A New Product!

I mentioned recently that Dann from Rebel.Reclaimed gave me quite a challenge when he shared with me a product he would like to see in his store. I got to work experimenting/creating last week and at the beginning of this week sent him my take on his vision. (You saw a sneak peek of it here!)

~
He liked it and mentioned that he wouldn't mind having a few of them by this weekend. (Enter : just a minor amount of panicking on my part!) But I got it done, and here they are, new ruffle flower pillows!12-inch ivory linen pillow
18 inch natural linen pillow with fabulous floral patterned flower18 inch natural linen pillow with ivory linen flower
(isn't that button great?!?)
~
I quickly snapped the pictures last night before bringing the pillows down to Rebel, so the pictures aren't necessarily spectacular, but I promise you the pillows are! Head on down to Rebel and check them out for yourself!
~
This is also the first weekend for the Allegan Antiques Market, and Rebel will be there as well. The weather is looking great on Saturday (70 & sunny!) so it's a perfect excuse to get out and do some antiquing!

Sneak Peek...

I've been buried in ruffles over here, here's a peek!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

~
1. Having Eric home for an extra-long weekend.
2. A really nice time at church + eating out with neighbors on Thursday.
3. A huge answer to prayer this week for a family at our church.
4. Hanging out with our awesome neighbors Saturday.
5. New plants + flowers popping up in our yard.
6. Having our Children's Director at church pull me aside and tell me the sweet things that Claire said during Children & Worship, melts this mumma's heart.
7. Claire reminding us over and over, "did you know that Jesus died on the cross for us!"
8. Safety for my parents traveling back from Africa, it's good to have them home!
9. Hanging out outside in the sun this afternoon when we thought it was going to be a rainy day.
10. Wrapping up a very fun, but very challenging project this weekend, I'll share a sneak peek tomorrow!
~
What are you most thankful for today?

Happy Easter!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
~
1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV)

Easter Brunch : Overnight French Toast

On our girl's scrap booking weekend a few months back, one of my girlfriends made us the most gluttonous yummy french toast dish for breakfast. I've been itching to make it, but figured it was a bit much for just the three of us.

Enter : Easter brunch with family!

(health-minded individuals, now is the time to look away,
there is nothing nutritionally redeeming about this dish)

Ingredients :
1 cup brown sugar
2 T. white corn syrup
1/2 cup margarine
2 or 3 apples, peeled & sliced
6 thick slices of bread
6 well beaten eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp brown sugar
margarine slices for topping
cinnamon & sugar to taste

Directions :
- Cook first three ingredients over low heat until syrup forms
- Grease 9x13 glass pan, pour syrup to fill the bottom of pan
- Layer apple slices on syrup
- Layer bread slices over apples
- Beat next four ingredients and pour over bread
- Place a thin slice of margarine on each slice of bread
- Sprinkle with cinnamon & sugar to taste
- Cover and refrigerate overnight

In the morning :
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Uncover and bake for 40-50 minutes
- As you dish out, flip each serving so the apples are on top

ENJOY!

Monday's 10 Things

I had a Monday's 10 Things post started, and just sat down to finish it.
But since my day looked a lot like this...(and that's no joke, let me tell you about her ear-piercing screams)
~
I think I'm going to just forget about my Monday post this week, turn off the computer, put my feet up and eat the very large bowl of ice cream Eric is scooping me at this moment instead.
~
Happy (calm & quiet) Monday everyone!

Fresh Start Sunday

The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

John 12:12-13 (NIV)

New Wreaths for Spring

The blog has been a little quiet this week, but I promise I have a good reason why....I've been busy as can be working on new wreaths for Spring!

~
I love a good challenge, and Dann from Rebel.Reclaimed gave me one this week :
the color PEACH.
~
The color is trending right now and he wanted to see some of it in my wreaths. I struggled going all out with peach (too many memories of decor from my childhood maybe??) but was able to incorporate some peach and similar shades into a few of my wreaths.
~
Here are the latest!I used combinations of various linens in addition to my usual burlap and yarn, and also tried some new styles of flowers. I'm so happy with how they turned out.yay for delivery day!
~
Dann gave me another challenge for this week, something entirely new and I'm ready to get experimenting and see if I can make it happen! I'll (hopefully) be able to share with you soon!
~
If you're still working on your Spring decor, or maybe your Easter table centerpiece, head on down to Rebel to see what kinds of treasures you can find, the store is bursting with amazing Spring colors right now!

Mid-Week Randomness

Happy Wednesday!

1. First of all, this is blog post number 700 for me.
That's craziness, people!

2. I'm working on a new group of wreaths this week. Spring and Easter are on my mind, and the colors and fabrics I'm using reflect that. I'm also experimenting with some new flower designs. Here's a peek at one of the wreaths...

3. I just finished up Claire's Easter basket and my craft room now has fake grass static clinging to everything. Whoever invented that stuff needs a serious talking to. Not cool.

4. My parents are traveling in Africa right now and communication with them has been slim at best. Here was their latest update (via Facebook!) which will help you understand why I'm just a bit envious of them right now... "We spent 45 minutes today surrounded by at least 50 elephants. Yesterday I could have reached out of the vehicle and touched an elephant. We've seen giraffes, zebras, lions (10 feet away) leopards (even closer), hippos, hyenas and about 30 other species. All we can say is WOW!"

5. Tonight my Bible study girls and I are getting together and planning to discuss Proverbs 31, I'm anticipating good conversation.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Proverbs 31:30 (NIV)

Hello

thanks to Paper Portrait for including my HELLO tags in this treasury!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
(consider this the "yay, it's Spring" edition)
~
1. 84 degrees on Sunday, oh yeah!
(to anyone reading that doesn't live in a similar climate to us, you just wouldn't understand what 84 degrees in April does to us Michiganders!)
2. Feeling the warm sun again, ahh!
3. Open windows and airing out the house after a long winter.
4. Impromptu driveway meet-ups with neighbors.
5. Having neighbors as friends
(even if it means we're all in each other's business sometimes, that's okay!)
6. Eric + Claire for hanging out together all day on Saturday. It wasn't even planned but it sure was nice (and wow did I get a lot of errands and work done!)
7. Saturday morning breakfast with girlfriends.
8. Saturday night + Sunday night movie @ home nights with Eric.
9. Seeing how excited Claire was to be back at preschool today after Spring Break (and I have to admit, I might have done a little happy dance dropping her off)
10. Starting a week feeling caught up and refreshed.
~
What are you most thankful for today?

Fresh Start Sunday

For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

~

John 6:40 (NIV)

Yay for Hoop Art!

There's nothing better than receiving happy mail, and that's exactly what I got this week when the hoop art that Cherish of Kiwi Freckles made for me arrived. I saw the package in the mailbox and couldn't even wait until I was back inside until I opened it up!isn't it adorable??? It's all the colors of my blog, and she even included a bird! (sometime I'll have to tell you about my minor obsession with birds, I usually keep it under wraps as it makes me seem kind of old-ladyish) Plus I heart rosettes in a major way!thanks so much Cherish, it's awesome,

and I really enjoyed "meeting you" through this too!

(see what I made for Cherish here)

Spring Clothes : Milo Creative

It sure seems like it's trying so hard to turn to Spring around here, but we're just not quite there yet. Today it reached 50 degrees so we played outside and pretended we were warm! Even so, I've got my Spring wardrobe on my mind, and shopped around Etsy to see what I might like to add to it. I stumbled upon the shop Milo Creative Studios and instantly fell in love. (And not just because she's a Grand Rapids girl!)

~
Here's some what I found :this amazing sleeveless wrap cardiganand this split cowl sleeveless tunic, yes please!doesn't this dress just look so comfortable??
~
Pretty certain I'll take one of each,
be sure to check the shop out for yourself!

Watching the Garden Grow

(last treasury for today!)
Thanks to By Sara Lynn for including my wreath in this treasury!

(Another) Hello Spring Treasury

Thanks to Home of Imagination for including my new Spring wreath in this treasury!

Hello Spring

Thanks to Catherine Marissa for including my wreath in this treasury!

Hoop Art Swap

I recently participated in the Hoop Art Swap hosted by the lovely Heather at Blessed Little Nest. I was given Cherish from Kiwi Freckles as the person I would be creating a hoop for and couldn't wait to get to work!

My plan was to recreate the header image from Cherish's blog, and I was able to pull it off (somewhat). I downloaded the header from her blog, and then used Picnik to resize it. I then ironed a Kona cotton I had found in the same color as her header onto Heat and Bond and traced the background image onto it. I had planned to iron the image on, and then embroider "Kiwi Freckles" over it, exactly as her header shows. When I cut the image out though, I just felt like too much of the detail was lost. So, onto Plan B. I noticed that each of the labels on Cherish's blog had chevron stripes, so I used the same Kona cotton and began sewing chevron stripes for the top and bottom of the hoop. In the middle I embroidered "Kiwi Freckles" as I originally planned, and here's the finished product!

I'm really happy with how it turned out and hope Cherish loves it too!