Farmgirl In My Heart

Cable Scarf for Him

2012-01-25T14:01:00.001-05:00

My hubby never asks me to make anything for him, but this year he had a request. He asked for a scarf. I wanted to find a yarn he would like and match it up with the perfect pattern. I knew he didn't one a super chunky yarn and wool is too itchy for him. So I chose this yarn and found this amazing pattern for free. I am so thankful for all the amazing patterns that you can find on the web.

The completed scarf

The pattern was very easy to follow

I had learned this stitch previously from a book on baby afghans

The pattern and yarn are a good match

One day I will learn to knit cables but for now I am pleased with the outcome.

I am much more comfortable crocheting and reading crochet patterns.

I had not planned to start any new projects but hubby never makes requests. I have a few projects to finish and a couple I planned some time ago. Those will be next. It may take some time with our new furry friend. But I am trying to complete all my unfinished projects.

The last week and a half have been a blur.

This little guy is so cute but quite the handful. He is a terrier and has quickly earned the nickname terror.

We have to watch him every minute he is out of his crate. But what a sweet little guy he is.

Trying to keep him on schedule and homeschool has been quite a project. Our husky has also been sick and she has developed a cyst like last year. I am not sure what causes this but we have to wait until she is better to address the cyst. In the meantime she is determined to tear the cyst out herself. She is currently wearing the "cone of shame" backwards to block her from that site. It is quite a sight.

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Furry New Baby

2012-01-17T16:28:00.000-05:00

We had a very fun weekend!! Saturday we went out for a wonderful breakfast to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday. Then we visited the pet store. I can't believe that it happened but a little puppy won my heart. He is just so sweet and lovable. Here he is sleeping in his crate with his toy.

He is a cairn terrier. The same kind of dog as Toto on the Wizard of Oz. We were trying to keep him out of the way and used a laundry basket but it wasn't working.

He is so tiny. Just over three pounds.

We had to get the little guy a sweater because he was shivering.

The transition has been tough. He cries and barks in his crate at night. Last night he was going crazy and not resting at all. But look at this little face. Isn't it precious??? Wouldn't his little face just win your heart??!!

So tiny but so full of energy. We are working to crate train him and maybe he will settle down for the night. Any and all tips are appreciated!!

Other than this little fellow the weekend was pretty quiet. We watched the Patriots game on Saturday night and it was great.

Sunday was a quiet day.

Monday we took the holiday off from homeschooling. Unfortunately, our son was sick, too. Later in the evening our husky got sick. So now we had to quarantine her so the other doggies don't get sick.

Today no school work as our son recuperates. I feel like I'm coming down with something and haven't gotten much sleep the last couple of nights.

Never a dull moment.

I'll keep you updated on the little guy's progress.

Snowmen and an Upcycled Frame

2012-01-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

This week we had my nephews over for some fun time.

The weather here has been very unseasonal. Last year by this time we had over two feet of snow. This year the temps have been staying near the 40 mark and we've had tons of rain. I don't mind the higher temps but it is not good for my son's snowboarding classes. They can hardly maintain snow.

But we'll make snowmen anyway.

We made these cute treats while my nephews were here. They had fun. I let them add whatever they wanted to their snowmen.

Pretty cute idea. I saw it on Pinterest. I haven't even started my own account yet but I can't help looking through all the fabulous ideas.

I upcycled a frame for my daughter. We found this for $2 at a thrift store and I knew it would make a great jewelry holder. She has a ton of jewelry. I used some puff paint and added a design to the open space.

Then I dry brushed it with some black paint.

With E6000 glue I glued some fabric to plastic canvas.

This fabric was a little remnant and although I wanted to center it, there wasn't enough of it.

Completed and stocked with jewelry. I added some hooks on each side so she could hang her necklaces.

She loves it because now they are on display.

Linking to:

2011 Top 5

2012-01-05T11:28:00.000-05:00

My favorite project of 2011 was the hutch transformation.

This hutch belonged to my parents and I was so happy to give it a new coat of paint and make it gorgeous.

Number 2 on the list is the Burlap Bulletin Board that had been on my to do list for far too long.

Number 3 is the fabulously spacious desk in our son's room.

Number 4 is the incredibly ruffled skirt for my niece. It was so sweet and I had fun making it.

Number 5 is the PB inspired bed for our son's room.

I would love to hear which one is your favorite.

As I went back through the posts for 2011 I was elated at the number of projects I completed this year. It was a productive year and I'm looking forward to more in 2012.

Linking to:

It's Overflowing-Overflowing with Creativity

Twelve For 2012

2012-01-04T12:02:00.002-05:00

Happy Belated New Year!!

I'm excited at the prospect of a new year. A clean slate, a fresh start!!

These last few years have been trying on our family. We have suffered through a few difficult family losses. Now the past is behind and I am looking forward to the new year with fresh eyes and excitement at the endless possibilities ahead.

I was inspired by Edie's post on reVolutions instead of resolutions. I am always inspired by her posts. Who isn't??!!

~Here are my revolutions for this year~

I decided on twelve things for the year 2012

2012Resoulutions

1. Read at least 30books~including 10 classics

2. Exercise 4x’s a week

3. Finish all the unfinishedprojects I have started~this will be a big one but one by one I will try

4. Have more game time~notelectronics

5. Host some fabulous dinnerparties~I have a couple of ideas swirling in my head

6. Grow a larger garden thisyear and can at least one thing from my garden

7. Grow flowers so I can fillmy home with fresh, beautiful flowers

8. Paint my mom’s kitchencabinets

9. Learn Tunisian Crochet

10. Make lists each day tohelp keep me focused before the day gets away from me and I don’t know what I’veaccomplished

11. Purge~clean out all theextras that clutter and are not needed

12. Revamp our living room~it is in need of some help~new paint, rearrangeour furniture, new window treatments. This will be a big project that I will need to tackle in little chunks.

I realize that I may not accomplish all of these goals but it's a start. A plan for the upcoming year. A place to start, a vision.

I am beginning today with some purging and there are three bags on their way to charity. A good start for this new year.

If you haven't read Edie's amazing post please stop by. You won't regret it.

Linking to:

It's Overflowing-Overflowing With Creativity

2011-12-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!!

May your day be merry and bright

As you celebrate our Lord’s birth

Last Minute Gifts

2011-12-22T10:05:00.001-05:00

We have some of the sweetest librarians at our local library. I wanted to make them some fun little gifts. Without thinking I headed to Pinterest to look at all the amazing book page ornament ideas. What was I thinking? Would theses sweet librarians think that this was a bad joke. I have passed on that no library books were harmed in this process. Only books that needed a new life.

I looked at all the amazing ideas on Pinterest and set to work on my own.

This little ornament started with a wooden snowflake. I painted it white and then glittered it.

Then I added some cardstock to the middle and a vellum snowflake.

Accordion folded some book pages and hot glued them to the back with a ribbon for hanging.

This one is similar to the previous one but I used strips from the book pages.

Folded them in half and hot glued them to the back.

The last set of ornaments were made with larger, thicker snowflakes.

They were also painted and glittered.

I folded one and a half inch squares of book pages into small cones and glued them. Then I let them sit for a bit. Finally, I glued them on and glittered the tips of the cones.

The best thing about this project is that I had everything at home. I purchased the snowflakes and vellum items on clearance a couple of years ago. It was a thrifty, fun and chic little gift. I am thrilled with how they turned out.

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Finishing Touches

2011-12-20T13:26:00.001-05:00

It's almost Christmas, hard to believe it's almost here. I love all the amazing Christmas decor ideas in blog land. I am so inspired by so many of you.

One of my favorites is the Anthropologie knock off snow globes. I love jars and collect them all the time so I knew this was something I would have to try.

These are my knock offs.

The silver tray is actually from the Dollar Tree

I also found the small villagers there, too

The trees I picked up at Michaels for 60% off

and the jingle bells, too

I love them. It looks fabulous! I put it in the kitchen to brighten it up.

My dining centerpiece

I was able to pick up a bag with many different trees, different sizes and all on sale. I have been using them everywhere. I love them and will be sad to see them be put away.

Our little beagle with her Christmas sweater. She is always cold and lays in front of the wood stove all the time.

Isn't she a cutie!!

This week includes building our gingerbread house. This year I am going to be brave and bake my own. I will let you know how that goes. We will have fun though.

We are also working on some special gifts for neighbors and friends. These great ornaments are on our list. I saw them on Pinterest and knew they would be on the to do list. I will post pics of both projects as we complete them.

Linking to:

Recreating Our Christmas Decor

2011-12-14T15:38:00.001-05:00

This season is a time to enjoy one another, remember our Savior's birth, and gifts for those you love and appreciate. I think most people are on a tight budget and we are no exception. I decided that I would not even think about the things I could not purchase but use my creativity to recreate the things we already have. I spend very little, mostly on floral picks that were highly discounted and a few things from the Dollar Tree.

Our tree is very eclectic. I would love a theme tree that is color coordinated but our tree is filled with memories. Our ornaments each hold special meaning for us. Each year the kids choose an ornament. It is so much fun to see their tastes change. Now that they are older, the ornaments remind us of their interests when they were young. Some day they will move out and take them all with them. Then I will have my theme tree.

For now I enjoy the memories each ornament holds.

I am extremely thrilled to have all our gifts wrapped early this year.

Crocheted snowflake ornament I made a couple of years ago. I love these. They are some of my favorites.

Our daughter now loves the Eiffel Tower~these are recent ornament choices. She dreams of someday traveling to see these places.

Another favorite

Our angel-she is so pretty

My secretary that is on the to be painted list.

Glittery pine cone that I found last year at Walmart on sale

This little box was from a Bath & Body Works gift set that hubby gave me years ago. It was a dark green color and this year I gave it a coat in white paint with touches of silver glitter paint. I am loving it.

I filled it with pine cones that I have had for a long time but this year I painted them in blues and silver.

I watched a video on HGTV's website of Sarah Richardson (whom I love) painting pine cones in the easiest way. I knew I wanted to try them.

You water down some paint in a plastic container that has a tight sealing lid. Drop in the pine cones, put the cover on and shake it. Open the lid and your pine cones are completely covered, remove them and place them on wax paper to dry. I sprinkled them with some glitter while the paint was wet.

I forgot to take a before picture but I didn't paint the bottom-this is the original color.

Our fireplace mantel. We start off with the big tv. It is the bane of my decorating. I envision it decorated so differently. I would love a mirror, frames in various sizes and shapes and so much more but there really isn't a better place for it. So the tv sits on the mantel. I work with what I have.

We are in need of new stockings. Not sure if I will look for some on clearance or just make some. They are well over ten years old.

Garland to hide the wires behind the tv.

The white candles looked plain so I wrapped some silver ribbon around them and glued some snowflakes to them. The white ones I crocheted. The blue one is a floral pick I found for 49 cents. It was the last one. Would have loved a couple more at that amazing price.

More painted pine cones

Our son's ever expanding nutcracker collection. The newest edition is Sherlock Holmes.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour. I have had so much fun creating things to decorate for Christmas. I am never truly finished. Each day I seem to find just one more thing I would like to try.

Linking to:

Blue Cri cket De s ign

Garland Before & After

2011-12-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

Christmas decorating is on a tight budget this. Living on one income is becoming increasingly difficult. I have tried to make do with what I have on hand. This garland has been in my basement for a couple of years. I have never been a big fan of it, but used it outside in the past. This year I decided to give it a new look. I started by removing all the old ornaments.

Then I went to my craft cabinet looking for something to add white to the garland. I found this.

It's Snow-Tex. I've had it for a couple of years and when I opened it, it had dried up. I decided to add some water and mix it well. It worked. It came back to life.

Using a popsicle stick I spread some faux snow on the garland. I was already much happier. Then I set it to dry overnight.

Once it was dry. I folded it in half to give it more fullness. I went through my stash of floral picks and set to work. Using wire cutters, hot glue and what I had on hand.

I used the silver mesh that I had used on the swag I made here.

Here it is in its new home. This window really needed a little something.

I am so pleased with this "new" garland

and so glad I never tossed it.

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Chocolate Truffles

2011-12-07T15:36:00.001-05:00

I am joining in on Edie's Christmas Sweet Treats Party

This recipe is so easy and delicious. It is originally from Gooseberry Patch Christmas book. Perfect for this time of year when we are so busy.

We start off with

3/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup of baking cocoa

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter in heavy saucepan over low heat,

add cocoa and stir until smooth.

Add sweetened condensed milk, cook and stir constantly until mixture is thick, smooth, and glossy, about 4 minutes. * This must be done over very low heat.*

Remove from heat: stir in 1 tbsp vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours. Shape into 1 inch balls.

I use a melon scooper that I grease first. This mixture will melt quickly so it is important to work fast.

Roll in sprinkles, baking cocao, powdered sugar, chopped nuts, or any other topping you would like.

Refrigerate again until firm, one to two hours.

Store, covered, in refrigerator.

Enjoy!!

Linking to:

A Bit of Christmas Decor

2011-12-06T10:21:00.001-05:00

Christmas spirit is in the air. Decorating is just beginning here. It has been fun!!

This swag has been around for some time and it needed a new life. I decided to remove everything and start from scratch. This year I am loving the white and silver decor that is everywhere. So I headed to Michaels and bought some floral picks.

Before:

After:

I gathered some sticks from our backyard and used them for this along with some leftover floral picks.

My white hutch is one of my favorites this year. I am so glad that I painted in the spring. It is lovely with the Christmas decor.

The rice wreath hanging on the door was made by my daughter when she was in second grade. She is now in college and each year asks me why I keep it. I keep it as a memory of her when she was so young. That was a fun age. We used to make so many things together.

The Tweety teapot doesn't really go with the rest but it has a special story behind it and I wanted it with my favorite things. The blue skeleton keys were from Walmart last year.

Mini village scene~building a snowman

I am enjoying the Christmas spirit. I want to savor this season and not rush through it. I wish the same to all of you.

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PB Inspired Storage Bed

2011-12-01T14:42:00.003-05:00

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post. I hope that everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends. We hosted the largest group we have ever had this Thanksgiving. It was bittersweet. The Friday before Thanksgiving my mother-in-law passed away. She had suffered a stroke more than eight years ago and this had been a long trial for her. She is at peace now.

I have been remodeling our son's room on and off since August. Things are finally coming together and I am so happy to finally see an end in sight.

Inspiration #1 for his bed~found here

Inspiration for his bed #2~found here

Both of these beds were far out of our price range. We purchased a platform bed and I enlisted the help of my brother to build this.

Here it is primed

One of the top shelves is split in half and our son can use it for his alarm clock, etc. This was hubby's awesome idea. I am so thankful that my brother is able to bring all of our "ideas" to life. He is so talented and we are so blessed.

The finished product

I am anxious to start putting his room together. It has been in a state of chaos for too long.

This bed is amazing. We still have storage, like his previous bed but it fits into his room so much better. It also looks more like a teenager's room. I would have liked to line the wall with the bookcases (like the first picture) but we do not have enough wall space.

It is all starting to come together. The bureau is getting it's final coat of paint. I will be back soon to show off the completed bureau.

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When Will There Be Time?

2011-11-17T19:55:00.000-05:00

Our son's room has been in the process of a makeover since August. I started with a fresh coat of paint on the walls, ceilings, trim and built in dresser. Added the magnetic wall from Rustoleum. Then at the end of August, Hurricane Irene struck and we were without power for over a week. We started our home school year right after that. Time flew by and then I hurt my knee. You can't get much accomplished on crutches.

Finally, we are back at it. Trying to get it finished quickly.

This bed which never fit in the room properly had to go. It's an amazing bed but not for a dormered cape. The ceilings are too low and this had actually sat in the middle of the room for far too long.

Last week I took it all apart. It is ready to go to my sister's house this weekend.

Here is the replacement bed. I know it seems weird to have a twin mattress on the full size bed but there is a reason.

Slight mess~no drawer pulls on the built in, dresser that is actually part of the bed, and a ton of things packed in front of the window.

Here is our inspiration. I love these beds from Pottery Barn but can not afford one. So I enlisted the help of my brother to build bookcases into the empty space on the bed above. It is on the to do list this weekend~had to wait for him to come back from Disney. I would have liked to build the bed from scratch but hubby and I don't have those skills and my brother has a job and a family. We can't keep him all to ourselves. So we are starting with a purchased frame.

Purchased this bureau at the consignment shop.

It's a little scratched but I plan to paint it anyway. The price and size was right.

This will fit right into the space in front of his window.

I will be removing the first drawer and adding a shelf.

It will be just like this one. My brother has already built the sides and back for the top of the bureau.

I love the double use~the drawers are nice and deep. There will be plenty of storage.

I am also working on this pillow for a friend.

The first squares waiting to be joined.

So when will there be time to get it all finished. We are hosting Thanksgiving here and the holiday season is beginning. In the midst of this busy season, I have a lot of painting to get done and plenty of building with my brother. I had hoped to have this completed already. The to do list is always growing. I don't have to worry about being bored.

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Rosette Headband

2011-11-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

I made this ruffly skirt for my niece and what can go better with all those ruffles than a sweet rosette.

I love this rosette for it's fullness and size.

I am looking forward to some pictures of my niece with this adorable outfit. She will look like a doll with this headband.

For the headband I used Spa yarn by Naturally Caron. It is the softest yarn. Now I am wondering what I else I can make with that yarn. I love it.

Linking to:

Never Too Many Pillows

2011-11-07T16:17:00.001-05:00

I stumbled across Sensations Pomp Yarn and love how incredibly soft it was. It felt like minky fabric. I was dreaming of nice soft pillows for our couch. The difficulty was figuring how to cast on with this yarn. There weren't any instructions in the store and I couldn't find anything online. This yarn is not like Red Heart's Pomp a Doodle because the pom poms are small and so is the thread between each one. I favor crochet and tried a hundred different ways to crochet with this yarn and tried a hundred different hooks. It was not working.

(ignore the pillows in the middle~I made them last year and they have been very loved & slightly abused by boys who like to have pillow fights~ahem~namely my dear son and dear husband~the oversized third child)

I finally read somewhere on the Joanns forums that you could only use the knit stitch with this yarn and had to use the thumb method of casting on. I tried this with the smallest knitting needles I has but they were still to large so back to the store I went and purchased a very small set of bamboo knitting needles. Then the fun part began. I was able to cast on a decent row of stitches with a neat row of pompoms.

With each new cast on it became easier. The key was knitting every row and using the small size needles. This makes a super soft double sided pattern. I would have loved to be able to stick a pillow form between those two sides but you can't.

Once I had knitted the four pillow fronts I pulled out the sewing machine to start putting some backs on them and fill them with pillow forms. But I ran into a big snag. YOU CANNOT USE A SEWING MACHINE. The little pompoms got caught in the bobbin and there was a lot of sweating, hand wringing and tears as I tried to get this off the machine. I have a Brother Embroidery machine. The needle was stuck in the fabric and every time I tried to bring it up the machine beeped a warning. It was wracking my nerves. I thought this machine was going to bust and I would never have another as nice as this one.

I tried putting the feed dogs down and gently working the fabric out but it was not budging. I finally looked at some of the maintenance photos and figured out that I would need to take apart half of this machine to safely remove the fabric. I tell you I was nervous and scared.

I did not want to send this baby to the sewing machine hospital. I was able to remove the front plate and the bobbin. Then I removed the bobbin holder inside the machine. I could then see exactly where this pompom was stuck. By gently pulling and unwrapping it I managed to get it free. I was elated. This minor episode nearly gave me a heart attack. All I could envision was the needle breaking off, falling into the machine and wrecking it.

So now I had to sew each one of these by hand. Not so bad except that your fingers get a little numb and I was already shaky from the crazy sewing machine episode. Then I gave the machine some loving, a little cleaning and then tried sewing various stitches on normal fabric to make sure it was still working. Thankfully, it is.

The pillows were a little plain so I added some rosettes. Each was made with some bits of trim that were leftovers a friend gave me.

This one is my absolute favorite.

Isn't it gorgeous?

I'm linking to:

Thrift Treasures

2011-11-04T11:53:00.003-04:00

My daughter and I went to our local thrift store this week and it was our luckiest trip ever. We were so thrilled with our finds.

My favorite find was this milk glass lamp.

She was so neglected and dirty. Full of cobwebs and dirt caked into all her lovely little features. It needed some TLC. With a good washing she looks like new and she works. This now sits on my nightstand and I love this little treasure. She was a real bargain at just $6.

Next I found this great little jacket. I love the color. Perfect for fall.

It's from Talbots and I got it for almost nothing. $8~can you believe it. Looks like new. These pictures do not do it justice. It was cloudy and I was trying to wait for the sun to come out. It didn't until I sat down to type this post.

Cute little sweater.

Cute top.

All of the above came out to a grand total of $26. My daughter purchased a pair of UGG boots, in excellent condition for only $25. She also found some Ralph Lauren sweatpants and a couple of tops.

Usually we do not find great deals like these at this thrift store. Their prices can be high and there aren't many things that catch my eye.

Designer Garden

Wood Rack Transformation

2011-10-27T15:39:00.004-04:00

When we moved into our home we were given this wood rack as a housewarming gift. I have never liked it. For years. this moose and pine tree decorated rack has bugged me. (Excuse the mess-this is our basement where I store all of my projects-the boxes are my son's new bed. It has been put on hold since I hurt my knee.)

I decided this year it would get a facelift. Here is the before. I had tried to pry off the metal trees and moose only to realize that they were there to stay. No matter how hard I pried and used the metal cutters, they would not come off. In the places where I was able to pry off the trees they left jagged metal edges(you can see the empty spot in the back). Not a good thing.

Then I remembered this:

For my birthday hubby bought me a Dremel.

I ran out to Lowes and bought a wood and metal flush cutting blade. Oops, the picture is upside down.

Then I set out to accomplish this project.

A few tips: This project will require protective eye wear and gloves. When working with the Dremel, let the tool do the work. If you feel strong vibrations in your hand while holding it, pull back. You do not need to apply pressure. The only thing required is keeping the Dremel flush against the metal you're cutting. Be careful-the metal will get hot!!!

Here it is with all of the pieces cut off.

I sanded down the spots where I cut off the moose and trees.

Next-spray paint.

I love how it turned out. It will look so much better next to the fireplace, matching the cans I painted here.

Disclaimer: I was not in anyway compensated by Dremel. I love this tool and these tips are my opinions only and I hope they are helpful.
Thank you.

Linking to:

Designer Garden

Ruffle Profusion

2011-10-24T16:26:00.005-04:00

My little niece had a birthday recently. I wanted to make her something sweet and cute. Every little girl needs ruffles. There was a pattern I printed from the Red Heart website but can't find it on there anymore. Sorry, no link. This skirt is so sweet. There are ruffles upon ruffles. I just love them all.

The waist is crocheted around a d gathered elastic.

Are there ever too many ruffles?

This skirt makes me smile. I can't wait to see my little niece wearing it. She will look so adorable. I am also finishing a headband to match with a rosette. I will post pics when it's finished.

Linking to:

Designer Garden

And the Winner is....

2011-10-22T14:12:00.001-04:00

I had my little nephew pick a name out of a bowl and the winner of the rosette is...

Rachel from Maybe Matilda.

Congratulations!!

Before & After Cans

2011-10-21T14:34:00.001-04:00

As the days get cooler we start to prepare for using our wood stove. Usually in the summer I put all of these things in the basement out of the way. These cans we use for ash and for fire starter, usually pine cones.

They were in desperate need of some TLC. So out comes the spray paint.

They look so much better! After the spray paint I took a paint pen and a couple of stencils so we can distinguish what each can is for. This would have been so much better with vinyl but I am one of the lone crafters without a vinyl machine. Can you hear me sobbing?!

One of the first fires of the year to chase away the chill. It doesn't get any better.

Today is a perfect fall day. The sun is shining, there is a brisk breeze and it's beautiful. The only thing missing in this picture is the fall leaf colors. Thanks to copious amounts of rain here this season and damage from Hurricane Irene, the trees are losing their leaves before the fall color peak. I do miss those lovely colors. Driving down tree lined streets all dressed in their fall colors is a favorite fall activity. I am missing it.

There is plenty of beautiful color in my beautiful mums. These two pictures are the mums when I planted them last year. They were so small and lost in the large planter.

These are the gorgeous mums now. I think I will need to thin them out next year. They are a spectacular splash of color.

It has been warm here. This week is our first week of fall temps. These are the last of the peppers I picked from my garden earlier this week. This is the first year that I have had luck growing peppers. Still no luck with the squash. Something in this soil does not agree with them. I think it's squash vine borers. Many people in this area have the same issue.

Tomorrow I will pick a winner in the rosette giveaway. If you would like a chance to win stop here.

I'm linking to:

Crafty, Scrappy, Happy Me Thursday
Tickled Pink @ 504 Main
Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello
Get Your Craft on @Todays Creative Blog

Crochet Rosettes

2011-10-14T14:18:00.001-04:00

The Time Out Cowl that I crocheted for the Crochet Along at Maybe Matilda was a little bare. It needed a pop of color, something fun. A rosette would be perfect. The yarn used for the cowl was very thick and I wanted to make a rosette that could compete with it and not be lost in the swirls of the cowl.

Here is the bare cowl completed:

It was in need of a little something fun. I crocheted this rosette. It is very large. I believe there are 9 or 10 rounds.

The cowl with it's little something to make it pop!!

I added a pin to the back and now I can use it anywhere.

The size is perfect for this cowl.

I made two of these rosettes pins and have one I would love to giveaway. There are a few different ways to win

1)please leave a comment~

2) Become a follower~

3) Tell your friends about the giveaway and send them over~

Please leave a separate comment for each. Thank you!!

I will pick a winner on Friday, October 21. Good luck!!

Linking to:

Burlap Pennants

2011-10-11T11:50:00.004-04:00

I am still hobbling around on crutches and wearing a knee brace. I have been icing it and hoping it would be better by now. It is a little better but not back to normal. I can't believe I did this. It has not been fun. My personality is not conducive to sitting while everyone around me has to do everything. I like to be up and about and getting things accomplished. I can bear some wait on my leg but have been cautious until I see the doctor this afternoon.

While sitting on the couch with my leg up I decided the fall and boo banner needed some embellishments.

Before:

After: I added some ribbons and a cute little bat.

Before:

After: I added a squirrel and some felt leaves.

This kept me busy for a little while and made time go by a little quicker.

I am crocheting some flower embellishments for my cowl. Trying to keep busy and sane.

Linking to:

Halloween Decor

2011-10-07T14:50:00.000-04:00

I have been wanting to post this for a couple of days now. It's been busy here and while I was lifting something out of the back of my van I sprained my knee and am now on crutches. I also found out from the doctor that both of my knees are very arthritic. I suspected this for some time now. My knees have been making some crunching noises.

Never the less I finally have some thing finished.

Pumpkin vignette on our coffee table. All of the pumpkins cost $1 or less. I purchased them at the Dollar Tree and Walmart. They were all bright oranges and I gave them a coat of paint. The glitzy pumpkin is in there also.

Other side of the coffee table.

The mantle~unfortunately our tv is the most prominent thing but I added some leaf garlands to help hide the wires, pumpkins and halloween candelabras.

This little pumpkin was first spray painted white but I wanted to pop so I gave it a coat of silver spray paint. I love the contrast of the twigs and the shiny metallic paint.

The boo sign

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Boo Decor

2011-10-07T14:21:00.000-04:00

I wanted to make a fun Halloween sign for my living room.

First I started with an embroidery hoop and put some cross stitch material in it.

I added a burlap ruffle and some black pom pom trim.

Then I stitched a spider web and spider (mostly free hand) and BOO!

I decided to finish it off with some rosettes from organza, felt and burlap. Love all the different textures.

I also took another Dollar Tree pumpkin, gave it a coat of paint and embellished it with a burlap rosette and tie.

I'm linking to:

Glitzy Pumpkin Love

2011-10-07T13:58:00.001-04:00

The many amazing pumpkin varieties in blog land and on Pinterest is amazing. I love autumn and pumpkins. I decided to give some of these fabulous ideas a try.

This sweet pumpkin was only $1 at the Dollar Tree.

I wanted to make it very sparkly and fun. I purchased some Martha Stewart glitter paint and went right to work.

I did not take long to see that this was not a full coverage paint and this baby would need a little more help to become a sparkly pumpkin.

I had this wonderful Rustoleum spray paint already and decided to use that as the base coat. It worked beautifully. I then did a couple of layers with the Martha Stewart Glitter paint.

Here it is all sparkly and glittery.

These chip board letters were in my stash and I decided to add them to the lovely pumpkin. I don't have a picture right now but I also added a small black crow for a finishing touch.

I'm linking to:

Crochet Along

2011-10-04T16:51:00.003-04:00

I have joined the crochet along with Rachel from Maybe Matilda.

The pattern that was used was the Time Out Cowl from Lion Brand. I chose to use the yarn recommended for this pattern in a slate gray color.

Here is the completed cowl:

Excuse the bags under my eyes. Time for a facial and come cucumbers on those eyes or it can't be helped. It's the signs of the impending age of 40 knocking on my door.

I chose to make the cowl the required length but ran out of yarn just a couple of inches too short. I decided to keep it at this length. I think next I am going to make a large colorful flower to make it happier.

The pattern says it should be 52 inches, mine is a little over 48 in. I am short and the extra inches would probably be too much.

Crocheting is one of my favorite past times. If you would like to learn to crochet you must visit Rachel's blog. She shares amazing tutorials with great instructions and pictures. She makes it look so easy. Give it a try and you'll be hooked (corny, I know, couldn't be helped).

I am linking up to:

Everything Fall

2011-09-29T17:35:00.002-04:00

I love fall. The colors are spectacular and I love to tuck them into as many spaces in my home a

s possible. I have some projects I am working on but the weather is not cooperating. I much rather the warm sunny days of fall and not so much rain. Is it really that bad to spray paint indoors???

This pumpkin will be getting another coat of paint once the weather cooperates.

Dollar Tree gourd

Love the cloches

These pumpkins are also from the Dollar Tree. They were the last ones and I snagged them.

More Dollar Tree pumpkins. I made the basket a couple of years ago.

The pumpkins in the apothecary jar are also from the dollar store. I painted some of them white because I am loving white pumpkins.

Everything is ready for fall~welcoming in the colors in nature, brisk cool air and sunny days.

It still feels like summer here. Hot, humid and a lot of rain. Hopefully, it will change soon.

Linking to:

Soft Lace Cowl

2011-09-26T15:45:00.004-04:00

We had a taste of fall here for a few days. I used the inspiration of the cool fall weather and began working on a cowl. The temps here are back to summer with 80 degrees and high humidity but this will be waiting for the next cool day.

I crocheted this same pattern before but used a thinner yarn. This yarn is bulkier and I love that. It is an alpaca blend from Lion Brand. This pattern is worked in two sections working on both sides of the foundation chain.

My daughter is my model but I had to promise I would not include her face. She is camera shy.

This pattern works so well with this yarn. It is incredibly soft and warm. Looking forward to wearing this.

I am working on this pattern next. I am a little behind but trying to finish it all up today or tomorrow. I am joining in:

Last week was a busy one and I didn't pick up the crochet needles once. We celebrated hubby's 40th birthday, helped my mom moving some furniture, cut, split and stacked about 4 cords of wood, and cleaned out most of the basement. There has been more spring cleaning now then I had a chance to get to in spring.

Hopefully, I will have this cowl all crocheted in time.

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Portuguese Kale Soup

2011-09-16T13:18:00.001-04:00

It has been in the eighties here this past week, humidity has been high and overall it's been uncomfortable. Yesterday, some cool air from Canada blew in and we woke up this morning to temps in the 40's. What a difference. All the windows were open and it was quite cool in here. It is the perfect weather for some soup.

A couple of weeks ago we went to dinner with my brother and his wife. We chose a Portuguese restaurant that is not too far from us. I am Portuguese and there are quite a few predominantly Portuguese communities not far from where we live. One of my favorite things is the Portuguese Kale soup sometimes called Green soup. It is so yummy but also very simple. I remember my mom making this many times but I have never made it myself. After enjoying it at the restaurant I decided I needed to try this.

I looked up some recipes on the internet, both in Portuguese and English. Found the one that seemed most similar to what my mom does and gave it a try.

This simple soup starts with a potato base.

Ingredients:

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium onion minced

2 cloves garlic minced

3 tbsp. olive oil

6 cups of water

Chourico sausage-as much or as little as you want-sliced thin

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil

2. Add potatoes and water. Bring to a boil and let cook until potatoes are soft.

3. While potatoes cook, wash and julienne your greens

4. Turn stove off and using an immersion blender, blend it.

5. Turn stove back on, add sliced chourico sausage and greens. Cover and cook about 10 minutes.

Disclaimer: we use only Portuguese chourico. We are lucky to be able to find it locally. It is not the same as Spanish chourico sausage.

Enjoy!!

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What is this fridge saying?

2011-09-15T15:50:00.000-04:00

Visiting the most fabulous Ms. Edie's blog this morning she challenged us to post some pictures of our refrigerators. I loathe cleaning out the refrigerator. I'm not sure why but it is definitely on the put off until you can't anymore list. Well that day came when we lost power for seven days thanks to Hurricane Irene. I had not choice but to go through everything and discard most of it and since they were empty I managed to give them a thorough cleaning. We have two fridges~one is just not enough to store everything. Maybe if it was one of the new side by side with freezer drawer but we don't have space for such a large unit. One fridge is in the kitchen the other in the basement. This makes for great cardio exercise because I am always forgetting something and having to run up and down the stairs repeatedly.

Welcome to fridge 1:

We usually have quite a bit of leftovers which make for good lunches. I love to have fruit cut up and ready to eat. It's a nice, easy and healthy snack. There are water bottles, half and half, organic chicken stock, and of course Starbucks coffee. The orchard chicken salad is so yummy. I saw the commercial for Subway and decided to make it myself. So yummy!!! The crispers are full of fruits and veggies. We also have plenty of yogurts in many different varieties and flavors. Peeking out behind the milk are two of my favorites Ed Hardy Sangria and a bottle of Coca Cola.

Welcome to fridge 2:

I know what you're thinking~That's a lot of beer but it is left over from our 4th of July cookout and we've given quite a few away. There is butter, butter and more butter, more yogurts, bagels, puddings, applesauce, and eggs. Along with some celery, english muffins, more milk (can never have enough). Yes it is whole milk, we don't do lowfat milk. It's just not the same. There is also some kale hidden in here to make a Portuguese green soup which tastes much better than it's name. My brother and I love this and I will have to share it with him when I make it tomorrow. On the opposite are the Pepsis. Now I am a total Coke girl but my brother is a Pepsi guy and he says he works for Pepsi. So I always have to have some on hand in case I need is help with a project, which is all the time.

Well, there it is. They should look better but I am not good at fridge organizing. It's not my thing. But they are clean~scrubbed from top to bottom just two weeks ago, thanks to Hurricane Irene.

Share what's in your fridge with us.

Magnetic Wall with Rustoleum

2011-09-08T16:16:00.003-04:00

The project's in my son's room are well under way but they are not completed yet. One of the new things I wanted to try was:

We have old plaster walls in our home. Every time we try to hang anything up, no matter how small or simple we end up with a large hole in the wall. Our son is artistic. He loves to draw and we can't keep enough paper or markers in this house. He also loves to display his work in his room. He creates theme walls. This can be rather a pain when everything is marred with old tape or full of holes from previous thumbtacks. When I heard of this wonderful magnetic primer on HGTV I knew I wanted to use it in his room.

My first tip for using this primer is to MIX IT AT THE STORE!!!! I did not do this and regretted it!! It took a good half hour of mixing this before I could use it on the wall. By this point my hand was ready to fall off and there was no painting done.

Next, this primer can be hard to clean so if you are not priming the whole wall cover the part you are not priming. I also had to scrape this off our baseboards and it was quite a project. Thankfully the hardwoods were covered. This primer does spray when you are rolling it. I was using a foam roller and do not usually have to worry about spraying. The primer does have a texture to it which could have caused the spraying.

The box recommends three coats of primer followed by no more than two coats of the wall color. I followed these directions, I did three coats, each a half hour apart, as recommended on the box. Waited the full four hours and painted the top color, waited about three hours for it to dry and added the magnets. It did not work. The magnets slid down the wall and did not stick. I headed to the internet for help and found that many who had tried this recommended as many as six coats of the primer. Back to the drawing board, added three more coats of primer and topped it with one coat of the wall color. IT WORKED!!

Some spots on the wall are more magnetic than others. I am on the look out for slightly stronger magnets so he can add more artwork. Overall I am happy with the primer. Would have been happier if I had these tips ahead of time. The process would have been much smoother.

Sorry for the blurry pictures.

Last tip~do not use this primer the day before a big event, say like your sister's wedding, because you will be covered in black flecks and your nails will be black and you may need to douse yourself with large quantities of paint thinner so you can be presentable for the big day.

This is his completed desk that I had shown in a previous post.

It looks amazing. Loving all the storage and he has plenty of space to sit and create his masterpieces.

Would love to know if anyone else tries/tried this product and what your thoughts are.

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Earthquake, Tropical Storm & What's Next

2011-09-05T11:06:00.000-04:00

New England is not accustomed to wild weather. Within the span of one week we felt the earth shake as an earthquake started in Virginia and traveled up the East Coast and were battered by Tropical Storm Irene. The winds were the damaging factor in our area. The rains did not last long, for which we are thankful. There were hundreds of trees that lost large limbs and many that were uprooted in our town alone. We lost power at 6:45 am on Sunday morning.

This was the sight we saw all through town. We were blessed to not have suffered any structural damage to our home. We did not lose any large limbs from our trees.

The most frustrating part was being without power for a whole week. Our power was not restored until Saturday at 10 am. Our utility company was not properly prepared for a storm of this magnitude. Trees have not been trimmed off of power lines. There were no answers when you called for an update on the power restoration. It seemed that there was not a proper plan for restoration. Crews were in our neighborhood on six separate occasions and our power was not restored. Instead of repairing all the lines in one neighborhood and moving onto the next they were hopping all over town. This seemed to be mismanagement of both time and resources. Our neighbors power was restored two days before ours.

The last couple of days have been clean up days here. Once power was restored, I had the Mt. Everest laundry pile to tackle. Cleaning and restocking both of our refrigerators and freezers, and vacuuming. Dry mopping and sweeping just don't work as well when you have two dogs-one very furry husky.

Thankfully, the days without power were not too hot and humid. Wednesday was the only day with higher humidity and it was tough without even a fan. The house held in the heat for a long time but thankfully it cooled down on the next day.

I am glad that things are back to normal here.

Spacious Desk

2011-08-26T16:51:00.000-04:00

I have been busy in my son's room for the last couple of weeks. The ceiling is painted, no more bright blue. The walls have a fresh coat of paint and all the trim, too. Now on to the big projects. For these I enlist the help of my very gracious brother.

Our son is an artist and needs ample space when drawing. I decided I would make a desk like the one I saw on Martha Stewart's website. The base of the desk is two bookcases. I decided to go with solid wood for these because I want it to be sturdy. I purchased two unfinished pine bookcases, primed and painted them black. Next we moved onto the desktop. Martha suggests using a door but I couldn't find one the correct size. I decided to go with finish grade plywood.

My brother added some support and trim.

We caulked and primed.

It is 5 ft by 2 ft.

Today I will paint the top black to match the bookcases.

I love how it turned out. Thanks to my brother we have a roomy and gorgeous desk.

I have also used the Rustoleum Magnetic Primer in his room for him to add pictures to his walls. There will be more on that soon.

Linking to:

Delectable Crochet

2011-08-16T10:04:00.007-04:00

First, I would like to thank you all for your kind words and prayers about my daughter. You are all so sweet. I know that God has a perfect plan and I will trust in Him and wait on Him to work all things for the good of those who love him.

We have had a couple of quiet weekend days here. I decided to take a break from the painting on the weekend and work on some crochet. I have quite a few odds and ends skeins of yarn. Some were given to me and others were left over from previous projects. I decided I would see what I could make to use them all up.

This is the first thing I made. I used a very soft bamboo yarn that was actually on clearance. It's a small scarflette. I will be mailing this out to a sweet young girl. I hope she likes it.

Another scarflette made in the same pattern but it looks completely different because of the different yarn. I love this little rosette. This will also be sent off to another sweet young girl.

I made this crochet market bag. I had made some previously but like this pattern much better. It is a free pattern sheet I picked up at Joann's but you can find the pattern on the Red Heart site. The handles are much sturdier than the other pattern I used. I did not like the raw edge at the top of the bag and around the handles so I did a single crochet stitch all around. I am quite happy with it. This is going to a special friend.

With the additional yarn from the bag I made a couple of dishcloths.

This lace cowl is my favorite. It was such an easy pattern to follow. The instructions call for a thick yarn and I used a thinner yarn. I added about 20 stitches to the chain and worked it in the pattern instructions for the rest. It look a little bare so I crocheted a rose with the leftover yarn. It looks beautiful. I am not sure if I will keep this one or give it away. I love to share the things I crochet with others.

I'm linking to:

Friday Flair At Whipperberry

A Mother's Heart

2011-08-10T15:25:00.001-04:00

This post was difficult to write. Sharing some things is challenging, but I am often encouraged by the many inspiring bloggers in blog land.

From the first moment that you hear you will be a mom you want nothing more than to protect that little life growing inside you. And as moms know, that does not change once they are born. More than anything we want to shield them, keep them from pain and heartache. We would rather take on their pain than allow them to go through it. Your heart rends and breaks as you see them struggle with life's difficulties and uncertainties.

This summer our daughter was diagnosed with Mayer Rokitansky Kuster Hauser syndrome. I have known that something was not right for sometime and we have been seeing doctors, having bloodwork done, ultrasounds, more doctor's appointments, and mri's. We have a diagnosis and we are thankful that it is a mild case. This syndrome can affect kidneys, bone structure and more and we are blessed that that is not the case with our daughter. But it still breaks my heart that she will struggle with infertility. She will never carry her own child. I know there are many women who have walked down this same path. I have read the stories but never really understood the depth of their feeling, their struggle and their pain.

She is ok with this diagnosis right now but I can't help but wonder what she will feel when the time comes, she meets someone special, and they would love to start a family. Will she feel inadequate, sorrow, or longing pain? As a mom, I would take this all from her in a minute if it were possible. It is not possible and I will be here for her as she needs me.

Finished Projects

2011-08-02T15:44:00.002-04:00

This summer is passing by so quickly. I have a long list of projects that I wanted to complete before we start with our usual school schedule. Some of the projects have been crossed off the list.

My daughter's desk chair had seen better days. It was a blue tweed material that had gotten pretty yucky!! It was never very nice but it had gotten worse.

The actual chair was not in bad shape so I decided to recover it. I removed the pieces and pulled them out of the plastic shell.

I recovered it with a fabric that a friend had given me. It is exactly her style.

The finished project:

Her bookshelf was next. It was a laminate bookcase that needed a new life.

I used the free sample of paint from Valspar and made it pop with color. The backing is cardboard and she did not want to change it to bead board. I don't know what's wrong with her. LOL~ She says it's not her style.

We decided to Mod Podge some vintage book pages onto the back.

The torn pages were her addition. I let her do whatever she likes. This is the final product.

I love the color, it's a fun color. The bookcase was moved to a different spot in her room. The little alcove in her room now has this arm chair, in natural, from Ikea.

Now we are painting my son's room. There are many projects that I need to complete to make his room fantastic. It's been the same way since he was 7 and now he's 14. It was due time for a change. We have started by priming and painting his ceiling which was a bright blue.

On the to do list:

New bed~with shelves~Pottery Barn style but much less expensive

Desk~I want to use some cubby shelves and a door slab for this

Different tv arrangement~not sure what we will decide on for this

This is what has been keeping me away. Busy days but I love having the time to accomplish these projects.

Hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Recycle Transformation

2011-07-22T16:25:00.001-04:00

Dear hubby bought me a lucky bamboo a little while back. This was its original container. I really did not like it.

So I switched it to this~a recycled Starbucks Frappuccino bottle.

I really did not like the roots showing through so I added some jute twine. I only had a little bit of it at home and I didn't want to go out to buy more. Unfortunately, you can see the stamped writing on the bottle.

I decided to hot glue a starfish onto the bottle and it covered it perfectly.

Loving the new look. So much better and I did it all with things I already had at home.

I won a coffee sack giveaway on Jamie's blog.

I was absolutely thrilled. I have a few project ideas in floating through my head. I need to decide what exactly I want to do.

There is a wonderful old rocker in my basement that I rescued from my neighbor's trash. It needs new life and I am thinking that this amazing bag will be part of it.

Love the type written tag that Jamie added the bag. So sweet.

I hope you are all keeping cool with the heat wave most of us are having. It reached 103 here by noon. The humidity is high so we are hibernating inside with the ac. Keeping cool.

Enjoy your weekend!!

I'm linking to:

Summer Yarn Wreath

2011-07-15T16:40:00.005-04:00

Our front door has been in need of a new wreath for a long time. I finally took the time to make one. I have fallen in love with the many yarn wreaths in blog land and knew that was what I wanted to make. I purchased some Sensations Lovebug yarn at Joann's for a different project (coming up). This yarn is so soft and this color was perfect.

I had a wreath form waiting around to be used so I wrapped the yarn around it. It took two rounds to fill it in nicely because of the texture of this yarn.

Next step: ~~make a mess~~Create~ I dug around for some felt in my craft room. I really didn't have the colors I really wanted but I made do with what I had. I used different size bowls to draw some circles on the felt and I cut them out. I always have my cup of coffee to keep me company.

I cut the circles into swirls.

Here they are all cut up

I also cut some into strips

Fold them in half and hot glue or stitch them~I hot glued~so much easier and quicker

Then cut notches along the folded edge

Roll them up and you have these cuties

Don't forget to hot glue the end

Next~finish the rosettes~I have craft ADD and hop around from one thing to another~maybe one day I will complete them in order~

Roll the felt swirls

Hot glue the end~done~you have a pretty rosette. I made some larger and some smaller ones.

Hot glue your flowers to your wreath.

The finished product. Isn't it sweet?

I'm linking to:

Currently...

2011-07-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

I have seen these posts in blog land and thought it would be fun to give it a try.

I'm listening... to the softball tournament across the street.

I'm eating roasted veggies and sweet potatoes fries. Yum~my favorites.

I'm drinking water~trying to rehydrate after being outside in the sun.

I'm wearing capris and a pink t-shirt.

I'm feeling happy that hubby is home on vacation.

The weather is hot but the sun is shining.

I'm wanting to finish up some unfinished projects to post.

I'm needing a good manicure. DIY is rough on your hands.

I'm thinking about how fast time goes by and we need to cherish each moment.

I'm enjoying the carefree summer days with the hubby and kids.

June Recap

2011-07-05T10:15:00.024-04:00

June has been a whirlwind of activity. It seems like only yesterday the kids were glad that summer break was beginning and now the first month has past. We have been a busy bunch here.

June has a few celebrations for us. We celebrated Father's Day followed by our daughter's 18th birthday. We took her to an Japanese Hibachi and Sushi bar. She had always wanted to go. It was wonderful. The food was so good and the chef was fun to interact with. We also had a graduation dinner for our daughter. It was small, it's what she chose.

A few simple decorations for her big day. Love those pompoms.

This past week hosted a 4th of July cookout. My brother usually hosts one but this year he was taking a break so we jumped in and decided to do it. It was short notice and we were scurrying to get things prepared in time.

This cake was a must. So patriotic and the best part is it is so easy. You can find it here. Betty Crocker to save the day.

I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July.

Roadside Bench Transformation

2011-07-01T16:22:00.000-04:00

One of our neighbors was moving and this bench was in her garbage pile. I just couldn't resist and I snagged it. I've had it for quite a while and never got around to painting it. Today was the day. It was an eyesore and needed help.

Such a sad shape to be in

I took time to clean it up and scrape away all that paint. Gave it good sanding and made sure to wipe away all the debris. A quick trip to Lowes and I found Valspar Spray Paint in Sea Glass. Loved it immediately and knew this was the right color. Here is the after:

Isn't it a beauty~It took about five coats. I used less than two cans. I am thrilled with how it looks.

This little roadside find only cost me $8 for the spray paint to make it lovely. I love roadside finds. I don't usually get lucky enough to find one. This time I sure did.

Now I will surround it with pretty flower pots. It is just darling.

Linking to:

I Finally Did It

2011-06-24T18:46:00.001-04:00

I have seen gorgeous burlap bulletin boards all over blog land. It has been on my to do list for a long time. I found this frame at a thrift store a couple of months back and picked it up.

I removed the backing and the lovely rooster pic. Gave the frame a dry brushing with white paint (forgot to take a pic). I did not have cork board so I decided to use batting. I have one I purchased years ago that is batting.

I I pulled the batting tight over the cardboard and hot glued it on.

The front

I laid down some burlap and repeated the process.

Front side with burlap~I really should iron it but have I mentioned I hate ironing.

It looked very plain when I put it in the frame so I decided to add some loveliness. I used a fleur de lis stencil~I do not own a Cricut or Silhouette machine. I then traced it using a paint pen.

Not bad for the old fashioned way.

BTW~Got this stencil for super cheap at Joann's today~only 97 cents. I love clearance.

Filled it in with the paint pen. Love it.

This is my little desk section in the kitchen. I have wanted to add something to this area since we finished the kitchen.

Before:

After:

I love how it turned out. It covers the phone jack. There are some Real Simple accessories that I want to pick up at Target to complete this area but this is a great start. It makes me very happy.

Linking to:

Random Gibberish

2011-06-23T10:15:00.000-04:00

On my nightstand:

I am loving this book and I've just started. It draws you in from the very first page. It is not a book you can read quickly. You will be compelled to reread words, sentences and paragraphs over and over again, so they may penetrate and sink into your soul. I can not say enough about this amazing book. Ann's writing is riveting.

One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp

Following Ann's book I have this on my list. It is a recommendation from one of Ann's posts.

This has been on my to read list for some time. I am hoping to fit it in this summer.

I have been reading this off and on~trying to finish is before the new school year. There are so many amazing ideas in this book. Love it.

This one is for my daughter~she would like me to sew her some skirts. She has a hard time finding skirts that are not too short or too long. So she is enlisting my help. She has more confidence in my sewing ability than I do.

I am not a big fan of fleece but this book may change my mind. It has some great patterns and ideas. I requested it from our library but I'm not sure if I will give fleece a try.

I made this for my hubby for Father's Day. He loves Snickers. I first saw it on Pinterest. I do not have an account but it doesn't keep me from visiting. I haven't jumped into the Pinterest pool because I do not have a Twitter or Facebook account. I know~you all think I'm living under a rock but I have my reasons. One of them is that I do not want to be sucked into the internet and not live. I could definitely see that happening with me. So for now I just peek in.

I want to share a little more of my son's art work. He works on his drawings everyday and he has new projects all the time. He designates different sketch books for different interests.

This is a picture he drew of a Sonic video game character.

Pencil first then outlined with marker.

A scene from the Smallville tv show.

Some layouts for one of his Sonic comic books. He has written and illustrated quite a few of his own. We have sent one in to Archie comics. He doesn't like to send his original copies away so now I must email them to the company.

Recently, he has started drawing portraits. I am completely amazed by the talent he has. He has had some formal art lessons but not in depth. He is self taught. He is also legally blind in his right eye. It is so astounding that he can do such a impressive job. This portrait is a singer from the band Metric, which he loves. He drew it while watching a video of them singing.

Thank you for letting me brag. I am a proud mama of two amazing kids, who are both bigger than me. Although they've grown they'll always be my babies in my heart.

Window Treatments

2011-06-17T15:18:00.004-04:00

Let me begin this post by saying that our bathroom is horrible. I would love to gut it and redo it but it is our only bathroom. I don't know what we would do without a bathroom. There is also uncertainty about how much longer we will live here. We live near an airport that wants to extend. With that being said I try to do the best I can with what I have.

This is the before photo. Our neighborhood is congested so for privacy I keep traditional window treatments on this window.

These curtains had seen better days and were faded. I wanted something new but couldn't find anything that I liked. Many of the patterns I found were not my taste.

I found this bedsheet at the thrift store for $7. It was a Waverly print.

I used the previous curtains as a pattern and cut them out adding the seam allowances and space for the curtain rod. This is the valance.

My helpers~they're inside with me because it's raining again.

Lower half of the curtains.

I sewed them and it came out even. I am always worried that I will make a mistake and one side will be longer than the other. Thankfully these are perfect. The lower half of the curtains with the black ribbon is the top of the flat sheet. This made it easy because I did not have to hem this.

We have a small kennel area under the desk in the kitchen that we use for a kennel for our beagle. She cannot be free at night because if she even senses a squirrel anywhere on our property she loses it. She will scratch at doors and windows to try to get out and chase it. If she is in the kennel she does not even react.

It is too funny~she feels comfortable in here and although we intend it only for nighttime or while we are out we find her here often. She has always like small spaces. When she was getting bigger we purchased a larger bed for her and she curled up in one small corner, using less than half the bed.

This little nook is convenient, no more big dog kennel in the way but it is an eye sore.

Solution: tension rod and curtain.

I used the left over fabric from the sheet. On the left side is the top of the sheet with the black ribbon so I added a black ribbon down the right side of the sheet. It was hemmed on two sides and I only hemmed one and made a pocket for the tension rod. Now it isn't an eyesore.

I had to run out in the rain to snap some pictures of this little guy who visited our garden.

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Our Graduate

2011-06-14T20:06:00.002-04:00

Our daughter has officially graduated from homeschooling.

We are so proud of her.

She has worked hard and overcome some obstacles.

She is an amazing young woman.

She will be attending a local college in the fall.

Photo announcements. We took the pictures in our backyard. We were thrilled to find these graduation photo cards at Walmart.

I am not a big fan of Walmart but was so happy with them.

The photo cards were inserted in these cards I printed.

It is bittersweet to watch your baby becoming a young adult.

I want to hold her under my wing and protect her from the difficult moments in this world.

But she needs to be free.

Free to follow her heart, use wisdom, pray for discernment.

Watching her grow~heart wrenching~praying for her future.

She will be pursuing a career in Nursing. Her goal is to be a surgical nurse.

A Day at the Beach

2011-06-10T16:23:00.001-04:00

The calendar says spring but the temps say summer. We have been in the 90's for the last couple of days. After some severe thunderstorms and downpours the temps are a little lower but we are still holding on to some humidity here.

The garden is quite happy with this warm up.

These are the first strawberries we picked on Thursday. From the looks of the plants there will be many more. They are loaded!! These strawberries are so juicy and sweet. Love them.

This is our first week of no school. We had quite a few appointments this week but what a difference when you don't have the daily school work. I decided I would use this time to turn our home into a beach house.

I found this tray at Joannes and I love it. Added the blue Ball canning jar, filled with shells and sand, and hydrangeas from our dear neighbors bush.

Filled my little cloche with shells. Love the colors of the shells. Found these at Joanns too. It was a great trip. Wait until you see the best thing of all that I found there.

I didn't like the dark candle that I had on the tray so I picked the tart warmer up at a discount store today. Fits perfectly with the theme.

I also found this there. It was only $3.99. What a steal. If you have a Christmas Tree Shop near you, you have to go. I added the sand and candle.

The best find of the day was this fabric at Joanns. It was on sale for about $11.00. I love it and will be using it for window treatments in the living room. Now I just need to pick a paint color and getting moving. This color and pattern are gorgeous. I am so happy that Joanns now carries these fabrics. The one near us did not always have a good selection but they do now. It was hard to choose just one fabric that I liked. There were so many that caught my eye. Wish I could have gotten them all.

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In the Garden

2011-06-03T16:18:00.004-04:00

Our garden is a happy place right now. It has been hard work but I love every minute of it.

Here we have some gourd seedlings. I hope to have some gourds running out of this planter by autumn.

These are Amish melon seedlings. They are heirloom seeds. Last year they did not do well, or maybe I did not do well. Hoping for some yummy melons this year.

Our strawberry bed. It runs over, and everywhere they runners can. Looking forward to yummy strawberries from our garden. They are a million times sweeter and juicier than anything you buy at the market.

When I went out this afternoon to snap some photos of the garden I noticed this little guy was trapped inside the garden. Hubby built a structure out of PVC and wrapped it in chicken wire to keep pests out of the garden. Before that anything I planted was destroyed by squirrels and rabbits. Even with the dogs chasing them, they would still come back. Perseverance, I suppose.

I am not sure how the birds manage to get in but every once in a while they do and get so flustered they can not get out. I opened the door so he could fly out and he can't seem to find it.

Here are the plants. I have four varieties of tomatoes, celery, peppers, kale, squash, cucumbers, and romaine lettuce.

Poor little guy is still there.

He's too upset to find his way out.

It is not helping him to know that his little friend is calling to him from the bushes, on the other side of the fence.

I hope he finds his way out soon. I don't think he'll want to come near this garden again. It did not help when our husky decided she would chase it around the outside of the garden, further frustrating and scaring this little guy.

I wanted to share some of my son's artwork with you here. It has been a long time since I've shared something he's drawn but he is always working on a picture. He is currently drawing and creating a story for a Sonic the Hedgehog comic book. This will be his third one. We have submitted one of his creations to the company and hope to hear some response soon. He is so talented. Sorry to brag~but he's great. He never ceases to amaze me with his work, especially because he is legally blind in his right eye. He has amazing perspective.

He also takes amazing photos. He took these themselves and says he would love to have a camera that he could really take amazing shots with. We will have to be looking for one for him to learn on.

The color is amazing~

Thank you for letting a mama brag.

Have a super weekend.

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Summer List

2011-05-26T19:22:00.001-04:00

Summer is finally here. We are finishing up the last of our school work and very soon I will have more free time. We will continue to work on a few things, especially reading, throughout the summer but it won't be as stringent a schedule as during our usual school months.

So what have I got planned for all this free time? A lot of painting.

On the to be painted list is:

The living room~it needs a facelift.

Our son's room~he has completely outgrown the look of his room. I am going with some PB inspiration on a thrift store budget.

The exterior doors~front and back~At this time they are both boring white. Of course, the ideal would be to also paint all the shutters, too. The house has shutters on all the windows, front, sides, back and we have a lot of windows. Last but not least, the second floor shutters are up high and I don't know if I'm up for the ladder climbing and getting them down. We will see.

Here are some of the paint chips and booklets I picked up at Home Depot.

Not sure what we will finally settle on. Our son has chosen his color already. It took him no time. It's taking me forever to make my color choices.

After we paint the living room, my dear brother will be changing out all of the trim. What we have is very outdated and has seen better days.

We will be adding the same trim we did in the kitchen.

(notice the old sink, this was before the granite counters, new sink and faucet)

I'm looking forward to getting started on these projects. I can't wait to share the new look with you all.

What are your summer plans?

In Shape

2011-05-23T11:30:00.001-04:00

A couple of years ago I realized that I was completely out of shape. I am at an ok weight but could stand to lose a few pounds, but what I realized is that I need exercise. Toning and getting lean became a priority. I had heard of Jillian Michaels and knew she was tough. I knew that I needed strength training but also cardio. It is what I struggle with most. With that being said, I knew I had to make exercise a priority in my day.

I have recently added this to my daily exercise. Although they are short sessions, she keeps you moving and you will break a sweat. If you don't please don't tell me, it would make me really feel bad. There are four separate sessions and you should move through them in as many weeks. I have not because I do not work on this dvd only. She also recommends working out 6 days I week. I am currently doing four.

Another tough but excellent workout. One thing that I love about her dvds is that you really feel the workout and that it's working. Sometimes, that doesn't feel so good at first.

This is one of my favorites. I have been doing this twice a week for over a year. I then mix it up with the above strength training and cardio workouts.

Running is something that I would love to be able to do but physically it's a challenge. I have had a bad knee since I was young. I also have other issues with my legs. Maybe they just need a little more exerices and toning. I am working towards leaner, stronger legs.

My Ipod is also an excellent tool for working out. I have downloaded quite a few apps. All free. This makes it so easy to get a little workout anytime. I have short and quick workouts right through a Nike training camp app filled with longer and more difficult sessions.

I am not an exercise lover though I wish I was. I am often coming up with a million excuses for not working out but I force myself to do. I am usually much happier afterwards because I feel so much better. Hopefully, posting it here will keep me accountable and motivated.

We have finally been blessed with some sunshine. I had the best workout ever yesterday in the garden. Last year we let the garden rest and filled it with leaves and compost to improve the soil. Well with all our hard work the surrounding bushes enjoyed the benefit and sent their roots throughout the garden. Yesterday I hacked away at all the roots and was able to cultivate the soil. Once it was ready I planted our plants that are ready. I was able to accomplish this with only hand tools. It is certainly rewarding. I hope to have pictures of the garden soon.

In The Rain

2011-05-19T16:00:00.001-04:00

In the past two and a half weeks this is all we see-dreariness. It has rained on and off and we have only been blessed with one sunny day since Mother's Day.

It downpours and stops but the sun does not come to visit. I am in need of sunshine. I am feeling very deprived. I may be suffering from vitamin D deficiency from all the lack of sunshine.

With all the rain these girls have been spending long days in the house. They are not very pretty smelling and are in desperate need of a bath. If only the sun would come out and play. Not only is it consistently cloudy and raining, the temps have been in the 40's and 50's.

Longing for fresh air. I want to open the windows and let the freshness fill our house and drive the stinky doggy smell away. You can live with it in the winter but when spring time arrives you want/need sunshine and fresh spring air.

For now I must resort to lighting these through out the house in hopes of driving away the wet, stinky dog smell.

In the second photo you can see, to the left, the dog shed with a fenced kennel and covered roof. This was intended for the dogs to live. When Skylar and Petie came to live with us, they would stay out there together but since Petie has passed away Skylar does not want to be there by herself and we don't want her by herself either. We tried to put our beagle in the house with her and it did not work out well. Our beagle does not like other dogs very much. She wants people. So now we have this large area we are not sure what to do with yet. When we go out Skylar (black and white) husky has to stay in the dog shed because if not, she tears up our house. It is hard to train her because she is 7 and things haven't been consistent in her life. Besides she is stubborn. I think we need a dog whisperer.

What I would really like to be doing is gardening. I worked on preparing our garden right before Mother's Day. I had every intention to get the plants in the ground shortly after that but the weather has not cooperating. Last Friday, our only sunny day, I headed to our local farm to purchase our plants. The dear farmer said I needed to babysit the plants this week because of the rain and cool temps.

I am itching to get out there and dig in the dirt. For now I am enjoying these books:

I want to plant a large herb garden with our veggies this year. Our front flower beds are in need of cleaning out and a lot of work. They were sadly neglected last year with the kitchen remodel. I am hoping to have them all pretty as soon as this bother some rain stops.

I have also finished this:

It is incredibly soft. I love the pattern but it is wider than I usually like. If I use this pattern again I will probably cut it down to only one strawberry pattern per row. The pattern did say gauge was not important but I would prefer a narrower scarf. For this one I left it this way because it is different from any of the others I have. I will be warm and comfy and look amazing with a bright, large flower pin.

Mother's Day Fun

2011-05-13T18:19:00.002-04:00

We are enjoying our first day of sunshine this week. It is absolutely perfect outside. The sun is shining, there is a cool breeze and I have the windows open to let in all the sunshiny goodness. Have to enjoy these blissful days while they last. Sunday will begin another round of clouds and rain. Lasting through midweek. So for now I am letting the sunshine and breeze in and spending lots of time soaking it in. New England springs are unpredictable. They can be as varied as the colors of the leaves in fall.

Mother's Day was spent doing a lot of relaxing. I was blessed and spoiled. Hubby and the kids were wonderful. There were great gifts and fun times together. One of my favorite things was no cooking. We went out to lunch and dinner. Dinner was at IHOP because we always love breakfast suppers. The kids ate some very sweet filled french toast and crepes. They seemed more like dessert. I hope that you all had a wonderful day with your families.

On Saturday we went to visit my mom. She is one of the few people that I know that truly likes anything I make. I saw these cute bags on Susie Harris's blog. I knew my mom would love them and decided to make one for her.

I love the ruffles.

Flower power-a little blurry

Isn't it sweet?

Very Shabby Chic

Thanks to Susie for always sharing her beautiful ideas with us.

Linking to:

Mother's Day

2011-05-07T10:12:00.000-04:00

Wishing all the moms a very happy and blessed Mother's Day!!

Convention Time

2011-05-04T20:27:00.002-04:00

This past weekend my daughter and I were here. The convention is always a great time of encouragement and inspiration. It helps to give me the needed energy to finish the school year strong. This year I am so thrilled with all that we have accomplished. One of our weakest areas is geography. This year we have completed a couple of different geography books and it has gone well. This is something that I do with both of the kids at the same time. Geography is the same all around. We have had fun with it.

There were some amazing speakers at the convention this year. I attended many of the sessions and purchased cd's for the ones that I couldn't attend. One of my favorite speakers was Diane Craft. She was spectacular. As I sat there listening to her speak, it seemed like she was describing my son. He was diagnosed with amblyopia, lazy eye, when he was in third grade. It was too late to correct it. His brain had completely shut that eye off. We did not know he had lazy eye because his eye looked normal and he had depth perception. Usually, the pupil will fall to the inside of the eye. The eye doctor thinks it is amazing that he has depth perception because most kids with amblyopia do not. This has affected his learning. Listening to Diane Craft speak was so encouraging. She shared many techniques and tips to help him to improve his writing, math and reading. I now have some reading to do to equip me with a better understanding of what is happening while he struggles to learn. I am excited to have these tools and knowledge to help him. I would not have known about it without attending the convention. I am so thankful that I was able to.

Jim Stobaugh was another amazing speaker. He is very knowledgeable and I wish I could write faster as I was trying to take in everything he had to say. Our daughter used his British Literature curriculum last year. It was challenging but the vast amount of classics that he covers was well worth it.

I usually attend the convention with my daughter. We have a good time together. We drive up together of Friday morning, fill up on some Starbucks and then head to the convention. We are fortunate to have everything we need close to the convention center. Once we arrive I park in the parking garage and do not have to drive again until we head home. We enjoy staying together overnight. She is a great help as I choose the best curriculum. Last year, she was able to choose most of her own curriculum. This is her senior year and I will miss her next year. It won't be the same.

As our daughter heads off to college I feel a bit of sadness. We have enjoyed homeschooling. Watching her grow and her accomplishments over the last few years has been exciting. I am thrilled that she is focused and looking forward to college but will miss her here with us each day. It will give me more time to focus on our son and his needs. I am looking forward to it. Homeschooling is a blessing. We have our difficult moments but we work through them. It is such a gift to have the opportunity to do this.

Dreams~

2011-04-27T16:27:00.001-04:00

Caution this post is filled with dreams and photos and make take a bit to load~sorry!

The home we are currently living in is small. It has suited our needs and we have been able to accomplish many projects that have improved our home and made it more suited to our needs. One of the big pet peeves is that we only have one bathroom. For a family of four this can be a problem, at many different times through out the day. Our home is located not far from an airport that is wishing to expand. There have been talks over the last couple of years that our home may be taken by eminent domain for this expansion. We have seen many homes in our area purchased and torn down already. The most difficult part is that we may not know if our home is slated to be purchased. for another two or three years. We have had a difficult time deciding if we should continue with any further projects because of this uncertainty. For now we have a couple of minor things we may do and wait to see what happens.

During this waiting time, I've been dreaming. Dreaming of what our ideal home would be like if money were not an issue. Living one income and with the housing market in the dumps in our area I don't know if these dreams are attainable but I do know that dreaming is free and so I do.

One thing that I would love to have in my dream home is sliding barn doors. I love them all.

These photos are from Everyday Art.

I love everything in this photo. What's not to like?!

This is another favorite. I love this pantry behind the old barn door and the chalkboard wall.

Love this space, the door and all the light. This would be a perfect craft room/office and school room.

Love the boldness of this red door.

One thing I would love in our dream home is a separate family room or great room and a formal living room.

Living room and kitchen photos are from Country Living.

This is one of my favorite living rooms.

Love the serene feeling of this living room.

Love the colors used in this space.

The vintage feeling of this space caught my eye.

On my dream home wish list is a master bedroom with on suite bathroom.

The bedroom photos are from Good Housekeeping.

I love the stripes in this room. I also love the bed.

Another gorgeous room-love the windows and natural light and the view.

Dream kitchens~our current kitchen is great since the remodel but it is small. I would love to have an open kitchen with a large island, beautiful appliances, and a pantry.

Kitchen photos from Country Living.

Love the open space and feeling of this kitchen. The island and stove are gorgeous!!!

Another open gorgeous kitchen with a beautiful island.

Love this pantry!!

That's enough dreaming for now. I could spend weeks looking through all the gorgeous photos on the web. There is so much inspiration. For now we wait and see.

A White Home

2011-04-18T16:04:00.003-04:00

Recently I have fallen in love with all shades of white and have been working to brighten and lighten spaces in our home with them. It gives our home a light, clean and crisp feel.

One of my recent projects was the hutch transformation. You can read more about it HERE.

Last year we purchased a new dining set. I have wanted a solid wood dining set for quite some time. We found on unpainted and I worked on painting the table and all eight chairs. This is the final product. I love the crisp, clean lines and bright white.

Last summer we began a kitchen remodel. I knew that our cabinets would receive a white facelift. They are painted in Behr paint in an off white tone. You can read more about it Here, and Here.

Our home is small and the use of white has helped to brighten the space and make it seem larger. It seems to flow so well together now. I am enjoying the light and airy feel of our home.

I am linking to:

Spring Days

2011-04-15T17:50:00.002-04:00

I have been among the missing this week in blog land. I wasn't feeling well, trying to fight off a migraine. I am feeling much better now.

The end of our homeschool year is approaching quickly. We have been plugging away and little by little, we are reaching the end of our school books. The kids always enjoy that. This is my daughter's last year of homeschooling. She will be graduating in June and attending a local state college in the fall. She is hoping to become a registered nurse, specializing in surgery. Next year it will be just my son and I. It will feel strange not to have her here with us.

These are some of the things we are currently working on and there is more. This is what I could gather up and they weren't using at the moment.

At the end of this month I will be attending our local homeschool convention. It is a time a look forward to each year. It gives me the encouragement to finish this school year strong and the inspiration to start planning what we will be accomplishing in the next school year.

This is my current crochet project. I found the yarn on clearance for $2 at AC Moore. I couldn't resist. It is bamboo and so soft. I am using it to make a light scarf, just perfect for spring here. The temps are still in the 50's, rarely 60's and some 40's.

This is the pattern I am using. It looks different with the bamboo yarn. I would love to learn the process that is used to transform bamboo into yarn.

I am enjoying the days with sunshine. The warmth of the sun is invigorating. It makes me want to get outside and work in our garden. I am looking forward to a large harvest this year. I missed the garden last year.

Savoring the quiet, rainy days at home before the hustle of summer fun.

Dreaming of plans for a deck or patio.

Perusing magazines and books for inspiration.

What are your spring plans and dreams?

I hope you are enjoying sunshine and warm spring days.

Linking to:

Spring Wreath & Giveaway

2011-04-08T16:19:00.007-04:00

My front door has been bare for quite a while now. Longer than I want to admit actually. This week I decided to take an old wreath and give it new life. I had a grapevine wreath that I had spray painted white and used before. I yanked away all the globs of hot glue and gave it a new life.

I started with this little bird house that I had purchased a long time ago. I painted it brown first so I could distress it later.

I mixed a couple of blue paints I had.

One was too light and the other was two bright so I mixed them.

Here it is all painted. I did this on my new granite counter tops so I made sure to use my shopping flier. Would not want paint on the counter.

An wooden oval that I painted white and then dry brushed it with brown.

I wanted to add a small bird to this plaque and because I don't have a Cricut or Silhouette I did it the old fashioned way. I printed the bird from a google image. Turned it over and used a pencil to cover the back of the image.

Then, I flipped over the paper, set it on the little plaque, and traced

the image of the bird. You can see it lightly.

Once that was done I filled it in with a black paint pen.

I made some burlap rosettes and put it all together on the wreath.

Here it is at first. I was not happy with the placement of the plaque. I used hot glue and it slid down a bit more than I wanted. At first, I left it.

But it was bugging me. I ran out to do some errands but as soon as I came home...

I had to fix it. I was able to pull it off, with the globs of glue, and not ruin the wreath. Here is the final product. Love the burlap rosettes and bow.

Visit 504 Main for a great giveaway: Lifestyle Crafts Epic Six Letterpress Combo Kit.

Holly is giving away one of these great kits. This great machine can letterpress, die cut and emboss. Visit Holly at 504 Main for all the details.

This kit includes:

Epic tool

Cutting platform

Cutting mat

Embossing platform

Letterpress platform

Ink base

Ink brayer

Black ink

Printing plates

Paper placement guides

A2 paper pack

Adhesive sheets

Nesting Circles cutting dies

Don't miss out on this great giveaway.

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Spring Touches

2011-04-01T09:49:00.003-04:00

Spring~where has it gone.

It is quite elusive, here one day,

touching us with warm sunshine,

promising to stay but in the next moment it is gone.

Last night, it snowed here. The same happened last week. Not a lot of snow but enough to let us know that winter will not go away quietly. The calendar may say spring but winter is holding on here in the Northeast. Today we have a cold, rainy day with temps only in the mid 30's but I am warming up our home with spring touches.

Cherry blossoms in my favorite bottle from Ikea. I have also taken the bamboo plant that is in the background, out of it's container and put it into a small milk bottle I purchased at an antique store. It looks so cute. I will have to take a picture of it next.

Flower covered eggs~so pretty

Kids working on homeschool work in the background

Love this cloche~I need to stage better photos (messy couch behind, glass table top showing the remote underneath, ugh!).

Spring Apothecary jars with moss, eggs and sea glass.

Found this blue canning jar, finally, on our recent trip to the antique store. Have to have some spring chocolates, too. All the doilies I use are made by my mom and my grandmother, who passed away. My mom still loves to make them and always has about three or four projects going at once.

Colored Modge Podge book paper eggs with baby blue eggs to brighten my tureen.

Spring Hutch~the keys are also recent finds from our antique store trip and the mercury glass votives are from Anthropologie.

I hope you are enjoying better spring weather where you are.

Linking to:

Welcoming Spring

2011-03-29T10:17:00.003-04:00

I have an incurable case of spring fever. It's been a busy few days here. Some new spring beauties have emerged. I am so thrilled with these projects and how they turned out.

First, I wanted to take some small eggs I purchased at the dollar store and transform them. I used this light blue paint. The eggs were very bright but this covered them well.

They are styrofoam so I was able to use a toothpick to paint them then I had a half a styrofoam ball to use as a drying stand. I love the light color.

Next project was to cover large dollar store glitter eggs with silk flowers. I like the glitter but the colors were not me.

It was very easy to hot glue these on. They look lovely now.

The final project was a "let's see what happens if" I add food coloring to Mod Podge and use it to cover the eggs with book old book pages.

Here is the Mod Podge with a little blue food coloring, just two drops.

I ripped up some book pages that were left over from my book wreath. This book was so old and they ripped very easily.

The glittery dollar store eggs.

The newly transformed book page eggs.

I hope you have enjoyed these spring projects. Come visit in a few days for some more spring fun.

I'm linking to:

I Can't Stop Watching

2011-03-23T16:46:00.002-04:00

I am not a big tv viewer. There are very few shows that I truly enjoy. Lately there have been a few I just can't resist. I love American Pickers. The places they go, the items they find and the stories they share are wonderful.

My next favorite show is Rehab Addict. I admire all the Nicole Curtis does. She is one talented lady. Of course, the Minnehaha house is the best. It almost makes me want to move to Minnesota so I could have it. But that is out of the question for many different reasons. I am looking forward to her next project now that she has completed the Minnehaha house.

Last but not least is Family Under Construction. Danielle Berk is another amazing woman. If you have not seen this show you have to. The transformation of their home is spectacular. This house was destroyed when they purchased it. It was actually a crack house but they are slowly making it their dream home. Danielle's style is clean, light, airy. I love their simple industrial kitchen and the amazing makeover the front of the house received.

These shows are always on the dvr list. I just can't miss them. Do you watch them? Do you love them? What are your favorites?

Dollar Tree Drab to Fantastic

2011-03-18T18:32:00.004-04:00

These frames caught my eye at the dollar tree. I liked the accents on the corner and immediately knew I could find some way to use them.

Before: (excuse the hideous tile in our basement. It's where I do most of my spray painting.)

I spray painted them very lightly with some white spray paint. I filled them with some clock rub ons that I purchased out of the $1 bin at Michaels.

After:

I then used them to spiffy up the area by our back door.

Before: drab and plain~this is after our kitchen remodel.

After: I purchased a vinyl "pretty chalkboard" (that is what it was actually called on the package) at Homegoods (I love this store). I then added the small dollar tree frames. It looks wonderful here now.

The next project begins with an old tray I had at home.

Before:

After: I spray painted it and added some goodies that I picked up at our local Anthropologie (more on this wonderful store in an upcoming post).

These milk glasses are perfect. I love the mug, nice and big for my morning cup of coffee.

When I spray painted the tray it began to crackle. I'm not sure why but I liked it anyway. A happy accident.

I'm linking to: