is coming my friends, even if it's fake flowers in soda cans.

 

I linked up to Thrifty Decorating for Thrifty Thursday, because it doesn't get any thriftier than dollar store flowers and used soda cans! 

Linking up for fun, and sort of to laugh at my craftiness at 

Ginas Spring-tacular craft party @RandomThoughts

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I have a guest post today over with Kelli at Eat, Pray {Read}, Love.  She used to be MoreBangForYourBuck till she realized that didn't really reflect her loves, so she changed the name and with that came a new spark for her to really love what she is writing.

As I read other blogs I often find a common thread.  We don't just feed our decorating souls, we also nourish our spiritual ones.  So for another side of Bliss with out any sarcasm or humor (I think?) take in the post on Kelli's Old and Young Wives Tales.  

And for something rare.... as in a Blogging World FIRST... you can see a photo of my kids.

Guest Post @ LifeInTheThriftyLane

Hello friends and countrymen, lend me your ear..... today I am guest posting over with

 Veronica at LifeInTheThriftyLane.  

Please pop over and say hi and you can see some bits of my home that makes me shake my head and ask the question... "Bliss.... what were you thinking (but I do like the cups in the photo above).  And check out Veronica's blog too while you are there, she has all sorts of interesting stuff to read about like a giveaway, and an Etsy shop, and well basically she's a full meal deal, she's got it all going on!

Time for a hair cut

Look Good Feel Better?  I think I should hang this by my bathroom mirror.

The post about those old window weights?  Well those old weights came attached to a whole building.

I purchased an old building to renovate a couple years ago (yup this is my baby, but Brawn does all the work).  In it's past life it was a barber shop and we inherited all the paraphernalia with the purchase. 

Lots and lots and lots of "stuff" which also included furnishings from the apartment above where the barber and his family lived.

So we got the vintage porcelain barber sign above....

 This awesome Red Wing clock that is currently in our house

 This dirty hairy old sink, not like the movie

 An unfortunately empty cash register

 And two of these bad boys  

One of which I had the misfortune of being dropped on my big toe.

We even got the scissors, shavers, empty bottles of smelly stuff, 

cabinets, racks, and lots of old hair.

The ceramic tool sterilizer is now in my bathroom

Old cabinets, so yucky, but I like the glass knobs

A couple years ago when the reno started I barked out the order to Brawn and the boys.....  

"don't get rid of anything just in case".  

Now with blogging, I'm barking louder....

"DON'T GET RID OF ANYTHING,

NOT A BOLT, NOT A SLAT OF WOOD, 

NOTHING!".

Fall of 2011 everyone rolled out of bed, hammers in hand, and off to replace the building front.  

We got rid of a whole dumpster load of what?  What good stuff did I toss not knowing any better? 

I will never know.

I'm linking this up to the FOLK Magazine thing with Donna @ Funky Junk Interiors

because how many people have a 1916 building that came with 1916 crap?

Also Linking to Knick of Time Vintage Treasures

THE ANSWER to......Decorate with THESE

I am the proud owner of the above "things".  Lets play the game of............  

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THESE ARE?

I am betting many of you know exactly what they are.
So how about if you are one of the people who do....you hold off on your comment, or just send me an email to confirm it so we can see what other people guess.  

The second part that everyone can participate in...... what would YOU do with them?????

THE ANSWER:

OK, they are.....

Several of you got it correct...... 

Now if I didn't know, I would of thought they were something nautical.

They weigh A TON each so if they were nautical what ever you attach it to is gonna sink!   They are iron.  They are not nun-chucks for a super strong super ninja. 

They are window weights.  

Google that if you want to see just how they worked.

They went in the wall along side windows and operated on a pulley system.  These are from a 1916 building that we own.  When we replaced the windows last year I told Brawn, SAVE THEM.  But what should I do with them?  
I don't know any super strong super ninjas to give them too.

One Drawer Down... One Million To Go

Last weekend my two daughters and I went shopping.  I didn't need a thing, but of course that didn't stop me and I never turn down an invitation to hang out with them.  One stop was Home Goods and I saw a drawer organizer.  This I needed.  I did.

9 Inches wide

A quick call home to interrupt Brawn's flu and ask him to measure the top center drawer width in our bathroom.  9" wide?  Perfect, the organizer also was 9" wide.  It was meant to be in my non mathematical mind.

9 inch wide swath of crap

The organizer did not go in easily, duh 9 inches on both items leaves no room for give.  But I forced it in.  I only split a small spot on the drawer side and it's not even noticeable.   It's in, and it ain't coming out! 

I discovered this little treasure under 100 eye liner pencils.  I think it was my mom's and I tossed it in that drawer over 10 years ago.  It will go nicely with the vintage barber shop junk we inherited with an old building we bought.

And I found this.....

The missing alligator claw from a Florida vacation back in 1994.  I need a show of hands please if anyone else has an alligator claw in their makeup drawer.  Don't be shy, speak up.

After

Amazingly I got rid of very little stuff.  'Got rid' of as in threw in the trash.  I did take out all the tooth related items and put it in a Velveeta box for now.  I'll organize the cabinet I tucked that into another day.  I also put the claw back in.  What else am I gonna do with it?  Can you find it?  Where's Clawdo.

The most amusing thing to me was that I have so many lipsticks.  They must be from Halloween costumes since the one beauty item I use the least is lipstick.  I have my mothers old lipsticks, some from the girls when they were in dance, and a few I thought I might like.  Give me an eyeliner pencil, some fragrance and flavor free lip stuff and a bit of face lotion and I'm pretty much good to go.

We also made this purchase at Costco.  No I didn't eat it all myself, (thought about just rubbing it right on my ash).  There is always plenty of help around here for cheesecake eating, just not drawer organizing.

The Drawer Get's Linked...Uncluttered Thursday @UnclutteredLifestyle

H is for Humperdinck

Every blogger remembers the handful of blogs they first discovered.  HatingMartha was one of those for me and I'm honored that Janel is here doing a guest post.  All of us are looking for ideas right?  Well for me Janel not only makes things that I love, but that I could actually see myself copying making.  Like the letter H below.  I look at the alphabet every time I hit a craft store and wonder what could I do with one of those?  Thanks to HatingMartha, now I know!

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 I am so excited to be here today at Bliss Ranch! I feel young and free hanging out here where I can let it all hang out. Cause Bliss is just so cool that way! Pour yourself a glass of lemonade and lets get started!

I'm Janel and I blog over at Hating Martha. Now, before you get your panties in a bunch about me hating anybody... go read my about me page. You'll get it. My blog is full of crafts, DIY, sometimes cooking, sometimes just nonsense. It's always a good time, always believable, and always bordering ridiculous. Come over some time and plop your self down for a good read!

  

I have a love for old Industrial signs, letters, and such.

I really do. They make me sigh. 

But they are terribly expensive and out of my budget.

So when I saw this baby I had an aha moment.

The lightbulb glowed bright inside my little ol' brain.

A giant chipboard H. Yep, the things dreams are made of.

First thing was to paint all the edges and corners with silver metallic paint.

This was so that when I buffed some paint off the metallic would show through 

and give the illusion of sheet metal.

Next was to cover the whole letter with Valspar glossy orange paint.

I needed several coats. But, it dried fast.

 Covered in that pretty orange paint.

To give the look of sheet metal screws I used chrome upholstery tacks.

I just put them in on the edges.

Then I took some black paint and rubbed it all over the letter, rubbing it off right

away. Make sure to get it into those tacks. 

A light sanding on the edges for that metallic paint to show through.

I also put a bit of metallic paint on my finger and buffed it randomly in some places.

There you have it...

an Industrial Metal Sign.

From a chipboard letter.

Yippee!!

Thanks Janel for the great tutorial and for stopping over at the Ranch.  Your tutorial is understandable enough that I even think I can follow along.  I do plan to make one or two of these letters, so you can look for them in my future.