Hello Friends - I hope this finds all of you doing well and enjoying your warm spring. It has been wonderful weather here. It's been great for my garden. Everything is popping up nicely.

This has been a very busy week. My love's Grandma passed away on Sunday and we had the visitation on Tuesday and funeral on Wednesday. Then today as I write this I am sitting in the hospital because my Father-in-Law is having surgery.

So, I ask for your prayers and hope to be back on blogging track next week!!

cute chairs

My sister has been working on her dining room table and chairs and they are looking great!

These are two of the six chairs that she did. They were a 70's style wood dining set and she painted them with Annie Sloan's paint and distressed them. Then she covered the cushions with feed sacks!

Where the feed sack wouldn't cover she used drop cloth fabric and they turned out great!!!

Office Update

I am slowly getting our office put together. We  Steve hung the TV in the office finally, that has been our intention from the beginning. It turned out really great.

We Steve also hung some pictures for me. These are old calander pictures that I have had since I was in high school. I have saved them just for a room like this.

It is slowly coming together!

 

Laundry and Spring Things

I know I have mentioned that I like to do laundry, but I really like to do laundry in the spring and summer!

I love hanging clothes on the line! Especially the bed linens. Its just not the smell of them but its the whole process. I really enjoy the act of hanging the laundry and then seeing it blow in the wind and how it sounds when it whips back and forth. It is peaceful to me.

The peonies are right next to the clothes line and they smell amazing right now!

That's the outhouse in the background.

Doing dishes has been a little more pleasant lately thanks to this lovely rose bush outside the window.



Favorite Thing

Last week I shared a tutorial on how to make a ditty bag. I used the bags as part of my favorite thing to give away. Seriously if you have never been to a Favorite Thing party....have one! They are so fun becuase you don't know what your going to get and you leave with great new ideas and items to try!

Anyways, I wanted to share the rest of my favorite thing. So her you have it....

Here are the finished bags. I made 5 of them.

And inside are these yummy almonds! If you like the raosted nuts that you get at festivals you'll love these. I found them at the grocery store in the nut isle and they are so good!

Everyone received a goody bag. I had these little brown bags and so I stamped a little design on them.

Inside the goody bags were these cute recipe cards. They were in the back of my Farm Chicks book and I took them and had copies made and bundled them up with yarn. The bags also contained chocolates, small hand sanitizer, and Mary Kay samples.

It was a lot of fun! I recommend getting some of your friends together and having a Favorite Things party! 

Family Pics

Here are some pictures from Easter...I know its been like a month but I'm just now getting around to it!

Me and my Love

My Brother and SIL and their two kiddos! You can find them here. They are always making something super cute! I'm retty sure this picture describes their daily life....always moving!

This is my big sissy and her clan. I love Tater Tots face!! They are so cute and getting so big!!

My mom and dad! They are the best! Dad is looking so much better even since Easter! He has gained weight and feeling better! Praise the Lord!

Could eat this one up!!!

Nieces and Nephews

Just the girls!

I am so thankful for my family! God has blessed us so much!



Ditty Bag Tutorial

I mentioned that I was hosting a Favorite Things party at my house this week so I thought I would share one of my favorite things to make!

The Ditty Bag, at least that is what I call it. It can be used for many things, shoe bag for when your traveling, bread bag, stuff it and use it for home decor.  It can be any size. You can use any fabric and it takes about 5 minutes to make. Literally. I love projects that offer instant gratification.



So here we go...



1. Cut the fabric in a rectangle. I used a 20''x16'' piece

2. Fold in half. Right sides together. I used drop cloth fabric so both sides look pretty much the same.

3. Sew around three side leaving one end open for the top of the bag. I also left the top edge raw because I liked the way it looked.

4. I then cut a piece of twill tape or ribbon 20'' to 22'' long

5. Fold it in half to locate the center and when you fold it, it leaves a little crease which makes it easy to see.

6.  Pin the ribbon to the bag at the side seem about 2''-3'' down from the top.

7. Attach the ribbon with your sewing machine. I made a few stitches going both directions to make it secure.

8. You are done sewing! You can leave it like this and tie it up or continue on.

9. I added a design to the front by using a stencil and fabric paint. I put a piece of cardboard in the bag so the paint wouldn't bleed through. 

10. Finished bag!

Super easy! Now you have to wait to see what Favorite Thing I put inside the ditty bag!

MIA

I have been MIA for three weeks!! I can't believe it has been that long! That's what working does to ya... it wears you out!! However I am now back to a slower working schedule and am loving it!!! School will be out in less than 3 weeks!

I prefer to be at home sewing, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, mowing grass. It is where my heart is. I LOVE it!

I have been taking pictures of some things I want to share and plan on doing so over the next few days! I know I always say that but this is more than an empty promise!!

I am hosting a favorite things party at my home on Thursday and will be sharing my favorite thing on Friday!! This is such a fun time. There are about 30 girls coming over and they are all bringing a favorite thing. Then we will draw names and each go home with several different things! It is so fun! It is also a great time to spend together and fellowship with each other! I can't wait to share this night with you all!

Also we have been working outside in my flowerbeds and sprucing up the yard! I love this time of year! Making everything look neat and tidy! Although my husband did ask me the other day why I was setting junk out in the yard...One mans junk is his wife's treasures!!!

The last few days I have been thinking about this....

 Puppy Chow

Find the recipe on the the Farm Kitchen page!! I think I need to make some!

Have a wonderful day friends!! See you soon!