Two of my new wreaths have been listed in the shop so far!
and I have a Spring Break treat coming your way tomorrow,
so be sure to check back!
and I have a Spring Break treat coming your way tomorrow,so be sure to check back!
A Sneak Peek!
I promised a shop update was coming this week, and tomorrow is the day!
~
Here's a little peek of what to expect...
(yes, that's a new style flower you see!)
See you tomorrow!
Here's a little peek of what to expect...
(yes, that's a new style flower you see!)
See you tomorrow!
Monday's 10 Things
(Monday's 10 Things on Tuesday,'cause that's just how this week is going)
Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
~
1. A Saturday morning date with my man, even if all we did was run to Lowes, Target and a quick lunch, it was still sooo nice!
2. Eric's enthusiasm for firing up his grill this spring.
More grilling for him = less dinner prep for me. Score!
3. Claire's teachers at church, helping her learn and be excited about the Bible.
4. Baking with my girl, matching aprons and all.
5. A shop update will be coming this week, finally!
6. Lots of sunshine outside, even if its still f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g.
7. Eric's willingness to let me drop Claire off at his work for a bit while I had a meeting to attend. Wow, did that ever make that little girl's week to hang out at work with daddy!
8. I've now passed 50 followers on my blog! It's so fun to "meet" new people, including one this week from Michigan!
9. Safety for my parents on the first leg of their journey to Africa. (And praying for safety as they're somewhere over the ocean as I'm typing this!)
10. Our family getaway to the Great Wolf Lodge is just a few days away! Our plan is to not even tell Claire where we're going, and see how long it takes her to catch on. Wish us luck!
~
What are you most thankful for today?
Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
~
1. A Saturday morning date with my man, even if all we did was run to Lowes, Target and a quick lunch, it was still sooo nice!
2. Eric's enthusiasm for firing up his grill this spring.
More grilling for him = less dinner prep for me. Score!
3. Claire's teachers at church, helping her learn and be excited about the Bible.
4. Baking with my girl, matching aprons and all.
5. A shop update will be coming this week, finally!
6. Lots of sunshine outside, even if its still f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g.
7. Eric's willingness to let me drop Claire off at his work for a bit while I had a meeting to attend. Wow, did that ever make that little girl's week to hang out at work with daddy!
8. I've now passed 50 followers on my blog! It's so fun to "meet" new people, including one this week from Michigan!
9. Safety for my parents on the first leg of their journey to Africa. (And praying for safety as they're somewhere over the ocean as I'm typing this!)
10. Our family getaway to the Great Wolf Lodge is just a few days away! Our plan is to not even tell Claire where we're going, and see how long it takes her to catch on. Wish us luck!
~
What are you most thankful for today?
Fresh Start Sunday
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
~
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
~
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
My Super Hero
Claire was invited to a birthday party this weekend for Eli & Jonah, twin brothers from her preschool class. Claire has been smitten with Eli since the start of the school year, and Jonah has recently made his way into the picture too. So needless to say, the party was a b.i.g. deal for this girl!
~
The invite for the party read that kids are welcome to wear a super hero costume. Okay, so we're pretty sure Claire knows what super heroes are, but we've never once purchased anything super hero for her. So this mumma got to work creating a Super Claire costume!
~
First up was a super hero t-shirt. I used my Cricut to cut out paper shapes for the design plus the letter "C". This allowed me to play around with sizes and placement prior to actually cutting into any fabric.
Once I had each of my shapes selected, I used Heat N' Bond Ultra Hold Iron-on Adhesive to create the fabric shapes.
And finally, I cut the shapes out and adhered them to a white t-shirt...
...and here's what it looked like!
~
Next up was a super hero cape. I found some hot pink, bright green and teal shiny costume fabrics that all had a bit of sparkle to them (of course!) The night before the party, I sat down with no pattern and no plan but just began cutting and sewing and thankfully, the cape came together really well!
~
And here's our super hero!
she plays the part well!
a hair clip to match with some leftover scraps from the cape
so long, Super Hero Claire!
~
This was such a fun project to make, and I had a blast watching Claire running around at the party with her friends. She loves wearing the cape, so I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of Super Hero Claire!
The invite for the party read that kids are welcome to wear a super hero costume. Okay, so we're pretty sure Claire knows what super heroes are, but we've never once purchased anything super hero for her. So this mumma got to work creating a Super Claire costume!
~
First up was a super hero t-shirt. I used my Cricut to cut out paper shapes for the design plus the letter "C". This allowed me to play around with sizes and placement prior to actually cutting into any fabric.
Once I had each of my shapes selected, I used Heat N' Bond Ultra Hold Iron-on Adhesive to create the fabric shapes.
And finally, I cut the shapes out and adhered them to a white t-shirt...
...and here's what it looked like!~
Next up was a super hero cape. I found some hot pink, bright green and teal shiny costume fabrics that all had a bit of sparkle to them (of course!) The night before the party, I sat down with no pattern and no plan but just began cutting and sewing and thankfully, the cape came together really well!
~
And here's our super hero!
she plays the part well!
a hair clip to match with some leftover scraps from the cape
so long, Super Hero Claire!~
This was such a fun project to make, and I had a blast watching Claire running around at the party with her friends. She loves wearing the cape, so I have a feeling we're going to be seeing a lot more of Super Hero Claire!
Island Girl Bags
Lucky me, I had quite a surprise this morning when I found out I won a new beach bag from Island Girl Bags! I had the pleasure of meeting MaryBeth at the Gussy meet up in December, and she's just as sweet as can be! This couldn't have been more perfect as Claire and I have big plans to live at the Lake Michigan beach in Grand Haven this summer.
~
Here were some of my top choices for fabrics :
but here's the one I picked!
Isn't this print adorable???
~
Thanks so much to Island Girl Bags, I can't wait to see it in person!
Find Island Girl Bags here:
Website
Etsy
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
~
Here were some of my top choices for fabrics :
but here's the one I picked!
Isn't this print adorable???
~
Thanks so much to Island Girl Bags, I can't wait to see it in person!
Find Island Girl Bags here:
Website
Etsy
Blog
Afternoon Pick Me Up
After a bit of a sunshine teaser, we're back to gray skies. And as I type this, I'm looking out the window and realizing that the threat of freezing rain is now becoming a reality. Blah.
~
Days like today (and more and more often lately it seems)
I'm in serious need of an afternoon pick me up.
~
Here's my latest : an apple plus my beloved Diet Coke.
(yay for Instagram, who's with me???)
~
I hope your afternoon is a good one,
and go ahead and treat yourself too, I'm sure you deserve it!
Days like today (and more and more often lately it seems)
I'm in serious need of an afternoon pick me up.
~
Here's my latest : an apple plus my beloved Diet Coke.
(yay for Instagram, who's with me???)
~
I hope your afternoon is a good one,
and go ahead and treat yourself too, I'm sure you deserve it!
Monday's 10 Things
Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!~
1. A really nice time at the women's retreat at our church this weekend.
2. Having close girlfriends at church who I love to be around.
3. Hearing the testimonials of 5 women who have been through so much, yet have never stopped relying on Christ.
4. Receiving text updates from Eric and Claire who were having a blast at the zoo while I was gone. (even if one of the updates was that they witnessed a bear going to the bathroom!)
5. Coming home to find Claire + neighbor kids playing in the yard.
6. First time firing up the grill for the year, yum!
7. Great progress on my never-ending To Do List today.
8. A spur-of-the-moment upcoming family getaway. (Thanks Eric!!)
9. Our first thunderstorm of the season last night, and wow was it a good one.
10. It's now officially Spring (at least according to the calendar!) We made it!
~
What are you most thankful for today?
1. A really nice time at the women's retreat at our church this weekend.
2. Having close girlfriends at church who I love to be around.
3. Hearing the testimonials of 5 women who have been through so much, yet have never stopped relying on Christ.
4. Receiving text updates from Eric and Claire who were having a blast at the zoo while I was gone. (even if one of the updates was that they witnessed a bear going to the bathroom!)
5. Coming home to find Claire + neighbor kids playing in the yard.
6. First time firing up the grill for the year, yum!
7. Great progress on my never-ending To Do List today.
8. A spur-of-the-moment upcoming family getaway. (Thanks Eric!!)
9. Our first thunderstorm of the season last night, and wow was it a good one.
10. It's now officially Spring (at least according to the calendar!) We made it!
~
What are you most thankful for today?
Some Rearranging
I don't know about you, but the change of seasons has me itching do to some rearranging and redecorating around the house. After yet another long Michigan winter, having our decor changed up a bit helps everything feel so much nicer and more fresh and certainly helps keep my spirits up as we make our final push to Spring.
~
My latest project was our dining area. This is what the cabinet in the corner of our dining area has looked like for well, as long as we've been in our house (3 years!)
I still really like the plates we had on display above it, but it was time for some freshening up. Here's what I did:
ahh, much better!
Picture : my new canvas from the Canvas People
Vase : borrowed from our master bath
Circle Plate : same plate that was there before
Small Cement Bird : borrowed from our dining table
There you have it! No money spent, and only about 10 minutes of my time and the whole room feels so much better!
My latest project was our dining area. This is what the cabinet in the corner of our dining area has looked like for well, as long as we've been in our house (3 years!)
I still really like the plates we had on display above it, but it was time for some freshening up. Here's what I did:
ahh, much better!
Picture : my new canvas from the Canvas People
Vase : borrowed from our master bath
Circle Plate : same plate that was there before
Small Cement Bird : borrowed from our dining table
There you have it! No money spent, and only about 10 minutes of my time and the whole room feels so much better!
Fresh Start Sunday
Come, thou Fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing they grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sun by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of they redeeming love.
tune my heart to sing they grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
sun by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
mount of they redeeming love.
My "Aha Moment"
Let me tell you about my little girl. She loves my junk drawer or any treasure she may find in my purse. She loves using scissors to cut and always finds ways to use Scotch tape to put things back together. In fact, she can blow through a three pack of Scotch tape like it's no one's business. She loves collecting and considers anything she finds to be a real prize. She loves projects.
She doesn't love toys. She's got toys, a whole room full of them. In fact, every Christmas and birthday we buy her new toys convinced that one of them is going to be her "ultimate" and that for sure she'll play with it. But no luck. For the longest time this bothered me. I wondered why sitting down and playing with dolls just didn't seem to interest her while other girls her age may be all about dolls. I worried about her imagination.
After my new craft room was complete, we did some room-swapping and moved Claire's play room into my old craft room. As part of the new set up, I decided I would try my hardest to come up with a good way to organize her art supplies. Here was my solution:
a shelf system with individual, removable buckets, each one holding a different kind of art supply. The risk involved here as far as I would concerned : she would now have unlimited access to her art supplies. (oh the messy possibilities!)
Within minutes of getting up the morning after the new system was set up, Claire ran to her new play room and didn't come out for some time. I finally went in to check her, and there she was, paints open, brush in hand, working on a picture.
My first reaction was to panic a little bit. All those open paints, and I wasn't there to supervise??? But after my initial heart attack, I realized she was completely happy, completely content, and completely under control.
And in that moment, I realized that the fact that she prefers projects to toys is certainly nothing that I'm going to stress over. She knows what she likes, and does what makes her happy. And I certainly don't worry about her imagination. She creates some pretty awesome, creative projects that make us wonder what's going on in that little brain of hers!
~
So....
when I walk in and catch her with paints, play dough and other messy supplies open, I'm not going to panic at the messes she might be making. When I go to use my Scotch tape and realize she's again depleted my supply, I'm not going to get frustrated.
I'm going to continue to hang her school and other art projects in her "museum" because I'm proud of her work and want her to know that. I'm going to sit down and craft with her every time she'll allow me. (Because let's face it, this mumma would rather craft than play with dolls any day too!)
And next birthday or Christmas, there will for sure be a heavy emphasis on art and craft supplies rather than toys she's not going to play with anyway. I'm so proud of my little artist!
She doesn't love toys. She's got toys, a whole room full of them. In fact, every Christmas and birthday we buy her new toys convinced that one of them is going to be her "ultimate" and that for sure she'll play with it. But no luck. For the longest time this bothered me. I wondered why sitting down and playing with dolls just didn't seem to interest her while other girls her age may be all about dolls. I worried about her imagination.
After my new craft room was complete, we did some room-swapping and moved Claire's play room into my old craft room. As part of the new set up, I decided I would try my hardest to come up with a good way to organize her art supplies. Here was my solution:
a shelf system with individual, removable buckets, each one holding a different kind of art supply. The risk involved here as far as I would concerned : she would now have unlimited access to her art supplies. (oh the messy possibilities!)
Within minutes of getting up the morning after the new system was set up, Claire ran to her new play room and didn't come out for some time. I finally went in to check her, and there she was, paints open, brush in hand, working on a picture.
My first reaction was to panic a little bit. All those open paints, and I wasn't there to supervise??? But after my initial heart attack, I realized she was completely happy, completely content, and completely under control.
And in that moment, I realized that the fact that she prefers projects to toys is certainly nothing that I'm going to stress over. She knows what she likes, and does what makes her happy. And I certainly don't worry about her imagination. She creates some pretty awesome, creative projects that make us wonder what's going on in that little brain of hers!
~
So....
when I walk in and catch her with paints, play dough and other messy supplies open, I'm not going to panic at the messes she might be making. When I go to use my Scotch tape and realize she's again depleted my supply, I'm not going to get frustrated.
I'm going to continue to hang her school and other art projects in her "museum" because I'm proud of her work and want her to know that. I'm going to sit down and craft with her every time she'll allow me. (Because let's face it, this mumma would rather craft than play with dolls any day too!)
And next birthday or Christmas, there will for sure be a heavy emphasis on art and craft supplies rather than toys she's not going to play with anyway. I'm so proud of my little artist!
Happy Spring is Coming Day
I have to admit, I really don't get into St Patrick's Day. In fact, Claire wanted to know what the day was all about, and I had to direct her to Eric for explanation. (I did buy us green jello to make and have with our dinner tonight, does that count???)
~
BUT...I found this bit of green in our yard this week,
and that was all I needed to know that Spring really will return!
Happy St Patrick's (Spring is Coming) Day!
BUT...I found this bit of green in our yard this week,
and that was all I needed to know that Spring really will return!
Happy St Patrick's (Spring is Coming) Day!
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