Quote for the Week

{Thanks to a friend who posted this online today. I really needed it.}

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you.
Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway.”
~Mother Theresa

Christmas Frame Wreath

There are so many creative Christmas wreaths you can make this season. Here is one type I have seen a bunch of times on Pinterest that I love and wanted to make.

 These amazing pompoms below are made from T-shirts! Who knew?

Source: howdoesshe.com via Ashley on Pinterest

  

I love this one too with paper-mache Christmas balls. Blue Cricket Designs has so many amazing and creative ideas so check the site out when you have a moment. 

                                                                         Source: todayscreativeblog.net via Bethany on Pinterest

And finally, here is my version.

 

The frame I got at an antique sale this past summer and the Christmas ornaments are from CVS.  They are non-breakable which is important because this is on my front door and I didn't want them to shatter when the kiddies slam the door shut. They were a bargain at $2.99 a package!

Time to Give Thanks

I found lots of cute activities to do with the children to prepare for Thanksgiving this year.

I feel like this year, more than others, I as well as them, need to focus on being grateful- 

grateful for our lives, 

each other, 

our home, 

our blessings, 

and so much more. 

Here are some ideas I found on pinterest that I plan on doing with them.

So many use for toilet paper rolls

                                                   Source: busybeekidscrafts.com via lady on Pinterest

Free printables to cut and paste

                                                                          Source: paperglitter.blogspot.com via lady on Pinterest

I love this- I just have to send the kids out to gather some branches.

                                                                         Source: simplyvintagegirl.com via lady on Pinterest

and look at these adorable apple candles- I plan on making these to decorate with as well.

                                                                   Source: thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com via lady on Pinterest

What are some of the things you do to celebrate Thanksgiving with your family?

Easy Artisan Pizzas

I recently discovered the joys of Artisan Pizza dough found in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois and it has changed my life! I had a few minutes to spare before running out to Home Goods (my favorite store in the entire world) tonight so I mixed up some pizza dough and came home to dough ready to roll out and cook up for the kids for lunch tomorrow at school. You simply measure all the ingrediants into a container (I used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven), mix with a wooden spoon, loosely cover, and let it rise for 2 hours. IT'S THAT EASY! Really! If you are someone who has never made pizza dough before- this is the recipe for you. If you are a busy wife and/or mom- this is the recipe for you. The book contains many other recipes including an incredible Challah bread recipe and an Artisan Bread recipe that tastes and looks like it came from a bakery.
Here is the recipe which I found at Sidewalk Shoes:

Olive Oil Dough
From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

2 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

Mix the water, yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil in a 5-quart, lidded container (or bowl).

Mix the flour in, without kneading. Use a wooden spoon, a stand mixer, or a food processor.

Cover, not airtight, and let sit at room temperature for about 2 hours, until the dough rises and then flattens on top.

Store in the fridge, keep it covered, but not air tight, and use within 12 days.

On the day you are going to make pizza, bring the dough out of the fridge. Dust the surface of the dough with some flour and pull off a one pound chunk (using a serrated knife or kitchen shears), this is about grapefruit size. Put the rest of the dough back in the fridge to be used another day. Using floured hands quickly shape into a ball and then roll out, just like you roll any other pizza dough. Using flour when needed to keep it from sticking. There is no need for it to rest, you can proceed directly with your pizza recipe!  

 I preheated the oven to 425 degrees and cooked the mini pizzas for about 10-12 minutes. 
Special thanks to my friend Taryn who introduced me to this recipe and the idea to make it for my kids for lunches. Check out her cute store Speckled Sunshine if you have a moment for adorable gifts for Christmas, birthday, baby showers, etc.  

Scrabble Crafting

One of my husband's favorite games to play is Scrabble. He has been known to take a half an hour or more to decide which word to place down on the board. Of course this is because he is usually playing a game with him mom who is famous for putting down 7 letter words or words worth 50+ points on average. I saw this cute framed art on Pinterest and knew I had to make one for our bedroom.

                                                                    Source: granvillehouse.blogspot.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Its from one of my favorite blogs 320 Sycamore.

Here is the one I made- notice my favorite Amy Butler Wallflower fabric?

 I took a cute square frame I found at a garage sale- it was originally a brown frame and I spray painted it white. I glued my fabric to the back of the frame where a picture would usually go and put the glass back in to the frame.

 

I bought my letters from a seller on etsy.com. Etsy is a wonderful site for buying handmade goods, vintage items and crafting supplies. Check it out when you have a moment. It cost me about $1.00 for the 6 letters.

 

I glued the letters to the front of the glass, and here is the finished product. My husband loved it and is has special significance because of his love of scrabble (and me). 

Quote for the Week

“Courage doesn't always roar. 

Sometimes courage is the quiet voice 

at the end of the day saying, 

"I will try again tomorrow.”

Mary Anne Radmache

Tu-tu Cute

This Halloween I decided I was going to make my two youngest daughters costumes. My eldest child is 9 and wanted a store bought costume this year. My son probably would have loved if I had made his costume, but Bobba Fett is a bit beyond my skill. This is what I came up with. Charlotte our youngest is obsessed with kitties and is currently taking ballet so I decided to make her a ballerina kitty. This was my inspiration.

  

                                                                  Source: heartbreakkids.com via lady on Pinterest

I also found this picture on pinterest as inspiration for Emma's costume.

                                                                                      Source: etsy.com via lady on Pinterest

Here is what I made using the tutorial from The Ribbon Retreat 

Charlotte the kitty with her black tutu and Emma the pumpkin.

I am really pleased with how they turned out and am already planning the girls' costumes for next Halloween which will definitely include a tutu in the design.

Dreamy Grey Master Bedroom Makeover

My husband and I have been married 10 years this past year and have lived in 2 apartments, 1 condo, and one house during that time period. In each place we lived, while we did renovations, the one place we never spent time to fully decorate was our master bedroom. I guess with the busyness of life, other rooms in the house just seemed more important at the the time. But I always longed for a cozy, refreshing, peaceful bedroom to share with my husband. When my three younger brothers got married about two years ago, I was inspired by the importance they put on renovating their special spaces. One built a canopy because he knew his wife wanted one while the others put time and effort into creating a peaceful place to escape to at the end of the day.  Part of my problem was our room was very very ugly. The former owners had painted the walls a strange sort of pinkish color and put up a border that had roses and books. It was very strange and very uninspiring.



Note ugly floral border



In addition, the previous owners before they sold the house, painted the room very sloppily so there were drips everywhere and a strange texture as if they had painted over spackle without sanding it smooth. It took my husband days upon days (almost a month to be exact) to remove the border, spackle, sand, and repeat over again just to get the room back to a blank canvas to paint.



Spackle 1, 2, 3



Finally, it was time to paint. My favorite magazine that comes every month is Country Living Magazine. Their December edition had this picture in it. The moment I saw it, I knew this was what I had been looking for.



Country Living Magazine, December 2010



And here is our bedroom finished- well, almost finished.



The lamps were Craigslist finds. They were originally brass lamps that I spray painted gray to match the room.





That is Emma peeking out from her bed. I love the silhouettes of my children on the walls. Someday when Emma is older, we will get one made of her as well.





I made the jewelry frames on the wall, the curtains on the window, the earring frame on the dresser and recovered the seat cushion on the white chair. Tutorials coming soon.



Trying to camouflage the air conditioning units. I need to come up with a better cover I think. I made the "L" pillow and pleated ottoman slipcover out of a special fabric I will post about in the near future. I am really pleased with how they turned out. The white end table next to the bed was an ugly old beat up brown thing that I found and refinished. I love how it looks now with its new covering of white paint and chic new knobs.




A better view of the painted lamps.

 

my little fairy princess on our bed



I love, love, love our new bedroom. It is the perfect shade of Goosedown Grey from Home Depot with white and tan accents as well as Wallflower accent fabric from Amy Butler. The room turned out as I had envisioned it. I plan on making a padded headboard in the next few months to complete the bed.

Quote for the Week

"if life gets to hard to stand,

kneel."

gordan b. hinkley

Welcome to my new blog

good things to come