a God who loves

A God who makes every single snowflake unique and beautiful, loves me.


And all the wonderful people I worshiped with at church today.
And the ones who sing off-key.
And the ones who annoy me.


And the person who cuts me off in traffic.
And the person who has 15 items in the line for twelve items or less.
And the person who gives my car a massive door ding.


And the person who hurts a child.
And the person who sells dope.
And the person who kills.

If God's love doesn't blow you away - I don't know what will.

Grandma's Old Silverware Transformed to a Lamp

Take the heirloom silver that no one uses and


a rather gaudy thrift store lamp and


turn it into THIS!!


My MIL gave me this silverware years and years ago and I've never used it. I was browsing for ideas. Most people make jewelry but to get the beautifully crafted stuff I would have to pay more than I want. Then I found these chandeliers at Napa Life and Anthropologie.




This silverware is from my husband's paternal grandmother. My MIL never used it because it was rather sharp. But I think the daffodil pattern is lovely and I love it all tarnished.



When I was looking for the link for the chandeliers I found something cool that has my creative juices flowing.

For a tutorial you can see my article at Suite101.

For more cool lamp ideas read my post Lamp Refashion Tutorials.

I am sharing at:

nothing much - it is so simple

Super simple refashion - I simply stood the collar up by making buttonholes and buttons to close it where it overlapped and cut a straight bottom line for the shirt.

Beautiful Blogger

I am a Beautiful Blogger, at least Catie from Do Ah Diddy thinks so. And I think that is pretty cool!! Thanks Catie!!

So, here are my instructions:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award. Check!!

2. Pass this award on to 7 bloggers you've recently discovered and whom you think are fantastic.

The Inadvertent Farmer
Trash to Treasure Decorating
5 Minutes Just for Me
Artsy Crafts Babe
Maximum Rabbit Designs
Nap Time Journal
And I would pass it back to Catie if I could.

3. Contact said Blogs to let them know they've won. Check.


4.State 7 Things about yourself.

1. I have two fabulous daughters with unusual names.
2. I drink iced tea to the exclusion of everything including water - but I try to justify it.
3. Getting somebody's old buttons, ties, keys, whatever as a present is high on my list of favorite things.
4. I read heavy duty literature. I read Anna Karenina by Tolstoy in January in less than a week but now I am bogged down in Bleak House by Dickens.
5. I belong to two different book clubs.
6. I shower in the dark.
   
7. I hate scraping the last of anything out of a jar and am just as likely to return it to the shelf as scrape it.
   

adult baby doll tunic to girl's skirt and shirt set

This is another refashion for C’s dress wardrobe. I am the kind of woman where there is lots to love, which you would guess if you saw my old tunic that I used for this – but I can’t find the photo I took for before and then my battery went flat and the photos I took with my other camera are over-exposed so… Imagine a baby doll tunic with a ruffle on the bodice. I thought I might like sparkly when I bought it. I found out two things – I don’t like sparkly in this form and the metallic threads that make it sparkle make it itch.

• I cut the skirt off the tunic.
• When I was folding C’s jeans I noticed she had a pair of jeans that were too short for her that she was still wearing (she never seems to go out of the waist of anything) so I thought I could use them for this. What is especially nice about this is the pockets of the jeans are pink and glittery too.
• I cut the legs of the jeans
• I gathered the skirt of the tunic to fit around the hips of the jeans.
• I pinned the right sides together and sewed the skirt on. I flipped the skirt down only to realize the bottom ran out of thread about a third of the way around. Urgh.
• I cut part of the neckline and the ruffles off the tunic and sewed them onto a three-dollar long-sleeved t-shirt.

When C tried this on, I thought it looked a bit off so I found this old scarf and made it into a belt for her.

I am sharing this at:

grandma K's salt and pepper shakers repurpose

I remember I asked for these and I know I've had the idea for a very long time. It is an original idea but I don't know how I conceived it.


I was so glad I got two sets. I gave one of these to each of my three siblings and kept one for myself.


“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5: 13-16



I wrote a tutorial for Suite101.

I am sharing at:

Blue Cricket Design

Blarney Stone Message Board

This last one is because my daughters think that the Dairy Queen ad where the lips try to hypnotize you is hysterical.




You can find my tutorial for the message board and the Blarney Stone at Suite101 (you will have to forgive the photos, I am not sure what is going on there).

I am sharing this at:

Blue Cricket Design

my nephew turns one!!

I love this little guy and think he is terribly cute but then I might be biased.











My Dad catching 40 winks.


Come sit awhile with me. ;)




This was K's birthday gift along with a gift card for Barnes and Noble.


My Mom commissioned a custom gift box for a wedding gift. This is what I made.