What We Accomplished Wednesday #33

Want to be a pin-up girl?  Join the party, and if you are featured, I'll pin your project to my Green Willow Pond Features Board!



I did get stuff accomplished this week, just nothing to show yet.  Story of my life!  Anyway, you all had some awesome linkups this week.  Thanks for the inspiration and for all your sweet and treasured comments.

First up this week is this gorgeous Sweater Stocking made by Diane, from An Extraordinary Day.  She shows just how she did it and it is so easy!  I am definitely making one or two of these from a white sweater that I was going to just throw away!

Can you tell I am getting the bug to decorate for Christmas?  I love this idea of making an ornament for newlyweds, using the program from their wedding.  How special is that? Nici, from Posed Perfection, shares how she made it.

This sweet dresser is pretty in pink.  Mary, from Orphans With Makeup shares a special technique she used to get a moire effect in the paint.  With just the right amount of distressing, I love how it turned out.

Heather, from Southern Abbey, shares her new classy entryway.  I love the dresser she used to get lots of storage, not to mention those floors and french doors!  

Last, but not least, Aimee, from Twigg Studios, shares her recipe for candy striped meringues.  Don't they just look delicious...and oh so pretty!  

What have you been up to?  Please join in and share!  

Da Simple and Easy Rules

1. Only projects you have made/accomplished pretty please. Items for sale are okay, as long as they are in tutorial form, and linked to your blog post.  No links to shops or Etsy stores, please.  Link up to 3 posts

2. Linking back to the party (text or button) within your post is very much appreciated . You can grab a button from the side bar if you like.

3. By linking up here, you are giving me permission to feature you here, on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and/or Pinterest.  I'll only use 1-2 pictures from your post and link back to you. Then people will be flocking to your blog to read all about it!!  Spreadin' the love around baby!    

*Note - After your first link-up, as a courtesy, I will email you each week to let you know when the party is up and running. If at any time you wish to be taken off the list, just shoot me an email with unsubscribe in the subject line. I use your email for this purpose only and never share it with anyone else.

What We Accomplished Wednesday #32

Want to be a pin-up girl?  Join the party, and if you are featured, I'll pin your project to my Green Willow Pond Features Board!



My heart goes out to those effected by the devastating tornadoes here in the US and the tsunami in the Phillipines.  I pray for all those who lost their homes or loved ones.  Preparedness can only go so far.  How do you prepare for your home being wiped off it's foundation?  Everything gone?  Thank God for the Red Cross, our military and for those who are there, who can bring hope and help.

Our family took a trip to Marquette in the UP (upper peninsula of Michigan).  Our neice, Erin, was in a College production of Les Miserables.  She played the part of Fontaine...and played it very, very well!  We also took in our nephew's hockey game the next morning, did some TJ Maxx shopping and returned home Sunday night.  It was a lot of fun, but tiring too.  It is always good to be back home.

I managed to tackle a couple of quick and easy projects this week.  If you missed them, I put together a Christmas wall basket here.

I also made a slip in cover for the back of my tabletop clock here.

You've all been busy too, based on the many wonderful linkups to last weeks party. Thank you everyone for participating.  My top 5 picks start with this gorgeous two-tone cabinet, painted by Katie, at the Shabby Cottage Home.  I love her arrangement inside too!

Christy, at Confessions of a Serial DIYer, rocked this dresser when she added printed burlap to the drawer fronts.  Love that!

Harlequin patterns always make my heart beat a little faster.  This little vanity nearly made it jump out of my chest.  I absolutely love how Lisa, at Create Inspire Me,  used harlequin paper from Hobby Lobby (I have this paper!) for the inside of the base.  Awesome!

Elisha, at Pneumatic Addict shows us how to get this faux tarnished brass finish.  You also have to see the cabinet she turned into a "card catalog" that she used these on!

Tammy, from One More Time Events, not only shows us some beautiful natural ways to display holiday treats, but also shares three delicious chocolate/peanutbutter recipes.

Now it's your turn.  Come join the party and link up your favorite projects!

Da Simple and Easy Rules

1. Only projects you have made/accomplished pretty please. Items for sale are okay, as long as they are in tutorial form, and linked to your blog post.  No links to shops or Etsy stores, please.  Link up to 3 posts

2. Linking back to the party (text or button) within your post is very much appreciated . You can grab a button from the side bar if you like.

3. By linking up here, you are giving me permission to feature you here, on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and/or Pinterest.  I'll only use 1-2 pictures from your post and link back to you. Then people will be flocking to your blog to read all about it!!  Spreadin' the love around baby!    

*Note - After your first link-up, as a courtesy, I will email you each week to let you know when the party is up and running. If at any time you wish to be taken off the list, just shoot me an email with unsubscribe in the subject line. I use your email for this purpose only and never share it with anyone else.

Christmas Wall Basket

Many of you know that I work at our local JoAnn store.  During the early fall we carried this flat wall basket that I liked, but couldn't decide if I really wanted or not.  I finally decided I would regret it if I didn't buy it.  A couple of weeks after purchasing it, our Christmas stock started arriving.  There were some gorgeous, sweeping pine stems, covered in faux snow as well as what appears like ice crystal covered branches.  I bought three types of stems, then decided to buy the red berry stems too to add some color.  The berry stems are in the regular floral department (not Christmas).

I know it's a little early, but I was dying to see what it would look like, so I went ahead and arranged it.

Those sweeping pine stems are just huge!  I had to fold the stems in half to tuck them in the basket. I am so happy with the way it turned out.  I hung it on the wall to take pictures, but put it away until after Thanksgiving. First I had to play around in PicMonkey though...

Can you see the sparkle in these pictures?  It's so hard to capture how pretty it is in person.

Have you started making Christmas decorations yet?  I think this is the earliest I ever have.  I can hardly wait to get started!

This post is linked to these fabulous parties:

Shabbilicious Friday at Shabby Art Boutique
Redoux Interiors Party
Craftomaniac Monday Link Party
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
The Inspiration Exchange at City Farmhouse
The Wednesday Roundup at Living Better Together
What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Thursdays Are Your Days at 52 Mantels
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours
All Things Thursday at Posed Perfection
Christmas Extravaganza at French Country Cottage
12 Days of Junk Christmas at Funky Junk
Fall into Fall by DIY by Design

Fixing The Ugly Back Of My Clock

It's been a long time since I posted a project of any kind.  A very long time!  Well I'm back in the saddle again, with a very quick and small project, but it feels great to do something creative again!

We recently bought a new sectional sofa. It's a monster, but where we could only seat 5 comfortably and 6 if we squeezed on both our old couch and loveseat put together, we can now seat 8 comfortably and 9 if we squeeze. Plus we have room for another chair. I will show it another time because right now the room is very sparse...no curtains, nothing hanging over the couch.  On the plus side though, I will have some upcoming projects to blog about :)

Having more seating and a huge long couch to lay down on is great, however, we had to eliminate a table, which left me with the half wall between the kitchen and living room to put my favorite clock that my family got me for Christmas one year. I keep it facing the living room because it's hard to see the time from all the way in the kitchen.

 

The only bad thing is that the back of the clock was not so pretty. With the clock on this counter, we were looking at the back of it from the kitchen side. I'm sure I'm the only one in our family who noticed, but I didn't like it.

Quick solution...and I'm all about quick these days! I used a circle cutter to cut two circles from scrapbook papers and one from a piece of chipboard. A little glue stick and I have a reversible cover that I just slip into the back of the clock.

I'm going with the black side right now, but I like having the choice.  Have something you don't like the back of?  Cover it with paper or even fabric!

Back in the saddle and it feels great!

This post is linked to these great parties:

What's It Wednesday at Ivy and Elephants
Craftomaniac Monday Link Party
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
The Inspiration Exchange at City Farmhouse

What We Accomplished Wednesday #31

Want to be a pin-up girl?  Join the party, and if you are featured, I'll pin your project to my Green Willow Pond Features Board!



The last party I held has kind of just been hanging out there. I apologize to all who linked up. If you read my last couple of posts, you'll understand why. I promised I would do the features from that party, and I will continue with the parties, at least for now.

I am going to have to make some adjustments though, to be able to continue having them...and I really, really want to continue partying with all of you. In the past, I've featured ten linkups each week. I am going to have to cut back to no more than five each week, which is going to be soooo hard, because you are all so incredibly talented. I will have an even harder time picking!

So with that in mind, I have chosen my top 5 from the last party held a couple of months ago.  

 Brittani, from Linen and Lace created this sweet sign for her friend's, babies room.

 Cindy, from Cottage Intincts painted this old wash stand such a pretty shade of blue!

 

Mindi from My Love 2 Create made this amazing, huge crate for table displays.  

 Christy, at Confessions of a Serial Do-It-Yourselfer, painted this darling harlequin pattern on an end table.  Love me some harlequin!

Since going on a wheat free diet, I am limited to what I can eat, but I can drink this yummy sounding latte anytime!  Elizabeth, from Undeniably Me, shares the recipe.

It's your turn to link up your creative projects!

Da Simple and Easy Rules

1. Only projects you have made/accomplished pretty please. Items for sale are okay, as long as they are in tutorial form, and linked to your blog post.  No links to shops or Etsy stores, please.  Link up to 3 posts

2. Linking back to the party (text or button) within your post is very much appreciated . You can grab a button from the side bar if you like.

3. By linking up here, you are giving me permission to feature you here, on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and/or Pinterest.  I'll only use 1-2 pictures from your post and link back to you. Then people will be flocking to your blog to read all about it!!  Spreadin' the love around baby!    

*Note - After your first link-up, as a courtesy, I will email you each week to let you know when the party is up and running. If at any time you wish to be taken off the list, just shoot me an email with unsubscribe in the subject line. I use your email for this purpose only and never share it with anyone else.



 

Before you leave a comment, please read this post.  I love your comments, but many of you are no reply bloggers and don't even know it...even some of you who I've been able to reply to before.  If you switched your profile from Blogger to Google Plus, then your comments probably are set to no reply.  

God Is Good...Even When I'm A Mess!

Another month has passed and crickets are still chirping here on the blog. Just when I thought I would have more time to blog, I got slammed with a creepy crawly problem.  I hate to even openly say it, but we got fleas.  I have bombed, vacuumed, bathed animals, and finally gave up and used Frontline on our pets.

We have never had fleas in all the years that we've had pets...never!  It has been my personal nightmare.  I know in my head they have nothing whatsoever to do with cleanliness, or lack thereof, but it just feels so dirty, ya know?  I've been on a cleaning, culling and throwing out rampage.  Every spare moment has been eaten up trying to purge our home of these miniature monsters.

It didn't help that I had also decided to go on a wheat free diet, and have been stretched trying to cook and prepare foods in new ways, with new recipes.  I have not forced my family to change, but my hubby and I are really trying to eliminate wheat.  As far as I know, neither of us has wheat allergies, but we read the book, Wheat Belly, and I was convinced of the health hazards of our modern wheat (which is genetically, nothing like the stuff God created in the first place).  I won't get on a soapbox about it.  That's not my style.  We just felt we needed to eliminate it from our diets as much as possible.

There are several other things going on in my life that I would normally take in stride, but everything put together has just overwhelmed me.  Yesterday I had a huge pity party.  I am not a crier, but tears were never far from the surface all day long. 

Then I got a call at 1:30 a.m.  A friend's daughter, whose baby shower we just celebrated last weekend, water broke.  She isn't due until the end of December.  I have not heard the results yet, but I've been praying.  Another friend has taken in a two year old precious little girl, because her mother, who has suffered unspeakable abuse in her past, checked herself into our mental rehab.

God gently lifted my chin, looked into my eyes and said, you are blessed.  And I am...so very blessed.  I have a loving husband, three wonderful, healthy children, who love the Lord, a small, but cozy, dry and safe home.  I also still have both my parents.  (Dad just had heart surgery this past week, and it went "perfectly.")  I have blessings too numerous to mention. 

So I am done with my pity party.  God is good.  I will keep plugging along, but this time, with praise on my lips for a home, even if I share it with fleas (which I think I've just about eradicated), food on the table, even if I have to figure out new ways to prepare it, a husband who puts up with me, an amazingly still loves me, even when I'm a scatterbrained mess, and healthy, loving children who sometimes drive me crazy with their messes, but who I love with all my heart.

God is good.