week end musings and a giveaway!

saturday we attended a flower show in Harrisburg...

ah-h-h...the sights and sounds of flowers, waterfalls, ideas -

bliss!

the jug thing seem to be popular this year.

 wonder how long wood lasts a a waterfall? not long, i bet!

this cute little vignette came from a local nursery.

 and i thought this was a novel idea.

then there was the dreamy indoor to outdoor living...sigh!

(me thinks this style of living is a LOT of work!)

it was a kind of date for hubs and i...

 if one can call it a date after spending three hours buying a business truck first,

and eating at Hoss's on the way home!

but i'll take it!

walking around holding hands and snacking on samples is time well spent together!

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- From the Pulpit -

God Revealed!

God shows Himself in general revelation...

The heavens declare the glory of God - the firmament shows His handiwork. Psa 19:1

But we must worship the Creator more than the created.

Universal intellect says many ways lead to God.

The atheist says 'There is no God.'

The agnostic says 'There is no evidence and we can't tell what truth is.'

The Christian is so busy pursuing the American dream we can barely give 2% (two weeks)

of our time out of a year to tell others about Jesus. 

Everyone needs redemption!

Salvation comes through confession -

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God!

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last week end this blog reached its 100th follower;

and this is my 250th post...

 so we celebrate!

i love whites and creams and french greys and shabby chic and roses -

this is where i get my inspiration -

 thank you...Rachel Ashwell!

- the giveaway!

• leave a comment and an email address
• if you're already a follower, leave a seperate comment for that

if you want three more chances to win...

•  become a follower
•  blog about it on your blog
• share on facebook.

this giveaway will be open until midnight, March 7, 2011,

...one week!

...blessedness!

  

fabric flowers and a bedspread

last fall, when i RE-DESIGNED our bedroom, i bought a new bedspread at Target.

i liked the clean, simple lines but intended on doing a ruffle

 or some such time consuming project on the seams.

fast forward to last week...

i got the brillant idea to use fabric flowers,

and spent my spare/phone time cutting, melting, and sewing a varity of buttons

(saved from worn out clothes - THRIFTY, THRIFTY me!)

in the centers.

and sewed forty-two peony-like flowers on our bed!

 - by daylight -

- nightlights -

i like!

i asked hubs how he liked sleeping under the flowers...

he merely gave a polite snort! :)

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in response to a few requests on how to make fabric flowers.

mine are very simple.

i take every shortcut i can and wasn't particular about cutting the strips with precise measurements.

• you must use a poly fabric that melts!
• cut three different size strips (mine were 2, 3 & 4" wide)
• cut those strips in squares, stack 6 on top of each & round the corners
• use a small candle and begin melting the edges - CAREFULLY!
• i used three petals for my project but more can be used
• no need to be precise - the melting gives different finishes and adds to the charm

(google fabric flowers if you want more info - there's tons out there!)

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this is a pin i made for daughter J,

and this flower has six petals with small beads in the center.

 it has a delicate and lovely look!

they are multi-purpose and can be used on bags, hairbands or whatever your heart desires!

a giveaway coming next week!

...blessedness!

linking up to White Wednesday's at FADED CHARM

GITTER DONE at Songbird

SUNDAY SHOWCASE

FRECKLED LAUNDRY

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my first spring project in the garden

Hi girls, spring is just around the corner! Last week we had two warm days, melting most of the snow that's been around for some weeks. It felt  so good! When the weather warms up enough, I'm out there, usually in the afternoon. Friday afternoon I gave the vine in the back of the house a much-needed haircut and swept the debrie off the deck floor - I can't wait to wash it down!

- before -

- after -

I couldn't find a summer picture of this vine - I think I accidently deleted it - but will defininetly do a post on it when it's in bloom...the flowers are cute and smell fabulous!

The chinnock winds don't blow until March but these two days were a real treat! A cold front blew in overnight and it turned cold and Tuesday morning we woke up to 4-5" of snow and more cold. But it won't be long when the spring work begins...my fingers are itching to feel the dirt! Let's get crackin,' girls! :)

...happy gardening!

winter wonder!

hoar frost creates amazing beauty!

i left the house early this morning...

these pictures are within two miles of our place.

i'm speechless!

...blessedness!

week end musings

i really appreciated hubs painting the dinning room on saturday!

i'm not certain whether i'm doing a wallpaper again and what the curtains will look like...

gotta see what's out there!

baby B was here this morning.

i had a helper with the vegies -

he loved putting the 'tator chunks in the cup!

then he stirred his smarties in the (dirty) pan - fun, fun!

 and yes, mom, he ate them!

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- from the pulpit -

Three Elements in God-honoring Decisions

• an active relationship with God
• living according to Biblical principles
• communicating with other believers

but this was striking to me...

God, make me a fork in the road, not merely a mile stone.

                                                                                    - Jim Elliot

scary prayer! risky prayer! Jim Elliot put his life on the line and was murdered for Jesus' sake.

indeed, risky stuff - being a fork in the road where our choices cause others to stop and think about their decisions...

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then today, there was this bitter/sweet decision...

in the grand scheme of life, not all that important, but still...

in the sense that it's giving up a piece of my gardening love and admitting the gorgeous nine

 knock-out rose shrubs in the front yard were too much for me to keep after -

they got pulled out today.

...blessedness!

yea!!

yea, yea!! :)

 1 hour and 45 minutes!

it would have taken me fa-eva!

hubs is a wonderful, patient painter...

hardly ever gets a drop on himself.

me?

i get paint in my hair, for cryin' out loud!

finishing it next week!

...blessedness!

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dinningroom update...

...IT still looks like this.

 waiting for hubs to paint it - hopefully on Saturday.

if not, it'll wait but the furniture will be put in place - can't live with this mess!

in the meantime...

i worked on the bathroom and it's messy, too!

and making fabric flowers for another project.

never a dull moment!

...blessedness!

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week end musings

- a babysitting week end picture post -

S is five and washed the dishes...twice...and did a great job!

grandpa and T playing marbles.

 drawing pictures for grandma.

 saturday morning B came for several hours - T and B having their morning snack.

 and S was invited to play with S...cute goofiness!

 helping hands with the CHICKEN CORN SOUP served for lunch.

T kept sneaking back into the bedroom to tap a few words - a future writer?

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saturday evening DIL B stopped by to drop these off...

chocolate covered strawberries!

a delicious thank you for keeping B for several hours! 

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Sunday morning worship was a little sporadic...

between forgetting to take a small toy for T and a bathroom run for S -

then desperation called for stuffed toys that were in the car which equaled to separate trips...

well, this grandma has fuzzy memories of the morning! :)

what i heard in between the above was good, except it didn't compute in my mind.

grandpa helped to keep T happy with the smarties (he's the candyman at church) he carries with him -

(it really doesn't take much to keep T happy as long as his best friend is around - his nuk!)

but it was good to feel the fellowship!

we dropped the grandkids off after church, ate a quick lunch and sank into our chairs for a wonderful sunday afternoon nap!

in the evening, we went to a valentine dessert night at brother E's church -

oh, my...a fabulous chocolate fountain and todiefor desserts!

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my followers reached one hundred this week end - we'll celebrate with a giveaway!

...blessedness!

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roses from my love

my love walked in the door with roses...

February is our anniversary and Valentine's Day.

i love roses!

but these speak more to me than getting roses for these two occasions;

because in a desolate era of our marriage, there was no thought of roses.

then God shook the dry bones in our marriage and raised our hope again.

He gave our marriage a new spirit and a new love.

it's been the most amazing and life-changing experience!

so when Hubs walks in the door with roses in his hand and a smile on his face,

my heart melts with love and i say another "Thank you, God" in my heart!

...blessedness!



dinning room

this is my project for the week...

 more later!



...blessedness!

suitcases

when i painted these SUITCASES last fall i used them without finishing the inside due to lack of time. i love the winter months for these kinds of projects! i started last week and somehow the project got dragged into this week.

if 'things' could talk, i wonder what stories these would have? 

grungy! before

pretty, pretty! after

i used a quilted bedspread and hot glued it, using the finished edging of the quilt to tuck up against the inside suitcase edges. it worked per-fect-ly!

 hot glued the trim to give it a nice finish,

 and folded, rolled and tied the doilies.

i used a thick sheet music to make the tags...

   giving both sides two coats of mod-podge and a coating of wax,

printed it with the words off the computer, added scraps of lace to tie it on

and...presto!

love!
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more later!

...blessedness!