I probably don't need to remind you that we're moving.
I probably don't need to tell you that blogging, despite my good intentions,
has been pushed far down on my priorities list!
In fact, right now it's 11:48pm.
I should be in bed, but I'm breathing in this quiet house and the slightly organized chaos that I tried to tidy up before I sat down to relax. 
Thank you, Lord, for Sundays!

Also, keep praying for us.
We are moving in just over a week and still don't have a place lined up to live.
Thankfully, my husband's family lives in that area, so we can crash there in the meantime.  SO not ideal. SO not a motivating factor when packing and planning! Thankfully, I love them like crazy, so it won't be painful in that way at all!  Pray for me, that my mind stays sane in this move, for my baby while my body is living a crazy irregular lifestyle, for my family that they adjust well, and that we find a new home soon!

In other news:
Rystin has pretty much graduated to walking!
He's pretty proud of himself!

Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful week!

I didn't finish it right, because the paint has always been somewhat sticky and hasn't kept up the greatest, but like I said...a few dollars.  I put a new drawer handle on it and painted it brown.  Sorry about the picture, not the greatest, but you get the idea.

I really do like it, but wish it was real wood so I could finish it the right way and know that it would last and paint would stick right. Any tips??

The bedskirt is made with burlap. I actually just sewed a strip of burlap, ruffling it as I went, onto an old bed sheet that I put between the box spring and mattress. I love how it turned out!  Sorry...didn't even edit the photos...but if you recall, I'm just lucky to be posting at all!

The bed ruffle 'thing'. Still haven't decided what these are called!  I often see throw blankets folded at the end of beds, and decided I could make just a simple strip of ruffles and have the same affect. I also did this at the retreat.

The large pillows made from the Ikea coverlet. So easy!

A small throw pillow made from simple off white muslin.  I did some 'ragged' type flowers into the fabric, which I may talk about more in a different post.

To get a better idea of the texture...

Another random throw pillow.  This is the accent color I plan on doing in the room (maybe one wall) when we move into our new house. The 'rag' around the edges, and some random scraps sewn on for applique. Another I did at the retreat.

Detailed texture again

And another throw pillow. I got this one in the silent auction at the retreat for a whoppin THREE dollars! What a steal! :)  Elva, from here, donated it, and I love it! The burlap just ties everything together.  Thanks, Elva!

And a random...wall hanging (!?!?) that I did with the extra time at the retreat.  Not sure if I'll frame this, or maybe hang it with some jute string...any ideas?  It is our wedding anniversary-almost 4 years!! Crazy!

So I felt like the retreat was a success!  There's NO way I would have gotten all of that done in one day with my two little boys around at home!  And besides the sewing, it was good company and wonderful food!  Thanks to all who helped plan the event! 
It still doesn't seem like much in the bedroom, but I love it SO much more than before. My husband HATES decorative pillows (why are guys like that?!), so he's not as excited, but he's willing to deal with them for my sake.  Awww! :)  I went with fairly neutral colors, partly because I really like that natural, clean look, and partly so it's easy to change up, or fit well into any setting.  We don't have a house lined up yet for when we make the big move, so I have no idea what we'll be in!  This color scheme should be fine no matter what, and the green accent color should be easy to add in around the room in other ways. 
Come back soon, as I have quite a few other projects, both old and new, to share with you in the near future. I'll also try to keep you updated on our new home, and the ideas and projects that come out of that. 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed week!

   So yes, you could basically say not much of anything in my life will be the same in the next few months.  If you haven't noticed yet, this has also affected my website.  Because of the busyness of life even just in the last year, I have updated and added new products very little.  Now, with all the craziness of life coming up, I have decided to close up shop...at least for now.  I plan to keep this blog going (as well as I am able) for the time being.  At some point in the next 6 months or so, the URL may change slightly, so watch for that if you are interested in continuing to follow my life and the projects and crafts that I find time for in the future.  I have been crafting a lot lately, so hopefully soon I can post about those things.  This blog may become more 'personal' with more posts about my life and family, to keep my friends and family updated after we move.  I hope you keep coming and checking for updates, or better yet... follow me through the Google link or RSS feed.  
   Also, if there is something that I used to carry, or that I have blogged about, that you are interested in ordering, I would still be willing to take special orders.  Just contact me and we will work out the details! Thanks

   That would be me at the tail end of my pregnancy with Rystin in '10.  NOT looking forward to getting big again...but I'm getting there fast!  I AM excited to have another little blessing in the house and cuddling with a sweet little newborn.  Have been wondering if there will be some pink involved this time, but we will have to wait and see! :)  I am going on 23 weeks right now, so already over halfway there! Due June 9th
    This Christmas, we drove to the Midwest to spend the holidays with the friends and family we have there.  We were gone for almost three weeks, which felt quite long when my baby slept horribly the whole trip! :(  Otherwise, it was a fun time... my baby turned one, and my hubby found a 'job' while he was there!  His dream of being a farmer in MN is coming true.  We plan to move in about a month and a half and I will try my hand at being a dairy farmer's wife!  Both exciting and nerve wracking.  Right now, the biggest stress factor is that we don't know where we are going to live for sure.  That makes it hard to plan ahead (both for our living arrangements, and for the coming baby).  Keep us in your prayers that God will lead us to where He has planned, and will guide us through all these new changes.  It will be a huge change in lifestyle, as you know if  you have visited (or lived) in both the Pacific Northwest and the Midwestern parts of the US!  We are excited to start this new phase in life, and be able to call a place 'home'.

  Thanks for checking in!  I hope to continue to be posting about some of my latest projects in the next couple weeks.  Have a wonderful week and God bless your day!

Poor Rystin is still my little model, no matter what gender is needed.
Sorry, little man!
The greenish fabric on this outfit that I used for the skirt and flowers is actually a re-purposed sweater.  I love re-purposing things into something new!

Now that all these babies are around, I may have different models if need be.  I just sewed something fun tonight, but it's a Christmas gift, so I probably won't be able to show it for awhile!  I have lots of projects on my mind for this winter, though, and the sewing bug is coming back with the cooler weather.  I guess I CAN find some positive in it! :) 
So hopefully I'll be here a little more often, with some new projects, ideas, and if I really get ambitious, some new products!

Thanks for keeping up!

I simply painted a onsie for Skyler to wear when my family came to visit.  I also sent a few pictures to people of him wearing it.  I added a few little buttons and such (most of which are hiding behind his arm!), and on the back put the month and year I was due.

It has been such an awesome experience to have two little boys!
They love each other SO much!
My  heart grows so much more each time that I...
...hear them giggling their little hearts out at each other!
...when the first thing they both like to do when they get up in the morning is see each other!
...when they give each other hugs!
...when Skyler tries to take such good care of his baby brother!
:)
Even now that they are old enough to interact and play, they take each others toys, accidentally hurt each other, and so it.  Boy stuff.
SO SWEET!
I had been fairly sure I was having a girl (both pregnancies!), but my boys are the treasure of my heart and I would do anything for them!

I love you, my sons!!

That is my recently organized pantry. 
It's nothing overly fancy, and could do with a few more changes, but from what it started with, I'm pretty thrilled with the way it turned out!

Unfortunately, it was another one of those projects where I didn't think to take pictures until I was halfway into it.
Well, I'll start at the beginning. 
We are currently renting an older home from someone we know through our church.  We've been here for over two years, and we're happy with the place overall.  The decorator/creative/organized side of me has loads of ideas for this house, but the practical/cheap/lazy side of me says, why bother!? 

I finally called our landlord and asked if painting was ok (I had hoped to repaint my boys' purple bedroom at some point....more details there later).  She said yes, so I immediately whipped out the paintbrush and went at it. (Ha!!)  Slight stretch there.  It was probably a couple of months and I started spring cleaning my kitchen.  The pantry was in some major need of TLC, so I emptied the whole thing onto the counters, stove, table, and any other available surface, (see above) and started scrubbing. 

I started brainstorming as I scrubbed (yes, that IS dangerous), and recalled a couple of neat pantries I've recently seen in blog-land such as the ones from Delightful Order and House of Smiths (not to mention all those on Pinterest!).  So I went and checked out the touch up paint cupboard and discovered this pretty shade of blue that was leftover from one of the bedrooms!  THEN I whipped out the paint brushes! :)

My sweet, smiley little boy had a wonderful time watching me work. 
My wild, fun-loving little man thankfully spent most of the day outside!

Here is the completed paint job.  It isn't really a 'walk in' pantry, but more like a 'step in'.  There is room to take about one step into it, then there are shelves on three sides.  The white shelves needed painted badly too, so that also got done.  So bright and clean looking!! 
Too bad I don't have a before shot :(

After adding a few decorative touches... it seemed to be coming together well.  I painted the 'Thank You, Lord' as a reminder of where the blessings of food (and everything else) come from, and to thank Him for them each day.  The white canisters I got for $3 at a garage sale- SCORE!!
The wire baskets are from Ikea, but I got them for I think $4 each at another garage sale.  And lastly, the tall, glass jar was a couple bucks, also at a garage sale. I love the look of glass jars to organize pantry items, so I have been on the lookout for them lately.

Here is the 'after' shot.
Top shelf: Fancy glass serving dishes that don't often get used
2nd Shelf: Canisters with things such as corn meal, pancake mix, and such;  Tupperware containers for chips, crackers, and snacks; and the tall jar with noodles.
3rd Shelf:  Cans and condiments
4th Shelf: Cereals, oats/oatmeal, syrup, etc
5th Shelf: Paper products, drink mixes, pitchers,
Floor: Potato bin, chips, napkins

The white baskets on the left side I got from Walmart for a couple bucks each on the Easter clearance shelves.  One holds candy/goodies, another holds Jell-o mix, and the last holds partially used bags of noodles.  Otherwise you can see the assortment of things stored here.

The right side is mostly for appliances such as the griddle, extra coffee pot, waffle iron, and so on.  The drawer holds individual serving sized containers for my husbands lunches and for leftovers.

I had a lot of fun doing this, and other than getting a bit crowded after a shopping trip, it has stayed in a somewhat organized order since then.  The original cleaning project blew up into a bigger job, but it was worth it!  My husband probably still laughs at me that the PANTRY was the first 'room' in the house I painted, after finding out it was ok! :)

Thanks for stopping in! Let me know about the storage and organizing ideas you use in your kitchen!

I also linked up at this party (thanks DaNita!):

This hat started out like this, but I made it a bit small, so I added the red and white panels to each side and thought it turned out better in the end.

My darling, blue eyed boy!

May God be with you this week, and always!

A button gathers up the top layer, to expose the matching purple fabric underneath.  I actually upcycled a skirt that I bought from a garage sale, so I had perfect coordinating fabric for the layers, and may even have enough leftover to make another baby skirt!

The flower detail.  Sorry. Not great pic quality!

I had my little man be my model! Poor boy! I made sure not to include his face, so he can't hate me too bad later on! :) Good thing I had him to try this dress on or the poor girl wouldn't have been able to get it on, or hardly!  A few adjustments were needed.  But oh so fun! Watch out world, the day I have a little girl of my own! ;)