Enjoying the week??

Howdy!!  I hope that all of you are having a wonderful week so far and either relaxing, spending time with friends and family, crafting or just making memories.  The weather around the PNW has been a pretty sunny these past few days which has given me lots of energy to work on things :)   Around here, you take advantage of the nice weather when you get it lol.

Went and got my errands done and I scored a few things so thought I'd show you.  I absolutely love this box!!  It is a little harder to tell in the picture but it has the tin on the front with the start.  Absolutely loving it and it was on sale.....and discounted another 50% so yay!!  I couldn't have purchased all the material for what I paid for this trust me so I am a happy girl.  It is pretty big actually and at first I thought hmmmm I can put my magazines in there but it's a little too bit I think so I'll have to figure something awesome out for it.  Any ideas??  It measures  about 12" high x 18" long.

Then found this cute plate and I loved the raised starts on it.  Not sure if I will put vinyl on it or a candle....so many choices lol.

Here is one of my projects I did from my wood the other day.  I love how it turned out but think I may put some vinyl on it also with a saying.  I wanted the staggered look for the edges to give it the look like it was kind of flowing in the air.  But hey, it was fun and I am enjoying myself.

Stay tuned for more projects.  See I told you that I'm back and having fun doing what I love to do!! 

Have a great rest of the week and happy crafting!

xo ~ Laura

What A Weekend!!!!

I hope that you've had a wonderful weekend!!  I know it was a very productive one for me here in WA.  It always feels so good to be relaxed and yet productive to get some things done that you just put on the back burner huh :)

How relaxed???  Well if the dogs are any indication, you have your answer huh lol.

So what did I get done this week?  A lot of cleaning and organizing for one thing!!  I cleaned the entire house (minus some of the knooks and crany's), steam cleaned the bathrooms and floors, all the laundry and yard work too!  As for the organizing, I'm trying to get all my craft supplies all in one place now, which is why I have a craft room right?  lol  They always seem to get put all over, go figure!!  I then hit up Carissa's old room and started to finish out the organizing in there.  I have a lot of ideas now for in there but just cleaned and put some of the old stuff back on the shelves after cleaning them.

I did up this little basket with over night essentials for any guests so in case they forgot, or unexpected stop over, they would have them :)  This of course gave me more ideas for projects.  Isn't that how it always works?

Oh so many ideas just running through my mind now lol

This beauty I got for $4.00!!  What a deal on that :)  JoAnn Fabrics was having a clearance on so many things and it was 70% off!!  I love it and especially since it has a chicken on it.  It's a little harder to see but it is awesome!!

Hmmmm, what else was I up too?  Oh ya, I finished the kids wedding album and they got back today and you should have seen their faces!  They loved it.....whew!!  Here are just a few more shots of the pages I did up.  Trust me, you don't want to sit and look at all 40+ pages of it lol.

 This is the back part of the album

Parts of the honeymoon pages

So that's what I was up to this weekend!!  How about you???  Anything fun and exciting??

Have a wonderful week and happy crafting!!

xo ~ Laura

Not bad for a Monday!!

Good evening!!!  Well this was quiet the eventful day for me today.  I didn't have to work as I got summoned to Jury Duty....the first time ever lol.  It was kind of nice though as it was just downtown so I didn't have to go far.  I got up early to be down there by 8:00 a.m. and not much going on so free to go.  So what did I do???  Went bargain shopping but not a good day for that as no deals today, well except I found a new saw on sale so I bought it.  Oh dear.....watch out!!!  lol

It ended up being a beautiful and sunny day today so I had the backdoor open, the breeze coming in and started to FINALLY get some cleaning done.  So much had been pushed aside from the wedding and now I am all caught up again and it feels great!!!

Carissa stopped by after she got off work this afternoon and I walked her out to her car and noticed my Clematis got it's first bloom and I was excited.  It is still a baby but it is definitely growing and grabbing on to the arbor.

Since it was so nice out I decided to make some sun tea.  I love this time of the year so here it is brewing away outside lol.

Speaking of outside, when the kids got back from their honeymoon and we were at their house watching them open their gifts, Carissa got so excited because she got something she's wanted for awhile :)  She had been eyeing mine but I told her no way.....don't even think about it lol.

I'm trying to get my brain wrapped back around crafting other than wedding stuff and I think I've got crafter's block lol.  I have a few ideas noodling around in there but I have to grab it and start working on it lol.  I'll get there and soon.  I'm itching to get back into it.

So had to get dinner finished before the hubs gets home.  So what's for dinner you ask?  Something very simple but yummy :)

Have a wonderful week and happy crafting!!

xo ~ Laura

Valentine's project - finally finished!!

Hi!!

A few weeks ago I posted that I was going to do something with a few letters.  Do you remember these?

Well after getting the paper cut out I finally decided to sit down today and finish them!!!  This picture isn't showing the cute pink design on the paper but you get the idea.  I also hung up a few boxes on the wall and see, I put some of my recent projects on them :)  I love seeing things come together!!

I have also taken over a corner of our family room area that I am finally getting to organize.  One of these days I'll get back to my craft room to organize that once I finish cleaning out all of Carissa's old stuff she left here when moving out.  Why do kids leave things for us to deal with?  lol  Anyway...here is what I've gotten done so far.............

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and happy crafting!!!

Today's quote:  Remember, eyes may provide sight. But it’s the heart which gives insight.

xo ~ Laura

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Monday!!

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend :)  I had a very relaxing weekend but kept very busy that's for sure. 

Friday after work, my youngest daughter and her fiance came over as Brandon needed some help with his labels for his fishing items he makes by hands.  Brandon does excellent work whether it is with his lures or his custom rods he makes and sells.  If you are ever looking for something special for that fishing person you know, give Brandon a call.  He is amazing!!!  We also had dinner and watched a movie together.  It was nice to have them over visiting for awhile :)  One of my kids favorite dishes is a casserole dish. 

My hubby has nicknamed it Trailer Trash Dish, which is OK as we actually do live in a manufactured home lol.  Here is the before but I didn't get the after shot when it came out of the oven as my daughter dug in while I was helping Brandon lol. 

Then we finished if off by this wonderful desert.  Yummy!!

Saturday I met my soon to be son-in-laws Mom to go over wedding items.  We sat for over 2 hours drinking coffee at Starbucks and got so much accomplished.  She's a sweet woman and we're excited for both of our kids.  On my way home I went to get my errands done so I didn't have to go out Sunday which was my plan :)  Guess what.......it worked!!!!  lol

Sunday we were watching playoff games and since the Seahawks were losing I decided to get up and go clean the kitchen up more.  Well specifically my stovetop.  Scrubbed the top, cleaned everything!!  Wow did that feel good. 

Organized my spice cubboard, but still have the other side to finish that has the meds in it, but hey....making progress :)

I finished the laundry and got that all folded and put away and then sat for hours putting on beading and crystals for Carissa's veil.  Whew!!!!  Not done by any means but it looks gorgeous!!!

Hoping to get more crafting done through this week so hoping I stay on track lol.  I have so much wedding stuff to finish, want to organize closets and start some Spring cleaning and get rid of things we don't use :)  Yes....my to do list is long!!!  lol

Well have a wonderful day and happy crafting!!

Today's quote:  "Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom." -Hannah Arendt

xo ~ Laura

TGIF!!!!

Oh I am SO SO glad that it is Friday!!  This week has just flown by and I'm really ready for some slower pace days.  My husband has to work on Saturday so I want to be able to just play with some projects that I haven't had a chance to even get to.  The holiday's are right around the corner and I need to kick it in high gear lol

I was relaxing when I came home and felt like I wanted to get up and do some little crafting.  OK so this is kind of a funny little story on how I came up some of this project.  The great thing was they were free.  Wondering what it is?  lol  Well at work we have our building next to some wetland property so there are a lot of trees.  On my lunch a few days ago I just wanted to go outside and enjoy some of the sunshine.  While walking around the development I found a lot of tree limbs that had come off the trees from some of the stronger wind storms that we had so I proceeded to pick them up and take them back up to my office.  I would just smile when people would look at me funny.  Some asked what I was going to do with those and I said it depends.  If you're nice to me, nothing.  If not, well they make good whoopin sticks lol.  They would just start laughing at me.  You just never know about me.  I like to have fun even at work :)

So I made this cute little candle with my sticks.  I took some of my burlap trim and wrapped it around my sticks and added a flower and TaDa!!  Cute huh :)

Where did I put my new creation???  On my fireplace mantle with all my other Fall decorations :)

Then I had an empty instant flavored coffee container so I put together a cute little Santa vase just using felt.  Going to put some flowers in it for Christmas.  Simple and very inexpensive :)

My quote for the day ~ "If the essence of my being has caused a smile to have appeared upon your face or a touch of joy wtihin your heart, then in living I have made my mark. "

Have a wonderful day and happy crafting!!

xo ~ Laura

Take time to stop and smell the roses

Happy Sunday!!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has so much going on with life and we forget to stop and smell the roses.  I've had a little time to myself this past week to reflect on what all is going on in my life during this phase and I am so guilty of putting myself on the back burner, trying to make sure everyone else is taken care of.  I have come to finally realize that we all need to stop, take some time for ourselves also because if we don't take care of us, we can't help others.  So with that being said, here is what I did for myself and also  a few things that I was able to do during the week.  Not much, just some "ME" time :)

My first thing I did yesterday was I made an appointment for me to go get a well needed massage!  I was able to be taken into the quiet room to enjoy this wonderful fountain and sit on the most comfortable cushy chair to relax a little before going to get my massage.  I have to tell you that I didn't realize just how much I needed one and if any of you are going through a lot of stress these days, go get one! :))  Really bad picture as it was from my cell phone and it was pretty dim in there lol.

I made these magnets by using my friendly plastic :)  The one boo boo that I did was get the heat gun too close to one of the bases and I melted it a little too so it isn't complete round.  Can you tell which one it is?  lol

I decided one night to make some homemade quiche.  It just sounded good and very soothing and with having such a crazy and busy week I said yuppers.  Love making this much as I then have leftovers for us hahahaha.  It is always nice to come home and relax after such a busy day at work and not have to worry about cooking huh :)

I changed out my little wall hangings to reflect my Fall theme.  It was hard to get close-up's of them but one says "Thankful" and the other says "Blessed".  That totally reflects how I feel right now.

I also started my other mini for one of my dear friends.  Hoping to get more done this weekend :)

How did I end my evening?  My hubby and I were able to go to the Longhorn BBQ for a wonderful dinner and I came home, filled up my large soaking tub and relaxed in a hot bath with Epson Salt and Lavendar to finish bringing out all that toxins from the massage.  Heavenly!!

Have a wonderful day and happy crafting!

xo ~ Laura

Some rearranging for Fall

Happy Friday!

For the first time in over 2 weeks, I was able to come home and just relax for a few hours and not worry about running all over God's creation, finishing something etc.  I came home after work and just sat down for over an hour, catching up on email, reading the news and surfing and it felt GREAT!!!  Hoping this is a sign of weeks to come and I can catch up after the past few weeks of turmoil :)


As I was sitting here surfing, I glanced over at my fireplace and thought ya know, it is pretty boring inside there lol.  We've lived in our house for over 8 years and we have never built a fire in it, just decorated it for looks so I thought what a better place to put some of my projects and show them off for Fall and Thanksgiving :)

I did notice that I still haven't, even after all these years got that darn paper sticky off the glass door!!  lol.  Guess I'll get on that one :)

Here is a shot of it with the lights on and flickering flameless candles.  They are getting weak so looks like I'll have to go back to the Dollar store for more :)

After I had just taken these pictures,  I did get a call from my youngest daughter and she was over at my DIL's house getting her hair curled as she was getting her engagement pictures taken later on that day. My Son built his wife a little shop in the backyard (she's a hairstylist) and the two kids were in the house playing while my Son was working. When the girls came out of the shop, they looked over at the house and water was pouring down from the upstairs bedroom area. It looked like it was raining so hard so they ran in the house and the upstairs Master was flooded with a few inches of water along with the entire bathroom. My granddaughter had went in there to go do her little number and obviously clogged it and left the handle down and the water just started pouring. They went downstairs and it was coming out of the light fixtures and down the walls and on the floor too. Needless to say there was a big rush to get things cleaned up. The damage hasn't been totally assessed yet and they are in the process of drying everything out. Would you think my granddaughter is in trouble??? Well you couldn't be upset if you tried as she got so upset and said "Oh no I ruined it. My playroom, oh no, I'm sorry. Quick, get lots of towels". Accidents happen huh. So with all that, I was wondering if my "peaceful" evening was going to end there but it didn't so here is what I was able to do.

Also, I've seen so many beautiful cakes that some of you have made out there and found this while blogging.  I would have never thought of doing this ever!!  You have to check this out.  Now this is VERY creative if you ask me.

This bow is made out of geletin!!  Yes you can even eat it lol.  Hop on over to Nellie Cakes and see how it's done.  Hmmmm I may have to try it as it looks beautiful :)



Have a wonderful day and happy crafting!!

xo ~ Laura

My lil pumpkin :)

Happy Wednesday!!

Whew what an exhausting day on Monday.  I need to win the big Lotto and retire and soon!!  I started out having to go to Caregiver training for Dad so he can be discharged from rehab on Thursday. Check!!  After doing that and spending some time with him, off to go find a new walker for when he gets back to the apartment.  Check!!  Came home and made a few adult bibs for him as he has a harder time hitting his mouth so to protect his clothes decided to give that one a try.  Check!!  Had to grab Dad's clothes and wash them so that Mom didn't have to worry about it along with 2 new sweatpant sets for her as all of hers is down at the house and she's getting cold.  Check!!  She lost her pill container that she takes for their medications in when they go to the diningroom so got busy with a small cigar tin and took care of that.  Check!!  Had to deliver the walker and clothes over to Mom and had dinner with her.  Check!!  Then as I was getting ready to go home and she said she was out of shringes for her diabetic insulin as the medical company was supposed to have sent them and that was supposed to be delivered by the 16th so off to the store to pick up a 10 pk of shringes and deliver them back to the apartment as she can't drive at night.  Check!!  Finally 10 hours later I am home for the night!!  Now you see why I need to win Lotto??? lol

Here is my cute styrofoam pumpkin I made.  I started out with just a plain ball and took my boner (tool for card maker) and made lines down it to look like a pumpkin and poked a hole in the top for the stem.

Then I painted it orange and put a cinnamon stick in it and let it dry.

Finished it off with a few pieces of twine and some ribbon to make it look like it was part of a dried vine and green stem.  Kinda cute :)

Here is the pill tin I also made :)

Cute giveaways I'm doing:

Jak Heath's

Have a great day and happy crafting!!

Hugs,

Laura