Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Felted Wool Penny Rugs For Sale

I've been busy using up some reclaimed wool I felted so I've been stitching Penny Rugs and adding cute little Yo Yo's to them.  I've got a thing for Yo Yo's lately, I'll admit :)  They are just so darn cute.

Both Penny Rugs and Yo yo's were our foremother's way of using up bits and scraps of fabric.  They recycled (before it was cool) because they had to.  They couldn't run out to Hobby Lobby or Wally World and get cheap fabric (or anything else, lol)  New yard goods went to clothing for the family so when the youngest little "Johnny or Jane" grew out of the passed down clothing, it was reused to household goods....the smallest of these scraps would be used for decorative items.  The term Penny Rug comes from the fact that these resourceful women would use a coin (a penny) for a pattern.  These "rugs" were not used on the floor but as wall hangings, bed coverlets and such.

I love the old ways and learning all about how our ancestors did things, don't you?

I'm offering these candle mats for sale.

The Total Width is 10.5"....the brown wool penny is 7.5" and it is surrounded by 18  Yo Yo's. 

$12.50 plus shipping


Blessings,


Monday, March 26, 2012

A Morning Walk

I went outside this morning and decided to snap a few pics.... Hope you enjoy them as much as I did :)
Lilac

I'm not sure what this bush is but if you know, please email me!  It's so gorgeous and the color is just so vibrant... it's already lost quite a few of it's blossoms but at it's peak, it's just covered in these little beauties!


So delicate....reminds me of Grandma Viola...

The wind has beat these up a bit but the orange sherbet color is lovely...






These are blossoms off of our pear tree.

And these are annuals that I overwintered inside last year... not too bad!


Enjoying Spring....
Kimberly

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Window Seat with Built in Storage

Greetings All!
It's a LOVELY spring here in North Missouri and things are getting busy!  James and I spent much of last weekend in the garden and it was bliss :)  I LOVE spring... During the week, he started another inside project due to the RAIN which flooded our roads but that's okay...we got lots done around here...

When we first bought this home, the landing upstairs was dark due to the previous owners siding over a door which at one time, went out to a sleeping porch.  I could just envision the lovely morning light coming in through the glass panes in that now defunct door... sigh...a perfect spot to read the Bible for morning devotions or snuggle up with Sophie and browse through the latest catalog...anyhoo... we were blessed with some windows that a friend gave us and so my little brain got it's creative juices flowing.... and I asked dear hubby..."Can you do it?"   "For you, my darling..." eh...well, no... it didn't quite go like that BUT he was VERY gracious and got started.... I was stressing a little just before I came up with the idea of a window seat with storage of where on earth to put the winter quilts and such now that I've been spring cleaning and changing out bedding, etc....  This is SO perfect!!!

So here's the BEFORE green carpet and all:

And here's a "During":
My sweet Hubby James with one coat of paint on....

 And here's AFTER:  
This window faces east so the morning sunrise is BEAUTIFUL!!!


 He used all reclaimed lumber and even used the old hinges off the original door... he is so cool!



I plan on making a nice cushion and different pillows for it but here it is for now :)  What do you think?  Am I not the most blessed of women?    


Eventually we want to either do beaded board or board and batten about 2/3's of the way up the entire wall as you come up the stairs and in this hallway but that is later...when funds allow.  For now, I'm so happy with what he created :)  

Come join me over at DIYbyDesign and see all the other wonderfully creative stuff going on!


There's also a Bunny Blog Hop going on April 2nd that you won't want to miss!




Until next time....


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Signs of Spring

Hello Dear Ones!

I'm really busy this week as I started a new job yesterday and I'm trying to work out all the daily details so our lives are not turned upside down.... The good thing though is my hubby just called and said "If absence makes the heart grow fonder, I don't know how I'm going to stand loving you so much!"  He's already homesick for me....awww... I'm SO blessed :) 



The weather is just so mild and I am thinking SPRING...my favorite time of the year and I love it! Friday, I put together a quick wreath for the door that said "Spring" to me.... I used crocus flowers, daffodills and a few others. Then earlier I went outside and guess what I saw? My bulbs are all pushing up out of the ground! YAH!!! I checked the Forsythia last week and know it's going to be lovely this year. I was thinking of forcing a few branches but decided to let it alone. There wasn't much else to look at so I took a few pics of our other animals.  




I've got a few projects I want to turn into post....2 dressers I want to paint and distress and another one I'm pretty excited about.... James is taking the reclaimed lumber rope beds he built way back when for the kiddos and turning them into one larger queen sized bed for the guest room. He asked yesterday what I wanted to do with the old mattress. These were bunk bed mattresses and not great ones to begin with but I had a quick thought and asked him to check and see if there were springs inside the mattress and guess what???? There are!! So now I'm thinking of all the neat things we can do with bed springs! I'm also not quite finished with the Yo Yo Quilt. I WILL post pics as soon as I am finished.


The animals wanted to get in on the pictures so here is one of Sam.  He's a sweetheart. 


And here's Gabby: 


I've gotta run... 







Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Valentine's Day Dessert ~ Creamy Rice Pudding

Hello dear ones!
I pray you each had a special Valentine's Day!  I spent mine with my sweetie and I wanted to share our simple but entirely yummy dessert with you.  I had to work with what I had on hand and also the lack of an oven at the moment which crimps my style as I love to bake... but such is life, right?  And there is a reason that they say that necessity is the MOTHER of invention....it's because women/mothers/wives are always coming up with ways to "make do". 

Or is it just me? 

Nah....I didn't think so :) 

In these lean economic times, it's also something we have to do more and more.  We've never been a "keeping up with the Jones" kinda of family and being a homeschooling/one income family over the years, we've always tried to be frugal but now, even though the kiddos are gone and it's just hubby and me,  we HAVE to be frugal. 

So back to the yummy rice pudding...

Here's the recipe:

1 cup long grain rice
1 Tbsp powdered sugar
7 cups of milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp salt
1 Vanilla bean split (I used 1 1/2 tsp of reg. vanilla)

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil, Stir in rice and powdered sugar and cook 5 minutes.  Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick.  Drain off the water.  Stir in milk, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and vanilla.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 45 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  It should thicken up nicely.  Remove vanilla bean if you used it and place in glass bowls or whatever you choose.   Cover and chill several hours. 

Okay now my improvisations:  I didn't have lemons on hand so I skipped those and went to the pantry.  I had a quart of peaches I canned so I drained off most of the juice from that.  As I measured out the milk, instead of 7 cups, I did 6 cups and added peaches to it to measure 7 cups, squishing the peaches in my hand as I took them out of the quart jar.  This was also why I didn't drain off all the the peach juice...I wanted them juicy.  :)  You could use berries or whatever fruit you'd like... I'm always looking to see what I have and deciding then.   One of my favorite pies happened this way.  It was supposed to be a raspberry sour cream pie and of course, I had no raspberries but plenty of blueberries.  It is heavenly!  I don't like plain blueberry pie...but with the slightly sweetened sour cream...oh it's bliss! 



That's a picture of hubby & me on our wedding day :)


Whatever you did yesterday, I pray you felt the perfect love of your Heavenly Father, who loves you with an everlasting love.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1John 4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
1John 4:19 We love Him, because He first loved us.  John 15:12 This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

John 15:13
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.



Aren't you glad that The Lover of your soul, Jesus Christ, loved you so much that He laid down His life for YOU?  

May you be blessed in Him,
~ Kimberly 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

It's a PARTY!

If you're not on Pinterest and you craft, or garden, or decorate, or cook, or homeschool, or whatever....you might want to check it out.  There is just SO much inspiration to be had there on any number of things! 

I came across this list of "Crafty" pinners and joined the Pinterest Party!  Check it out and let me know if you do :)

Enjoy <3

Monday, February 13, 2012

Link Party

I'm linking up to

Craftomaniac's Monday Link Party

So check it out!  There are TONS of great ideas from other DIYers and Crafters!! 

Paper Rose Heart Wreath Tutorial

Greetings Friends! 
It's SNOWING and since it hasn't stopped yet, I decided to get crafty for Valentine's Day tomorrow, but first here are a few pics from out my front door.  



Okay, now to crafting!   This is my first tutorial so please forgive me if it's terrible.

I made this sad little ripped rag wreath several weeks ago when I put away Christmas decorations.  I am currently making a pastel colored yo yo quilt and the colors reminded me of the little heart candy you get on Valentine's Day that says "Be Mine" and other such sweet sayings so that got me to thinking....  I took a wire hanger, bent it into a heart shape and started knotting the different strips of the pastel material around it.  Then, because it was still ugly, I cut out some felt hearts and sewed them together with a zigzag stitch and glued a few on....I hung it up but I didn't like it.   It was still ugly.

Hubby didn't like it either :( 



I finally took it down and decided to be a Valentine's Day Grinch....but like most other resolutions I make, it didn't stick.    Everybody in Blogland is decorating and making beautiful things, so I gave it another shot.  I couldn't help myself!

First thing, I found a cardboard box and cut it into a heart shape like so.


Then I spray painted it RED.... I love red :)  It doesn't have to be totally covered because you will be covering it with rosettes but you just want to make sure if a space does peek through here or there, you're not looking at a barcode or something. 


It was time to start making curled paper roses.  Instead of smaller book page roses, I used a Bible word search book to make the roses.  It's the size of a child's coloring book.  I almost put it in the "To the Thrift Store" box but something held me back, hehehe.   Here I used a purple marker to show you the spiral but you wouldn't use that normally (it would show up on your roses).  The spiral does not need to be perfect. Cut around and leave a little round "tail" to cap the bottom with once you put your hot glue on it.  (It still burns btw, be careful.)


Here's it all cut out.


 You can then start rolling it up from the OUTSIDE edge first.  And you want it to be tighter at the beginning.


You can see here how it starts to look.  Don't worry, you will get the hang of it. 


Once you roll the entire thing up, I kinda let it unravel a bit to give some fullness to your rose.  Some though, you might want to keep tighter, like a rose bud...play with it, have fun.  It's all up to you... After all, if you're doing this...It's YOUR rose wreath, right?  Own it...Love it!


Here's how it looks with a few glued on.  When you cut out the spirals you also want to make some smaller, some larger.  On others, I cut the pages in half and then squared it up before making even smaller spirals so I have roses of different sizes.  Some have fatter "petals" because I made my spiral thickness fatter...


Here she is all filled up!  


I wanted a red rose heart wreath, so I got out my trusty can of spray paint and lightly sprayed the roses, being careful to coat the sides all around pretty well.  I still wanted to see the lettering...you may not want to so you could paint it heavier or use construction paper...that would work too. 


So I could hang her up, I glued some raffia to the back.


Here she is.... I'm pleased.  This was easy and the best part, CHEAP ...I mean, inexpensive :) 



Of course, now I have to clean up my floor! 


And one more snow pic.  I took Sophie outside with me earlier but she was VERY uncooperative for pictures.  She HATES the snow.  Of course, with legs only 3 inches high, anything other than a dusting is too deep for her!  She ran back to the door and wouldn't budge until I opened it.  I think she's even more cold natured than I am! 


Many Blessings ~ Much Love
Kimberly 

Friday, February 10, 2012

Playing with Paper...

It's COLD outside!  Not as cold as it could be but colder than it has been for sure!  How's it in your neck of the woods?  We haven't had any work to speak of since December so things have been really tight and James and I have been making do with what we have.  It's times like these that you're glad for what you put up from the garden.  We've only gone to the store for the barest of essentials and even then, you realize pretty quick what is a necessity and what isn't.  I haven't done any baking lately because my oven element went out!  So it's been crockpot and lots of soups!  That's okay though...our belly's have been full and we've stayed warm.  The good part of having no outside work is that my honey has gotten LOTS done of the house! YAH!  And all of it is from salvaged wood and excess materials that we've saved thru out the year.  We did run out of sheetrock the other day so wall clading will have to wait a bit more.  :)  It's always fun (and I use that term VERY loosely) living in the house you are remodeling.  If it was just a room here and there, that would be one thing but the ONLY room done is our bedroom!!  That was a requirement to us moving in...we had to have a place of refuge :)  With no children at home, it's not that big of a deal but it will be SOOOOOOOOOOOOO nice to get it done.  It's gonna take a while though...

When James is doing stuff I really can't help with (like running electrical wire...I HATE getting shocked!) I've been working on some neat paper crafts.  I've seen these book page wreaths and such floating about in blogland so I decided to try my hand at a few and I really like them!  The first thing I did was to try a rolled paper rose wreath.  I found a tutorial by Stephanie Lynn at Under the Table and Dreaming
 http://www.bystephanielynn.com/2010/11/diy-faux-curled-rosewood-wreath-made.html

She has a BEAUTIFUL blog and I love it!  She's so inspiring!
I didn't have a foam wreath but I did have some old books I could play with.  I decided to IMPROVISE, lol... of course I did...lol.  I found a few extra clear plastic disposable plates in my half done kitchen and used a hot knife to cut out the center part!  Walla!  Now I had something to hot glue my paper roses too! 

I couldn't believe how easy this was but it does take a little time to do.  Still I love it!  I am in dire need of burlap though for the bow...I just used a strip of old material I had already torn up to use in my crocheted rugs :) 

So then I decided to try another paper craft.  This time I wanted to use sheet music.  I have several old hymnals that we've picked up at yard sales and thrift shops over the years so I got one out and began (gasp!) tearing out some pages!  Here's a great tutorial by Gina at the Shabby Creek Cottage:

I had an old 11X14" frame that I got at a thrift store a while ago....I wanted the print and the glass to go in a frame that I liked but the glass was broken. 
See, I paid $2 for it, lol! 
Anyhoo...back to what I was doing.  I decided to "age" the pages out of the hymnal because they didn't look old enough.  So I took out a cookie sheet and added some water and instant coffee granules....I added the sheets one at a time then gently laid them out on another cookie sheet to dry.  I placed them over by our woodstove and it didn't take long.  I did this off and on for a few hours... Remember, my oven is out so I couldn't dry them in there.  I also splattered some coffee granules on a few sheets to make dark spots.  I tried burning the edges of some of them but I ran out of patience... (I know, I know...you are COMPLETELY shocked!)  Not really...

Okay, then came the rolling and gluing.  I did this and pretty much used Gina's tutorial on doing it. Spacing and adding rolled paper cones as I went.  Then I got to the middle and decided that since I had been playing with paper flowers, I added some rolled roses, some cut petal newspaper flowers and such until I was happy with my "Wall Art".  What do you think?  Is it just too weird?