Finished Object Friday

Happy Friday everyone!! I hope each of you has had a great week! I had to do a little looking around the house today to figure out something to share for Finished Object Friday. Then I remembered that I hadn't shared this little project yet:

I fell in love with this bird's nest candle holder the first time I saw it.

I did think it would look better in a little lighter color though. So out came the trusty ivory spray paint! :)

And I really like the nests in the "nests." Although, the eggs are a little out of proportion to the nests. :) I guess that just adds to the "artsyness," right? :)

And do you see that book? It's from one of my favorite artists! I picked it up for a song at a local used book sale! (Love those!!) :)

So now it's your turn! I can't wait to see what you've been up to. I've had a sneak peek - hope we don't have to wait to long to see what it's about! :)

Today we will be heading to our favorite "thrifty" sale. And tomorrow a church ladies luncheon/tea! :) Fun times!

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1. Pillowcase Dress 2. Burlap Runner 3. Finished Object for a buck

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Garden Mystery

Once again, I am enjoying having a garden. Although I haven't enjoyed much produce from it yet, other than a few random strawberries. :) My new sprinkler (above) has really come in handy! And it's pretty too!

My broccoli is thriving... wonder when it starts producing the edible part? Maybe I should do more research...

I think the lettuce is so pretty - almost like a flower! I picked a few leaves today to enjoy at lunch.

My tomato plants are very happy - and putting out blooms already!

But here is the mystery... I bought a nice sturdy cage to train this years cucumbers on. Then I planted lots of seeds (to weed out the weaker plants once they sprouted. As you can see below, I only have a couple of cucumber sprouts by the cage...

The seeds (at least I think they are cucumber - they sure smell like cucumber!) have sprouted instead, all throughout my garden - like way on the opposite side!!! hmmmm....

There is the mystery - how did they get there??? :) Oh, well. I have a few more seeds started and we'll see what happens! Happy gardening!!

National Infertility Awareness Week

This is National Infertility Awareness Week (April 24 - May 1). I have talked a little bit before about our struggles. Infertility is a hard thing to go through and is often misunderstood. If you haven't been through this valley yourself, here are some tips to help you understand and relate to someone who is.

To those of you who have triumphed over infertility, YAY! and thanks for continuing to understand and raise awareness.

Some of you, like Mark and I, are still walking through the valley and trying to find the path God has chosen for you. Hugs to you! God has a plan for all of us and for our families. And He loves each of us ever so much. Keep seeking Him. Here's a wonderful article that Tammy shared on her blog.

Sunday Blessing

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow'r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!

by Fanny Crosby

Quick Hi and a recipe...

Well, I didn't plan a leave of absence, but this week has absolutely flown by! Hard to believe that Friday is almost here! I hope each of you has been having a good week. Mine has been busy with homekeeping and work and various other enjoyable things. :) I wanted to share this recipe with you. I made them for our Spring Tea and thought you might enjoy them as well.



Sandwich Wraps
Ingredients:
1 package of cream cheese
2 T dijon mustard
3 green onions finely chopped
1 Package of flat bread (I used this.)
Baby spinach
Lunch meat (It took 2 small packages for 6 wraps - it just depends on how much you want.)
Roasted red peppers (in a jar on the pickle aisle)
Sliced cheese - (I used a pre-sliced cheddar cheese - not the processed sandwich cheese.)

Mix cream cheese, mustard and green onions together. Spread evenly on 6 wraps. Lightly press a layer of spinach onto the cream cheese mixture. Lay a few strips of the sliced red pepper on the spinach. Then comes a layer of meat and then cheese. Roll the wrap up tightly and cover with wax paper or saran. Chill about an hour. Slice before serving. Makes about 40 wraps.

You could make up the cream cheese spread and store it - making the wraps up when you are ready for them - 6 wraps is a lot to eat - these are very filling! And SOOO yummy! My Sister-in-law made these for Mom's birthday party and they were soo good, I just had to get her recipe for our party. I will be making these again - maybe soon, as I still have some wraps left (I bought two different kinds.) :) Enjoy!

Sunday Blessing

Arise, my soul, arise; shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my surety stands,
Before the throne my surety stands,
My name is written on His hands.

He ever lives above, for me to intercede;
His all redeeming love, His precious blood, to plead:
His blood atoned for all our race,
His blood atoned for all our race,
And sprinkles now the throne of grace.

Five bleeding wounds He bears; received on Calvary;
They pour effectual prayers; they strongly plead for me:
'Forgive him, O forgive,' they cry,
'Forgive him, O forgive,' they cry,
'Nor let that ransomed sinner die!'

The Father hears Him pray, His dear anointed One;
He cannot turn away, the presence of His Son;
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.

My God is reconciled; His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for His child; I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And 'Father, Abba, Father,' cry.

from Arise, My Soul, Arise
by Charles Wesley

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Thank you all for the sweet comments on my roses earlier this week. The picture above is my third rose from this bush. After I planted the bush I didn't think to save the label with the name of the rose. (oops) I'm pretty sure I remember that it is a Heritage rose, though. I hope you each have a happy Sunday!

How does your garden grow?

Mine is growing just fine, thank you! :) It has grown a bit since it was planted a few weeks ago.

My garden plot is a bit bigger than last year. I expanded it this fall. Mark helped me put the bricks around it (leftover from his project a while back.) I am hoping they will help keep the grass at bay, although as you can see above, the St. Augustine is already encroaching on my garden space. Time to start fighting back! :) I also have my compost bin up and going again. Last year's compost is all in my garden plot along with some mulched up leaves. Hope the plants enjoy the extra food! :)

So what all do I have planted this year? So glad you asked! I have four different tomato plants, some cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, three different pepper plants and strawberries!

I think the lettuce is so pretty - kindof like a rose the way the leaves grow. :)

I think I'd be giggling too if I were surrounded by all those happy little faces!

Wouldn't you? :)

Well, Mark just announced that it has started raining! I hope it decides to stick around for a little while. I know my garden will enjoy some fresh rain water!! I hope each of you has a very happy Sunday!

Finished Object Friday

Whew... can we all say it together? "It's about time!" :) I'm glad to finally have a PAIR of purple socks. I started them ages ago and finished the first sock last April. I started this sock last July. Let's hope my next project doesn't take quite so long... Of course, this project did take precedence over the sock. :)

Here the socks are being modeled.

Unfortunately, the toes didn't end up matching quite evenly.

I think I kinda got in a hurry on the last one.

I did "block" them. I washed them rather roughly in warm soapy water then rinsed them in cool water. Rough washing isn't recommended for wool items, but both socks ended up a bit large and I did want them to shrink a bit. They could still stand to be a little smaller. They sure are cozy, though! :) (I do love socks!) They are still a little damp, so I may need to reblock them before wearing - I've probably stretched them a bit trying them on.

Sorry for the later post - I usually try to get FOF posts up the night before, but I just finished these last night and took pictures today. :) I can't wait to see some of your projects! If you have questions about Finished Object Friday, see this post. :)

Happy Friday, everyone!

I am trying a new version of MckLinky - this time you can put up a thumbnail from your post along with your link. This gives us a picture preview - fun!! I hope it works as this is my first time to try it! :) Happy Linking!

(To get the thumbnail up: Post the link to your FOF post, type in your title, then select get image "from Web." Then pick the image you want - one from your post should show up, and make sure it is cropped how you want it.) :)

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1. Retro Glider Project 2. New Look!

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Enjoying today....

If you've never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul
by a flower in spring bloom,
maybe your soul has never been in bloom.
~Terri Guillemets

These roses are from a bush that I just planted a couple of weeks ago. You may not can tell from the picture, but the blossoms are huge!! It smells so good too... now that I can actually start smelling - aren't allergies great? :)

I'm also still enjoying my mom's new tablecloth she lent for the tea party. Hmm... wonder if she misses it? (oh, HI, Mom!!) :)

Come back tomorrow for Finished Object Friday!! :)

Springtime Tea

The ornaments of your house will be the guests who frequent it.

~Author Unknown

Friday was a special time with some special friends! Jennilynn is celebrating a special birthday and we had a tea party for her at my house. :)

(We had just a little bit of food with our tea... um, really that table is groaning!!)

Here we are getting ready to enjoy our tea party/luncheon:

L-R: Sonia, Me, Mrs. Sharon, Jennilynn, Beka and Angie.
(gotta love tripods and self timing cameras!)

We had a very special afternoon sharing music:

And sharing (and working on) various crafty projects. And just visiting. And giggling!!
Such a pleasant afternoon! We're so glad we got to help Jennilynn celebrate this special time!

Happy Birthday, friend!! :)

Sunday Blessing

All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages—
Jesus led me all the way.

From All The Way, My Savior Leads Me
by Fanny Crosby

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The picture is one of Angie's... thanks, Sis! :)

10 second inspiration

Ok. So maybe execution of said inspiration took a little longer than ten seconds... And add to that writing the blog post.... :)

I was admiring some of the mantles over at Nesters. I'm not sure why that brought on the inspiration, because this has nothing to do with my mantle! except that I suddenly remembered this picture:

It belonged to my grandmother (My dad's mom). I'm glad I snagged it because when my inspiration struck, I realized that it would look great in our bedroom! (and a lot better on a wall than in the drawer...)

So here it hangs...

There were actually a couple of other places I thought about hanging it within this arrangement, but this seemed the best fit, and filled it out a little at the bottom.

Here's the before:


Fun, huh? What inspiration has struck you this week? :)

Our Easter

I just wanted to share a few of our Easter pictures. It seems everyone else is and I don't want to be left out! :) We had an enjoyable, though busy Easter. We broke our church attendance record. YAY! And had a fun potluck for dinner. (Thus all the cupcakes - we decorated about 50, although I still had plenty left.) Anyway...

Me and my handsome hubby in our Easter attire:


Our family:

Yes, Angie and I are just about twins (Matching, that is... we're still 10 years apart...) :) I bought my dress and after a long search she found a dress as well. And it just ended up that they were similar, we didn't even realize how close the fabrics were until Sunday. Fun!!

Our friend Lorie. She recently got a job in our area and is staying with us until her apartment opens up. We've been having fun visiting! :)


The sweet girlies (my adopted nieces) in their Easter finery:


I love this picture - all three girls are visiting with Mark.

I think they think he's a pretty cool guy - I agree! :)

Sunday Blessing

Go ahead, drive the nails in My hands;
Laugh at me... where you stand.
Go ahead, and say it isn't Me;
The day will come... when you will see.

'Cause I'll rise.... again;
Ain't no power on earth can keep Me down!
Yes, I'll rise... again;
Death can't keep Me in the ground.

Go ahead, mock My name;
My love for you is still the same.
Go ahead, and bury Me;
But very soon, I will be free!

Go ahead, and say I'm dead and gone,
But you will see that you were wrong.
Go ahead, try to hide the Son;
But all will see that I'm the One!

'Cause I'll come again!
Ain't no power on earth can keep me back!
Yes, I'll come again;
Come to take My people back.

Rise Again
written by Dallas Holm

Happy Easter!!
He is Risen!!!!

Easter Fun!

Some of you may remember our Easter cupcakes from last year. I wanted to make cupcakes again this year, and Bakerella was my inspiration. Unfortunately, we couldn't find those sour punch straws ANYWHERE!!! they would have been so cute!! So... we didn't end up with miniature baskets. But we did have fun creating these...

This one Angie made is my favorite. Hmm... wonder why? :)

A sweet reminder of the reason for Easter:

We had fun decorating them - lots of laughter. :) And we will have fun eating and sharing them tomorrow! :)

Finished Object Friday

Yep. It's time for FOF once again! With the beautiful sunny days we've been having, I was able to get some spraypainting done last week. I have a cute little table that I picked up at an antique shop. Although it was a fun red, it didn't fit into my decor...

However, after several coats of ivory paint - and it still needs a little more - it's looking better! I am in the process of redecorating our bedroom. This little area has become my "inspiration corner."

Our bed has also been spruced up a little... remember what it looked like before?

Now it has a lighter "springy-er" feel with a new comforter set and pillows. I also painted the letters above the bed.

And yes, I realize the letters disappear on that light colored wall. But I want to paint that wall an accent color - something like this (Thanks to Sherwin Williams paint program...)

I also have a fun idea for what I want above the bed. Hope I find it soon! :)

So yes, our room is a work in progress, but I think that is what all decorating is, right? :) And it's so much fun!!! So what have you been working on recently? Maybe you have a cute Easter project to share. For more info on FOF click here.

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I don't want to leave this post without thanking Jesus for what He did for us on the cross! I'm so glad that He was willing to take the punishment for my sins. I enjoyed reading the recent post from Incourage today, The Peace Child. I think it is so important not to skip over Good Friday to get to our celebration of Easter - without Good Friday and the suffering, Easter Sunday would be meaningless.

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Shabby Chic Jewelry Box The Finally Finished Beachy Wall Decor

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