A quote to live by

Several years ago I lost a very dear friend. He was the husband to one of my most special friends and a very extraordinary man. At the funeral there was a line out the door for three hours straight, filled with people who admired and loved him. At the church one of his favorite quotes was read. Ever since then, I’ve had a copy of that quote in my wallet. I occasionally read it and wonder if I am living up to that standard. In difficult situations I sometimes wonder to myself “How would Ed handle this?”

When I revised my photo gallery wall, I made sure to add a framed copy of this quote….

“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)


Do you have a quote that mean something special to you???

Back to Reality

I know I’ve been absent for a few weeks. The chaos of daily life hit hard a few days before leaving for vacation. I had planed on getting a few things done before going but time moved on despite my protest. So there was no updated blog post, no auto-reply set on my e-mail, no new photo for my face book page… Oh well, shame on me. I did miss hopping around the blog world and commenting on your blogs. I hope to get to you soon!!!!

We had a great time at the beach. We went to stay at my friend’s place. (The same place we visited last year). Thank goodness for people like her. The kids loved the ocean. My oldest has just recently learned to swim and was thrilled to be capable in the water this year. My perceptually challenged child was able to walk a straight line this year and not tilt over as the tide went in and out. My little man had a blast in the world’s largest sand box. I even had fun joining in on the sandcastle building.

You truly get a sense of how big the beach and the ocean is when you are watch three little people. Not the most relaxing time I’ve had at the beach but at the end of the day… F.U. N.

But wait…

What’s that you say…

I’m just now starting to get back in the swing of our regular routine and here we are looking at the last day before school starts.

Thankfully I washed the uniforms, bought new school shoes, and organized school supplies in the new backpacks before we went on vacation. Whew.

Here and here are few ideas on making the back to school transition a little smoother.

How’s the end of summer going for you????

Photo Gallery

This spring the entry hall into my house was on the list for rooms to be painted. After it got a fresh new color it was time to put the pictures back on the wall. I made a few changes from what had been there before we painted. I added a few new pictures and I pulled out some old photos and got them framed. I also framed a quote I like and hung a few skeleton keys for a little added interest.

To get everything back on the wall and make sure it looked balanced without making too many holes, I mapped things out first.

I traced each of my frames onto pieces of paper and then started taping them to the wall. This way I could move them around until I liked the way it looked. It was like shuffling pieces of a puzzle to get the right fit. After the paper pieces were lined up just right we started replacing them one by one with the framed photos.

I’m real happy with the way they turned out and I love looking at all the memories.

Collection by Surprise

Did you ever take a look around and realize that you have started to collect something and you weren’t really even aware of it???

It suddenly occurred to me that there are quite a few frogs around here.

Last year when I redecorated the kitchen I wanted to add a little whimsy so I ordered this cabinet door handle for one of my kitchen cabinets.



When I went to pick it up I saw this little guy and grabbed him to go on the pantry door.

I’ve had this hide-a-key frog (empty) sitting on my front porch for a few years now.

On a trip home from the In-laws two years ago I bought this big toad at a roadside stand.

This past spring, this cutie moved himself into my rock garden. He’s about the size of a dime.

Take a look around. What do you have more of than you realized???

Simple Summer Planter Project

After the beach trip last year, we came home with several shells and other collected items. They were all put on a shelf in the garage and then moved around a few time before I finally came up with a plan for them.

First, I found a paper plate holder thingy (for a lack of a better term). You know, one of those things that should be used to give stability to your paper plate for picnics. I had one floating around in my pantry. I have no idea why I only had one but now it too finally has a good use.

Then I covered it with some small fish tank pebbles.

Nope, don’t have a fish tank but I have three different bags of fish tank pebbles just taking up space in the garage. (I keep everything. My Grandmother was part packrat and I got that gene from her).

The pebbles help the shell sit level on the dish.

A couple tablespoons of soil and a few “hens” from my chick and hen plants and I had a new planter. I toped it off with some more colored stones, pebbles and coral to finish my simple summer planter. It adds a nice touch to my patio and it needs very little attention. It gets a little mist from the kids spray water bottles and that’s all the watering it needs.

Happy Summer!!!

Happy 4th Weekend

I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday weekend.

We kicked off our 4th of July weekend with a few festive cocktails.





Red:
1 oz. Vodka
½ oz. Triple Sec
1 ½ oz. Cranberry pomegranate juice

Rim glass with blue sugar


Blue:
1 oz. Vodka
1oz. Blue Curacao
1 oz. Ginger ale

Rim glass with red sugar


Cheers!!

Reusable (green) Shopping Bag Tutorial

I have several different shopping bags from various stores in my collection. In the back of my mind I have thought of making some of them for myself. I kind of wanted them to all match each other. (Ooops, is my OCD showing again???)

Anyway, a few months ago, one of my girlfriends showed me a magazine with this cool idea for painting a monogram or initial onto canvas. Right away, I thought it would be the perfect fit for my matching shopping bags.

It took me awhile to get that project to the top of my “to do” list but here’s the “how to” for you.

I started with about a yard and a half of unbleached, heavy cotton utility fabric (thicker than muslin). Washed and dried the fabric for pre-shrinking.

Cut the fabric in half and make two bags. To make the straps you will need to cut 4 strips of fabric that are at least 25 inches long (longer if you like long straps) and 1-½ inches wide

Then make a template for pressing the edges of the straps over. I use a piece of cardstock when I make purse straps. Cut a strip of cardstock the width of the strap. Here it is about an inch wide. Then place that on the center of the fabric and fold the sides over and iron.
Watch out for that steam!

Now take two of the strap pieces and place the raw sides toward each other and sew them together. Try to stitch as close to the edge as you can.

Stitch the strap on both sides. Then do the same thing with the other two pieces and set the two finished straps to the side while you work one the bag.

You should have a piece of fabric that is around 16 – 17 inches wide and about 40 long. I like to make my hems on the bias edge whenever I can. Fold and press the edge over and then fold again so that you will end up with a one-inch wide top to your bag. Do this on both ends of the fabric, as you will be folding in half and closing the sides to make the bag. I stitch along the edge that was folded over as well as the very top to give a little more stability.

Here you can see how the top is stitched as well as how the straps are attached

Before I close up the sides, I like to put the straps on. I measured the center of the strap in from the edge of the bag at 5 inches. The top of the bag has a good one inch hem, place the end of the strap to cover all of that top width. Once the strap is in position, sew around all four sides and then sew an “X” through the square. This will give the handles extra strength when your bag is full of goodies. Make sure the strap is not twisted when you sew the other side onto the bag. Once both straps are on then you are ready to close up the sides.


Fold the fabric in half to form a bag and line up the top and the straps to make sure everything is squared. The first seam is done with the bag right side out (yes, that’s right). Sew both sides together. Start at the top and go down the side until you are about 4 inches from the bottom.

Then bring the bottom of the fabric up to meet the end of the stitched edge and sew each side so it looks like an inverted Y. This will give the base of the bag a true “bottom”.

After you have completed this on both sides then turn the bag inside out and do the same thing again over the first seam. This will give the bag a finished look.

Now for some monogramming fun.

Use paper doilies and a little fabric paint to stipple a design onto the bag.

Cut your initial out of a sheet of cardstock (unless you have letter stencils) and stipple the fabric paint on your bag.

Here’s an extra idea for those of you with a website or etsy store.


I used stickers to create a negative stencil for my web address. Sponge on some fabric paint then remove the stickers.

Now you can really multi-task…Shop and advertise.


Have fun crafty people!!!!
For more fun ideas hop on over to see Jen at Craft-o-maniac …