Birthday, Prom, Parade, Gardens, and Life....

Hello my dear blogging friends.  I know that things have not been the norm around here and I hope you can forgive me for that and try to understand my life right now.  I know that some of you know what has been going on but for the majority of you, all you know is that I have been telling you that I have been under Major stress.  The most stress that I have ever felt in my entire life and it has been going on for over 6 months now. It's not something I would wish on my worst enemy.  It's even harder because I still have to live my day to day life, keep the kids happy and well, put on a smile for the world, and basically pretend that all is well.  I'm still not ready to totally spill everything here for all to read, but I will say, as of yesterday, things have lightened up a bit.  The problem has not disappeared, but we now have a more fitting alliance working for us.  Best advice to you all, sometimes it's a better choice not to go with the "nice" lawyer but to go for the more cut throat one. 

For the time being, we are not moving, but I  still don't know what the future holds. Luckily, the future has moved a bit farther away right now.

Now onto my life....

We celebrated a 6th Birthday with a  circus theme party.  It was a blast and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

 My oldest daughter attended her first prom.  She chose a style of dress that fits her uniqueness :)

 My daughters were in the town's Memorial Day parade and the rest of watched on the sidelines. My grandfather was in the Army, my father in law was in the Army, my husband was in the Navy, and now my oldest son will be headed to boot camp for the Marines in September(don't ask me how I feel about this, because I'm still not sure... scared and proud, but probably more scared).

 My youngest daughter and I made a fairy garden in an old wheelbarrow.

 We still need to make a house for it.

 Pics from around the yard....

 Mason, hamming it up for the camera.

 The pictures do not do this pot of petunias justice, the thing is gorgeous and enormous!  It was a gift from my 3rd grader's teacher. I'm room mom and she gave me this as a Thank you gift.  I love it!!!

 And the front door. I kept it simple and sweet. It will stay like this through July.

I'll try to be better about posting and sharing pics with you.  I have been majorly decluttering the house and changing my style.  So I may be having a blog sale of primitives soon, would you all like me to offer things on here?

Hugs and blessings,

Tiff

Happy 4th Birthday in Heaven my sweet little boy Nathan.  You will always be loved and remembered.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

You're Invited...

To a massive yard sale this Saturday, May 12th, 9am to ?

I'm cleaning out the house like a crazy woman! This is going to be a huge sale and will have a lot of antiques and prim items in it. I'm changing up my style a bit, so a lot is going!  I hope to see  you there, it's always great to meet people from blogland.

Email me for my address.

Tiff

Bee Nice....

It's a rainy Tuesday afternoon here, but that's fine, yesterday we had sunshine.  Life has been beyond busy around here and I promise to share all the details when everything calms down.  

A couple of weeks ago I had the urge to paint, so I made these bee pictures for the family room.  I know the photos are awful(it's raining out remember), but you get the idea of them.  I was only going to do one bee, and then the other two painting were going to be other insects, but I couldn't figure out what else to do, then the bee series popped in my head.

 This bee(bee-lieve) is my favorite and was the first painting of the trio I did.

I'm not sure I really like them up on the wall in the family room, I may have to paint some birds instead, but I do like the trio overall and they may end up in a mudroom or hallway.

Have a wonderful day and be grateful for all you have and who you share it with,

Tiff

Well, I came here to do a one sentence post and I see that blogger has totally changed its format, when did that happen?  Guess I haven't posted in awhile. And yes, there are reasons for that.  It's never a good day when you break down in tears at the bus stop.

Tiff

I know, I know....

I didn't fall off the face of the Earth, in case you were wondering :) I have just been totally swamped with my youngest daughter's play... making costumes(then fitting and resizing costumes), painting scenery, making props, and going to rehearsals. She was initially just directing it, but the last two weeks we had to have help from two teachers and she is now in the play too(Rapunzel). Needless to say, I have been very busy and stressed with it(I'm a perfectionist which makes things like this very intense).

Anyway, I really haven't done anything around the house, other than laundry and meals, but I did manage to finally find a spot for the kids hands. I hung it above my black cupboard and then put the boxes that I made under them. I really like the whole display. I couldn't get a good pic to show how nice and warm it looks, but you can get an idea from these....

And I had to throw this one in, because I thought the screen shot on the tv was funny :) They are both looking at me as to say "really, you are taking more pictures of this room?!".
And just another random spot in the family room.
And here is the little owl "leif" that I won in a giveaway, he was made by Gena Hart of Appalachian Doll, check out here Etsy store. Thank You Gena !

And last but not least, here is Milky White, one of the props I made for Into the Woods Jr.
Oh, and wait till you see the marvelous swap package that Tammy sent me. I loved everything and I will share pics with you in my next post. Please forgive me for my lack of posting, but hopefully things will settle down after this play is over, the show goes on Thursday and Saturday, and Sunday I will relax!!!

I hope all is well in blogland, I haven't been keeping up with any blogs for the last week or so, so much to do and so little time.

Until then, take care,

Tiff

Pinterest Project Day! ....

Happy Thursday everyone! The weather is just gorgeous and warm out with the sun shining! I have all the windows open and getting lots of fresh air in the house, it's just lovely.

Today's pinterest project isn't out of a decorative want, it was made due to need! I saw several different pins using canning jars and hardware supplies to make toothbrush holders, herb jars, and bathroom toiletry holders. Brilliant I thought, I'm always trying to find a way to keep the kid's toothbrushes organized on their bathroom counter and after a bout of sickness that ran throughout the house last month.... I realized it was really stupid that they were all sharing the same tube of toothpaste!! Why hadn't I realized that before?!?!

Anyway, now they each have their own glass to hold their toothbrush along with their own tube of toothpaste.

I had to add the little saying because I thought it was funny:)

This pic was taken before I bought little travel size toothpastes for each glass.
So far it is working perfectly and hopefully it will keep the germs separated!

Have a beautiful day,

Tiff

Mr. Rabbit...

Remember how I told you that I couldn't find my Easter decorations in the basement? Well, I still haven't found them :) But as I was browsing blogs, I kept noticing quite a few had a standing bunny that was part of their Spring decor. Then it hit, DUH!, I have my own standing bunny that I leave out all year long, Mr. Rabbit. So today I grabbed him from the corner and put him right back on the kitchen island and gave him his own little Easter basket.

I love cake stands, and these are just a few of my collection. Someday I want an open shelf all the way around my kitchen to display them all.
See his little sweater? I found it at Goodwill the other day for $1.99. I bought it because it caught my eye as a vintage handmade baby sweater. It was already a little felted when I bought it, but I washed it again and then I realized that it would look sweet on Mr. Rabbit. And it does! I just love it on him, it was the finishing touch that his outfit needed.
We often have homemade treats under these glass covers, but for now a nest with eggs will do, and it is way less fattening!
And the Easter basket he is holding...also from Goodwill, for $.99. It was that ugly rattan wicker color, but I loved the classic Easter basket shape of it and a coat of brown paint changed it. Again, I had no idea what I was going to do with it, until the whole Mr. Rabbit display came to mind :) Right now it just has some faux flowers in it, but maybe I will get around to making him some fabric carrots.
Mr. Rabbit from the back. Isn't he sweet? I bought him back in 2003 from Carol Walker, I'm not sure if she is still creating or not, but she did wonderful animal characters.

Have a wonderful Wednesday,

Tiff

Tuesday's Treasures...And WOOL FOR SALE!

Hello everyone! Time for Tuesday's Treasures :) I found these pieces at goodwill this past week. A wood rolling pin for $.99, two Spring copper molds for $.99 each, and the Yorktowne coffee grinder for $7.99. I don't collect yorktowne dishes, I don't even collect my Folk Art dishes anymore, but I have wanted a coffee grinder for a long time and thought I could make this one over. Replacements Ltd. has it forsale for $55.99, so I don't think my $7.99 was too bad a price.

I also found these 4 tiny wood frames. They were marked $.99 but they were half off, so $2 for the lot. I'm going to make tiny cross stitches for them.
And now for the wool. Go to my new blog for that......http://overthemoonatfg.blogspot.com/. Link at the top of the page too!

Have a lovely day,

Tiff

MakeOver Monday...

Hope you all had a nice weekend. For us, it was one of those times when it really stinks to be a grown up, but as my hubby says "things will work out and we will be fine".

Anyway, onto the makeovers! Remember that wood cutting board I got last week? I painted it and aged it and made it into a platter for my fat chicken!

I love how it came out and it is so easy to just move her off the stove now when it is time to make dinner.

I also decided to redo this door hanger bunny that I have had for about 10 years. My parents made it(they did craft shows for years). It was a bit too cutesy country for me but I didn't want to get rid of it.
After three different attempts of trying to make it look more prim(I wasn't sure what I really wanted), I ended up with this. More detailed than I envisioned at first, but I like the end result. What do you think? If you like the original better, that is fine, but it's too late to go back, LOL!

Oh, and no Sunday Weigh in, why? you ask. Because I was in a foul mood and didn't want to post my mere .7 lbs loss. But there you have it, better than a gain, right? I'm a stress eater, and this past week has not been a good one. God is teaching me a huge lesson in patience. And I have to keep reminding myself to Trust in Him.

Have a marvelous Monday everyone,

Tiff

Friday Finishes...

The sun is shining and the snow is so pretty and glistening outside... and it's Friday, YAY!

I finished up these two projects this past week. The first one is the hand sampler that I started after Mason was born. It's all my kids hands as they were in February of 2010. I had the frame in the basement, but it wasn't quite the right size, so I added fabric to the top and bottom. Of course now it is bothering me seeing how crooked I sewed the bottom piece! I may have to fix that, or just leave it and pretend it makes it more handmade and old looking,LOL!

They kind of look like a bunch of turkeys, you know the hand ones you made in grade school :) Not sure where I'm going to hang it, but most likely will be in the family room as it is the colors of that room.
And here is the crocheted rug. It ended up being almost 4' by 6', it is laying on a rug that size so you can see the comparison
I had at first crocheted a scalloped edge around the whole thing, but I didn't like the look, so I ripped it all out and put a simple edging on of a contrasting cotton yarn that was a smaller weight.
The kids liked it here in front of the fireplace because it was soft and squishy, but it's not the look I want there. It's going to end up in a bathroom I think, maybe when we move. And don't laugh at how wonky it is! It's hard crocheting something that big and keeping it even, especially when you aren't following a pattern and just throwing in stitches where you see necessary :)(ya, I work that way).
Have a magnificent weekend,

Tiff

Pinterest Project Day! ....

I know most of us our addicted to pinterest and I'm sure some of you are actually starting to try the things you see on there, right? So far for me, it's about a 50% fail rate. But here is a project that I'm considering a success!!! Cardboard hatbox makeover....

I saw the idea of using round prim boxes and mod podging printer copies of samplers on them, it was so neat looking, but it was just another idea that I pinned onto one of my boards for a later date. UNTIL, I was down in the basement again and came across these three Christmas boxes that were in the yardsale pile(yes this pile is huge and my basement is like my own store, LOL!). My mom had given them to me years ago and they just aren't my style, a little too country cute for me, but the boxes were in perfect shape....

First step, paint them. I went with three prim colors, black, a mixed tan(which is more mustard like in real life), and brown(from the chocolate bunny). I was afraid to sand them because I didn't want the Christmas colors coming through, but I think they are fine without it.
Next step... Look for some samplers that I could copy and print. Needed to be long and on the thin side. I found some in Primitive Betty's Etsy store(go check out her gorgeous work). After finding them, I emailed Betty and asked her for permission to use them. She was very sweet and told me to go for it. You can check out her blog HERE. Thank You Betty!!!

And here is how they turned out! I love them!! And it was a totally free project :)
I did have to cut the samplers down a bit after I printed them out, the top one had to be cut in half to fit the box, but I think they worked out well. After mod podging, I rubbed some acrylic stain on them to age them more and then mod podged the whole box and lid. I only had the shiny type, so next time I would use the matt finish.
Sally was soaking up the sun in her basket in this pic. I put the boxes in this spot to take the photos, I wasn't sure where there were going to end up, but I think they work well here, at least for now.
Yesterday, we only had small patches of snow left on the ground and this morning we woke up to this! No school today, which the kids are happy about(so am I!).

It's coming down pretty good and we are expected to get up to 10". So with a broken snow blower, you know what I will be doing this afternoon... getting lots of activity points for WW!!!
Wondering what the thing was yesterday? I'm not a 100% sure, but I think it is a tool used for making braided rugs. It came in a bag that was marked "tools for rug making" and there were the 3 metal things that you put the wool in to rug braid. So I'm guessing that this thing some how holds the ends as you start to braid. But I could totally be wrong! Hubby thinks it is a nutcracker :)

Happy Pinning,

Tiff