Precious Memories

There is never a dull moment around this place!  The other night, Drew tried his best to convince us that he had chest hair!  Thankfully, we have it on video to use against him during his teenage years. 

My precious papaw turned 91 Friday.  We had a surprise birthday party for him.  Drew and Papaw have a very special bond.  I am so thankful they get to spend so much time together.  Papaw always played funny games and told us crazy rhymes when we were kids.  Now, he's passing those things along to Drew.  I love that Drew is getting to experience the same things that I did as a child. 

Drew: 6, Papaw: 91

What could be sweeter?

We used Kool-aid to dye our eggs this year.  It worked great!

Drew said this one looked like a dinosaur egg. 

Around the House

We've really been enjoying the outdoors around here!  

Brad's had some good luck turkey hunting.

Everything is starting to bloom.

                     

Kendall & Blair came for a visit.  Blair looked so cute in the dress I made her.  She was proud to show it off.  Blair and Drew spent the weekend wearing out every lizard around Mom and Dad's house.  Poor lizards!  I'm sure they were glad to see those two leave! 

We have a new nephew!  Zachary Michael finally joined us.  We been waiting to spoil him rotten!

I see lots of lizards and frogs in his future!

Inspired Stairs

After seeing inspirational words painted onto stairs on Pinterest, I've been dying to give it a try on my own staircase.  I am so excited with the results!  Just in case you want to give it a whirl, I decided to give a little tutorial on how I did it.  I combined two ideas that I found on - of course - Pinterest.  I take no credit for any of these ideas!  I just put them together to get the results I wanted and it worked! 

1.  The hardest task of all is deciding what to write on your stairs, wall, etc.  You will also need a small container of water, a sponge, an artist's paintbrush that has a smooth, rounded end (handle), tape, and a paint pen (color of your choice).

2.  Use a printing program to choose the font and size of the words you want.  I just played around with it, printing out samples until I got the size right. 

3.  With whatever printing program you are using, there should be a way to flip the text backwards before you print.  THE TEXT MUST BE FLIPPED BACKWARDS BEFORE YOU PRINT.  Sometimes you can go into the print options of a program and choose the mirror image option.  This will flip it for you when it prints out.

4.  You should print with the highest ink quality using a printer that sprays the ink onto the paper, like an ink jet.  Printers that print with a dry ink will not work. 

5.  Once you have your words printed out, trim them down to a manageable size.  Arrange and tape them with some painter's tape or whatever you have on hand to the surface you want to transfer the words onto.  The ink should be facing the surface on which you want the words to transfer. 

6.  Use a damp, but not soaking, sponge and apply pressure.  Do not rub the sponge around.  Make sure it soaks through the paper.  Once you have soaked through the paper, take the smooth, rounded back side of a paint brush and gently start scratching the paper on top of the words.  You don't want to tear through the paper. 

7.  Once you have thoroughly scratched each letter from the paper, carefully remove the wet paper.  You should have an imprint of the ink lettering on your surface.  Allow it time to dry completely. 

8.  Go back over each letter with a quality paint pen, and you will have an inspired staircase greeting you each day! 

Taking a Break

Exhausted does not begin to describe how I feel after the last few weeks of school.  We are on the down-hill run toward state testing - YUCK! I just hope the kids are not feeling the pressure that the teachers are feeling about this test.  Maybe we can just get our eyes focused on the prize - SUMMER!

Angie has been gone 7 years now...wow.  Never going to stop missing her. 

Not only am I taking Spring Break this week, but I am also taking a permanent break from my booth at Vendor's.  I LOVE having a booth there, but I just cannot keep up with the demand of working full time, having a booth at the ToadHouse, church duties, being a wife, & motherhood.  I had to give something up.  My booth will be there through the end of March, then I'm moving that stock into the ToadHouse in Meadville.  I'm also adding a line of collegiate items in Meadville, so come check it out!

Drew and I have been trying to enjoy some sunshine and fresh air between the storms.  We've been couped up way too long.  The wild plumb trees have started blooming & the fish are biting.   There's nothing like hooking some big bass to make you feel all is right in the world.  We have been fishing in Uncle Tyson's pond.  It makes me miss him & Aunt Katherine terribly.  We use to run up to their house with our stringer full of fish to show them, then run back to the pond to release the fish.  This time, we had no one to show.  Drew said, "I wish I could show these to Papaw T."  I cried. 

Enjoy the pics...

Fishing at Papaw T's

Down on the creek

Dr. Seuss week at school:  Sam Bandy, Maddie Ann Storey, Zachary Kent, & Drew

Sewing Snakes

So, I've been trying to expand on my sewing skills, which means learning how to make my own patterns.  I wanted to sew some stuffed animals for boys to go into my booth, so I thought snakes would be the way to go.  I sketched my pattern out on the back of some old Christmas paper.  The first snake wasn't the best, but Drew said it would do.  He named it "Snakie".  Snakie was very straight and stiff, so I decided to put some curl to Snakie II.  He turned out much better.  I plan to experiment with some monsters and dinosaurs too.  I've made one dino, but Drew wouldn't let "Dinie" go into the booth. 

Latest Booth Projects

Jennifer and I have opened a booth in Vendor's Emporium in Brookhaven, so now I am scrambling to make enough product for two booths! If it weren't for my father-in-law patiently teaching me some basic wood working skills, I'd be in a whole heap of trouble! Drew loves to help me with all my projects and is learning quiet a few skills himself.  Mrs. Debbie, Jennifer, and I made a road trip last weekend to the "honey hole" and looked like the Clampetts coming home. Here are some of my latest projects:

This is a bulletin board made from the top portion of an old screen door.  I removed the screen & bottom half, faux antiqued it, then built a cork lined backing for it.  It has cute antique hangers at the bottom.

This was a full size footboard.  I removed the spindles from the middle and built a cork lined backing, which I covered with fabric.  I added coat rack hooks at the bottom and faux antiqued it.  I LOVE this piece.





This crazy cat was originally intended for my soon-to-be nephew, Zachary.  When I bought the pattern, I didn't pay attention to the measurements.  It turned out to be GIANT.  This thing is HUGE.  The material I used turned out to be a little to femine for Zachary, in my opinion.  I will find something more "manly" for my little man.  Live and learn!

This foot stool is built out of the bottom portion of a very old chair.  I built the top & padded it.  It is the perfect height for propping tired feet at the end of a long day.

I LOVE the way this chair turned out.  It is one of my favorites yet.  It was in my mother's attic wasting away.  I built a new bottom from scratch, padded, and added funky material.  I'm a little hooked on this fabric right now.  I used glazing to get the look I wanted over the red.

I got a good deal on this toy box, but it was not very pretty.  I wanted something that could work in a boy's room.  I think the orange and black works well together. 

First Baptist Bude Children's Choir Christmas Program & Baby Dedication

Cookin' Up Christmas was a huge success!  The kids & adults worked really hard to put on a great Christmas program that really drove home the true meaning of Christmas - JESUS!  Here are a few shots from the program.



Sweet baby Macey Z. - baby dedication