Monday, November 2, 09

Good morning! We managed to get our garage completely cleaned out and in 4-6 weeks this will be our new family room. Construction started this morning and the same company that built our shed is also doing the conversion work.  I will share progress pictures as they go along.


These shelves are on the opposite garage wall, so I took all of my tea things down since there will be a lot of banging around. I've also decided to paint the kitchen the same color as the new room, which will be a creamy beige. The walls look harsh yellow in pictures, but it's not so bad in person.


Either way, Phillip isn't a fan, so he will be very happy to see a different color, and I think the two rooms will flow together better. It's my goal to have the kitchen painted by Thanksgiving, but the work crew won't have the family room finished until early December.


Speaking of Thanksgiving, we are hoping to have dinner at our house, but it will depend on whether our new table and chairs are ready. We ordered them from the Amish Furniture Warehouse and chose a stain to match our current hutch. My parents gave us their dining room table when we got married and Phillip's parents gave us one a few years ago, so this will be our first new set. We have many blessings to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Well, that is what is going on at our house. I hope you have a wonderful first week of November!

Celebrating October

Hello! I just realized because of my blogging break earlier this month, I didn't get a chance to share some of my favorite things about October. There are four days left in the month, which is plenty of time to squeeze in a few simple pleasures, right? Click on the links for instructions and recipes.


Apple Fritters ~2007


Warm candlelight.


Handmade Cloth Napkins ~ 2007


A hot cup of tea.


Caramel Apple Cards ~ 2008


Mini pumpkins.


Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies ~ 2008


Thank you for stopping by for a visit. I hope you have had a wonderful October, so far!

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
George Cooper, October's Party

Giveaway Winner!

Good morning! Thank you to all who joined in my giveaway and especially for your sweet comments!

Melanie from Candle by Night is the winner. Congratulations, Melanie!

There is one more week in my favorite month of the year. Has this month flown by for anyone else? We need to finish cleaning the garage. Hillary and Debbi asked how I managed to fit all of my decorations into two totes. The totes are large and are just for seasonal decorations. Christmas decorations are up in the attic.

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Construction Zone!

Construction has begun on our new backyard shed and garage conversion. They completed the floor on Day 1.


Day 2.


Day 3.


This is our future family room. We spent all day cleaning and organizing. Phillip's brother and a neighbor boy helped. We took two van loads to the dump and another two to Goodwill, and we still have too much stuff for the shed! At this point it's mostly camping and gardening supplies. I downsized my decorations into two large totes. We need to have everything cleared out by next week!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend and don't forget about my giveaway down below!

Handmade Card Tutorial and a *GIVEAWAY!*

Hello! I am enjoying this Autumn season, so I'm sharing another acorn themed card, but you can use any kind of paper, rubber stamps, stickers, etc. that you have.


Gather your supplies. My 10 Top Card Making Essentials list is HERE.


Cut a 5 3/8" x 3 7/8" rectangle of scrapbook paper or cardstock. Glue to front of 5 1/2" x 4" blank notecard.


Cut a 5" x 2 1/2" rectangle of scrapbook paper. Cut an approx. 3" x 2" rectangle of cardstock. The exact size will depend on the rubber stamped image or stickers that you use.


Glue cardstock to front of scrapbook rectangle. Tie a length of ribbon around bottom, tie a knot, and trim ends.


Add a rubber stamped quote or write with a pen along edge of card, as shown. Glue scrapbook paper to front of card.


Send to a friend! You can see more card tutorials HERE.


Christmas version.

A few more things I've made recently...

Snowman gift tags.


Thanksgiving gift tags.


Christmas gift tags.

Everything can be found in my Etsy Shop. Today is my 1 year Etsy anniversary and I'm having a giveaway to celebrate!

Leave a comment between now and Sunday evening (Oct. 25, 10:00pm EST) and I will use random.org to pick a winner. The prize is a $25.00 gift certificate to my Etsy Shop! You don't have to have a blog to join in, just leave an email address. International participants are welcome.   Also, any orders placed this weekend will receive free shipping; just mention this giveaway!

Good luck and thank you for stopping by for a visit!