Blue Moon Baby...

I know you all have heard that tonight is a blue moon, and how cool is it that it is on New Year's Eve?! I was a huge fan of the smurfs when I was little, one of my older sisters used to bring me home the little figurines from the store she worked at and I had a big stuffed baby smurf. So of course I have to mention that according to smurflore, a new baby will be born tonight :) Will it be a boy or girl? or maybe both since it is a special occasion!

I hope you all have a safe and fun New Year's Eve. We always stay home, I would rather not be on the road. With any luck we will be able to see the moon, but snow is coming, so who knows.

Image by smurf in the hand

Many Blessing to you all,

Tiff

Last Goodwill Find of 2009....

Actually, it is the last goodwill find or the next 6 months! Yes, you read that right. My New Year's resolution is to NOT shop for the first 6 months of 2010, other than groceries and needs for the kids. As much as I love the "thrill of the hunt" and finding my treasures, I have come to realize that I have enough stuff in my house(and in my basement) to last me a long time. I need to redo what I have stored, use up my craft supplies, and stop adding to my accumulations :o And I know I could have worse obsessions, goodwill is far less expensive than designer purse habits(btdt) or even Target, those little purchases still do add up. So I will take that money that I would have spent at GW and put it in a Christmas account.

So I went to GW for the last time yesterday afternoon. I actually only found one thing for the house, a large basket for $1.99. But did find for myself a ton of clothes, 11 skirts(from llbean, lane bryant, and J Jill, several still new with tags), a linen dress set, 4 tops, and a pair of jeans for my 3 yr old. I am rebuilding my skirt wardrobe for after the baby arrives and can't wait for Spring to arrive and start wearing them. While I was there, I saw this one large object marked $4.99, it was a plywood wine rack. I have no use for a wine rack(don't like wine), but it intrigued me. I bought my stuff and came home. But couldn't get the wine rack out of my head. So an hour later I called GW and asked if they still had it and told them to hold it for me. With my discount card and tax, it cost me $4.71.

Here it is Before...

I removed the faux brass plaque that said something about Chile wines and gave it a coat of Old Village mustard paint. I had first thought it would make a great holder for scrapbook papers, but I'm really not a scrapbooker and don't like the look of all the paper out in the open. I then realized it could hold my cut wool for rug hooking!!! Maybe I will do some hooking in the near future now that I have a place to hold my worms. I'll have to have the kids cut some more wool for me, they love to use that little machine.

I'm still working on my sewing room, but it is getting there. I think I may stencil the room tomorrow and then I will take pics.

Have a great night,

Tiff

HELP! Need inspiration...

Please, please, pretty please can you guys share some pics or links of prim/country sewing rooms? I need some inspiration on how to do mine. I know the feeling I want, I just don't know how to obtain it. Hubby and the kids removed two of the massive shelving units and put them in the basement for me, so I have much more room now. We packed up all my wool and the majority of my fabric and will store it in the basement for the time being. I won't have time to rug hook or sew tons once the baby comes, so I'm just looking to cozy up and simplify my sewing room. Just a place to escape to for an hour or so a day and whip up little projects and have a quaint spot to sit for a bit. I want it to be homey and prim, but I don't know what colors to do. Should I stencil, should I paint? The trim work is all white(like the rest of the house), and it feels so cold. Also the one large bead board wall is white, so I'm thinking about leaving the walls the tan color they are and just painting the trim work and bead board. But what color? I really just need to see some good pics. Thank you for your help.

Tiff

Just call me Scrooge...

Much to the dismay of my family, I took down all the Christmas decorations today. Well, not just me, I made them all help too. I have never done it this early in my whole married life. It's not that I don't love Christmas time, it's just that I'm in a mental and physicall race of time. I have 6 weeks or less until Mason arrives, my csection date is Feb.8th, but he could decide to come before then. And I'm sure a lot of you know how the nesting phase can make an almost sane woman a total nutcase, well, I'm at that point! I want the house perfect and easy to manage, so the decorations had to go sooner than later. Is that Scroogey of me?

I also want to get my sewing room redone again, I'm not happy with it. I realize it is not "pretty" and homey, so I don't like it. So that is another thing on my list in the next few weeks, along with decluttering every room in the house, catching up on the laundry, making some baby clothes, making the baby bedding, getting everything ready for the baby, and making lots of lists for the hubby and kids. I'm starting to panic, can you tell?

On a happy note, my middle sister sent the kids a huge goodie basket for Christmas(didn't get a pic of it before they tore into it), and for hubby and me an azaela plant and a martha stewart gift basket filled with stonewall kitchen breakfast goodies. I'm in love with this basket and plan on making it into a sewing basket. Thank you Shelly and Grafton!!!

As you are all probably aware of, I am shamefully bad at responding to comments and I do apologize for that. So I plan on making a question and answer post soon where I will answer comments questions and you can ask me anything else you want.

I'll keep you updated on the nesting progress :) I'm just happy at the moment we managed to get all the decorations down(including the huge glass ornament tree) and put away nice and neat in the basement. It's amazing what can be accomplished when everyone helps and a psycho momma is on the loose!

Blessings,

Tiff

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Love,

Tiff

What I've been up to...

Seriously, how is it that it's December 23rd already?! I feel like we just put up the decorations. Anyway, I have been slacking on posting on my blog, just too busy and too tired. But I thought I would finally share some of things I've been up to the last week or so.

Besides finishing up my Christmas shopping, my youngest daughter and I made some decorative gingerbread ornaments for the tree in the kitchen. They came out pretty cute and we dipped them in wax to help preserve them. We made little ones and a few big ones....

I had so many left over that I made gifts of scented bowl fillers for my mom and friend. I packaged them in these cute little Martha Stewart boxes that I bought last year.
Then I made my mom a small quilt for her couch. The camera washed out the colors some, but it came out very pretty in real life.
I also made this table runner for my aunt who lives with my parents right now. Her colors are greens and cranberry. Again, the camera washed out the color.

Last night I finished up these stockings for all of us. After 17 Christmases together, I finally got around to making homemade stockings!! I was tired of store bought ones and since I'm trying to get my house to the state of all homemade and antiques, I decided this was the year that I would make them. Of course, I shouldn't have waited until the last minute, but at least they are done and I even made one for Baby Mason for next year. They are done in recycled wool in a random crazy quilt sort of way with a linen like top(which next year I will embroider everyone's initial on). Each person got to pick their color.
I used all the different stitches on my machine to give the crazy quilt look.
And I used black wool with each one to tie them all together.
They are a pretty good size as you can tell in this picture, I wanted them to be able to hold plenty of candy!!!
And last night, after the stockings were done, I baked 8 dozen cookies for my oldest son to give to his friends. Of course the label is a little white lie, as it says he baked them, but he wouldn't let me put my name there :)
I also made teacher gifts, which I forgot to take pics of (cute wool candle wreaths), a pair of mittens for me(as I waited for my 3 hr glucose test), a sweater for the baby(pics coming soon), 30 some cloth bags to wrap the presents in(I'm tired of spending money on wrapping paper) and 6 paper and colored pencil fabric holders that are presents for the kids(these came out pretty cute too). Oh, and I filet crocheted 2 vintage inspired pot holders for a friend for Christmas.

I'm pooped! I need a vacation so badly, I'm actually looking forward to the hospital stay as a little mini vacation, lol!! But in the mean time, I still need to clean the house, bake some goodies for us, go grocery shopping, and get a few more gifts under the tree(they are in the back of my car right now). And while doing this, I feel as though I have a bowling ball between my legs as the baby has dropped. It's so painful that I'm waddling now!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and enjoy those around you.

Merry Christmas,

Tiff

Hot Slings Give Away!!

11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven is giving away THIS Hotslings baby carrier!

To enter click HERE.

Swap Goodies, Candy Wreath, Christmas Dresden Plate, and Snow!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.

Remember the cookie cutter swap I participated in? I got my package last week and was happy to get three old cookie cutters(just the kind I collect), some recipes, homemade cookies, tea and drink mix, and a very special cookie recipe book that my partner used when her kids were little(it was really sweet of her to give it to me). I was very please with it all.

BUT! That's not all, on Friday a box came in the mail. I knew I hadn't ordered anything and then I saw the return address, my swap partner. Hmmm... She sent me another package which she didn't have to, but she thought it should all be included. An awesome vintage Christmas apron, a red gingham table cloth and napkins, a magazine, and another vintage cookie cutter. How wonderful was that!?!?!?! Thank you, thank you, thank you Kathy, you went above and beyond!!!!
Close up of the flocking on the apron.
Here is an easy teacher of office gift to make. This is actually the 2nd one I've made, the first one I took to my youngest daughter's school for the office staff and this one will go to my 1st grader's school's office staff tomorrow. All you do is take an embrodiery hoop(I have a ton from goodwill), and tie on fabric strips and ribbon(I used wide wire ribbon and and 2" wide fabric strips), alternating one ribbon and then 2 fabric strips. After you cover the whole hoop, you go back and add the curling ribbon and attach candy with it, then curl it. You can add a pair of small scissors if you want, so they can cut the candy off, but you don't have to.

I made this wool Dresden plate charger last week for a neighbor. It's using the smaller template but still the same design. It came out nice and Christmasy.

Saturday night we got our first good snow, not a lot for Maine, but enough for the kids to go out and play in.








I can't believe how fast December is flying by, I have so much I still need to do... crafting, shopping, baking, and I haven't even started to prepare for the baby. He will be here before I know it!!

Enjoy your day,

Tiff

Christmas Decor Part 3....

Yes, I know, I missed posting yesterday, I've just been so tired and haven't really done a whole lot other than daily stuff. And then went I loaded these pics tonight, I realize how bad and blurry they are, but I'm too lazy to retake them, so they will have to do. Some are night time pics and some are day time.

Thank you all for the kind comments, I really appreciate them.

Here is my mudroom/breezeway area, this the part of my home that connects the garage to the rest of the house, it's used as the main entrance. This is the corner between my kitchen and the half bath.

The other corner by the kitchen, the front door is on the right.


This is a hutch I picked up a couple of summers ago for $10 at a yard sale, it was a hideous baby poop brown, so I painted it cream, then it went black. It holds my glass cake stands and candle sticks. To the left of the hutch is a large hall closet and to the right is the half bath.
Looking into the mudroom from the kitchen.
Another view. I love the tatted curtains I got at goodwill this summer. The other one hangs in another window in the mudroom that is not pictured. Oh, and the bench was a garbage find from Texas, my neighbor was throwing it out, so I asked her for it. It was a honey oak color before going black and the seat opens up for storage.
The garage door. Not pictured to the right of this door is an alcove that has the other window, peg and shoe racks(my messy area) and the 2nd stair case that leads to my oldest son's room.



Here is the half bath.


And here is the outside. I'm not happy with the porch right now, but I don't know what to do with it this year and I'm too tired to worry about it.

The outside pics came out terrible.

So that's it for now. That completes the main floor tour, except my craft room, which I will share at some point in the future. And I may get around to sharing the upstairs soon.

Have a great weekend,

Tiff