In His Grip

Three Word Thursday

It's Called Christmas!

Pink Christmas Ball Wreath

This is the Christmas wreath that Anna made for me this past weekend.  She showed me this really cute wreath on a blog a couple of weeks ago and had me  buy some pink Christmas balls to so she could make one.  This was an easy peasy project.  Here are the steps so you can make one too. 

Take a wire hanger and untwist it and then stretch it into a circle.

  
Before stringing the balls onto the hanger you will need to hot glue the tops on.  This is an important step because as the hanger gets full and the balls tighten together they will pop off.  Do not skip this step, believe me!

 

You will need to use several size balls to fill in as much as possible the blank spaces.  Don't worry if the wire shows a bit, once the wreath is complete you can fill in by hot gluing small balls to fill in the gaps.  When the hanger is full twist the two ends of the wire hanger together and then cover it with a large ribbon.

I love the way this turned out and I think Anna rocks for making one for me.   Thanks, Anna, I love you!

Its Beginning to be a Pink Christmas

Our pink Christmas is beginning to really shape up.  I am done with the pink decorating and I have to say that Jeff is relieved that it is finally finished.  There is only so much pink one man can take.  Now you need to realize that the only pink Christmas that is going on is confined to the dinning room and oh yeah, the front porch.  This is the tree that I have been planning for several years now.  I truly love it.  The contrast between the white tree and the pink ornaments just sets the whole thing off.  The tree skirt is a saree that I purchased in India.  It is six yards of pink beaded silk loveliness, and boy, do I feel like a real princess when I wear it.  While in Delhi, last September I purchased pink beaded shoes that go perfect with it and I only paid $2.50. Really, how can you pass up such a bargain?  Here are some more picture of the pink Christmas.

These cute little pink wreaths I picked up at the Target dollar spot.  Score!  I added some ribbon and hot glued some silver balls to jazz them up a bit.

This is my table center piece.  I have no idea where all of this came from.  I am sure they were part of my after Christmas sale purchases of the past, as they were amongst the things in my "one day I will have a pink Christmas" box.  The table runner was a scrape of fabric I found in my work room.  Who would ever throw away a piece of such pink loveliness?

Another Target dollar spot find.  You really need to stop by the dollar spot at Target, there are so many fun things that you can find.

 

I think you get the picture of our pink Christmas here at our house.  Thank you for allowing me to give you the tour.  I keep finding myself sitting in the dinning room and enjoying this part of the house like I have never done before.  Soon I will give you a look at the porch that has a pink Christmas going on as well.

Christmas Carnival Giveway

There is a Christmas Carnival going on over at The Shabby Chic Cottage.  She is hosting a giveaway from over 10 different vendors and The Pink Porch is one of them.  Go on over and sign up for all of the fun prizes.  It might just be your lucky day.  This is the item that The Pink Porch is giving.   

Three Word Thursday

I am thankful!

 

  

 

 

Size 15 and "Skinny?"

"Skinny jeans" have been in for about a year now.  I like it when they call them Audrey (Hepburn) jeans, like that is supposed to make one feel better about the fact that jeans are skin tight and you need toothpicks for legs to wear them.  I have to say, that I do admire the look of long legs and these jeans certainly accentuate this.  I have several friends that are a lot younger than me.   They have been wearing skinny jeans and I do say that they look great on them.  So the other morning at our body boot camp they were talking about these great "skinny" jeans at Target on sale for $12.99.   They were talking about how they needed to buy a size bigger then they normally buy.  So I asked if they thought they might come in my size.  I wanted to buy a pair to wear with my boots so that I don't have a wad of denim around my ankles when I want to tuck my jeans in.  I have never had the confidence to even try a pair on, but they assured me that they did come in my size even though they were in junior section.  How bad could it be?  So as I needed to go to Target anyway for some other purchases, I decided to swallow my pride and try to squeeze into these jeans that they call skinny.  Remembering the gals from boot camp having to buy a bigger size I grabbed the size bigger than I normally wear as well as the next size up.  It's crazy!  They are called "skinny" for a reason because I could not get these stupid jeans on.  Feeling absolutely ridiculous that I even thought I could possible wear something that my "young" friends could wear I left the dressing room determined to put this humiliating experience behind me.  I shopped for my other items but kept thinking there were a couple more sizes I could try and after all they were only $12.99.  I went back over to the jeans and tried a couple more sizes and found one that they did actually fit, but they were not only a muffin top, I had a full out cake top going on.  Knowing no one wanted to see a 40 something behind in jeans that tight, I once again swallowed my pride and tried the next size up.  Shocker, I did like them.  If I wear them with a longer type blouse this could work.  Now here is the question, can you really call them "skinny" jeans if you have to wear a size 15? 

From Old Broken Sled to Pink Flyer

This is the old sled that used to sit on our front porch from December through March.  I would decorate it with a wreath for Christmas, I have some old skates that I'd hang from it, and used it in various ways to decorate our front porch in the winter.  Well, seems as we are going with a pink theme this year, I thought that this old sled needed a little pink loveliness added to it so that it would fit in better with our new fun pink Christmas and winter decorations this year.  So I got out my handy dandy pink paint and went to town.

I let the paint dry and then used a white paint pen and added some stripes, snowflakes and the word "Pink Flyer" just for fun.  I allowed that to dry and then went to town with some sand paper to rough it up a bit.

Because I thought the rail needed a little something and I love sparkle I add silver glitter to the rails. 

 
  
I cannot wait to put this outside on the front porch with the other pink loveliness I have been creating.  Check back, as I will be bringing you more and more of our pink Christmas.

Getting My Pink on for Christmas

For the last several years I have been accumulating pink Christmas ornaments.  It all started when my Mom brought me a gift of pink vintage beaded ornaments that my Grandparents had made back in the 70's.  Every year I go to the after Christmas sales and find all kinds of the pink stuff 75% to 90% off.  Shocker, I may be one of the only people to think that a Christmas could be pink.  Anyway, this is the year.  I think I have enough to cover a whole tree!  Not only do I have enough to cover the whole tree, our outside wreath got a redo in pink loveliness!  Okay, I hear your questions already, what does Jeff think of all of this pink?  Does he care that there is a pink Christmas going on the outside of the house?  All I can say is, I think my love of pink is growing on him after 27 years, because he even helped me hang that pretty pink wreath.   I am sure he would prefer a more traditional Christmas color, but if you know me at all, "when in doubt ,pink is always the right choice!" Here is all of the pink things I have to work with for the creativity to begin.  I will post pictures of the first pink Christmas here at the Sturman's.

New Designs on The Pink Porch

I have put some new designs up on The Pink Porch.  There are several everyday pendants and I plan on finishing up some holiday designs soon.  On Friday, November 28th, I will be participating in a giveaway at The Shabby Chic Cottage.  Check back here on Friday the 28th to get the details on how you can participate in the Christmas Carnival giveaway. 

This "Child of the King" pendant will be the item that I have donated for the giveaway.  Below are some more of the new designs.  Each one of my designs are unique and a one-of-a-kind as they are made using vintage buttons, hand colored papers, glass beads etc. ensuring no two are exactly the alike.  If you see something that you love, don't miss out, go on over to The Pink Porch and place your order. 
   

Three Word Thrusday

Plaza lighting preparation

 

 
 

Bergfalk Babes Weekend

This past weekend was our annual Bergfalk Babes weekend.  My mom, sisters and I have been getting together for a weekend together once a year for going on 22 years now.  If I remember right, the first year was the year Lindsey was born and she will be 22 in January.  Wow!  And to think we are all still so young, ha,ha.  We usually go to one of our homes but have had some years where we all meet somewhere fun.  This year we stayed here in Kansas City and our sister Lori came in from Seattle.  The weekend was filled with shopping, eating good food and great conversation.  We all realized how blessed we are to have these family relationships.

Mom had set up a little photo gallery to help us all remember back when.

This happens to be one of my favorite pictures of the three of us girls.  And look, even back then I was posing myself sideways in the picture to help make myself look skinnier. I guess vanity begins early
   

I Got A Pioneer Woman Cooks Book!!! Yeah!

The other day I was pleasantly surprised when a friend of mine gave me The Pioneer Woman Cooks,cookbook.  I have been following the Pioneer Woman blog for over two years.  I love her quirky posts about her life on a ranch in Oklahoma.  Since I read her everyday, I feel like I know her.  She has invited her readers into her family and home.  I feel like I have helped her make design decisions on the lodge that she recently renovated, helped her brother, Mike, stay on the wagon, and shared her great anxiety as she appeared on the Bonnie Hunt show.  Now, I am pretty sure she has no idea who Judy @ In His Grip is, but I know that if I saw her in person I might just embarrass myself by running up to her and huggng like she was one of my Panera tribe gals.  Okay, that is weird.  This is the best step-by-step cookbook I have ever seen.  To be honest I don't like cookbooks that do not have a picture of every recipe.  I want to see what I am making.  Not only does she have pictures of the finished product, she has pictures of how things look as you follow the recipe.  You have gotta love that!

Three Word Thursday

Global Orphan Project

Our Small Group Can Cook, What Can Your Small Group Do?

Tonight our ladies small group from  Indian Creek, Gardner had a super time of  cooking fun.  Instead of doing our normal Bible study, we got together and had a cooking demonstration.  My friend Debra came and showed us how to make some delicious hors doeuvres just in time for our holiday party planning. We made a  Chili-Lime Pecans (these are the best!!!!), Savory Cheese Cake, and Spanikopita. I will definitely be making these for the holidays.  Its amazing how well our small group has gotten to know each other in such a short time and how much each of our lives have been changed by being a part of this group.  Just last Spring we did not even know one another's names.  I love these gals and look forward to continuing on our journeys together in the future.

TV Can Inspire Creativity

I don't watch TV during the day, but for some reason I had it on this morning and it was tuned into the Rachel Ray show.  First off, can I say, I just love her.  Her peppy personality can pick up anyone's spirit.  Today, I am not even sure what was going on because I was so taken in my the pillows that were on the sofa she was sitting on.    They are to die for!!!  I hurried and got my camera and snapped a quick picture so that I could remember them.  You just wait I am going to make those pillows and you will see them on the site some time in the future.   Does anyone else check out the accessories on the set of TV shows, or is it just me? 

Choosing to Believe!!!!

This morning I read a devotional and the key verse was:

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Hebrew 11:6

I understood something today that I had never noticed before, not only do we have to believe that he exists but he is also asking us to believe that he will reward those who are seeking him.  Hmmmm, I had never noticed that I am suppose to "believe", really "believe" that he does reward us for seeking him.  I don't know that I "really" believe that, I know that this verse states that, and I know in my heart that the Bible is the word of God, but do I truly believe?  Today I am choosing to believe that the reward I have been waiting on will be mine today!

Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies

Funfetti Cookies are just the best.  We made these this past weekend not only are they easy peasy, they are absolutely delicious.  Lindsey made these for a meeting that she was having, where nobody showed up, but that is another story.   So being my daughter, she "had" to eat the cookies herself.  But because they were soooo good she was willing to make the sacrifice.  Funfetti Cake mixes are out all year long and there are different ones for each holiday.  Here is the recipe:

1	(18.9-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® Funfetti® Cake Mix
1/3	cup oil
2	eggs
1/2	(15.6-oz.) can Pillsbury® Creamy Supreme® Funfetti® Vanilla Frosting

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, combine cake mix, oil and eggs; stir with spoon until thoroughly moistened. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. With bottom of glass dipped in flour, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness. Bake at 375°F. for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets. Spread frosting over warm cookies. Immediately sprinkle each with candy bits from frosting. Let frosting set before storing. Store in tightly covered container.

Dollar Store Pumpkins~Made Snazy!

I bought these cute little pumpkins and gourds from our local dollar store a couple of weeks ago.  They are great and everything, but I wanted to snaz them up a bit.  So after thinking about this for some time and being inspired by my recent ironing board project, I decided to use some of the leftover dictionary pages and my handy Mod Podge and give these little guys a makeover.  I had some black glitter that I had used for a Halloween costume and put glitter on the stems and then glittered some leaves too.  Here is how they turned out.  I love them!  I think they could work at any black tie affair!  Okay, so I am not sure how black tie and pumpkins go together, but who knows.

Trunk-Or-Treat Success!!!!

The first Indian Creek Gardner Trunk-or-Treat was more than I could have ever imagined.  Jesi, our Kid Alive director, and I had been planning this but quite frankly had no idea how this event would turn out.  We thought we had all of our "i"s dotted and "t"s crossed but when it is a first time event, you just never know.  As the trunkers started showing up with their trunks all decorated  with lights and in costume I knew that something was up.  Now I don't want to over spiritualize it but I had been praying for the success of this event all week and it turns out God does care about reaching out to a community through something like a Trunk-or-Treat event.  Because we served over 500 children and there had to have been double that in adults.  The newspaper even showed up to take pictures.  Thank you to all of the people that helped out and especially to those "trunker missionaries" from the Olathe campus that came and trunked with us.  And most of all, thank you Jesus for caring about our small Live Out event and making it more than we could have ever hoped for!  I know, it's just the kind of God that you are and help me remember that.

Three Word Thrusday

Leaves of Fall!!!!

Sewing Pattern Lamp Shade

This is a lamp shade that I have had around for a couple of years.  I have two of these lamps with this pink shade and they have been very happy in Ryan's room.  Okay, I know that it is not Ryan's room because he does not live with us anymore but I just cannot bring myself to call it a guest room.  So I think I will always call bed rooms by the name of the child that occupied it, perhaps Ryan's Retreat, Lindsey's Lounge, and Anna's Escape.  I don't know just a thought.  Anyway, I decided that the shade need a redo.

I took the fabric off of the frame and this is what I started with.  The first time I went into Urban Arts and Crafts, I fell in love with the lamp shades they have hanging above their cash register.  They had made them using sewing pattern pieces.  I knew that someday I would make one of my own and decided this was a great lamp shade frame to try it on.  I began with sewing pattern pieces and Mod Podge.

 I started delicately painting the Mod Podge over the pattern pieces and overlapping the pattern pieces as I went.  I folded the tissue over the top and bottom wires and carefully Mod Podge the back side.  Once the tissue is covered in the Mod Podge it tears very easily as it is wet.  So I tried to get a coat on and then not go over again. 

Once the first coat had dried completely I put a coat of Mod Podge on the inside and then when that dried, I coated the outside with a second coat.  The result makes the shade feel like plastic.  It was not nearly as fragile as I had imagined.

I added trim along the top and bottom edges just to snaz it up a bit.  Besides the edges were a bit rough and I needed to cover them up, and you can never go wrong with a great beaded trim.  Trim scrapes in my studio are a perk of my job and you can bet I save every little bit.  You never know when you will need a dab of trim.

Here is where the lamp now lives, in the Stitches by Sturman studio.  I love the golden light that it gives off.  I have not deceided what to do with the pink bubbles, you can see the one at the top and there is also one on the bottom.  But that is for another day.  I think I will put it on a timer so that I can leave it on all the time and will not have to worry about turning it off and on.

Summer to Cozy Winter Bed

This is our master bed the way it looks from March-ish through October-ish.  We have a wide variety of pillows and if it were up to me we would add some Euro shams behind the shams you see here but Jeff has put his foot down and says there are too many pillows as it is.  (Like he makes the bed and arranges those pillows on a daily basis.) But being the compliant wife that I am (ha, ha), I have let the Euro shams go for now.  (I do have some fabric set aside in my"fabric closet" that will do very nicely as Euros someday, shhh, don't tell Jeff.) 

When the weather starts to turn chilly I want a more cozy look to our bed.  So I just make a couple of changes.  I add another down comforter with a velvet duvet cover and the shams are change out to match as well.  The matelasse cotton throw is folded up on the end for an extra blanket if we need it.  And wal lah, a cozy bed for winter cold nights.  When the temperatures get even colder I have some fun brown and blue snowflake flannel sheets that will help take the chill off of those cold sheets. 

Holiday Mart Fun!

Last night the girls and I along with our friend Sheri went to the Junior League Holiday Mart.  If you take all of the small boutiques for women, children and home decor and put them all in one place this is the Holiday Mart.  I had not been in several years and this event has moved from a "craft" show to a shopping extravaganza.  We had so much fun and as we were shopping, we kept seeing this one mannequin in all of the different booths to display jewelry, scarves, hats, etc.  Every time we saw it Lindsey and Anna would turn around an make the same face as the mannequin.  I think they got it down pretty good by the end of the night..

Three Word Thursday

Trunk or Treat!!!!!

My Sister is Creative Inspiration!

This is picture from my sister Lori's shop.  She has space in a store in Chehalis, Washington where she resells junk that she had taken from trash to treasure.  She is a good part of my inspiration when it comes to my trash to treasure projects.  In fact, I have a project in process right now that was idea that she gave me last week when we were talking on the phone.  I will post this project here soon.  You can go over to her blog CinnabarBlue and see some of the other fun things that she comes up with.  See, right there is a sweater pumpkin, black and white, who would have thought it would be so cute.

This Old Ironing Board

This is the old ironing board that I found a couple of weeks ago and paid $5 for.  The legs were broken and it did not really stand up very well.  But with some wood glue and a couple of screws, ta da, it stands up just great and I decided it would make a perfect table in my studio.  And look, the legs were already red so no spray painting needed.  After looking at it for some time, I felt it needed a little spiffying up.  I took an old dictionary and decided to decoupage some of the pages on the top of the ironing board. 

If you look closely, the edge of the pages of the dictionary were red and the Mod Podge made the red bleed slightly.  I ended up putting several coats of Mod Podge on the top so that it would be smooth.  I need all the help I can get on cutting down on the dust bunny collection.  I love how it turn out!

 

Its a Halloween Party!

 
Thank you for coming to my  Halloween party!  As you can see by the pictures above we are decked out for the season.  I have to say that Fall is one of my favorite times of year and I so love all of the colors, the candy and treats that go along with this holiday are not so bad either.  If you want to check out other Halloween parties, go on over to A Fanciful Twist where there is a huge party going on.

Chocolate Chex® Caramel Crunch Recipe

This is a recipe that has come highly recommended by a couple of my friends.  Last week during the Pumpkin Run Sheri was telling me about this Chocolate Chex carmel stuff that she had made the day before and could not stop eating it.  She had tried it when our friend Cathie had brought it to a party that they had attended a couple weeks before.  She said it was easy and yes, she was right, easy peasy, and super good.  ~WARNING~I am not responsible for how much you eat of this recipe.  If you tend to be like me,  you won't stop eating until you are sick. 

 

8	cups Chocolate Chex® cereal
3/4	cup packed brown sugar
6	tablespoons butter or margarine
3	tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4	teaspoon baking soda
1/4	cup white vanilla baking chips

Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper.

In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-size pieces.

 
In small microwavable bowl, microwave vanilla baking chips uncovered on High about 1 minute 30 seconds or until chips can be stirred smooth (bowl will be hot). Drizzle over snack. Refrigerate until set. Store in tightly covered container.

Three Word Thursday

Repay with kindness!!!!!! 

Element 8 is my Hero!

The last week or so I have had some computer technical difficulties.  I hate it when my laptopstops working, it makes me realize just how dependent I have become to this cute little pink box.  I also now know just how much time I spend reading and sending emails, blogging, and just plain waisting time on this piece of technology.  But it is a necessary tool for me, after all, I am running a business here.  A couple of weeks ago I took my computer to Jason at Element 8, my computer was running slow and I knew that there was a virus involved.  A day later he delivered my computer running great.  But then this week my computer kept turning off.  I could not keep it on long enough to check email or do any of my "business".  Because Element 8 did a great job for a reasonable price last time I gave them a call again.  The next day Ed from Element 8 called and said that my laptop was ready for pick up and that they had to do surgery and removed two large dust bunnies from the inside of my laptop.  He then proceeded to tell me that I really should not set my laptop on any fabric.  Really, fabric is my life, that is what Stitches By Sturman is all about.  I have dust bunnies cohabitating in my studio with me all the time.  They multiply like rabbits, ha,ha!   So the fact that they found their way into my laptop is no surprise.  My computer is running great once again!  Thanks Element 8 for rescuing me once again.

Creepy!

Last week while I was in Minnesota, my Mom and I gathered some moss.  I use this in my baskets in the spring that I plant flowers in.  I also have a couple of ideas in my head to use it for some things I want to make for Christmas decorations.  We gathered quite a bit and laid it on my Mom's living room floor to dry.  We sprayed it with bug spray just in case there were some unwanted bugs that may have come along for the ride.  After laying in Mom's house for two days we wrapped it in newspaper and then put it in two large trash bags and I then loaded it in my car.  We brought it home and I put the bags of moss in my studio to unload latter.  Well this weekend I started to unload the moss, because it was still a little moist and I wanted it to dry out before storing it for use in the future.  As I was laying the moss out in my basement, I had unloaded one bag and went to get the other bag and what did I find on the floor by the other bag . . .

 
this creepy half dead salamander.  Okay, so now I am a little creeped out that I have a basement floor full of moss that is drying out and wondering if there were any other stowaways with my moss.  Creepy, creepy, creepy!!!!!!!!!

Pumkin Run with Friends

So it was freezing cold this morning but we had all made a commitment to our friend Haley to run in the 11th Annual Pumpkin Run.   We were at the very first pumpkin run eleven years ago and I cannot believe how big it has gotten.  What is really fun about it, is that a good number of the elementary schools in town have running clubs just to train for this event.  There were over 3,000 runners out on this cold morning. 

 
Today was not about what time we got but just to have fun with Hayley and make her first 5K an experience to remember.

We were all about taking time to take pictures along the way.

Hayley set our pace and decided to how fast we would run, when we would walk, and if we would run again.  

Had to stop and get a picture of this fan because Hayley was sure he was rooting her on.

 
Hayley heading for the finish line.

 
The joy of being able to say, "I ran 3.1 miles today, what did you do?"

So Sheri is a sucker for a cute cow any day.

Three Word Thrusday

Beauty of Autumn

Even Work @ the Lake Can Be Fun!

One of the tasks that we needed to accomplish this week at the lake was getting the docks ready for winter, and up north that means lifting them out of the water.  First we have to take all of the dock boards up.  These are in sections which isn't too bad. But then you need to realize there are three docks needing the boards taken off and stacked in order so they can be easily replaced next Spring when the operation is reversed.  Once the boards have been taken off the "A" frames need to be raised and then the wench attached.  For the two small docks we use a hand wench.  Which does not seem that big a deal but believe me, it is a lot of work when you are raising the dock one small chain link at a time.  

Okay, so I totally posed for the camera here.  But I did click it a couple of times for maybe two minutes, it is really hard!!!!

This is how high the docks have to come out of the water.  The frozen lake is really not the problem for the docks, it is when it comes time to thaw in the spring when the damage happens. As the ice beings to thaw it moves back and forth across the bay with the wind and can wreck havoc on anything in its way.  Although Jeff did most of the work, Dad was there to supervise, and Mom and I for all of that moral support.

 
We also took time for a photo on top of those dock boards we just removed.  I am not sure how it is that work just doesn't seem as much work when you are at the lake, or Jeff is around to do most of it for you. 

 

Sweater Pumpkins

This is my newest project.  I was inspired by sister Lori who told me she was making some pumpkins from old sweaters.  So I kept my eyes open for some pumpkin looking sweaters at our local Salvation Army and Goodwill stores.  I do frequent these two stores often as I regularly find unexpected treasures or something that can be made into a treasure.  I picked up two sweaters, the orange one was a ladies small that I was able to make one large and two small pumpkins out of and the amber colored one was a mens large that I was able to get two large and  three small pumpkins.  Here is a quick how to:  I went out to sewing.about.com and found this pattern and instructions.  

Cutting out the pattern pieces.

Sewing the eight sections together to form a circle.

 

Sewing the ends together after all eight pieces had been sewn together.

After filling the form with stuffing, I used a piece of a stick that I had found out in the backyard and cut to about 5".  Sticking it through the opening and closed the top around it by gathering with thread and secured with hot glue.

Using very strong thread, I used an orange cotton yarn, to go up through the top and through the bottom along the seam lines all the way around to create the ribs.  

I then added some brown wire and leaves and there you have it, sweater pumpkins.   

Fall~Up in the North Woods

Fall up in the north woods is so pretty. I never realized until this trip that I have never been up north in the Fall. You cannot help but recognize what a creative God we have.  The colors are so vibrate and the contrast from the deep greens of the pine trees, golden leaves of burch, and the brilliant reds of the maples are more than I expected and the people are saying that this year's colors have not yet hit their peak.   This is the back porch and what welcomes you when you arrive at the lake house.  

This is the scene across the lake from my folks' house.

 

Giving His Heart Away!

We are up in the north woods this weekend visiting my folks.  Amongst all of my Mom's other fall decorations sat two bud vases one with a yellow rose addressed to my Mom and an orange one for my Dad.  The note card on my Mom's explained how it would be a little strange for another women to be sending my Dad a love letter but she had to do it anyway.  The letter to my Dad was from a gal in town that my parents have become friends with she and her husband and two girls.  She told him how much he meant to her and how much impact he had on her life since they had moved to Cook, MN.  She went on to say that it has been because of my Dad and his guidance that she and her husband had made decisions regarding their business, as well as getting their life where it needed to be spiritually as well.  She said she had a very short list of people that she could say have truly made a difference in her life and she wanted my Dad to know that he was one of them.  She is sure that my Dad's heart condition is because he has given so much of his heart away that he forgot to keep enough of it to run his body.  Wow! It is such a blessing to have my Dad and Mom for parents and to know that others love and care for them too.  But to actually have someone take the time to let my Dad just how much he has meant to her and her family, was something a lot of people don't often get to hear.  Makes me know I need to let those influencers in my life know how much I appreciate the part of their heart they have given to away me.

My Kind Of Coffee Table Book

Here is my kind of coffee table book.  I was in Calico Corner the other day and saw this book, but for $40, I just walked away, but not before I wrote down the title and author, to do an internet search later.  Even with the paper jacket cover off this book looks good.  I have always been one of those folks that buys my books according to the cover and this one certainly fits that standard.  Not only does it look great on the outside but the inside pictures are to die for.  I do have a special love for design and textiles and this book is filled that.  My own particular style does tend to include a lot of different patterns and textures and there are lots of examples of that.  This books has already inspired, in my head, several different projects.  Here is just a small sampling of the what you can find inside this book.

 

Possums, Mice, and Snakes, Oh My!

This has been a week of rodents in and around the homes in our family.  Last week Ryan kept complaining about an awful odor in his house that turned into a literal stink.  His little farm house has one of those old time cellars that have the doors that open from the ground like you see in horror movies.  There was no way he was going down there to check out the smell, too many scary movie scenes came to his mind when you are, thinking DO NOT GO DOWN THERE.  Well, he called the home owner and they had someone "go down there" and found a possum had crawled into one of his ducts and died.  Ewwwh!  Then Jeff saw a mouse in the garage and put out some poison.  Now we have dead mice in the garage and they are starting to stink.  To top it all off, on Sunday when we came home from church there was a snake sunny itself just outside the garage door and as soon as we got close he found his way into a small opening between the garage door and the cement.  When we opened the door there were two snakes.  Now I am a little freaked out to go out in the garage, I don't do well with rodents.  I am ready for a good hard freeze and for all of these critters to eat the poison and hurry up and quite smelling up my garage and by all means DO NOT COME IN MY HOUSE!

Fun Halloween Gift Box

Here is another of my trash to treasure crafts.  I took this drink holder and put a coat of spray paint on it to cover the labels.  I used a tan color and only had to do two coats to cover the writing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I than added a ruffle of fabric that I cut with pinking shears.  The fabric was 2" strip and then I ran a large basting stitch and pulled the string to make the ruffle.  Using my trusty hot glue gun, I attached the ruffle to the top of the box.

 

 

 

 

 

I then took 1" strips of paper that I purchased at the dollar spot at Target, and sewed them with a zig zag stitch overlapping them slightly.  I just kept adding 1" strips until they were wide enough to cover the sides of the box.  Again, the handy dandy hot glue gun helped me attached them to the sides of the box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I then cut circles with my Cricut and put the tag board letters, also purchased at the dollar spot at Target, on them.  To give them a little dimension I attached them to the box with adhesive foam squares.  The tag was also cut with my Cricut and the pumpkin was part of the tag board letter set.  Add some curly ribbon and you have a great gift box. That cost next to nothing.

Pitt State Family Day

This past weekend we spent Saturday at Pittsburg State University for family day.  I cannot believe this will be the last family day at Pitt State where we will actually be considered "family".  This is Lindsey's senior year and from now on we can all attend as just alumni as both Jeff and I went to Pitt State as well, go Gorillas!!!!!!  I just love the atmosphere of a college campus on game day.  I think because it takes me back to when I was a college student and maybe just for a minute I can pretend that I am a student too.  And then reality hits, and again I am reminded that I am a mom of a college student, and two college students at that, with one that graduated a couple of years ago, yikes, we are getting old. 

 

Fall Front Proch

Here is my current front porch.  I am looking forward to changing the screen door for the glass door so you can see my great fall wreath better.  But with the way the weather is, I love the fresh air that the screen door provides.  The pumpkin topiaries are ones that I made several years ago and spiffed them up a bit last year, but I still think that they need something else.  I am not sure what they need but they are just not right. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the bench that has sat on our front porch for 20 years now.  Jeff and his dad built it for me when we had no furniture in our house.  I had a cushion on it with pillows.  But as soon as we had a front porch, this is where it has lived.  I have to keep things on it or someone might notice how rotten it is.  I mean seriously, there are mushrooms growing out of the seat of it.  That might be attributed to the fact that I always have pots or baskets with flowers in them sitting on it so it stays wet pretty much all the time.  And here you see the mums that.   are always on that bench in the Fall.  Can you see the amber one.  Why is it I can keep the other colors looking good, but my amber mums always look sad?   Maybe amber mums don't like to sit on rotten benches, just wondering?

Three Word Thursday

Road less taken

From $3 Garage Sale Find to Style

I purchased this chair at a garage sale a month or so ago for $3.  I know not a dumpster dive that I am used to but I thought for $3 dollar, not too bad.  If you look closely there is small tear in the seat, so I knew that I would be recovering the cushions.

 

Once again out comes my colonial red spray paint by Rust-Oleum.  I really like this color!  It works in a number of rooms of my home, but most of all it has become the main color of my studio.  I then sand a little of it off to give it a little bit of character.

To recover a piece I always remove the current fabric.  It makes the final fabric lay much nicer and you use the different parts as pattern pieces for cutting out the new fabric.

You will want to be careful when removing the seams so that the pieces can remain in the same shape to make the most accurate pattern possible.  This, at times, can be very gross, as who knows where this furniture has been.

I found a scrape of this fun toile type design in my studio and knew that it would be perfect for this chair makeover.  Sewing the pieces back together is the fun part as your new piece of furniture begins to emerge. 

One more garage sale find that was taken from junk to a stylish little chair that is now in my studio next to my other dumpster dive makeover chair.

Easy Apple Crisp

I would not call myself a "good" cook but I do like to make "good" food.  Some people like to cook gourmet, things that take a lot of skill.  My specialty happens to be good food made easy.  In fact, one of my favorite web sites is called Dinner Made Easy by Betty Crocker.  In light of the Autumn season and the abundance of good apples around, we made this Easy Apple Crisp for dinner Sunday night.  I found this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website another of my favorites.  Can you tell that I really like that swirlly brush on my PhotoShop?

Jo's Old Fashioned Apple Crisp 

8 cups Apples, Half Cortland, Half McIntosh

½ cups Butter (no Substitute)

½ cups Sugar

½ cups Flour

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a pie dish. 10″ deep dish works best for one this size. Peel and core apples, layering them alternately, Cortland- McIntosh, until all apples are in the dish. Soften butter slightly and mix with the sugar and flour until crumbly. Sprinkle cinnamon, more or less than specified amount according to your taste, over the layered apples. Pour the crumbly butter-sugar-flour mix over that. Put in the hot oven for 30 to 45 minutes, checking with a knife. It should easily go into the deepest part and come out clean. Cool, or eat while still warm. Serve plain, with real whipped cream, or ice cream.

Unbelievable School Spirit!

On Friday night, Jeff and I attended the Gardner High School football game.  Never before have we experienced a high school football game with so much team spirit.  Not only was everyone dressed in blue, but we even saw adults with their hair painted blue, oh, and one was a co-worker of Jeff's, ha,ha.  There were 230 elementary school girls there to cheer along with the cheerleaders for the 1st quarter and they were all sporting their "Raise Her a Blazer" t-shirts. Before you entered the stadium there was the booster club selling Gardner Blazer gear, 50/50 tickets, and thunder sticks.  Okay, then you enter the stadium. You can't help but notice the large blowup in one of the end-zones.  As the excitement of the game heightens, you see the team start to enter the field, but before they do they all fit inside the blowup and   as smoke starts to billow out of the large football helmet the teams bursts out.  It was the best team entrance that I have ever seen at a high school game.  If you want to get the experience of a small town totally behind their football team check out a home Garden High School game. 

More Fall Harvest Things I Love

Here are some more shapes of Fall that I love.  And look how fancy I got with PhotoShop.  I am still learning but I love playing with the different brushes.  I just download a couple of new ones and wanted to try them out.  This is a metal basket that I have just filled with gourds, apples, mini pumpkins and look one lone lemon that I will be using in some tea later.  Have a great Saturday!!!

Apples are a Great Part of Fall!

There are just things about Fall that I love.  One of them happens to be apples.  I really like the colors and shape of them, but most of all the crisp sound when you bite into a fresh apple has to be the best.  I happen to be partial to the green variety, Granny Smith being my favs.  A crisp Granny Smith with that little bit of sour and then sprinkled with a smidgen of salt.  Wow, what a healthy snack.  In the Fall, you can always find a container of apples in our home as a centerpiece.  But, this is a decoration that anyone is welcome to take one and enjoy.  This long narrow wood box happens to be one the treasures that I picked up at Nell Hills a couple of weeks ago.  They came in several different colors and sizes.  Maybe, I should go back and get a square red one, hmmm?  I love how it looks filled with the harvest of Autumn.

Three Word Thrusday

In a group?

Monogram Fall Wreath

With the cooler weather, I am getting into the Fall season.  I spent the last day or two getting our house into the harvest feeling.  When you enter our home there is no doubt what time of year it is.  I am a little partial to Fall decorations, I am not sure if it is the bright orange, amber, and gold colors or the shape of a pumpkins and sunflowers that I fancy.  But I do like Autumn.  I was inspired by a blog that I saw some time ago with a wreath that featured a large letter in the middle and thought that I would make one for our door for Fall.

Here are the supplies that I used.  I purchased them all at JoAnn Fabrics for 50% off!

This is what the "S" looked like as I painted a nice chocolate brown.

I am no floral designer I just cut the flower stems apart and just start hot gluing things down.  I have to say, I am never sure when I am finished and just try to remember that less is more thing.

Here is a close up of the "S".  Sorry the picture is not the greatest.  After painting it brown I used a metallic gold paint pen and just kind of doodled on it.  If you have ever been with me when I am taking notes of any kind this doodling is all over my notes. Then I sealed it with clear spray.