Let Freedom Ring!

In honor of our beautiful holiday today, I thought I'd share some patriotic images that touched me...........

I love my country!

 Lady Liberty

Patriotic flowers

Glorious Flags

How Sweet!

May you enjoy a beautiful, safe and happy 4th of July, celebrating our nation's independence with your family and friends! 

God Bless America!

Flashback

I was browsing through some old patterns and found a 50's inspired apron pattern. And lo and behold, imagine this, I had some extra fabric laying around! Out came the sewing machine, and here's the end product.........

This was so cute, I had to create another one, this time with some "bling" - who doesn't need some rhinestones and pearls to make them feel pretty while you're baking???

Now, I think I'll try some waist aprons. This was so much fun, and so easy!

More Summer Projects

So, I realized that I had not used my dear hubby's sander nearly enough this summer, AND I had some pieces of scrap wood I "found" in my daddy's workshop. We really needed a place to hang pool towels (that is, besides the back of the new patio chairs), so I dug out this little scrap:

This is actually a piece from the broken desk that my dad fixed for us. 

So, out came the sander - not very much sanding was needed, just enough to take a bit of the stain off.....

And then I added a little whitewash paint (my favorite is from Hobby Lobby) and a tiny, tiny bit of black, applied with a dry brush. Finally, I added the rack (also from Hobby Lobby - clearance section). 

Now, I need to start on the market sign above the french doors!

Beautiful Things

Sometimes we all just need to see some beautiful things. I found these.....

What a lovely country kitchen!

So cute! Worn and loved!

I just love this dresser...look at the beautiful details!

 Who doesn't love flowers? These are gorgeous!

I wish my gazebo looked like this!

Just couldn't resist - this is too cute

This oozes warm and fuzzy!

This too! I just love the red plaid chair

Another cabin with red chairs

My mother would love this purple room!

**************

And then we have my weak point, the bath.........

What a gorgeous room!

Yes, this IS a bathroom!

Have a beautiful day!

Patio Project

Now that the summer has "officially" begun for us, we will be spending more time outside. That meant cleaning up a little, and surprise - renovating!

I thought I'd start small this time, so I decided that since the big, beautiful, black lab we love tore open the cushions on the chairs outside, it was time to recover them. The hardest part was sewing the final seam together, because I couldn't find my heavy duty needle! 

Here's the before picture..........

And the after............

I think they look rather nice! It might be time to cover the other two chairs now, too! And then of course, there will be some more projects that I'm sure we'll find to take care of!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Projects All Around Me!

As many of you know, I can never sit still for too long. This "sickness" as some family members refer to it, has morphed into a barrage of projects. Some of these projects are small, some are bigger, some are still in the "planning" mode, which sometimes creates and even better looking mess! 

I am happy to say, though, that my office is now complete..... I simply love the color on the walls. A shout out to my friend Carly, for sharing her color choices with me, as this was THE color we were looking for. 

 I even found the perfect spot for the Roman Lady I inherited from my grandparents. Her counterpart was broken by the kitty about a year ago, and we are still trying to fix her. For now though, the solo lady has found her perch.....

And my office desk wouldn't be complete without a Pottery Barn knock off - only mine is written in Italian, instead of French.......

Now it is time to move to the back of the house. My lonely french doors need one of these signs - don't you agree?

CHOICE 1 ~

CHOICE 2 ~

Until tomorrow..... All the best...........

Busy Days Ahead

So the painting is starting to come along. The living room is under much construction (as you can see). We have decided on wood blinds for the windows, so that will be another trip to Lowe's or Home Depot this weekend. And then finishing the VERY LARGE MESS I've created. I just love the color though! Warm, but soothing, not too harsh. Will post more pics this weekend, as things start to come together........

And before I go, just wanted to share my plans for Easter Sunday dessert - I've given up chocolate for Lent, and it's starting to affect my brain. I dream in chocolate now! 

Just too yummy!!!

Spring has sprung!

Today is such a beautiful day. The birds are chirping outside, so I felt a bit inspired to show off just a few of my completed spring projects around the house. 

Only the roses are blooming outside, so I opted for a few artificial flowers for the kitchen island.....

Special thanks to Becca at http://adventuresindecorating1.blogspot.com/ for her tip to use chalk in markers on all my blackboards. Great colors, too, although I used only white for now. And I put my handy little Cricut machine to work on "baking" words for my mixer.......

Last but not least, an adorable project I found somewhere in my "travels" through the internet and magazines. So cute, and so easy!

Now I need to tackle the big project - finishing the painting. I just love the new color! Behr Peanut Butter.

Have a fantastic day!

Feeling Inspired!

Spent the day dreaming of getting my projects done, and ran across some beautiful photos to inspire me.

I just love the mossy greens against the crisp white!

What a darling idea. Reminds me of those ads you see for Edible Arrangements. Plus the dark red of the strawberry looks fantastic with the bright green!











What a gorgeous spring table! Absolutely LOVE the lanterns!

 

 And who can resist a little Easter fun? ..................................

      
                                            Might have to try this project with the kids!

                                         
                          You know I'm making a sign like this soon! Completely adorable!

And last but not least, can I say I just WISH I worked at a desk like this! 

Just love this idea.

Have a fantastic day. God bless!

MIA

Yes, that's me....I've been MIA for several weeks, while I concentrated on "sprucing" up our home. I have so many things to share, it'll take me a while to get organized and post everything. Needless to say, we've had our share of messes to clean up, but everything is looking really, really great. So proud of all my helpers, too! Everyone has really hung in there, putting up with the constant "shifting" of items in the house. One moment it's there, the next it's not! It's like playing hide and seek with all the necessary items in our house. We've made several trips to the donation centers, and had bulk trash pick up, but we're cleaning out the stockpiles of unused goods, and moving forward. 

Looking forward to sharing pics with you soon!

Trip to the Fabric Store

So over the weekend, I decided that I couldn't let my coupon for the President's Day sale at the local fabric store go to waste. My famous "window shopping" turned into a few more projects. Pillows seem to be multiplying inside my house, but I just love a good snuggle with a soft pillow! Well, one can never have enough pillows, right?


Then I strolled over to the beads. That was a mistake! I have about 25 new beading projects now! AND (now I sound like my youngest son) I found the most adorable fabric for a baby gift I'm working on for a friend. AND I found fabric for a quilt I want to make too!

I browsed the furniture area, and saw some really fabulous items - very inventive ideas! 

Might have to go back for round 2 very soon! Those would look great in my kitchen! Loving the white dinnerware too! 


As for the paint selection process, well, we've narrowed it down some more - but no real luck yet. I did move furniture in the office and I've "created" so much more room. Also vowed to get all the "crafting supplies" into one central area. I don't know how I've survived all these years with some of it in my bedroom closet, some of it in my garage, some of it in my home office, etc. No wonder some of those projects went unfinished! Stay tuned for the completion of stage 1 - the living room and the office - once the paint is chosen, it'll be full steam ahead!

A few beautiful things to look at before you go.......

God Bless!

So, the little germs finally found their way into our home, and both the little guys and I are sick. So, we're staying cuddled, snuggled and warm, watching funny movies and playing board games. While they were catching up on homework (brought home by great friends), I found a little time to measure the office space. Still not solid on what the finished product will look like, but we're making some progress! Also, considering one more Valentine project before the weekend. Loved what I saw at Giggles Galore. Looks too yummy to eat!

Day 2 on the Valentine Adventure

So far, so good. Everyone in my house is not only excited about Valentine's Day, but practicing random acts of kindness ~ I'm loving this! This colder weather (yes, I know I am not buried in snow, but it's cold for us "warm-weather" folks) is making me crave warm, hot, toasty sandwiches, and warm pie. I dug around through some recipes in my cookbooks, online and in my recipe box, and have enough planned meals to last several days! Yeah..... don't these look yummy?

We might be having one of these dishes tonight - both from the Kraft Foods website!

And just in case, you were thinking about desserts, well, feast your eyes upon these.......

All I can manage to say ~ "check the pantry for the ingredients - hurry!"

Have a safe, warm day!

Love is in the Air

It's official ~ It's Valentine's month. Yes, I know, most people celebrate Valentine's Day. I, however, feel the need to celebrate all month long! So, last night, the boys and I started a new tradition. 

 Each night after dinner, we are going to gather around the table and write little notes to each other, and pop them into our "Post" - a little box on our fireplace that is the family mail-center. Wow, they had so much fun.....stamping, using stickers, glue and colored paper. It was fun watching them "cover" their treasures from one another. Have to keep the surprise alive, right?

 Then I decided that everyone needed a little sweet - so I made these for all my boys! Basically, just a clipboard with two weeks worth of a calendar and a sweet stuck on every square. Their little faces this morning were so precious. "Is this mine??? All mine???" Yum!

Happy Valentine's Month everyone!