Changes they are a comin'. . .

Happy New Year everyone! This past year has really flown by. My wish for all of my blogging friends is that in 2011 all your troubles be as short lived as your New Year's resolutions!!

2011 will bring many changes for me. Hubby and I plan on starting a kitchen renovation that may very well take us into 2012!! We are not doing any structural changes, just cosmetic ones mostly, but we are on a very tight budget and will have to do things a little at a time as money allows. I am very excited to get started and very excited to see the finished product as well. We are going for a french country sort of look in a tan, cream and red color scheme with black accents. I am really into roosters right now so I will be incorporating some of those in my redo as well. I've found lots of inspiration and ideas among my blogging friends and can't wait to share this journey with y'all! I find that my decorating tastes are changing somewhat and I am embracing it and just going for it! I really like the country look wih an emphasis on some primitive touches. I'm finding myself not drawn to the rustic primitive look as much as I thought I was last year. I am now discovering that I like a more simplified, country, cozy look. I don't know if that makes any sense or not! I just feel like your home should be a reflection of what makes you happy, not what is "in" right now. So with that in mind, I am just going to go for it and we will see what happens.

I hope to become more involved in blogging in 2011 as well. Sometimes I don't feel as talented as some of you wonderful crafters out there and I get down on myself so I don't share a lot of the things I create. In 2011, that will change. I figure I am blogging for myself anyways, so if no one else likes what I share, it really shouldn't matter, right???

I also plan to share more recipes as I really enjoy reading a lot of cooking blogs and getting some really great ideas for new dishes to try out. I have found a newly discovered love of cooking during the past couple of years and I want to expand on that.

Well, that's it for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful evening and a marvelous New Year!

Until next time. . .

Merry CHRISTmas!!

And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.



Until next time. . .

Made for Monday ~ Dishtowel Angels

My hubby and I were dining at Cracker Barrel a couple of weekends ago, and if you've ever been to one of their restaurants, you know they have an awesome country store attached to the restaurant. We always have to have a look around after we finish our wonderful meal and that day was no exception! I came across an angel made from a pot holder, a dish towel and a dish cloth that I just fell in love with. But at almost $18 for it, I had to pass it up. Too pricey for my budget! But hubby saw the wheels turning in my pea sized brain, and before I could speak, he says, "You could make that!" Does this man know me, or what?? LOL!! So on the way home, we made a stop by the Dollar Tree and I came home with $3 worth of supplies and I set to work. Here's my version of a Dishtowel Angel:



This literally took me all of five minutes to put together! I love it! Here's a how to so that you can make some yourself!

Supplies: one dish towel, one dish cloth, one potholder, some coordinating colored ribbon, embellishment of your choice.



Fist, take your potholder and fold it accordion style. Tie it in the middle with some ribbon.



Then cut a longer piece of ribbon and thread it under the ribbon you tied your potholder together with. This will be used to attach the potholder (angel's wings) to the angel's body.



Next, fold your towel accordion style and your dish cloth accordion style. It should look like this:



Next, take your towel and fold it in half length wise. The rounded part will be your angel's head and the bottom part, which will flare out when we are done, will be her skirt. Take your dish cloth and fold it over the rounded part of your towel as shown below:



Then take your potholder and position it behind the rounded part of your towel/cloth leaving enough of the rounded part to look like a head. Tie the potholder to the towel/cloth using the ribbon you threaded through the potholder. Trim excess ribbon as needed. It should look something like this:



Next, take smaller pieces of ribbon and tie off each "arm" of the dish cloth and also tie off the towel near the bottom. Flare out the skirt area below where your tie. Finish your angel by adding a bell, flower, or whatever to the tie around her neck. Here's my finished angel:



And a couple more I made. I found little flower buds in the ribbon aisle at Wal Mart which I just glued onto the ribbon around her neck. I also used a rusty bell on a couple of them for a more primitive look. I just tied these to the ribbon with some thread. I love these and what cute and inexpensive last minute Christmas gifts these would make for neighbors or co workers! To use them, all you have to do is untie the bows! Voila ~ a dish towel, dish cloth, and a pot holder! The color possibilities are endless! So, don't spend $18 on them at Cracker Barrel, just make them yourself!



I am linking up with these parties. Be sure to check out all the great ideas out there!









Until next time. . .

And the winners are. . .

Good Sunday morning! I have reached over 300 followers! Yay! You guys are awesome! So I am awarding two prizes in my giveaway! The first winner will receive the $25 Hobby Lobby gift card and the second winner will receive a $15 Hobby Lobby gift card. I had 45 qualified entries for this giveaway and I used random.org to draw the winners.

So, my winners are:

First place goes to #24 which is ***Leslie Lemke***!!

Second place goes to #19 which is ***Gwendolyn Kay***!!

Congrats ladies and if you will send me your mailing addresses via e-mail, I will get your gift cards right out to you!

Thank you to all who entered. I appreciate each of you and wish I could give you all something. I plan to do another giveaway right after the first of the year, so if you didn't win this one, stay tuned!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Until next time. . .

I Won a Giveaway and Almost 300 Followers!

Happy Friday everyone! Boy, has it been a long week for me! This time of year just seems to get me down sometimes. Not really sure why. My life is great. I have a wonderful husband, an awesome son, a nice warm home and a job, that although gets on my last nerve sometimes, is a job none the less and one I'm grateful to have when there are so many among us who don't have one. So why do I seem to get the blues so bad??? Does anyone else feel this way?

I logged on to blogger this morning to "catch up" on some of my favorite blogs and discovered that I am the lucky winner of the Christmas stitchery pillow on the By Your Hands blog! Click here to visit this wonderful blog. That did a lot to help with the blues right now, let me tell ya! Here's a pic of my wonderful pillow:



Isn't it gorgeous?? I cannot wait to get it!

I also discovered that I am now at 299 followers! How awesome is that??!! I never thought when I started blogging that anybody would be interested in my crafts, recipes, or just general rambling so I am honored and awed that almost 300 of you are! In light of this accomplishment, if I reach 300 followers before the end of my giveaway (which is on Sunday), I will add a second winner! So stayed tuned for that cause I ain't telling what the second winner will get just yet.

The hubby and I had a little "date" night tonight. My son had a Christmas dance at school this evening so we took advantage of the opportunity to spend some quality time together. We had a nice dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant then went to a small drive thru Christmas light display set up at a local park. I took some pics but haven't gotten them down loaded to my computer yet. I'll share them as soon as I do. Tomorrow, he and I are taking off on a day trip to the Great Smoky Mountains to finish up our Christmas shopping. It's about a two and a half hour drive from where we live. I am really looking forward to getting away for a day with my sweetie. We are staying until dark so that we can see all the fabulous Christmas lights down there. I'll be sure to pack my camera and take lots of pictures to share with y'all.

Well, that's about it for now. I've got a great last minute Christmas gift craft to share with y'all that's great for a neighbor, coworker, or anyone that you need to whip up a quick gift for. It's so cute and it only takes about five minutes to make! My kind of craft! So be watching for that coming up in the next couple of days.

I almost forgot something. My Mom is having a total knee replacement done on Monday and I would like to ask those of you who pray, to please remember her in your prayers. She lives in Arkansas and it's killing me that I cannot be there with her for this. She is a bad diabetic and has some other health problems and I am worried out of my mind about her. My brother lives with her and he will be there to help take care of her but I wish I lived closer so that I could be there too. This is part of the reason for my blues this week I think. I just want this to be behind us. She will be in the hospital for about five days if she does well and then will have some rehab to do after that. So any and all prayers on her behalf are greatly appreceiated!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Until next time. . .

It's Giveaway Time!!

Good Sunday morning! I was looking thru some of my older posts earlier and realized that December 3rd was my one year blogaversary!! Wow! I knew I was getting close to the one year mark, but didn't realize that it had already passed. I have really enjoyed this past year of blogging. I've "met" some truly awesome people and have learned so much about crafting and life in general! I hope and plan to continue blogging for many years to come.

I love the store Hobby Lobby. We don't have one in the town where I currently live. We did have one in the previous town I lived in and I really loved going there and getting lots of wonderful creative ideas. You know the old saying, you don't know what you have until it's gone? Well, that's my feelings on Hobby Lobby! I didn't appreciate having the store in my back yard until I moved! I was talking about missing it the other day and my hubby asked me if I had checked on line to see where the nearest store was located. Talk about a "duh" moment! So I jumped on line and lo and behold, there is a store located about an hour from us! I was so excited. So yesterday morning, we got up bright and early and headed out. It was heaven!!! We spent about two hours in that store just looking at everything! I came out of there almost a hundred dollars poorer! Hubby said it was probably a good thing that it is an hour away from us! But rest assured, I will be going back quite frequently. Only he doesn't know that yet!

While there, I was thinking of what I could buy or make for my giveaway. I was wanting to do a Christmas giveaway but then when I realized my one year blogaversary had just passed, I thought it would be better to do a giveaway for that. So I guess it's kind of a two in one givewaway. I couldn't decide what to buy or make, so as we were checking out, I saw the gift cards and a light bulb moment came to me! Why not just give a gift card?? That way the lucky winner could chose what they want! So that is what I am offering. A $25 gift card to Hobby Lobby!




Here are the rules:

1. You MUST be a follower of my blog. New followers are always welcome!

2. This giveaway is open to everyone, no matter what corner of this big ole Earth you call home. After all, it doesn't require a lot of postage to mail a gift card! All you have to do is comment on this post ONLY that you would like to be entered. Comments left on other posts will not be counted.

3. If you have a blog and list this on your side bar, I will give you an extra entry. You must let me know in your comment on this post if you do this step. And I will be checking to see if it is listed on your side bar before I give you a second entry. I feel like that is only fair to the ones who actually do take the time to list it on their blogs. If you don't have a blog, you can still enter, but you must leave me an e-mail addy so that I can contact you if you are the winner.

4. I will use random.org to draw a winner on Sunday, December 12, 2010. That way the winner will be able to get their gift card in time to use for Christmas if they wish!

That's it! Pretty simple, huh? Good luck to everyone!

It started snowing here yesterday afternoon, and we awoke to about 10 inches this morning! Hubby is out on his tractor "playing" in the snow! He's so cute! Just like a little kid. I'm staying warm and cozy in my fuzzy p.j.'s, doing some laundry, working on some crafts and baking some Christmas cookies later on today.

Until next time. . .