Nothing like some fresh air

Nothing like some fresh air.. 

I stepped outside the other day, to walk my little wiener dogs, despite it's winter time here. The sky was just simply beautiful. Blue for as far as my eye's could see. 

It's times like this day, where you can breath in fresh crisp air, look up and be thankful for all that is around you. 

I long for summer days, but rejoicing in days like this day where the sky and a little sun, can change the             whole outlook on a day.  

I do long for the beauty of summer to come around. Each year about this time, I start to miss the joys that spring and summer have to offer. 

Feeling the rays of the sun, warm on my face. Singing birds nestled in the tree's around me and butterflies dancing through the air, without a concern in the world. 

Makes me really appreciate what all the beautiful things of this world, in a small simply way, really do have to offer to me, each day !

Have yourself a beautiful day as well...

Victorian Shabby Chic Rings

Victorian Shabby Chic Rings

I started making these about 3 weeks ago, thought they were really cute. The more I wore one, the more a person would stop and comment about the ring I had on.

I think they are simply adorable and have just now added a small selection through my online store.

SHOP NOW 

Autism Know the Facts

Autism Spectrum Disorder  (ASD) 

It all started with an incredible little boy, an ongoing problem and a need to solve a problem. 

I am not the sort of mother that enjoys "labels" or referring to a person as "Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD".  I certainly didn't want my own child referred to as having "Autism".. 

For years, I had no clue my little guy was suffering from this horrible word and the effects of "autism spectrum disorder" .. some 23 plus doctors later and test and a label was attached. 

I understand the logo design for "Autism Spectrum Disorder", it's a puzzle piece.  What people don't understand is the process of which a parent must travel, all to obtain this label of "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" for any child. Were you aware, that the warning signs for "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) " are the following things to look for in your child, or perhaps a child that you know:

1. Won't make eye contact. (see my little guy above) 
2. Refuses to speak prior to the age of 3 years old. (my little guy, grunted and pointed) 
3. Walks on tipsy toes. Will not walk with both feet firmly planted on the floor
4. Might refuse some foods or lean towards the salty crunchy foods, like crackers or potato chips.
5. Covers hands over hears while in a large crowd or where this is a lot of noise. 
6. Fixed on toys that either have wheels or loud in color and will play with these toys for hours at a time. 
7. Might spin around in circles, hit head on floor, flap hands, jump up and down. Look for repetitiveness in motions that can not be controlled by child. 
8. Can't handle changes. 
9. Easily becomes frustrated when something is moved or changed inside living environment.  
10. Has trouble making friends because the child has no sense of personal space of other children. 
11. Can't sleep a full night in bed. 
12. Enjoys small spaces, cat bed, small box, small basket, dresser drawer, upright hamper, wrapped in towel or blanket. 
13. Has a keen mental mind of being able to recall almost all details of an event or outing. 
14. Chews on the collar of shirts, sleeves until completely soaked through. 
15. Knows only of one interesting topic, knows all about that topic and can recite all details of that topic to anyone whom ask about that topic. My little guy knows everything about, "Star Wars". 
16.  Can't stand certain material of clothing. (My little guy only wears, cotton). 
17. Can't button clothing, tie shoes and hates certain socks on the feet. 
18. Is unwilling to toilet train. (My little guy at age 8, still is not potty trained) 
19. Has to control the environment in which they are inside. 
20. Wonders away, or escapes the house or car seat, stroller or while shopping wonders off for no reason at all. 

Above, I have mentioned a few of the most concerning effects of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) . Parents need to know what to look for when they suspect or see a child with the above warning symptoms. What is a parent to do... ?  Call your doctor and make an appointment and tell your doctor that you would greatly appreciate if (he or she) took the time to look over your child to see if your child falls into the category of having Autism Spectrum Disorder. Test can be performed and doctors can help with reaching a diagnosis of autism. Not all children have autism, some might fall into the category of having OCD, or ADHD or some other form of autism which is Aspergers Syndrome.  The only difference I have personally found concerning, Autism and Aspergers Syndrome is the age of which a child starts to verbally communicate. Generally speaking, those children who suffer from Aspergers Syndrome can speak clearly but are still on the Autism Scale. 

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)  is a developmental disability of neurological condition affecting normal brain function, development and social interactions. 

5% of people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are affected by fragile "X" and 10% to 20% of those with fragile "X" show autistic traits. 

The annual cost of providing services for people with "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)" is $90 million, in 10 years, that number is projected to be $200 to $400 billion. 

It is said that, 1 in 80 people suffer from "Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

I have read many books online and off line, downloaded countless help materials and pdf files all in my quest to better understand my own little boys world. I soon realized that his world, as he has come to know it, is not the same world in which I reside in daily. It's a new world, a world of beauty like no other world, I have ever known. The details that my son see's through his own eyes, bring a new definition to the word; "beautiful". 

A butterfly can clearly be seen through the human eye, but through the eyes of an autism child, it's clear that the cells of the wings are fully expanded. Each wing offering a unique design of color and cells. The black dots how they line the tail end of each wing and how many dots there actually are. The legs, how they offer a swift bend, close to the end of each leg. How they land, gracefully on a flower. Never leaving out any details of the view from my own child's eyes. 

Because of the way my own son views his world, my world as I once knew it, was left far behind in 2004. I entered into a new world, of beauty, sameness of routines, meltdowns and non eating. 

If you feel your child might have "Autism Spectrum Disorder" (ASD)

Please click here to visit Easter Seals and read more information.

If you have something you would like to share concerning this topic, please leave a comment below, I will personally answer all questions or comments. 

Top"10" Don't do this...

Single Life

Despite being newly divorced or traveling through the separation process.  I often did wonder about those online dating websites, you see those ads online and hear about on the radio. 

Last night, after everyone was asleep. I decided to jump online, and started to look around on a few of these dating websites... 

Believe it or not, I went and fetched myself a cup of coffee and sat back and laughed so- so very hard.. 

I have to ask, "What are some of these people thinking" ? Men in general.. Would post such awful pictures and make these goofy poses up, all to attract the opposite sex (us) females.. 

Here is my compiled list, of things MEN should NEVER do on their profiles on dating websites. 

I will do the count down.... 

#10. Don't list on a dating sight a picture of you with your great grandma...

#9. Don't list your profile picture with the "Catch" of the day, example, fish, buck, rabbit, ... 

#8. Don't take a picture of yourself without any shirt on, especially if you are clearly over weight.. 

#7. Try to POSE sexy for your profile picture, face up next to a wall, lips puckered, head tilted, eye glasses on your forehead...

#6. Take a snap shot photo of yourself in your bathroom mirror when the reflection clearly shows your dirty underwear and t-shirts and bed unmade in the back ground..

#5. Use Skype to take your profile picture.. 

#4. Wear a hat that covers your entire face like the kid on "Fat Albert" ... so someone can only see your lips... 

#3.  Refer to yourself as; "SEXY MAN"- "YOU KNOW YOU WANT IT"- "I HAVE WHAT YOU NEED"- LONELY TEDDY BEAR"- "BEARDED BAD MAN"... 

#2. Talk about yourself as if you are the only one that is ever going to read your dating profile.... 

http://prague-stay.com (heart picture) 

#1. DON'T take a picture of yourself with your soon to be X-WIFE and use this as your Dating PROFILE picture... 

I hope you get a giggle out of my top 10  men don't do while creating a profile page on a dating website.. If you have seen some funny one's too.. Let me know below so I can laugh some more !

Know matter what you do today, know that you are blessed, special and unique! 

Sherri 

Paper Cone Wreath

I have an eye for "art" .. Would love to take the credit for this idea.. But you need to hop on over to Pinterest and check out the Paper Wreaths. In all honesty, I did not see the one I made on Pinterest. 

I have a wall that is bare, with nothing on it at all. I wanted something huge to fill the space and bring new life to the wall when entering from the back door.. Let me know what you think about my paper cone wreath. 

If you ever want to create one of these paper cone wreaths for your own home.. Here is how I did the one above. 

Buy an old book from the Dollar Store. Yes, the one above, had 300 pages on the presidents. I did glance inside and tried to read the first few paragraphs, trust me, the book is serving it's purpose on the wall now.. 

I purchased a green basic wreath for my foundation at the dollar store as well. However, all you really need to do is cut out some card board to a desired round circle. This will work and save you the dollar. You can make your circle as big as you would like or as small as you would like. My own was about 8 inches round. 

Take the book, tear out every single page. My book had 300 pages. (sorry I forgot to take pictures while I was making this so you could see the instructions as I go along) 

Once you have all the pages tore out of the book. Take 8 pages, now cut those in half. 

You are going to use these pages to cover your circle, front and back. You can hot glue these on because it's the quickest way to adhere the paper to the circle frame. Continue to hot glue the strips of paper around the wreath until the circle is fully covered. 

Again, tear about 20 pages in half, roll up like a tube and hot glue these around the center. Once I had these all in place, I laid my hands on the row all the way around to push down so they were not all standing straight up. Take your remaining pages, start at one corner and roll up (like a cigar) and hot glue the corner down. 

Once you have a cigar shape, you are going to glue this behind the tubes that you just glued down. You will keep doing this over and over again, going all the way around the circle. You are going to create about  4-5 layers of cigar shape paper cones and hot glue each one down. 

After I was all completed with all the cigar shapes, or cone shapes and had everything glued down really well. I took  black fabric paint and put this inside a squirt bottle and added warm water and sprayed the whole entire paper wreath. (Since my book was NEW, not old, I wanted this wreath to appear older.. Since this is paper, the black paint mixed with water will absorb. I waited until the paper was dry, and sprayed the whole wreath again with the fabric paint and water mixture. Some of the pages of this book, now appear to be really old. I love how the paint laid on the paper darker in some areas, lighter in other areas. 

Since this is PAPER.. I would not recommend hanging something like this on your front door, unless you spray paint the whole wreath with a water proof top coat.. Other wise, your wreath will become like the nasty old witch in the; Wizard of Oz.. "Help me, I am melting" ...

I did add a huge organza bow in black and added this bow to the center of this wreath.. it's very artsy to say the least and turned out HUGE.. to fill the gap on the blank wall..

Here is the wreath while under construction.. See all the different layers.. Love this. (See how white the paper actually is) the paper from this book was WHITE..

Please let me know, if you decide to take on this wonderful 2 hour Paper Cone Wreath. I would love to see pictures of your own and post these pictures to my own blog. 

Happy Crafting :) 

Sherri 

A few Gifts for my Daughter

Whitney 

A few Gifts for my Daughter; Whitney

I was crafting up a storm the other day, came across a few things that I really thought my daughter would love. She just landed a new office job; "So Proud of You".. This job fits her personality, which is full of love, life and spunk.. 

She is our little comedian in our family, always so funny !

I wanted to share with you all some of the things I whipped up for her that she can take to work, or leave at home. 

Since she has a steady boyfriend.. "do I hear wedding bells off in the distance"... I did a make-over on the little box. What an adorable way to keep all those little notes, movie tickets and trinkets from your boyfriend..!

Here is a list of things you will need for the below Crafts:

1. Hot Glue Gun
2. Decorative Scrap Paper
3. Picture Frame with magnet back
4. Upright picture frame (standing up) 
5. Photo Frame
6. Ribbon
7. Scissors 
8. Dry Eraser 

Photo Frame used as a Dry Eraser Board

This is such an adorable way to let your daughter know how much you love her.. 

Remove glass, remove everything until you see the glass in the picture frame. Cut out a piece of scrap paper to fit your matting. (my scrap has words on it) Take your scrap paper to the back of your matting. Reassemble picture frame. Use dry eraser to write something across the top and the bottom, 

This one states: "You Make My Heart Smile". I made a rosette out of ribbon that is black. [You do not have to use a mat] If you want to write on the board, do not use black scrap book paper. 

I found these little dress form coat or purse rack holders and thought, I would love to give her a new dress. My daughter loves bright colors and is very fond of "Zebra" print. I laid my scrap book paper out, turned the dress form over and traced around the full lady. I then cut out my scrap paper and hot clued the paper on to the green dress. I then, cut out another piece of scrap paper in Zebra print and put this along the top of

the dress. (Sorry these pictures are so awful, I have been in the market for a new camera) 

I added the white fringe and a classy button to top of the "glam look".. I think this little dress form will look really adorable hanging either in her office or home and when she hangs her coat up or purse, she will think about "ol  mom"... 

Easypiezie craft redo !

Before

After

I would so love to take credit for this little craft, but  it's not of my own. I was scouting blogs yesterday and came across this craft. I will give credit as soon as I can remember who actually did this craft... Right now, I will blame that one of forgetting on old age... 

You can see where I cut out the dress form on the craft paper ... bla aha aha... 

This is a stand up picture frame. Dollar store, one buck.. 3.5x 5. Remove ad paper in front and lay out on your scrap book paper. Trace around outside edge and then cut with your scissors. 

I used the "Zebra" scrap book paper, .59 cents on sale at JoAnn Fabrics this week. After I slide inside the phone frame the "Zebra print paper.. I then, hot glued on a sticky note pad. I wrapped Zebra print around the photo frame, hot glued this into place, then added a Zebra ribbon in a bow and hot glued this down as well on one corner. I then added a disk strung by red ribbon. The words on the disk are those "rub and stick words" This one says; Simply The Best. 

Can you see her name on the bottom; Whitney 

I picked up 2 more frames with magnet backs at the dollar store. these are 4x5 frames. 

I used the same steps as above, cutting out different scrap paper and added ribbon bow and a button, I just cut off the shank from the back side of the button. 

She can hang this one up on her refrigerator for a quick shopping trip. I think these are so adorable and will make great gifts for teachers, mommies, girl friends.. or for your beautiful daughter.. 

Here is another one I did using the same instructions as above, only I took a small portion of the ribbon and made a loop, this way I can always have a pen handy for writing down what I need while looking through the refrigerator.. Salsa, Ice Cream, all those goodies. 

My name is displayed along the bottom with peal and stick letters, JoAnn Fabrics, $2.50.

I think these crafts turned out really cute. What do you think? If you make anything from above or from anything on my blog.. Please use my; "Contact Us" link from above and send me pictures.. I would love to see your own crafts as well..

Happy Crafting Today !

A little bit of Crafting

This was my old studio. I think I took this picture in October of 2011, I would have to check back through my blog post for an actual date this picture was taken.  

I miss being able to grab a fabric and start to sew, miss the ease of just being able to have everything handy and right where I could find something. 

It's so frustrating to want or should I say, "NEED" to craft and have to walk all the way down to the end of my driveway where my studio is now located, waiting for a spot inside the house....

Lately, I have been in a craft mood. I have a new grand son coming at the end of February or the first few days in March.. I am so excited ! 

I must be entering into my "nesting"  OMA phase of life. This is what takes place when anyone in my family is expecting..Especially my own grown children. The birth of this new baby, will increase the number of grand children I have to "5".. and counting.. :)

That is me right now, "all smiles" ! 

I thought it would be cute to whip up a few unique baby bibs, made out of wash clothes. These are so soft and since the new baby is a boy, there is so many I could make in yellow, green, blue. 

I have a cute project for a neat gift box, thought I could display the baby bibs in the box with tissue paper and a huge big bow on top. 

My daughter, after birth, craves chocolate. Funny thing is, she takes after me... I always had to indulge in a big piece of chocolate after the birth of my babies, or some form of chocolate.. Last baby I had, was; Anthony, after birth, I had a huge piece of chocolate cake.. it was so tasty.  

I found a cute project for holding chocolate candy. 

Thought the bibs and candy holder would make a super cute after birth baby/ mom gift set. I think I will make this all natural tether as well, in pale blue.  What baby doesn't need a new tether that is all natural and soft to chew on as well. 

I do miss having my craft room handy. It's now going on 4 months since I have sewn anything or crafted anything.. The itch is slowly returning which is a welcome sign :) 

Happy 2012 New Year

Happy 2012 New Year !

Last year was a year full of changes inside our home. The children and I moved to a new house. I started college, lost weight and looked to the future of hope, courage and strength. 

It's been awhile since I crafted. I tucked everything away to deal with the emotional upset of my home life and spend some very needed time with my children. 

Paper Birds

Remember when I posted about making these paper birds out of an old book... I was so excited to put these little birds together, they were just way too cute. I actually was able to display these adorable little birds for a beautiful summer wedding, where they were happily placed in the center of each table along with beautiful flowers. Took me awhile to create and craft each bird, but the end results were something to be proud of. 

Who would of thought a sucker stick and paper from an old age book could be recycled into something so adorable.

Many uses for these little birds...

Key Chain

Remember these adorable, Key Chains. 

We even had a blog contest and gave a few away... 

These are so easy to make and fun to attach to a birthday gift, or really any gift or give as bridal shower favors or baby shower favors. 

These key chains are so fun to create and you can use paper, fabric, really anything that has a pattern. I love the little pink bows I tied on top. 

I think my favorite one is the black scroll to the far (right) .. Love that fabric ribbon. 

I made myself a few.. I couldn't resist the colors and just how fun these were to create and make...

Toilet Paper Napkin Rings

Seems like only yesterday I was sitting at the table wondering what I could do with an empty toilet paper roll.. I think, I had far too much time on my hands.. 

This was an easy project and the napkin rings turned out really cute. Next time,I try this, I will make them 2 inches wide. These are about 1 inch wide. 

DIY Cake Stand

My favorite time of the season, has got to be summer. Everything is in full bloom, beautiful and the birds sing to me every single day... 

I picked up these items at the local thrift store and turned the adorable plate into a DIY cake stand. 

I love the mix matched plates, so full of summer colors and just scream.. Garden party !

The fabric is one of my favorite fabrics. I purchased a very large bolt of this fabric for $10.00. What a bargain for me !

I have made so many craft projects using this fabric and even covered a chair and made a very adorable summer purse.. I love these sort of finds.. 

Pin It

DIY Lamp Shade

I had this old lamp shade hanging around that looked, naked.. Then I found the retro Patterns at a garage sale. Cut out the ladies and used Mod Podge to adhere to the lamp shade. 

I painted the lamp shade first, the paint was so chocolate, almost good enough to eat. The paint had a sparkle which just made this project even funner once completed. (Is that even a word?) 

I adored this little lamp with the crystal beads dangling from the bottom. Just really adorable if you ask me.. 

Tissue Paper Glass 

One of the best craft projects I think I did was the Tissue Paper Glass craft. 

I picked up the plate at Goodwill for a dollar, along with the vase which was 50 cents, the tissue paper was FREE, from Victoria Secrets. 

Using mod podge and silver finger nail polish for faux beads.. The set turned out beautiful. 

So very Shabby Chic...!

Behind the scene over here, I have slowly picked up my crafting again. I look forward to sharing my DIY fabric rosebud necklace with you all, so simple and so shabby chic..
Enjoy your New Year with your family, 

Pin It

Merry Christmas

More Christmas Tree Comments

Making extra Cash

I know of several ladies who are really going to appreciate in the fact, there is still a sure way to make money from home. Inbox Dollars is a great for earning all while you enjoy;

1. Reading Emails
2. Play Games
3. Shop Online

With Inbox Dollars, there is not a cost to join. It's totally FREE. Right now, there is a sign up bonus of $5.00, that they will pay to you. Come have fun during the day and enjoy reading emails and being paid for what you read. Play games and earn some cash for your wallet. 

Don't forget that Inbox Dollars has worked or partnered with such companies as; 

Target, Columbia House, Walmart and more. Why wait for another offer, when you could be making money

right now within a finger touch moment. It's easy to join because it's FREE. 

Vista Print

I joined an online business group, and found out that it does not cost a fortune, to advertise your business, if you know who to turn to for all your business needs. Vista Print was highly recommended. I went online and searched out through Vista Print and found that Vista Print offered all sort of products for small and large companies.

• Business Cards
• Brochures
• Magnetic Car Banners
• Post Cards
• Letter Head and more

With all that Vista Print has to offer, you will be pleased with Vista Print customer service, tracking and ease of use for all your business needs. 

I remember how excited I was waiting for my first order from Vista Print, I have been a loyal customer since my first order. I have recommended Vista Print to many online friends and now you too. 

Speed with Wildblue

Learning New Things

Thanks for the guest post by Jo Levy

Since the whole internet craze started after I retired, I’m not very skilled with computers. Even though I worked as a professional, I never learned to use computers quite as well as I probably should have. I learned the very basics, but never really felt comfortable. Now that I have grandchildren that are getting older, they have started putting the pressure on me to get with the times and get a computer at home with Wildblue Internethttp://get.wildblue.com. They want to be able to email me since we don’t live close to each other, and there is a big time difference. It has been harder than I thought it would be to keep in touch over the phone. I would really like to keep in closer touch with all of the grandkids, so I’ve been considering it. I’ve started to go to the library to spend some time on the computer exploring websites and different things I would be able to do if I did decide to get a computer at home. So far it’s been really fun. There are some folks down there who have helped me learn the basics and set up my own email account. I’m starting to feel better about my skills, so maybe the kids will win this argument.

Christmas Center Piece Craft

Christmas Center Piece Craft Project 

If you have ever wanted to design and craft a Christmas center piece, now is the time. These Christmas center pieces make wonderful gifts. 

This center piece was my Christmas gift given to me, by my oldest daughter; Melissa. 

Here are some easy instructions to get you started. 

Anywhere they sell live Christmas tree's is a place to pick up live branches. Ask for those those scraps laying around on the floor. They toss them away in the trash at the end of each hour, so why not pile some up in your arms and carry those branches home. 

What you will need: 

Branches from a Christmas tree

Wet foam ball

Pipe cleaners, green, red, white and silver

Ribbon, Christmas colors

Christmas flowers

Pine Cones

Wet your foam ball and start to place your branches around the foam ball. You will want to start with the longest branches first, then you can fill in with shorter branches, if you desire. 

Once you have all of your branches tucked into your wet foam ball, you will decide what embellishments you would like to add next. You can curl pipe cleaners and tuck those in around the foam ball, use Christmas pipe cleaners. You can use wire ribbon and make bows or just insert curl ribbon into the foam ball. You can add Christmas flowers all around for a more full Christmas center piece. 

Use your creativity and imagination when designing your own Christmas center piece. The more items you add, the fuller your Christmas center piece will become. 

These make wonderful Christmas presents to give to anyone on your Christmas list. 

Enjoy crafting today !

It's finally over

After a long await, I am able to move on and put the past behind myself. I have grown spiritually over the last 6 months, grown independently, grown as a woman and mother too.  

I was afraid of this huge major change at first. Looking back now. I am not really sure what "it" was I was afraid of. Maybe the "loss" of thinking or believing what I thought I had, or just the "change" in general. 

I received an email in June of 2011, that my then spouse was leaving the children and myself. Yes, an email ! So many things had taken place prior to opening up this email. Too many to count. When trust is no longer the main foundation of a relationship, there is nothing left to build on or venture into. 

Trust in any relationship is what holds the relationship together for the duration of that relationship. Trust is what you come to depend on, respect and watch grow. Without trust, it's a wide open door for disrespect, lies, cheating, and so many more problems. I valued and respected "trust". It was not just another word to me, something to use, abuse and walk all over !

I am looking forward to the Ms. and not the Mrs. name I once carried. It's saying goodbye to a past that didn't deserve me or the children. It's saying hello to a whole new life and awesome memories. The children and myself, we are grateful we appreciate, respect and value the trust we have for one another. We look forward to the days, weeks and months ahead of us.  We are a family unit, small but united. There is no other place I would rather be, then right where I am. 

Thank you for making me realize in life, that it's alright to cross a new bridge with hope, faith and understanding. Thank you for giving me a new life of love, memories and challenges. Thank you for the many, many blessings the children and myself have received since that dreaded email in June 2011. 

Goodbye Mr..... 

Christmas Time

There is no other holiday I enjoy more, then Christmas. Each year the children and I drag out the old artificial Christmas tree and place each color coded branch on the fake trunk, we giggle while listening to soft sounds of Christmas music in the back ground. Yes, the smells of Christmas soon fill the air with smiles and memories.

We drag out the snowman calendar with the snow ball on the string to count down the days until Christmas.

We grab the big ball of lights and start the process of untangling all the lights, inside and outside. We giggle more and start the process of finding out which strand of lights still work and twinkle. There have been times we have had to make a run to the local thrift store to purchase extension cords. For what ever reason, we can never seem to find enough extension cords during Christmas time. I need to remember after the holiday, to rush out and buy a massive supply for next year.

Anthony enjoys setting up the manger and the fake snow in the front window. He follows the pictures on the box each year and sets up everything.  I think you can see it glowing in the window...

Christmas eve night, we turn on the Christmas Story and watch it over and over again. Despite the fact that it now runs on the television for 24 hours ... I actually have a DVD tape with Christmas commercials from over 19 years ago. It's funny to see some of these very old commercials. The younger kids get a lot of laughs from these older commercials. Last year, Anthony wanted to know if he could have one of the toys he spotted from one of these old commercials. I had to laugh really hard.. I don't think they even make the toy anymore!


What are some of the most amazing Christmas memories you have.? Please feel free to share so I may enjoy knowing more about your Christmas holiday season.

Our New Home

Home Sweet Home 

The children and I moved into our new house on November 5th, 2011. This picture is one of many that I took prior to painting, scrubbing and cleaning. 

Yes, the inside was a complete mess. I am very thankful that I had my mother to help me clean up the house inside as well as outside. If it were not for our hours upon hours of cleaning, scrubbing and painting, we would of never been able to move into this house. It was beyond filthy dirty inside. 

This is my mother, cleaning the huge amount of leaves from the back yard... I don't think she knows the meaning of slow down, take a break or stop.. I so admire my mother. 

She worked into late hours at night, scrubbing and painting and yet more cleaning. 

This house is very special because every where I look I know that my mother helped with her labor of love. 

This is a picture of the front living room hardwood floor. I wish I would of taken a before picture. The hardwood looked nothing like it does in this photo. The hardwood through out the entire house were all black, dirty and a complete mess. I have a feeling that the prior owners, never cleaned or ran a vacuum cleaner.

Now they are clean and beautiful !

This is part of the kitchen with dark cabinets. Look at all those cleaning supplies. Mom and I must of used over 40 rolls of paper towels. 

I felt the kitchen was too dark, so we decided to primer each cabinet and paint ... Need I say, we did the paint job in less then 48 hours. We were so worn out and our backs hurt something horrible.. 

But the pain and labor did pay off..

So much brighter.. That is my mom in the white shirt painting and my daughter; Kristina helping pitch in as well each day after school. 

The kitchen has over 24 cabinets and over 6 drawers. I would never recommend a kitchen paint makeover in 48 hours.. The end results did pay off. I have a beautiful, bright kitchen now. 

I still have painting to do above the window. I removed the curtains and don't plan on putting any back in the window. I love all the light this house has to offer.

Here is a shot of the kitchen from the other side of the breakfast bar. You can see the cabinets before and after, side by side.  

White paint screams... CLEAN...!

The oven has been replaced now. That oven was old, filthy dirty and didn't work. It caught fire while I was trying to make chili. Someone had rewired a few burners and I didn't know..

This is the new oven, sitting next to my massive black refrigerator. I love this new oven. Love the smooth top features, burners have two directional heat settings. 

I don't like the fact that the refrigerator is so close to the oven, but I was able to squeeze in a black pantry on the other side of the refrigerator. Which I needed a pantry. I found not having one, made it impossible to store everything "food" related in all the cabinets, plus pots and pans and dishes.

Here is a better view of the refrigerator and the new black oven and my clean white kitchen.. 

I am still searching out a paint color for above the cabinets and wall color. I just can't make up my mind yet on what color to select. I was thinking red, but then thought perhaps a smooth dark green would look better.. I just can't decide what would enhance my kitchen and not take away from the brightness of the kitchen right now... Pondering...!

Anthony had no trouble selecting a color for his room.. "GREEN". I thought the color turned out well after all his items were in place. However, while painting this green on the wall I thought I would go blind... the green paint is very bright. I painted his room in 45 minutes from floor to ceiling. 

I still have so many things to do.. But we are all moved in and happy here. 

The platform bed, I designed two of these and had a carpenter put the beds together. I love all the storage that these beds offer. Kristina has the other bed in her room. I designed the beds so they can be broken apart and set upright for book shelves for when the children go off to college..

I was very pleased that the carpenter I hired in Tennessee was able to put together my own custom vision for these beds. There are 8 storage cubes around the bed, three on each side and two on the end. Anthony needs lots of storage for all his toys..  

I have an upstairs, this is where Kristina is now enjoying her teenager years.. I as well have a basement. Grand children love the basement to play in... I hope to have more pictures soon of all the other rooms. 

Enjoy your blessed day today :)

Fabric Sale

Huge amount of fabric is now listed up for sale. Come shop the facebook page and help yourself to our fabric stash, craft bags, vintage fabrics and more. 

FREE SHIPPING TODAY

Click here 

Turning "49"

Myself, youngest daughter; Kristina, family friend; Bryan

Way back in my 20 something stage of life.. I use to think what it would be like to turn 30, then my early 40's came and went and now here I am at "49"..

Of course my girl friend who I have known for 30 years just had to text me on my birthday and tell me I was an ol bag now.. ! Soon I will be able to receive the 15% discount that seniors receive. Well, actually I already had this happen to me once.. At the time I didn't think it was so funny.. But, I saved 15% off of my purchase, which was super awesome.

My oldest son; David who is almost 27 yrs young.

My oldest son; David who will be 27 in January- Got together almost everyone in our family for a super fun time out on the pumpkin patch at a close by apple orchard. I have never had so much fun with my older children and grand babies, so many giggles and this was just the adults.

I think my son picked out a pumpkin that weighted about 50 pounds.. it was so large, on the hay ride back he actually decided to take a seat on top of his pumpkin.





Look at all these smiles (left to right)
Mirenne (grand daughter) my son Anthony
Aaron (grand son) Andrew (grand son)
Taylor (grand daughter) Makenzie; niece.

The children had so much fun all day today.

The pumpkin picking was the best.. Anthony had been sick for 2 days prior to joining the fun, so because he has asthmatic lungs, better to be safe then sorry.. Hay holds molds which he is allergic to :(

My oldest daughter; Melissa in the green top.. is expecting grand baby #6 for me.. I can't wait.!!
She does not want to know the sex of the baby at all. I told her I would come with her to her next ultra sound visit.. Guess she knows me all too well.. I can't keep those sort of secrets.. who can when it involves a new grand baby.. Either way.. I just can't wait to find out.. I will be in the delivery room, counting, huffing and then mainly crying as I have done when each of my grand children have been born. 

Here is my youngest daughter; Kristina and my own mother (in the white coat) Looking fabulous in her mid 70's, my other daughter; Whitney and her boyfriend; Josh..

Everyone had such a wonderful time. The weather was just perfect and the sun was shinning bright. Not too hot and not too cold.

I loved my Birthday with my family today ! Guess turning 49 isn't all that bad...

Here I am with my grown children..

Whitney 21, Melissa 29, David 27, myself 49, Kristina soon to be 14..

I think Anthony was rolling a pumpkin by as this photo was being taken by my mother..

I truly have been blessed with awesome children and grand children..