Rachel's Writings

Paper Roses!

2012-02-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

Last night I selected a free 'on demand' movie and set out to make some enduring Valentine's roses. They're fairly simple to make, but I won't lie, they're a bit time consuming. I started with red construction paper that I cut into a circle. I then cut the paper in a swirl fashion so I'd end up with a long, curly, strip of paper. After that, I wound the paper around a pen to form the rose shape.

Once the rose was formed, I removed it from the pen and then slightly released it so it would open up. Then I flipped it over and hot glued it on the bottom so it would retain its shape. The roses were cute enough, but they needed a little something more (I say that a lot). Glitter! Yep, I hate to work with it, but I LOVE the way it looks. So I spread a little Mod Podge over the tips of each 'petal' and dipped the head in red glitter.

This morning, once they were dry, I sprayed some clear sealer on the roses so the glitter wouldn't flake off all over the place. And there you have it. I only made 10 and I wish I'd made a couple dozen more, but they were so time consuming that's all I could turn out. Maybe another day!

Tiny Heart Banner!

2012-02-02T14:29:00.000-08:00

I saw a super cute heart banner on Pinterest. It was made using a heart-shaped craft punch to cut hearts from paint samples, and then strung together with thread. I pinned it, but didn't figure I'd make it since I didn't have a heart punch. Then, upon opening my craft cabinet it was sitting right there......the Martha Stewart Heart Punch my sister had included in my Christmas gift. It was a glorious moment indeed as I realized a plethora of Valentine's crafts had just been opened up to me.

I began by gathering my supplies; craft punch, mod-podge and a variety of V-Day appropriate scrapbook paper.

Since my scrapbook paper wasn't double sided, I cut two hearts out of each paper pattern and mod-podged them together so the banner wouldn't 'have' to be hung against a wall - if it were hung in the middle of the room, the hearts would have a print on both sides :)

Not being very ingenious, I hung it against a wall :)

Here's a close-up of a few of the hearts. I actually mod-podged the fronts and backs once they were stuck together, just to make them a little sturdier. I love that the craft punch had a pattern in it instead of being a solid heart. It made it easy to thread a sheer ribbon in between the holes of the hearts. The ribbon was just tight enough that I could slide the hearts exactly where I wanted them and they stayed put. I think my ribbon was 3/8" but don't quote me on it - I'm bad with measurements :)

The best part about this project was it was not only quick, but it was made with supplies I had on hand.

Happy "Heart" Day!

A Perfect Pair!

2012-01-27T21:25:00.000-08:00

From the day I bought my blue tooth I have been clipping it onto a pocket in my purse, using the ear piece. But I cannot count how many times it's 'jumped' off the pocket and settled at the bottom of my purse, inside the pocket, or underneath one of the myriad contents of my ever growing handbag. I knew I needed a solution, but I wasn't sure what that solution was going to be......until today.

It's certainly not the world's smallest drawstring bag, but it is pretty small, and in my opinion, pretty cute. It will be the perfect companion to hold my blue tooth in place, exactly where I want it. Just in case you're curious, since the blue tooth is made of plastic, it's prone to slipping and sliding. A fabric bag will be much less apt to move around my purse and should, more than likely, stay where I put it. Notice I said 'should.' :)

I made a similar bag, with a double draw-string for Cayla's headphones - but I didn't take a picture of it :(

I don't know why I never thought of this before, even though I've been a touch paranoid that I was going to lose my blue tooth. It's not that I couldn't buy another one if I did, but who would want to do that?! Besides, I got this one at 75% off and the chances of finding such a bargain again are probably slim! So there you have it. A tiny blue tooth and a tiny bag. What a perfectly CUTE pair!

A Banner & A Bag!

2012-01-27T00:47:00.000-08:00

In early January I put away 8 Rubbermaids filled with Christmas decor. So you can imagine my sadness when I hauled up my one, lone Valentine's decor box. In an effort to expand my decorations for V-Day, I created this simple heart banner. Made of 12 felt hearts, top-stitched and adorned with hand-sewn buttons, it gave a bit of flair to the window across from my dining room. Now I only need to make about 700 more items so my Valentine decorations boxes can rival my Christmas boxes!

Heart banner; felt with buttons!

Last week at the LifeWay store I found this darling fabric placemat in the clearance section for a mere $.39 cents. I couldn't resist. I brought it home and Cayla instantly loved the bright colors; so tonight I created a simple church bag that she can't wait to carry with her next week!

Weekend Wrap-Up Party Here:

Owl Craze!

2012-01-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

Inspired by a cute little stuffed animal my friend makes, I set out to design my own fluffy stuffie. After looking online for a while, owls seemed like the most logical choice since they're easily identifiable just by the shape of their eyes and nose.

I created my own 'pattern' on paper and it took a bit to get the 'body' correct. If it's too round, it looks more like a cat, so it needed just a bit of bulk. After getting it where I wanted it, I sewed up the green owl in about 20 minutes. The green one has jersey knit eye-whites which are reinforced with fusible pellon. The other two are totally made of fleece so they went a little faster. Cayla's is the pink one (named Hootie) and she chose white buttons for her eyes. The purple one is just another demo I made to play with eye direction and shape as well as other features, like the hair bow and size of the nose.

At roughly 5" wide by 6" tall, they go pretty fast and require minimal materials, so I'm looking forward to shopping for some adorable buttons and maybe some crazy-patterned fleece (like plaid) to give them a ton of character. OWL be sure to show you pictures as I create more of these little guys!

Not Your Normal Pancakes

2012-01-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

It's no secret.....I love pancakes. Well, really I love breakfast, and that includes anything of the pancake variety like waffles and french toast. So it's no surprise that breakfast for dinner is almost a regular occurrence in our home. And tonight it was the dinner of choice. While Cory worked on sausage patties, I whipped up some whole wheat pancakes. And to give them a little extra kick? I added shredded coconut......but only to mine. The rest of the family is not a fan of coconut, so those are all mine!

I'm pretty sure these pancakes count as healthy since they're made with whole wheat flour and the new wonder food....COCONUT! The syrup probably negates the whole thing, but I didn't care. They were heavenly! And they were a cinch to make. I cheated (What? Shock! Gasp! but we ARE talking about MY cooking here). I started with a package of Hungry Jack Whole Wheat Pancake mix which only requires 1 cup of water, and then I added coconut to my hearts content.

PURE BLISS!!!!

Heart Attack!

2012-01-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

Although I'm trying to enjoy winter by keeping snowmen, snowflakes and January related decorations up in my home, my mind (with the help of Pinterest) keeps wandering to all things Valentines. And due to my recent thumb surgery, sewing was not an option last week. But this weekend, I figured I had nothing to lose, so I broke out the felt, pink fabrics and pinking shears to begin sewing up dozens of hearts.

I have to admit, the pinking shears hit my thumb in such a way that it was painful to cut, so I asked Cory to cut out the hearts and he kindly obliged. Below is a sampling of the "heart attack" that took place in my sewing room......

Made of felt and cut with pinking shears, these sweet little hearts are two layers thick and top stitched in contrasting white. The girls wanted some for themselves, and some to give to their friends. These literally took MINUTES to whip up, and I learned that sewing small hearts is much easier in felt than other fabrics. Because felt is stiff, it's easier to turn the heart as you sew.

These are two layers of cotton fabric, cut with pinking shears, and top stitched all the way around and then stuffed with a little batting to make them fluffy.

Simple and cute, they will really add to my Valentine's decorations.

On Tuesday my sister came over bearing these adorable little 'lacy' hearts in pink, red, white and purple felt. I provided the ribbon and we strung up a simple banner to adorn our fireplaces.

A close- up of one of the pink hearts. Simple to string into a banner, we had these done in just a few minutes.

Both of these projects were inexpensive, simple and quick. An easy task for kids to help with, or to make for friends and family.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Blog Button!

2011-12-28T00:06:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this post and you shift your eyes to the left....you will see my new blog button. After noticing numerous buttons on other blogs, I thought I could make one for my blog, proudly advertising my denomination. It was a piece.of.cake to create too. Here's what I did:

1) Go to picnik.com
2) Click on 'upload a photo'
3) Use an existing photo, or surf the web for a background (like my snowflakes) you like and save it to your computer.
4) Follow picnik's instructions to create your picture (button). Start by re-sizing the photo (picnik automatically sizes one of the sides, so if you pick '250' as your height, it will automatically adjust the width to be proportionate). 250 or roughly there is a good button size.
5) Add your text in the box on the top left of picnik. On the top right, you can change the font, and size and direction of your wording by playing around with it - it's all right there on the screen for you.
6) Click on 'save photo' and save your picture to your computer.
7) Open your blog and add a gadget (choose 'add photo' as your gadget).
8) Click on 'image' and select the photo you just created in picnik.

There you go! It's a lot simpler than my instructions make it seem! You now have a button! What a great way to advertise something about yourself, something you love, or an Etsy shop (if you have one :)

Bows and Bands and Bags oh my!

2011-12-21T00:22:00.000-08:00

After searching high and low for ~~perfect~~ inexpensive, yet cute, headbands to coordinate with the girls' Christmas outfits, I finally gave up and decided to make my own.

I did purchase the basic headband. In fact, it came in a pack of 6 with only 1 white one in the pack, so I had to purchase TWO packs. But I only paid $5.00 for all twelve bands. One store wanted to charge me $9 for a so-so headband that was a bit shopworn. Pfffft!

I followed the tutorial shown here and it was pretty easy. In fact, making the bow was the simple part. Attaching it to the headband? Not so much. I pondered a variety of ideas, such as velcro, but none of them seemed to be exactly what I wanted. I even considered hot gluing the bow to the band, but I'm ~~cheap~~ frugal and I thought I might want to use the headbands again. So after much thought, I wound some embroidery floss through the bow and simply tied it to the headband. Since the bow itself is all stitched together, I can just snip through the embroidery floss to remove the bow, thereby preserving both the bow and the headband. Genius!

After this I think I'll invest in some clips that I can permanently attach the bows to, and then I can trade them out to match various outfits. Oh who am I kidding? My kids hate hair accessories. In fact, I'm not even sure how I talked them into wearing them on Christmas. But I did. And that's the point!

Finally, I made the girls matching tote bags to carry on Sunday. I plan to pack them with fun, girlie things like lip gloss, tissues, notepads, knick knacks and of course money, because what fun is a bag without money?! So now, their outfits are complete and matching from head to toe.

Merry 'Matching' Christmas!

Christmas Clothes!

2011-12-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I made the girls Christmas outfits. After buying matching red tops, they each picked out the fabric for the skirt, and the Christmas tree applique on the shirt. These were SO easy to make. It took me about 3 hours from start to finish. They can't wait to wear them to their grandparents on Friday night, then again to church on Christmas morning.

Each tree is the same, and contains fabric from Autumn's skirt, but I needed all the fabric to make Cayla's skirt, so her skirt fabric didn't make it onto the tree :( I thought they coordinated really well though.

Here's a close-up of the tree. Using the various fabrics, I applied Heat 'n Bond before cutting out the tree pattern. Once cut, I ironed it on and top-stitched around the edges. I finished it with a white bow tree-topper. Sweet and simple.....just the way we like it!

Merry Christmas!

Getting Organized!

2011-12-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

Last fall my father in law offered me a large sized shutter after I expressed interest in one for a project. I knew I wanted to paint it and use it to hold Christmas cards. Behold:

I began by painting it red, but the red spray paint I bought was cheap. It's worth the extra couple of dollars to buy Krylon or Rustoleum. And while I definitely didn't set out to paint it gold, I happened to have some Krylon metallic gold on hand because I used it to paint the crowns for the Wise men to wear during the children's music at church :) One quick, coat and my card holder was reborn.

I'm honestly thinking of painting the backside Krylon red and using it during the year as decor in my living room, then flipping it to the gold side during the holidays. Can't lose :)

I almost put a solid piece of wood behind the slats so the cards don't fall through, but OBVIOUSLY that won't work if I plan to use both sides alternately during the year. I grabbed a couple of decorated clothespins to hold up Christmas card photos, and just slipped standard cards onto the slats. Voila! Organized and attractive (at least I think so).

My next organizing project was this purse organizer that I've been thinking about for some time now. I have a darling Vera Bradley make up bag that I keep in my purse to hold various objects. But they always manage to turn over, slip to the bottom and get lost in the great abyss.

Ta da!!! I made pockets for each item, slipped the belongings in, rolled it up and tucked it into my make up bag. It's SO nice. Now when I reach for my nail file, it's up right, where I can find it, not laying down at the bottom, stabbing me as I try to grab it. I love little things that bring me incredible joy :)

The Christmas Story!

2011-12-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

I read it every year, usually several times. It's beautiful, and I never tire of it. Here it is for you to enjoy as well:

¹ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,who was with child.

⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Luke 2:1-20 NKJV

Baby It's Cold Outside!

2011-12-10T12:40:00.000-08:00

Last week I stitched up a couple of these little gems: Homemade Heating Pads. Microwave for up to 2 minutes to soothe away aches and pains, and keep toes toasty. Or, throw them in the freezer and you have an instant cold compress for bumps and bruises. Each flannel bag contains extra clean deer corn combined with cinnamon to make them smell wonderful. The bags are then slipped into a matching 'pillow case' to keep them clean. Oils from the skin and less than meticulous microwaves can get the bags really dingy, and since they can't be washed, the pillow case makes a great barrier, which can be machine washed and dried prior to the next use.

My girls love them, and Autumn uses hers nearly every night. I love to put mine under my feet while I watch TV! Unlike rice, corn heats more evenly and retains heat longer. At least, in my opinion it does :)

A couple of tips if you make one of your own; 1) Use extra-clean deer corn, which can be purchased at Wal-Mart of all places. Anything less will be really dusty and dirty to work with. 2) I like the scent of cinnamon, but any essential oil can be added to make the bags smell terrific. 3) Do not heat for more than 2 minutes at a time. Longer heating times can result in burns to the skin, and scorching of the corn inside. Then it won't matter what you've scented it with, it will smell burnt. 4) Use 100% cotton fabric. Polyester blends can catch fire. Obviously I don't need to elaborate on this tip :)

This one is mine. It's made from ultra soft flannel and it's wonderful on those nights where the mercury drops to arctic temperatures :)

This one was intended for Cayla, but Autumn saw it and, well, the rest is history. Cayla didn't stand a chance :)

I joined the link party at:

Glittered Christmas Lights!

2011-12-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

Once again, Pinterest strikes. This time with inspiration for Christmas.

Old style Christmas lights.......purchased at a church Christmas bazaar for $.50.

I have to confess....I hate glitter. Well, I hate working with glitter, and I really hate when my kids want to use glitter. But I love the results, so I stifled my glitter hatred and proceeded. I wanted white or silver, super fine glitter, but I was too cheap to pay for it, so I kept searching. I found this 5-pack of colors on sale for $2.50 at a Craft Warehouse where my parents live.

Using a plastic cutting board as a work station, I covered the lights with Mod Podge and poured my glitter into a pinch pot so I could easily sprinkle it onto my lights. Each light took about 30 seconds to create and I clipped them between clothes pins so they could dry.

I selected the most Christmassy (Yes it's a word. It means anything pertaining to Christmas) looking colors to work with, but I think the blue is my favorite. I know, I was surprised too because usually I gravitate towards all things pink!

Using some acrylic clear coat I sprayed the lights so the glitter wouldn't flake off and get on everything. I think they turned out cute, and super festive.

So, what are you waiting for? Go make some glitter lights!

I'm linked up:

Truffles Revisited!

2011-11-23T18:53:00.000-08:00

Remember this?

Last Christmas, you may remember I made the most wonderful Oreo truffles (if I do say so myself). My kids loved them and it was so simple I figured it was time to revisit the recipe and make them for one of our kid-friendly Thanksgiving desserts. You can find the original post here and I've included the recipe below if you want to try them. One more thing, the recipe calls for almond bark to dip the truffles in and I opted once again, to use CandiQuik. As I said originally, it's more expensive but it's SO worth the price. CandiQuik heats nice and evenly and can be reheated over and over, whereas I've found almond bark is not that easy to work with. Almond bark can only be heated once and after that it hardens while heating, and then scorches. Just my opinion!

Oreo truffles, dipped in CandiQuik, with harvest sprinkles!

Oreo truffles, dipped in CandiQuik and drizzled in orange frosting with autumn nonpareils. (I wasn't as fond of the orange frosted truffles, but Autumn loved them and since she helped me decorate, I let her go for it. )

Easy Oreo Truffles

1 - 16.6 oz. (standard size) package Oreos
1 - 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 - 16 oz. package CandiQuik vanilla (or chocolate if you prefer) coating
Nonpareils, icing, crushed Oreos or other 'toppings/decorations' of your choice

Directions: Crush Oreos (I used my blender and it was awesome, but you can use whatever method suits you. I hear a plastic bag with a rolling pin works.)
In mixing bowl, combine crushed Oreos with cream cheese. Mix together thoroughly. Shape into balls and place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Put truffles into refrigerator (or freezer) to chill. I left mine for over an hour.
In a separate bowl, heat half the blocks of CandiQuik (if you heat it all at once it will ALL get Oreo chunks in it and turn 'dirty'.) and, using a fork dip the truffles into the CandiQuik, coating thoroughly. Set aside in mini cupcake liners or on wax paper. Immediately sprinkle on nonpareils or other decorations and set aside to harden.

That's it! Super easy, super fun, super quick and super delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pinterest Accomplishment!

2011-11-14T18:36:00.000-08:00

This evening I finally made a couple of the items I had pinned on Pinterest. The first one was a treat for Chuck. These peanut butter dog bones were a snap to make. I found a dog bone shaped cookie cutter at JoAnn Fabrics and knew I had to try making some treats. They're made with human grade ingredients so I decided to taste one. They're awful......because they have no sugar. Chuck however, LOVED them. The recipe is below (with my notes in red) if you want to make some for your furry friend.

Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Ingredients:

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 cup natural peanut butter (really? my dog thought the Great Value brand was just fine)

1 cup non-fat milk (I only had 2% and it was perfect - just ask Chuck)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut out shapes. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Next, I made dinner for the family. With human grade ingredients - just in case you were wondering :) This baked spaghetti was E-A-S-Y and you know if I'm saying it's easy it really IS easy. The family loved it and fortunately, I decided in advance not to use a 9x13 dish, but instead, to divide it between two 8x8 dishes. I put one of the dishes in the freezer and we'll save that one for another night. Cook once, eat twice - YES! Bonus!!!

I've made baked spaghetti many times before and we always thought it was decent, but this recipe contains the magic ingredient.........cream cheese. It really improved the flavor, making it creamier, and it helps the spaghetti to stick together so after it's baked it cuts apart in nice, tidy little squares. You know I like tidy!!! I used the following recipe - my revisions are in red :) ENJOY!!!

Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti Casserole

Adapted from Food.com and salad-in-a-jar.com

12 oz spaghetti (I used 16 oz.)
1 (28 ounce) jars prepared spaghetti sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 clove garlic, minced (I left this out)
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (It was pre-grated, in the little green can :)

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

In a skillet, brown the ground beef until cooked through; drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce. Set aside.

Cook spaghetti according to directions on packet. Drain and place cooked spaghetti in bowl. Add cream cheese, Italian Seasoning and minced garlic. Stir until cream cheese is melted and the spaghetti is thoroughly coated.

Lightly grease a 9x13" pan. Spread a small amount of meat sauce in the bottom of the dish. Put spaghetti on top of sauce and top with remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

----------

So that's it! Dinner for us, treats for Chuck and the feeling of accomplishment for having actually used one of my Pinterest pins!!!

Be Thankful!

2011-11-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

It's the season for giving thanks, and what better way than with a list. Because you all know how much I LOVE a list?! So, here are 10 things I'm thankful for. They're a tad out of the norm, but I figured family and friends go without saying.......I hope you'll play along and add your list in the comments section......

1) Pinterest - Pinterest is a list-lovers dream only better, because it's pictures.

2) Sweet Potato Casserole - It's the only sweet potato dish I really like and it's my sister's recipe so you know it's incredible. If you've ever had Thanksgiving with us, you've had it. And if you didn't try it, you only cheated yourself because it's amazing!!!

3) Spray Paint - I've gone a little crazy lately painting everything in sight, or planning to anyhow. For just a few bucks, spray paint turns trash into treasure. LOVE!

4) Lists - Whether they're on my phone, my Mac, or just a slip of paper, I'd be a disorganized mess without my lists. Lists are essential. And obviously the people at 3M think so too.....have you checked the price of "Post-It's" lately?

5) Mason Jars - They're not just for canning anymore Toto! I store everything from spools of thread to decorated clothes pins in mine.

6) Organization - Admittedly, I'm not always on top of it, but I'm still thankful for it. When I see rooms, cabinets, items, stores, anything completely organized, it gives me this wonderful, warm feeling.

7) Discounts - Because retail is sooooo overrated!

8) Blizzards - No, not the kind that shuts down streets and knocks out power. The ice cream kind. And as a member of the Blizzard Fan Club, I get 6 "buy one get one" coupons a year. It's a family fave :)

9) Humor - I'm grateful to God for giving us a sense of humor. Afterall, who doesn't love to laugh so hard they have tears in their eyes?!

10) Tooth brushes - Yep! I said it. I'm thankful for tooth brushes. Admit it, you are too. As a child, I loved getting a new one from the dentist, and today, as an obsessive teeth brusher, I still love cracking open the package on a colorful, perfect-bristled brush.

Just so you know, this isn't just some list I randomly threw together. I genuinely, at one time or another, have pondered the things above and thought, "Man, I'm thankful for this." And I've thought it more than once about Post-It notes :)

Happy Thanksgiving! Be Thankful!!!

A Sleepy Hollow Affair!

2011-10-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we celebrated our annual Halloween dinner with friends. Our theme was Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow", which as you may remember from Literature class, is set in Colonial times, and is the story of the Headless Horseman, who traumatizes Ichabod Crane in a cemetery!

My in-laws asked if I wanted this scarecrow and I jumped at the chance. I already had a plan for it........

This!!! I wanted it for a sign-stand. I stripped off the arms and hair and painted it white so I could use it year round for holiday signs and decoration. This was appropriately placed on the back porch and pointed to the home made cemetery shown below!

This headstone was made of cardboard. The epitaph was printed out and hand cut before being taped to the front.

This stone was the remains of a foam surf-board used a few years back for our Outrigger Island VBS. Cayla insisted one of the stones read, "RIP".

The theme wouldn't be complete without paying tribute to Ichabod Crane, the smarmy school master.

Toilet paper rolls, covered in scrapbook paper, decoupaged.....

....filled with chocolates.....

....and wrapped like large pieces of candy, made great party favors for the kids.

What a trooper. Not only did he keep the bandana on, he willingly posed for the picture.

I love these blocks. My in-laws gave them to the girls, but I think I've had more fun with them.

Candy and decorations.....

....More decor, plus cupcakes the girls decorated by themselves.

Pictures printed from the internet provided theme-appropriate decoration.

Love this photo of a church. Choosing to print them in black and white made them more eerie.

Black and white cemetery photograph, greeted guests who entered through the side door.

Potion bottles purchased for $.49 each at a thrift store. I found labels on the internet and printed them off.

Candelabra and pumpkin centerpiece.

A tree branch from our cherry blossom tree out back. When Cory pruned this fall, he saved it for me. We suspended it from the ceiling, over the table, wrapped it in lights and draped faux spider webs across it for a macabre effect.

Brighter photo of the branch. The pictures don't do it justice; it was really pretty cool!

Window sill decorated to welcome back door guests.

Wilton bottle labels, purchased at JoAnn dressed up our Martinelli's and sparkling lemonade perfectly.

My guests brought the cutest hostess gifts. They know me too well. My love of candy corn......

.....and pumpkins.

Halloween Party Prep Work!

2011-10-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

In preparation for my yearly Halloween party, I settled on a cute idea to dress up some candy that was a bit lackluster. I also made some place cards for my guests. Read on.....

Hershey's Kisses with meltaway centers are delicious. They also come nicely wrapped in Halloween appropriate orange (with silver) foil. (For some reason I can't find the kisses wrapped in solid orange and black foil. Are they still making them?) To dress them up I asked Autumn to put a Halloween sticker on the bottom of each one. The stickers were $1 at the Target dollar spot and I bought them a while ago, unsure at the time what I would do with them. Now I know :)

The green 'EEK' bowl is courtesy of my sister. It was the perfect dish to hold all my decked out kisses. So simple, yet really festive!

Next I made place cards for the guests (but only photographed two of them). Using paint swatches from the paint counter, I cut the tops and bottoms with embellished scissors and wrote the name of each guest on the front. Then, I punched out the perforated hole at the bottom and pushed a Hershey's Kiss through. The kiss is just the right height to act as a stand and hold up the card. I thought they were pretty cute.....until I saw the photo on my computer screen. Ugh! They were boring and needed something else.

Tada!!!! The women's cards perked up with the addition of a black gross grain bow, and the men's cards received little designs using an orange, glitter glue pen. Whew! Two projects down......

Halloween Scarf!

2011-10-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

On Friday night I wanted to de-stress so I opted to make a scarf. I bought a couple yards of this orange and black fabric over a month ago and have been putting off making this, but tonight was the night. No tutorial, just a few pics.

I love this Halloween themed jersey knit. And although it's super thin and lightweight, once I stitched the two panels together it made it sufficiently weighty. I think it's going to be quite warm :)

Most people put on make-up and do their hair for pictures. But this is what you get when you sew at 11:00 at night!

Typically skulls aren't my thing, but they definitely work for Halloween!!!

Simple & Sweet!

2011-10-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we celebrated this amazing autumn weather by barbecuing hot dogs and making smores in the fire pit on our back porch. The temperature was just right for wearing a favorite sweatshirt, or donning blankets as the girls did here. Since I'm always touting the simple things in life, I couldn't let this evening go by unreported:

Three of my favorite people!

Smores! I like them best withOUT the marshmallows or graham crackers :)

Cayla enjoying hot chocolate in the cool air!

Autumn, wrapped in her blanket and sipping cocoa, cozied up next to me on the swing.

This picture makes me laugh. Look at those ears. He was soooooo fascinated by the pieces of ash that floated in front of his face. He kept trying to bite at them. It was hilarious!

Autumn and me on the swing, staying warm together!

He got some hotdog, graham crackers and marshmallows as his post-dinner treat :)

Cayla prefers to be the photographer instead of the subject!

Happy autumn everybody!!!!

Ruffles!

2011-10-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here's my first ruffled tote. Read on to see some of the steps involved in making it.

After seeing numerous ruffles and ruffled items from curtains, to skirts to bags on the internet, I was determined to create a ruffle project of my own. With my insane bag obsession, I figured that would be the best place to start. Here's a quasi-tutorial, but be forewarned, when it comes to crafting/sewing I don't use patterns or measurements, I just jump in with both feet, go for broke and learn from my mistakes. So......

I started by selecting some fabrics to use for ruffles. I wanted a fall/autumn bag that I could carry from September through Thanksgiving, so I chose hues in brown, tan and orange. How much fabric did I use to make the strips? I have no clue. I just started cutting strips :)

I created a small hem down one side of my fabric and then began a basting stitch roughly down the center of the piece.

A basting stitch is a loose and wide stitch with thread leads on both ends and no back stitching. See the thread under my thumb? That's the bottom thread that I pulled on with my left hand while pushing the fabric to the right with my right hand.

Once the fabric is gathered, it looks like this. When I was pleased with how ruffly my fabric was, I tied off both ends so it wouldn't unravel. Because I didn't use a super long piece of fabric I ended up with a shorter ruffle, widely spaced. For a tight ruffle I would have needed a piece of fabric probably twice as long. But this was trial and error so I worked with what I had.

Here are all three fabric pieces ruffled and ready to attach to my bag.

I had some oatmeal colored duck cloth (basically it's a light weight canvas) that looks white in this picture, but it's not, it's cream, that I knew would make a cute bag. I cut my duck fabric just a little wider than my ruffles and started stitching them together, beginning by pinning my ruffle onto the canvas.

The orange fabric was my first ruffle and I'm wondering if I should have started with the bottom ruffle first, but since I didn't, I had to get the top ruffle out of the way so I could attach the second ruffle, so I just pinned the top one out of the way. I then pinned my second ruffle on and stitched it into place. I continued until all three ruffles were attached.

Here's the back of the canvas bag with the top edge ironed and pinned, awaiting the handles before sewing.

Handles are fun because they're sooo easy. I cut two, even lengths of canvas, folded the edges together, ironed them down, pinned them and sewed all the way around to create a nice, even top stitch.

In case you're thinking, "I thought she was done with ruffles, this photo must be out of place," let me assure you, since it was a work in progress, I analyzed it with the three ruffles and decided it needed a fourth one. So here is the photo of the other three ruffles pinned out of the way and a fourth ruffle being added.

Once the ruffles were finished, I attached the handles (yep, by eye balling them instead of measuring like I probably should have :) turned the bag inside out and double-stitched the side seams, then turned it right side out and voila! My first ruffled project. What do you think?

Check out the links below to find my project and inspiration for much more:

September Craft 1 of 3!

2011-09-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

THREE posts in one day. Can you believe it? I've labeled them September Crafts 1 of 3, 2 of 3, and 3 of 3 so I hope you take time to check them all out and leave a comment or two......or three :)

This was a simple project but I loved how it turned out. Cute fabric goes a long way. I had some adorable fall fabric in my stock and, like every year, I love making holiday pillows to add a little flair to my decor. While shelves, tables, mantles and desks frequently receive all the decorations, the poor couch is often overlooked. Not anymore. These little gems bring fall right into my living room.

To make them, I cut pieces of fabric in coordinating patterns and stitched them together to resemble the lay out of, you guessed it.....candy corns. I top stitched the pillows, stuffed them with batting and sewed them shut. The rectangle was added just to mix it up a bit. Everything can't be about candy corn.......or can it? :)

Here's a close up of the adorable vintage looking Halloween fabric I've had for a couple of years. The scrap at the top and bottom came from a remnant I happened upon at Wal-Mart and fell in love with. The clerk told me it wasn't even supposed to be on the floor. She assumed it was left over from their old stock from a few years back. But she sold it to me for next to nothing and I have been loving it! Happy Fall, Happy Harvest, Happy Halloween or Happy Whatever You Celebrate this time of year!!!

I'm linked up at:

Check it out and enjoy all the fun projects, crafts and yumminess!

September Craft 2 of 3!

2011-09-24T18:28:00.000-07:00

When Autumn found out her grandparents were having a sale, she was determined to bake something to contribute. They turned out really cute and quite festive for fall. She sold them all :)

We made a big batch of double chocolate brownies, cut generous sized squares and wrapped them in plastic bags, tied with candy corn fabric.

She wasn't content to just have one baked good, so she insisted we make chocolate chip bars as well.

After they were wrapped and tied off, we crafted cute little tags to adhere to the outside of each one, and we placed them in a Longaberger to enhance the 'cute factor.'

Here's a close up of one of the tags. The cookie bars' tag was striped cardstock with 'Treats by Autumn' printed on coordinating green paper. So there you have it. Super easy, super cute and super 'Autumn.'

September Craft 3 of 3!

2011-09-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

It's always cold in my Sunday school class. When the weather outside is nice, people always want the air conditioning on in the classroom and some of us get a bit chilled, and while I own numerous hoodies, I don't have many sweaters. I could have purchased one, but where is the craftiness in that? So, after checking out some blogs on upcycling tired clothing.......behold:

Right out of the shoot, I cheated. I didn't previously own this long sleeved tee, I bought it at a thrift store. That's right! I bought it for.......wait for it.......$1.00. I wear a lot of solid colors so a striped shirt was the perfect accessory.

I laid the shirt out flat, and measured to find the center of the neckline.

Then I cut the neckline all the way to the bottom hem.

A V-neck shirt would have been much easier to work with, but I didn't realize that until AFTER I had purchased this and began cutting it. So instead of sewing some simple bias tape down the front of the shirt, I had to deal with the neckline as well. I could have left it as a scoop neck, but trust me, it looked ridiculous. The V-neck updates it and makes it much more wearable.

After cutting the front and shaping the neckline into a V, I pinned the matching cream bias tape into place........

......and stitched it around the neckline.

I then aligned the bias tape to the front of the shirt and stitched from the neck to the bottom hem.

To keep the sweater closed I sewed some velcro onto each side and attached a button so it looked more finished.

And here's the completed project. It didn't take very long and I think it will be pretty cute with a coordinating short sleeved top underneath. In true Pacific Northwest fashion, layering is essential. That way I can stay warm in 'the freezer', but remove the sweater to be comfortable during worship service - where it's a normal temperature :)

Shirred Scarf for Fall!

2011-09-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

I have been completely obsessed lately with jersey knit fabric, specifically tee shirt recycling, or the latest and greatest term: upcycling. In short, it involves taking an item with a specific purpose, like a tee shirt, and turning it into something amazing. This project however is NOT an upcycling project (but I do have more of those to come) because I bought a couple of yards of jersey knit fabric specifically for this scarf.

Having also recently learned about elastic thread, I could not wait to try it out. Per the instructions on the thread, I loaded my bobbin by hand, and used standard thread on the top of my machine. Then I measured and cut two pieces of knit 70" long by 8" wide. I lined up my fabric pieces wrong sides together and began to stitch leaving approximately a 1" seam allowance to create the ruffled, raw edge look I desired.

This is the 1" allowance. It doesn't really look like it.....but it is. Part of the raw edge has already started to roll the way jersey always does :)

The wonderful thing about elastic thread is there's no gathering to achieve the ruffled look. I just sewed like normal and the elastic did all the work. The above photo shows what the fabric looked like exiting the back of my machine as I sewed it.

After sewing both lengths of fabric down each side, I was pretty happy with the look, but I did think it needed a little more. So I sewed a third stitch right down the middle, which added the perfect amount of ruffle.

Finished product. Because it's knit, the edges are left raw and unhemmed and I love the way they curl in. So with only three straight lines I created the scarf I envisioned in my head.

No, I wouldn't wear it with this shirt, but I wanted it to show up clearly so I chose a dark colored top to display the lighter scarf.

Side view.

One of a zillion ways to wear the scarf.

And yet another way to show it off. So that's it. Super easy, super quick and super cute. It doesn't get much better than that!

My little photographer insisted I take a picture of her wearing the scarf. She's so adorable she'd make a paper bag look good.

This post is linked up at this amazing site:

A Little Labor.....and a Lot of Play!

2011-09-05T23:34:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend was really a lot of fun. It started with huckleberry picking on Friday morning. We only had time to collect about 1.5 quarts, but we're planning another trip SOON. Then on Saturday, we took an old train ride through some beautiful country in the northern part of our state. We were practically in Canada, and the scenery was gorgeous. You can check out the details of the ride here. But for a few of my own photos of the trip, plus the rest of our weekend activities......keep reading.

Picture of the train car we rode in. Vintage cars, pulled by a modern engine.

Autumn, being goofy and having fun as we pulled away. While not exactly Amtrak, it was a good home school field trip for the kids to get to ride a train :)

Lisa Dawn, Katy, Autumn and Mark.

Katy, anticipating our trip.

Lisa Dawn.....smiley as always!

Cayla and Luke!

View from the bridge....yeah, it freaked me out a bit because we STOPPED on the bridge. I don't like bridges and I certainly don't like parking on them, but the scenery was incredible and I forced myself to take a few photos.

This is the view from the other side of the bridge. Not too bad for a photo taken through a closed window.

It wasn't exactly Cory's idea of a great way to spend a Saturday, but he did enjoy being with the family :)

The instigators of this shindig. Rob can always find some crazy expedition for us to set out on. All in all though, it was a pretty fun day!

Almost all of us after the trip :)

...................On Sunday we headed to my parents so the guys could do some roof work for my dad who just had a procedure on his back and definitely wasn't up for climbing around on the roof.......

The Roofers!

The coordinator (Lisa) and the project manager (dad) overseeing the work!

Cory, Gene and Rob assessing the wind damage.

Even though it was Luke's 12th birthday, he was VERY excited to climb on the roof and lend a hand.

And last but not least.....this crazy thing is MY labor for the weekend. About 15 years ago I bought a plastic bag holder at an arts and crafts show in my home town. I won't post pictures, but let me just assure you that my love of all things holstein (that's what the old fabric was) is OVER. Needless to say it was worn OUT. So I decided to whip up a new one and I must say, I like it a LOT better than the old one. It's made of a heavier fabric, and I put thick elastic in the bottom so it would retain it's shape, plus I fashioned it about 1/4 longer than the old one so now it holds a ton of bags. Bring on the shopping :)

So that's it. My weekend in a nutshell. It was fast and furious (that's the way we seem to do things around here) but it was fun.

Summer Fruits!

2011-08-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight when Cory came home from work, he presented me with a bag of fresh blackberries he had picked Monday night while out of town. My mind immediately went to.....scones! I made two batches. A plain one (for the girls) and one topped with blackberries for us.

It only takes 2 ingredients and a few minutes to whip up these amazing, and QUICK scones from my talented niece Robyn over at Ramblings by Robyn. Simply combine 1-1/2 cups of baking mix (like Bisquick) with 3/4 cup of whole whipping cream and mix together. If desired, fold in blackberries (or other fruit, chocolate chips, nuts, endless possibilities), turn onto a lightly flowered surface, form into a circle and cut scones into desired sizes (I used a pizza cutter :) Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake at 425 for 8-10 minutes.

Because we are a frosting-loving-family, I make a simple glaze for everything. Mix confectioner's sugar with milk until glaze reaches desired consistency. Drizzle over scones. I cheated and added a spoonful of fresh blackberries over the top of my scone before drizzling with glaze. They were incredible if I do say so myself!

Here's the kid-friendly version. Plain scones with glaze.
These scones will only take about 15 minutes from start to finish, but everyone will think you spent hours preparing them :)

These shiny little gems are white plums which my brother in law gave me this evening as well. It must have been a great day for fruit?! They're currently sitting in this little green bowl, but come Friday they will morph into a crisp or buckle of some kind served with vanilla ice cream since I volunteered to take dessert to a family gathering. Oh summer fruit....how do I love thee!

Craft Cabinet Clean-Up!

2011-08-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

For months I have intended to clean my home school/craft cabinet. Every time I complete a craft I think I should put my supplies away....but where? Usually they end up in a basket next to my sewing machine. That simply would NOT do. So today, inspired by my niece Robyn, who posted on Facebook that she was feeling guilty for playing on the internet instead of working, was the day to clean it out.

I started at 11:30am and this is what my cabinet looked like (embarrassing). I figured it would only take me a couple of hours.

Nightmare....in my basement. I only photographed the bottom two shelves because I had the top shelf empty when I remembered to take the picture :)

Here's the entire contents of the cabinet, spread out on my basement floor (well, minus the dog - he was not stored in the cabinet, but came down to keep me company while I cleaned).

5 and a half hours (with the exception of stopping for lunch) and 4 bags of trash later, it was finished. It was overwhelming trying to figure out where to put things, how to store tiny objects and figuring out the best solution for organizing. It's still not my dream organization project, but it's significantly better. I really should invest in some racks and vertical storage shelves, but until then.....this is working for me!

Happy Organizing!!!!

It's Almost Heeeeere........

2011-08-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

It's almost that time of year again. My favorite.....autumn (or fall if you prefer). I have tagged dozens of fall crafts and projects that I cannot wait to put together and blog about. I hope my sister will join me :) What are you most looking forward to about fall? I am looking forward to...................................................................................

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What did you think I was going to say?

Favorite Finds!

2011-08-25T22:11:00.000-07:00

As summer is drawing to a close, I thought I'd let you in on a few of my favorite things during summer 2011. Oh, and I just added a new poll. Play along if you like :) In no particular order:

Fabric! I love a fabric store. The way the bolts are stacked according to color, warms the organizational part of my soul. They're beautiful to look at and even more fun to purchase. As I search for sewing projects that appeal to me, my fabric selection continues to grow.

Not just maple syrup, but anything maple flavored really. Maple candy, maple frosting, maple bars. I'm mad for maple!

Whether you call it robin's egg blue, turquoise or aqua, it's my go-to-color for summer. And since I just purchased a shirt today in a shade just a touch darker than this, it may be my go-to-winter color as well :)

Even though this has been on the market for some time now, I have not enjoyed it as much as I did this summer. The best part about iced tea? As the ice melts, it doesn't water down the drink and make it unpalatable like a soda. I love that!

I always enjoy Bath and Body Works products, but their Fresh Picked scents for spring/summer 2011 were pure genius. Not only did they smell divine, the packaging was the perfect complement to my country styling. My favorite products were the hand soaps, but I did acquire quite a few of the PocketBac's as well!

Mat stacks. They're not just for scrapbooking anymore. They're the paper version of fabric. I love the way the stacks are grouped by themes and color coordinated. While not a scrapbooker, I have enjoyed accumulating these for decoupage projects, home made cards and any other project that comes to mind.

Even if you don't blog about it or post pictures, be sure to leave me a comment and share your summer '11 favorites with me!

Summer Status Update....

2011-08-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Summer's almost over, but we're still trying to cram in a bunch of things....

Yesterday - Took the kids and cousins to the park downtown where they rode the rides, enjoyed the carousel, and got in a ton of walking (Clare, that's PE right?! :)

Today - Removing some plants that got scorched in a couple of our 90+ degree days, and putting in some mums that are great cool-weather plants! Then.....going shopping with my sister. Trying to find some swim shorts for me. I have a cute swim skirt and it looks great OUT of the water, but once I get in, it floats up (ridiculous).

Tomorrow - Taking the kids and cousins to the pool. It's supposed to be in the mid-90's. It's going to be a great day for swimming and soaking up the last few days of sun before our cold weather hits.

Next Week - Going with the family and cousins to Silverwood. The girls received free passes for reading and they are very excited to spend the day at the park. Also need to use a day next week for Cayla to take her CAT-5 test. She's been doing a little school work all summer, so we're looking forward to getting her testing out of the way before September.

Next Month - School won't start for us until our co-op starts, so we have an extra 1.5 weeks after the public school starts. I'm hoping my sister and I can take the kids on a picnic and engage in a few activities that would normally be full/busy, but due to school being in session will be less packed.

Whew! I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Fortunately, nearly all of it is fun and should be a great time. Hope you're enjoying your summer and having fun with family and friends before the cold weather flies.

Cupcakes and Coasters!

2011-08-23T00:35:00.000-07:00

While I loved Autumn's skirt from last week's post, I thought the outfit was lacking something. It really needed a matching top and not just a plain white one. So I added an applique. There's a close-up in the next shot. I also made a skirt for Cayla.....but her top is not appliqued as she frequently wears it with other things.

Cayla and Autumn dressed and ready for church.

Cupcake applique!

Yeah, these have absolutely nothing to do with skirts or appliques, but everything to do with sewing. I made myself a set of 4 coordinating coasters. And they're not to protect my desk (though it IS a lovely grey, laminate :) as much as they're to prevent condensation from collecting on the desk top. I hate a wet work space!

Shorts Are Soooo Yesterday!

2011-08-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

On Monday I made Autumn a skirt. I think it turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself.

The skirt's owner, in shoes of her choosing :)

Such a simple and quick skirt. It took me about 40 minutes from start to finish and that included picking out the fabric!

I love the double stitched waist band, even if no one will ever
see it :)

Surprisingly, she loved it and was excited about it. As a tomboy, skirts aren't high on the priority list, but when she realized she could throw on a pair of tennis shoes or flip flops with it, it became freeing as a great summer alternative to shorts.

To match the waist band, the hem also has a double stitch. I thought it was too cute. Oddly enough, my camera didn't capture the colors very well, but this is a better match to the true colors of dark lavender with lime green dots!

My sweet model was excited to show it off, and I'm excited that she loves it so much. Now, keep your fingers crossed that she'll ACTUALLY wear it :)

The Wal-Mart $5 Bag! The Rachel!

2011-08-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

On one of my numerous Wal-Mart shopping expeditions I saw some fairly cute, very basic bags that were made of a light weight canvas with matching handles, and they were only $5.00. I really wanted to buy one but decided I could make one that I liked even more, in colors of my choosing. So tonight I checked my fabric selection and decided on a nice red/white/blue striped denim fabric, and set out to make my own version of the Wal-Mart $5 bag, aptly renamed "The Rachel".

The finished product. It's a little taller than I think I want it to be. Originally I was going to use it as a tote bag, but now I'm leaning towards a purse, so it should be shorter. But I'm not tackling that tonight, so I'll carry it 'as is' for a while :)

Unlike the unlined Wal-Mart bag, I wanted mine to have a lining and an interior pocket so I could slip pens, cell phone, keys, and other various items in. I chose a blue background with white stars as the lining, and used the outer fabric to make a pocket, which I stitched down the middle turning it into two pockets.

Here's a picture of the inside of the bag, showing the two pockets!

When I was finished I thought it looked a little plain, so I created an outer pocket with matching fabric, but turned the stripes the opposite way. Since the outer pocket was an after thought, it was a little difficult to sew, so my stitch isn't straight. Nothing a few buttons couldn't fix. I often use buttons to cover up flaws, and while others might just think they're cute embellishments, I know the truth....they're hiding a multitude of sins :) So there you have it. My version of the Wal-Mart $5 bag only cuter...and a little more time consuming!

Earlier today Autumn told me she wanted a bag to hold some of her Squinkies (little girl toys - just take my word for it). I liked my tote bag so much that I decided to use the same fabric for Autumn's draw string bag.

Autumn's bag, with strings pulled open. She was pleased as punch, and I was happy it only took a few minutes to create!!!

Camp Tuffit, Montana!

2011-07-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

My husband's family takes an annual trip to Camp Tuffit, on Lake Mary Ronan, in Montana, and this year we got the chance to go. It was so much fun we cannot wait to return next year. I will probably need more than one post to cover all the photos, but let's get started:

Cory and the most amazing dog in the world!

Our cabin "Pick". If you click on 'Camp Tuffit' above you can visit the website and check out the cabins as well as other attractions the camp has to offer.

Cory and Poppy (Cory's dad) hanging out in Weepah their cabin.

Chuck and Cory

Great Grandma and Cayla

Ben, Barb (Grammy) and Aunt Pam

Caitlin (Cory's brother's daughter)

Cayla and Autumn

Virginia (Cory's cousin Jenn's daughter)

Chuck Chuck

Cayla with the crawdad she caught

Joe (Cory's cousin)

Ben (Cory's brother's son) and Jenn (Cory's cousin)

Autumn, Caitlin and Virginia

Ben

Cayla and Autumn

Caitlin and Virginia

Cory and Chuck

Barb (Cory's mom) and Andrea (Cory's brother Kevin's wife)

Ben, Autumn and Cayla

Ben

Cayla with one of the fish she caught

Cory, Virginia and Chuck

Virginia, Autumn and Caitlin, fishing in Poppy's boat

Autumn with her first fish

A "leprechaun" spread gold painted rocks throughout the campsite and the kids had an absolute blast finding them. There were thousands!!!

Autumn with a popsicle from the camp 'store'. All the kids can charge one item per day to their cabin (or their grandparents' cabin in this case) and the resort owners know which kids belong with which grandparents. It's amazing!

The junk-food side of the camp store

A couple of the many quotes displayed through the camp

Cayla with her moth. We're saving 'wildlife' for another post :)

Great Grandma with all the great grandchildren

Tanner (Cory's cousin Joe's son)

The camp restaurant. Once again, all food items can be charged to your cabin. We had lunch there one day and it was wonderful.

Cheeseburger, fries and an incredible huckleberry milkshake from the Crawdad Cafe. Super good food; Chuck thought so too. I was full and he got about 1/3 of my hamburger :)

Arizona (Cory's cousin Jenn's son)

The family, clad in Great Grandpa's favorite color, red. Barb and Pam displayed numerous pictures of the family through the years, in honor of Great Grandpa's Memorial Service which was held at the lake.

A sea of red saying good bye to the family patriarch.

Autumn

Great Grandma listening to the family's fond memories of Great Grandpa. He was a wonderful man, and we are blessed to have called him our own.

Summer Projects!

2011-07-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

Between spray paint, sand paper, chalkboard paint and a little ambition, we've been busy this summer. It's nothing seriously dramatic, but we did a couple of make overs and made some new projects. I think it's been my favorite summer so far! Behold:

Ever since my sister and I rediscovered the magic that is chalkboard paint, I have been painting everything. Cory's dad had an old window frame and my wonderful husband cut out three squares of wood that I painted with chalkboard paint. We hung it on the back porch and while I hope people will leave messages for us, it mostly gets used for the girl's artwork :) An old, very weathered Longaberger basket hangs below to hold chalk, and a super cute star-hook picked up at a yard sale for $.50 adds to the country charm! I love it. It feels very welcoming on an otherwise bland porch, badly in need of renovation; but that's for another post!

Since Cayla's bedroom doubles as the guest room, I longed for her to have a cabinet large enough to fit all of her trinkets, gadgets and gizmos that tween age girls love to collect. So my father in law built this amazing vintage style pie cupboard. It was haaaard to put it in Cayla's room because I wanted it for myself. But I reluctantly gave it over to her. The grey primer, put in place to quickly get the cabinet to us prior to company arriving one weekend, didn't quite work for a girl's room, so we touched it up a bit.

Some sky blue paint and swirly knobs from Hobby Lobby made it the perfect accoutrement for a guest room/child's room.

We've been on the hunt for a while now for a cute little bedside table for Autumn's room. She needed something with a drawer to hide her treasures, and a shelf to store books and whatnot. We found this grey nightstand at a yard sale for $5.00 and I knew it would be perfect.

Autumn loved the light blue we used for Cayla's cabinet and insisted we use it for her night stand. The handle, while a bit fancy for her room, went from tacky gold to bright white in no time. It's a pretty cute table and it looks right at home in her girly pink bedroom!

I'm sure I picked up this basket a hundred years ago (literally, over 15) at a yard sale for a couple bucks at best, and I remember spray painting it white. After years of sitting on the porch being weathered, I've nearly thrown it out a dozen times. But due to my love for repurposing and renewing, I knew all it needed was a new coat of paint.

Navy blue compliments the red of my house and the white trim along with the various other patriotic pieces found on my home's exterior. Don't ask me how I'm going to make it work during the other holidays, but for 4th of July it's amazing :)

Last year at an after-Christmas sale I bought this vintage styled garden spade. It's actually a door knocker and it really works well on our back porch. Now, if we could only get those incredible screen doors I'm anticipating. One thing at a time right?! Happy Summer!!!

Big Apple Adventure!

2011-07-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

VBS 2011 "Big Apple Adventure" has been a ton of fun. I took over 100 pictures today and here are just a few of the highlights of family.......

Cayla in opening worship!

Katy's room - the Big Apple Store

Lisa and Melinda's room

Other side of Lisa and Melinda's room

Staff Lounge decoration

Sanctuary stage

Cayla in crafts

Mark and Autumn in opening worship

Kelly during opening worship - 1st grade teacher

Katy preparing for the Kindergartners to run in

Lisa and Melinda during opening Bible study

Me, Ariyah and Autumn - snapshot while Autumn's class was transitioning to rec/snacks

July 4, 2011

2011-07-07T23:21:00.000-07:00

Katy!

Coolest dog EVER!

Rob and Lisa!

Lisa Dawn and her friend Lindsay!

Autumn!

Still Autumn!

Cayla!

Autumn and mom!

Cory and Chuck!

Lisa's friend Ann, Katy, and Dad!

Clay and Cory!

Mom!

Autumn!

Brigham and Luke!

Mark!

Mark and Autumn!

Luke and Cayla!

Sarah!

Brigham!

Re-covering!

2011-06-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

So, we've had this hideous desk chair for some time now and it really needed a new cover. Basically, it wasn't where I wanted to spend my money so I didn't want to buy an entirely new chair, but just wanted to make this one look better.

So I crafted a slip cover of sorts from scraps of upholstery fabric I bought at a yard sale. The seat and the back are both made of two pieces, sewn together. I created a casing to run a drawstring through the backside/underside so I can remove the cover in the event of spills, dirt or simply because I want to change it out easily. The new fabric is much brighter, and Chuck hair doesn't stick to it as readily as the old fabric :)

After creating my first batch of matchbox covers, I hate it when I grab for a matchbox and it's one I haven't re-covered. So I flipped through magazines to find pictures I liked and created a new set of covers. I promise I won't post every batch of matchbox covers, and at some point it will grow old and I will tire of re-covering them, but for now I'm really loving it :)

Happy Retirement Barb!

2011-06-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we celebrated my mother in law's retirement. It was a wonderful gathering of friends and family. I apologize ~~some~~ most of the photos are so lousy, but I think candids are difficult to capture without getting right in people's faces. And I'm sure most of the people are glad I didn't get in their

face :)

Um, clearly this is the cake!

My sister in law Andrea. As always, a gracious host.

Barb and her sister, Aunt Pam!

Grandma (Barb's mom). Can you believe she's over 90?

Table setting....minus a few foods, but I tried to capture it before people began eating!

The kid's table downstairs. Chicken nuggets and macaroni & cheese. Does it get anymore kid-friendly than that?! :)

One of my favorite people!

My gorgeous niece, Caitlin, with Barb.

My Autumn with Grammy Barb.

Grandma and Aunt Pam.

My other gorgeous and incredibly gifted niece, Lisa Dawn. She entertained the crowd with beautiful music.

Tina (Barb's former co-worker) and Tom, Barb and my honey!

Barb's long time friends Cheryl and Sandy, with Grandma. Sorry I caught grandma at the wrong moment :(

My typical candid....backs of heads. From left to right are Dick, Jim (father in law), Steve and Cory. Dick and Steve are old friends of Jim's that go waaaaaaay back :)

Rachelle and Kelly (former co-worker). I instantly connected with them as they're from my home town and Kelly was a former Bomber!

Cory, Tom and Uncle Walt (also a former Bomber).

Tina, Carolyn (Barb's former co-worker) and the back of Aunt Pam's head! Dang it!

My Cayla. Such a willing subject!

Cory with a childhood friend, Brock.

Jigs (Jim's cousin) and Barb.

Bettie (Jigs' wife) and Grandma!

Andrea, Caitlin and Cheryl

Ron and April (Barb's former co-worker). I love April. She goes to church and she home schooled her children. Needless to say, we have some things in common :)

Parties & Projects......Bees & Berries!

2011-06-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

The last 5 days have been a flurry of activity as I prepared for Cayla's 10th birthday party, along with keeping up on a few crafts/projects and getting some yard work done. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd save you most of the words and just post some pictures with a few captions.

Cupcakes taken to CrewKID at church on Wednesday night, in honor of Cayla's 10th birthday!

Cupcake centerpiece for Cayla's "Pink Party" celebration with her cousins on Thursday.

All ready for Cayla's "Pink Party."

Wherever there's food.......there's Chuck!

Pizza and cupcakes with family!

The boys really were good sports about all the pink!

I think Mark actually liked it. That smile says it all :)

Presents!!!

Quite a few people gave her cash so she's had a blast shopping for her own gifts!

Lisa and I bought trays & chalkboard paint for the kids to make portable chalkboards at Cayla's party. They had a blast. Tip 'o the week though......the paint sticks significantly better to wood surfaces rather than metal!

A celery green drawer front that I painted with chalkboard paint. Lisa and I each made one and they turned out really cute! I plan to make some more chalkboard pieces so stay tuned. I know you can't wait! ha ha!!!

This chair was left at our house (one of the few things remaining) when we moved in. On Sunday night, after sanding off all the rust Cory painted it metallic blue. It's going to look so vibrant on my back patio. Can't wait for it to fully dry so we can use it!

Saturday afternoon I made Berry Quartet Jam. It's a blend of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. It's delicious! And yes, it warranted a picture!

A blank drawer front being prepped for a project.

Saturday I painted the drawer front. The unfinished wood absorbed the paint super quickly and I think the lack of coverage made for a wonderful 'distressed' piece, but I did give it a couple more coats because I wanted to make sure the words I was going to put on it would really show up.

Finished. Simple and cute!

Another drawer front. I love them, and we have a ton of them left over from the pallet of cabinet doors and drawer fronts Cory purchased years ago from a bargain wood store. I had originally painted the word 'beach' on the piece, but ultimately didn't like it. So I painted over it and using a template and some scrapbook paper, I cut out the letters and decoupaged them onto the board. It's hanging in my bathroom and looks pretty good.....for now :)

On Sunday evening we celebrated Cayla's birthday with Cory's family. We left up her "Pink Party" decor from Thursday which made for an easy set-up for Sunday's party.

This photo is fake. My camera wouldn't click fast enough to capture her actually blowing out the candles, so I had her re-enact it for my photo op. Although, now that I've told you, not sure why it mattered :)

Opening presents!

She received a lot of money which she promptly spent on Wii games and LaLa Loopsy dolls, but she did receive a lava lamp from her grandparents. Chuck, the hippie dog, is intrigued!

After a few hours of plugging it in, her lamp was glowing in all it's glory. She loves it!

Caitlin and Autumn.

If he could talk I wonder if he'd tell us to stop putting stupid things on his head!

Amidst all the craziness, I managed to sneak outside to water and check on the progress of my raspberries. I was pleasantly surprised to see numerous bees busying themselves with my berries. While not much of a photographer, the bees were beautiful and I couldn't help but snap a few pictures!

My raspberries are 'greening' up nicely. I love summer!

May and June are months FULL of birthdays, parties and celebrations for our family and while they're always fun, I can't help but be a little relieved the hustle is over. Well, almost. Next weekend is a retirement party for my mother in law. Hopefully I won't forget my camera and I can post some photos for family who aren't able to make it!!!

"Pink Party" Birthday Banner!

2011-06-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

If you follow my incredibly crafty (and I mean that in a good way) niece Clare over at Clare's Contemplations

you are sure to have seen one of these banners, or two, or more. Using her inspiration AND the inspiration I got at the Farm Chicks Sale this past weekend, I decided to make a banner to help decorate for Cayla's 10th "Pink Party" Birthday! (I'm sure additional birthday party photos will be coming soon!) While not really a 'tutorial' kind of gal, I did provide a few descriptions under each photo, and if you ever realllllllly wanted a tutorial, I'm sure I could whip something up! Enjoy, and be sure to click on the photos to see more detail!

For the pennants, I selected 5 pink fabrics in various patterns and shades. Had I been shopping for the fabrics specifically for this banner, I may have made completely different choices, but I used fabrics I had on hand so I was a bit limited.

These are the pennants all cut out and ready to be sewn. I cut out two pieces of fabric for each pennant so the banner would be uniform from the front and back. That way it can be hung in the middle of a room, or draped from a doorway and is not limited to be hung on a wall.

Again, had I been shopping for this, I probably would have used EXTRA-Wide Bias Tape, but I happened to have pink wide bias so it actually worked out well. One pack of this tape is 3 yards long (9 feet) and was sufficient for the banner I wanted. I think it might be really cute to make several banners and string them together in various directions. But for time's sake I could only make one. (Note to self, must get 'bias-tape making machine' like Nikki has :)

Photo of the finished product. I interspersed the pennants in a somewhat random order to adequately disperse the colors and patterns. I cannot wait to make one of these in Americana fabrics. How cute will that be?!

Independence Day Crafts!!!

2011-06-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

Yep, I've been crafting again. I promise this won't turn into a crafter's blog....I don't have that many ideas, nor that much time :) But my favorite holiday IS fast approaching, so I thought I would make a couple of items to get me in the spirit. While I'm always my own worst critic, there must be something about these that I like because I was at least willing to post them!

This clip board was u-g-l-y before. Someone (no names mentioned) had scribbled on the back, and there was something sticky on the front that I could NOT get off. It looked terrible, so I decided to dress it up. Seeing as how this is my first experiment using all of the materials I needed, it was definitely a learning curve. Lesson #1 LET THE GLUE DRY BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH MOD PODGE :) You know what's funny?....my spell check doesn't like the word 'podge'. That makes me laugh!

I had to cover the back too because it would not only make it look cute when it's being carried, but it DID have writing on the back and I couldn't let that go!

This was fun and SIMPLE! My sister and I have seen these rag wreaths at craft shows and we always SAY we're going to make one. In short, I took a coat hanger and Cory used wire cutters to snip off the ends. I then had him form it into the size circle I wanted and we hooked the ends together and secured them with electrical tape (imagine that? :) I'm sure I still have a lot to learn, but I thought it turned out all right, and only took about an hour to complete. p.s. I have NO clue how many pieces of fabric are on it, I was far too lazy to count!

Here is the wreath hanging on my fireplace. I'm not sure how to keep the strips of fabric from falling over (any ideas?) other than to cut them shorter, or dip them in liquid starch (neither sounds fun), but for now, that's where it is!

Inspiration Strikes!

2011-05-31T15:03:00.000-07:00

Last night, while thumbing through a magazine inspiration struck. I became intrigued by a large match box with a photo of a bird on it. The price was $16 a box. I thought that was a bit steep for a box of matches, so I decided to make my own. We keep matches in the bathrooms and kitchen so I figured since they're on display, why not make them cute? I used small boxes of matches instead of the large boxes (a package of 10 boxes was $1 at the dollar store) and surfed the internet for images I was interested in. I then printed the images, cut them to fit the boxes, glued them on using Elmer's school glue, and coated each photo with a good covering of shiny Mod Podge ($6 at Michaels) just to seal the picture. I thought they turned out pretty cute and it only took about 1 hour to do the entire project, from finding the pictures, to taking the photo of the finished product. If my inspiration doesn't wane, I may make them for holidays as well. (HINT *Click on each picture to enlarge it to see detail).

I like my photos better than pictures of birds, and while the guitar was cut a little small, it's still cute.

Having recently acquired a metal board, I have been on the hunt for unique and novelty magnets and my magazine had just the right idea I could put into action. Old pins and earrings with hardware removed and magnets glued in place using E6000. Use needle nose pliers to remove the pin and earring backs, then simply glue on the magnets. Allow to dry and voila!

Finished product. These are old pins and earrings that I turned into magnets. Here they are on my magnetic board I purchased a small pack of 10 magnets at Michaels for $1.79 and I think the E6000 was about $4 or so and of course I have a ton left.

While neither of these project is fancy or significantly time consuming, I have to admit, they did provide a bit of satisfaction knowing I had made something myself instead of purchasing someone else's handiwork.

Coconut Craze!

2011-05-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

You've probably heard that your tastes change as you age. I'm living proof. While not a fan of coconut growing up, I have discovered just how wonderful it really is. I've always enjoyed the scent, because it reminded me of suntan oil and summer time, but the taste was something different all together. On the advice of my niece (thanks LisaDawn) I tried the Limited Edition Coconut M&M's and they're incredible. Read on for me coconutty goodness :)

Delicious milk chocolate with a hint of coconut. YUM!!!

I tried a sample of Starbuck's Mocha-Coconut Frappuccino and was instantly addicted. I would have never paid to try it, so the sample was the perfect bait to get me hooked!

This scent came out last summer and I immediately adored the Berry, but was a bit apprehensive about the coconut. When Bath & Body Works put the minis on sale for $1 I figured I had nothing to lose, and discovered I had everything to gain. The coconut vanilla is warm, light and absolutely amazing and I can't get enough of it!

Cory's 40th Birthday Celebration!

2011-05-22T19:01:00.000-07:00

On Monday, the 23rd, Cory will officially celebrate his 40th birthday. But we've spent the whole weekend having friends and family over in honor of his big day. He wasn't big on the idea of an all black "over the hill" party, so I decided on a camo party to commemorate his renewed love of hunting!

Cory and my mom were the only ones I could get to look at me for this picture!

Autumn and Emily!

Mom, dad, Kelly, Rob and Jeff!

Becky and Daniel!

The kids' table.....opening their treat bags!

Clockwise from top......Luke, Autumn, Emily, Cayla, Mark, James and Daniel!

Cory and his birthday pie - Marionberry!

After dinner (Pizza Hut! Did you really think I was cooking for 20? :) Dr. Rob sat around and told us gross med-school stories :)

Even the ice bucket and cups got dressed up to celebrate :)

Two of my favorite people! Cory and Autumn in their camo gear!

Thanks Poppy Jim for the '50's era duck decoys!

Kids' table pre-party!

Kids' table centerpiece!

My Autumn!

Camo cupcakes!

Thank goodness for camo-colored candy :)

"Hunting" dog - ha ha ha ha ha!

Autumn loving on Chuck Chuck!

Cory's camo jackets came in quite handy for decorating!

Thanks Aunt Lisa for the wallies, the pop-gun and the various decor you so generously loaned us! A few yards of fabric, some shotgun shells and several vintage decoys strategically placed, added ambiance. Can you use the word 'ambiance' in conjunction with a hunting party?! :)

A little more decor!

The camouflage scrap-booking paper fit perfectly over my print of 1 Cor. 13. It almost looks framed :)

Wallies in the window!

Still more decor!

Targets doubled as wall decoration!

Deer antlers displayed on burlap. Chuck was VERY interested in these!

Poppy's goose decoy goes for a swim on the backporch in the wading pool!

Scrap booking stickers turned plain brown napkins and cups into camo-appropriate decoration!

Saturday in the Park!

2011-05-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

Sleeper Bag!

2011-05-09T14:20:00.000-07:00

Wow! A Mother's Day post yesterday and now ANOTHER post today? What is this world coming to? If I post again tonight, call the authorities, it means my blog's been hijacked :)

So, my mom, ever the quintessential southern belle, introduced me to the sleeper bag.....years ago. And while it never 'took' with me, I do have my Kate Spade purse in a sleeper bag (because it came with one) and I have occasionally employed one to transport shoes without being too obvious!

The bag below is a 'happy' for my mother; it's a sleeper bag for shoes.

The bag is made of a polyester fabric, lined with nylon and has a hidden drawstring. It's completely washable, and holds everything from dainty sandals, to bulky tennis shoes.

I hope you like it mom!

Bag with string drawn!

Bag with drawstring hidden!

Bag inverted, so my mom can see what the lining looks like :)

Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day 2011 has turned out to be, quite possibly, the best holiday of the year. Not just for myself, but in celebrating with my mother, mother-in-law, and sister - three of my all time favorite moms. On Thursday, my sister and I piled the kids into the car right after co-op and jetted down to our mom and dad's house for a whirlwind Mother's Day Extravaganza. While Kelly watched the younger children and my dad did whatever dad's do, Lisa and I whisked our mom over to Outback for a couple of their spectacular dinners, then we were off to a few stores for shopping. Because if you know us at all, you know that no outing is complete without a trip to a store or two, or five.

Friday morning was filled with helping my dad get his truck unstuck (don't ask), watching the kids 'drive' his tractor and deep frying those wonderful little canned biscuit doughnuts....you know the one's I'm talking about!

After presenting my mom with our Mother's Day gifts, we piled back into the car, devoured a quick lunch and headed home. It was fast, and crazy and wonderful!

Mom and Lisa - don't kill me, it's the only picture that turned out even half way decent. And hey your eyes are open, so YEA!!!

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On Saturday, we took my mother-in-law her standard Mother's Day fare....pansies. She adores pansies, and spending a sunny afternoon planting them is half the fun. This year is a double bonus for her because she recently retired, so she can pick any day this week and enjoy planting, instead of having to 'hurry' and get them in the ground before returning to work Monday morning. p.s. I think I'm more excited about her retirement than she is. I cannot wait to drop by and visit her.....on a Tuesday, at 2:30, for no reason what-so-ever.
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My own Mother's Day included hand selecting my gift. I know it's shocking, but I chose the purse below. Yes, it's a Vera Bradley, yes, it's huge, yes, I carried it to church and yes, I love it! After church, we were seated right away at our favorite restaurant (Azteca), visited the afternoon away with dear friends who accompanied us, and reveled in the fact that it was a slow-paced, relaxing day, devoted to those women who gave us life.

Vera Bradley Stephanie in Totally Turq! Thanks honey!!!

Thank you mom for choosing to have me, keep me and love me; and thank you Barb for loving me as one of your own. I LOVE YOU BOTH! Happy Mother's Day!

Life in Washington!

2011-04-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

I've seen this before, but it cracks me up every time because it's SO true. Have a good laugh on behalf of all of us who live in Washington. I added my own comments in red :)

THIS IS WHAT JEFF FOXWORTHY HAS TO SAY ABOUT 'LIVING IN WASHINGTON'!

If someone in a Home Depot store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you live in Washington. (This is really a plus, because actual employees are never around. They're like elusive, nocturnal animals)

If you've worn shorts, sandals and a parka at the same time, you live in Washington. (Standard WA attire)

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed the wrong number, you live in Washington.

If you measure distance in hours, you live in Washington. (I thought everybody did this?)

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once, you live in Washington. (Sadly true)

If you have switched from 'heat' to 'A/C' and back again in the same day, you live in Washington. (Yep. Or you start out with a hoodie, change to a tee, then back to a hoodie)

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Central, Southern, or Eastern Washington.

If you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over 2 layers of clothes or under a raincoat, you live in Washington. (I design my girls' Halloween costumes so they can be worn with matching leggings and turtlenecks, because it's going to be cold)

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow and ice, you live in Washington.

If you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction, you live in Washington.

If you feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash, you live in Washington.

If you know more than 10 ways to order coffee, you live in Washington. (I've traveled, and NOBODY has decent coffee, as readily available)

If you know more people who own boats than air conditioners, you live in Washington.

If you stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk" signal, you live in Washington.

If you consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is not a real mountain, you live in Washington.

If you can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and Tullys, you live in Washington.

If you know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon, you live in Washington.

If you know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Snoqualmie, Wenatchee, Spokane, Umpqua, Yakima, and Willamette, you live in Washington. (Love this one. Eastern newscasters always pronounce Spokane as Spo-Cane)

If you consider swimming an indoor sport, you live in Washington. (This is why I only sign the girls up for swimming at the Y, it's indoors)

If you can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food, you live in Washington.

If you never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho, you live in Washington.

If you have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain, you live in Washington.

If you think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists, you live in Washington.

If you buy new sunglasses every year because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time, you live in Washington.

If you actually understand these jokes and forward them to all your Washington friends, you live or have lived in Washington.

**If you're getting married in August and still can't commit to an outdoor wedding, you live in Washington. (reader submitted commented - but it's hilariously true).

Easter Sunday!

2011-04-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

Easter morning at church!

Autumn & Cayla

Sisterly love!

Easter baskets for the girlies! A few years ago we bought them each a Longaberger basket and we re-use them each year. This year the silly things decided they wanted something more disposable. OK, Dollar Store baskets for everyone :)

Close-up of Cayla's basket!

Close-up of Autumn's basket!

They both received new Bibles in their Easter baskets. Autumn's is the aqua and Cayla received the purple. They are so pretty, and it was special for me to get to inscribe their names, the date and occasion for which they received them. Tomorrow we'll head to the Lifeway store to look for cute Bible covers. I hate to cover them up, but I don't want them to get ruined. In case you're wondering, they're (HCSB) Holman version!

Ahhhh....the joys of finding an egg :)

It took them about 20 minutes to find all 115 (roughly) eggs.

Let the egg opening commence!

She was very excited to find money in some of her eggs!

Late afternoon we headed to Grammy and Poppy's for another egg hunt, and dinner.

So proud of herself for finding all her eggs!

Their cousins were there too. It was so fun to watch all of them having a blast, hunting eggs.

Caitlin - ever the photogenic one!

Ben & Autumn!

Jim (Poppy), Uncle Kevin (Cory's brother), and Cory!

Aunt Andrea and Cory!

My wonderful mother in law Barb, and her mom, great grandma Helen. What a blessing to get to enjoy great grandma this year at Easter!

Cayla, Ben, Caitlin and Autumn post egg-hunt. What a wonderful Easter celebration!