Current Project sneak peek! :-)

Just a quick peek at what I am currently working on. The walls of my daughter's room are painted. I used Panache Pink by Sherwin Williams, Duration paint. Let me first say I LOVE this paint. The coverage was unbelievable.

I have some great ideas for my daughter's room. Originally I wanted to do an accent wall with diamonds in two different shades. She requested trees, so trees it will be.

If I don't have many blog posts this week you will know that I paint brush in hand working in a very pink room! :-) Well at least when I can with two kids at home.

I remember . .honor your service.

I remember that my freedom isn't truly free. That it has been purchase by God through the death of his son.
I honor the sacrifice of so many to make sure my God given freedom stays in tact here on earth. Thank you so humbly for the choice you have taken or are currently making to serve us. I know it each day my daughter gets to choose from a wide selection of clothing, when I go to the grocery store and can fill up my cart, when I attend the church of my choice. I remember it when I can freely proclaim on a public space without the fear of torture that Jesus is my savior!

Thank you this Memorial Day for your service. We are humbly grateful for all the freedom that being an American under the protection of our armed forces grants us!

Anniversary!

My hubby and I are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year! 10 years ago today we were married. The day was fabulous despite it raining so very hard and so very much.
I thought I would share the details of our day. I know this is wedding season so very timely too! :-)
I loved my invitations, funny they matched my flowers so well. I totally didn't plan this at all just fell in love with the colors. My veil and tiara were from my Mom, she wore these on her wedding day. My flowers were a mixture of roses, lambs ear and I can't remember the other blue flower. The lambs ear has significance. I used to spend some time on my grandmother's farm during the summers. While she was gardening I can remember sitting and stroking the lambs ear. So soft and such a pretty silver green color. I had to have them in my wedding bouquet!
My sweet flower girls are grown up and teenagers now. They were my 2nd cousins. I made their dresses and loved the lines of the dress.
The first photo is of my Mom and Sister. I thought my Mom's dress was just stunning, the photo doesn't do it justice. The color of my bridesmaid dresses were a great blue, all the girls looked so great in the color. Just like all brides I thought they could wear the dress again, but yeah no not so much! :-)
The photo on the top right was me throwing my bouquet . .no there wasn't an accident. I designed the bouquet to come apart. It was made up of smaller bouquets that each had a "fortune" tied to it and came apart in mid air. Was a fun surprise!
The middle photo is a picture of my father-in-law and mother-in-law. My Mother-in-law's dress was also perfect and flattering.
My cake was just divine! Very simple in decoration, which is why I like it. The beauty of it was inside! It was a flour-less chocolate cake with a raspberry filling! YUMMO!
My wedding rings are still my all time favorite jewelry. I still look at them in awe, my hubby did such a great job selecting not only the ring but also the diamond itself.
Hope you enjoyed my stroll down memory lane. Sorry for the bad quality images, didn't have digital copies, so they had to be scanned in. If you are planning your wedding I hope that you have as much fun planning as I did. Truly I can look back on the planning and want to do it all over again. I enjoyed picking out and planning this event so much.

My new love!

My lovely hubby Mr. Jackpot loves well manicured hands and pedicured feet. So yes he lets me get pampered often. One of the many reasons I affectionately call him Mr. Jackpot (thanks to my friend Pam for the idea)! He recently purchased a salon package for me from a local salon. The first visit was to get a manicure with a new shellac nail polish.

What is this?!?!? I call the salon and the lovely receptionist informs me that it is the greatest invention since sliced bread. Let me back up and share with you that I absolutely hate getting my nails done. Between having two small kids, and all my crafts the polish NEVER lasts more than 24 hours (typically less than 24 minutes). So when I was told my polish would last from 10 - 14 days and not chip I was intrigued and skeptical. They aren't acrylic nails so no thick nail to deal with or refills to be paid for. You do need a special pad to remove the polish or use acetone. It is not supposed to damage your nails.
Well after five full days of cleaning, cooking and doing crafts . . . .I have no chips, peeling polish and they are STILL shiny. OMG!!!! I am so hooked! Not exactly a budget friendly manicure but so worth it!



Sorry for the granny hands (The orange mark on my thumb is stampin ink) but had to share this news. I know so many Moms out there that share the same sentiment and had to share this with you!
The polish my salon used is CND, I am wearing Masquerade. On the website you can search for a salon near you on this site as well. Will let you know how they look in 5 more days. I do plan on getting this done again, though not sure when.

Teacher Gift.

Coming from a house filled with teachers I have a few ideas of what not to give a teacher, or at least what my Mom and sister think aren't good teachers gifts. So I LOVE making my own . . .I know very surprising.

Here is my daughter's gift to her teacher. The tote is from Thirty One Gifts, I have filled it with handmade cards, a note block with matching pen and handmade flower clip, all tucked into a fabric gift bag. I do have an ulterior motive as I usually create four of each card and keep two for myself. Increases my card stash as I am making a gift, a win win!

Another transformed Crystal Light Container

I purchased gift cards for my son's teachers and wanted an unexpected gift box. So again I took this:

and turned it into these:
I was at Michael's recently and discovered a line of customizable ribbons like I made above. They were really pretty but at $5.99 to $7.99 a bit steep for my budget. Who can pass up creating a package out of a recycled drink container and scrap paper! I used some scrap tulle, some shapes from my Cricut, and a stamp from my stash! Took me about 15 minutes. So frilly and fun.

I am hoping for the sun around our parts. I literally saw the sun for the first time Thursday in a week. No I didn't exaggerate, one solid week of gray Sky and rain. We also are celebrating the end of school next week! For an East coast girl this is a bit hard to accept but I have some fun things planned. Going to be a bit brave and post our summer list of things to do here. Maybe then I will actually get them done! :-)

Hope you all are able to enjoy these last weeks of kids in school!

Blessings!

Yummy . . .well if you like spinach.

I Love trying new recipes and had the perfect opportunity tonight to try one out of the most recent Cooking Light magazine.
I made Spinach and Parmesan Souffle. We paired it with bread and a fruit salad.
The quality of the picture isn't good. Hubby has the nice new camera with him and my photos with the best light are fuzzy.

Folding Flower Tutorial

First apologies, I am hoping this post is clear. Second sorry for the granny hands that need a manicure! :-)

I had a request to post how I made the folded flower in the gift box post. There are many tutorials out there for this, just google it. But here are the directions on how I created this. i have a few cards to make and plan on using this technique. Will post those soon.

Recycled Gift Box

I am finding myself more and more trying not to throw things away that can be possibly used again. Trying to find that balance between becoming the next hoarder and finding time to actually re-purposing those items.

Can you guess what this gift package was made of?

My brother-n-law's birthday was coming up and I wanted a creative way to wrap a gift card. The Crystal Light plastic container fit perfectly. I wrapped it with scraps of card stock and scrapbook paper. The tag is made with a Stampn' Up! stamp and tag punch. I punch a whole in the top and pulled the ribbon through which made it easy to open.

So the next time you make iced tea don't throw that Crystal Light container away! I am going to post some more items that I have created with these containers. Can you tell we are big sweet tea drinkers?!?!?!?

Pulling together a Dining Room

Here is a picture of the dining room in my old house.

When we moved I had the movers take the top of the hutch and put it in our basement. This actually all started with my husband wanting to replace our dining room set. It was not ours it was my Mom's. While I wasn't too enamored with it myself I have grown to love it for many reasons. One it was my Mom's, two I love the fact it is completely solid wood. Totally replacing the set is not in the budget plus I just can't get rid of something that there is nothing wrong with! :-)
Here are some design ideas I pulled together. Hoping to have the budget to do it all. The chairs might have to wait a while. I am horrible at pulling together patterns. I tend to stick to simple combinations. The dining room is the first room you see when you enter my home. So I thought it prudent to pull this room together first.
The blue square is the paint color, Windy Blue by Sherwin Williams. The carpet is staying, it is an antique given to us by my in-laws. I want to keep the table and the black bench. The buffet will stay too. I am trying to figure out drapes and chairs. Should I do colored chairs, or simple beige? The patterned squares are for the drapes and I am very unsure about these combinations. Any thoughts?

Here are some better pictures of our dining room and the table.

A Simple and in-expensive cord solution

A nightly ritual for my hubby and I is too sit in our recliners (yes we are below the age of 80) and watch movies or TV. We LOVE media in our house . . .my hubby is the resident geek in the family which helps feed our love. The other thing we like to do is pull out our laptops and surf /read blogs (in my case) and work in his case. As a result we have a few cords in between our two recliners. We are always trying to de-tangle and figure which is hers and which is his cord.

I discovered this file holder/magazine holder in Steinmart this past week. It was inexpensive at $7.99 was wide enough and a hole to feed the cords through. Yeah!!! No longer will I have to view all the cords lying on the floor in between our chairs. I need to tidy it up a little bit more but wanted to share this idea.

You could even put a surge protector in the bottom and feed the cords through the hole at the top.

I want to put a "top" on it to really conceal the whole thing.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

(These are cards that I made for my Mom and Mother-n-Law with Creative Memories Storybook Software. I used a few of the images from the software and others from vintage cards/postcards.)

My Favorite Things Saturday!

Home Sweet Home

Our recent move has driven me to reflect on my past homes. My hubby and I have owned a total of 3 homes. We have built one, and purchased 2 new construction or spec homes. This move has caused me to realize how much "home" really means to me. Given the recent natural disasters it has not escaped me how much a home means to all of us. I have been blessed with always living in a house with a yard and in a good neighborhood. I don't think I truly reflected on this until I moved away for the very first time.
Being able to define a space allows me a creative outlet that I have taken for granted. I love being able to create rooms that reflects not only myself but my family. This is truly one of my biggest and life defining favorite things. From the blogs I have been following I know this to be true for so many people.


Here is my first house (well not mine, and not my very first - couldn't find a picture of that). This is the home I lived in for most of my childhood. These two pictures don't do it justice. It was a wonderful home. It had two very large boulders in the front yard with a rose bush and beautiful dogwood tree. To top it off it had an in-ground pool in the backyard complete with screened porch and a large boulder for drying off in the sun. The screened porch had a tin roof which I can still hear the sound the rain made on it!

My second home was in Texas. We purchased it before we were ever engaged. At that time rent prices were more expensive than home mortgages and it made financial sense to purchase. So yes I did "shack-up" before I was married. Not a choice for everyone but it was a right choice for us. We used Texas limestone for facade and fireplace. We watched this home be build from the foundation up it was so exciting and rewarding.


My third home was in Richmond VA and very much a typical Colonial in every sense. I plan on doing a complete home tour sometime soon to showcase it. We were there 10 years and I LOVED this house. Probably because the length of time I was there as much as the life events that happened while I was in the home. If I could hug a house I would have given this home a big bear hug. I will humbly admit that I did hug a wall or two prior to leaving!

My fourth home and current home is wonderful too. I am just discovering some of the things I love about it. It is in some ways so different from our previous home and then in others very similar. I am sure others have found they have new hobbies or interests once in a new home. I am discovering my green thumb. The Richmond house had hardly any shade. This home has a great position, it has a great mix of both sunny and shady spots. In the previous home I had to turn to a landscape architect to know what to plant where. Now I know what I want and where to put it. Well I am 10 years older and wiser so I guess that helps!

I hope that no matter where you are everyone reading this blog has a sense of home sweet home!

My Favorite Things Friday

I had a very close relationship with my paternal grandfather. He gave me this letter to my father (Cecil) from Santa when I was in college. My mother had it framed for me and I have cherished it ever since.

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Here is the text:

Mr. Cecil Tate.

Dear Cecil:

Your letter received and I like to hear from and write little boys like you.

Depend on me boy to be at your home the night before Christmas. I will be there just as sure and the sun arose this morning and you depend on me. Will have lots and lots of toys and games for the boys in and around Seaford and if the roads are clear I think I will use the new truck, should it snow you be sure your father has the paths clear and that your mother has a good warm fire.

Be good boy, don't eat too much, always look both ways before you cross the roads as we don't want any sick or injured boys on Christmas or any other day.

Take good care of your brother, mother and father and I will be on the job.

Until Then,

your old friend

Santa

North Pole

Dec. 15 1940

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I especially love the typewriter that drops the letters. The fact that it came from my grandfather whose picture is in the dictionary next to cantankerous is even better!

Enjoy! I have two more favorite posts and then some great posts for next week!

My Favorite Things Thursday!

I have had this dresser ever since I could remember. It was my mother's and was in her room and in mine ever since. It was a piece I never thought too much of until I moved out of the house. Funny how that is but I absolutely love it and it wouldn't feel like home unless this was in my house. It dawned on me one day that the top looks like a crown. No wonder I felt like a princess at times growing up (and I am sure acted like one at times too)!

I don't know its value nor its age but it will always be a very special piece to me.

Happy Thursday!

My Favorite Things Wednesday

I have had the privilege of belonging to a group of women from the time my daughter was 6 months old. We formed a playgroup. The story of how I got invited into this group is nothing but God's work. We have been able to keep our friendships strong and have been witness to so many major events in each others lives. In has truly been a blessing to call these women my friends. So leaving Richmond VA to move to TN was hard for a variety of reasons. Leaving family, and friends was very overwhelming. A couple of nights before we left town we all got together for a dinner and they surprised me with this beautiful platter.

It was created by one of my dear friends and executed by each member. I have it proudly displayed in my kitchen. It reminds me constantly of our friendship and that God is good. A reminder that I absolutely need each and every day.

My Favorite Things Tuesday

I decorated my daughter's room in dragonfies and ladybugs. Ever since then dragonflies have been my signature. I recieved a beautiful necklace on my 2nd Mother's day from my husband. I adore the necklace for so many reasons. It reminds me of being a Mom, of what a wonderful gift it is. It will always remind me of my daughter and how much being a Mom has changed me.



I hope you have enjoyed seeing my favorite things. I am thinking of doing a link party where you all can share yours. Stay tuned!

My Favorite Things Monday

Day 2 of my sharing favorite things. I should have prefaced the first post that my first and always favorite "thing" is my family! Which actually is a great segway into today's favorite thing which is Creative Memories software StoryBook and Memory manager. I have used both pieces of software for many years now and absolutely love them. I probably use the software if not once a day at least several times a week.
I have used the memory manager to catalog digitally all my photos. We have used it to create a slideshow of our beloved Nina when she passed. It made it so easy to do as I could pull up all photos within seconds of her that we had!
The Storybook software I use to create cards, scrapbook pages, pieces of Art, gift tags. . I could go on. I especially love using vintage cards and postcards and with this software I can digitally cut these up without harming the orginal. I know that I could use photoshop or some other software but these are not as easy to use. The software is so user friendly and makes it easy to alter photos that might take someone with more experienc to excute within a program like Photoshop.

Here is a sampling of some of the projects. You can also find some projects I have posted here, here, here and here and here. Okay I won't go on!

I should also mention that I am not a Creative Memories consultant! I just really love a good product. If you have questions specifically on the product I am sure you can find a creative memories consultant within your area but would be more than happy to answer them!