Quilts quilts and more quilts....

Anyone else starting to feel the nip in the air at night with fall soon approaching us? It's starting to hear and what better time to show you the quilts that I made back in 2004. Yes believe it or not all of these were made in one winter. I was down in my back for months afterwards but it was so rewarding to know that people really appreciated them. I made the one above for my mom and that was the first one that I made that year for Christmas.

This one was a Christmas present as well and it was a lap quilt for Suzie over at Happy Shack. I hope that she's still curling up under it and enjoying it.

This one was made that same year around Christmas time cause I didn't even have one to curl up under and thought I would reward myself a bit for all my hard work and was the last one that I made that year.

This one I had to work on only during the day and had to hide everything before my son got home from school cause it was one that I made for him for Christmas. It was quite fitting since he's a big hunter and fisherman.

I think that I started on these in about Sept and finished up just right in time for Christmas. The thing is this wasn't all that I made that year. There were plenty of ornaments and other gifts that I made for family. I'm just not sure how I got them all done in such a short period of time but I did. The look on my mom's face and my sons face were priceless when they opened them and I'm so glad that I took the time to learn to quilt that year. I know that they are just plain ole block quilts but a girl has to start somewhere and considering that I didn't even know how to thread a sewing machine until back in 2000 I don't think that I did to bad.

Backdoor wreath

I woke up this morning wanting so badly to find something quick and easy to do and when I walked out the back door.....BINGO! I found it! I hadn't put anything on my plain ole grapevine wreath that I had hanging out there and thought to myself...well it's about time that you do something with this naked thing. So off to my craft supplies I went. Luckily I had leftover greenery from a previous project so I grabbed all those out and happened upon some little birds as well. (Imagine me having birds hanging around )

See how sweet they look tucked inside the fern. I wanted to get the real birds nest that is tucked up in one of my pine trees but it's just high enough that I can't reach it and I'm afraid to get the ladder out for fear of fallen and breaking my neck. So I'll have to get hubby to help me get it down and fumigate it real good before I do anything with it. But for now this is what the outcome was for the door wreath. I'm sure that I'll have something else to come up that I'll need the little birds nest for. I have an idea in my head but you'll have to wait til I can get the nest first......

Expressing your feelings....

So many times I've talked about how important it is to journal but at the time I was referring to journaling about projects that need to be done and how to organize your upcoming projects or "soon to be" projects. But never did I mention anything about journaling your personal thoughts. Now I know that the blog world has changed all that to some extent by people putting things on here rather than on paper but I guess you could say that I'm from the "old school" and still believe that some things shouldn't be just thrown out there for everyone to read. I've also found through my own journaling ,that I've just recently started back up, that its easier to really open up and just throw everything out on the table so to speak by writing in your own personal journal. This is something that you can put away and noone ever has to read. I've kept one for many years now but would get lazy and never keep up with it but this time I'm determined to at least every couple of days pull it out and get my thoughts on paper. If something is bothering me I've found that writing it all out seems to ease the pain to some extent and then once the books closed I can stand up, walk away and feel as if I've shared my deepest darkest feelings and thoughts with someone knowing that they will never ever repeat them or frown upon me for anything. I know....it's basically a diary. Except now that we are all grown up we call them journals cause that's the proper name for them now I suppose. I still have one of my diaries from when I was a little girl and I've gone back and read through it and gotten the biggest laughs. I tried to get to it so that I could take a picture but it's packed away so far that it just didn't seem worth it. But trust me...I have it still and wouldn't part from it. I have all my journals tucked away for safe keeping and love to pull them out from time to time to see just how life for me was going at the time. I even kept a pregnancy diary that one day I'll give to my son so he could see just how happy I was at the time. He will be able to see the progress of his growth as well as the progress of his mothers growth. It's a good thing! So run out and pick yourself up a journal and try it for yourself. It honestly is one of the best things you can do for yourself. You don't even have to spend a lot of time on it. If nothing else just pick it up and write down how your feeling while sipping on your morning coffee and trying to get woke up. Then months from now flip back and read some of the things you wrote to yourself. You'll be saying "oh I finally crossed that hurdle and it wasn't near as bad as I thought it was going to be at the time I wrote this" or who knows what feelings will arise from rereading your thoughts. Do you already keep a journal? I'd love to hear from you if you do, let me know how it effects your life in a positive way.
Have a wonderful day everyone and I'll see ya soon.

Another placemat purse...

Ok so remember a while back when I was showing you a couple more placemat purses? Well this one got lost in the shuffle somehow. I'm not quite sure how it escaped my camera lens when I was going through all of them but it did. This is probably one of my favorite ones too. Only because it's a little bit of something I made and a little bit of something that my sis Suzie made from over at Happy Shack.

See Suzie painted the handles for me and mailed them then I happened across the placemat at Kmart one day on clearance. If I'm not mistaken it was in fact a Martha Stewart placemat as well. But I didn't give hardly anything for it at all, gotta love those clearance isles. So I came home and got to stitching. I had the fabric that I used for my lining already on hand and since I've made several of these now it didn't take no time at all for me to whip this one out. It only has a simple little pocket on the inside and I didn't even bother with putting a latch on it of any sort. I love to tuck it in my big lake bag for when we pull into a marina and grab us a bite to eat. So thanks Suzie for helping me out on this project.

See ya'll soon

Dishes dishes and more kitchen dishes

Hey well while Suzie was here she pointed out that I hadn't shown you all these dishes, well how that I have them displayed anyway. I've shown you the pretty robins egg blue dishes that I found at nowhere else but the Big T (TJMaxx for those of you that don't know that I love that store). Then the smaller plates in front of those I found on ebay as well as the ones that are behind the blue ones. I have them in a little cuddy hole above my microwave in the kitchen and along with so many other things in there, I just love them. I'm not quite sure what has me liking plates so much but it seems like I'm getting quite a collection of them. I'm working on making a display of them on the wall in the kitchen (when I can ever find some more plate hangers, those things are hard to find) and then I'm also going to do a display in my bedroom as well with some pretty pink roses on them. Want those just look precious? No your not getting my vision? Well as soon as I can get more of those hangers I'll just have to show you now want I?
So long for now, I'm off to make something good for supper so I can put them in those pretty plates of mine.....

Cluck cluck

Cluck cluck cluck.....now you tell me. Are these not precious or what? They were made for me by Suzie over at Happy Shack and were originally in primitive looking attire but now...honey they are all decked out and more fancy. I sent them back to her when I was redoing my kitchen so that they would have an updated look and so I could still use them.

She completely undressed them and I sent some of my leftover fabrics that I had from the new kitchen. I don't think that the pictures show just how large they really are. I should have put a ruler up beside them so that you could just how big that they really are.

Look how sweet Miss Fancy is. Suzie added some lace to her dress and I think that it's just precious. I put them in my hallway that leads out of the kitchen so that they would be showcased well. Everyone will see them when they enter or sit in the kitchen. I just love them and had to share with them with you. Thank you so much Suzie for giving them a makeover for me. They are so precious and will be treasured forever! I love you sis!

Birthday surprise!

I couldn't hardly wait to share with you this post and the next one. This is a chalkboard made out of an old cabinet door and then painted with chalkboard paint that my best friend Suzie (from over at Happy Shack) brought me while her and her husband was visiting with us this past week. Notice all the beautiful detailed wood work that they put into it and then the gorgeous paint job that's on it. This picture truly does not do it justice. It was my birthday present from Suzie and one that will hang in my newly redecorated kitchen for many years to come. Suzie's hubby hung it for me and I couldn't of been more thrilled! What was really weird (well not weird for her and I) is that the paint was almost the exact color that I had picked out for the kitchen walls and she lives all the way out in Oklahoma and hadn't ever seen my kitchen in person. Only in pictures. She got the color almost exact. Now I'll have a nice place to leave my hubby notes and to do lists. It works great too cause last night I had written that I needed the fluorescent light in the kitchen fixed and he saw it and jumped right one it! My oh my, this is more than a birthday present it must be magical as well cause my little hubby never has gotten to a list so quickly before. It's so beautiful and I love it. Thank you again so much Suzie and the Happy Shacks hubby for making me such a beautiful piece to add to my kitchen.

Cute and Cuddly.....

Hi ALL! I was looking around the house yesterday and noticed these sweet little salt and pepper shakers and realized that I hadn't shared them with all of you. The one on the left I'll go into more detail about in a minute cause it's extra special and holds a little secret. The one of the right is one that I found on ebay and is by Arthur Court. Its the rabbits and the cradles that holds the tiny shakers are cabbage heads. Cute huh? BUT what's even cutier are the next set.....

Look how sweet! These were sent to me as a birthday gift from my dear sweet friend Suzie (sis) from Happy Shack. The little bird holds the salt and the nest holds the pepper. Now how sweet is that? It was just absolutely perfect for me and goes so well in my newly redecorated kitchen. Sorry that the last picture looks so bad, for some reason it kept turning out dark.

Ok off for now but I'll be looking around the house for more things to share with you. I really should have been out there pounding the pavement at yard sales this summer getting great stuff but that hasn't happened. I am however craving a nice visit to TJMaxx and some thrift stores.

Family Beach Portraits

Ok I'm going to do something that I never have before...I'm going to highly highly recommend the photographer that did our pictures while we were staying in Destin, FL. I'll give you all that info at the end of the this grouping of pictures but first I just can't say enough about how much we cherish these pictures and secondly, please give her a call if you want some good quality beach pictures.

Hubby insisted on me having this picture taken. I'm thankful that the tide wasn't coming in to terribly fast.

Ok here's the information:

Expressions Professional Beach Portraits

Gwen Hornsby

1-850-269-1954

gwenhornsby@cox.net

You want regret it if you happen to be in the area and want a nice family picture. She does large groups as well.

Ahoy Matey....

Ok I know, I know. It's been forever since I updated my blog but truly it's been a crazy summer. Hopefully I will start getting back into the swing of things and with the lake going down soon, I want have the opportunity to get out on it and play.
What I just had to stop and share with you all though is this little surprise that my husband brought me home the other day. It came off of a really old antique boat and I take it that the boats name was in fact Sea Wing. Now my only dilemma is where to hang it outside. I have several options but think that I'll wait until my sis Suzie comes for a visit next week and we decide together where to hang it at. I just love it and don't think that I'll do anything to it BUT if you all have any suggestions then I'm all ears and open for anything.
I have some more pictures to share with you of our beach trip in the next post but first off I'd like to say that this summer hasn't just been all fun in the sun for me. I lost my precious mother-in-law on the 10th of July and needless to say that's been very difficult. If you'll remember I painted her and my mother the flower pots and the painted flower pictures and framed them for Mothers Day this past year......I'm so thankful that I painted those for them. She will forever be truly missed and loved.