Christmas cards...kitchen inspired!

I have to say I just loved Desiree's sweet cupcake liner tree's and cards that I had, had, had, to use the idea for my Christmas cards this year.  Now, it was a little tedious, but I just loved making them!  I stayed true to my kitchen theme by also using toothpicks and tinfoil (how fun!) on the cards...take a peek..

Aren't they just too sweet!

Do you see the tin foil?

As an afterthought, definitely use heavy foil, it will punch out easier.

Thanks for the inspiration!

I'd love to see your cards....happy decorating...enjoy!

sue

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simple christmas

What could be better than no stress at the holidays? How about easy, nature inspired Christmas decor? Umm, you say...rocks, papers...tree branches? Yes, it's all here...well, minus the rocks, but I'm sure my kids drug some in here somewhere!

I made these cutie little ornaments from scrapbook paper and had the branches there from my fall decor...so I thought, what the heck? Let's decorate them too!

I used little bitty clothespins to clip the birdies on...so cute and simple!

Now, the husband won a cute little galvanized coca-cola tub with these in it...

(he drank every last one of them)...

I've got some plans in the making for these...so stay tuned for that!

And oh, my goodness...I saw the cutest cupcake christmas trees over at

36th Avenue , plus she has great ideas for handmade gifts under $5!

I decided that these would be my Christmas cards this year...Love, love, love it!!

Getting it all  together!

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Dollar store snowflakes!

I need something to hang off my planter posts on the new deck and I found these over at the Dollar Tree...sparkly and twinkly in the sun and the nighttime lights!

How are you decorating on a budget this year??

I visited on of my favorite blogs this morning Mayamade, and she, too, had a simple Christmas plan for a stress free holiday....a list.  A list of things she wanted to do with her children, and it's all pre-planned so you celebrate what is important and meaningful in your holiday time with your family...

Here's my list...

1.  Letters to Santa

2.  Cinnamon ornaments

3.  Salt dough snowmen

4.  Visit Guido Gardens to see the lights.

5.  Hot cocoa night

6.  Make styrofoam snowmen

7.  Make Christmas cards

8.  Make outdoor bird feeders

9.  Collect pine cones and pine boughs to decorate

10.  Watch  A Christmas Story

11.  Donate old toys

12.  Cut out snowflakes

13.  Bake cookies

What's on your list of musts this season??

happy day!

Sue

Happy day!

Sue

bedroom makeover continues...

Remember my boring, plain white bedroom?  Well, a few weeks ago, I added a coat of Aqua Snow to the walls and hung some curtains.  I decided to move the bed to the other wall because the end tables fit better there.

I've been on the lookout for some night stands/end tables and matching lamps (had the shades, just needed lamps).  Well last weekend, my perserverance paid off!  I found the lamp bases at Goodwill in Statesboro, Ga for $5.99 each and they were 40% off that!  Score!  I just had to get new harps for each and my new lampshades fit great!  I love the black with the blue walls.

I had found some night stands at Goodwill, also, but they just weren't what I was looking for.  We stopped in

at a consignment shop right next door to Goodwill and there in the back room were these....

Heavy, solid wood, great color and had a little embellie on them.  Cute!

And at $ 9.99 each I couldn't resist!

I turned them the wrong way to fit next to the bed, but I love them!

It's coming together...still have to find a big old ornate mirror for over the dresser and some other pics for about the room.....it will happen with some patience!

Sue

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Thanksgiving

the kids and I crafted our Silk milk containers into birdie houses for our feathered friends.  We just have to stop and get some seed to fill them...we are thankful for the birds in our yard!

A little picture I crafted from scrapbook paper (my favorite colors red and turquoise).  I am

thankful for my wonderful crafting space!

Our yummy pumpkin pies....we are thankful for all our delicious food we will share with family this

Thanksgiving!

Yummy sweet potatoes for the Sweet Potatoe Casserole...topped with pecans!

I am thankful for this yummy southern treat!

Now everyone has their Thanksgiving horror stories, and here is ours....

despite hearing a hissing noise and smelling propane, my husband didn't think anything of not being

able to get the fryer to the appropriate temp.  After the wives intervened we had to make a trip to Walmart (oh Lord) and get a new regulator.  Well, of course they don't just have a regulator, so we had to get a new fryer.  Well, we get that home and guess what???  There's no regulator!  Back to Wally World and they have ONE fryer left.  God it home and by that time the turkey has been in for like nearly 3 hours and is now DONE.  Grrrrr.  So our meal was like 3 hours late, but stilll delicious!

Fried...crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside!

The fam at the table....drop cloth tablecloth...love it!

Our meal....cranberry relish, turkey (we had two!), broccoli cheese casserole, sweet potatoe casserole, cranberry stuffing, corn....ummmmm!

Nanny had her hands full!

Miss Madi...love the summer dress in mid November!

Monkey man Jacob...

Swinging Sam!

Miss Emma...pretty in her dress!

Nanny putting on Madi's bling-bling!

What a wonderful, laid back day we had full of fun, family, fiasco's and delicious food!

Hope you had a wonderul day with your family as well.

Good luck with your black Friday shopping...I'll be staying home!

Sue

Sneaking up

The holiday season has snuck up on me.  Once again.  Ummm.  How did it get to be November?  What happened to all my plans of shopping early?  Ha!  Out the window with that!  Let's re group shall we?  What really matters?  Here's my list of what matters to me...

1.  God
2.  Love
3.  Health
4.  Home
5.  Family

We are so blessed in so many ways and we dont' even know it.  If you find yourself saying...oh I wish I had that!  Oh I wish I had this!  Stop and think about it.  What do you really need?  You need God in your life foremost because He is the reason for all this.  You need love, for without love we would be lost.  We need health because well, otherwise, we'd be dead (lol, kind of grim eh?).  We need home because we feel safe there.  We need our family to encircle us.  That's really all we need.  Your home is beautiful now matter what it looks like because it's yours.  It doesn't have to look like a magazine ad.  It needs to look like YOU decorated it from the heart.  And your gifts, too, should be from the heart, not just picked off a shelf so you can give something.  Stop and think about the recipient...what would they love.  It might just be a skein of yarn, or an apple tree, or a batch of cookies.  Let's stop giving, just to give.  Give from your heart.  Give your time, your talent.  Show your thoughtfulness.  After all, that's what the holiday season is about. 

Happy day to you!
Sue

Exploring nature

I reserve Friday mornings for some serenity, peace, and a time for me and my children to go outdoors and enjoy nature.  The smell of the crisp air, the crunch of the leaves under our feet.  Typically, I'm reminding one to stay away from the edge of the pond and yelling at the other one to get "out of the woods"...but for me it's about joining them and exploring.  Feeling closer to , well, something bigger than what is before us.

the little frogs are everywhere...as soon as you near the edge of the pond they all jump in!

ms. madi left her boots behind....

a favorite spot for the fish to hide...under the boughs of this evergreen

tall, majestic.  i'll be borrowing from them to decorate for the holidays....

mr. sam sneaking off to our favorite sitting spot...

exploring with the dog

my favorite view...

i could sit here all day...sigh

ms madi is making a new fashion trend out of hats from recycled plant containers!

weird tree growth...

monkey (the cat) in the tree (compliments of the dog)

we brought a little bit of nature inside

(see that little hand stealing some of it????)

happy exploring to you friends!

sue

Thanksgiving is for kids

I love when the kids have their Thanksgiving celebrations at school. Pilgrim hats and Indian headdresses come home to me clasped in excited hands. Noodle necklaces and feather's decorate projects, the famous hand turkey makes its way onto another project. This year was no different....

Jacob's fabulous pot-holder....OMG I love, love, love it!

I'm so blessed to wake up to this sweety every single day.

and then there's the.....

most devlish meanest looking Pilgrim ever! 

Kind of like The Shining, eh? 

Her faces kill me.

Her stares melt you.

Emma had also mastered the art of the

 stare down right around this age.

If I were an Indian, I wouldn't mess with her!

Happy day to all!

Sue

country style christmas frame

Don't you just love it when something so simple just happens and it turns out beautiful?  It happened to me this morning.  I swear I've been wracking my brains trying to come up with super ideas to post about, then it struck me.  Stop stressing...create for yourself.  Create what you love.  The blog posting is simple after that!

So this is what came together for me this morning....

A square frame in unfinished wood got a coat of gesso....then got distressed with a sanding block and

some brown ink...

Last nite I threaded these letters onto my cotton twine to spell out some holiday words...

thumbtacks added them to the frame....

and pretty little gingham ribbon separated them all.

Won't this be sweet on a mantel for the holidays?

So I remind myself today to create what I love, not so caught up in trying to keep up...just slow down and enjoy the creative process. 

I'm linking this here...

happy day!

Sue

also linking here...

simple purse

This weeks blog posts on Mayamade and Soulemama  got me in the basket frame of mind...mine turned out to be more of a little purse, but they inspired me just the same...have a look!

The outside is burlap and inside is my very favorite last pieces of red toile fabric...so pretty!

I added a velcro closure to keep it secure and just sewed old white buttons on the front and back.

Funny little zig zag stitches make it look especially vintage...the handle is some pink bias tape...I left all the edges rough cause I like the look!

Hope you enjoy and are inspired to make one yourself!

happy day

sue

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