Pages

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Super Saturday

Today has been a good day. Nicholas and I have watched a number of movies, and I relocated my crafting area to the couch so I have been quite productive. Some of it was stuff like sending emails and painting my nails, but I also accomplished some business stuff. I finished the cupcake toppers and bunting I made for a 1st birthday party. 



A couple of my recent and most favorite projects are for my sister's upcoming baby shower I am hosting. I found this cute bird nest over at bump smitten, and I thought it would make a perfect start [or maybe stand alone] as a corsage for my sis. I must admit that every time I walk by mine I have to pick it up and admire it. I just think it is so cute!


A project that I have been ridiculously excited about is for Candice's existing "baby". I wanted him to look his best for the baby shower too so I made a bow tie just for him. I can't wait to try it on him!


Something else that was just for fun is this leather bracelet. I saw the original idea on Honestly WTF, and I plan on making a few more variations of this as well as more leather ones in different colors to wear together. 


I have more baby projects coming up, and I am hoping to get some paintings started soon...though it will probably be at least after we get back from Arkansas. 

*Side note: My pickles I made taste just like I remember, and I am pretty proud of them! I am on my second jar. :) 

Be happy. 

-Katie

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Have a _____ day

Between working multiple 10 hour days, canning more green beans, playing softball [and pulling a muscle in my leg], and attending a graduation I only completed one tiny little project this week. As simple as it is...I love it! I just used my vintage stamp set that I have had for several years now and stamped this little fill-in-the-blank message on simple, brown paper bags. I think they would be a fun way to send a note to someone with a lunch, goodie, or even a gift inside. 


[This is a set of ten bags tied together with the diy baker's twine from this post]. 

Be happy!

-Kate

Monday, July 11, 2011

G is for Georgie

I have several little projects that I want to do either for the baby shower for Candice and Georgie or for the nursery, and I finally got a start on them. One of the larger projects is underway in my dining room floor, but I actually completed a few small ones today. One is this G that can be used for the shower and the nursery. I just bought this simple G from Hobby Lobby and used spray adhesive and scrapbook paper to cover it. I may or may not attach a ribbon to hang it. I am undecided since I am doing that on at least one other project that I can think of, and I don't want to go overboard with that idea. 

I started with this:

And I ended with this: 


I also put these little napkin/forks together last night before bed. I knew I didn't want to buy enough cloth napkins or anything, but I want every aspect of the shower to be visually pleasing [cute]. So I just bought some heavy paper napkins [also from Hobby Lobby], and I had saved the scraps from some bunting I made for the nursery. They worked perfectly, and I couldn't be happier with the colors I chose. I just rolled the napkins around the plastic fork [I had the better part of 300 left from the wedding], and tied the little scraps around them. It is something so simple, but I like how they turned out.




Another project that is in the works is outside drying. I had this project in my head, but never expected to be so lucky to find such a great frame for such a great price! I got this for less than $7.00 at Hobby Lobby, and it is exactly what I was looking for! 


It had a tiny nick on one corner, but since I knew I would paint it I wasn't worried. It was originally gold and dark brown [super traditional], but it will soon have a pink ribbon hanger and chicken wire inside the frame to make a cute place for Georgie's hair accessories! 

I have many more shower/nursery projects to come, and I can't wait to get to them!

Be happy!

-Katie

My thumb is greener than I thought

So last week was almost a repeat of the week before as far as how busy it was. I worked quite a few hours and had little to no time to get much done. I did manage to get more photo proofs done today, and I just had to take time to share some of our latest. Yesterday my mother-in-law was kind enough to come over and help us with our first green been canning experience. It took a lot longer than I expected due to the time that you had to leave them in the pressure cooker, and the one we used only held 4 quarts. But we got 11 quarts of green beans canned!! We just had so many more than we could ever eat right now, and they are so good that I am too stingy to share!


Then I went out and picked these today:


In between the times when we were waiting on the pressure cooker I got the cucumbers we had picked over the last 2 days and made some pickles! My mom always made these when we were all at home, and I LOVED them. I am hoping I did everything right so these taste just like I remember. It was all pretty easy and went smoothly except for me cutting a bit off the tip of my finger. Ouch! It bled a lot, but it isn't as bad as I first thought. Hopefully these will make it all worth it!



 It will be hard to stay out of them for a couple of weeks, but luckily I have a great concoction for the cucumbers we will continue to pick. It is just vinegar, sugar, and water...so good!

Other bit of our yard/garden that are doing well: 
Caladium

Zinnias

Sunflowers...I can't wait for these to bloom! 


So even though I [unintentionally] probably make it look like I have done all this alone I cannot take all the credit. Nicholas is super helpful with everything. He is the regular garden picker and fought through the itchy cucumbers that are taking over everything so he could pick them. He also waters all the flowers with the gallons of water that come off our dehumidifier in the basement. Since he has started doing that our flowers look a million times better!

Be happy...and green! 

-Katie