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for His pleasure: March 2011

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has been moved to new address

for His pleasure

Sorry for inconvenience...

Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service
for His pleasure: March 2011

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Fabric Canvas: Tutorial

I have long wanted to try to create some fabric canvases after finding some at the PB outlet that were out of my budget. I decided to make mine into fabric canvas frames during Monday afternoon's naptime since I'm doing a picture wall in the girls' room. I love how they turned out! You could take this basic idea and run with it - there are simply so many possibilities. So while the kiddos are doing this right now,

we'll get started!

***************

Materials you'll need:

- Artist Canvas

I got mine from Hobby Lobby. It was a 2-pack for $7.99 with an additional 30% off sale that they have often. You could easily print off their 40% off coupon and use that this week.

- Adhesive Spray - found at Wal Mart, but carried in most craft stores:


- Tacky Glue


- Fabric - I used a PB canvas drape for covering and linen for embellishement.
- Any embellishing materials you would like: i.e. scrapbook paper, photos, appliques, etc.
- Scissors
- Iron

****************

Step One: Cut fabric approximately 3 inches bigger than the size of your canvas.


Step Two: Iron fabric so it's free of wrinkles.


Step Three: Following directions on can of spray glue, spray the back of your fabric completely. Lay out carefully on your canvas with sticky side facing down, adhering to the canvas. Make sure it has an equal overhang on all sides. Smooth out fabric so it's taught and wrap around sides. You may want to spray a little more glue on your corners for added durability.

Now I know my fabric is only a shade different than the canvas, but I needed mine to match my other frames hanging on the girls' wall. I really wanted to do a fun patterned fabric, but I'll save that for next time! Back to the project...

Step Four: Cut out any embellishing fabric you are adding. Since I was doing a picture frame, I cut my fabric about 2 1/2 to 3 inches bigger than my 8x10 photo. You could do several layers of fabric or add scrapbook paper or you could go an art canvas route and add appliques using the basic concept I used here on my bird pillows. Like I said, so many options!




Step Five: I washed my fabric on a light setting, dried it to give it a distressed look, and ironed it.

Step Six: Spray any additional layers of fabric, paper, photos with adhesive spray and smooth out onto your canvas.


For smaller pieces of fabric or paper, I suggest using the tacky glue. It is much easier and less messy. Trust me, I know.



When you're done layering and creating (i hope you've gone wild!) Hang it up somewhere and enjoy it!





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Monday, March 28, 2011

Jenks

I spent my cold/rainy Saturday morning in Jenks antiquing with my family for the first time ever.













Now before you let preconceived ideas form in your mind about what a place like Jenks, Oklahoma must look like, let me jut in. They host our awesome aquarium, (of which we have gotten an inexpensive membership to already)


Entrance to the Aquarium


1 or 2 Starbucks, a gorgeous movie theater, some fine outdoor dining on the river, and a string of antique stores. Jenks is the home of the Riverwalk Crossing, which was featured in Southern Living's September 2008 issue. I would love to go on a date with Steven there soon..lots of great restaurants and an outdoor theater.

It beat my expectations that's for sure! I have learned not to judge a town by its' name out here...you just never know.

I discovered I could get hooked to antiquing very easily if not monitored by my hubs. He's almost as dangerous as me though. I was rather proud that although I loved all of these:







that I only walked away with this:




A grand total of 5 dollars was spent on this corn meal sack made of soft cotton. I plan to make a pillow for our bedroom out of this beauty as soon as I finish with the girls' room. (I know, I know...I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes)

I did make some progress on their room today. I picked a project that I could get done in one naptime so that I could get re-motivated to finish things up in there. I am halfway through reupholstering their rocking chair and sort of at a standstill with re-purposing their toy bins. So I needed something quick, easy, and not requiring much thought to get the ball rolling again. I will post with a tutorial about it later on. Right now...we're off to the doctor again! The girls are excited. Me?...not so much.

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Friday, March 25, 2011

Approval



Well, I thought I had it down. I thought I didn't care what people thought. I thought God's opinion was all that mattered to me. And then I go out. I've gone out a lot lately, specifically to the doctor. Keller's been struggling with congestion and reflux...being that he's only going on 7 wks old means it's no light matter. I've taken all three with me 2 of the 3 visits in the last week and a half.

And there's always someone. Someone who rolls their eyes. Someone who shakes their head. Usually there are several who make the comment, "You have your hands full!" with eyes wide and a cross between pity-filled and shock on their face as they count and identify ages. It makes me sad. It deflates my bubble of happiness. It shouldn't. But their looks, stares, and comments take away my joy. The joy that comes from knowing that it was God who gave me these little ones. They must not know how rich I feel. They must not know how much - in all honesty - their reactions hurt me.

My dad always taught me not to care what anyone thought of me. Study the Bible. Know it. Search for the truth. You can walk with confidence because you have searched and you have found. Don't waste time looking at other people - making comparisons or judgments. Worry about yourself. You alone will be standing before God one day at the judgment seat of Christ. Be always ready to give an answer, based upon God's Word, not what you think or feel. I can still hear his words ringing in my ears. =)

How I appreciate my dad teaching me that the Bible says,

I Corinthians 10:12 -- "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."

I Peter 3:15 -- "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"

I Corinthians 4:5 -- "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the
hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."

How I need to bathe myself in verses like these on days like today. In fact, I think I'm going to print these off right now and hang them up on the mirror in my bathroom so I can try to memorize them.

I must be satisfied with seeking God's approval alone + nothing. Lord, please help me. I know I can't do it alone.



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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Artichoke Bites




These are addicting! They are good cold or hot and I've been eating them 24/7. I'm serious. I got done making a fresh batch when Tammy got here late at night last week and they did not last long! I got this recipe from Darby over at flythroughourwindow. She has some other good lookin' recipes I'm going to try out. I'm attempting to branch out here lately and try some new things. The winners get posted on here. So please know if they're on here...they are pretty darn good!

Artichoke Bites

Serves 8
1 {8 oz can} artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
1 cup {4 oz} shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 envelope of Italian salad dressing mix {I used Good Seasons}
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 ready-made pizza crust {like Boboli, but I found a wonderful thin crust pizza crust in the bakery at Walmart}

Preheat oven to 400°. Place artichokes, shredded Cheddar, mayonnaise, salad dressing, and Parmesan together in large bowl and mix well. Spread evenly over the pizza crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let cool and cut into bite-size pieces.

Thought this picture was amusing...


Shiloh was swiping bites while I was trying to get a picture. =) That's my girl!

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

German Chocolate Cake




I have been craving this cake for a couple weeks now. Well...ever since the last time I made it actually. I made this cake for Steven's birthday and instantly became a coconut convert! The icing is spectacular and well worth the time you sit stirring. This recipe came from here, but I have added some tips I think you will find helpful in parenthesis. Enjoy!


German Chocolate Cake


Cake:

1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs

Frosting:

(You will most likely need to double this. I have both times.)

1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 cup white sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use the pecans because Steven didn't want them.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flaked coconut

Directions


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour three 8 inch round cake pans. (I only used 2 and left a little batter in the bowl. I have some great helpers who help me with what's leftover.)

2. Combine the cake mix, instant vanilla pudding, cocoa, buttermilk, vegetable oil and the 3 whole eggs. Mix until blended and pour the batter into the prepared pans.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cakes test done. Set cakes aside to cool.

Frosting:

In a medium sized sauce pan mix the evaporated milk, white sugar, 3 egg yolks and the butter. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick. (It should resemble a soupy applesauce consistency. This will take about 25 - 30 min. of stirring. It's my excuse to read a magazine :-)  Trust me, it will be worth it!) Remove from heat and beat until partially cooled. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flaked coconut and the chopped pecans. (I then chilled the frosting in the refrigerator because it is still not thick enough to ice at this point.) Use to fill and frost cake.


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Monday, March 21, 2011

Progress in the Girls' Room

It has been a relaxing weekend here for me. Laid in bed and watched The Bucket List with Keller this morning...in complete peace and quiet. Held him while he slept and it felt good. Wonderful actually. I love babies and I think they're one of God's greatest gifts to us.

I thought I would take a moment to share with you some more progress we've made on the girlies' room. Steven's been getting in on the action and even surprised me and brought home an $8 bird cage he picked up at an antique store. He gets brownie points for that. I'm not a wife who enjoys a bouquet of flowers from the store. (I think they are a complete waste of money.) But bring home an inexpensive rusty bird cage and you have completely made my day!!! I'm weird like that.

I've done a little more spray painting, but with Steven's help and supervision this time. I'm afraid he'll never trust me again. =( We went to a soccer field at dark and used the headlights of our van and an app on Steven's phone to give us light while we painted the bird cages and some smaller items I had in the room. I'm sure we looked ridiculous, but it kept the paint off the cement (many jabs were made about that) and it was a fun little date for us.

Here's some snapshots of the progress for you:



These shelves have been around a long time and they are surprisingly sentimental to me. They were my first real home decor purchase! I was 15 years old and my mom and I stopped in Wildflowers - a small gift shop in Delaware - that was going out of business right before we moved down south. I bought these shelves, a gold decorative plate, and a vase filler sphere made of twigs and dried leaves. My mom thought I was nuts with that purchase! The shelves were dark and starting to chip all these years later, so I spray painted them an off-white color and I like them even better now! So girly and pretty...

The frames were purchased for like a dollar something at a consignment sale. The bird house was around $2.50 from Wal Mart. I spray painted it and used spray glue to attach the scrapbook paper on the roof.

And then I've made these pillows for the girls...




These were sewn from a soft flat sheet my mom gave me. I used Emily's applique tutorial as a sounding board for the birds.

I also used the applique tutorial to make these a while ago:


I'm showing this because I cannot stress enough how valuable this tutorial is! You can make all kinds of cute stuff with the basic concept and add your own creativity to personalize. And as a side note, these shirts were recently on clearance for a dollar at Wal Mart!!!

Here's another birdhouse I found at target for a dollar. It sits on their dresser next to a pot of artificial sunflowers ...



It was hot pink and I spray painted it too, adhered the paper to the roof, and put some dirt from outside in a planter I found at Burlington Coat factory for a couple bucks. LOVE it!

Last picture...




Do you think that sun mirror is overkill??? Be honest. I promise I can take it. =) I am a minimalist by nature and cannot stand clutter! I can't decide if that mirror is clutter or cute.


Things left to do:

1.) Finish recovering rocking chair
2.) Take apart pink bins and reconfigure with canvas
3.) Cover wall canvases with fabric

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Friday, March 18, 2011



The Lord did it again. He used this lovely lady to encourage me this morning and give me just what I needed to hear. It is a new day...so grateful for that!

And look who I get to wake up to on this new day...


Happy Friday everyone!

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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Purchases and Presents

I confess. I have not even begun to work on the girls room yet this week. Shame on me I know! I'll just pull a few late nighters here in the next few days before "Gramma Tamma" arrives so we can have it looking spiffy for her. However, I did do a little shopping over the weekend and check out a few of the things I picked up. They are undergoing renovation tomorrow.




I have not been a complete slacker. I've been working on lots of these...





and a variety of these...





...all weekend and stayed up till 1am last night/this morning so I could get them sent in the mail today. (You should have seen me and my little ducklings all lined up in the post office. :) People are so kind to open doors for me and things. It makes my day when people go out of their way for us tired mammas with little ones in tow.)

Anyway, Steven was gone overnight on a business trip. Emma and Keller were snuggled up in our huge bed asleep while I worked. So why not stay up late? (Uh, because you have to get up every few hrs. to feed your snuggle bug and the kiddos don't know that you went to bed past your bedtime so they're going to wake up at the regular ole' time anyway.)

I didn't talk myself out of it, but a few diet cokes today did the trick. Me and my kiddos even managed to squeeze a trip in to Chick-fil-A for milkshakes and an afternoon at the park in celebration of Daddy coming back tonight from his trip. We missed you Daddy!

Emma sort of helped me wrap our gifts. She loved the part where I took the scissors and slid them along the table while cutting the paper. Amazing what amuses children! I love how Emma wants to help me with everything. We have some good conversations during these times. I try to let her help as much as I can and teach her as we go. I try so hard not to get frustrated, but sometimes I slip. She's my artsy one and loves all things crafty. A girl after my own heart! We really are buddies and I can't wait to see how her creativity grows and how she uses her God-given gifts.




I hope all of my fellow Grace moms enjoy them! I will miss getting to see all of the new babies...what joyful times new babies bring!

And speaking of new babies...I happen to love mine...a LOT! And I got pictures back today from Kara and this one is my favorite:


He was 12 days old here and isn't he just absolutely precious?!!! I could gush all day about how adorable I think he is and what sweetness and joy he brings to my life. There is just something so wonderful about having a little newborn around. God sure knows how to dump the goodness on us, doesn't He?!

Well, I'm off to a good night's rest (hopefully) so I can focus on the girlies' room tomorrow. I'm sure they will be helping so we'll see how productive we can be.

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Monday, March 14, 2011

Laura Story - Blessings

On Saturday, I was on my way to a fabric store with my family. (One of my favorite things to do!) We were singing to the Christian radio station and this song came on:





It spoke to my heart immediately so I sat in the parking lot waiting to go inside so that I could hear it to the end. As I sat there, I felt the presence of God and His Spirit washed over me like a flood. God is always here. but sometimes I feel His presence more than others and it is so reassuring. He is my Father. No need to fear.

Please take the time to listen to it! (Remember to pause my playlist at the bottom of this page.) You WILL be blessed! I listened to it again this morning while rocking Emma in my arms. Tears flooded my eyes as all the trials in my life came back to mind...all the pain...all the lessons learned...all the silent moments with God. You see, we only see the surface of most people, even our friends and family. But God sees it all. Every ugly truth and every desperate cry. I am convinced that there is much we try to hide behind. We fear what others think. We fear we won't look as if we have it all together. But God knows the real story. He peels all of our layers back and then He's there waiting for us to come cry out to Him in our desperate need.


Psalm 109:21-23

21 But you, Sovereign LORD,
help me for your name’s sake;
out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;
I am shaken off like a locust.

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Friday, March 11, 2011


I'm listening to my girls switch back and forth between giggling and arguing in the bathroom. They are "brushing their teef". Emma's already been out here once and asked me to take her shirt off since it was soaked. Some days I'm just too tired from stopping them from every little thing. Sometimes I just let it happen. Like right now. I know as soon as I go in the bathroom I will be greeted with the sight of a dripping Shiloh and another mess to clean. But I'll also get to see that piranha teeth smile of hers that I love! Sometimes I want to just let them be and have fun.

*** And then they do stuff like this:***



and this:





And then...somehow it's not so funny anymore.




This morning I packed up my little ducklings to go to the zoo on a whim. Steven called me at 8:45am and said, "It's really warm out, you should go to the zoo!" So I checked accuweather and sure enough, it said 75 today, sunny and windy. I love that it's always windy out here. I mean I LOVE it! It really puts me in the best of moods when I feel the wind on my face. It's like a little reminder that God's there, you know?
Since the weather is so fickle out here, I jumped on the chance to get the girls out in the sunshine and run some of there energy off (and keep them from destructive behavior as seen above.)
Here are some of my favorite pictures from our morning:



I just love this little girl!






Childrens petting zoo...








Getting sleepy...






That little lamb is only a week old. Aren't they the sweetest?







We had such a good morning. I love hanging out with my kiddos!



Since I love them so much I have been working on their room and trying to get it finished up. When we got our apartment ready before I had the baby, I was determined to use stuff we already had. I didn't buy a single piece of decor (with the exception of furniture, which was the plan before we left SC). I was just oh so proud of myself for sticking by my guns! Granted, I don't love everything, but I'm ok with that. We will not be living here forever.

So there were just a few too many things that needed a little extra work before the bedrooms could be deemed complete. And I could sleep at night. (Not that I'm getting any sleep right now anyway.) Keller has arrived so I no longer have the baby-could-arrive-any-day-now excuse going for me. Steven's mom will be here next Friday and sleeping with Shiloh in their room for the duration of her visit. Time to get to work!

Now, Steven has forbidden...vehemently forbidden...me from painting. Don't worry. I already tried that one on him when we first moved here. I have off-white walls in this apartment and since I am a neutrals-kind-of-girl anyway it really does work for me! We have a total of two bedrooms. The master and the kids. Since I will be putting Keller in with the girls when he's sleeping through the night, I have to make the girls room gender-neutral. This is totally fine with me since I'm not big into girly stuff - pinks and purples, princesses, and dress-up really do not define me or my girls. So, we are going with robin's egg blue and yellow. I'm totally into those colors right now. Here are the drapes I finished today:




The drape came from my PB clearance bins at the outlet. I believe it was $19.97, lined, and originally one 5o-inch wide panel. I cut it in half (vertically), stitched and hemmed it and added the ruffles from a clearance fabric from Tony's in SC. Here are the drapes hanging in our upstairs bathroom at our house in SC. This was after I cut them, but had not sewn or hemmed them.



I first got the idea from Emily with her nursery she did for her daughter, Audrey.
I love that she did not go the traditional pink route!


bed


And also all the ruffles featured in Restoration Hardware's baby&child rooms:





Aren't these rooms oh so darling?!

I'm going to do my best to post updates on the girls' room throughout the week till it's completely done! And then...one more thing will be checked off my list.

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