Little Sister's Birthday

We celebrated the 1st anniversary of my little sister's 35th birthday this past weekend...  She decided she is going to stay 35 for a while, so we are going to go with it!!!

The four friends headed to a Paint and Sip party and had a great time!  Our paintings all ended up looking so different, but all beautifully unique.  I loved the time being creative and the best part is that now my children are fighting over where to hang the painting in our home!  Pretty sure it is going to end up in Elizabeth's room though... it is a vase of flowers after all!

(L to R) Jen, Leah, Stacy (the birthday girl!) & Amanda - April 6, 2019

Headed to dinner after the paintings were done and Stacy actually teared up a little as this was the first time in quite a while that she had actually celebrated her birthday with a special event.  I was so grateful to be a part of it and really thank Jen for finding the event and coordinating it!

Speaking of gratitude, this is my group of women.  The ones I do life with on a regular basis.  I love them and thank God for them daily!  I don't know what I would do without them in my life.  They are the very best.  I hope everyone out there has a group of friends like this.  And if you don't, put yourself out there and find some!

My Little Artist

Libby is quite the little artist.  She colors and draws almost daily and can entertain herself for a long time if she has enough paper and crayons.  I have one of her drawings in my office that she worked on for four days straight!  It is quite the work of art! 


Most of her drawings are of girls in dresses or houses and clouds.  There are also a lot of tiered cakes that make it into her drawings.  I remember when I was young, I would draw wedding dresses CONSTANTLY.  I think she is just like me!  Only she is a much better artist than I ever was!

November 15, 2014

Art Time!!!

 

I was brave this past weekend and let both the kids paint at the kitchen table.  It was Eddie's first time painting and he really seemed to like it - especially the painting on his face, the table, the chair, etc...

 

We taped down his paper and his paint palette so we could try and avoid more mess, but he was really good about figuring out how to make the messes on his own!  Even with throwing a white t-shirt over him, he still got paint on his clothing, but since it was washable paint, I didn't worry too much.  After all, what fun is painting if you don't get a little of it on yourself! 

 

Their paintings turned out great and I can't wait to get them matted and put on our walls. 

 

Elizabeth is just like me - notice how she is standing on her chair, not sitting?  I was the exact same way in elementary school - eventually the teachers just put my in the back row and let me stand through class.  I fear in today's society, she will be diagnosed with ADD or ADHD and they will try to put her on medication.  When in all reality, she is a little girl who has been cooped up and forced to stay inside all day and she just needs to move her body!

 

Crafting Simplification

While I would love to be able to spend time doing crafts on a regular basis, I had to come to the realization that at this stage in my life, crafts are one of the least important things I could be spending my time on.  So, after realizing this and thinking about it for a while, I decided it was time to go through my craft cabinet and get rid of most of the fabrics and books I had accumulated over the past 8 years.  I did keep two shelves of fabric on the off chance that I will have an afternoon to play, but for the most part, I kept things that I had specific plans for already. 

I didn't take a before shot because it was just this entire cabinet crammed full of books, fabrics and the sewing machine.  It wasn't very pretty.  Even the floor under the cabinet was stuffed full of fabrics.  So I became ruthless and decided to keep only a certain number of projects that were already in the works (or already planned).  I also kept a few pieces of scrap fabric for quilts that I have made in the past, just in case I need to do a repair in the future.  Fabric I bought 20 years ago may not be available in the future you know...

But now, if I have an afternoon available, I know exactly which projects I would begin to work on!  There is some colorful fabric for making burp cloths for the new baby, squares of scrap material waiting to be pieced into a beautiful quilt for Libby, some fun and bold fabric waiting to be turned into a vintage style apron for me and some great fall colored fabrics just waiting to be cut and pieced into a quilt style table cloth for the kitchen table. 

I feel so much better knowing that there are only four projects waiting to be completed and that someday, they will be!  Simple and organized.  I feel refreshed and ready to craft already!!!  Now if I could only find the time! 

Elizabeth's Doll Crib

Elizabeth has a fancy doll crib.  It was Auntie Stacy's when she was a little girl and she has graciously let little Elizabeth borrow it.  Grandma Connie made it for Stacy and I had one that was very similar to it when I was little, but mine was painted instead of natural wood.

The best part about why mine was painted was because of the origin of the wood.  Now they aren't made of anything fancy, just plywood, but the sheet of plywood mine was made out of was in the barn for quite some time and became covered in cow manure...

Connie scrubbed the wood as clean as she could and then made the crib for my dolls.  She painted it white and then did fancy painting with bright colors on it.  It was beautiful and I loved it.

So now, Elizabeth gets to enjoy Grandma Connie's handiwork every day when she plays with her dolls.
Just like I did when I was little.

 

Re-purposed Table Cloth

When my step mother-in-law was cleaning out her home in the city in preparation to move, I had asked her if she had any linens that she didn't want anymore and wouldn't mind donating to my stockpile.  I received a wonderful stash of tablecloths, place mats and cloth napkins.  There was one huge green tablecloth that I didn't know if I would ever use, but the fabric was so beautiful that I thought I would take it, just on the off chance that someday I would have a huge dining room table.

Fast forward a year and that tablecloth was still sitting in my basement, not used once.  I don't like having things that I don't use or find beautiful, so I had it in my mind that maybe I could re-purpose the tablecloth into something else.  A quilt backing, a curtain, a skirt, the options were endless as this was a huge piece of fabric.

While trying to eat dinner at our kitchen table one evening, the sun was shining in the window so brightly that we couldn't even sit there.  That's when it hit me.  My kitchen counter tops are dark green, so why not have a dark green curtain?

So two nights later I pulled out the old sewing machine and got busy sewing a curtain for that kitchen window.  (We used to have mini-blinds in this window, but I broke them and never replaced them because I hate mini blinds.)

It took me two nights of sewing and ironing and pinning, but I am in love with the end result.

Plus I can eat dinner at my table again with my family which is always one of my favorite parts of my day (as long as Elizabeth is cooperating)!

She is just so cute!  I couldn't resist adding a picture of my little Elizabeth!

Check that off the list!

Sewing/Mending List

Hem 2 pairs black pants
Mend Quilt from Dad
Mend Lovers Knot Quilt
Make tank tops
Make short and long skirts

I finally started (and finished!) mending the two quilts that have been in dire need of repairs for the past few years.  It only took me about 4 hours to complete while at the cabin this past weekend.  It is amazing how much you can get done when you don't have any electricity to run the television.  Oh, and when you have someone to help with entertaining Elizabeth! 

I sat myself in front of the window and let the natural sunlight come in and spread over the quilt as I started working on them.  When it started to get dark, I moved and sat under one of the gas lights in the cabin to finish the last two sections. 

It feels so good to have another project behind me!  Even though as I was working on the Lover's Knot quilt, I was thinking about taking it apart and possibly machine quilting it (as it is the quilt I made for William's high school graduation present many years ago).  I will have to ask Suzie if she thinks it would be worth it.  Oh, and if I could use her long-arm quilter to do it!