embarrassed

man. embarrassing to see how long it's been since i posted.  

i hate excuses but here they are. 

• my internet is SO slow! seriously.  waiting 30 seconds for the page to load requires so much patience!
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• we've been doing house updates every spare second!  going to do a post on some awesome, budget friendly options. love the progress but man, it's been hard work!
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• these chickies of mine.  love them but trying to post while they tear up the living room i JUST cleaned is torture!!! ;) sheesh.  love it, though. we've been spending time outside as much as possible. 

anyway.  just wanted to post the cutest thing i've heard lately. 

When asked, "Are you a cup half full kind of person? Or a cup half empty kind of person." She replied "My cup runneth over."

Now, is that the best response you've ever heard? 

Just another reminder.  Count those blessings.  

plans

these days.  

sunny, rainy, busy.  love it. 

here's some funny things. 

at MOPS on monday, the teacher asked Henley what she is cooking in the play kitchen.  cake?  cupcakes? she replied, "snickerdoodles!!!" so cute. 

right as i type, Mia is riding in the doll stroller (teeny) while Henley pushes her.  there is an umbrella strapped on the handle and 2 toothbrushes in Mia's lap and 3 mysterious random pompoms in there, too.  ha.  they are laughing like crazy.  love it. 

painting should be finished today.  all this new stuff is so crazy expensive and just picking up 10 more gallons of paint and another gallon of semi-gloss and new toilets and vanities and light switches and drawer pulls- it all adds up quick!! took a trip to the restore today.  spray paint will work wonders, won't it?

but i'm SO excited.  we are ready for more space.  and decorating.  and cats and dogs back under one roof.  i was thinking that some of our stuff has been in storage for more than 3 years!! i can't really even remember what we have!  it will be like Christmas, opening that storage unit and getting out all my own junk.  excited doesn't really contain it.  pinterest doesn't help either.  projects and ideas and plans. oh my. 

my craft camp is coming up too.  been wanting to do this for years and finally have the opportunity to make art and teach kids at the same time.  should be interesting. and fun. 

life is good. god is good.  thankful, as always. 

happiness lately.....

having lots of happy days. thinking of this quote lately:

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.  Douglas Adams.

my faves at the duck pond after our sunday night picnic dinner. 
 
still have gorgeous flowers everywhere. 

my booth at the quiltfest.  HUGE success. making people happy with low prices and excitement about future projects.  aren't craft people cute?
 

sweet sisters side by side in the sandbox. notice the backwards dress?
 



and this is sitting on top of us so i better batten down the hatches and unplug my laptop.  
 
much love.  

 

package pals

i tell ya- I LOVE getting mail! 

magazines, catalogs, and especially a package just for me!! 

i signed up for package pals from blogger Jamie at C.R.A.F.T.  it sounded like just my thing- create a box of crafty fun for someone else and they'll send one to me! perfect!  

i was matched up with carrie at my favorite finds.  what a cute blog!! you'll have to stop by and take a look!  i got her package first- of course.  (the post office is one of my LEAST favorite places in the world... two toddlers in tow and our small town only ever has one line open AND a whole card display next to the lines.... ) i literally squealed when i opened it up.  SUCH cute stuff.  she sent us tulle to make tutus, letters for the chickies (H & M) and glitter paper.  perfect picks for me.  

we've made the tutus- pics to come- and the other projects are waiting for a rainy day.  or maybe when the hubs is fishing.... 

here's my fun box:  

thanks, carrie!  i loved making the tutus and my chicks love wearing them.  you should have seen us at home depot.  the tulle was spilling out of our racecar basket and the little chicks were in tutu heaven! :) i'll just say a tutu plus a little girl who loves to use the big potty all by herself is quite an adventure!!  

 i love how the alternating colors on the waistband look....



meanwhile... here's what i'm working on these days.  

i've been cleaning out the storage rooms and closets and attics of a HUGE quilting fanatic.  can we say TONS AND TONS of fabric.  i've been rolling (and rolling and rolling and rolling) fabric rolls and sorting them in sizes of small, medium and large rolls and sticking colored tape on them.  there were 21 large storage bins of these, people!! then i sorted thread and ribbon and scissors and quilting templates and batting and bobbins and quilting books. lots of tools.  and patterns.  and sewing machines.  it's incredible.

this saturday, my town is hosting quiltfest, an event where you can display your quilts and meet other quilters.  and i'm selling my merchandise.  woohoo!  it will be good to get it gone and hopefully into the hands of others who can use it.  because, to be honest, if i sock into MY personal craft collection any more scissors or rolls of ribbon or pretty thread or fabric, we won't have room to move!! :)

here's what my pile to load into the truck looks like. that's almost all fabric- 19 boxes of fabric!! Whew!

wish me luck! and if you're in the boerne area, please come shop!

diy heart garland

heart garland diy

hi friends!  just wanted to share a teeny tutorial with you, in case you have a corner of your house that needs a little brightening up!  paper projects are one of my favorites because they are cheap and you can whip one up in a quick minute.  then you can pull it off the wall when you need a change. 

i love to find unique papers to use for my projects.  i have a huge collection of scrapbook paper and even just colored copy paper makes up a big part of my stash.  but i LOVE to buy old books and use the paper inside, too.  our library book sale is the perfect place to buy maps, sheet music, nature books that are perfect for cutting up and making projects with.  they only cost a buck or two and have an antiqued, faded look i love!  some people are uncomfortable ripping up something old (like this book of sheet music from 1914!!!!) but hey, if it's falling apart anyway- might as well give it a little longer life with a project or two. 

 

Start with some paper- maybe 4 sheets of each type of heart you'd like to end up with.  I chose pages from some old books; maps and violin music. I am going to make a heart garland with 12 hearts of 2 different sizes.

 Cut your pages into strips (paper cutter would help a bunch!!) an inch wide. You'll need 12 ten inch strips, 12 eight inch strips and 6 six inch strips all from the same type of paper. For your other paper, you'll need 12 nine inch strips, 12 seven inch strips and 6 five inch strips. (Whew- does that even make sense at all??I just have a big stack of strips and I count out twelve and cut those down. Whatever extra strips I'm left with I throw in my one-day-I'll-need-this-strip-of-paper-for-a-random-project box. ) You should have piles as shown below.  On your short strips (the six and five inchers, punch a hole in the top for hanging.  Easier to do this now.)

 To make your heart, stack your strips in this order:  one long, one medium, one short, one medium and one long.  They should all be in a stack with the little one sandwiched in the middle.  Set them down on a table so the ends are all lined up and staple at the bottom.  Then, take your medium and your long from one side and loop them over to create your heart shape.  Do the same on the other size, making sure they look matching and staple in the middle of your heart.  See where my fingers are pinching?  Staple there. 

 Once you have all your hearts made, string them onto a piece of yarn or embroidery thread or twine.  Anything!  See how mine alternate?  Total cuteness. 

So there ya go.  A little instant perk up for your walls.

And pardon the wacky tutorial.  I tried to write the steps while the chicks were sleeping.  And a certain little someone got out of bed 8 times to use the potty!?!?!? Holy smokes- off to check to see if we have any toilet paper left. Doubt it.