Revealing beauty

 I'm in the process of removing my cupboard doors.

(Do you say cabinet or cupboard?)

I still have some painting to do, and I plan to paint or paper the back panels. 

And, yes, like my books and clothes, I arrange dishes by color.
 

 Even the most run-down and beat-up people, places, and things contain beauty.

I love the little old cream pitcher, below, with fading paint and chipped handle.

It's so unique, bright, beautiful.

 “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

― Confucius

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”

― Thich Nhat Hanh

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
-William Morris

Sometimes all we need to do is open a cupboard to reveal the beauty inside.

Keep this in mind with people, too! Beauty is there, whether or not it's immediately visible.

The crayonized pumpkin

A quick easy craft for our Wednesday afternoon!

The kids peeled crayons, and I ran them through my cheapy little hot glue gun,

 to drip on my $3 white Wal-Mart pumpkin.

(I prefer getting my pumpkins from Aldi, but they didn't have any white ones there.)

I'm pleased with the end result!

Voila!

More color for my colorful home!

Natural decor for fall

This is the easiest, and cheapest, garland I've ever made!

1. Collect beautiful leaves.

2. Draw on them.

We used colored sharpies.

3. Sew them together!

4. Hang and Enjoy! :D

the small things

This was another uber-easy project, while I was recovering. Too ill to go jogging, scrub floors... but I could sew!

This was simply a matter of tracing the stencil letter-outline, then filling it in, and sewing it up. I used a bright gingham backer, to tie the colors together.

I mentioned games in a previous post. We played Richard Scary's Busytown over and over...
and over and over and over...

Sure, it's as cute as can be but, by the end of the weekend, I was soooo tired of searching for umbrellas and kites. Still, it's my Littlest 'Un's current favorite game so I mustered all the excitement I could, and grabbed my little orange magnifying glass. Beautiful games make repetition bearable.


All in all, the time spent sick was well worth it.
Little home touches were completed, slowly but surely, and we spent a LOT of time just hanging out and relaxing together.

Hand-sewn homes

I've been sick for about two weeks now, and have felt worse lately than I did at the beginning. Ugh. All this after I gave my husband "a talk" about his health, how I'd like to transition our family away from white flour entirely, etc. Then I get sick. And there goes my point ~~poof~~ up in smoke. I'd like to think that my diet/habits have caused it to be less severe than it could've been.

Anyhow, I've had to say no to numerous fun social events and have spent a lot of time just playing cards with the kids, watching family movies, sewing. All in all, a welcome change from our sometimes-fast-paced-lifestyle.

Here are some hand-sewn homes I did this past week. The edges are left raw, and sprayed with "no fray." I like the raw look, and figure they won't require much washing.

Each home is about 12-18 inches tall. The fabric comes from the collection I inherited from Mimi.

Home is where your heart is, yes.

more melted crayon art

Dancing in the Rain

Like my other crayon art here , we just peeled crayons and ran them straight through our mini glue gun. It's so fast and easy!

On Wednesday evening, we had our often-celebrated Sister Night. After doing some shopping together, we dined at The Pressroom.

YUM. The food and wine were so very delicious.

We did a little posing, too. ;)

me and Julie

The three of us were all born within 3 1/2 years. I know that must've been hard for my parents when we were little, but it sure is nice now!

Amy and me

I love my sisters!

Playing in the Kitchen

One of my dear friends was in town a couple weeks ago, and she lit a fire under me to get some house projects done!! I love friends who tell it like it is. :)
At her urging, I painted the "window wall" in the "breakfast room" (aka dining room, seeing as how I don't have a formal one here) a creamy tangerine color. Big change from the brownish purple color that wasn't working in there. I buckled down and finished it in a few hours, trim and all. It makes me HAPPY-- so bright, fresh, joyful.

Seems even the kids are gravitating to that room.

My precious niece wanted to play with her new Barbie pool in there...
...and my own little man decided that his GI Joes also needed a pool....
(great preK activity, btw. Kids love water!)

I want this house to be a place full of smiles. laughs.

chuckles and grins, memories and games, stories and traditions...

a place BRIGHT with happiness.

On the Fridge

My fridge makes me so happy, friends.

From the Scrabble magnets

(so easy! heh, I see some hot glue strings left)...

...to the rosettes, buttons, and letters, memories of our vacation, love notes...

... to the (real! new-to-me!) bubble gum machine and my huge polka dotted cup on top.

It all just makes me so happy!

Shows just how little effort & money it takes to make something "yours." The rosettes were made from scrap fabric. Most of the magnets were recycled (pizza magnets, anyone?) The Scrabble tiles came from my Mom's old game that had some missing pieces. The huge cup was bought with a 40% off coupon from Hobby Lobby, a year or two ago-- A gift from my Man. The Bubble gum machine {happy sigh} was found at a Goodwill store, for under $10, right before Christmas. The artwork is my own.
Make a home that makes you smile.

Lego Keychain

Another idea that I came across on Pinterest (leave a comment or msg me if you need an invite)! Yes, I actually DO what I pin. :)

May we never lose our keys again!

Melted Crayon Art

Pin It




I've seen several different versions of this, from leaving crayons on canvas in a hot car (we tried it) to using a blow dryer to running crayons through a small hot glue gun. We had the best luck with the latter. The crayons fit perfectly in the glue gun. Peel them first, of course (my kids did this) and then run them through. You'll need to press on the end of the crayon, rather than relying on pushing the button. This will NOT ruin your glue gun. It works just fine afterwards with glue, but you might have some color residue.


It's now hanging in my living room, awaiting a "cool colors" companion canvas. :)

{Yellow} In my...

... dining room...

...living room...

...

...Kitchen...

...front bathroom...

Yellow is, and has always been,

my Cheerful color.

I use it a lot. :D