Winter Warmth

Today was a snow/ice day. All surrounding schools were closed and Southern Hubby got to work from home today. Yay! There's lots to do on a day when you're forced to stay inside.

I chose to finish a pair of warm socks- a necessity on days like this. :)

Here are some lovely dovey ideas to keep you busy when you're stuck inside:

• make these cute Valentine's crafts.
• or make these adorable cupcakes.
• write your beloved an adoring love letter
• work on the 12 Days of Valentines (Love this idea!)
• join the Love Dare 14 Day Challenge over at Ordinary Inspirations (this requires no money! Just gifts of the heart. <3 )

I think I'll definitely do the 14 Day Challenge, but I'd like to try the others as well. Ladies, we need to shower our fellas with love and adoration. They do so much for us! :)

Lately.

This week has been kind of slow, so I apologize for the lack of posts. Here is what I've been up to lately.

Baking.

I adore baking bread. And Southern Hubby and I can't seem to get enough of this particular bread I've been making recently. I got the recipe from the Homestead Blessings: The Art of Bread Making DVD. I treated myself to a few of their DVD's recently and I love them. ;)

Puppies.

This little man warms my heart and soul. Even though in April it will be two years since we rescued him, he can still be a bit skittish, slowly poking his head around corners and jumping at the smallest sound. I often wonder what sort of hell he lived through at the puppy mill he came from. I can't say this enough, rescue, do not buy.

Working.

My 'Bama Bee necklace is not one of my most popular necklaces but it holds a special place in my heart. I got a couple orders for it this past week and I decided to use the typewriter font for the word 'happy' and I love the way it came out. Must make one for me now.

Crafts.

My youngest sister had her wisdom teeth out, so I bought a soft blanket from Target and embroidered it for her to take. (My sewing machine also does embroidery.) I took one (yes, I'm a scaredy baby) and it really comforted me and kept me warm when the anesthesia made me chilly.

And how was your week? :)

Valentine's Decor: Chalkboard Edition

Yes, I know it's only January. But I put up a few Valentine's decorations. {Heavy stress on a few!} I put just a couple things throughout the house. I definitely don't do it up for holidays other than Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Indulge me if you will...

I got this ceramic plate from Hobby Lobby and painted the center with chalkboard paint.  I weaved some red plaid ribbon through it, wrote a cutesy message on it and called it good. :) I had the ribbon and paint already Total price: $3 for the plate

Here's yet another chalkboard that I always change with the seasons. I got this one at Hobby Lobby, too. It comes pre-made so I just stained, then distressed the wood around it. Easy  peasy. {Did I ever mention how in love and addicted I am to chalkboards?}

Of course I use the chalkboard markers. They come off easy with the Magic Eraser and look so much cleaner than regular chalk.

Total price: $5 for the candle from Hemispheres; the frame I already had

Like I said, I definitely don't do it up big. But, I've got a couple more little decorations I'll post soon.

Do you have anything Valentine's Day related up yet? Have a good weekend!

Valentine Shabby Puff Hearts Tutorial

In my effort to put a Valentine decoration here and there around the house, I browsed Esty. For decor, I generally tend to lean towards primitive, shabby chic, or country style. As I was browsing, I came across some super cute shabby puffy fabric hearts. Normally, I'm a buyer instead of a DIY'er, but I'm trying to change my ways. I saved about $20 doing these on my own!

I knew these puffy hearts were something I could make, and I had all supplies on hand, thankfully. I'll try to quickly walk you through the steps, but they are pretty easy peasy, even with the most basic sewing skills.

You'll Need:

- tea bags

- jumbo bowl for steeping fabric

- Valentine's themed rubber stamps and pad

- cotton fabric (for hearts)

- linen or muslin fabric for decorating hearts 

- sewing machine

-thread

- scissors

- stuffing/filler

 First, you need to gather the fabric you'd like to use. Cut into big squares (depending on how big you'd like your hearts.

Steep two jumbo tea bags (or 4 smaller ones) and soak your fabric. I did mine for about 10 minutes. Since the tea was pretty strong, the fabric got 'aged' quickly.

Let your fabric dry after they have their tea bath. I got impatient so I threw mine into the dryer for 20 minutes.

While I was waiting, I took that time to stamp little muslin fabric pieces ( you could also use linen if in a pinch) with lovey dovey things. I stamped "te amo", my nieces name, me and Southern Hubby's pet name- Bee, xoxo, kiss me, and a cupid.

By this time, to be quite honest, I was getting impatient. These little suckers take a bit to make but they were fun in the process. Just can be time consuming. Consider yourself forwarned. :)

Iron your tea-dyed fabric. Make a rough outline of your heart shapes using a fabric pen. For a more primitive and shabby look, you don't want your hearts super perfect. I did everything free hand and liked the way they came out.

Cut around the heart shape, leaving lots of border. You will be handsewing to close.

{{This is where I stopped taking pictures. Sorry!}}

Pin and sew the small muslin stamped fabric pieces onto the front of the hearts. You must remember to do this first because you won't be able to do it after you've sewn your hearts together.

Pin your heart shapes with the right sides together and sew along your outline. Rememeber: Leave 1.5-2" open so that you can turn the hearts inside out.

Using a pencil or knitting needle, turn your hearts inside out.

Stuff some stuffing/filler into the hearts making them as puffy as you'd like.

Then using matching thread, hand-sew the hearts closed.

That's it! :) You've got some super easy (but time-consuming) Valentine's Day decorations! I've gotten plenty of compliments on my little bowl fillers already.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. I can try and help. 

xo

PS. Today I'm linking up to...

What's the next holiday?

Sadly, (and finally) we took down the outside Christmas decorations and the tree. Right after the New Year I took down all the Christmas decor in the house, but we left the tree up for a week more just to enjoy it a bit longer.

My house looks empty. I needed another holiday to decorate for. I figure it was nothing TJ Maxx couldn't solve.

So I went looking for new and cheery place mats and napkins to tide me over until St. Valentine's Day.

I know it's a bit early, but I completed a cute Valentine's Day craft. I'll have to share it with you soon. I think it turned out just darling.

Thanks to Southern Hubby schmoozing some clients at a happy hour right now, tutorial for the craft coming on Monday! :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! TGIF!




PS. Today I'm linking to

How I spent my NYE

I climbed under a comfy blanket that was a Christmas gift from Southern Hubby and started working on a sock. (He had it embroidered with his pet name for me. We're so corny.)

 By mid afternoon I was flying. 

Yeah, we're rock stars over here.

Getting your wisdom teeth out a week before NYE is absolutely. crazy. I wouldn't recommend it.

That is, unless you want to spend the holidays on the couch.

PS. I'm linking up here, today. :)

Monday, Mondays

The weather around here is iffy. Some days we're in the 30's and other days we're in the 60's. All this wishy-washy weather makes me want to stay inside my warm house and craft. I've had lots of time to piddle around here and think. Here a couple of my random thoughts...indulge me, please.

• As you know, I'm on a sock knitting binge. Ever since I learned how to this them past summer, I've been knitting nothing but. They're fun, addictive and (if you know how the knit and purl stitch) relatively easy. I think next on my list, I'd like to learn how to make these fun felted slippers. They pattern calls for recycling a sweater, so you save on the materials- bonus. :) Sadly, they call for crocheting, so I'll have to hit up my creative sister for a quick lesson.

• Wednesday at 10am I'm getting all four of my wisdom teeth removed. I'm terrified. I've never been 'put under' before. They're prescribing some sort of sedative to take before I come in. I'm also hoping they give me some gas before they insert the IV. I hate needles. I know I'll survive, but the anticipation is killing me. I'd appreciate some prayers to calm my nerves. 

Flicker pool

• Sometime in between my surgery and Christmas I've got to sew up a pillow. Each year Southern Hubby and I all exchange names with my three sisters for gifts. It started a few years ago when 3 out of 4 of us were in college and without dough. We discovered how much love go into homemade gifts when we each get to use our talents and the tradition stuck. This year I got my youngest sister. I'm making her a pillow. Somehow I'm going to teach myself the 'dresden plate' quilting pattern. Yeah, we'll see how that goes. I'd appreciate some prayers for that one, too.

What's been on your mind lately?

Some Halloween Invitations

Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday. Usually Southern Hubby and I go all out with our annual Halloween party invites. We've done these and these in the past on our own, without her kit. It's a bit more expensive and very time consuming, but I just don't like write-in invitations. (No offense to those who do the fill-in invites, they're just not my style.)

This year I didn't have much time to make any elaborate invitations, so I scoured Etsy and was thrilled when I came upon Loralee Lewis & Co. Her shop if FULL of delightful invitations and various paperie. I fell in love with her Haunted Mansion Collection and fell even more in love with her reasonable prices!

Once I got them in, I did a little happy dance (seriously- ask SH) cause they were perfect!

I knew that invites this beautiful had to be properly addressed, so I got out my calligraphy pen and purchased some Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India ink in a dark orange from a local art store- perfect for my black envelopes!

As you can tell, I'm such a nerd when it comes to this holiday! It's something about the changing cooler weather, the yummy smells, and the State Fair of Texas... just puts me in an awesome mood!

Hope everyone is doing well out there! :)

Hot in Socks

As soon as I made my first pair of socks, Southern Hubby insisted I make him some.

Brat.

Here are his socks. He's hot in socks. Literally. The day I finished these, it was 104 degrees outside. Thankfully, God in all his mercy laid off Texas a bit. It was a high of 90 here yesterday and today should top out at 93. It feels like fall to us. No, I'm serious.

I'll be updating on the house progress and a Year in Pictures post asap. Happy pre-Fall!

Fabric Scraps and Wine Racks

Last week I found myself working on my rag quilt from many months ago.  Y'all know how long it takes me to complete projects, right? A long time. I got the idea from one of my favorite Southerners, Amanda, from Kevin and Amanda. Love this girl. I'd move next door to her if she were in Texas.

Speaking of Amanda, she's the genius behind Fonts for Peas. If you missed it the first time around, she turned my handwriting (named after my babies) into a font. Click here to be taken to where you can download it.

In house news...this weekend workers began bricking and doing the stone work. The cabinet designer emailed us the final design plans for the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry at the end of last week. We corrected a few things, added a wine rack, and sent them back. They're scheduled to go in mid-week. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

Thankfully, the builders gave us September 30th as our closing date. I could not have been more excited. It made my weekend. That leaves us roughly two more months in this apartment. Can I get a hallelujah?

Hope everyone had a great weekend, too. :) Oh, and stay tuned for a fabulous giveaway on Wednesday!