Long, Long Ago

When we bought this house, I knew the bathroom needed a little overhaul. Poor design mixed with white floor tile (not a good combination with long, dark hair) made for little enjoyment. Everyone should enjoy their master bath.

His and her vanities,large (too large for the space) soaking tub, small shower (decided to spare you the disgusting view of the inside)...this room was also the water closet. Who does that? Who puts the shower and toilet in a room together, yet separate from the other portion of the bathroom???? Also, please note that I did not paint the shower room. Tacky? Maybe, but I was holding out hope that our bathroom would not stay this way long enough to warrant painting a room only seen by my husband and I. I made the best of it for almost 7 years. Maybe I will have a post tomorrow with the new and improved. No promises...after all, it is summer and there is warm weather to enjoy.

There Goes the Neighborhood...

This is what our yard looked like for a couple of days!


Think the neighbors were happy?
Stay tuned for before and after pics of our latest project.

Did someone say pattern?

One of my favorite things to do as a seamstress is to make something without a pattern. I use to be afraid, but with a little encouragement from friends, I am somewhat fearless. Generally, we will find a picture in a catalog of a dress or pair of paints costing way too much. Not being willing to pay that price, my friends encourage me to figure it out. Well, this past weekend we did just that.

See these pants? Chasing Fireflies Photo

They can be yours for the low, low price of $98.
Or, you can figure it out like we did and make them yourself.

How fun are these?

See this dress?
Chasing Fireflies Photo

Yours, too, for the same price.

Here is my version.
Not an identical match...I know. But it will work for me. Now, if I can just talk my friends into splitting the price of the pattern software, we'll be in business.

My hubby...my hero...

This past weekend, my girlfriends and I had the opportunity to get away for a long weekend and it was fabulous. While I was away, my wonderful husband was left with all of my duties (minus laundry). He did a great job and I am so blessed to have him in my life. He went on a field trip with our middle child, on which he had a group of children from her class plus our youngest child (who apparently was not on her best behavior). He took them to Chuck E. Cheese...something even I would not tackle by choice. In addition to that, we are doing some work around the house, so he had to pick up supplies. One of the workers that was at the house, decided it was "bring your child to work and let the homeowner watch him" day...all weekend. Poor guy. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but he survived and so did the girls.

As for me, I had a delightful time. We sewed...A LOT!!!! And then we sewed some more. It was so much fun.

In addition to sewing, we had a little time for this... and this.... and I finished the weekend with this...

For a more detailed and well written post about what we accomplished, I'll turn it over to Amy. I forgot my camera, so I had to use the camera phone. I'm sure her pics are much better.

A great time was had by all and we have already started planning our next trip...once our hubbies recover from this one. Regardless of how much fun we had, it is always so good to be home.

Shower for some Sweet Peas

I recently had the pleasure of hosting a shower with some friends for my sister-in-law. I have been waiting for this opportunity for quite some time. These little twin boys are quite a blessing and it was such a joy to be able to provide their mamma with some much needed adult social time. The theme of the shower was a garden theme along with two peas in a pod.

This is what I like to call a growing tree. It is covered in Bible verses regarding growing, loving, nurturing...all things a garden (and family) need to thrive.Some of my shower ideas came from TomKat Studios. Have you ever visited that blog? Let me just say...Oh My!!!! I am in love with her party ideas.

This little number was an idea I got from Bakerella. Cute, cute stuff. She used cake pops...I didn't have time for that. I had a friend dip marshmallows in chocolate and then I topped them with the flowers.

So, enjoy your visit at these other blogs and I hope you enjoy the pics from the shower.

Oh, and I have included two recipes from the shower that I hope you enjoy.

Pesto Cheeses
1 block of sharp cheddar cheese
1 block cream cheese
Pesto Dip (I used Basil Pesto Dip)

Put cream cheese in the freezer. While that is chillin' cut block of cheddar cheese in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/4 inch slices. Pull our cream cheese and cut in the same fashion. Layer cheeses (like dominos) but closely together and spread pesto dip on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve with crackers. Easy and yummy!

Grape Salad
2 1/2 lbs. of grapes
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup sugar

Blend sugar, cream cheese, and sour cream until smooth. Fold in grapes. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, add 3/4 cup brown sugar, stir and then drizzle with caramel. You could also add nuts if you'd like. I prefer it without them. Enjoy! Easy Peasy.

Auction, Auction!!!

What happens when your closest friends find out you can sew? You get drafted into making items to be auctioned. That is quite a daunting task. Think about it. Your handy work on display for people to bid on. It's not like you can set a price and people can decide whether or not they want to buy it. They actually put down what they want to pay for it. Of course they are not going to put down top dollar...I know that. The bidding starts out fairly low and I inevitably find myself walking by the table to see what the bid is at...again and again. I also know that it's not about how much it goes for, but the fact that it's a donation for a good cause. However, my human nature gets the best of me. Anyway, here are the items I recently made for the auctions. Which might explain why I haven't been blogging very much! :)

First Auction Outfits

Ruffler Dress

*Octopus Pajamas

*Disclaimer: Octopus was cut out by Amy!

Auction #2




















Ruffler Dress again

and

Dragonfly Pajamas


How cute and sassy are these little girls. While I would proudly claim them on any given day, these precious models belong to Amy...as do the outfits. So glad I get to see them on these girls. Even happier that if the outfit falls apart, the owner will gladly send them my way to repair. :)

The Job He has for Me...Now!

This post is in no way meant to toot my own horn about my sewing...so please do not take it that way. It's definitely not a horn worth tooting. However, every time I go somewhere with my girls and they are wearing an outfit I made,

there is "ooing" and "aahhhing"(it helps to have stinkin' cute models :))
and inevitably the statement, "You could sell that you know". And yes, I know that I could sell it. I know that people would buy it. And besides the fact that I have very little confidence when it comes to the quality of my finished product, I just know that is not what He has in store for me at this point in my life. I would love to sew children's clothing. It really is a passion of mine. I love the look of the finished product and the joy that comes from knowing I made it. Amy even designed a logo for me so that I could have my own label. Isn't it awesome!
(We laugh and say that she is the "Co")
Here is the bottom line...I could do it and it would consume a lot of my time. My time is not the issue...my family time is. Not only would I be taking away my free time (said with lots of laughter), but I would be taking time away from this...

This is what He has in store for me. This is God's will for my life right now and I am loving every minute of it...well, almost every minute...we all have those moments we wish calgon would take us away from. Maybe one day I will pursue my other passion, but this is my moment in time to make an impact in the life of my family for His glory.